The Sanskrit word Siddha means a person who has achieved a Siddhi, a supernatural power. Siddha - Tamil Nadu Tradition of Siddhahood. In South India, a Siddha reffers to a being who has achieved physical as well as spiritual perfection or enlightenment. The ultimate demonstration of this is that Siddhas alledgedly attained physical immortality. Thus Siddha, like Siddhar or Cittar (indigenisation of Sanskrit terms in Tamil Nadu) refers to a person who has realised the g ...

Including:

• Siddha - Tamil Nadu Tradition of Siddhahood

Read more here: » Siddha: Encyclopedia - Siddha

Tirumular: (Tamil) An illustrious siddha yogi and rishi of the Nandinatha Sampradaya's Kailasa Parampara who came from the Himalayas (ca 200 bce) to Tamil Nadu to compose the Tirumantiram. In this scripture he recorded the tenets of Saivism in concise and precise verse form, based upon his own realizations and the supreme authority of the Saiva Agamas and the Vedas. Tirumular was a disciple of Maharishi Nandinatha.

See: Tirumantiram, Kailasa Parampara, Vedanta.

(See also: Tirumular, Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

In South India, a Siddha reffers to a being who has achieved physical as well as spiritual perfection or enlightenment. The ultimate demonstration of this is that Siddhas alledgedly attained physical immortality. Thus Siddha, like Siddhar or Cittar (indigenisation of Sanskrit terms in Tamil Nadu) refers to a person who has realised the goal of a type of Sadhana and become a perfected being. In Tamil Nadu, South India, where the Siddha tradition is practiced, special individuals are recognized as and called Siddhas, or Siddha ...

See also:

Siddha, Siddha - Tamil Nadu Tradition of Siddhahood

Read more here: » Siddha: Encyclopedia II - Siddha - Tamil Nadu Tradition of Siddhahood

Tirumula Nayanar

Tirumula Nayanar was a great Yogi in Kailas. He had all the 8 major Siddhis through the grace of Nandi, the Vahana of Lord Siva. He was a friend of Agastya Muni

From "Kundalini Yoga" by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Yogis: Tirumula Nayanar

Hinduism: Do God and the Gods in Hinduism have Gender?

 Esoterically, it must be admitted that none of the Gods has a wife. Their consorts are not to be considered as separate from them, but as aspects of their being, as their shakti or power. The Mahadevas who live in the Third World cannot be likened to men and women who live on the earth. They exist in perfectly evolved soul bodies, bodies which are not properly differentiated by sex. They are pure beings made of pure consciousness and light; they are neither male nor female.

Read more here: » Hinduism: Do God and the Gods in Hinduism have Gender?

Eight Major Siddhis

An accomplished, Purnayogi in the path of Kundalini Yoga is in possession of eight major Siddhis, viz., Anima, Mahima, Laghima, Garima, Prapti, Prakamya, Vasitvam and Ishitvam.

From "Kundalini Yoga" by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Siddhis: Major Siddhis and Minor Siddhis

Famous yogins from different ages.

From "Kundalini Yoga" by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Yogins: Famous Yogins - Yoga Addenda

God and Gods of Hinduism

The most prevalent expression of worship for the Hindu comes as devotion to God and the Gods. In the Hindu pantheon there are said to be three hundred and thirty-three million Gods. Hindus believe in one Supreme Being. The plurality of Gods are perceived as divine creations of that one Being. So, Hinduism has one supreme God, but it has an extensive hierarchy of Gods. Many people look at the Gods as mere symbols, representations of forces or mind strata, or as various Personifications generated as a projection o of man's mind onto an impersonal pure Beingness.

Read more here: » Hinduism: God and Gods of Hinduism

Hinduism Lexicon on A

From aadheenam to axis.

Read more here: » Hinduism: Hinduism Lexicon on A

Ten Traditional Yamas or Codes of Conduct The Yamas are codified as "the restraints" in numerous scriptures including the Shandilya and Varuha Upanishads, Hatha Yoga Pradipika by Gorakshanatha, the Tirumantiram of Tirumular and the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. All the above texts list ten yamas, with the exception of Patanjali's work, which lists only five. They comprise the "shall-nots" in our dealings with the external world. The ten traditional yamas are: Ahimsa: abstinence fr ...

Read more here: » Yamas: Encyclopedia - Yamas

The Niyamas are codified as "the observances" in numerous scriptures including the Shandilya and Varuha Upanishads, Hatha Yoga Pradipika by Gorakshanatha, the Tirumantiram of Tirumular and the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. All the above texts list ten Niyamas, with the exception of Patanjali's work, which lists only five. They comprise the "shall-do" in our dealings with the inner world. The ten traditional Niyamas are: Hri: remorse, being modest and showing shame for misdeeds; Santosha: contentment; bei ...

Read more here: » Niyama: Encyclopedia - Niyama

Thirumoolar also spelt Tirumular or Thirumular is one of the 18 Siddhars. His main work is Thirumandhiram, that describes various aspects, from Science, Medicine, Human aspects of Life, The Divine - especially Lord Shiva and many others. Thirumoolar - Mystic. One of the greatest mystics that India has produced in its long history, Tirumoolar, was a great saint, traditionally allotted a date of 3000 BC and said to have lived for 3000 years, but is assigned by historians to the period between th ...

Including:

• Thirumoolar - Mystic
• Thirumoolar - Amazing Legend
• Thirumoolar - Thirumandiram his magnum opus

Read more here: » Thirumoolar: Encyclopedia - Thirumoolar

Saiva Siddhanta is the oldest, most vigorous and extensively practiced Shaivaite Hindu school active today, encompassing millions of devotees, thousands of active temples and dozens of living monastic/ascetic traditions. Despite its popularity, Siddhanta’s past as an all-India denomination is relatively unknown and it is primarily identified with its South Indian, Tamil form. The term Saiva Siddhanta means “the final or established conclusions of Saivism.” It is the formalized theology of the divine revelations contained in the ...

Including:

• Saiva Siddhanta - Gurus
• Saiva Siddhanta - Saints and Ascetics
• Saiva Siddhanta - Siddhas
• Saiva Siddhanta - Saiva Siddhanta Teachings
• Saiva Siddhanta - The Spread of Saiva Siddhanta
• Saiva Siddhanta - A New Siddhanta
• Saiva Siddhanta - A Dualistic Development
• Saiva Siddhanta - Saiva Siddhanta Today

Read more here: » Saiva Siddhanta: Encyclopedia - Saiva Siddhanta

Yama (Sanskrit: यम) is the lord of death, whose first recorded appearance is in the Vedas. He is one of the most ancient beings in the world and parallel forms of one sort or another have been found all over Eurasia. He is known as Yima by Zoroastrians, and is considered to be cognate with Ymir of Norse legend and has become known as Enma, or Emma-o, in Japanese legend. Some even claim that he also ...

Including:

• Yama - Characteristics of Yama
• Yama - Subordination to Shiva and Vishnu
• Yama - Yamas as codes of conduct
• Yama - Yama in popular culture

Read more here: » Yama: Encyclopedia - Yama

Sundaranathar: (Tamil) "Beautiful lord." Original name of Natha Siddha Tirumular before he trekked to South India from the Himalayas.

See: Tirumular.

(See also: Sundaranathar, Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

Tayumanavar: (Tamil) A Tamil Saivayogi, devotional mystic and poet saint (ca 17th century) whose writings are a harmonious blend of philosophy and devotion. In his poem "Chinmayananda Guru," Tayumanavar places himself in the genealogy of Rishi Tirumular.

See: Tirumular.

(See also: Tayumanavar, Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

Shuddha Saiva Siddhanta: (Sanskrit) "Pure Saiva Siddhanta," a term first used by Tirumular in the Tirumantiram to describe his monistic Saiva Siddhanta and distinguish it from pluralistic Siddhanta and other forms of Siddhanta that do not encompass the ultimate monism of Vedanta.

(See also: Shuddha Saiva Siddhanta, Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

Vyaghrapada: (Sanskrit) "Tiger feet." Famous Nandinatha Sampradaya siddha (ca 200 bce), trained under Maharishi Nandinatha, was a brother disciple of rishis Tirumular and Patanjali. He pilgrimaged south from Kashmir, settling at Tamil Nadu's Chidambaram Siva Temple to practice yoga.

See: Kailasa Parampara.

(See also: Vyaghrapada, Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

Vyaghrapada: (Sanskrit) "Tiger feet." Famous

Nandinatha Sampradaya siddha (ca 200 bce), trained under

Maharishi Nandinatha, was a brother disciple of rishis

Tirumular and Patanjali. He pilgrimaged south from

Kashmir, settling at Tamil Nadu's Chidambaram Siva

Temple to practice yoga.

See: Kailasa Parampara.

(See also: Vyaghrapada, Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

Kailasa Parampara: (Sanskrit) "Crystaline lineage."

A spiritual lineage of 162 siddhas, a major stream of the Nandinatha Sampradaya, proponents of the ancient philosophy of monistic Saiva Siddhanta. The first of these masters that history recalls was Maharishi Nandinatha (or Nandikeshvara) 2,250 years ago, satguru to the great Tirumular, ca 200 bce, and seven other disciples (as stated in the Tirumantiram): Patanjali, Vyaghrapada, Sanatkumara, Sivayogamuni, Sanakar, Sanadanar and Sananthanar. Tirumular had seven disciples: Malangam, Indiran, Soman, Brahman, Rudran, Kalanga, and Kanjamalayam, each of whom established one or more monasteries and propagated the Agamic lore.

In the line of Kalanga came the sages Righama, Maligaideva, Nadantar, Bhogadeva and Paramananda. The lineage continued down the centuries and is alive today- the first recent siddha known being the Rishi from the Himalayas, so named because he descended from those holy mountains. In South India, he initiated Kadaitswami (ca 1810 - 1875), who in turn initiated Chellappaswami (1840 - 1915). Chellappan passed the mantle of authority to sage Yogaswami (1872 - 1964), who in 1949 initiated the current satguru, Sivaya Subramuniyaswami.

See: Chellapaswami, Kadaitswami, Natha Sampradaya, Patanjali, Subramuniyaswami, Tirumular, Vyaghrapada, Yogaswami.

(See also: Kailasa Parampara, Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)