Hinduism 101

Lesson 6: Important Sects and Revered Personages.

Sects Within Hinduism.

Introduction:

The Rig Veda declares – “Ekam Sat Vipra Bahudha Vadanti” or “The truth is one but sages call it by various names’. This is the essential tolerance of Hinduism. It has room for beings residing at all levels of consciousness. It welcomes all and provides spiritual nourishment for their diverse evolution and growth towards The One, the Ultimate Truth. The Upanishads declare that all paths lead to the same goal just as cows of variegated colors all yield white milk. Lord Krishna says in the Gita – “Howsoever men approach Me, even so do I welcome them, for the path men take from every side is Mine”. This essential principle has spawned a bewildering variety of schools of thought and their consequent sects. Each great thinker who has been able to unravel the truth of the Vedanta and subsequently commented on it has gathered hordes of followers. This has been going on for centuries. Some of these sects have eroded away into oblivion while others are thriving. Cognizant Hindus are proud of the diversity of their religion and happily embrace all sects that wish to align themselves with their religion. Thus, often, with exuberant enthusiasm, Hinduism has enumerated all religions – Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism – that have originated in the Subcontinent as mere sects within the broad religious spectrum of Hinduism. Whatever the truth may be in this the number of sects that consciously elect to reside under this benevolent umbrella are many and mentioning all of them here is quite beyond the scope of this course. Thus, for easier understanding, only the four sects that have the widest following have been mentioned here. They are:

Vaishnavism, followers of Lord Vishnu.
Shaivism, followers of Lord Shiva.
Saktism, followers of Devi as the Universal Mother.
Smartism, a sect with conglomerate allegiances to a number of diverse Gods and Goddesses.

Vaishnavism:

Vaishnavism is the largest sect within Hinduism. Vaishnavs, as the followers are called, worship Vishnu and his avatars, especially Rama and Krishna, in an intense devotional manner seeking salvation. There are a number of major subsects within Vaishnavism. Since these subsects make up the Vaishnava community they are discussed:

Sri Sampradaya founded by Ramanujacharya in the 11th century A.D. follows the Vishishtadvaita philosophy for worship. The followers worship Vishnu and his wife Lakshmi and their numerous avatars. They are called Ramanujas, Sri Sampradayas or simply Sri Vaishnavas. The teachers or Gurus are all Brahmins though disciples can be from any caste. They chant the Ashtakshara Mantra - “Om Namo Narayana” and mark their foreheads with two white and one red lines. There are a number of subsects within this subsect itself. Each such subsect has its own preferred scripture.
The Ramanandis are a major Vaishnava subsect in the North of India. They are a branch of the Ramanuja sect. They worship Rama, His wife Sita, His brother Lakshmana and Hanuman as Supreme Gods. Their favorite scripture is the Bhakti Mala. As Ramananda himself was a follower of Ramanujacharya in the 15th century Varanasi the Ramanandis have a lot in common with that sect. There is special ascetic order within this subsect called Vairagis. They are famous all over India and are synonymous with asceticism. .
The Rudra Sampradayas are the sect founded by Vallabhacharya in the 15th century. This sect is an important religious order in the West of India as a large number of people prefer to follow its doctrines. This sect worships Krishna’s childhood personality in the form of Bala Gopala. They revere the words of the Srimad Bhagavad Gita and visit Nathdvara, a pilgrimage place in the state of Rajasthan, at least once in a lifetime. The Gosains or teachers or Gurus are all family men.
The Chaitanyas are followers of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. The internationally famous International Society for Krishna Consciousness is a part of this sect. Lord Sri Chaitanya is said to be an avatar of Lord Krishna. The local branch of this sect, the The Gaudiya, is most prominent in the east of India. The Chaitanyas worship Sri Krishna as the Supreme Being. All castes are admissible within this sect. Though the sect members treat the “Charitamrita” a chronicle of Sri Chaitanya’s life and the doctrines he preached, as a scripture they believe that Kirtan, worshipping the Lord by repeating His name again and again in song and dance is more effective. This is as was taught by Sri Chaitanya himself.
The Nimbarkas are followers of Nimbarkacharya, the 11th century saint from South India. The Nimbarkas worship Krishna and his consort Radha as the Supreme Beings. They consider the Srimad Bhagavad Purana as the chief scripture. They are prevalent most in and around the towns of Mathura and Brindavan, Krishna’s birthland. Some are also found in Bengal where the sect has some hold.
The Brahma Sampradayas are the sect founded by Madhvacharya in the 12th century A.D. The Gurus or teachers are usually Brahmins and ascetics. They mainly follow the tenets set down by their Acharya. There are two branches of this sect which is found mainly in and around Udipi in the state of Karnataka, where Madvacharya was born and attained the Supreme Knowledge.
Besides these sects there are innumerable other Vaishnava Sects that consider either Vishnu or any one or many of His avatars as the Supreme Being.

Shaivism

This is the oldest sect within Hinduism and it precedes the Vedic Period. Though the actual number of subsects is many the six principal ones are:

Shaiva Shiddhanta.
Pasupatism.
Kashmir Shaivism or Trika.
Vira Shaivism or Lingayats.
Siddha Shaivism.
Shiva Advaitism.

The principal precepts of the sect are worship of Lord Shiva as the Supreme Being. The sect is mainly temple-based with a lot of mysticism involved as the aura of Shiva is as the eccentric Lord of the Yogis. The Siddha Yoga is the ultimate achievement for a disciple where he or she achieves an enlightened state in the universe and realizes his or her identity with that of the Lord and merges with Him in undiluted Monism or Advaita.

The Shaivites, as the followers are called, have to stride through four stages in life - Charya, Kriya, Yoga and Jnana. Salvation may take several birth cycles and culminate through Karma and Reincarnation into a realization of the Virtuous and Moral life boosted by regular visits to temples and other holy places and personal devotion through Yoga and Meditation until Jnana or Wisdom is achieved. This is the soul’s ultimate mature state and it is now ready to go to Lord Shiva after death. As Shiva is the most physical of the Hindu Triad the devotees are encouraged to do penances, fasting and other physical austerities to achieve Moksha though the common person eschews most of this with rigorous worship at temples, at home and other holy places of the Lord. In contrast the Lord is said to be so benign that He can be easily pleased by the devotees’ efforts, as innumerable myths tell. Of course, the path can be smoothened through hefty alms-giving and other kindnesses.

Saktism

Devotees worship Devi as the Universal Mother in both Her fierce and gentle forms. Worship is Pre-Vedic and contemporary with worship of Shiva. However, regular scriptures were written from the 5th century onwards when the sect became popular during the resurgence of Hinduism under the Hindu rulers of most parts of India when the Brahminical traditions were emphasized. There are four forms of expression in this form of worship:

Devotional – Devotees invoke Shakti through Sri Chakra Yantra.
Shamanic – Devotees may use mediums to invoke Shakti through magic and other Tantric practices such as fire-walking and animal sacrifice. Powerful shamanistic principles like Tantriks may be consulted for purposes of healing diseases, granting fertility and for other politic purposes like inducing magical power against enemies.
Yogic – Devotees invoke Shakti through Sahashra Chakra. (Sahashra means a thousand.)
Universalist – Devotees follow reformed Vedantic teachings and are the most prevalent of the four classes.

Devotees worship the manifest forms of Shakti like Durga, Kali, Parvati, Ambika, Chandi, even the Yoni or female genitals, to attain the Unmanifest Masculine Power, mostly Shiva, though nothing in particular is mentioned in this respect. Most Shaktas strive to attain Moksha through Kundalini Yoga.

Smartism

Smartism is an ancient Brahmanical tradition that Adi Sankaracharya took and reformed into a more streamlined structure. This is the erudite belief among Hindu scholars. The Smartas follow the Smriti Literature - Dharma Shastras, Puranas and Itihases. They also revere the Vedas and the Agamas. They have a system called Panchayatana in which they worship five forms of God - Shiva, Vishnu, Ganesha, Shakti and Surya. After Sankaracharya the sect adopted his purely monistic philosophy. in the name of Kumara was added to the pantheon.

Smartas determine a personal God from among the five chosen deities. The Guru initiates the individual to his or her preferred personal God, Who is the Ishta Devata or Personal God.

Smartas believe that they can attain Moksha through Jnana Yoga which has three stages - Sravana (scriptural studies), Manana (reflection) and Dhyana (sustained meditation).

Smartas are the most liberal of all the Hindu sects though, today, orthodoxy among all sects is on the decline. Smartas progress through life under the guidance of a personal Guru who determines each important step in the disciple’s life. The prime objectives in life are to maintain constant devotion to the Ishta Devata, accrue good Karma and purify the mind. Some Smarta Gurus also instruct devotees through , Karma Yoga and Raja Yoga to help achieve enlightenment.

Note on the Sects:

The concept of the Ishta Devata, personal God, is true, in some respect, for all the sects and almost all of Hinduism. The common individual, whether a Vaishnav, Shaivite, Shakta or Smarta prefers to be guided by a Guru on the tenets of Hinduism and the Guru usually initiates the individual to the religion by intimating to the person the secret rites of his or her preferred Ishta Devata. These rites are secret and preferential and vary from Guru to Guru.

Conclusion:

In the Hindu world, for ages, there have always been a large number of holy persons, both men and women, who have not been as famous as those mentioned in the sections in this lesson but who nevertheless, in their small way, have contributed to the continuance of the emblematic aura of Hinduism so that the religion has always had a preeminent position in the Subcontinent. Such men and women have also helped much in spreading the religion beyond the boundaries of the Subcontinent across the greater world not only in the present era but in the past as well. Hinduism in parts of South-East Asia, as in Bali and The Khmer Republic, was originally initiated by the zeal of the Hindu Missionaries sent out there in ships by the Gupta Kings of the 5th and 6th century A.D. In recent years a large number of holy persons, some sham and others genuine, some for financial gains while others for genuine religious zeal, have been spreading the goodwill inherent in Hinduism to the world at general. It is because of the efforts of the genuine persons that Hinduism today is a much respected religion worldwide.

Reference Material utilized to prepare the Entire Lesson:

Websites:

1. Biographies of Indian saints.

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/8107/bio...

2. Sri Ramakrishna

http://www.ramakrishna.org/rmk.htm

3. The Divine Life Society.

http://www.dlshq.org/saints/saints.htm

4. Hindu Sects

http://www.hinduism.co.za/hindu3.htm

5. Swami Vivekananda - Biography.

http://www.ramakrishna.org/sv.htm