The dance of Nataraja, Carl Sagan and CERN
Pioneer of exobiology and extra terrestrial exploration (SETI), Carl Sagan was a prominent advocate of scientific skeptical inquiry and the scientific method. He was a major figure behind the unmanned Viking, Voyager, Mariner, and Galileo planetary expeditions. More significant than carrying 20th century space exploration on his shoulders, Sagan has effectively bridged the gap between astronomy and popular culture.
Dyadic to space exploration, SN 1054 supernova was observable for over 2 years and has its mentions in Chinese, Islamic, Native North American and Hindu historiographical works and sculptures.
In the temple town of Chidambaram in southern Tamil Nadu, around 20 million worshippers visit the ill-maintained but magnificent Thillai Nataraja Shiva temple that represents millennia of Hindu philosophic, aesthetic, and spiritual history inscribed on its stone walls. Incongruous to other Shiva temples across India where Linga form is worshipped within the temple, the bronze statue built by the Cholas is seated in the temple and a procession is conducted twice a year.
In Hindu philosophy, this form of Lord Shiva's dancing is considered a symbol of Shakti, the force of life. The inscriptions on the walls of the temple depict that Lord Shiva danced the Universe into existence, motivates it, and will eventually extinguish it.
François Auguste René Rodin, the founder of modern sculpture, in his essay "La Danse de Siva" states,
"Words fail me in describing the perfect embodiment of rhythmic movement!’
Nataraja embodies flawless physical qualities since he dances in a cosmic continuous circle of fire that simultaneously destroys and creates the universe, and this metamorphosis is in synchronization with the rhythm of Shiva’s dance and drums.
Carl Sagan, in his study of sub-atomic particles, drew a metaphor from Nataraja’s cosmic dance and referenced it in his study of the cosmic dance of subatomic particles.
In 2004, CERN unveiled the Chola Nataraja statue in their compass. The world-renown physicist and deep ecologist has published a book on Nataraja titled "The Tao of Physics". A plaque next to the statue has an extract from the book.
"Hundreds of years ago, Indian artists created visual images of dancing Shivas in a beautiful series of bronzes. In our time, physicists have used the most advanced technology to portray the patterns of the cosmic dance. The metaphor of the cosmic dance thus unifies ancient mythology, religious art, and modern physics. "