Mudras as symbols of the universe —The spiritual import of Hindu dance

(Form and Essence in Frithjof Schuon’s writings, and its direct analogy and application to the sacred gestures of Hindu dance and dramatic art.)

By Sarah Magalhães

Outline of Presentation:

? Read selected passages from: Chapter 4: Concerning Forms in Art, The Transcendent Unity of Religion, pg. 61 Edition Quest Books, Chennai, India 2005

? I propose to illustrate the main ideas of the text with the help of the dramatic art of ancient India, bringing into evidence the relationship between form and intellection in the sacred gestures of Hindu dance.

? Present a brief introduction of some concepts of Traditional Hindu dance and retrace the origin of these gestures coming from the ancient Vedic rituals. Elucidate the distinction between Mudras in Yoga Tradition and Hasta in dance tradition.

? Comment and illustrate the text with the Viniyogas which are the meanings given to the various symbolic gestures, the-Hastas- I have chosen significant Viniyogas which elaborate metaphysical principles and religious offerings. I will perform them along with the recitation of the shloka, explaining its meaning.

I- Introduction

Indian classical dance — a visual expression of Hindu thought

Art in India is deeply connected with its philosophy, the rich heritage of Hindu tradition. Hindu dance, issued from the Ancient Indian drama, is a visual expression of Hindu thought expressed through visual form. It directly conveys metaphysics and the religious aspect of life through the science of gestures, the mudras. These sacred gestures provide an immediate understanding of the religious ethos of India.

Modern Society lacks epitomes and normative models to uplift mankind. The technological invasion with its impact of an abnormal mentality divorced from the sense of the sacred influences mankind leading man to destructive behavior on earth.

Sanskrit theater as the total art-form uniting heaven and earth

Ancient Drama in India was meant to provide models and prototypes to society. Indian theater is thus a mirror of the life of good people, those who live in excellence. In India, drama is known as Natya Veda or The Fifth Veda conceived by Lord Brahma, the creator, to teach righteousness (dharma) to society. On earth, sage Bharata claimed to have received the knowledge of theater by integrating speech from the ?g Veda, music from the Sama Veda, acting from the Yajur Veda, and emotion from the Atharva-Veda. As the Vedas were strictly reserved to the Brahmins, a fifth Veda was created to convey the Vedic teachings to one and all in a simple way, through the science of gestures recreating thus, good behavior with an aesthetic-ethical significance. Drama was accepted as the ‘total art form’ that united acting, dance, poetry, music, fine arts, human values, and practically all other concerns of life in order to sustain and nourish a heavenly world, (alaulika) through the aesthetic experience, rasa.

Mudras in the Hindu holy worship

In the religious domain, the execution of the paradigmatic Vedic sacrifice may itself be interpreted as a hieratic form of theater. In the same order, Bharata’s theater claimed to be modeled on the ‘originary’ unifying principle of the solemn Vedic sacrifice. The symbolic gestures in dance tradition are known as coming directly from the ancient Vedic rituals when dance was an integral part of the holy worship in temples. The Vedic hymns and mantras or mystical syllables form the foundation of the Hindu holy worship. Traditionally, the recitation of hymns and mantras are sometimes accompanied by specific hand gestures which are called “mudras”. Mudra is a mystic gesture of the hands symbolizing the power of action. The word “mudra” denotes a seal. It puts a finishing touch revealing a specific meaning connected to the mantra. Here, there is an affinity between sacred gesture and sacred sound, creating a link between body and mind.

The Hastas in the tradition of Hindu dance

In dance tradition, mudras are called hastas. According to the ancient scripture “Abhinaya Darpana '' authored by Nandikeshwara, 28 single hand gestures are called Asamyukta Hastah and 23 united or combined hands gestures are called Samyukta Hasta.

Show the meanings with gestures

These combination of hand gestures may denote the Gods and Goddesses (Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Saraswati, Lakshmi, Parvati etc ), the four different castes (Brahmana, Kshatriya, etc.), the planets (sun, moon, etc.), the rivers (Ganga, Yamuna, etc.), animals ( the peacock, the serpent, the deer ) and so on. The various meanings of these gestures will be explored through the Viniyogas at the end of this presentation.

What is Viniyoga?

Viniyoga as thought in “Abhinaya Darpana '' provides the meanings that translate the poetic universe of mythology as well as philosophical thoughts into symbolic hand gestures. Some of these gestures are intrinsically connected with ritualistic action found in pujas ( the sacred offerings) revealing the religious backgrounds of Hinduism. Others describe the wonders of creation, the beauty of nature and the universal emotions experienced by human beings. The relationship between Form and Essence or (body action and intellection), reveals the power of these sacred gestures, as a means for propitiating intellectual contemplation. These symbolic gestures and postures may represent particular states of consciousness (bh?vas) which are directly conveyed through visual and auditory means actualizing these states of higher consciousness in the minds of the devotees, stimulating religious worship and providing a support for spiritual contemplation.

To elucidate the relationship of Form and Essence in Schuon’s writing in connection with the sacred gestures of Hindu dance, I have chosen the chapter:

Chapter 4: Concerning Forms in Art — The Transcendent Unity of Religion pg. 61

If the importance of forms is to be understood it is necessary to appreciate the fact that it is the sensible form that, symbolically, corresponds most directly to the Intellect, by reason of the inverse analogy connecting the Principe and manifested orders.* *"Art," said St. Thomas Aquinas, "is associated with knowledge."

In consequence of this analogy, the highest realities are most clearly manifested in their remotest reflections, namely, in the sensible or material order and herein lies the deepest meaning of the proverb '"Extremes meet""~ to which one might add that it is for this same reason that Revelation descended not only into the souls of the Prophets, but also into their bodies, which presupposed their physical perfection. {Rene Guenon (''Les deux nuits.." Etudes traditionnelles. April and May, 1939) in speaking of the lay/at a/-qadr. night of the "descent" (tanzll) of the Koran, points out that this night, according to Muhyi 'd-Din ibn ‘Arabi's commentary, is identified with the actual body of the Prophet. What is particularly important to note is the fact that the "revelation" is received not in the mind but in the body of the being who is commissioned to express the Principle. "And the Word was made flesh." says the Gospel ("flesh.. and not "mind") and this is but another way of expressing under the form proper to the Christian Tradition, the reality that is represented by the lay/at al-qadr in the Islamic Tradition. }

(So here, the human body assumes the Revelation of the Logos. In the Islamic tradition, the night of descent or the “Revelation” is identified with the body of the Prophet; he is the incarnation of divine Perfection whereas in the Cristian tradition, the logos become flash in the person of Jesus Christ. In Hindu tradition, we have the iconographic gods and goddesses which are the various expressions of Para Brahma, (the nirguna aspect of reality). Their bodies ( the saguna aspect) represent several divine attributes. Each deity reveals a particular aspect of the divinity by means of specific sacred gestures.

I resume the text:

Sensible forms therefore correspond with exactness to intellections, and it is for this reason that traditional art has rules that apply the cosmic laws and universal principles to the domain of forms, and that, beneath their more general outward aspect, reveal the style of the civilization under consideration; this style in its turn rendering explicit the form of intellectuality of that civilization.

(One of the aspects of the formal intellectuality in Hinduism can be well represented through the concept of Nataraja, the Cosmic dancer who creates the universe while dancing. The various gestures of creation are thus symbols of metaphysical prototypes which recreate life ritualistically, through the science of dramatic art.)

“All works of art on earth are an imitation of the art of the Devas”

(Aitareya Brahmana)

Let’s see how we apply “Form and Essence” in the symbolic gestures of Hindu Dance

This same principle : “Extreme meets' 'is found in the ritualistic gestures of devotion which brings to the body, intellection of prototypes made form in a specific gestural language identifying the idea with what it signifies. I quote Schuon: “Forms, intellections: the whole of traditional art is founded upon this correspondence”, on Aesthetics and symbolism in art and nature. And “The reflection of the supra-formal in the formal is not the formless but on the contrary strict form. The supra-formal is incarnated in a form that is at once “logical” and “generous”, hence in beauty” (Spiritual Perspectives and Human Facts.)

Springing from metaphysics, these gestures are symbolical while being descriptive of an ontological reality. Metaphysical knowledge being in its essence supra-individual and universal proceeds from pure Intelligence which is direct and not discursive. Language is not perfectly apt to convey Essences, which are supra-formal. However, the human body being a direct vehicle for the Spirit, ontologically participates in supra-formal realities through the sacred geometry of the body, manifesting formal attitudes that are powerful means to convey in a direct and not discursive manner, the very essences of archetypes, man being the Logos. I quote in French: “ Les extremes se touchent — Le Supra sensible se matérialisant dans une forme particulière pour exprimer l’essence supra sensible de la forme”. '"Extremes meet”"

Now, to illustrate these ideas in a direct and not discursive manner, I will recite and perform some Viniyogas to illustrate visually the relationship of Form and Essence.

Recite and perform Anjali Viniyoga with its meaning.

The first hasta exposed in this ancient text and which precedes the ritualistic dance is called Anjali, both hands held together in front of the heart. While worshiping God, it creates a temple in the human body, with the hands above the head, as a “Shikara” or “Vimana, the summit of the Hindu temples. The body becomes the sacred space for the performance of this art form

? Anjali Viniyoga: —- Salutation

Deavata Guru Vipar?nam Namaskarieshwanu Kramaat

Karye: Shiro, Mukho, Urastho, Viniyoganjali Budaihi

The meaning given in Abhinaya Darpana is:

(Used for the salutation to God, to the Guru and to the learned ones. We hold Anjali hasta above the head for the gods, in front of the face for the Guru and in front of the chest for the learned ones.)

Comment:

Through these sacred gestures the practitioner becomes the form of the formless realizing the identity between the knower and the known in the unity of his being. Identifying the knower with what he knows, the human body becomes an instrument for self-knowledge. The performance of these gestures may lead to higher states of consciousness that they symbolize, as the human body here is a channel connecting the intellective idea to the manifested form it assumes in a process of bodily-intellectual alchemy. The body assumes diagrams which reveal the very essence of archetypes, translating them in a theological approach related to the revealed tradition. Metaphysical knowledge becomes theological knowledge revealing the esoteric nature of religion manifested through a religious symbolism.

I quote Schuon: “Forms allow a direct and “plastic” assimilation of the truths—or realities—of the spirit. The geometry of the symbol is steeped in beauty, which in turn and in its own way is also a symbol. The perfect form is that in which truth is incarnate in the rigor of the symbolic formulation and in the purity and intelligence of the style”. (Spiritual Perspectives and Human Facts)

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