Dance Forms Of Lord Shiva | Different Types Of Shiva Thandavam/Tandava

Various Dance Forms of Lord Shiva

Different dance forms of Lord Shiva have different meanings. As he is the Lord of dances, one cannot expect less. We humans cannot enjoy the dance as celestial beings, but there are temples he blesses us with variety of dances at different places. Let us have a look at them in brief. Thandavam or Tandava means dance performed by the higher beings.

1. Kaliga Thandavam:

This dance is performed by the Lord when He is in the task of Creation. In Thamira Sabha, meaning copper dais, at Nellaiappar temple, Thirunelveli.               
                                                                                                                    

2. Sandhiya Thandavam:

It is danced during the task of Protection by Lord Shiva, and this form is present at the Meenakshi Amman temple, Madurai. The dais here is the Silver dais.

3.  Tripura Thandavam:

The Lord dances in this form, when he is hiding things from the world. The temple that hosts this dance is the Kutralanathar temple, at Kutralam. This dais is termed Chitra Sabha.

4. Oorthuva Thandavam:

Dancing at Thiruvalangadu in the Rathna Sabha, meaning the Gem stone dais, the God performs this dance form when He showers blessings on his devotees.

5. Anandha Thandavam:

When the Lord performs 6 dance forms together,  Kaliga Thandavam, Kaliga Thandavam, Tiripura Thandavam, Urthuva Thandavam and Sangara Thandavam, it is called Anandha Thandavam. This dance form is present in Kanaga Sabha, the Golden Dais, at Chidambaram.

6. Sangara Thandavam:

This is the dance the Lord performs when the destruction takes place. So, there is no temple to host this form.

7. Gowri Thandavam:

As the name signifies, Gowri Thandavam is performed to appease the wish of Goddess Parvati, and this dance form is performed at Tirupattur.

8. Ajaba Thandavam:

This is a dance that the Lord performed as a frog, and this is performed with the breath control. The form can be seen at Thiruvarur.           
                                                         

9. Unmattha Thandavam:

In Thirunallar, the Lord dances the Unmattha Thandavam, which means the dance of the mad person. The Lord danced infuriated as a mad one.

10. Kukkuda Thandavam:

In Thirukkarayil, the Lord danced as the hen, and the name itself means that the dance of a hen.

11. Tharanga Thandavam:

This dance means that the dance form is like that of an ocean. The dance form includes steps like that of a smooth rhythm, ebb and flow of the ocean. This dance was performed at Nagapattinam. This is a place very close to the sea.

12. Bringa Thandavam:

In Thirukolil, the Lord danced as if the bee carves into the flower.

13. Kamala Thandavam:

In Thiruvaimoor, the Lord danced to resemble the lotus dancing to the rhythm of the breeze.

14. Hamsapadi Thandavam:

In Vedaranyam, aka Thirumaraikadu, the Lord danced to resemble the steps of the Swan.

The Secret Key To Discover The God

The Precious Secret to reach God.

Remember these two words. Gravitation and Grace..

Gravitation, the law of the earth which pulls things down.
Grace, the law of heaven which pulls things up.
Gravitation was discovered by Science whereas Grace was discovered by religion.

Normally we are born & we all live under the law of gravitation.

Our whole life is a downward pull.

We begin in birth and we end in death.

We begin alive and we end as a corpse.. This is the downward flow.

Unless one starts moving inwards, the grace, the second law cannot function.

If we continue to remain identified with the mortal body then the law of the earth prevails. The body is part of the earth. When we decide to start moving inwards, that's when this secret comes as a treasure through which we become aware of something which is not part of the body.

It is in the body but not the part of the body.

The body is a temple but it is not the deity, this secret helps you to remove the veil and reveal the deity.

As soon as you become aware of the inner deity that resides within your body, the second law starts functioning; In turn you are pulled upwards.

Life becomes more abundant, more and more rich, becomes infinite, and it becomes perfect.

Then it moves towards the sky and it eventually starts becoming as vast as the sky, and transcends even that limit.

The secret key to realize the hidden treasure; to become awaken, to be always in the grace of God where there is no place for fear and confusion, full of bliss and love is "Meditation"

.

Yes the secret key is Meditation.

Sattvic Desirelessness - What and how it feels

What is Sattvic Desirelessness ?

If your mind i convinced that every objects are illusory, then that is what called as "Sattvic Desirelessness". With the very pure "Sattvic Desirelessness", he/she feels like laughing at the ideas of relinquishing anything.

Was there really any bondage to be relinquished? He/She have tied themselves up with the ropes which are not actually there at all. He/She might say that they have dropped the shackles, but actually they were only holding fast to that really. What was really ever yours ? What you have dropped? If there is nothing truly ever to be dropped, then tell me what is actually there to be let go off?

- Shri Siddharameshwar Maharaj

How To Practice/Perform Self Enquiry (Inquiry) Taught By Ramana Maharshi | The Path To Self Realization

Practicing Self Enquiry (Inquiry)

The great sage Ramana Maharsi, before leaving from the human body, had given us great works to help people realize the self and stepping into the kingdom of eternal bliss. Bhagawan Sri Ramana Maharshi never claimed himself as God, he taught that the self, the aatma or Brahman(God) reside inside every one of us. We can connect to Lord Shiva by surrendering ourselves to the supreme power and dissolving the ego of the "I" thought.  I would recommend users to read the book called "Teachings of Ramana Maharshi" to know more about this beautiful and soul-filling technique in which Sri Ramana Maharshi has answered all the questions that might raise in your mind.

Sri Ramana Maharshi's words,
Your own Self-realization is the greatest service you can render the world!.

What is the Goal of Self Enquiry ?

To realize your true self. The  self is the one who is eternal, gateway to God, which resides inside you. To come out of the body consciousness and realizing that you are an immortal soul. When you go beyond the mind and destroy the ego, then there is a kingdom of pure consciousness inside you. Once you realize your self, you realize that you are an immortal being, free of sorrows, worries, anxiety &any negative feelings of your mind and start living in the state of eternal bliss.

Challenges faced when enquiring/inquiring self?

Our ego obstructs us from surrendering to the God.  You no need to take a vow of celibacy. Most people have in their mind that "when you take a vow of celibacy" you become enlightened. Bhagawan Sri Maharshi rubbished that claim away and said that it is just a thought . You can realize your self from the place you are reading this now. Another important factor that forms the obstacle for self realization is that, we are not ready to give up our sufferings from our mind but we(as a soul) want to.  Surrender your sufferings to God and feel that you are free(Really you are free).

How To Practice Self Enquiry

Find a quite place, sit comfortable and make sure your spine is straight.  You can use lotus, half lotus or cross legged position or you can sit in a chair to practice self enquiry. When you sit in the silence, tell to yourself that you are going to remove the burden of all your sufferings with the grace of God.  Feel that you are in God's abode and off course he will take all your burden then.

Judge the thoughts initially and then try to find who is behind the thoughts, Mind is nothing but just thoughts. Transcend that level. Thoughts will keep on coming, don't stop enquiry, ask yourself who is awake when the mind stops its work. While we are sleeping, for few hours we sleep without dreams. At that time the mind doesn't work, so then, who keeps you alive at that time? Go after him, enquire further, find him. He is nothing but self(you), the soul, the eternal being.  This is a gradual process, there is no specific time period for realizing the self. It depends on the dedication level of an individual who strives to reach the God's kingdom by freeing himself/herself  from all his/her sufferings through self enquiry.

How To Do Meditation On Lord Shiva? | Lord Shiva Meditation

People have always wanted to have a glimpse of the God. The God cannot be seen directly. You can feel him or you can see him in the form of other people, who sent by the Lord during the course of our life. Okay, Who doesn't want to have the glimpse of the supreme God, Lord Shiva, himself?

People are/were a;ways wanted to have the darshan of Lord Shiva. According to Hindu epics, many yogis and sages have witnessed Lord Shiva through hardcore penance. These penance went from months to decades to millennium. Surrendering to Lord Shiva and receiving his blessings is the saturation point of the penance.

Why to surrender to Lord Shiva ?

Being  the benevolent father, he is referred as Paramathma., the divine father of all souls. Upon surrendering to the almighty, we are relieved from the next birth, removing all our sins completely and the things that we wanted to do in this present incarnation will happen with ease  by the grace of the Lord Shiva.

Why people are not able to see or feel the God nowadays?

Nowadays the number of sages and saints are less because everybody lives a mechanical life. We have made an indirect competition among each other unknowingly. We run after money, we need to work for our family, working for kids future,  stuck in job, loans and many many things. We are living in a digitized world where there is no room for soul to soul conversation. Our minds are polluted with growing technologies and its direct & indirect effects. Then how to live and enjoy each moment fully with God's grace ?

How to practice the meditation on Lord Shiva ?

We can certainly live with consciousness by turning our mind inwards. Several saints had lived for us and given us their wisdom in order to help us to attain enlightenment and enjoy each moment with bliss and gratitude toward the God.

The great Tamil sain and an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva, saint Thirumoolar had given a gem of a technique to meditate on Lord Shiva and thus attaining eternal bliss.

With Lord Shiva in your mind, his grace in your soul, chant the name 'Shiva, Shiva"  mentally four times when you inhale oxygen thus expanding the abdomen. Control and hold the same near the glottis and chant 'Shiva, Shiva' fourteen times. Then exhale the carbon-dioxide through the right hole of the nose chanting 'Shiva Shiva' eight times. Dedicate yourself to the supreme Lord, By performing this, you not only achieve the siddhi of attaining deathless body, but also become Lord Shiva(God) himself". 

These instructions are clearly explained in Thirumandhiramm, which we would recommend every user to read and know more about the great Siddhas and Siddhis.

5 Positive Things Happening In The World Now

There are many Positive things taking place now. We might not have thought about it because of the other bad things happening around the globe.

We need to thank technology, which serves as the driving force to bring ourselves to realize the positives around us.  So what are the positive things that made me to write this article ?

Rise Of startups - End to Joblessness

Rise of startups changing the mentality of "I am for myself" attitude and as a result it allows people to give jobs to the needy. You will never end up jobless unless you decide to sit and complain from your home. There are thousands of opportunities on live to web. Many opportunities to earn money, When our ideas are in harmony we can achieve it.

Realizing that our traditional education system is a crap

Education system is changing. Especially our common Indian education system which most people afford is an utter crap. As we grow we realize that traditional schooling is not necessary. We realize that those certificates are just paper. What we learn practically is more important than anything. What inside in our mind matters.

Raise of interest in Spirituality

People involving in spirituality are increasing. Few years back very very few went to yoga and meditation classes. one out of 200 may know the idea of Yoga and meditation. Now you can see 1 out of 10 people practicing Yoga in regular intervals. Spirituality helps people overcome their fears, anxiety and any sort of mental disorder and thus helps in the improvement of physical health.  Scientists have discovered that people who are spiritually involved are not prone to major diseases.

Focusing on healthy lifestyle

Food Styles are also changing. People realized that how they are cheated by their government in the health area. The government officials just act as puppets of corporate big shots and forced unhealthy life style upon us. For instance, cancer was once a disease, now it has became an industry. The money involved in treating cancer is too big. Most of the stuffed, aerated drinks and junk foods we consume contains cancer causing agents in it. People are now realizing bit by bit that they are misguided. Now they turned their focus towards organic foods and natural medicines. We are now realizing that mother nature has offered us everything from living to healing.

Passion for traveling increased

Ever than before the passion for traveling has increased. People don't want to stuck in 9 to 5 jobs. They realized living and dying in same place is not what they meant for. God has given us the huge world. So they decided to fly like a bird. They cross oceans, see new people, they cherish everything. It is a good sign because when you are open to travel you are open to hug new people, learn new language, see new culture and enjoy new lifestyle.

Realize these things , we no need to complain about the bad things that are happening around us. We can be self disciplined and enjoy every moment of the life.