Shiva’s Cosmic Lila ∆RC[cg3]

Background and Bio

Nietzsche announced the death of God, but Nietzsche also said: “I would only believe in a god who could dance” (Nietzsche, 1892/1978, p. 41).  Well, Shiva is Nietzsche’s kind of god, for Shiva is Nataraja, the lord of the dance, the god of drama, and Kaleshvar, the lord of the arts.  As we will see later, the eternally recurring nature of Shiva’s dance would resonate with Nietzsche.  Shiva, like the entire Hindu pantheon has many aspects. Shiva an Introduction (Pattanaik, 1997) provides a look at Shiva cosmology and shows his central importance in the Hindu Pantheon.  Shiva is the destroyer, complementing Brahma the creator, and Vishnu the preserver, and Shiva is thought to be the most powerful of them all.  Like these other gods in the Hindu pantheon, Shiva has a goddess associated with him—Parvati or Shakti.  Although Shiva’s resume is long and he has 1008 names, reflecting his myriad manifestations, a few of the more important ones will be mentioned.  You can think of them as nicknames, if you will, each highlighting a different aspect. He is Mahakala, the lord of time, the god of death and rebirth, the regenerator, transforming the sediments of destruction into the foundations of another life.  Life is thought to be a wheel rotated by Shiva: the eternal cycle of births and rebirths. He is also the devourer of time, Kalantaka.  Shiva is also Guheshvar, the mysterious one, lord of caves. He is the great cosmic teacher Dakshinamurti who taught the secrets of yoga without a fee, and Yogeshvar, the lord of yoga, the science that yokes the individual mind to the way of the cosmos enabling one to control the mind to see beyond the veil of illusion, thus he imparts cosmic wisdom to all. Shiva means the auspicious one, and he alone can destroy the ego, and he is Bhuteshvar, the god of the five elements out of which all things are formed.  He is also Ardhanaranari, the androgyne, half male-half female, whose wisdom helps Brahma after Brahma makes a mess out of creation. (Pattanaik, 1997). 

Danielou (1982) points out the parallels between Shiva and Dionysus. Shiva is often associated with cremation and burial grounds and other underworldly things (Svoboda, 2004), and while Avens (1980) and Briggs and Peat (1989) allude to his underworld connections, when they connect Dionysus and Shiva.  These gods are also associated with Hades and we will be visiting them all somewhere along the line, so there is merit in remembering that there are affinities and resemblances between them.