Shiva, Lord Of Rhythm

Through his Nataraja dance pose, Shiva demonstrates that rhythm is an integral part of the world, writes LALITA RAMAKRISHNA Rhythm and melody are components of every kind of music. Even simple nursery rhymes have tune and rhythm. Nada is a combination of melody and rhythm; it is not possible to have melody without some kind of rhythm in it, though sometimes rhythm is asymmetric as in raga alapana. Modern English poetry is based on the rhythm of a ‘particular profound thought’ and not on traditional poetic metres. Shiva is a master of laya, rhythm, and his sibling, Saraswati, is the goddess of music.Shiva’s damaru represents kala, time, from the root kalayati — to count, measure. During Shiva’s Ananda Tandava, Vishnu and Nandi play on drums to keep time. The jingling of his anklets, the slithering of the snakes on his body and the sparkling of the moon on his forehead — all seem to keep time with the rhythm of his dance.Shiva as Nataraja demonstrates through his dance pose and the drum in his right hand that rhythm is an integral part of the world. As Dakshinamurti, however, he shows the stillness that lies deep within all action.The world is called samsara, samyak sarati — that which moves in multifarious patterns. Constant movement indicates ‘time’ discovered by scientists as the fourth dimension of matter. The matter we see around us — a rock or the ground under our feet — ‘seems’ static, without any kind of movement.However, this is only an illusion and there is great activity and movement at the level of atoms within these seemingly static objects. Wherever there is movement, there is energy and time.Laya is from the root ‘li’, which means ‘to get absorbed,’ ‘to become one with’. The word, prayala, prachanda laya, indicates the enormous process of cosmic absorption into its source. Laya is repose and exclusive concentration on a single object. Layate also means ‘to go’ and ‘to move’ — a strange paradox. The two opposites, stillness as well as dynamism, are enshrined in the word laya.Action is rhythmic when there is beauty and order in the movement. Our bodies, trees and plants follow this pattern. Our heartbeat follow a particular rhythm and when there is arrhythmia, during which the heart misses a beat or does not beat in an even pattern, it indicates disease or the organism.The panchabhutas are seen in the dance of Nataraja — wind in his blowing tresses, fire held in his left hand, earth under his right foot, water in the Ganga on his jata and space which is the stage for his dance. Nataraja’s dance is the dance of Creation as well as extinction, both of which form a continuous recurring cycle....Shiva is known as Sabhapati, lord of the stage. He controls the cosmic stage on which is enacted the ceaseless drama of all created jivas. It is important to understand two key ideas behind this:1. A dance or drama shown on stage is created by someone with intelligence in some kind of pattern. This indicates the chit factor, in the principle sat, chit, ananda.2. Everything in creation is only a beautiful drama, which mean that it is temporary and ‘not real’. Shakespeare described this in the verse from his play As You Like It: “All the world is a stage. And all the men and women merely players: They have their exits and their entrances.” Tattvaloka