The various centers offer a range of instruction in
hatha yoga and the teachings of Narayanananda.
Further reading: Swami Narayanananda, The Ideal
Life and Moksha (Freedom) (Gylling, Denmark: N. U.
Yoga Trust & Ashrama, 1979); ———, The Mysteries
of Man, Mind, and Mind-Functions: A Masterly Treatise
on Psychology (Rishikesh: Narayanananda Universal
Yoga Trust, 1965); ———, A Personal Guide to Sama-
dhi (Rishikesh: Narayanananda Universal Yoga Trust,
1966); ———, The Primal Power in Man: Or, the
Kundalini Shakti (Rishikesh: Narayanananda Univer-
sal Yoga Trust, 1970); ———, The Secrets of Prana,
Pranayama and Yoga-Asanas (Gylling, Denmark: N. U.
Yoga Trust & Ashrama, 1979).
Nataraja
Nataraja, or Lord of the Dance (nata, dance; raja,
king or lord), is one of the most popular iconic
forms of SHIVA (the most common is the LINGAM).
In his cosmic dance he creates, sustains, and even-
tually destroys the universe. When Shiva’s dance
is seen as symbolizing only the end of time, it is
called the Tandava dance.
Nataraja is depicted in a pose from the BHARATA
NATYAM dance, with his left leg raised and his right
leg resting on a dwarflike being representing igno-
rance and delusion, sometimes called Apasmara
(forgetfulness [of the truth of the divine]). He
has four arms. In his upper right hand he holds
the “shake-drum” (damaru) that can be sounded
with one hand, a tethered ball striking either end
of a small two-sided drum. His lower right hand
is formed into the ABHAYA MUDRA, a gesture that
removes fear. His upper left hand holds the flame
that symbolizes the end of creation. His lower left
hand points toward his upraised left foot. Around
his head and in the circular frame to which he is
attached is a halo of flames that show his divine
energy.
Among Shiva’s many celebrated dances: he
danced in the sky with VISHNU; once he danced
in the cremation ground to please KALI, his
female counterpart; once he danced as a beggar
for PARVATI’S hand; once he danced a mad, erotic
dance in the deodar forest for the wives of the
RISHIS there; and he danced after the destruction
of DAKSHA’S sacrifice. The great shrine at CHIDAM-
BARAMI in South India is perhaps the most famous
one depicting Shiva’s Nataraja form. There is also
an awe-inspiring 20-foot-high Nataraja in black
stone in the Meenakshi Temple at Madurai.Further reading: Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, The Dance
of Siva: Essays on Indian Art and Culture. Foreword by
Romain Rolland (New York: Dover, 1985); Cornelia
Dimmitt and J. A. van Buitenen, eds. and trans., Clas-
sical Hindu Mythology: A Reader in the Sanskrit Puranas
(Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1978); Stella
Kramrisch, The Presence of Siva (Princeton, N.J.: Prince-
ton University Press, 1981); Margaret Stutley, The
Illustrated Dictionary of Hindu Iconography (Boston:
Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1985).Nathdwara
Literally, “the doorway to the Lord,” Nathdwara
is a sacred town near Udaipur in the Indian state
of Rajasthan; it is the principal seat of the cult of
Sri Sri NAT H J I and of the VALLABHA sect. The town
itself is sometimes called Sri Nathji.
Sri Sri Nathji is a form of KRISHNA. His image
was taken to Nathdwara from Mathura in 1669
to prevent its destruction by the armies of the
iconoclastic Mughal Muslim king Aurangzeb. The
chief temple of Nathdwara enshrines the image of
Krishna taken in 1669, which holds Govardhana
Mountain, recalling the myth in which Krishna
protected the cowherds of BRINDAVAN from storms
caused by INDRA, king of the gods, by holding up
this mountain as an umbrella.Further reading: Amit Ambalal, Krishna as Shrinathji:
Rajasthani Paintings from Nathdvara (Ahmedabad:
Mapin, 1987); H. S. Verdia, Religion and Social Struc-
ture in a Sacred Town, Nathdwara (Delhi: Researchco,
1982).Nathdwara 307 J