Ananda Tandav Sadhana

Ananda Tandav Sadhana:

Laugh and dance through adversities!

Lord Natraj (Lord Shiva)

Can you remember when you last laughed freely or felt yourself enjoy the moments of life?

Most probably you do not recall any such moment. Modern life with its trials and travails has so crushed our spirits that we have even forgotten how to laugh, have fun and enjoy oneself.

When talk of Sadhanas we do not mean becoming serious and not allowing even a trace of amusement on one’s features. Our Rishis sure knew how to live life to the full and this is why they also devised Sadhanas that could add beauty, art, music and dance to our life. Even our Gods are not beings whose only business is to punish the evil; rather their own lives are good examples of how life ought to be lived.

And the God who is an epitome of totality is Lord Shiva whom we call not Dev (God) but Mahadev (The Greatest God). His numerous forms touch upon the various aspects of life. As Rudra he destroys the evil and as Vaidyanath he banishes ailments. He appears in so many forms that it would take many pages to write about all of them.

One of his forms is that of Natraaj – the Divine Dancer performing Tandav dance. This dance has two forms. Pralaya Tandav is performed by the Lord when he destroys evil, while he breaks into Aananda Tandav when he is in a joyous mood.

Dance along with music in fact are the greatest means of expressing the joy of one’s heart and soul. They uplift the spirit and make one feel light, worriless and happy. They are wonderful means of banishing the person of worries and stress and making spring the elixir of joy and peace from within.

Ananda Tandav Sadhana of Lord Shiva is a wonderful ritual through which a Sadhak can banish boredom, laziness, indolence, worries and tensions from his life and instill into it a divine freshness. It is also an amazing ritual through which professional dancer and musicians could become skilled in their arts. There seen a danseuse attain to world fame and recognition through this Sadhana which revered Sadgurudev revealed to her.

This Sadhana is a must for every Sadhak for through it one could remain fresh, joyous and unsullied even in the poisonous atmosphere of today like a lotus that remains untainted by the mud in which it grows. Whatever ones field one could use this Sadhana to instill with oneself new enthusiasm and the drive to achieve in spite of all odds.

This Sadhana must be tried on a Monday.

After 9 pm in the night have a bath and wear white clothes. Sit on a white mat facing North or North-East. Cover a wooden seat with white cloth. On some white flowers place Natraj Yantra in a copper plate. Offer on it rice grains and vermillion. Then make sixteen marks with vermillion on it chanting Om Namah Shivaaya. Each time you make a mark contemplate that one by one the divine sixteen virtues are being instilled into your form so that you could live life to the full with joy and happiness. Light a ghee lamp. Then chant one round of Guru Mantra. Thereafter chant five rounds of this Mantra by Rudraksh Rosary.

Mantra: Om Aanaanda Taandavaaya Namah

The next morning go and offer the rosary and Yantra in a temple of Lord Shiva or drop them in a river or pond. This is a Sadhana that could bring about a wonderful transformation in your life and make you dance through the problems and adversities of life. It is a ritual of offering all the poison of one’s troubles in the feet of Lord Shiva and gaining from Him Divine elixir that makes one capable of smiling even in the face of life’s various anxieties.