Shaivism

File:LordShiva.jpg

Lord Shiva

Shaivism (also spelled "Śaivism"), refers to a school in Hinduism devoted primarily to the monotheistic worship of Shiva, the destroyer god in the Hindu Trinity. Shaivism is practiced widely across all of India, and therefore has many different branches showing regional variations in both philosophy and practice. Followers of the tradition are referred to in English as Shaiva(s), or sometimes Shaivite(s). The most commonly worshipped symbol for Shaivites is the linga, a phallic structure representative of Shiva's coexistent virility and chastity. With approxiamately 200 million adherents, Shaivism is one of the most prominent monotheist Hindu schools, second only to Vaishnavism, the school which worships Vishnu.

History

Indus Valley Civilization

File:Pashupati.gif

An Indus Valley seal with the seated figure termed pashupati

It is very difficult to determine the early history of Shaivism. Artifacts from Mohenjo-daro, Harappa and other archaeological sites located in northwestern India and Pakistan have been interpreted to suggest that the earliest form of Shiva worship was practiced in the Indus Valley Civilization, which flourished between 2800 B.C.E. - 1500 B.C.E. These artifacts include numerous lingas carved on rock surfaces, as well as the "Pashupati seal" found at Mohenjo-daro which has been the subject of much study. An engraving upon this seal depicts a horned male figure made all the more noteworthy by the fact that he is ithyphallic. This image appears to represent a prototype of the Vedic deity Pashupati, the "lord of the creatures", who would come to be thought of as an aspect of Shiva. The central figure is seated in a yogic posture and is surrounded by animals, perhaps foreshadowing the associations with meditative asceticism and wildlife that Shiva and his early precursor Rudra would take on.

Vedic Period

With the dissolution of the Harrapan culture, religion in the Indus Valley region and India at large changed dramatically. The Rg Veda (c. 1200 B.C.E.), saw the initial proto-Shiva figure develop into Rudra, a terrifying, capricious diety who held jurisdiction over storms, disease and the wilderness. Although only four of the Rg Vedic hymns are dedicated exclusively to this character, he plays an important mythological role in the Vedas in his association with the fire god Agni and the sacrificial beverage Soma. Not unlike Shiva, Rudra is connected with wildlife in his role of "lord of the cattle" (pasunam patih) and "wearer of the animal hide". As a proper name, Shiva means "The Auspicious One", and may have originally been used as a euphimistic epithet for Rudra. In fact, Shiva and Rudra are viewed as the same personality in a number of Hindu traditions today, and are often referred to mutually as Rudra-Shiva by scholars.

In the later Vedas, Rudra-Shiva is venerated as a supreme, monotheistic figure for the first time. In the Svetsvara Upanishad, for instance, a text possibly dating back as far as the sixth century B.C.E., Rudra-Shiva is proclaimed to be the primordial creator. Furthermore, this Upanishad ultimately describes Rudra-Shiva as Brahman, the monistic essence of the universe. As a result, Rudra-Shiva came to be perceived to be protector and creator of all things, and had begun to more closely resemble Shiva as he is known today.

The Epics and The Puranas

By the year 150 B.C.E., Shiva seems to have garnered a strong cult following. During this time the grammarian Patanjali notes in his "Great Commentary" on Panini's Sanskrit grammar that devotees of Shiva are typically clad in animal skins and carry with them iron lances as the symbol of their god. This lance may be a precursor of Shiva's trident. The two great epics of India, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, also suggest Shiva's burgeoning significance, dealing extensively with stories of his exploits. Specifically, the Mahabharata suggests that an important Shaivic cult, the Pasupatas, may have been dedicated to the god around the beginning of the Common Era Shiva was also featured on coins during the Kushan period (300-550 C.E.) suggesting his sustained popularity.

It is with the rise to prominence of the Puranas during the Gupta dynasty (c. 320-500 C.E.), however, that Shaivism spread most rapidly throughout the Indian subcontinent. Gupta emperors sponsored Shaivite temples despite their own Vaishnavite stance, while kings of the Vakataka and the later Maukhari dynasties were fully Shaivite. By the seventh century CE, Shaivism replaced Jainism and Buddhism as the dominant religious affiliation of South India.

At this time, numerous sects were also touting Shiva to be the supreme deity. Shiva himself is distinguished as the central deity most obviously in the Shiva Purana, as well as the Linga, Matsya, Kurma, Skanda, and Agni Puranas. In these mythical texts, Shiva is portrayed as the supreme god, a suggestion of monotheism that was put into practice by contemporaneous Shaivite sects such as the Kapalikas, the Kalamukhas, the Pasupatas and the Shaiva Siddhantins. Here Shiva comes to the fore and acts independently to create, preserve, and destroy the world. Also presented in these texts are some myths central to the definition of Shiva's later character. One particularly important story tells of incidents which transpired when Shiva enters a pine forest, in the typical dress of the ascetics who live there. In the forest Shiva takes the time to seduce the wives of the ascetics. Angry with Shiva's licentious behaviour, and unbeknowing of his true identity, the ascetics castrate the destroyer god and fix his severed genital organ in the ground. This legend provides mythological explanation for the worship of the linga as it is performed today.

Shankara and Beyond

Shankara (788-820 C.E.), one of the most famous philosophers Hinduism has ever known, was a devoted Shaivite and composed several important hymns to Shiva. As such, Shaivism has often been linked with Shankara's Advaita or non-dual thought. By the ninth century, Shaivism had come to prominence in the North with the development of the Trika school, located primarily in Kashmir. This sect drew heavily upon Shankara's monistic philosophy, as well as that of Tantra. Such Tantric influences had been prominent in Shaivism from the Gupta period onward

Shaivism continued to thrive in South India during the medieval period. Between approxiamately 500 and 700 C.E., the sixty three Nayanars, a group of Shavite saints, spread Shaivism through the Tamil speaking regions of South India. The Nayanars, who ranged in status from untouchables to kings, were among first proponents of the bhakti movement, which upheld intense emotional devotion to a personal diety as the highest religious idea. Although the Pasupata, Kapalika, and Kalamukha sects faded to extinction during this time period, they laid the foundation for the Virashaivas, also known as the Lingayats, a reformist Shaivite sect formed along the border regions of Maharashtra and Karnataka in the mid-12th century.

Shaivite influences had also spread beyond India and into Southeast Asia. In eighth century Cambodia, elements of Shaivism were synthesized with those of Mahayana Buddhism, leading to the formation of the cult of Lokeshvara, a bodhisattva who fused elements of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara and Shiva. This Shaivite influence eventually faded away, though it would rise again in the 13th century resulting in severe persecution of the Buddhist community. Shaivite worship also had influence on the Champa in what is today south Vietnam, and legitimized several ruling dynasties such as pre-Islamic Malaya and the Majapahit empire in early medieval Indonesia.

During the later medieval period, the bhakti movement went on to become the most popular form of Hindu religious practice. Although this movement was typically favoured by worshippers of Vishnu, many bhaktins would devote themselves exclusively to Shiva. Most of these followers were and are not, however, devoted exclusively to Shiva. Regardless, millions of Hindus appear at temples in order to worship Shiva today. For example in Banares, the holy city of Shiva, the temple of Siva Visvesvara remains one of the most popular pilgrimage sites in contemporary India.

Orders and Lineages

Shaivism has many different schools showing both regional variations and differences in philosophy. Shaivism has a vast literature that includes texts representing multiple philosophical schools, including non-dualist (abheda), dualist (bheda), and non-dual-with-dualism (bhedābheda) perspectives. The following are concise summaries of some of the major schools of Shaivism; in the case of regionally-bound schools, maps have been provided to show the primary areas of origin or present-day concentration.

Pashupatas

The ascetic Pashupatas (Sanskrit: Pāśupatas) are one of the oldest named Shaivite sects.. The most likely founder of this group was Lakulisa, "the lord of the club", who lived around the early part of the second century CE. Each of his four major disciples, Kusika, Gargya, Kaurusa, and Maitreya, established important lineages of their own. The Pasupatas wielded great influence over South Indian Shaivism from the 7th to 14th centuries, mainly in its connection to the Kalamukhas. Together these sects revived Shaivism in this region, ensuring that Jainism and Buddhism all but disappeared there. Pashupata influence also spread to more northern regions such as Gujarat, Kashmir and Nepal.

Although the movement seems to have died out by the late 15th century, its precepts are still well known because of two surviving texts, the Ganakarika, and the Pasupata Sutra. The Ganakārikā delineates five stages in progress towards spiritual union with god, each of which involves a specific procedure. This process begins with time spent in the temple along with a guru and progresses to the outside world, where the adept attempts to generate the loathing of the general populace. Finally, the ascetic draws his religious behaviour inward in order to attain full union with Shiva. The Pasupata Sutra, meanwhile, describes in detail the five major theological concerns of the sect. They are 1) kārya, the created universe, 2)kārana, God, cause of the universe, 3) yoga, the union of the individual soul with god, 4) vidhi, or observance, which includes devotion and ascetic practice, which leads to 5) duhkhāntha, the "end of suffering". In both texts, the dualistic distinction between souls (pashu), God (pati) and the physical word (pāsha) is made, a worldview that would live on in Shaiva Siddhanta.

Kapalikas and Kalamukhas

Two medieval Shaivite sects often paired together in scholarly opinion are the Kapalikas and Kalamukhas. Little is known about either sect, since no compositions belonging to either group are extant. Information on the Kapalikas (or "skull-bearers") gleaned from outsider commentaries, most notably Shankara's biography, the Shankara-divijaya, suggests that the group centred around bhakti devotion to Bhairava, Shiva in his most terrifying form. In order to accumulate merit, members of the Kapalika sect apparently undertook the Mahavratin, an extremely austere ritual of penance usually performed as punishment for the murder of a Brahmin. As their name would suggest, members of the Kapalika sect became famous for the human skulls which they were said to have wandered from village to village, for use as a begging bowl or drinking up. Accordingly, the Kapalikas were linked with any number of other horrifying practices, including meat-eating, intoxication, orgies, and even cannibalism, though these accusations may have been based upon polemical reasoning.

The Kalamukhas (or "black-faced"), meanwhile, were more closely associated with the Bramanical tradition. Information on this sect, culled mostly from epigramatic inscriptions on temples, suggests that the Kalamukhas were Here they existed in mathas, monastic organizations centered around a temple. The Kalamukhas were apparently influenced by the Pasupatas, sharing many of their traditions and identifying numerous sages from their fold with Lakulisa. The high regard for the linga and the prominence of the Kalamukhas in the Karnataka region between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries CE suggests that Virashaivism may represent a reformation of the Kalamukha tradition. Contemporary scholars, most notably David N. Lorenzen, have been more hesitant to link the Kalamukhas as closely to the Kapalikas as they have in the past.

Nayanars

Among the first proponents of the vernacular bhakti tradition in Hinduism were the Nayanars, an exalted group comprised of sixty-three poet-saints which developed in South India duirng the seventh century CE. These saints came from all levels of the social strata, promoting selfless, loving devotion as well as a spiritually equalitarian ethic. Among the most prominent of these figures are Nancampantar (c. 650 C.E.), Tirunavukkaracar (580-760 C.E.), Cuntaramurtti (c. 7-8th century CE), and Manikkavacakar (c. 9th century), regarded the four primary poet saints. The latter is responsible for the Tiruvacakam, an important collection which praises Siva as belonging to the southern country yet worshipped by people of all countries. It is the Nayanar Tirumular (7th or 8th century AD) who is considered to be the earliest proponent of Shaivism in Tamil areas. His Tirumantiram is a primary source for the system of Shaiva Siddhanta, being the tenth book of its canon.

The hymns of penned by these saints, which communicate deep emotional love for Shiva in his personal form, are divided into eleven collections together with a Tamil Purana called the Periya Puranam. The first seven collections, composed in the 7th-8th century CE by Nancampantar, Sambandar (c. 7th century CE), and Sundarar (8th century CE), are known as the Thevaram and are considered by Tamil Shaivites to be tantamount to the Vedas in spiritual importance. All throughout the corpus of their hymns, the Nayanars drew upon many aspects of Tamil culture so as to provide their works with distinct local colour. Not only are the songs of these saints still sung by Tamil worshippers today, but their images also widely worshipped.

Kashmir Shaivism

Kashmir Shaivism influence in India

Tantric Shaivism thrived in Kashmir during the second half of the ninth century CE as result of the polarities between two groups popular in this region, the dualistic Shaiva Siddhantas (see below) and the monists who formed the Trika and Krama traditions. The Shaiva Siddanthas maintained what they held to be a "pure" form of Shaivism which was very much compatible with the orthodox Brahmanical philosophy and practice. They were lead primarily by Narayanakantha (c. 950-1025 C.E.) and his son Ramakantha, who composed the Naresvaraparkisaprakasa.

Monist opposition to Shaiva Siddhanta was first codified by Vasugupta (ca 800) and carried on by his student Kallata (850-900), culminating in the works of Abhinavagupta. This school considered Shiva to be the substrate of an ubiquitous self that existed between all persons. This attributed Shiva with the characteristics of both immanence and transcendence, rendering him a real but also wholly abstract creator-preserver-destroyer. In accordance with Tantric influences (most likely the Kapalikas), the Trika tradition claimed that the initiated Saiva householder was able to experience the power of transcendence for himself by offering meat, wine, and sexual fluids to eight mother goddesses and their embodiments, called yogini. The Kramas, meanwhile, followed similar Kapalika influences, dressing in skulls, frequenting cremation grounds, and propitiating the goddess Kali with meat and acts of caste-free sex in hopes that she would "possess" them. Needless to say, these practices were abhorred by the more orthodox Shaiva Siddhanta sect.

Trika non-dualism eventually was absorbed by the Kaula cult, which sought erotic, mystical union with the goddess Srividya, and came to prominence in Kashmir during the eleventh century. Precepts for worship of Srividya superceded those of the Trika cult, due in no small part to their dissemination by figures like Jayaratha (c. 1225-1275), Sahib Kaula (b. 1629) and Harabhatta (1874-1951). Trika came to be strongly influence by the Krama, eventually adopting several of the Krama dieties into its pantheon. In contrast to the Trika, the Krama has thrived for a number of centuries thanks to texts such as Nityasvatantra's Mahanayaprakasa, wherein Krama ritual is connected to the yearly Sivaratri festival. The Krama also enjoyed popularity outside Kashmir in the cult of the goddess Guhyakali; liturgical texts of this group still circulate in the Kathmandu valley today.

The aforementioned non-dualist sects have traditionally what has referred to as Kashmir Shaivism proper, though it is now obvious that Shaiva Siddhanta was the more popular group in this region during the tenth and eleventh centuries. In fact, the foremost of all the Shaiva cults in Kashmir during this time was actually that which worshipped Svacchandabhairava and his wife Aghoresvari. Althoguh nondual Shaivism and meditational techniques are still employed by some Brahmans in the Kashmir region, the influx of Muslim influence forced the Tantric ritualism of the nondualists into obscurity.

Shiva Siddhanta

Not only is the medieval Shaiva Siddhanta tradition one of the most popular and persistent Shaivic philosophies, it also provided the fundamental basis for the ritual and theology of virtually all other Shaiva groups which followed it. The tradition seems to have originated as early as the sixth century CE in Kashmir and central India, although it truly flourished in South India. Between the eleventh or twelfth centuries AD Shaiva Siddhanta was well-established in the South, particularly in Tamil Nadu. Shaiva Siddhanta upholds the older Pashupata distinction between three eternal substrates: souls, God, and the physical world. Shiva, the supreme divine being, is the effecient cause of the universe and the volitional souls within it while his Shakti provides the instrumental cause. Souls are bound to the material state because of ignorance, karma, and maya, the illusory aspect of reality. Shiva, however, provides the sould with the abiltiy to obtain empirical knowledge, which in turn leads to action which is either good or evil.

In practice, this philosophy is manifest as an intense devotional monotheism, wherein the most profound experience of god is held to be of the personal and loving variety. Shaiva Siddhanta allows for three paths of salvation, service (carya), worship (kriya) and meditation (yoga). No matter which path a devotee choses to follow, they must keep their mind fixed lovingly upon Shiva in every aspect of their lives in order to attain salvation. Such devotion alone supercedes asceticism, scriptural understanding, and external ritual in importance. Liberation in this tradition entails the dispensation of divine knowledge (patijnana) directly from Lord Shiva, the precursor for eventual realization of inseperability from (although not identity with) the single god.

In addition to the Vedic Samhitas, Upanishads, and the twenty-eight Saiva and Raudra Agamas, the canonical texts for this group include the Tirumurai and Meykantasastras, texts written in the vernacular Tamil. The Tirumurai (c. 10th century CE) are devotional songs of a mystical nature attributed to the poet Nampi Antar Nampi, while the Meykantasastras expound (c. 13th-14th century CE) are doctrinal explanations composed by theologians. Due in no small part to its connection with the vernacular Tamil, Shaiva Siddhanta survives as the most normative form of Shaivism in South India today, with a large following remaining in Tamil Nadu as well as Sri Lanka.

Virashaivism

Vira Shaivism influence in India

The Virasaivas("heroic Shaivas") are a reformist Shaivite sect with approxiamately six million adherents located in the South India state of Karnataka today. The movement originated along the border regions of Karnataka and Maharashtra in the mid-12th century. As is evident by their alternative moniker, the Lingayats ("bearers of the linga"), the linga represents the most important religious symbol for this group. This founder of this movement is traditionally thought to be Basava (1106-1167 C.E.), although his contemporary Ekantada Ramayya, may have been the principal reformer. Basava rejected traditional elements of the mainstream Brahmanical religion such as temple worship and caste domination. As such, the literature of this group, consisting mainly of vacanas or aphoristic sayings of the Virashaiva saints, is largely in the vernacular Kannada.

Virashaivas follow a system of qualified nondualism, a variant of Ramanuja's Vishishtadvaita, which accepts both difference and nondifference between soul and God. Shiva and the cosmic force are one, yet Shiva is beyond His creation, which is real, not illusory. Shiva acts by way of his energy, or Shakti, which divides itself into God who is manifested in the linga and the guru. Because of this, the every Virashaiva must be guided by a guru who is held in higher esteem than God. Members are required to wear around their neck or arm a linga fastened in a tube as a constant reminder of Shiva's presence. Virashaivas must pay homage to this linga at least twice every day. Liberation is said to result from six phases of devotion, the culmination of which is union with Shiva.

Symbols

Linga

One of the primary symbols of Shaivism is the linga (also known as "Lingam"), a phallic shape which represents Shiva in it's embodiment of his paradoxical character. That is, the juxtaposition of his virile, regenerative power as both the destroyer and reproducer of the universe, with his persistent ascetic restraint from sex. As such, the ever-erect phallus of Shiva embodies his infinite creative potentiality. Thus, the linga has become the definitive mark of Shaivism, allowing one to identify with and recognize followers of the group. It is commonly found in proximity to a yoni, the vulvular symbol of female creative energy or Shakti.

The linga is also the focal point of worship throughout India in both temples and family shrines. In the temple, worship of the linga is performed with offerings of fresh flowers, water, sprouts of grass, fruits, leaves and sun-dried rice. In the home, Shaivites often collect natural lingam-shaped stones to which they perform ablution and food offering. Lingas used in worship are of two varieties: those sculpted by humans and those that occur naturally, such as the ice Lingam located at the Cave Temple of Lord Amarnath in Kashmir. Also, the twelve Jyotirlinga shrines, where Shiva is worshipped in the form of a Jyotirlingam (or "Lingam of light) are among the most esteemed worship sites in the Śaivite tradition.

Tilak

The tilak is a common sectarian mark, usually worn on the forehead, which varies in form and significance between the folds of Hinduism. Shaivites tilak typically appear as three horizontal lines, also known as tripundra, are are drawn with ashes. Ash used for this purpose is held to be holy is typically referred to by the Sanskrit terms Sanskrit bhasma and/or vibhuti, both be translated as "sacred ash". Shiva-worshippers also wear this ash upon various other parts of the body. Some sects took this to extremes, such as the Kapalikas, who are said to have covered themselves in the funerary ashes of cremated corpses.

Worship

Temples

File:Srirangam temple kopuram.jpg

The gopuram of the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple in Srirangam, Tamilnadu.

There are innumerable Shaivite temples and shrines throughout India. Each temple follows one of the set of twenty-eight volumes of the Agamas. The architecture and layout, the locations of the images, and directions for methods of worship are all prescribed in the chosen Agama, and no deviation is allowed. Shiva temples have a number of common features, including a tall multi-storied gopuram, rising tower-like at the entrance and enclosed within a high wall. The lingam usually resides deep within the temple compound of buildings, courtyards and gardens. The lingam and the special structure that houses it are placed in such a way that they face the compound entrance directly. Only the guru may enter this sanctum sanctorum. Every Siva temple has at least one circumambulatory path encircling its sacred space, around which a procession may walk as part of the devotional service. A stone statue of Siva as Teacher, the Dakshinamurthy faces south.

Many shrines to Shiva are accompanied by murtis dedicated to those closely related to Shiva in his mythology, including Ganesha and Murugan, his sons, and Śakti, his consort. Shiva and Parvati are often depicted together in devotional images as Ardhanarishvara "the Lord whose half is woman" — a half-male, half-female deity split into a male half (Shiva) and a female half (Parvati) along a central vertical axis in order to convey their unity.

Ritual

"Shivacharyas" conduct Shiva worship services. The usual service proceeds an anointing of the image of the diety with oil, water, milk, ghee, honey, curd, various juices, sandalwood paste, and other substances before being showered with blossoms. The idol is then adorned with jewels and flower garlands. Incense is burned, followed by a food offering (usually a rice preparation). Camphor and lamps of various designs are lit and presented to the image of the deity. The burning camphor is then carried to the congregation. The worshippers reverentially show their palms over it before placing their palms over their eyes, some say this gesture signifies that the devotion is as precious to the worshipper as his or her own sight. Finally sacred ash and kungumam (powdered turmeric mixed with slaked lime) are distributed into the upraised palms of the worshippers, who touch it onto their foreheads. The worshippers then progress along the circumambulation at least once before prostrating in prayer to the sanctum sanctorum, singing and reciting verses from the holy texts. These services are held daily, with as many as six occuring each day depending on the resources and the popularity of the temple.

Festivals

The fourteenth day of the waning moon in the month of Falgun (occuring during February -or March) is considered Shiva Ratri, the night of Lord Shiva. This marks the most important festival dedicated to Shiva. During this day Shaivite Temples are elaborately decorated, with hordes of devotees lining up to offer obeisances to the destroyer god. In honour of Shiva's benumbed and non-plussed attitude toward the phenomenal world, for this occassion devotees, (usually male), become intoxicated by a drink called Thandai made from cannabis, almonds, and milk. This beverage is consumed as prasad in the midst of singing of devotional hymns and dancing to the rhythm of the drums. Shiva Rati is especially popular in Nepal, particularly at the Shaivite temple of Pashupatinath in the eastern part of the Kathmandu valley which welcomes upwards of 100,000 worshippers from great distances away during this festival. During this event devotees and non-devotees all throughout Nepal smoke marijuana since the substance is temporarily legalized in the nation for this day only.

Shiva is also the focus of smaller, more regional events. One example is the Pooram feast, which is held at the Shaivite temples of Trichur, Kerala during April or early May. In a grand procession, elephants are lead through the streets in battle formation, a spectacle that attracts millions of spectators. From dawn until dusk musicians beat drums, smash cymbals and blow bugles during this festival festival.

Significance

Shaivism stands alone with Vaishnavism and to some extent Shaktism as one of the most significant monotheistic schools in modern Hinduism, with almost 200 million worshippers throughout the world. Although Vaishnavites outnumber Shaivites in this regard, some scholars aruge that Shaivism is the more coherent and unified of the two monotheistic schools. Broadly speaking, the strength of this monotheistic faith suggests the continued importance of a personal diety in the religious consciousness, as Shaivism spurned the more abstract conceptions of god put forth in the Vedas and the Upanishads. With monotheistic devotional schools such as Shaivism, regionalized cultural groups within India were able to express their own theologies through the personality of their chosen diety and all related mythology. Therefore, monotheistic traditions such as Shaivism provide an alternative perspective on Hinduism — one which is not necessarily based on a Sanskritized, pan-Indian philosophy of monism.

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External links

• Sadhus and Yogis of India Retrieved Aug 9, 2007.

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