A temple for Lord Shiva crowns the highest point at the
Satchidananda Ashram. As Nataraj--the Cosmic Dancer--he overlooks the rolling hills of Buckingham County with the Blueridge mountains rising gently behind him. It's a glorious spot and Sri Gurudev's chosen place for him.
Recently I visited at night for the first time and was captivated by his bliss, illuminated by the warm light cast upon him, and the shadows that seemed to dance, not with his movement, but with our own. It's all one.
"The source of all movement,
Shiva's dance,
Gives rhythm to the universe.
He dances in evil places,
In sacred,
He creates and preserves,
Destroys and releases.
We are part of this dance
This eternal rhythm,
And woe to us if, blinded
By illusions,
We detach ourselves
From the dancing cosmos,
This universal harmony…"
-Ruth Peel
