Iyer: Encyclopedia II - Iyer - Spiritual and philosophical beliefs

Iyer - Spiritual and philosophical beliefs

Strictly speaking, all Iyers define themselves as "Srauta-Smarta", ie. followers of the Sruti text (mostly Yajur Veda and Sama Veda), and Smriti texts like Aapasthamba Dharma Sutra. For at least a millennium, a vast majority of Iyers have followed Sri Adi Sankara's advaita philosophy, a branch of Hinduism that believes that the human soul is liberated from the cycle of rebirths through the acquisition of knowledge of its true nature (See external links). Important in the advaitic philosophy is the tenet that Brahman, the Supreme Reality is nirguna, or devoid of attributes. However, humans tend to attach attributes to God to facilitate worship, thus creating various deities. As followers of this philosophy, Iyers worship the entire pantheon of Hindu deities: Shiva, Vishnu, Rama, Krishna, Ganesha, Muruga, as well as Ayyappa. However, in as much as Advaita is one expression of the Uttara-Mimamsa school of philosophy, it is noteworthy that other schools (including agnostic and atheistic ones), such as Nyaya,Vaisesika, Samkhya, Yoga, and Purva-Mimamsa have, over the centuries, found a few adherents among the Iyers.

A vast number of Iyers continue to take considerable interest in spritual life, even in the modern age. The Orthodox Iyer believes in the teachings of Advaita philosophy of Adi Shankracharya. They therefore mostly follow the teaching of Gurus who come from that school of philosophy. The popular mutt that Iyers follow is:

Sringeri Sharada Peetham - This mutt was started by Adi Shankaracharya. Sringeri mutt is located in Sringeri, Karnataka. The followers of this mutt believe that Shankaracharya lived from 788 to 800 AD. Its first head was Sureswaracharya. The mutt includes an impressive line of pontiffs, the most famous of whom was Shri Vidyaranya, who was a RajaGuru to Vijayanagar kings (the rulers of the dead city of Hampi). The present pontiff is Sri Bharati Teertha reverentially called Maha Sannidhanam. The mutt has traditional following in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra, Kerala, Maharashtra and Orissa and the rest of the world.

Besides the Iyers also follow the teachings of the Siddhas and Nayanmars. They also revere the alwars, such as godhai (andal). Siddhas and Nayanmars have religious ideas different from, but closely linked to, Advaita. There used to be Iyers who only worshipped Shiva or Vishnu,in spite of believing in advaita.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Spiritual and philosophical beliefs", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki