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Saivism
The relationship between Siva and Sakti outlined in the previous section holds in general terms for Saiva cults as well. The major
distinguishing feature between Saktism and Saivism is the deity worshipped: Sakti for Saktas and Siva for Saivas. As mentioned above, the term Siva derives from the verb root si, which means ‘to lie’ and conveys a sense of Siva as quiescent, though in the context of Saivism a more suggestive meaning is ‘that in which all lies’ which evokes a sense of Siva as the all-pervasive supreme Reality. The term Siva can also mean good, auspicious, gracious and other similar expressions as well as Lord, while Samkara is often cited as defining Siva as ‘one who purifies by the utterance of His name’ or the ‘Pure One’ in the sense that Siva is said to be unaffected by the three gunas (the three basic qualities or characteristics of creation: sattva – purity, light, harmony; rajas – activity, passion; tamas – dullness, inertia, ignorance).
In the company of Brahma as the creator of the cosmos and Visnu as its preserver, Siva completes the Hindu trinity (the trimurti or three forms of Isvara or God in orthodox Hinduism) in the role of its destroyer. This role shouldn’t be interpreted as something negative, though, as what Siva destroys is the evil and suffering that must be cleared away for creation to follow. In Saivism the functions performed by Brahma and Visnu in the trimurti are incorporated into a broader conception of Siva as the supreme Godhead who exercises five functions: creation (srsti), maintenance (sthiti), dissolution (samhara), obscuration (tirodhana) and grace (anugraha).
In his personal form Siva is often portrayed as a yogi immersed in meditation wearing a tiger skin and holding a trident with snakes coiled around his arms and neck, all of which hold symbolic significance. Siva is also depicted as Nataraja or Lord of the cosmic dance of creation and destruction, and is commonly represented by the Siva-linga or lingam (meaning ‘mark’ or ‘characteristic’), an oval-shaped mound made of stone, metal or clay with three horizontal stripes that is usually positioned on a yoni (meaning ‘womb’ or ‘source’) which acts as a pedestal. In this configuration the lingam and yoni symbolise the complementary relationship between the masculine and feminine principles of the cosmos respectively.
As with the beginnings of Tantra generally, the origins of Siva worship are obscure, with the earliest evidence appearing in the Svetasvatara Upanisad, though there is mention of Siva earlier still in the Rg Veda under the guise of the deity Rudra (from the verb root rud = ‘to cry or howl’). Rudra appears as one of the 1,008 names of Siva that are recited by Krsna to Yudhisthira in the Siva Sahasranama, a section of the great Indian epic the Mahabharata. In the same division of that work there is another section, the Visnu Sahasranama (thousand names of Visnu), which is one of the most sacred and often chanted stotras (prayer or hymn) in Hinduism. The inclusion of both the Siva and Visnu Sahasranamas in the Mahabharata documents their emerging significance as figures of worship, and pre-dates their increasing importance in the post-Christian era as both Saivism and Vaisnavism provided a Hindu alternative to Buddhism and Jainism.
Throughout its long history, Saivism produced an impressive array of lineages and traditions along with an extensive literature that includes the Saiva Agamas which, like the Sakta Tantras, are considered to be divinely revealed scriptures. The Saiva tradition recognises twenty-eight Agamas, though hundreds more are mentioned. As with the Tantras, the Agamas deal with a range of topics and develop a variety of philosophical positions, but all accept Siva as the ultimate Reality and supreme Lord, and all agree on a small number of fundamental doctrines such as the threefold nature of pasa (literally ‘rope’) or the bonds that tie the individual to samsara: the impurities of ignorance (anava) and action (karma), and the power of obscuration (maya); and the four padas or stages of sadhana: virtuous conduct (carya), forms of religious worship (kriya), spiritual disciplines that have as their goal self-realisation (yoga), and liberating wisdom (jnana).
The multiplicity of philosophical positions, religious cultures and forms of sadhana that have developed around these points of agreement can most easily be discussed in terms of the major schools or sects of Saivism. However it should be kept in mind that only a well-informed minority knowingly subscribe to any particular school, with many if not most devotees of Siva following an eclectic mix of beliefs and practices that form the religious observances of their families and communities. A representative selection of these sects would include Kashmir Saivism, Saiva Siddhanta, Kapalika, Vira Saivism and Pasupata. Kashmir Saivism and Siva Siddhanta are two of the better documented of these and so will be discussed in more detail in the following sections.
The Kapalikas are a fiercely ascetic and eccentric sect that worships the fearsome aspect of Siva in the form of Bhairava the ferocious. The term kapalika means ‘skull bearer’ and in this context refers to the characteristic Kapalika practice of carrying a human skull as a begging and food bowl. Some also link the Kapalikas with devotion to Lord Siva in the form of the supreme begger who is depicted as wearing nothing but a garland of skulls and ash from funeral pyres. The Kapalikas are sometimes confused with another eccentric Saiva sect the Aghoris, which some believe split off from the Kapalikas in the fourteenth century CE. Aghoris are notorious for living in cremation grounds, smearing themselves with ash from burnt corpses, meditating while seated on corpses, and even eating the flesh of these. These practices are consistent with the Aghori’s strongly non-dualistic metaphysics and are designed to subvert conventional Hindu distinctions such as those between purity and impurity. If all distinctions are ultimately illusory, as non-dualism implies, then this truth can be realised by transcending social taboos and embracing even the most culturally marginal aspects of life.
Vira Saivism accepts a version of qualified non-dualism referred to as sakti vishishtadvaita which recognises both the difference and non-difference of Siva and the jiva somewhat like the relationship between the sun and its rays. Siva and His Sakti are held to be ultimately non-different and the world is accepted as real and not illusory, however Siva is considered to be more than His creation, being both the efficient and material cause of the cosmos.
Pasupata is the earliest known Saiva sect and is thought to have been founded by Lakulisa in the first or second century CE. Pasupatas worship Siva as Pasupati, Lord of individuals and animals (from pasu meaning individual soul or animal, and pati which means Lord as well as being another name for Siva). This school accepts a version of the bhedabheda doctrine or the relation of indentity in difference. For the Pasupatas this means that Siva as the ultimate reality is both non-dual (abheda) and the personal Lord of all pasu or individuals. This implies a difference (bheda) between Pati and pasu that remains even after liberation which is nonetheless understood as a state of complete union with Siva, and is sometimes compared to stars disappearing in the sky at dawn.
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