"Ring Around the Rosy"

A woman's husband woke in the early hours one morning to his wife's quiet chanting. She was sitting up in bed, rocking back and forth, and humming something in a very purposeful, low tone. After realizing that his wife was not awake, he was careful while talking to her. When she quit her chant she informed him that she was afraid. After some time of reassuring her, he got her to lay back down and rest once again.

Later that day, the husband was bothered by his wife's chanting and searched his brain for the song his wife had been humming. He decided to tell her of the incident from during the night and started humming a similar sound to her so they could figure out what it was that she had been chanting. One thing about nursery rhymes is that they sound so similar when sung. They concluded that it had been Ring around the Rosy.

They thought it odd and wanted to seek out some meaning for what had occurred. She had, after all been fearful. She explained to her husband that it had been a male that she had feared. Putting Ring around the Rosy and the male figure together, they did some research. So did I and this is one theory that I found.

Ring around the Rosy is well-known. Many of us as children played this with our friends. Standing in a circle and joining hands, we began to sing and go around in a circle until falling to the ground, dizzy and giggling. We would get back up and do it all over again, even faster.

The Hindu god Shiva, is known as the god of destruction. After I had some discussion about Shiva with several practicing Hindus, they assured me that the idea that Lord Shiva is a fierce one is a misconception. This god is adorned with skulls and snakes. Those who worship him realize his supreme potence and glorious qualities. Shiva is called ashutosha (fast pleased) and bholenath (innocent Lord). Those who worship him do so in love, not fear. The devotee is said to experience the glorious qualities of the Lord and the love blooms. This love, knowledge, and experience, paves the way for spiritual success. The idea of Hinduism is not to compel the follower to fear the supernatural power but instead know it and experience it.

Lord Shiva isn't a horrible god of destruction. He is the one who plays the five activities of Creation, Protection, Destruction, Concealing, and Blessing. He runs the universe through its forms and powers but is above all of these specific deeds. He acts as the doer in areas such as Destruction, Concealing, and Blessing. Various forms of the Lord Shiva show him ash-smeared, adorned with skulls and snakes, and dancing in the cemeteries. This should not be misunderstood. The Lord Shiva has nothing evil at all. Another person explained to me that Shiva is the god of destruction and regeneration. As in most Hindu gods, they aren't either good or evil.

So where does Shiva fit into Ring around the Rosy? Shiva is known as the Dance King. His dance stands for re-energizing life and the cosmos. We don't have life without death. The concept of reincarnation after death is the belief.

The nursery rhyme goes as follows:
Ring around a Rosy
A pocket full of posies
Ashes, Ashes
We all fall down!

Shiva danced in much the same way as the children. His hair swaying, he danced in a circular pattern, starting slowly, because he is an ocean of compassion. The sages nearby were delusional and left the fires and mantras exhaust and became afraid that they had let their god down. They lost consciousness and fell down. The daughter of the Himalaya came beside him, and the gods in heaven were happy and sent down flowers. This would signify the posies.

Getting dizzy is a big part of dancing to this rhyme. During Shiva's dance, he induced unconsciousness on the sages so that he could give them the eye of wisdom. They then become possessed by Shiva's bliss and got up and joined in the dancing. Because the gods in heaven were pleased with this, they rained down flowers upon all of them.

The sages were ecstatic and possessed as they were, they danced, reddening the forest by shaking their long hair. They praised the Lord Shiva, dancing in a circular way and took up handfuls of the flowers to heap up before him. As they proceeded to bow at Shiva's feet, they crushed some of the flowers with the points of their crowns. Everything became quiet, and no one knew what to do. So all of his ghouls that stood before him panicked and started dancing really fast. The devotees followed suit and danced all kinds of dances, falling down and getting up over and over again.

Ring around the Rosy could be interpreted as a ring around another ring, Shiva at the center, a ring of his ghouls, and then the ring of devotees. Shiva is painted with the color of rose flowers. There is also a circle of flames, giving Shiva a glowing appearance from the light of the flame.

Ashes, ashes, is the time when everyone rushes frantically around trying to decorate their Lord. Bones, skulls, and elephant hide are used for ornamentation. The ashes are significant, because they protect those smeared in them against disease. (The Encyclopedia of Religion, vol.13, page 19) Legend has it that Shiva burnt up the gods, early in universal development, with his central eye and proceeded to rub the remaining ashes all over himself. This is why ashes are an important part of his worship.

All fall down. The falling down and then getting back up signifies reincarnation. This is really a song and dance about the celebration of life. This fits the Hindu belief of re-birth perfectly. This dance of life is also seen in the whirling movement of our solar system and even in our own cells that make up every square inch of each one of us. Everything that exists is in rhythm, the dance of life.

The woman who chanted in the night is an open-minded woman. She is not certain by any means, but she believes that she may have been visited in the night by Lord Shiva. She is not Hindu. In fact, she follows no specific faith. She figures it is because of her open-mindedness, that she is open to things of supernatural occurrence. She thinks she was afraid, because we often fear the unknown or things that aren't familiar to us. Next time, she says she will be more receptive and see what happens.