What ever I could gather on Saiva Siddhantham due to my several years of listening to Thirumanthiram discourse by Sivakumar Ayya in Youtube and CD recordings and discussions with my dad and mom who had told and discussed many a spiritual aspects from time to time from my childhood.
Unlike Vedhantam Saiva Siddhantham believes in Duality.
Saiva Sidhantham
Some of the seilient points of Saiva Sidhantham are
1. No one knows the genesis of those 3 things that were the only things that existed at the start of the universe. They are as follows
A) Pathi
B) Pasu
C) Pasam
Pathi (the almighty) is knowledgable and is the one that knows all by itself.
Pasu (the athma) is knowledgable but only if the almighty (pathi) helps.
Pasam (desire) is not knowledgable at all. It is inanimate.
2. After seeing the sufferings of atma (due to its preoccupation with desire), pathi decides to help atma realize the truth, so that atma can come out of its sufferings and attain blissful state. In order to educate and make atma realize the truth, pathi decides to provide atma with necessary engines, so that atma uses these engines to realize the highest truth, that being in unison with pathi is the one and only salvation, to tide over the sufferings and ultimately come out of the birth cycle and attain mukthi.
3. There are 36 thatvas (engines) that pathi provides athma to experience the truth.
4. The 36 thatvas, bottom up are as follows
1 - 5 - the punja boothas
1. Earth, 2. Water, 3. Fire, 4. Air, 5. Space
6 - 10 - thanmathirai
1. Smell, 2. Taste, 3. Sight, 4. Sense of touch, 5. Sound
11 - 15 - gnanenthrium
1. Nose, 2. Tounge, 3. Eyes, 4. Skin, 5. Ears
16 - 20 - karmenthrium
1. Hands, 2. Legs, 3. Ability to speak, 4. Excretion outlet, 5. Reproductive outlet.
21 Manasu
22 Budhi
23 Ahankaram
24 Sitham
The above 24 thatvams of overall 36 thatvams is called / are from prakritimayay.
The 7 asudhamayay thatvams are as follows
0. Mayay
1. Kalai (gnanam)
2. Vithai (kriyay) வித்தை
3. Passion (itchai)
4. Time (neeram)
5. Space (neyathi)
6. Purudan (above 1-5 is called panjakanjugam ( dress ) for athma, panjakanjugam + athma is called purudan.
The 5 Sudha thatvams are as follows top down
1. Sadhasivan
2. Maheswaran
3. Ruthiran
4. Vishnu
5. Brahma
All the above 5 are all various status of atma, but due to their mastery / control over the prakritimayay & Asudhamayay have entered into Sudhamayay. Every Atma has the potential to raise upto Sudha thatvas.
Some exponents have included 2 more elements to 5 Sudha thatvam 1. Parasivam(Natham), 2. Parasakthi(Vinthu).
5. Above all 36 thatvam is Paraparasivam in Paraveli
6. How to cross all the 36 thatvams and attain mukthi ?
By having control over the 24 prakritimayay one enters the Asudhamayay. -Read Seerkazhi Sitrambalanadigal's "Thugalaru Bodham" vurai for more details
One's gnana guru appears when one crosses prakritimayay and one enters Asudhamayay, to redeem the athma from Karma and ego(anavam).
7. As one crosses each thatvam the atma attains (super)natural powers. Saivam insists not to get diverted when attaining such powers as they might delay the attainment of Mukthi. During the exercise (Sadhana) to help cross the thatvas, There are stages when ones ego might make one feel he/she is the god. One need to be cautious of the same and should always have in mind that atma has no knowledge unless the knower(almighty) lets the atma know and realise truth.
8. Even after attaining mukthi atma should realise that it is because of the knower that the atma is enjoying the bliss.
As you can see from the above that Saivam is in support of duality unlike Advaitam that proposes atma when refined it becomes paramatma or the god. But Saivam always says that the atma can only reach to the Knower(god) and can never become God. Saiva Siddhanta(m) believes in Duality. The basic premise being if we are one and the same as the creator we would not be messing with us and world like we have been doing. Saiva siddhanta(m) begins saying Pathy,Pasu,Pasam were the three things that existed for eons. Pathy is lord(paramatma) , Pasu is atma & Pasam is love. Paramatma and atma understand(know things). While paramatma is eternaly knowledgeable, atma needs guidance. Atma understands only when shown(explained). Paramatma after seeing the pains that atma undergoes decides to help atma to overcome the pain.
Saiva Siddhanta philosophy is based mainly on the Saiva Agamas. Vedas are considered to be of general nature and Agamas of special nature to Saivism. Saiva Siddhanta developed as a plausible philosophy in the Tamil land and is considered as the philosophy of the Tamils.
Authoritative texts in Saiva Sidhanta are the fourteen Meykanda Sastra books in Tamil. One of these is Sivagnanbodham which is the primary text in Saiva Siddhanta. The authors of these books are divine inspired saints.
For a long time it was believed that Saiva religion, like other Indian religions, had its origin with the Vedas. The Mohenjadaro – Harappa excavations of the last century proved that Saivism and Siva worship existed before the Vedic period. Following words of Sir John Marshall testifies to this:
‘Among the many revelations that Mohenjadaro and Harappa have in store for us, none perhaps is more remarkable than this discovery that Saivism has a history going back to the chalcolithic age’ – John Marshall
The Saiva religion and its philosophy are praised highly by scholars.
‘Saivism is the oldest pre-historic religion of S. India’ – G.U.Pope
‘One of the most closely reasoned religious philosophies found anywhere in
the world’. – John H. Piet
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