Ever since Afanasy Nikitin told the Russian people about India, it has remained for us an amazing, mysterious, magical country, full of contrasts, shrines and miracles. Of course, everyone is discovering their own India.
Some see only the exotic, the second - dirt and poverty, the third - the beauty of ancient traditions, and the fourth experience here such moments of mystical revelations that turn their whole life to the ground …
Perhaps only one statement will be true for everyone: all of India is one huge place of Power. No matter what point on her map you poke, you will definitely find yourself in one where everything and everything - from a dusty stone on the road to a bird in the sky - contributes to inner purification, healing and transformation.
Therefore, it is almost impossible to make a simple trip to India: even if you go to this country out of ordinary interest, in the end it will still turn out that you made a pilgrimage. A pilgrimage is always the road to oneself.
For everything that happens to a person during the pilgrimage leads to knowledge, awakening of the soul, opening of the heart and potential, finding the meaning of one's own life, and most importantly - the discovery of that very inner light that will never allow you to go astray. And if you really set foot on this road, then you need to start with something truly sacred.
Welcome to the world's only temple of the Dancing Shiva!
Promotional video:
DUEL
This temple is located in the south of India, in the city of Chidambaram. Its name comes from the words chid - "consciousness" and barns - "expansion of heaven." All of this reads as "infinitely expanding consciousness." And it is here that the temple of the God of Cosmic Dance is located. The first mention of it dates back to the 6th century BC. e. But, according to the myths, it was built in honor of the god Shiva much earlier.
Legend has it that the goddess Kali was once the patroness of these places. There was also a self-manifested lingam (the deity of Shiva), which was worshiped by two holy sages - Patanja-li, whose body was half human, half serpentine, and Vyagrapada - with a human body with tiger paws. Shiva himself appeared in the Tillai forest to dance for two great saints.
Naturally, the owner of these places, Kali, did not like the fact that a stranger invaded her domain, and she challenged Shiva to a dance duel. The loser had to leave the forest. Vishnu himself became the arbiter in this rivalry between the two gods.
Shiva danced Ananda Tandava, a cosmic dance that symbolizes the five divine roles of Shiva: creation, support, dissolution, concealment and bestowal of grace. Nevertheless, Kali was in no way inferior to him, until Shiva gave out his crown pas - with his leg thrown over his head. Modesty did not allow Kali to repeat this movement.
She was considered a loser, and Kali left this place with resentment. Shiva won, but in order not to risk it, everyone who wants to worship Shiva is advised to first make offerings to the goddess Kali in her temple Tillai Amman, which is located here in Chidambaram.
THE CITY OF ETERNAL DANCE
For those who are not familiar with the intricacies of Hinduism: the religion of Shiva is the oldest of all existing ones (if we take into account the civilized world). And Shiva himself is the masculine principle of the Universe. An absolute deity, endowed with absolute power and capable of both creating and destroying during his dance.
And he always dances, because his whole life is a dance. And the faster he waves his many arms, the greater the devastation. But then exuberant dances are replaced by unhurried rhythms: peace appears on Shiva's face, and all the stars brought down from heaven to earth return to their places - harmony and peace are re-established in the Universe.
They say that Shiva danced his first dance, which marked the beginning of our civilization, in Chidambaram. It is understandable, because, according to legend, the main channel of the vital energy of our planet passes here. They say that the many-armed god will also perform the last dance of destruction for earthlings, which will complete the cycle of our existence on the planet, in this temple. Fortunately for humanity, this will not happen as long as there are dikshitars - the servants of the temple, who perform rituals daily.
Descendants of newcomers
This special caste of Brahmins has lived on the territory of the temple for many centuries and is the keeper of secret knowledge and history. The whole life of the Nataraja dikshitar community (this is another name of Shiva) is centered around the temple.
This is their main property, and at the same time - the main occupation in life. They never leave the temple complex, marry only within their community, use a special language, and consider themselves aliens or descendants of ancient civilizations. They are found only in Chidambaram, and their appearance and customs have nothing to do with any of the peoples.
Dikshitars speak only their own language, they rarely communicate with people outside the community, especially with Europeans. But those rare lucky ones who had a chance to talk with them say that their knowledge is amazement and admiration. However, most of all, they admire their dances, imitating the movements of the god Shiva. Looking at their movements, at the flexibility of their arms and legs, you will truly believe that they are descendants of some alien civilization! Meanwhile, the dance is part of the ritual of worshiping Shiva.
And if he does not, our world will not be: without daily prayers and dances, Shiva will decide that people have forgotten him, he will probably get angry and begin his dance of death, the dance of destruction, with which the days of humanity will end. But since, according to some sources, the dikshitars have been faithful to themselves and their traditions for 3,000 years, so you can rely on them and not be afraid of an imminent apocalypse. The end of the world is still far away. And nothing will stop you from enjoying the beauty of Chidambaram. Moreover, there is something to see there.
TWO STEPS TO HAPPINESS
Today the temple complex at Chidambaram is a grandiose, magnificent and very rich structure. Over the 3000-year history of its existence, the temple has accumulated many values. The statues of local gods are adorned with pearls, rubies and emeralds. The roof of the main temple is covered with solid gold tiles. And what a figure of Shiva, carved from a whole piece of a rare purple ruby!
Getting to Chidambaram, you feel like Mowgli, suddenly found yourself in an abandoned treasury of forgotten rajas. And yet it is worth not only paying attention to the luxury that surrounds you, but also focusing on the details, especially since each of them is full of meaning. For example, the roof of the main building in the complex - the Golden Temple - is crowned with nine stupas, supported by 64 wooden beams, it consists of 21,600 tiles, which hold 72,000 nails.
It would seem, so what? Some kind of unnecessary, absolutely unnecessary information for the pilgrim. It was not so! The nine stupas are the nine openings of the human body. Wooden beams symbolize 64 types of arts that a person must master in order to become perfect (this is especially true for women, because in return they will receive power over men).
The number of golden tiles - yes, they are made of pure gold - is nothing more than the number of breaths a person takes per day - from sunrise to sunrise. Well, the number of nails corresponds to the ideal rhythm of the human heart - 72 beats per minute.
However, the main treasure is still inside the Golden Temple, because a wooden temple is hidden under the stone building. His age is incalculable. According to legends, it was built on the very place where Shiva performed his cosmic dance, consisting of 108 movements. All of them - from the first to the last - are depicted on the bas-reliefs of stone temples. It is believed that they contain information about the laws of being. And whoever manages to exactly repeat all these movements, absolutely all the secrets of the universe will be revealed to him.
Alas, even the dikshitars cannot repeat the cosmic dance. But, according to the stories of the pilgrims, even the reproduction of two or three steps (dance steps) greatly clarifies the consciousness. And of course, this action will surely bestow upon you divine grace, which comes always when a person is engaged in spiritual practice, participates in services, honors the memory of saints and bathes in sacred rivers.
By the way, about ablution: in the north of the temple complex there is Shiva Ganga. It was once a lotus pond in a mangrove forest. Now it is lined with stone and looks more like a rectangular pool. However, this did not affect the quality of the waters - as they were healing, they remain so.
Therefore, bathing in the pool is quite popular among pilgrims. But you can do without water procedures - just feed the small fish living there, and you will get rid of bad karma.
Faith Hope