Category: Dancing With Siva

Are There Other Types of Sacred Texts?

ŚLOKA 134
India’s lofty philosophical texts expound diverse views in exacting dialectics. Yoga treatises unveil the mysterious path to ultimate samādhis. Intimate devotional hymns disclose the raptures of consummate Divine love. Aum.

BHĀSHYA
In addition to the epics, legends and supplements to the Vedas and Āgamas, there is a wealth of Hindu metaphysical, yogic and devotional writings. Considered foundational are the early texts defining the six philosophical darśanas: the sūtras by Kapila, Patanjali, Jaimini, Badarayana, Kanada and Gautama. Hailed as leading occult works on yoga, āsanas, nāḍīs, chakras, kuṇḍalinī and samādhi are the Yoga Sūtras, Tirumantiram, Yoga Vāsishṭha, Śiva Sūtras, Siddha Siddhānta Paddhati, Jñāneśvarī, Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā and Gheraṇḍa Saṁhitā. Widely extolled among the bhakti literature are the Bhagavad Gītā, Nārada Sūtras, Tiruvasagam, the Vachanas of the Śivaśaraṇās and the hymns of mystic poets like Surdas, Tukaram, Ramprasad, Mirabai, Andal, Vallabha, Tulasidasa, Tayumanavar, Lalla, Tagore, Auvaiyar and the saintly Nayanars and Alvars. The Bhagavad Gītā explains, “As a blazing fire reduces the wood to ashes, O Arjuna, so does the fire of knowledge reduce all activity to ashes. There is nothing on Earth which possesses such power to cleanse as wisdom. The perfect yogin finds this knowledge in himself by himself in due time.” Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.

Does Hinduism Have Epics and Myths?

ŚLOKA 133
The Mahābhārata and Rāmāyaṇa are Hinduism’s most renowned epic histories, called Itihāsa. The Purāṇas are popular folk narratives, teaching faith, belief and ethics in mythology, allegory, legend and symbolism. Aum.

BHĀSHYA
Hinduism’s poetic stories of ṛishis, Gods, heroes and demons are sung by gifted paṇḍitas and traveling bards, narrated to children and portrayed in dramas and festivals. The Mahābhārata, the world’s longest epic poem, is the legend of two ancient dynasties whose great battle of Kurukshetra is the scene of the Bhagavad Gītā, the eloquent spiritual dialog between Arjuna and Kṛishṇa. The Rāmāyaṇa relates the life of Rāma, a heroic king revered as the ideal man. The Purāṇas, like the Mahābhārata, are encyclopedic in scope, containing teachings on sādhana, philosophy, dharma, ritual, language and the arts, architecture, agriculture, magic charms and more. Of eighteen principal Purāṇas, six honor God as Śiva, six as Vishṇu and six as Brahmā. The witty Pañchatantra, eminent among the “story” literature, or kathā, portrays wisdom through animal fables and parables. The Bhagavad Gītā proclaims, “He who reads this sacred dialog of ours, by him I consider Myself worshiped through the sacrifice of knowledge. And the man who listens to it with faith and without scoffing, liberated, he shall attain to the happy realm of the righteous.” Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.

What Texts Amplify Vedas and Āgamas?

ŚLOKA 132
Many texts support the Vedas and Āgamas. Vedāṅgas detail conduct, astrology, language and etymology. Upavedas unfold politics, health, warfare and music. Upāgamas and Paddhatis elaborate the Āgamic wisdom. Aum.

BHĀSHYA
Much of Hinduism’s practical knowledge is safeguarded in venerable texts which amplify śruti. The Vedāṅgas and Upavedas are collections of texts that augment and apply the Vedas as a comprehensive system of sacred living. Jyotisha Vedāṅga delineates auspicious timing for holy rites. Kalpa Vedāṅga defines public rituals in the Śrauta and Śulba Sūtras, domestic rites in the Gṛihya Sūtras and religious law in the Dharma Śāstras. Four other Vedāṅgas ensure the purity of mantra recitation, through knowledge of phonetics, grammar, poetry and the way of words. The Upavedas expound profound sciences: Arthaveda unfolds statecraft; Āyurveda sets forth medicine and health; Dhanurveda discusses military science; Gāndharvaveda illumines music and the arts; and Sthāpatyaveda explains architecture. In addition, the Kāma Sūtras detail erotic pleasures. The Āgamas, too, have ancillary texts, such as the Upāgamas and Paddhatis, which elaborate the ancient wisdom. The Jñāneśvarī says, “The Vedas in their perfection are as the beautiful image of the God of which the flawless words are the resplendent body. The smṛitis are the limbs thereof.” Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.

Do Smṛiti and Sacred Literature Differ?

ŚLOKA 131
Hindu sacred literature is a treasury of hymns, legend, mythology, philosophy, science and ethics. From among this vast body of writings, each lineage recognizes a select portion as its secondary scripture, called smṛiti. Aum.

BHĀSHYA
While the Vedas and Āgamas are shared as part of every Hindu’s primary scripture, śruti, each sect and lineage defines its own unique set of smṛiti. The sacred literature, puṇya śāstra, from which smṛiti is drawn consists of writings, both ancient and modern, in many languages. Especially central are the ancient Sanskritic texts, such as the Itihāsas, Purāṇas and Dharma Śāstras, which are widely termed the classical smṛiti. In reality, while many revere these as smṛiti, others regard them only as sacred literature. Smṛiti means “that which is remembered” and is known as “the tradition,” for it derives from human insight and experience and preserves the course of culture. While śruti comes from God and is eternal and universal, the ever-growing smṛiti canon is written by man. Hinduism’s sacred literature is the touchstone of theater and dance, music, song and pageantry, yoga and sādhana, metaphysics and ethics, exquisite art and hallowed sciences. The Vedas inquire, “In whom are set firm the firstborn seers, the hymns, the songs and the sacrificial formulas, in whom is established the single seer—tell me of that support—who may He be?” Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.

How Are the Āgamas Significant Today?

ŚLOKA 130
While the Vedas, with myriad Deities, bind all Hindus together, the Āgamas, with a single supreme God, unify each sect in a oneness of thought, instilling in adherents the joyful arts of divine adoration. Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.

BHĀSHYA
God is love, and to love God is the pure path prescribed in the Āgamas. Veritably, these texts are God’s own voice admonishing the saṁsārī, reincarnation’s wanderer, to give up love of the transient and adore instead the Immortal. How to love the Divine, when and where, with what mantras and visualizations and at what auspicious times, all this is preserved in the Āgamas. The specific doctrines and practices of day-to-day Hinduism are nowhere more fully expounded than in these revelation hymns, delineating everything from daily work routines to astrology and cosmology. So overwhelming is Āgamic influence in the lives of most Hindus, particularly in temple liturgy and culture, that it is impossible to ponder modern Sanātana Dharma without these discourses. While many Āgamas have been published, most remain inaccessible, protected by families and guilds who are stewards of an intimate hereditary knowledge. The Tirumantiram says, “Nine are the Āgamas of yore, in time expanded into twenty-eight, they then took divisions three, into one truth of Vedānta-Siddhānta to accord. That is Śuddha Śaiva, rare and precious.” Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.

What Is the Nature of the Holy Āgamas?

ŚLOKA 129
The Āgamas, Sanātana Dharma’s second authority, are revelations on sacred living, worship, yoga and philosophy. Śaivism, Śāktism and Vaishṇavism each exalts its own array of Āgamas, many over 2,000 years old. Aum.

BHĀSHYA
In the vast Āgamic literature, tradition counts 92 main Śaiva Āgamas—10 Śiva, 18 Rudra and 64 Bhairava—77 Śākta Āgamas and 108 Vaishṇava Pañcharātra Āgamas. Most Āgamas are of four parts, called pādas, and possess thousands of metered Sanskrit verses, usually of two lines. The charyā pāda details daily religious observance, right conduct, the guru-śishya relationship, community life, house design and town planning. The kriyā pāda, commonly the longest, extols worship and temples in meticulous detail—from site selection, architectural design and iconography, to rules for priests and the intricacies of daily pūjā, annual festivals and home-shrine devotionals. The yoga pāda discloses the interior way of meditation, of rāja yoga, mantra and tantra which stimulates the awakening of the slumbering serpent, kuṇḍalinī. The jñāna pāda narrates the nature of God, soul and world, and the means for liberation. The Tirumantiram declares, “Veda and Āgama are Iraivan’s scriptures. Both are truth: one is general, the other specific. While some say these words of God reach two different conclusions, the wise see no difference.” Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.