varNAshrama in shaiva siddhAnta

[Guest guest]

Since I am not in a position to dig out the scores of references in tantra-s and

the shaiva siddhAnta works at this moment, I merely reproduce a write up by a

very good acquaintance of mine on this topic.

 

So if you hear somebody claiming " shaiva tantra-s/Agama-s are a revolt against

the orthodox brahminical tradition..etc etc " ... just run away from them.

 

Chances are very high that the person doesnt even know the A, B, C of shaivism.

He/She either intends to cheat you or he/she simply deludes themselves as a

saviour of sanAtana dharma - by eliminating varNAshrama..

 

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.....But I was brought back to it because ST happened to introduce me to a

confused brahmin woman who declared that her Dravidian guru had told her that

the siddhanta shaivas had dispensed with the " brahminical strictures " and made

their mata " more accessible " to all. This is not an isolated opinion because we

see precisely this view in the opinions of several modern Dravidians who claim

affiliation with the siddhAnta tantric tradition, apparently without really

understanding the tradition too well. In fact nothing is farther from the truth

in this regard when one approaches the original siddhAnta school. While shUdras

like mUrtigaNa the successor of varmashiva and teacher of brahmin ishAnashiva

held prominent places in the siddhAnta tradition, it did not mean that there was

anykind of revolt against brahminical tradition, even if it was somewhat

atypical.

 

In fact it must be pointed out that the siddhAnta shaivas repeatedly cite the

authority of the now apparently lost uttara saMhitA of bhArgava thus:

iti varNAshramAchArAn manasApi na la~nghayet | yo yasminn Ashrame tiShThan

dIkShitaH shivashAsane | sa tasminn eva samtiShThech ChivadharmaM ca pAlayet ||

" He should not even think of transgressing the varNAshrama practices. He should

stand within (maintain) the order he was in when he attained shaiva initiation

and at the same time maintain the practices of the shaiva path. "

 

So the siddhAnta shaiva did not forsake his Ashrama or varNa when he attained

dIkSha into the shaiva path and was not a means of " revolting against " or

" escaping " the ordinances of the Aryas. The important point to note was that the

classical siddhAnta shaivas did not force a sectarian shaiva path on their

general audience of followers. An examination of what survives of their

extensively codified " dharma shAstra " the shivadharma and shivadharmottara

(alluded in the above quoted from the bhArgavottara as shivadharmam), which have

not been edited and studied unlike the viShNu dharmottara shows that the general

followers were encouraged to maintain their existing life-style/profession and

varNa-related observances, while accomodating the shaiva observances with that

framework. In fact the basic dharma-shAstric injunctions are relating to other

nitya issues are reiterated by the shiva-dharma. Secondly the siddhAnta tantric

tradition did retain the paurANic hindu pantheon despite being sectarian

shaiva-s. In fact their maintained a set of manuals termed the pratiShTha

tantras for the installation and temple worship of the remaining Hindu patheon

including kumAra, vinAyaka, viShNu, brahma, shaktIs of various gods, mAtR^ikAs,

vedic gods reduced to lokapAla-s, planets and gaNas. These texts include the

obscure manuscripts of pi~Ngalamata, devyAmata, the collection of the demon maya

and the kiraNa Agama. The atharvavedic shaivas also performed the whole series

of abhichAra and counter abhichAra rites for rulers as per vedic injunctions.

Thus, there is no evidence that the classical siddhAnta tantras were ever set up

as a counter-current to the mainstream brahminical path.

 

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