Here is more info about the Dancing Shiva temple where Justin and I received special blessings from the priest. The fire ritual was intense, beginning with the clamorous ringing of dozens of bells of all sizes. In a stone temple, the sound sweeps through you. The experience was unforgettable.

From the website:

“22.00 — 22.30 Puja with lamps, hymns and music, after which Shiva, represented by his holy sandals, is taken in a procession with the small palanquin to join his consort in the
Bedchamber.

“The ringing of the bells recreates the sacred sound OM, which is the root and origin of the creation. The lamps represent the different forms and aspects of the divine energy that evolve from the One Absolute in the process of creation and manifestation.

“The several ritual objects which are shown before the Nataraja are part of what is called ‘protocol’.

“The ceremony of the return of Shiva’s sandals to the Bedchamber in the evening at 10 o’clock takes on special significance and grandeur once a week, on the Friday evening. Where the seven daily rituals which are performed in the Sabha before the Nataraja are the key to the understanding of the cycles of cosmos, the seventh ritual reveals the ultimate secret.

“Fire burning, bells ringing, and finally his Cosmic Dance…… Then, the cosmic energy of Nataraja is carried in a small palanquin around the courtyards accompanied by drums, instruments, singing and chanting. Finally to join the cosmic energy of Shakti, his consort, in the Bedchamber, realizing the cosmology.”