‘Sivoham’, Dance Programme by Students

The Post Graduate Students of Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, Prasanthi Nilayam campus presented a dance programme entitled, ‘Shivoham’. The objective of the programme was to describe through dance how the potential energy of Shiva directed inwards and the kinetic energy of Shakti directed outside are essentially the one and the same.

They started the programme with a choreography to the words of Sri Rudraprasnah Laghunyasah, with a prayer to Lord Sai Shiva to help realise Him in our hearts. Fire, Air, Moon, Directions, the Primordial Ocean, Earth, Plants, Lightning, Rain all forms of Shakti, were depicted through graceful steps as the dynamic manifestation of Shiva Himself. Just as the drop is not different from the ocean, they argued, the I is not different from the Universe.

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The students then went on to choreograph the Siva Panchakshari Mantra interspersed with select Anuvakas of Sri Rudram. Special mention must be made of the choreography of the concluding lines of the first Anuvaka of Sri Rudram,

Namaste astu Bhagavan Vishveshvaraya, Mahadevaya, Thriambakaya, Tripurantakaya, Trikagni kalaya, Kalagnirudraya, Neelakantaya, Mrutyunjayaya, Sarveshvaraya, Sadashivaya, Shriman Mahadevaya namah||

…where in each word salutes Rudra variously as the Lord of the universe; the great God the three eyed one, the destroyer of Tripura, the extinguisher of the trika fire and the fire of death, the blue‐necked one, the victor over death, the lord of all, the ever peaceful one, the glorious God of gods.

The speed with which the students shifted stance to enact all the different salutations was awe-inspiring. Another interesting aspect of it was that all the audio associated with the programme including the chanting of the various shlokas and the background score were done by the students themselves.

The half-hour programme concluded at 1745hrs and the music boys took over and rendered some wonderful Bhajans before Bhagawan concluded the session in his sweet voice with, “Ganga Jata Dara Gauri Sankara”.