29/01/08 – Chidambaram - The birthplace of Patanjali!
The day begins with a typically delicious South Indian breakfast starting with steaming hot idlis and ending with filtered coffee….Yum!
The group is taken to the world famous Nataraja temple (Shiva as the Lord of Dance). Our deepest gratitude to Patanjali who played a great part in making the ananda thandava (Shiva’s Dance of Bliss) happen on planet earth
A priest from the Dikshitar family, the custodians of the temple, is giving a talk to the rapt group on the origin and history of this temple
In the background can be seen the main mandap of the temple…Note the gold leaves covering the mandap. They are 72,000 in number and represent the same number of nadis (nerve centers) in our body. It is symbolic of the truth that when all these nadis are opened, the ananda thandav or the Dance of Bliss will happen in us
The coming together of the devotees from the East and the West – a blissful surprise!
One of the inexplicable synchronous moments of this trip – an invitation to the group from the Annamalai University (one of the biggest in India) to give a talk on Nithya Yoga to the students and faculty of the university. In total 500 students and a large number of staff were there for the interactive session. Here are some photos taken of the event.
The Nithya Yoga panel with Dr. Vishwanathan (director, Yoga Center and Medical Superintendent).
Dr. Vishwanathan being honored with the Dhyanapeetam shawl
Nithya Yogacharya commences the session with the Guru Parampara Stotra
The audience watching a brief documentary on Paramahamsa with deep interest
An Acharya explains the steps of the Nithya Dhyaan meditation
The group beginning to experience the dynamic meditation
An enjoyable and interactive Q and A session at the conclusion of the program
A photo of the Nithya Yoga group, organizers and faculty of the Annamalai University
The University Registrar being honored by the group
The group being honored in return
In the evening, the Nithya Yoga group visits the Chidambaram Dhyanapeetam City Center for some Ananda Thandav and healing session.
