Moksha is a spiritual realization where one realizes the Absolute Self in oneself through intuition of the mind. Rasa is an aesthetic experience where a higher reality of life is brought in focus through mental perception which is formed in the mind. This allows the concept to work at both levels -empirical and metaphysical. “In the embrace of his beloved, a man forgets the whole world, everything both within and without,” “In the very same way, he who embraces the Self knows neither within nor without.” 3 With this metaphysical position, the simplistic relationship of husband and wife is given legal status to be used as a concept for portraying the union of jivatma with paramatma. The metaphysical position of this relationship can be found stated in Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. Naturally to appreciate a mature theme such as this, one needs to have knowledge of the concept of inner being – spirit, and belief in the oneness of humanity and conviction in human values.
”As a result, at the outset, the truth of the human life (allaripu) is put forward, then the zenith that a human being has the possibilities to reach (varnam) and then the realities of life (padams and javalis) and ends expressing the hope to attain or regain the epitome of life (shloka).” Like the acts of the play are connected to narrate a story, in the same manner all items connect to the theme and narrate the stages of spiritual growth of man, in a sequence. The theme is “Evolution of the spirit set on the spiritual path towards salvation”. The connection of the individual manifest spirit or soul to the Ultimate spirit or Absolute soul and this is represented by metaphor of jivatma yearning for union with paramatma. Here, the word spirituality deals with the sense of connection to the absolute soul within us. The theme of margam presentation by Tanjore Quartet is about spirit of man, and permeates the essence of spirituality. In a spiritual country like India, where the realization of consciousness or spirit has been the supreme goal of life, it is not a wonder that dance became a form of sadhana” 2
In their shared involvement, the dancer and the spectator are both released from worldly woes and experience the divine joy of the art with a total sense of freedom. It is also the responsibility of the performer to allow the well informed audience, to get a feel of this spiritual transformation.
‘The dancer gets so engrossed in the rhythm as she has to produce the sound the percussionist is playing and concentrate on her balance that all other worldly thoughts simply disappear from her mind and the supreme bliss is experienced. In Bharatanatyam actions are not avoided, but it is the harmony of various actions that results in the concentration we seek.ĭance symbolizes detachment from all earthly connections. Single minded contemplation is difficult even when there is no activity.
The expertise of the artist enables him or her to gain the equipoise of yoga in a rapid change of differing moods. “Whatever the origins of Siva’s dance, it became in time the clearest image of the activity of God which any art or religion can boast of.’ The essential significance of Shiva’s dance is threefold: First, his dance is taken as the source and image of all movements within the cosmos second, the purpose of his dance is to release the countless souls of human beings from maya or illusion third, the place of the dance, Chidambaram, the centre of the universe, is within the heart.’īharatanatyam is a yoga, a spiritual discipline to control the wayward mind and perfect it to thoughtfree serenity.