Dancing Ganesh

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I used to own a Dancing Ganesh too. One of my friends liked it so much that I

felt compelled to offer it to him as a token of friendship. He is now doing

very well with it. Things seem to go smoothly for him. While I had this

particular Ganesh in a dancing pose in my humble abode and made offerings, life

for me was at even keel, no ups nor downs. I can only tell you my experience

with it and my inclination to liken Dancing Ganesh to his father Lord Shiva

(one of His forms is "Nataraja", the Lord of Dance). Below is an excerpt from

a website which contains information I tend to think along the lines of.

(Any views and comments from anyone else here? All appreciated. Please share

your thoughts with us, thank you.)

Om Ganesha,

Sy

Url: http://meadev.nic.in/culture/dances/dnceform.htm

Dance

Nataraja

Classical Dances

Indian Dance Forms

Using the body as a medium of communication, the expression of dance is perhaps

the most intricate and developed, yet easily understood art form. Dance in

India has seeped into several other realms like poetry, sculpture,

architecture, literature, music and theatre. The earliest archaeological

evidence is a beautiful statuette of a dancing girl, dated around 6000 B.C.

Bharata's Natya Shastra (believed to be penned between second century B.C. and

second century A.D.) is the earliest available treatise on dramaturgy. All

forms of Indian classical dances owe allegiance to Natya Shastra, regarded as

the fifth Veda.

It is said that Brahma, the Creator, created Natya, taking literature from the

Rig Veda, song from the Sama Veda, abhinaya or expression from the Yajur Veda

and rasa or aesthetic experience from the Atharvana Veda. It also contains

deliberations on the different kind of postures, the mudras or hand formations

and their meanings, the kind of emotions and their categorisation, not to

mention the kind of attire, the stage, the ornaments and even the audience. All

dance forms are thus structured around the nine rasas or emotions, hasya

(happiness), krodha (anger), bhibasta (disgust), bhaya (fear), shoka (sorrow),

viram (courage), karuna (compassion), adbhuta (wonder) and shanta (serenity).

All dance forms follow the same hand gestures or hasta mudras for each of these

rasas. The dances differ where the local genius has adapted it to local demands

and needs.

One of the most enduring symbols of India is the figure of Nataraja - Shiva, the

King of Dancers . Shiva's cosmic dance is believed to encompass creation,

preservation, and destruction and this idea has been embedded in Hindu thought

and ritual since the dawn of civilisation. He holds a small drum (damaru) in

his upper right hand. His lower right hand shows the fear-negating gesture

(abhaya), his upper left hand is in half-moon pose (ardhachandramudra) which

holds a tongue of flame which is the fire(agni) that finally destroys the world

and is then quenched in cosmic waters. Thus the hand holding the drum and the

one holding fire balance the forces of creation and destruction. The second

left arm is held gracefully across the chest (gajahastamudra) with the hand

pointing to the uplifted foot, denoting favour or grace for the devotee. One

foot rests on Apasmara or Mauyalka, the embodiment of human cruelty and

ignorance. Surrounding Shiva’s figure and emanating from him is an immense

aureole of flames (prabhamandala) representing the vital processes of nature,

sustained by the tremendous energy of the dancing God within. The flames

represent the transcendental power of wisdom and truth, as well as the mantra

‘Om’ which signifies the totality of creation. Also known as the Ananda

Tandava, this dance is a metaphor for the belief that life is essentially a

dynamic balancing of good and bad, where opposites are interdependent. The

dance of Shiva is the dance of life.

http://meadev.nic.in/culture/dances/dnceform.htm

Pillai <pillaikm > wrote: Namaste,Recently I got an idol of Lord

Ganesh in the form ofdancing . Most of the peoples suggested me its

notauspicious. Please let me know whether "Dancing Ganesh" isauspicious or

not. Can any one help he in this regard pleaseMahesh

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