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Hindu denominations
- Thread starter Polarbear
- Start date
Vaishnavism focuses on Lord Vishnu and is generally much more devotion-oriented than the others.
Shaivism focuses on Lord Shiva and is generally more meditative.
Shaktism is very similar to Shaivism, except for a focus on the Goddess, and tends to have more Yogic practices.
Smartism extols all Gods as aspects of One.
There's a lot more to it than that, but that might give a basic rundown. Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswam goes into more detail in this chapter of his book, Dancing With Siva:
Dancing with Siva, Mandala 2: Hinduism
Shaivism focuses on Lord Shiva and is generally more meditative.
Shaktism is very similar to Shaivism, except for a focus on the Goddess, and tends to have more Yogic practices.
Smartism extols all Gods as aspects of One.
There's a lot more to it than that, but that might give a basic rundown. Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswam goes into more detail in this chapter of his book, Dancing With Siva:
Dancing with Siva, Mandala 2: Hinduism
Shaktas worship the Mother Goddess (Devī
as Supreme God in any and all Her forms: Parvati, Durga, Kali, Mahalakshmi, Bhavani, Minaksha, Ambika, Rajarajeshwari, Bhudevi, Radha... the list goes on.
as Supreme God in any and all Her forms: Parvati, Durga, Kali, Mahalakshmi, Bhavani, Minaksha, Ambika, Rajarajeshwari, Bhudevi, Radha... the list goes on.
It's probably easier to say who is not a form of the wife of Shiva: Lakshmi, Radha, Sita, Bhudevi. The others: Parvati, Durga, Kali, Mahalakshmi, Bhavani, Minaksha, Ambika are forms of the wife of Shiva. This is just my brief overview; Shaktas can answer in more detail. And then there is Shaktism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Vrindavana Das
Active Member
Shaktās believe Śiva exists. They worship the many forms of the wife of Śiva - Durgā.
Durgā and her varied forms like Chandī, Kāli, Bhavāni etc. are also worshiped by Śaktās, along with the original Durgā form.
What I understand is that Śaktās worship the material energy (wife of Śiva - Durgā and her many forms) and not spiritual energy (like Rādhā, Lakśmī, Sītā etc.).
Shaktā comes from Shaktī. Shaktī is energy. If energy is there, energetic is also there - Śivā.
Shuddhasattva
Well-Known Member
This post might be helpful to you:
http://www.religiousforums.com/foru...-vedas-puranas-shruti-smriti.html#post2978526
And the poem after it by Dnyaneshwar - moreso the poem than my post.
This is why sectarians should not speak of other sects. They are totally misrepresented by this distorted view.
I am not sure I agree with this - devotion is the sine qua non of both shaivism and shaktism. The devotion is just of a different character.
http://www.religiousforums.com/foru...-vedas-puranas-shruti-smriti.html#post2978526
And the poem after it by Dnyaneshwar - moreso the poem than my post.
Shaktās believe Śiva exists. They worship the many forms of the wife of Śiva - Durgā.
Durgā and her varied forms like Chandī, Kāli, Bhavāni etc. are also worshiped by Śaktās, along with the original Durgā form.
What I understand is that Śaktās worship the material energy (wife of Śiva - Durgā and her many forms) and not spiritual energy (like Rādhā, Lakśmī, Sītā etc.).
Shaktā comes from Shaktī. Shaktī is energy. If energy is there, energetic is also there - Śivā.
This is why sectarians should not speak of other sects. They are totally misrepresented by this distorted view.
I am not sure I agree with this - devotion is the sine qua non of both shaivism and shaktism. The devotion is just of a different character.
Shuddhasattva
Well-Known Member
No, Shaktism is a mirror reflection of Shaivism (in the main, and also Vaishnavism to a degree - ie the Devi Bhagavata puran). VD's post is incorrect; Shiva is worshiped in tandem with Shakti in Shaktism.
masculinity, lowercase m, is an illusion, Masculinity is Shiva, the Akula.
masculinity, lowercase m, is an illusion, Masculinity is Shiva, the Akula.
There is much more in common than there are differences ... just thought I'd throw that out there. For the most part, with a couple of notable exceptions, Hindus love members of all sects, and respect each other. It's not really a matter of choosing a sect, more a matter of discovering what you already believe, or following the signs that point you to that. There are also other ways to notice differences, most noticeably differences between North and South styles, in India.
So are there different versions of all the major denominations in the south and the north? The north is more influenced by Islam, right?
Saivism has six main schools, scriptures vary accordingly, at least the stress put on various scriptures. Some stress Vedas more. Others stress Agamas, whereas still others stress ancient Tamil scriptures like Tirumantiram. But I could be wrong.
Re Islam ..Many people do believe this, yes, but sometimes pride makes it very hard to admit it.
The differences are seen more in things like temple construction, role of Brahmins, congregational style of worship (North), versus a more individualised approach (South), and definitely language. All philosophies can be found in both North and South, other than some deities like Ayappan and Murugan, who are basically unknown in the North.
This is a western encyclopedic thing, that more or less doesn't exist in reality. For example I believe only in Siva. That is all I need. He is all and in all. Others would say the same of Vishnu, Krishna, or a variety of Mother forms, most especially Kali, or Durga. There is just tremendous variety, so when you get answers, most will be skewed towards that particular persons bias or upbringing.
For a basic description I again call on Wikipedia: Trimurti - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
As a Vaishnava, I certainly believe in Shiva, and even pray to Him. I believe Shiva and Vishnu to be flip sides of the same coin, known as Harihara or Shankarnarayana. Drawing close to Vishnu will grant moksha; Shiva will grant fulfilment of spirituality and meditativeness to draw to Vishnu. As Vinayaka said, personal preference/bias comes heavily into play.
These are good articles too Harihara - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and Tridevi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia though a bit basic.
Shuddhasattva
Well-Known Member
The agamas, nigamas and tantras.
I've not observed this. The culture may be more influenced, but the paramparas are not.
Trimurti are guna avataras. Gunas are the three primary qualities or 'substances' which compose manifest reality; sattva (typically but not always cast as Vishnu), rajas (typically but not always cast as Brahma) and tamas (typically but not always cast as Shiva). These are the gods that are the controllers of this guna, and corresponding role - Rajas = Creation, Sattva = Preservation, Tamas = Dissolution.
When Shaivas speak of Shiva, there are many 'levels' of Shiva. Certainly, there's only one Shiva who is without a second, but from the view of the material, diversified reality, Shiva is classified in multiple layers. The Shiva at the Trimurthi level is the lowest.
Same thing with Vaishnavas and Vishnu. Above the Trimurthi is Ishvar, who emanates these 3 gunavataras for their particular cosmic roles. To Shaivas, Ishvar is Parashiva, to Vaishnavas, it's Mahavishnu or Krishna.
Basically all denominations believe in the 3 gods, though varying amounts of emphasis is placed on them - with some traditions, almost none, as Ishvar is seen as doing everything, and the names/forms of the gunavataras like masks of little note worn by Ishvar for a particular role.
Maya3
Well-Known Member
What exactly is the difference between North and South styles?
I have never understood this. My temple is South Indian, but I don't know if I have ever been to a North Indian one.
Maya