Saivism: Hindu - Hinduism Dictionary on Saivism

By Himalayan Academy

Saivism (Saiva): (Sanskrit) The religion followed by those who worship Siva as supreme God. Oldest of the four sects of Hinduism. The earliest historical evidence of Saivism is from the 8,000-year-old Indus Valley civilization in the form of the famous seal of Siva as Lord Pashupati, seated in a yogic pose. In the Ramayana, Lord Rama worshiped Siva, as did his rival Ravana. Buddha in 624 bce was born into a Saivite family, and records of his time speak of the Saiva ascetics who wandered the hills looking much as they do today.

There are many schools of Saivism, six of which are

-       Saiva Shiddhanta,

-       Pashupata Saivism,

-       Kashmir Saivism,

-       Vira Saivism,

-       Siddha Siddhanta and

-       Siva Advaita.

They are based firmly on the Vedas and Saiva Agamas, and thus have much in common, including the following principle doctrines:

1)    the five powers of Siva - creation, preservation, destruction, revealing and concealing grace;

2)    The three categories: Pati, pashu and pasha ("God, souls and bonds");

3)    the three bonds: anava, karma and maya;

4)    the three-fold power of Siva: ic�ha shakti, kriya shakti and jnana shakti;

5)    the thirty-six tattvas, or categories of existence;

6)    the need for initiation from a satguru;

7)    the power of mantra;

8)    8the four padas (stages): charya (selfless service), kriya (devotion), yoga (meditation), and jnana (illumination);

9)    the belief in the Panchakshara as the foremost mantra, and in rudraksha and vibhuti as sacred aids to faith;

10)               the beliefs in satguru (preceptor), Sivalinga (object of worship) and sangama (company of holy persons).

See: individual school entries, Saivism (Saivism six schools), Saiva.

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For more articles related to Saivism , see: Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Saivism , Body Mind and Soul.

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Courtesy to Himalayan Academy: An educational and publishing institution of Saiva Siddhanta Church founded by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami in 1957. The Academy's objective is to share the teachings of Sanatana Dharma through travel-study programs, The Master Course, books and other publications- particularly the monthly newspaper Hinduism Today and Dancing with Siva, Hinduism's Contemporary Catechism- as a public service to Hindus worldwide. Please visit www.himalayanacademy.com for more information.