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Saiva and the tantric religion - Coggle Diagram
Saiva and the tantric religion
The myth of Daksa
Mahabharata
Brahma, Daksa, Sati + Siva
Puranas
The image of Siva
god of ambiguity, paradox, opposition
promiscuous god,
celibate yogin
contains all oppositions within him: erotic ascetic, half male half female
family man and housholder (Parvati, sons Ganesa and Skanda)
part of Hindu trinity as the god of destruction (Brahma as creator; Visnu as sustainer)
depictions of Siva
family man
Siva Nataraja, the
Lord of dance
Shiva as
lord of yoga
Siva linga or icon (phallus within a vulva, representing the union of Siva with his dynamic energy sakti)
early worship of Rudra-Siva
peripheral deity in the vedic pantheon
by the 5. or 4. century BCE R-S has risen to a more prominent position in the
Svetasvatara Upanisad
ferocious, destructive, the Lord of the storm gods, the Maruts; benevolent healer and cooler of disease, Lord of medical herbs and Lord of cattle
Rg Veda
The Svetasvatara Upanisad
svetasvatara = white mule
or 4. century BCE
Marks a transition between the simpler monism of the earlier Upanisads and the theism of the later Saiva and Vaisnava traditions.
the Lord (Rudra) is
magician, who produces the world through his power (
sakti
) and sustains it.
transcendent
, dwelling beyond the cosmos, yet also
immanent
, dwelling in the hears of all beings.
the
cause
of the cosmos
difference-in-identity theology
the term
bhakti
, in the context of one having highest devotion for God and for one's guru as God, occurs here for the first time.
The formation of Saivism
Pasupata Saivism
withing the higher path (atimarga) 2 important orders existed
the pasupata
the earliest Saiva sect of which we know (c. from 2. century CE)
Pasupata sutra
the pasupata ascetic
celibate
has undergone the high-caste initiation ceremony
Brahman male
on the edges of orthodox householder society; they had gone beyond the four stages (asrama) to a fifth perfected stage; they never abandoned or rejected vedic values, they saw their tradition as the culmination and fulfilment of vedic life
liberation from karma and rebirth - omniscience and omnipotence - achieved through the grace of Rudra and some effort on the part of the Paupata: spiritual practice in 3 stages
Sub-divisions of the pasupatas
the Lakula
ascetics who accepted the doctrines of the Pasupata Sutra, though they were more extreme in their ascetic practices and rejection or transcendence of vedic injunctions.
sin of Brahmanicide - killing of a Brahman - Dharma Sastras: who has killed a Brahman, must live outside the vedic society, in a hut in a forest, carrying the skull of the person slain. - identification of the Lakula ascetic with the skull-carrying form of Siva.
the Kalamukhas
Puranic Saivism
4 groups of Saivas
Lakulisa
Saiva
Pasupata
Kapalika
outside the vedic or puranic system
the Saiva Puranas
the Linga
information about asceticism and yoga, in particular
yoga of the Pasupatas
the
Siva puranas
subjects: genealogies, the duties of different castes, astrology, exclusively Saiva elements: installing of lingas in temples, descriptions of various forms of Siva and the nature of Siva
Saiva initiates (as opposed to the lay, pauranika devotees) - 2 main branches as described in Saiva texts, the Agamas or Tantras
Outher Path (
atimarga
) - open to ascetics only; purpose of salvation from samsara
it does have the
Pasupata Sutra
, however it consideres itself transcending all scriptures
Path of Mantras (
mantramarga
) - open to ascetics and householders, leads to eventual salvation, but also to supernatural or magical powers (
siddhi
) and pleasure (
bhoga
) in higher worlds along the way. -
tantric traditions
Saiva Siddhanta
dualistic system (there is an eternal distinction between the Lord and the soul) - in contrast with the monistic Kashmir Saivism (the Lord and the soul are viewed as one), which replaced the Saiva Siddhanta in Kashmir.
originally developed in
the north
, particularly in
Kashmir
.
most important, normative form of Saivism in south India; using Tamil scriptures -> incorporation of emotional devotion (
bhakti
) in hymns of the Tamil saints.
Saiva S. theology
3 distinct (ontological) categories of existence
pasu
(soul): The individual soul, distinct from Siva, bound in the cosmos because of impurity (mala), action, the material substratum (maya) and Siva's will.
pasa
(bond): mental and material universe which binds the Lord and the souls. It's manifested from
maya
, its material substratum.
Pati
(Lord): efficient cause of the cosmos. As Sadasiva, he performes five acts: 1 emission of the cosmos; 2 its maintenance, 3 its re-absorption, 4 the concealing of himself, 5 the revealing of himself through grace
provides the basic ritual and doctrinal system of the Path of Mantras (presupposed by all the non-Siddhanta traditions)
soteriology
liberation from the cycle of reincarnation = becoming equal to Siva (becoming omniscient & omnipotent like Siva, but ontologically distinct from him)
by intitiation
into shared scriptures and rituals of the cult
the liberating initiation, which ensures the soul's final release
doctrine of grace
ritual
Siva is treated as an honoured guest - invited or brought down into the icon or
linga
the divinization of the worshipper - only god can worship a god according to tantras
non-Siddhanta systems
or the
teachings of Bhairava (Bhairava-sastra)
Agamas and Tantras are authoritative revelation (regarded as heterodox by the strictly orthodox traditions); all Saiva Tantras
Gupta dynasti (c. 320-500 CE)
development and expansion of
puranic religion
development of brahmanical forms of worship, the Smarta or pauranika, based on those texts
decline of the Guptas
increase of esoteric cults (brahmanisation)
The tantric revelation
cannot be dated before 600 CE; most were probably composed from the 8th century onwards.
tantric texts are considered
revelation
, superior to Veda, by the traditions which revere them.
Saiva Tantras
Vaisnava Tantras
Sakta Tantras
tantric revelation was regarded as the
esoteric culmination of Vedic orthodoxy
the followers of Tantras are
Tantrikas
geographical ares of early Tantrism
Kashmir
Nepal
Bengal
Assam
the tantric orders and practices were probably pan-Indian by the 10th or 11th century
translation into Tamil; used as the basis for liturgies in the south Indian temples.
Strong influence of Tantrism on all forms of Saiva, Vaisnava and Smarta religion.
Form of the Tantras
dialogue between Siva and the Goddess; master and disciple; the lord (Bhagavan) and the Goddess or vice verca -> importance and centrality of the guru in Tantrism.
ritual texts, formation of mantras, hierarchical ccosmologies, initiations, the evolution of sound, yoga, doctrine, appropriate behaviour and temple architecture
4 supports (pada) of tantra
ritual (kriya-pada)
yoga (yoga-pada)
doctrine (vidya-pada/jnana-pada)
discipline or correct behaviour (carya-pada)
common elements in the Tantras
the body is divine and contains the cosmic hierarchy within it
concern with attaining magical powers (siddhi) and the experience of bliss in higher worlds (bhoga) in the spiritual journey
they present elaborate hierarchical cosmologies
concern with possession (avesa) and exorcism
common ritual structure: (1) purification of the body through its symbolic destruction; (2) creation of a divine body/self through mantra; (3) internal worship or visualization; (4) external worship (puja) involving hand gestures (mudra), mantra repetition and the construction of sacred diagrams (yantra, mandala)
practice (
sadhana
), which involves initiation (diksa), ritual, yoga