Inside Shiva's Egg: India's cosmic boulder

• PHOTOS: America's new 'third tallest' statue is a Hindu monkey god named Hanuman (MSN)

Cosmic egg reveals shocking secret of Shiva

The first yogi, Lord Shiva, in Rishikesh, India, set in the foothills of the Himalayas

The rock hewn castle wall of Thirumayam Fort Temple in South India

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(PraveenMohan) A giant egg-shaped rock reveals a strange secret about Shiva. Did the Hindu god Lord Shiva physically come down from the heavens, the sky, the akasha and rule India? Was Thirumayam Fort Temple in South India chosen for such a landing due to gravity? Is the lingam (phallic shaft) a spacecraft out of which he emerged?

• 0:00 - Secret Chamber – A Cosmic Egg
• 1:19 - Negative Lingam
• 2:20 - Impossible Construction
• 4:21 - More Secret Chambers?
• 4:53 - Thirumayam Fort
• 5:40 - What’s HIDDEN Inside?
• 6:11 - A Lingam
• 7:54 - Lingam - NOT A Phallic Symbol
• 9:08 - Arrival of GODS
• 12:01 - Lord Shiva with Advanced Devices
• 13:03 - WHY Thirumayam?
• 14:04 - Lord Shiva Ruled South India?
• 15:44 - Conclusion

Cosmic Egg

Phallic lingam with carving of deity, India

Imagine a giant boulder, a massive egg-shaped rock that stands ten feet off the ground. One cannot reach it to touch at that level, shiny and smooth like an egg. What if it were a secret chamber? What if hidden inside this rock there were a hollowed-out cavity impossible to create with modern technology with a precisely cut hidden doorway revealed only by an earthquake? That would be an insane theory, right?

Yet, this is exactly what happened a few centuries years ago. It looked like this, smooth and natural. Then, because of that earthquake, a stone door cracked off and fell. Only then did the locals realize it was hollowed out, that there was a chamber inside. The door was so well made and so perfectly fitted that nobody recognized it was a door.

They put up a metal ladder to access the entryway. The earthquake revealed this chamber. No one knows when it was created. There are no inscriptions pointing to its origin. Before analyzing the exterior further, let’s take a look at what's INSIDE.

Sivan Isha: Lord Shiva carving in Coimbatore, India

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There is only one thing inside today, a single lingam (sacred phallic stone). It is fascinating, a cylinder sitting on a square pedestal. Who carved it, carried it, and placed it here? No one. Normally people carve a shape, put it together, then place it in a certain location. This is the positive construction technique.

But this lingam was made through a negative construction technique. The lingam is carved out of the bedrock itself. Meaning that the lingam was not built up, rather it was created by taking rock away all around it. It was left over through removal all around it. We can call it a negative lingam.

Originally, there must have been other items inside, because what reason would there be to hide and seal this chamber if it only housed a lingam, right? Maybe it was studded with gold and diamonds, perhaps some advanced technology or electronic devices.

One may ask, Did they find some sophisticated devices here and remove them for study? How did anyone create such an advanced secret chamber hidden for many centuries in the past if we cannot do it even now? Such construction would be impossible without advanced alien technology.

Patreon: praveenmohan. Whatsapp Channel whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va9U. Instagram praveenet. Facebook praveenmohanfans. Twitter iampraveenmohan. Email: info.praveenmohan@gmail.com. #AncientTechnology #PraveenMohan #Hinduism

• Praveen Mohan, YouTube, July 4, 2022; Pat Macpherson, Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

It's time for Ecstatic Dance (video)

Sophie Sôfrēē, June 25, 2020; Kelly Ani, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Dance of the Moon: Ecstatic Dance with Sophie Sôfrēē, Mana Mei, Layla El Khadri

(Sophie Sôfrēē) Download "Dance of the Moon" mix (ad and voiceover-free) here: wakamaia.love/products... While the world is unraveling, I find refuge in my relationship with the Earth, my family, my dance, my dreams and visions.

If you’re feeling called to take part in our next Ecstatic Dance DJ Training -- taking place March 11-April 15, 2023, go to: wakamaiaschoolofsacredfun.thi... One of my dream seeds in this new cycle is to merge my dance mixes with my art as a medium to inspire people to awaken their bodies, their wild selves, their life force, connection to nature, shadows, joy, vitality, and their hearts, all of it.

It is only when we allow our soul [deep inner selves] to be heard, that we can truly evolve in this lifetime. So I offer this 40+ minute Ecstatic Dance journey, an invitation to feel this body and listen to dreams and visions of this new Earth that is so ready for a radical upgrade.

May you come again and again to this place to dance, a river and waterfall I often come to cleanse my soul.

Click subscribe for the dances to come. Gratitude for the collaboration with @ajeetmusic whose new lunar EP “Dance of the Moon” inspired this art into form! To the incredible @manameilin & @laylaelkhadri for always dancing your YES. To the amazing IDNMind / Mario Gonzalez @idnmind for supporting this somewhat crazy vision behind the camera.

May you dance under the moon, and let's shake this collective dream awake!

Love, Sophie Sôfrēē

Music credits: Maneesh de Moor El Buho Peter Power Raio & Sophie Sôfrēē. (Remixes by Ben Temple Step). Mose & Lindsey Wise Sophie Sofree Web: wakamaia.love. FB: facebook.com/wakamaialove. IG: instagram.com/sophiesofre... Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/djsofree. Music: Grande Mareacion Song 1 of 7 Pasale Song 2 of 7 De Usuahia a la Quiaca Song 3 of 7 Canto De Ossanha Song 4 of 7 Ven Gran Espiritu (Temple Step Remix) Song 5 of 7 Ah Ni Kuni (Mose Remix) Song 6 of 7 Dance of the Moon Song 7 of 7 ARTIST Maneesh De Moor LICENSES TuneCore (on behalf of MDMsound); Muserk Rights Management, TuneCore Publishing, and 2 Music Rights Societies.

Overcoming Depression; on my way to India

Yogini Ashley Turner (ashleyturner.org); Wisdom Quarterly

Ashley Turner Yoga (yogavibes.com)

Dreams do come true! And so mine begins. I'm writing this en route from Los Angeles to Philly to Zurich to New Delhi to Allahabad!
 

I have never been to India. Truthfully, I was a little intimidated until a year ago. I felt a deep stirring in my bones: the Motherland was beckoning.
 
Something inside me shifted, and I was ready to journey to the birthplace of yoga.

A yatra is a "spiritual pilgrimage" to sacred sites such as the confluence of great rivers, the birthplace of deities (devas), magnificent temples [or the enlightenment place of a universal teacher]. 

For traditional Hindus, the journey itself is as important as the destination. Overcoming the hardships of travel serve as acts of devotion in and of themselves. One is meant to travel barefoot (or in air sandals) and with as few possessions as possible.

(I did my best, but as a shameless over-packer, I only dream of minimizing). This is the deepest dive of my life, a perfect pivot point in my journey through samsara. I empty; I receive.

 

Bowing

Today, I bow an infinite number of pranams that the path of yoga was bestowed on me.

I bow to my root teacher, Govindas, and all the great ones who have followed.

I bow to all as my continued inspiration and support.

I bow to family, colleagues, and friends who sustain and nurture me.

I bow to all beloveds for opening my heart and showing me the way to love and be loved, to see and be seen. 

I bow to the hardships that have passed fertilizing my life.

I bow to Psyche, the depths of which I have only begun to understand.

I bow to the infinite light within us -- within you, me, and all the world.

I bow to the God, Goddess, Spirit, Great One, Universe, Truth our mystery serves.

May we all hear the whisper of Spirit and find the courage to answer Her call. Where your heart leads, your joy lives. Join me on Instagram and share the magic of this epic ride.

Dancing Shiva and Dispelling Fear

Buddhist monks dispelling fear on a rollercoaster (sensitivitytothings.com)

(lotussculpture.com)

Every culture has its symbol of the triumph of "good over evil." In India it is the Dancing Shiva, also known as Nataraj. It is often portrayed as a statue in the Hindu tradition with similar themes running through Buddhist art.

The Nataraj is mystical and reminiscent of the Bharat Natyam and Kuchipudi dancers who say a prayer before every dance recital, such as the Arangetram ceremonies (a graduation of sorts).

Physics
"Fritzof Capra in The Tao of Physics relates Nataraj's dance with modern physics. "Every subatomic particle not only performs an energy dance, but also is an energy dance; a pulsating process of creation and destruction…without end…For the modern physicists, then Shiva's dance is the dance of subatomic matter. As in Hindu mythology, it is a continual dance of creation and destruction involving the whole cosmos; the basis of all existence and of all natural phenomena."

Indian yogi: a non-dancing Shavite ascetic

Similarly there is a poem by Ruth Peel:

"The source of all movement,
Shiva's dance,
Gives rhythm to the universe.
He dances in evil places,
In sacred,
He creates and preserves,
Destroys and releases.

We are part of this dance
This eternal rhythm,
And woe to us if, blinded
By illusions,
We detach ourselves
From the dancing cosmos,
This universal harmony…"

This dancing form of Lord Shiva is a synthesis of the most important aspects of Hinduism, which claims Buddhism by extension, and summarizes the central tenets of Vedic religion. The term Nataraj means "King of Dancers" (Sanskrit, nata = dance; raja = king).

Origins
An extraordinary iconographic representation of the rich and diverse cultural heritage of India, it was developed in southern India. The development came about in a series of beautiful bronze sculptures made by 9th and 10th century artists. This is known as the Chola period (880-1279). By the 12th century, it achieved canonical status and soon the Chola Nataraja became the supreme statement of Hindu art.

Symbolism
It is a marvellously unified and dynamic composition expressing the rhythm and harmony of life. Shiva's four hands represent the four cardinal directions. He is dancing — his left foot elegantly raised and his right placed on a prostrate figure. This figure is Apasmara Purusha, the personification of illusion and ignorance over whom Shiva triumphs.

This is similar to Buddhism in that the Buddha triumphs over "Mara," the personification of Death. He simultaneously triumphs over ignorance and Samsara (continued wandering on through the round of rebirth and death).

The upper right hand holds an hourglass drum or dumroo, which stands for the male-female vital principle. The lower shows the gesture of assertion: "Be without fear." This is similar to the Buddha's hand gesture (mudra) dispelling fear. The upper left hand holds a flame. The lower left points down to a dwarf, who is shown holding a cobra.

Snakes, which represent egotism, are seen uncoiling from his arms, legs, and braided and bejewelled hair. His matted locks whirl as he dances within an arch of flames representing Samsara, the endless cycle of death, birth, and death. On his head is a skull, which symbolizes his conquest over death.

The Goddess Ganga, epitomizing the holy Ganges river, also sits in hair. His third eye is symbolic of his omniscience, insight, and enlightenment. The entire idol rests on a lotus pedestal, the symbol of the creative forces of the universe. Many of the same features are embedded in Buddhist works through different symbols.

Significance
Shiva's cosmic dance is called Anandatandava, the "Dance of Bliss." It symbolizes the cosmic cycles of creation and destruction, as well as the daily rhythm of birth and death. In Buddhist terms this would be Anicca or "impermanence," known in longer cycles as "eventual decay" and in much shorter cycles as "constant flux."

The dance is a pictorial allegory of the five principle manifestations of eternal energy — creation, destruction, preservation, emancipation, and illusion. According to A.K. Coomerswamy, the Dance of Shiva also represents his five activities: evolution, support, de-evolution, illusion, and release (or grace). The overall temper of the image is paradoxical, uniting the inner tranquility and outer activity of Shiva.

• [Drona & Dharmachari; Nataraj text adapted from hinduism.com].

Dispell fear even if the dollar and economy should tumble

• Overcoming Fear: Initial Steps (Theravada)
• DealingWithFear.org (New Kadampa Tradition)
• Fear-mental-illness-and-meditation (Zen, Blogisattva Award winner)