|
Issue 2 |
Sri Pancha Nathana Nataraja
Sculpture Secrets of the Siddhas
Feb/14/99 was Bagudhaanya Maha Sivarathri.
We described it in great detail in AUMzine Issue 1.
The Siddhas refer to this Maha Sivarathri as Pancha Nathana Maha Sivarathri.
It occurs once every 60 years.
Sri Pancha Nathana Nataraja is the Lord of Honor during Bagudhaanya Maha Sivarathri.
In this article, we explore the uniqueness of Sri Pancha Nathana Nataraja as revealed by the Siddhas.
But first let us talk about stones and rocks... What!
Well, let's just listen to what the Siddhas have to say, shall we?
Here's a simple question: How is a statue of the divine form created?
Simple, right?
Select a good hunk of stone, find a good sculptor, have some money handy,
and in a month or two, you'll have it ready. Signed, sealed and delivered.
If this is what you think, you may want to read this article!
| We hold this truth to be self evident that... |
Not all stones and rocks are created equal, say the Siddhas.
According to them,
those stones and rocks from which statues of the divine form are sculpted are special.
If God decides to take form in a hunk of stone, wouldn't that stone be rather special?
The Siddhas say that it is.
While the divine energy is present in eveything in the universe,
God decides to take form only in those stones, rocks, timber and metal in which
there's already an intrinsic spiritual force.
Only these spiritually special objects can host the divine presence.
What's this intrinsic spiritual force that the Siddhas are talking about?
Therein lies the great secret.
Millions and millions of Siddhas, rishis, yogis and devotees in all parts of the universe
spend millions and millions of years in prayer... for what? To request God that they be allowed
to become those stones, rocks, timber and metal in which the Divine decides to take form.
They want to become the raw material from which steps leading up to holy hills like
Arunachala, Thirupathi and Thiru Kazhukundram are fashioned. Why?
So that devotees can walk on them to reach the temple of the Divine!
They are so in rapture with God that they treat God's devotees as God himself!
The merciful Lord listens to the prayers of these great ones and grants their wishes.
The great ones then enter stones, rocks, timber and metal
and their spiritual force becomes manifest in these objects.
It's in these objects that the Divine later takes form.
Is that all there's to it? Not quite.
Some of the great ones who enter into stones and rocks practice special spiritual austerities
called Nathana Yoga to further make those objects ready for being shaped into the Divine form.
At this stage of their evolution, these stones and rocks are called
silaa stones, nathana stones or
nathana silaa stones,
that is, stones which are ready to be transformed into the Divine form.
Generally it's those masters who completely understand the secrets of Vaasthu Homam
who can figure out the secrets of Silaa stones.
There are certain esoteric spiritual techniques which fall under the category of Prithvi Yoga.
The Siddhas who are expert in these arts can figure out those stones in which Nathana Yoga is
being actively practised.
God directs these Siddhas to select these stones as the raw material in which he'll take form,
thus completing the cycle.
What we have sketched above is only a kindergarten level introduction to the spiritual secrets that underlie the creation of the Divine form,
in what we think are inanimate objects.
Most of us have no idea that such a deep spiritual process underlies what we consider to be a mundane activity.
But the Divine taking form is not exactly a mundane topic and
that's why Sri Agasthiar teaches us these secrets through his lineage of divine teachers.
| The Siddha Sculpture Rules |
The Siddhas say that stones and rocks used as raw material for sculpting the divine form
can be classified into three categories: male, female and hermaphrodite. This is important
because the Siddha sculpture rules (Silaa Roopa Rahasya Vithi) specify which of these three kinds of stone
must be used for which divine
form. That is, they have clearly specified which of these three kinds of stone must be used for sculpting
the divine form of Siva, which for Narayana and so on. So one has to be able to distinguish these three
kinds of stone. This is done by observing the natural color of the stone and by studying the sound it produces
when struck.
This knowledge is transmitted from Sathguru to disciple in the time-honored Guru-Sishya (teacher-student) tradition.
The Siddhas say that the appropriate time for studying the sound produced by these stones is the
Vishgamba yogam time period.
(We have mentioned yogam as one of the five attributes of a day in our introductory article on timing in AUMzine Issue 1.)
They also say that the appropriate time for hewing the stone used for sculpting the divine form
is the dhureeya yogam time period (also known as dhruthi yogam).
One should hew the stone only after observing the neccesary vrata vows and performing the prescribed worship procedures.
It's ideal if this stone is procured from a northerly direction.
The Siddhas have also specified rules on how the fingers and phalanges must be used,
what angles they should form and so on while sculpting the divine form.
They have described how the sculptor must use the index (Guru) finger, ring (Soorya) finger and little (Budha) finger.
This attention to detail is characteristic of the Siddhas.
This is important because we may take the human body for granted, but
the Siddhas know the exact design details of every part of the human body.
They say that it was Brahma and 48 Rudra Ganta Maharishis (great seers) who came up with a blueprint of the human hand.
They designed the hand and fingers and specified the spiritual significance of each phalange in each finger and how each of these must be used.
It's only after such a careful design phase by the greatest of spiritual masters that the blueprint was submitted to God for approval.
Thus the use of each phalange and each finger has already been specified.
The Siddhas know these important spiritual details and they elaborate on how exactly each part of the hand must be used while sculpting the divine form.
The Siddhas insist that nails must never ever come into contact with the divine form.
They say that it's best to touch the divine form with fingers that have been coated with paste from the maruthaani (henna, Lawsonia inermis) herb.
This is particularly important when studying the sound produced by the stone when struck.
The Siddhas can't say enough about the spiritual significance of the maruthaani herb.
The interesting thing about this herb is that the paste of this herb will become bright red in color only when applied
to the fingers, palm, toes and soles of the feet and not anywhere else on the body.
Perform worship procedures after applying maruthaani to your fingers, palms, toes and soles of your feet.
This is particularly good and has much spiritual meaning.
The Siddhas state that the one who sculpts the divine form should do it as a service to God and that he should not expect
anything in return.
But those who commission the work may offer the sculptor some compensation in cash or kind,
for the sake of promoting the art of divine sculpture.
The sculptor can accept these offerings.
However, his mind must not dwell on money at all. He should create the sculpture as a loving offering to God.
He's truly blessed because he's being used by God as an instrument in the creation of the divine form.
This is a precious spiritual opportunity for the sculptor to discharge his spiritual responsibilities properly.
He should clearly realize that this effort is a blessing and not think of it as a money making scheme.
| Muppoo Rahasyam, Sculpture Secrets of the Siddhas |
The Siddha insights into sculpture are collectively known as Muppoo Rahasyam.
It's in this work that they state the procedures for sculpting the divine form.
In Muppoo Rahasyam, the Siddhas describe five kinds of nathana silaa stones and how to use them in
sculpting the divine form. These are:
These secrets can only be learnt from a Sathguru.
But why are some of these secrets being revealed now? This is because during Bagudhaanya Maha Sivarathri (Feb/14/99),
the Nataraja Pancha Nathana spiritual energies become available to the universe at large.
The Siddhas and the Devas absorb this energy field and transmit it to us for our spiritual welfare.
Thus the topic of Pancha Nathana is very relevant in February 1999.
This is why some of the secrets of Pancha Nathana are being revealed now.
Generally the Nataraja form is created out of metal alloys.
Nataraja forms sculpted out of stone are hard to find; they are spiritually very potent.
These secrets have been described in the Muppoo Rahasyam.
There are some days in each year which are classified as Nataraja abishéka days.
The Siddhas refer to these days as Pancha Nathana abishéka days.
On these days, one must perform abishékam worship of a Nataraja form that has been sculpted out of stone.
In other words, it's important for us to search for such a Nataraja form and do as the Siddhas say.
A special section of the Muppoo Rahasyam is the Oodu Nathana procedure
involved in sculpting the divine Nataraja form in stone.
As we said before, there are five kinds of nathana silaa stones.
In this article, we'll focus only on that part of Oodu Nathana which specifies the rules for creating the Nataraja form
out of pancha nathana silaa stone.
We won't touch on the other areas of Muppoo Rahasyam because it will take volumes to do justice to the subject.
| Pancha Nathana Silaa Stone |
The Pancha Nathana Silaa stone looks like any other black stone.
Sometimes it's found to be of a bluish black or greenish black hue.
While it looks like an ordinary stone, let that not fool you.
The Siddhas say the pancha nathana stone packs the power of millions of suns.
How could this be?
Think about it... it's just like an atom packing the power of nuclear energy within it.
An atom is so small that it's invisible to the human eye, yet it's the storehouse of an unimaginable amount of energy.
But until half a century ago, we didn't know this fact.
The Siddhas and Maharishis have been saying something very similar for a much longer time.
They have been saying that the Gayatri and other mantras pack the power of millions of suns.
The problem is that most of us can't realize this power or unleash it.
But that doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
Just like an insignificant seed yields a giant tree,
what look like ordinary words in a mantra can yield giant results.
This is because these words, which seem ordinary to us, are in fact made up
of highly potent beeja aksharas, seed syllables and sounds which
pack the power of God in them.
The mantra derives its power from these beeja aksharas which are home to the divine force.
One can realize this power only through the grace of God who blesses us through the Sathguru.
So there's deep meaning in the Siddha statement that the pancha nathana silaa stone packs the power of millions of suns.
This latent spiritual energy in the stone is tapped by the Siddhas who oversee its transformation into the divine form of Sri Nataraja.
But there are some more steps before such a piece of stone becomes ready for sculptural work.
More on this later in this article.
The spiritual iridiscence of the pancha nathana stone is derived from the
chith sabésa rays arising from Soorya.
There are many kinds of rays given out by Soorya.
Each kind of ray has unique spiritual potencies which are absorbed by various objects on the earth.
The pancha nathana rock forms absorb the chith sabésa rays.
If we are sufficiently evolved in bakthi, we can personally experience this reality.
The pancha nathana silaa rock forms can produce pancha svara sounds.
That is, it can produce five of the seven sounds that are fundamental in music.
Pancha nathana rock forms are extremely rare.
The Siddhas say that for every ten million rock forms, one may be a pancha nathana rock form.
Why is it so rare? Because not every rock form is host to the spiritual energies of a Siddha in nathana yoga.
| Look Ma, No Hands! |
Another unique feature of the pancha nathana rock is that it's not hewn by human hands.
It's hewn by the spiritual forces of Siddhas that manifest themeselves in other life forms.
Just like Siddhas take residence in rock forms and perform nathana yoga,
there are Siddhas whose energies pervade moolika herbs and trees.
One such tree is known as anthaka narimanam. This tree is phophorescent; it glows in the dark.
It can be found in certain parts of the Podhiya Malai and Kolli Malai hills in the
state of Tamil Nadu in south India. These hills are home to some of the best moolika forests in the world,
what with Podhiya Malai being the earthly headquarters of Sri Agasthiar and Kolli Malai being one of
the favorite haunts of the Siddhas.
A speciality of the anthaka narimanam tree is that its roots spread themselves in a northerly direction.
A Siddha dictum is that roots which spread northwards or which are oriented towards the north are spiritually potent.
So when one gathers roots of medicinal moolika herbs, it's best to get those which are oriented towards the north or which
are in the northern quadrant of the root area of the plant.
The above mentioned Siddha dictum also applies to rivers. Near the holy town of Kaasi (Varanasi), the sacred Ganga river
flows towards the north. Similarly the sacred Kaveri flows towards the north near the towns of
Thiru Valam Suzhi and Thiru Maandhurai. These north flowing river segments have special spiritual significance.
The Siddhas say that worship procedures conducted on the banks of these north flowing river segments are very effective.
They suggest that the recitation of the names of God and scriptural texts while standing in neck deep waters
of these river segments can do great spiritual good to devotees.
Because of its unique north seeking roots, the anthaka narimanam tree is very special indeed.
It's these north seeking roots of the anthaka narimanam tree which penetrate the pancha nathana rock forms
and hew those rocks which eventually become the raw material for the divine form of
Sri Pancha Nathana Nataraja.
This is Oodu Nathana in practice.
Thus the pancha nathana rock used for creating the Nataraja form is hewn not by human hands, but by spiritual forces.
In other words, the raw material for creating the form of Pancha Nathana Nataraja is obtained without the use of chisels.
A special feature indeed!
To this day there are many Nandi and other divine forms which have been created not by human hands but by
divine energy.
One can see several of these special divine forms in the Thanjavoor district in the state of Tamil Nadu in south India.
Let's summarize. Here's what we have:
Who can detect where this divine rock is?
Remember that this divine rock is not an inanimate object.
It has the spiritual force of Siddhas in it.
A Siddha dictum is that only a Siddha can recognize another Siddha.
Thus only a Siddha can find out where this rock is.
There's a special procedure for detecting the presence of these special rocks.
One must start this worship procedure on a Maha Sivarathri day and observe vrata vows for one full year.
On the next Maha Sivarathri, he should successfully complete this procedure. This is the process of
accumulating the spiritual energy that's required to spot the pancha nathana rock.
On the same day he should go in search of and select the pancha nathana rock in which the divine will take form.
As we have said elsewhere in this article, this knowledge can only be transmitted by a Sathguru
to a fit disciple who has totally immersed himself or herself in the Siddha doctrine, "Nothing is mine, Everything is Yours, O Lord of Grace, Arunachala!".
| Nava Linga Pooja |
The pancha nathana rock thus obtained through Oodu Nathana as specified in Muppoo Rahasyam
now has to be made ready for being transformed into the divine form of Nataraja.
The process for making it ready involves nine different worship procedures known as Nava Linga Pooja.
Sri Muruga (Skanda) himself has performed these nine worship procedures
in nine different places in Thanjavoor district in south India
and vouchsafed the resulting spiritual powers to the pancha nathana silaa sculpure experts.
Only after Nava Linga Pooja is the pancha nathana silaa rock ready to be worked on for the creation of the Nataraja form.
The nine worship procedures in Nava Linga Pooja are:
After the sculptural work is done, more worship procedures are performed
to bring the spiritual force of Sri Nataraja completely into the sculpture.
Only after this process is completed can
humans partake of the blissful presence of Sri Nataraja.
This is a basic introduction into what's involved in creating the divine form and bringing the divine presence into it.
Thus what looks like a stone carving to us actually packs the power of God.
Each and everyone of us can experience this reality through divine grace.
| Sri Pancha Nathana Nataraja |
Sri Pancha Nathana Nataraja is the lord of prosperity.
He is the One who can bless us with all forms of prosperity.
Many Indras who lost their Indra titles
regained their lost position by their worship of Sri Pancha Nathana Natarja.
If he's the object of adoration of Siddhas and Devas, imagine how we humans must revere him!
Sri Pancha Nathana Nataraja is the One our eyes were made to see. He's the One we must adore, revere and hold dear in our hearts. He's the One we must search for and attain. He's the One who's constantly thinking about our welfare. He's the One who listens and responds to our prayers and entreaties.
Oh, but where can one find this merciful Lord of All?
Sri Pancha Nathana Nataraja graces us with his divine presence in the
Suttha Rathnagireesvarar Temple in the town of Ootathoor near the city of Trichy
in the state of Tamil Nadu in south India.
This temple is about 30 kilometers north of Trichy.
It's near the Trichy-Perambaloor Road at a distance of 5 kilometers from the town of Paadaloor.
| Sri Pancha Nathana Nataraja |
| Sculpted out of Pancha Nathana Sila stone |
| The Lord of Honor during Bagudhaanya Maha Sivarathri |
| Feast your eyes on the Cosmic Dancer during Bagudhaanya Maha Sivarathri |
 |
| Sri Pancha Nathana Nataraja graces us with his divine presence in the Suttha Rathnagireesvarar Temple in the town of Ootathoor near the city of Trichy in the state of Tamil Nadu in south India. This temple is about 30 kilometers north of Trichy. It's near the Trichy-Perambaloor Road at a distance of 5 kilometers from the town of Paadaloor. |
The Siddhas say that even if we are thousands of miles away from Sri Pancha Nathana Nataraja,
the moment we think of him and pray to him, he blesses us with his never ending grace.
Isn't this a great deal, ladies and gents?
So what are we waiting for?
May we keep thinking of the most benevolent Sri Pancha Nathana Nataraja!
May we be grateful for his boundless munificence!