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Friday, December 20, 2024

Our tantrika dance + 2 more

Baba
Our tantrika dance

Namaskar,

In day to day life, people are affected - positively and negatively - by what they see, hear, touch, smell, and taste etc. The tanmatras or inferences a person receives through the ten motor and sensory organs affect the mind.

That is why Sadguru Baba warns sadhakas not to see those things that degrade the mind; rather, one should hear and see those things that will inspire and uplift the mind. The theory is that what one sees and hears etc, one experiences as a vibration in the mind.

For instance, if you saw one criminal viciously whipping an innocent person who was crying out loudly in pain, then naturally that would affect your mind. Or suppose there was a dead body fermenting along the road and animals were dragging it and pecking at the intestines. That is a gory, gruesome scene. People do not like to see such things that adversely affect their mind and state of being.
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On the other end of the spectrum, in the field of dharma there are various symbols that bring a positive feeling in the mind.


Tandava represents fight against death

In our tandava dance, a few different symbols are used including a skull and / or a torch. During the light of day - when everyone can see - then a skull is used when dancing tandava. This skull symbolises death. Its meaning is purely symbolic; we do not view the skull in and of itself as a ritual. The proof is that when night falls, then tandava is not done with a skull. Because nobody can see a skull in the dark of night. Instead a torch is used to signify death. One of the main themes is that the tandava dance represents the fight against death. Here is more about this tantric dance.


Why use skull during day & not night


The tandava dance has many benefits. Dancing tandava makes a person fearless, courageous, and long-lived. The sadhaka is fighting against death. In particular, the skull, snake, or fire represent death. When dancing, one of these three symbols of death - the skull, snake, or fire - will be held in the left hand. The right hand will hold either the dagger or trident. The dagger and trident represent the spirit of fight - rising up against all obstacles and degrading forces. These various symbols remind the spectators of the significance of the dance. So such symbols play a vital role.
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That is why in the daytime, when one can see the skull, then the tandava dance is done holding a skull. Because it is visible at that time and that skull reminds the spectators that death can come at any moment and we have to fight. In contrast, during the dark of night, it is useless to dance tandava holding the skull because no one can see it. So its symbolic meaning will not strike in the mind. The spectators will not get that external reminder because in the dark of the night the skull cannot be seen. That is why when dancing tandava in the dark hours, then fire is used instead to represent death. The flame of the torch lights up in the darkness so everyone can see it - and that fire represents death.


Some kapalikas need not use a skull


But in no case - under no circumstances - do we worship those tools, i.e. skull, torch, dagger etc. Those symbols merely remind the spectators how tandava is the fight against death. And those tools (i.e. skull, torch, dagger etc) are not more important than the practice itself. Verily, one can dance tandava without any of those symbols and still derive the maximum physiological benefit. And this applies to other practices as well. For instance, certain types of kapalikas need not use a skull when doing their night sadhana / kapalik meditation.


Fighting against death with your weapon

Ananda Marga ideology guides us, "Ta'n'd'ava is a heroic dance, showing the fight between life and death. The knife represents life, represents your vital stamina, and the skull represents the death that wants to destroy you. You are fighting against death with your weapon, be it a knife or a trishula (trident). And as per the rule, during the day, if one so desires, one may use a live snake in place of the skull; and at night one may use a fire masha'la [torch].... This is the rule. So ta'n'd'ava represents the eternal fight, the fight for survival, the fight to maintain existence, the fight to establish oneself as a man in this world." (1)

Such external reminders are needed. All kinds of groups, movements, companies, and countries use some type of symbol or logo - to help rally the people around their slogan and agenda. Failing that, people forget about that message. So one can think of the skull as one small external symbol that represents death while the dagger stands for the spirit of fight.
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Why dancers wear red clothing

Another important factor is that those tandava dancers wear red clothing. The colour red represents the mutative principle. When a dancer wears that colour it means he has control over that principle, and he is above that. The red garment means, "I am established above rajoguna [the mutative factor]; rajoguna is my outer clothing; I am not rajogunii." The red color is indicative of rajoguna. (2)

Taken altogether, the skull, snake, fire, dagger, trident (trishul) and red clothing represent the philosophy of tandava.


Get biological benefits by just dancing

If nothing is used, i.e. if no symbol is used, still one gets the biological benefit just by doing the dance. That is why on various occasions, tandava is done without any of these symbols such as when dancing at midnight etc. Kapalikas may also dance tandava during the night. So the symbols are not needed to get the benefits; doing the dance itself is the operative factor.
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It is just like how a child eats and derives the benefits of that food without knowing how the digestive system works; still that child will get the nutritional value of that food. Just as a nutritionist or dietitian gets the benefit of eating. The dietitian is aware of the food value and the child is not, but both get the benefit.

Or think of it this way: Suppose you see one ship sailing with the Indian flag, and another vessel that does not have any flag. Both boats will move across the ocean and reach their destination. But regarding the second ship, no one will know to which country it belongs. Whereas with the first ship, those standing on the shore will feel comforted seeing that Indian ship come towards the Indian shore.

Just as both ships will sail whether they have a flag or not, similarly those doing tandava - either with or without the skull - get the benefit of the practice.

Namaskar,
in Him,
Gopinath

India: tandava carries a dramatically different meaning


If the theory, principles, and philosophy of tandava are not taught then people forget the meaning and overall significance - and even stop doing the practice. They drift far away and create some false meaning.

When Lord Shiva invented the tandava dance then certainly He imparted the philosophy and benefits as well. But slowly over time, that idea was lost and ultimately people forgot everything. Such that now on Indian soil, for non-margiis the term tandava carries a dramatically different meaning from its tantric origin. Now non-margiis in India do not view tandava as a highly useful and beneficial dance. Instead, they think that it is one deadly, dangerous event.
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For instance, let’s say a fire struck an area and ravaged the houses etc, or let’s say a tornado wiped out all the buildings of a particular region. Then the people will say that "the tandava of a tornado", or "the tandava of a fire" occurred. Because they associate tandava with any destructive event. If something really bad happens in any sphere of life then they refer to that destruction as tandava. So the general populace has utterly lost the entire inner spirit of tandava.

That is why it is so important to teach everyone that tandava is the fight against death.


Only physical exercise for the brain


Ananda Marga ideology says, "The primordial phase of Oriental dance, is táńd́ava. It is not a very easy job either. The knees must cross the navel. When they cross the navel it is called Brahma táńd́ava. When they cross the anáhata [mid-point of the chest] it is called Viśńu táńd́ava. When they cross this portion [indicates the throat], it is called Rudra táńd́ava. It is very difficult to dance Rudra táńd́ava. It requires long practice." (3)

Ananda Marga ideology states, "[Tandava] is an all-corporal exercise, an exercise for the entire body, including the brain. (There are intellectual exercises for the brain, but hardly any physical exercise. In fact, táńd́ava is the only physical exercise for the brain.) And among all dances it is the best." (4)


Based on the principle of survival

   Ananda Marga ideology states, "Why is it called táńd́ava? In Sanskrit tańd́ means “to jump”. Tańd́u means “of jumping habit”. Táńd́ava means “having the use of tańd́u, the use of jumping”. But jumping in the proper style, not in a disorderly manner. You should learn it properly in a disciplined way."
   "And táńd́ava represents life; you know Tantra is a cult of life, it is not a cult of death. For Tantra you should be strong physically, mentally and spiritually. First in the present tense; Lord Shiva says all your expressions, all your manifestations, must be based on the present tense. So this táńd́ava is the starting phase of Tantra."
   "This táńd́ava I said represents life, it represents vitality. There are so many forces that want to destroy you, so many forces that are inimical to you by nature. Say a snake – a snake is a born enemy. There are many such born enemies. As Tantra represents life, táńd́ava says that one’s spirit should be based on vitality, based on the principle of survival."
   "This human skull represents death. You are surrounded by death, but you must not be defeated, you must not develop the psychology of fear or defeatism. So the knife is with you to fight against death. Yours is a fight for survival. In the daytime one may also use a snake to represent death – not an ordinary snake, but a venomous snake. In India our boys dance with a snake. But at nighttime neither a skull nor a snake will be visible. Here there is light, they will be visible, but in a burial ground, in a cremation ground, where there is darkness, a snake or skull will not be visible. There you may use fire to represent death."
   "This is the spirit of Tantra. To fight, to fight for survival. [[It is the normal wont of all living beings to fight for survival.]]" (5)


More benefits of tandava


This is a dance of courage and valour that positively affects the secretion of the male hormone - testosterone. The main benefit of tandava is gained when one is jumping and both feet are in the air. Thus jumping high is essential.
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I will not surrender to destruction or death

Baba says, "The inner motivation of ta'n'd'ava is the following:  'Destruction is inevitable, but I will continue to fight against destruction through struggle'. So there is a skull in one hand and a dagger [or trident] in the other. The skull represents destruction, and the dagger represents fight. The underlying feeling is 'I will not surrender to destruction or death. I will continue the struggle with this dagger'." (6)

References
1. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 6, The Cosmic Father Has a Special Responsibility
2. Táńd́ava Dance – What and Why?, 20 April 1979, Kolkata
3. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 12, Dance, Mudrá and Tantra
4. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 6, The Cosmic Father Has a Special Responsibility
5. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 12, Dance, Mudrá and Tantra
6. 9 Nov 1978 Kolkata


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The below sections are entirely different topics, unrelated to the above material.
They stand on their own as points of interest.

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== Section 2: Important Teaching ==

Origin story of dogs

Ananda Marga Shabda Cayanika says, “A dog is a hybrid of the wolf and the vixen. In ancient times wild dogs were rather scarce, precisely for the same reason. There is hardly any dog fossil amongst the available fossils of ancient animals. Nowadays, however, wild dogs are also prevalent. These wild dogs live gregariously in jungles, and even a gigantic tiger has been seen to be flabbergasted and killed by a concerted attack of these dogs.”

“Although a dog is a hybrid of the wolf and the vixen, it must be said that there are many radical, extreme differences between a wolf and a dog. A wolf is voracious, but a dog feels satisfied with a small meal. It is difficult to tame a wolf, but a dog loves to be domesticated. A dog is extremely faithful and loyal to its master. A wolf is neither faithful nor loyal to its master. A dog is not ferocious by nature. It attacks or frightens someone as part of its duty. A wolf is ferocious by nature. It has no sense of duty. A dog would not normally kill a creature if its stomach were full. But a wolf, even when its belly is full, kills a creature. If it has no capacity to eat it, it carries the carcass to its den and eats it according to its convenience. Dogs do not generally fight with other members of the dog family. They fight with members of the feline family. But a wolf does not observe any such principle. A wolf avoids the strong and unnecessarily attacks the weak. Although there is a family resemblance between the wolf and the dog, whenever a dog is sighted the wolf attacks and kills it.”

“There are many differences between a jackal and a dog. A dog generally moves about during the daytime. But jackals are night prowlers by nature. A jackal moves in the daytime only when it is in danger, it has to change locations or is excessively hungry. A jackal lives in a hole, but a dog never likes to live in a hole. It prefers to live in the open. A jackal cannot be tamed; but a dog can. By virtue of being night prowlers, the jackals periodically howl in chorus to preserve their solidarity and register their presence. However, dogs do not have this habit. They bark collectively only when they have to fight an enemy as a body. Although both jackals and dogs belong to the canine family, a dog chases a jackal whenever it sees one. A jackal runs away at the sight of a dog. By nature a dog is brave and a jackal is cowardly.” (1) 

Reference
1. Shabda Cayaniká Part 4: Discourse #27


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