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Vaishnavism, Shaivism and Minor Religious Systems v1.c7.s17: XVII. Résumé

Vaiṣṇavism, Śaivism and Minor Religious Systems v1.c7.s17

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XVII. Résumé

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§ 117. The fearful and destructive phenomena of nature led to the conception of, and belief in, the god Rudra, the terrible howler, accompanied by his groups, or Gaṇas, called sometimes Rudras or Rudriyas, who were minor howlers. This god, when propitiated, became the auspicious Śiva, the beneficent Śaṃkara and the benignant Śambhu. The conception gradually developed further, until Rudra became the god of wild and awful scenes, such as cemeteries, mountains and forests. Of the beasts and savages that dwelt in these last and of the thieves and outcasts that resorted to them, he became the lord. Subsequently he developed into the god who pervades the universe, dwells in fire and water, in all beings and in herbs and trees and was the supreme ruler of all. When he rose to this position, he became the subject of Upaniṣad speculation, by meditating on whom and seeing whom everywhere in the universe a man attained blissful serenity.

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But the awful and wild side of his nature was not effaced, but went on developing; and when religious schools such as that of the Pāñcarātras came to be established, one with Rudra or Paśupati as the god to be adored was set up some time after. Its founder was a human being, who came to be known as Lakuṭin or Lakulin, the holder of a club, and Lakulīśa or Nakulīśa, the lord, the holder of the club. Pañcārtha was the title of the work attributed to him, and his system came to be known by the name of Pāśupata. Two extreme schools were developed out of this, and also one which was more moderate known by the name of the Śaiva. Traces of these schools have been found from about the second century of the Christian era to about the twelfth. But the repulsive nature of the two extreme schools and the wild and fantastic character of the other two led to a reaction, and in the beginning of the ninth century we have the first Kaśmīr school; and about a hundred years afterwards was founded another. These are very sober in their doctrines and practices, and may be considered to have been influenced by the school of Śaṃkara, though an escape from his severe spiritual monism has been provided for, so as to allow of an individual existence to the delivered soul. A further reform was effected about the middle of the eleventh century by the Liṅgāyat school. The philosophical doctrines of this school amount to this: that God is infinite intelligence and joy, is the creator of the world and the instructor and redeemer of mankind, and that the individual soul attains to a unity of blissful experience with him by gradually estranging himself from the world, pursuing a course of devotional worship, abandoning himself to God and seeing him in everything. This philosophy seems to have been influenced by the tenets of the school of Rāmānuja. The spirit of the Liṅgāyats was, however, combative, and they set up for themselves a community distinct from that which owes its origin to the Brāhmaṇic system. All the while, however, during the existence of these schools the general worship of Rudra-Śiva has prevailed among ordinary people regardless of the doctrines of these schools.

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Śiva was associated with his consort Pārvatī or Umā. She too had a beneficent and majestic character as alluded to in the KnU. But just as an aboriginal element contributed to the formation of the character of Rudra-Śiva, so an aboriginal element of a more distinct nature came to be combined with his consort, and she became a terrible goddess that had to be appeased by animal and even human sacrifices. But since the lustful nature of man is very strong in him, that goddess under the name of Tripurasundarī (the beauty of the three cities) or Lalitā (sportively graceful) became the creator of the world, and was also worshipped with debasing and sensual rites; and thus came in the school of the Śāktas, who looked forward to an identity with Tripurasundarī as the goal of their existence. Gaṇapati as the leader of a host was, of course, connected with Rudra-Śiva. That idea became mingled with the idea of Vināyaka, an evil spirit that possessed men, and thus the combined god Gaṇapati-Vināyaka became an object of worship on the principle that an obstructive and evil spirit should be first propitiated before beginning an action. Thereafter he became the special god of six minor sects, one of these, holding doctrines as debasing as those of the Śākta cult. Skanda was more closely connected with Śiva as the lord of one of his Gaṇas or groups; and afterwards came to be believed to be his son; and his worship prevailed for several centuries from the time of Patañjali downwards and has not become obsolete even at the present day. The sun was a god worshipped in early times and his cult did not disappear, as his orb was daily visible. But he became the object of sectarian worship some time later. About the third century, however, of the Christian era, another cult of the sun was introduced from Persia. It took root on Indian soil and prevailed for a long time in North-Western India, a good many splendid temples having been erected from time to time for his worship. A special caste of priests of the name of Magas was associated with the cult, and the masses of the Hindu population adopted it as if it had been indigenous to the country.

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