EVERY RELIGION HAS A CREED OF ONE FORM OR ANOTHER, an authoritative
formulation of its beliefs. Historically, creeds have developed whenever
religions migrate from their homelands.
Until then, the beliefs are fully contained in the culture and taught
to children as a natural part of growing up. A creed is the distillation
of volumes of knowledge into a series of easy-to-remember beliefs. A
creed is meant to summarize the explicit teachings or articles of faith,
to imbed and thus protect and transmit the beliefs. Creeds give
strength to individuals seeking to understand life and religion. Creeds
also enable members of one faith to express, in elementary and
consistent terms, their traditions to members of another.
Though the vast array of doctrines within Hinduism has not always been
articulated in summary form, from ancient times unto today we have the
well-known creedal mahavakya, “great sayings,” of the Vedic Upanishads.
Now, in this technological age in which village integrity is being
replaced by worldwide mobility, the importance of a creed becomes
apparent if religious identity is to be preserved. We need two kinds of
strength—that which is found in diversity and individual freedom to
inquire and that which derives from a union of minds in upholding the
universal and shared principles of our faith.
Saivism is truly
ageless, for it has no beginning. It is the precursor of the
many-faceted religion now termed Hinduism. Scholars trace the roots of
Siva worship back more than 8,000 years to the advanced Indus Valley
civilization. But sacred writings tell us there never was a time when
Saivism did not exist. Modern history records six main schools: Saiva
Siddhanta, Pashupatism, Kashmir Saivism, Vira Saivism, Siddha Siddhanta
and Siva Advaita. Saivism’s grandeur and beauty are found in a practical
culture, an enlightened view of man’s place in the universe and a
profound system of temple mysticism and yoga. It provides knowledge of
man’s evolution from God and back to God, of the soul’s unfoldment and
awakening guided by enlightened sages. Like all the Hindu sects, its
majority are families, headed by hundreds of orders of swamis and sadhus
who follow the fiery, world-renouncing path to moksha. The Vedas state,
“By knowing Siva, who is hidden in all things, exceedingly fine, like
film arising from clarified butter, the One embracer of the universe—by
realizing God, one is released from all fetters.”
The twelve
beliefs on the following pages embody the centuries-old central
convictions of Saivism, especially as postulated in Saiva Siddhanta, one
of the six schools of Saivism. They cover the basic beliefs about God,
soul and world, evil and love and more. On the last page is a glossary
of words used in the twelve beliefs.
Belief One
REGARDING GOD’S UNMANIFEST REALITY
Siva’s followers all believe that Lord Siva is God, whose Absolute
Being, Parasiva, transcends time, form and space. The yogi silently
exclaims, “It is not this. It is not that.” Yea, such an inscrutable God
is God Siva. Aum.
Belief Two
REGARDING GOD’S MANIFEST NATURE OF ALL-PERVADING LOVE
Siva’s followers all believe that Lord Siva is God, whose immanent
nature of love, Parashakti, is the substratum, primal substance or pure
consciousness flowing through all form as energy, existence, knowledge
and bliss. Aum.
Belief Three
REGARDING GOD AS PERSONAL LORD AND CREATOR OF ALL
Siva’s followers all believe that Lord Siva is God, whose immanent
nature is the Primal Soul, Supreme Mahadeva, Paramesvara, author of
Vedas and Agamas, the creator, preserver and destroyer of all that
exists. Aum.
Belief Four
REGARDING THE ELEPHANT-FACED DEITY
Siva’s followers all believe in the Mahadeva Lord Ganesha, son of
Siva-Shakti, to whom they must first supplicate before beginning any
worship or task. His rule is compassionate. His law is just. Justice is
His mind. Aum.
Belief Five
REGARDING THE DEITY KARTTIKEYA
Siva’s followers all believe in the Mahadeva Karttikeya, son of
Siva-Shakti, whose vel of grace dissolves the bondages of ignorance. The
yogi, locked in lotus, venerates Murugan. Thus restrained, his mind
becomes calm. Aum.
Belief Six
REGARDING THE SOUL’S CREATION AND IDENTITY WITH GOD
Siva’s followers all believe that each soul is created by Lord Siva and
is identical to Him, and that this identity will be fully realized by
all souls when the bondage of anava, karma and maya is removed by His
grace. Aum.
Belief Seven
THE GROSS, SUBTLE AND CAUSAL PLANES OF EXISTENCE
Siva’s followers all believe in three worlds: the gross plane, where
souls take on physical bodies; the subtle plane, where souls take on
astral bodies; and the causal plane, where souls exist in their
self-effulgent form. Aum.
Belief Eight
REGARDING KARMA, SAMSARA AND LIBERATION FROM REBIRTH
Siva’s followers all believe in the law of karma—that one must reap the
effects of all actions he has caused—and that each soul continues to
reincarnate until all karmas are resolved and moksha, liberation, is
attained. Aum.
Belief Nine
REGARDING THE FOUR MARGAS, OR STAGES OF INNER PROGRESS
Siva’s followers all believe that the performance of charya, virtuous
living, kriya, temple worship, and yoga, leading to Parasiva through the
grace of the living satguru, is absolutely necessary to bring forth
jnana, wisdom. Aum.
Belief Ten
REGARDING THE GOODNESS OF ALL
Siva’s followers all believe there is no intrinsic evil. Evil has no
source, unless the source of evil’s seeming be ignorance itself. They
are truly compassionate, knowing that ultimately there is no good or
bad. All is Siva’s will. Aum.
Belief Eleven
REGARDING THE ESOTERIC PURPOSE OF TEMPLE WORSHIP
Siva’s followers all believe that religion is the harmonious working
together of the three worlds and that this harmony can be created
through temple worship, wherein the beings of all three worlds can
communicate. Aum.
Belief Twelve
REGARDING THE FIVE LETTERS
Siva’s followers all believe in the Panchakshara Mantra, the five
sacred syllables “Namasivaya,” as Saivism’s foremost and essential
mantra. The secret of Namasivaya is to hear it from the right lips at
the right time. Aum.
The Path to Enlightenment
The
path of enlightenment is divided naturally into four stages or padas:
charya, virtue and selfless service; kriya, worshipful sadhanas; yoga,
meditation under a guru’s guidance; and jnana, the state of enlightened
wisdom reached toward the path’s end as a result of Self Realization
through the Guru’s grace. These four padas are quite similar to the four
yogas of Vedanta: karma yoga, bhakti yoga, raja yoga and jnana yoga.
However, there is one key difference. Whereas in Vedanta you can choose
to follow just one of the yogas, in the Saiva Siddhanta school of
Saivism we need to pass through all four stages, or padas.
Let’s say the path of life is rocks across a shallow stream. Vedanta
gives us four separate rock paths to choose from, one for each of the
four yogas, all of which lead across the river. Saiva Siddhanta gives us
one path for crossing the river which consists of four stones: charya,
kriya, yoga and jnana.
The four stages are not alternative
ways, but progressive, cumulative phases of a one path, much like the
natural development of a butterfly from egg to caterpillar, from
caterpillar to pupa, and then the final metamorphosis to butterfly. The
four stages are what each human soul must pass through in many births to
attain its final goal of moksha, freedom from rebirth. In the beginning
stages, we suffer until we learn. Learning leads us to service; and
selfless service is the beginning of spiritual striving. Service leads
us to understanding. Understanding leads us to meditate deeply and
without distractions. Finally meditation leads us to surrender in God.
This is the straight and certain path, the San Marga, leading to Self
Realization, the inmost purpose of life.
Charya Pada
Charya, literally “conduct,” is the first stage of religiousness and the
foundation for the next three stages. It is also called the dasa marga,
meaning “path of servitude,” for here the soul relates to God as
servant to master. The disciplines of charya include humble service,
attending the temple, performing one’s duty to community and family,
honoring holy men, respecting elders, atoning for misdeeds and
fulfilling the ten classical restraints called yamas, which are:
noninjury, truthfulness, nonstealing, divine conduct, patience,
steadfastness, compassion, honesty, moderate appetite and purity. It is
the stage of overcoming basic instinctive patterns such as the
tendencies to become angry and hurtful. Right behavior and
self-sacrificing service are never outgrown. The keynote of charya, or
karma yoga, is seva, religious service given without the least thought
of reward, which has the magical effect of softening the ego and
bringing forth the soul’s innate devotion.
Kriya Pada
Saivism demands deep devotion through bhakti yoga in the kriya pada, the
softening of the intellect and unfolding love. In kriya, the second
stage of religiousness, our sadhana, or regular spiritual discipline,
which was mostly external in charya, is now also internal. Kriya,
literally “action or rite,” is a stirring of the soul in awareness of
the Divine, overcoming the instinctive-intellectual mind. We now look
upon the Deity image not just as carved stone, but as the living
presence of the God. We perform ritual and puja not because we have to
but because we want to. We are drawn to the temple to satisfy our
longing. We sing joyfully. We absorb and intuit the wisdom of the Vedas
and Agamas. We perform pilgrimage and fulfill the sacraments. We
practice diligently the ten classical observances called niyamas which
are: remorse, contentment, giving, faith, worship of the Lord,
scriptural listening, cognition, sacred vows, recitation and austerity.
Our relationship with God in kriya is as a son to his parents.
Yoga Pada
Yoga, “union,” is the process of uniting with God within oneself, a
stage arrived at through perfecting charya and kriya. God is now like a
friend to us. This system of inner discovery begins with asana—sitting
quietly in yogic posture—and pranayama, breath control. Pratyahara,
sense withdrawal, brings awareness into dharana, concentration, then
into dhyana, meditation. Over the years, under ideal conditions, the
kundalini fire of consciousness ascends to the higher chakras, burning
the dross of ignorance and past karmas. Dhyana finally leads to
enstasy—the contemplative experience of Satchidananda, God as
energy-bliss, and ultimately to nirvikalpa samadhi, the experience of
God as Parasiva, timeless, formless, spaceless. Truly a living satguru
is needed as a steady guide to traverse this path. When yoga is
practiced by one perfected in kriya, the Gods receive the yogi into
their midst through his awakened, fiery kundalini, or cosmic energy
within every individual.
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ஒருமுறை கிட்னியில் ஒன்றுக்கு மேற்பட்ட கற்கள் வந்துவிட்டால், அடுத்தடுத்து
கற்கள் உருவாவதற்கான வாய்ப்பு அதிகம் உண்டு. நோயாளியின் பெற்றோர்களுக்கோ
அல்லது முன்னோர்களுக்கோ, இந்த பாதிப்பு இருந்தாலும், இந்நோய் வருவதற்கு
வாய்ப்புகள் அதிகம்.
