Vaishnavism and Shaivism
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- Shankara
- Ram Mohan Roy
- Lajpat Rai
- Kabir
- Suryavarman II
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Vaishnavism
Vaishnavism is the worship and acceptance of Vishnu (Sanskrit: “The Pervader” or “The Immanent”) or one of his various incarnations (avatars) as the supreme manifestation of the divine. During a long and complex development, many Vaishnava groups emerged with differing beliefs and aims. Some of the major Vaishnava groups include the Shrivaishnavas (also known as Vishishtadvaitins) and Madhvas (also known as Dvaitins) of South India; the followers of the teachings of Vallabha in western India; and several Vaishnava groups in Bengal in eastern India, who follow teachings derived from those of the saint Chaitanya. Most Vaishnava believers, however, draw from various traditions and blend worship of Vishnu with local practices.
In the Vedas and Brahmanas, Vishnu is the god of far-extending motion and pervasiveness who, for humans in distress, penetrates and traverses the entire cosmos to make their existence possible. All beings are said to dwell in his three strides or footsteps (trivikrama): his highest step, or abode, is beyond mortal ken in the realm of heaven. Vishnu is also the god of the pillar of the universe and is identified with the sacrifice. He imparts his all-pervading power to the sacrificer who imitates his strides and identifies himself with the god, thus conquering the universe and attaining “the goal, the safe foundation, the highest light” (Shatapatha Brahmana).
In the centuries before the Common Era, Vishnu became the Ishvara (supreme deity) of his worshipers, fusing with the Purusha-Prajapati figure; with Narayana, worship of whom discloses a prominent influence of ascetics; with Krishna, whom the Bhagavadgita identified with Vishnu in many forms; and with Vasudeva, who was worshipped by a group known as the Pancharatras.
The extensive mythology attached to Vishnu is largely that of his avatars. Although this notion is found elsewhere in Hinduism, it is basic to Vaishnavism. Each of his incarnations, especially Krishna and Rama, has a particular mythology and is the object of devotion (bhakti). The classical number of these incarnations is 10—the dashavatara (“ten avatars”)—ascending from theriomorphic (animal form) to fully anthropomorphic manifestations. They are Fish (Matsya), Tortoise (Kurma), Boar (Varaha), Man-Lion (Narasimha), Dwarf (Vamana), Rama-with-the-Ax (Parashurama), King Rama, Krishna, Buddha, and the future incarnation, Kalkin. This list varies, however, according to the text within which it appears and the devotional community that maintains it. For example, some dashavatara lists include Balarama, the brother of Krishna, instead of the Buddha. Moreover, the number of incarnations is not fixed across all texts or traditions; some texts list 24 incarnations of Vishnu. In addition, a particular dashavatara list popularized by the 13th-century poet Jayadeva in his song Gita Govinda names Krishna, not Vishnu, as the supreme deity who incarnates himself 10 times. In Jayadeva’s list the first seven incarnations are the same as those found in other Vaishnava lists. Jayadeva then lists Balarama and Buddha as the eighth and ninth incarnations. One common element in all these lists is Kalkin, who is always the final incarnation.
Like most other Hindu gods, Vishnu has his especial entourage: his wife is Lakshmi, or Shri, the lotus goddess—granter of success, wealth, and liberation—who came forth from the ocean when gods and demons churned it in order to recover from its depths the ambrosia or elixir of immortality, amrita. At the beginning of the commercial year, special worship is paid to her for success in personal affairs. Vishnu’s mount is the bird Garuda, archenemy of snakes, and in his four hands are his emblems: the lotus, conch shell, and his two weapons, the club and the discus.
Devotees hold that, in addition to having many avatars, Vishnu also manifests himself in many temples. He may manifest himself within an iconic form (archa avatara) for worship. In many South Indian temples, the regional manifestations of Vishnu have distinct identities and are known by local names (e.g., as Venkateswara in Tirumala-Tirupati and in the Hindu diaspora). Each of these distinct forms has specific attributes and weapons, which are depicted in particular locations or poses. Elaborate treatises on iconography as well as on local custom and practice govern the carving and interpretation of these icons. In many temples in South India and Southeast Asia, Vishnu is depicted as standing, sitting, striding the universe, or reclining. He sometimes reclines on the serpent Ananta (“Without End,” suggesting the deity’s mastery over infinite time). He is frequently displayed in temple carvings and in calendar art with four arms (though occasional depictions provide him with as many as eight), three of which hold his conch shell, discus, and club. Although a few Vaishnava philosophical schools may consider the image in the temple to be a symbol pointing to the supreme being, most devotees perceive it as an actual manifestation of the deity, a form that he takes to make himself accessible to human beings.
Whatever justification the different Vaishnava groups (such as the Shrivaishnavas of South India or the worshipers of Vishnu Vithoba in Maharashtra) offer for their philosophical position, all of them believe in God as a person with distinctive qualities and worship him through his manifestations and representations. Many schools teach that it is through divine grace that the votary is lifted from transmigration to release. Much of Vaishnava faith is monotheistic, whether the object of adoration be Vishnu Narayana or one of his avatars. Preference for any one of these manifestations is largely a matter of tradition. Thus, most South Indian Shrivaishnavas worship Vishnu in one of his many local manifestations; the North Indian groups prefer Krishna.
Shaivism
The character and position of the Vedic god Rudra—called Shiva, “the Auspicious One,” when this aspect of his ambivalent nature is emphasized—remain clearly evident in some of the important features of the great god Shiva, who together with Vishnu came to dominate Hinduism. Major groups such as the Lingayats of southern India and the Kashmiri Shaivas contributed the theological principles of Shaivism, and Shaiva worship became a complex amalgam of pan-Indian Shaiva philosophy and local or folk worship.
In the minds of the ancient Hindus, Shiva was the divine representative of the uncultivated, dangerous, and unpredictable aspects of nature. Shiva’s character lent itself to being split into partial manifestations—each said to represent only an aspect of him—as well as to assimilating powers from other deities. Already in the Rigveda, appeals to him for help in case of disaster—of which he might be the originator—were combined with the confirmation of his great power. In the course of the Vedic period, Shiva—originally a ritual and conceptual outsider, yet a mighty god whose benevolent aspects were readily emphasized—gradually gained access to the circle of prominent gods who preside over various spheres of human interest. Many characteristics of the Vedic Prajapati, the creator; of Indra, the god of rain and of the thunderbolt; and of Agni, the Vedic god of fire, have been integrated into the figure of Shiva.
In those circles that produced the Shvetashvatara Upanishad (c. 400 bce), Shiva rose to the highest rank. Its author proposed a way of escape from samsara, proclaiming Shiva the sole eternal Lord. Rudra-Shiva developed into an ambivalent and many-sided lord and master. His many manifestations, however, were active among humankind: as Pashupati (“Lord of Cattle”), he took over the fetters of the Vedic Varuna; as Aghora (“To Whom Nothing Is Horrible”), he showed the uncanny traits of his nature (evil, death, punishment) and also their opposites.
Like Vishnu, Shiva is held by devotees to be the entire universe, yet he is worshipped in various manifestations and in hundreds of local temples. Although it is not always clear whether Shiva is invoked as a great god of frightful aspect, capable of conquering demonic power, or as the boon-giving lord and protector, Hindus continue to invoke him in magical rites.
Shiva reconciles in his person semantically opposite though complementary aspects: he is both terrifying and mild, destroyer and restorer, eternal rest and ceaseless activity. These seeming contradictions make him a paradoxical figure, transcending humanity and assuming a mysterious sublimity of his own. From the standpoint of his devotees, his character is so complicated and his interests are so widely divergent as to seem incomprehensible. Yet, although Brahman philosophers like to emphasize his ascetic aspects and the ritualists of the Tantric tradition his sexuality, the seemingly opposite strands of his nature are generally accepted as two sides of one character.
Shiva temporarily interrupts his austerity and asceticism (tapas) to marry Parvati, and he combines the roles of lover and ascetic to such a degree that his wife must be an ascetic (yogi) when he devotes himself to austerities and a loving companion when he is in his erotic mode. This dual character finds its explanation in the ancient belief that, by his very chastity, an ascetic accumulates (sexual) power that can be discharged suddenly and completely, resulting in the fecundation of the soil. Various mythical tales reveal that both chastity and the loss of chastity are necessary for fertility and the intermittent process of regeneration in nature. The erotic and creative experiences portrayed in these narratives are a familiar feature in Hinduism, and they counterbalance the Hindu bent for asceticism. Such sexuality, while rather idyllic in Krishna, assumes a mystical aspect in Shiva, which is why the devotee can see in him the realization of the possibilities of both the ascetic life and the householder state. His marriage with Parvati is then a model of conjugal love, the divine prototype of human marriage, sanctifying the forces that carry on the human race.
Shiva’s many poses express various aspects of his nature. The cosmic dancer, he is the originator of the eternal rhythm of the universe, dancing through its creation and destruction. He also catches, in his thickly matted hair, the waters of the heavenly Ganges River, which destroy all sin. He wears in his headdress the crescent moon, which drips the nectar of everlasting life.
Shiva is the master of both tandava, the fierce, violent dance that gives rise to energy, and lasya, the gentle, lyric dance representing tenderness and grace. Holding a drum upon which he beats the rhythm of creation, he dances within a circle of flames that depicts the arc of dissolution. He holds up the palm of one hand in a gesture of protection; with another he points to his foot to indicate the refuge of his followers. The image of the dancing Shiva is said by Shaivites to portray five cosmic activities: creation, maintenance, destruction, concealing his true form from adversaries, and, finally, the grace through which he saves his devotees. The outer form of the dance, however, is only one aspect of the divine flow of energy; followers of Shiva say that the dance is in the heart of every devotee.
Yet while the dancing Shiva is an important and popular representation, the abstract form of Shiva is perhaps the most commonly seen portrayal throughout India. Shiva is depicted as a conical shaft (lingam) of fire within a womb (yoni), illustrating the creative powers of Shiva and Parvati. In temples the lingam, which literally means “distinguishing symbol,” is an upright structure that is often made of stone. It is placed in a stone yoni that represents both the womb and the abode of all creation. The union between the lingam and the yoni serves as a reminder that male and female forces are united in generating the universe.
Shiva also represents the unpredictability of divinity. He is the hunter who slays and skins his prey and dances a wild dance while covered with its hide. Far from society and the ordered world, he sits on the inaccessible Himalayan plateau of Mount Kailasa, an austere ascetic, averse to love, who burns Kama, the god of love, to ashes with a glance from the third eye—the eye of insight beyond duality—in the middle of his forehead. And at the end of the eon, he will dance the universe to destruction. He is nevertheless invoked as Shiva, Shambhu, Shankara (“Benignant” and “Beneficent”), for the god that can strike down can also spare. Snakes seek his company and twine themselves around his body. He wears a necklace of skulls. He sits in meditation, with his hair braided like a hermit’s, his body smeared white with ashes. These ashes recall the burning pyres on which the sannyasis (renouncers) take leave of the social order of the world and set out on a lonely course toward release, carrying with them a human skull.
Shiva’s consort is Parvati (“Daughter of the Mountain [Himalaya]”), a goddess who is an auspicious and powerful wife. She is also personified as the Goddess (Devi), Mother (Amba), black and destructive (Kali), fierce (Chandika), and inaccessible (Durga). As Shiva’s female counterpart, she inherits some of Shiva’s more fearful aspects. She comes to be regarded as the power (shakti) of Shiva, without which Shiva is helpless. Shakti is in turn personified in the form of many different goddesses, often said to be aspects of her.
Narratives of culture heroes
A culture hero can easily be assimilated to a god by identifying him with an incarnation of a god. Thus, great religious teachers are considered manifestations of the god of their devotional preaching, and stories of their lives have become part of a very rich storehouse of narratives. Practically gods on earth, these ascetics, according to mythology, have amassed tremendous powers that they do not hesitate to use. The sage Kapila, meditating in the netherworld, burned to ashes 60,000 princes who had dug their way to him. Another sage, Bhagiratha, brought the Ganges River down from heaven to sanctify their ashes and, in the process, created the ocean. Agastya, revered as the Brahman who brought Sanskrit-speaking civilization to South India, drank and digested the ocean. When the Vindhya mountain range would not stop growing, Agastya crossed it to the south and commanded it to cease growing until his return; he still has not returned. Vishvamitra, a king who became a Brahman, created a new universe with its own galaxies to spite the gods.
Moving from myth to hagiography (biography of venerated persons), there are also stories told of the great teachers, and every founder of a sect is soon deified as an incarnation of a god: the philosopher Shankara (c. 788–820) as an incarnation of Shiva; the religious leader Ramanuja (d. 1137) as that of Ananta, the sacred serpent of Vishnu; and the Bengal teacher Chaitanya (1485–1533) simultaneously as that of Krishna and his beloved Radha.
Myths of holy rivers and holy places
Of particular sanctity in India are the rivers, among which the Ganges stands first. This river, personified as a goddess, originally flowed only in heaven until she was brought down by Bhagiratha to purify the ashes of his ancestors. She came down reluctantly, cascading first on the head of Shiva in order to break her fall, which would have shattered the Earth. Confluences are particularly holy, and the confluence of the Ganges with the Yamuna at Allahabad is the most sacred spot in India. Another river of importance is the Sarasvati, which loses itself in desert; it was personified as a goddess of eloquence and learning.
All major and many minor temples and sanctuaries have their own myths of how they were founded and what miracles were wrought there. The same is true of famous places of pilgrimage, usually at sacred spots near and in rivers; important among these are Vrindavana (Brindaban) on the Yamuna, which is held to be the scene of the youthful adventures of Krishna and the cowherd wives. Another such center with its own myths is Gaya, especially sacred for the funerary rites that are held there. And there is no spot in Varanasi (Benares), along the Ganges, that is without its own mythical history. Srirangam, a temple town set in an island in the Kaveri River in Tamil Nadu, is considered to be heaven on earth (bhuloka vaikuntham). There are also many places sacred to followers of Vishnu, Shiva, or other deities.
