After many temple visits over a the last few weeks, and many hours of dumbfounding explanations in «Hind-english» about what was all around me, one thing eventually struck my mind.
It related to the right hand of Lord Shiva, the dancing God. Well, one of his right hands, as he generally has two or more pairs of hands …
That right hand has its palm outward facing. Three fingers are fanned out, while the Index and Thumb are near touching. This, it turns out, is a highly symbolic gesture. It is called “chin mudra”.
The general acceptance is that chin mudra symbolises the connection between the individual self and universal consciousness. In this gesture, the index finger is nearly touching the thumb, symbolising the near union of the individual (index) and the divine (thumb). The other three fingers are extended, symbolising the three aspects of existence: creation (pinky), preservation (ring finger), and destruction (middle finger). It is a metaphor for one’s aspiration to spiritual enlightenment, requiring you to calm the mind before you can achieve a state of deep union and spiritual communion.
My guide that day, a Muslim rather than a Hindu, gave me a slightly different, more personal interpretation of chin mudra, which caught my imagination.
For him, the pinky finger represents the Ego, the second finger represents Jealousy and the Median finger represents Oratorical Rhetoric. The Index symbolises the individual soul. And the Thumb, upon which all four fingers depend for ability and strength, symbolises the Divine.
For him, chin mudra means that to reach a state of near divine revelation, you first need to overcome Ego, Jealousy, and Oratorical Rhetoric ( used here to mean demagoguery or gaslighting – politicians might struggle with that one ….). If and when the Index can connect with the Thumb, it detaches itself from the three others, to form an unbroken circle, having overcome the three domineering states of consciousness. In other words, the limited self (Index) can only become connected to the Divine (Thumb) if and when it can transcend the different stumbling states of consciousness.
I liked the metaphor.
PS – In yoga, both hands create the gesture when in a sitting meditative state, with both Index and Thumb joined. That is called Anahata. But in Shiva’s chin mudra, the two don’t touch. It’s an ideal to which one aspires but rarely achieves ….