Shiva Nata: false gods?

Every few months I get a question from someone who is worried that the Dance of Shiva is a form of avodah zarah (idolatry, the worship of false gods).

And even though a lot of you have no connection or concern with this specifically, I know there are also many people who need reassurance that this isn’t going to be some wacky religious practice.

I mean, it is wacky. It’s just not religious-wacky.

So I am going to bring a couple of these questions in here and do what I can to answer them.

I would like to know if the Shiva Nata — is it in anyway to be considered Avodah Zarah? I am interested in ordering, and learning, but I want to be sure that I would be getting involved with something that is coming from a pure source.

Or:

My husband is concerned that it is avodah zara and that the goddess Shiva was a goddess of destruction to get to creativity, and if it’s a dance to her or her dance it would be avodah zara.

Okay. I’m more than happy to help out with this.

I don’t know that I have a single brilliant answer, but I definitely do have some thoughts.

So: a few thoughts!

Thought #1. The Dance of Shiva … doesn’t really have anything to do with Shiva.

Actually, not only is it not about Shiva, it’s also not really a dance. :)

But that’s another subject entirely, and probably deserves its own post.

What I can say in a very definite way is that this practice is not about worshipping Shiva.

And it’s not about being with Shiva.

So yes, he (it’s a he) is one of the principal deities of the Hindu religion, and that is where the name of this practice came from, but it is not a religious practice and it is not a dance to Shiva or from Shiva.

It’s about the principle embodied in the practice (and in the mythology that gave birth to it).

Thought #2. It’s not Shiva — it’s the principle.

The principle is transformation.

The principle is that any pattern can be taken apart into its components and be rebuilt as something else … something better.

The principle is swords into plowshares.

The principle is that any habit is a pattern and any pattern can be changed.

The principle is that change is the natural way of the world (of nature, of seasons, of growing older), and that we can use the informational patterns of change to improve our relationship with ourselves.

The principle is that deconstructing our old patterns can give us the information we need to move through the fog and see just how beautiful we are. How beautiful it is to be alive.

Thought #3. So, as metaphors go, it’s a pretty great one.

Shiva is a metaphor.

This concept, taken from Indian mythology, is this:

Destruction (or deconstruction) is powerful and useful, because it allows us to rebuild …

This is a concept that is super-useful for making Big Crazy Life Changes in a gentle, non-scary way.

It’s also a concept that has so much universal truth inside of it that it can be found in many religions and many practices.

So it’s not a dance to Shiva or to his qualities. It’s a practice that embodies a universal concept.

Thought #4. The name? Yeah, perhaps an unfortunate choice…

Well, at least from a marketing standpoint.

Because … Dance of Shiva? It’s hard to say, it’s hard to explain, and we’re never going to get the domain.

And it’s practically impossible to rank for “dance of shiva” as a search term on Google … very frustrating!

I mean, who can compete with Fritjof Capra?

So had it been up to me I probably would have called it something else. But it wasn’t my choice. And that’s probably a good thing.

Andrey Lappa (my teacher) is the one who brought the practice back to life. He is a brilliant thinker and a wonderful chooser-of-metaphors.

And the original name is a powerful transformational metaphor.

So that’s what it’s called. And if you feel that uncomfortable with the name, you could always call it something else.

Thought #5. It isn’t a religious practice — it’s a self-work practice.

Yes, some of the movements resemble some of the things you see in Indian dance and statues.

And the principle of Shiva (deconstruction or dissolution) is reflected in the way the practice helps you take apart patterns to make room for new ones.

But it isn’t a religious practice in any way — it’s a self-work practice.

In Hebrew I would say: avodah atzmit (self-work), not avodah zara.

Thought #6. You can make the practice your own.

It’s about expanding the power of your brain.

But it’s also about your relationship to yourself and your heart … and it’s about (or can be) your own spiritual relationship.

You could bring into it any spiritual elements that suit you, as with any other practice. 

In my own practice, I generally take a few minutes beforehand to focus on my intention, and then use Shiva Nata as a warm up for my quiet meditation time.

Andrey himself is a Buddhist, and he is really very open to everyone having his/her own personal relationship with the divine or whatever they choose to believe in — or not believe in.

I personally view Shiva Nata as brain training that has meditative effects, but not as a religious practice in and of itself.

And again, If it were up to me, I might not have opted to use the Shiva terminology, given the negative or potentially uncomfortable associations for many different people.

It’s your practice. You get to choose how to think about it.

Thought #7. I don’t have to look farther than my own practice.

Because if I thought now for a second that practicing Dance of Shiva could be a form of avodah zara, I wouldn’t do it.

I just wouldn’t.

I live a very conscious, intentional, spiritual life — a Jewish spiritual life — and that’s something I wouldn’t feel comfortable with and I wouldn’t do.

It was something I was also a little concerned about before I started, because of the name — I didn’t want to have anything to do with something that might be a Hindu practice. 

But I very quickly saw that this is a transformational practice of healing, and not a religious one.

Thought #8. The principle of not making false gods holds for many things.

This is how I look at it:

You can make false gods from anything … including from the principle that one may never make false gods.

Which is why the principle of bringing conscious awareness into your life is so useful. Because it helps you know in your heart that you are not worshipping other beings, ideas or traditions.

It helps you feel more secure in your faith and your path. It helps you trust yourself.

And I don’t know of a better practice to develop conscious awareness than Shiva Nata.

It brings me deeper into my relationship with myself, it brings me deeper into my relationship with the divine. It gives each person who practices it the thing that he or she needs most to connect with their own hearts.

Thought #9. You don’t have to do it.

If the thought of doing a practice that shares a name with another tradition is too weird or uncomfortable for you … you don’t have to practice it.

I have no desire or intention to dictate your experience of the practice or to imply that it’s something you “should” do.

So I want you to know that you have full permission from me to practice or not, to have whatever experience you have with it, to do what helps you feel safe and comfortable.

It’s your life, and I wouldn’t dream of telling you what to do with it.

I’m out of thoughts about this.

But I hope that some of this was helpful.

Bivracha,
Havi