WITH THE GREAT
Rameshwaram,where Rama installed and worshipped Shiva. Eastern and Western Gopurams.
By Vinayaraj (Own work) (CC BY-SA 3.0) creativecommons via Wikimedia Commons.
5. OVERCOMING SECTARIAN DIFFERENCES
All religions are full of sects.
All organised religions in the world are riven by internal differences. Religions founded by a historic figure like Buddha, Christ (his historicity is doubted) or Mohammad claim one Book as the authority, one Deity, but they do not have one accepted interpretation. They not only differ, but actively quarrel among themselves; Muslims even fight each other violently. Christians do not pray in each others' church. I have to say these things because Indians generally think of them as one monolithic block.
Hinduism has never organised itself as one homogenous unit, under one official hierarchy. They have one book- the Veda- but the greatest freedom is exercised in interpretation. They do not enforce one standard system in anything. The authority for Hinduism is ultimately personal experience- aparoksha anubhuti-and not any theology or philosophy. For instance, even those who accept Advaita as final need not accept Sankara's interpretation of it. What matters is persnal discipline and one's personal experience, and not some one else's opinion. All great teachers therefore stress sadhana that leads to experience. And remarkably, sadhanas prescribed by all systems and sects have common elements.A real teacher or Guru is one who awakens the fire of sadhana and personal effort. To make a student do this, the teacher must himself be a realised person, not merely a learned person. Whatever may be the outward show, and strength of organisation, only real teachers are remembered and honoured across centuries.
Hinduism too has its sects, though mainly six systems are only accepted as authentically Vedic: six systems of philosophy and six systems of worship, each with its own theology. They are known as 'Shan matas' and Adi Shankara is credited with having systematised and reconciled innumerable groups into these six. They are named after the main Deities they worship; Sauram (Surya), Shaivam (Shiva), Vaishnavam (Vishnu), Shaktam (Shakti or Devi), Ganapatyam( Ganapati) , and Kaumaram (Kumara or Subrahmanya). All these are Vedic Deities and all the others that people worship in India can be traced to or included in one of these six. (For instance, the village Deity "Pachaiamman" in Tamil is just Maragathavalli ie Parvati! We have a village Deity called "Pani Vizhunda Amman" which is simply "Himachalambika" ie Parvati!
Differences in practice
Differences in practice
Historically, different systems have held sway in different parts of the country, and at different times. But over the millennia, great changes have taken place. Though Surya is important in Vedic lore ( eg. Gayatri, which is fundamental), Surya is not worshipped as a separate Deity. Now, He is mainly considered one among the Navagrahas, or as part of the Panchayatana system.. But at one time, He was so important that Sage Agastya taught Rama Aditya Hridayam for victory over Ravana! Ganapati worship is mainly confined to the West- in Maharashtra, though no Vedic rite or puja is begun without remembering Ganapati!. Shaivism and Vaishnavism are prevalent in the South. Vaishnavism and Shaktam are strong in the East- Bengal and Orissa. But, all systems are found in all parts of the country to varying degrees.
But the same Deity is conceived differently in different parts of the country. Ganapati is considered a confirmed bachelor in Tamil Nad, but in Maharashtra,he is shown with two consorts-Siddhi and Buddhi. Kumara in Tamil Nad is with two consorts, while in the North, he is taken as a bachelor! Lord Shiva is conceived of as the king of ascetics in the North- Yogiswar and Yogeswar, but in the South, He is a family man-like us! Devi is celebrated as Kali/Durga in Bengal, while in the South, She is invoked as Lalita, Bala, Rajarajeswari, Tripurasundari, Bhuvaneswari, etc. (Dasamahavidyas). The Indian genius for invention is so great that even a fictitious entry like Santoshi Ma- for which there is no scriptural authority at all- became a cult figure, following a film! Agamas which prescribe rules for Murti worship lay down several forms for the same Deity with different dhayana slokas- eg. 16 for Kumara! And we have shodasa Ganapati too! The Vaishnavism of Chaitanya is different from that of Ramanuja!The variety is thus endless!
Even within Vaishnavism, we see differences. Though called Vaishnavism, they do not worship Vishnu as such, but mainly his Avatars, Rama and Krishna. Krishna is worshipped as mainly the cowherd boy in U.P, Bihar. He is worshipped as Dwarkavasin, Ranchod Rai etc in Gujarat. In the South they worship him as Govindaraja, Srinivasa, Parthasarathy, Guruvayurappan, Ranganatha, Udupi Krishna, etc. Bengal Vaishnavas worship him as Radha-Krishna, which is not liked in the South, except by bhajan groups. And followers of Chaitanya consider even Vishnu as an avatar of Krishna! They follow Bhagavata which is not favoured by Tamil Vaishnavas.
It is necessary to remember this. There are some zealots who say that Murugan was the original Tamil Deity which was later absorbed by the non-Tamil Subrahmanya-Kartikeya cult. We have seen that the same Deity is worshipped in different names and forms in different parts and at different times, and by different people.(as seen in Tirumurugatrupadai). We also see that some Deities become popular or prominent at some time.Thus, Guruvayurappan and Aiyappan became prominent in the last 60 years or so. Entirely fictitious Santoshi Ma became enormously popular in the 70s after a film! Murugan was never the sole Deity of the Tamilians at any time.The ancient Tamils had four main Deities- Tirumal(Vishnu), Murugan, Indran and Varunan, along with Kotravai or Kali. All of them are Vedic, though they have Tamil names! But each one was sectarian. (If the fiction of Aryan invasion is bust, the truth will be evident.) The Hindu religion never suppressed or eradicated any local or regional practice or usage. That is how so much variety exits and still flourishes.
There is a fundamental reason for the differences.. Human birth comes at the pinnacle of evolution through 84 lakh births. And among those born as human beings, there is a first birth and a last, with all the degrees in between. Naturally, the same things do not appeal to all, or at all times even to the same person. The genius of Hindu religion recognised this and provided something for all- like a buffet lunch with huge variety.Only little minds fight over diversity.
In the days of Kings, the religion they followed became predominant. But in the same dynasty, we find devotees of all. Two developments are to be noticed:
1. After the Avatars of Rama and Krishna, the Bhagavata religion has mainly replaced the old Vedic practices based on ritualistic karmas. This has authentic scriptural sanction. Rama and Krishna are the most popular Deities throughout the country.
2. Quarrels between sects are still prevalent: as between Shaivas and Vaishnavas, and as among Shaivas, Vaishnavas and Shaktas. But within each, there are numerous sects ( eg. Vadakalai and Thenkalai among Iengars; Siddhanta, Vedanta, and Veera Shaivas; Vamachara or Tantra and other Shaktas.), and they do quarrel.
Truth of Shanmata
But what is the truth of these six "matas"? In Sanskrit, the name itself reveals the content! God the Absolute has six characteristics (as conceived by human intelligence.)
Shivam means auspiciousness.
Vishnu means all-pervasiveness.
Ganapati stands for overcoming obstacles.
Shakti means power or energy
Sauram means light
Kaumaram means eternal youth and beauty.
Can any sensible person see any contradiction among these? Can they imagine their Deity without any of these characteristics? If we read the thousand names of the Deities, we will find the same ideas repeated in all, apart from the specifics of each incarnation.Yet the pundits quarrel!
Though the nominal Gurus of the established Maths admit their allegiance to the basic scriptural authority ( Veda and Prastanatraya), each has his own interpretation. And even today, when the Hindu religion as a whole is facing threat from organised Christians, Islam and secular forces on a world-wide scale, there is still no genuine unity among the sects. There is only sloganeering, and no sense.
Sages have risen above sects.
Yet, great Saints and Sages have shown the way, rising above sectarian differences. Thus in the South, we have had Samartha Ramdas, Sadashiva Brahmendra, Tayumanavar. Pattinathar, Ramalinga Swami,etc. Though the last three had a Saiva- Siddhanta background to begin with, they transcended their sects, on the basis of personal experience, as can be verified from an objective reading of their original works. Then we have had Sri Tyagaraja and Muthuswamy Dikshitar.In the recent past, we had Sri Ramakrishna and Ramana Maharshi.
Arunagirinatha is extraordinary.
Thanks: www.murugan.org
But the greatest historical literary figure in the South has been Arunagirinatha. (15/16th century) There are various legends about him. But we can study and understand him from his works. He was a devotee of Subrahmanya or Kumara (or Murugan as he is called in Tamil) He had personal experience of Kumara which transformed him. He took to composing and singing the praises of Subrahmanya, as directed by the Lord, visiting various shrines all over the country.As such, his hymns are an outpouring of divine inspiration (Arut kavi), which have he power to save. These hymns are termed "Tiruppugazh" which simply means "Praise of the Lord".Of the 16000 he is said to have composed, only about 1400 have survived. There are other works too, all on Subrahmanya.
Stone icon of Kartikeya.North India. 7th century.
Chicago Museum of Art. (Taken from www.murugan.org.)
Two characteristics of the works of Arunagirinatha are outstanding:
1. He has praised all Deities without distinction. And when he praises Deities other than Kumara, his own Ishta Devata, he has exceeded in praise even the self-confessed devotees of those Deities. For instance, when he sings the glories of Devi, he has exceeded even Lalita Sahasranama ( as we shall see.) When he praises Rama, he has gone beyond Valmiki, the Adikavi and revealed things beyond the Ramayana (like Tyagaraja did.) The language he has deployed in respect of Vishnu-Krishna excels that found in the Bhagavata and other sectarian literature.
2. He has employed both Sanskrit and Tamil and has handled them with such felicity and power that has since been unequalled. He blazed a new path.None could tread it since.
(Musicologists will marvel at other things like his tala intricacies; Tamil pandits will marvel at his poetic prowess. But our theme is different.)
Discovery/recovery of Tiruppugazh
It is only in the last 125 that his works were discovered and traced from obscure villages. In 1871, in a religious conference in Chidambaram, one of the Dikshitars quoted a few lines from an (then) obscure Tamil work. (Some say it was in a court case) One of the participants in the conference was V.T.Subramania Pillai, a court official, Tamil scholar and devotee of Lord Subrahmanya of Tiruttani, his family Deity. He got interested in it and gathered the palm-leaf manuscripts from villages with great effort, and published them. He also collected the other works of Arunagirinatha. They were published in four volumes between 1895 and 1931.
This is how we got the Tiruppugazh. Later it was propagated by Vallimalai Swamigal, who devoted his whole life for it.
It was Sri Seshadri Swami, a revered Saint of Tiruvannamalai.and senior contemporary of Ramana Maharshi, who induced Vallimali Swamigal to take to Tiruppugazh as a "Mahamantra".. Now it has a large following.
Arunagirinatha is an advocate of Nama Siddhanta. He advocates Bhakti itself as Mukti. (Aana bhaya bhakti vazhipaadu peru mukti )! He makes it explicit that resorting to the singing/parayana of Tiruppugazh is the remedy for all ills. The truth of this is experienced quietly by numerous devotees.
Subrahmanya reconciles all!
We have ardent devotees of all forms of God. Each group claims its Deity as the "Kaliyuga Varadan". But we find that devotees of all Deities have derived benefits (as also suffered frustration!) We are all followers of the Veda which declares: EKAM SAT, VIPRA BAHUDA VADANTI. It therefore ill serves us to seek to establish superiority/inferiority among them. As Lord Krishna says in the Gita, He approaches people as people approach Him!
In Sanskrit, the very name reveals the content, as we saw above. In the Amarakosha, the authoritative Sanskrit lexicon, (compiled by a Jain), the name "Swamy" is applied only to Lord Subrahmanya!
I like to share with friends passages from the works of Arungirinatha where he records incidents connected with Rama, Krishna, Vishnu, Devi, etc. There is an extraordinary beauty in this. Lord Subrahmanya is Shanmukha. What do those six faces symbolise? They symbolise the six characteristics of the One Almighty! Subrahmanya synthesises all Deities! He reconciles and harmonises all matas! Arunagirinatha shows how He is connected with all:
He is the son of Shiva-Parvati.
He is nephew and son in law of Vishnu, brother of Devi
He is the brother of Ganapati.
He is himself Surya, as revealed in the Aditya Hridayam, composed by Agastya, another devotee of Subrahmanya! (Yesha Brahma cha Vishnu cha Shiva Skanda: Prajapati:) And Skanda was selected to lead the Devas in their fight against the demons- hence he is Devasenapati! Subrahmanya represents the fulfillment and culmination of the Vedic worship. Hence the Vedic mantra about Subrahmanya declares:
Nighrushvai Rasamaayutai:
Kaalai haritvamaapannai:
Indrayaahi shasrayuk
Agnir vibhraashti vasana:
Vaayshveta sikhadruka:
Samvatsaro vishuvarnai:
Nityaastaenu charaastava
Subrahmanyom Subrahmanyom Subrahmanyom!
Subrahmanya is hailed thrice!
In the words of an Indian scholar:
In the midst of myths and legends, one is constantly reminded of Subrahmanya as the embodiment of BrahmĀ Jñāna, as the expounder of the meaning of Om, and as the upholder and lord of Vedic way of life and rites. 'Subrahmanyom', with the repetition of pranava three items for special reverence ('ādarārtham' as Sāyana explains) in many Vedic sacrifices and rituals, is intended not only for Śiva's son but also for any divinity like Indra and Agni. So much so, that this mantra is to be found in many Vedic texts, especially the Brāhmanas.
In conclusion it can be seen that Skanda/Subrahmanya is a federal deity and an integrator among the divinities. He is endowed with the essential of all divinities. Svāmi is the most common word for 'God' in India. It is significant that 'Svāmi' is primarily the name of Subrahmanya alone. In the lexicons like those by Amara Simha, Svāmi occurs as a name of Kumāra. Other divinities have, so to say, borrowed the name from Kumāra.
Skanda is the son of Śiva and Śakti, younger brother of Vināyaka, son-in-law of Mahāvishnu, and is identified with the rising sun. By worshipping Kumāra we can be the recipient of the bounties conferred by all the other gods.
Dr. (Miss) S.S. Janaki (M.A., M.Litt and Ph.D. in Sanskrit from Madras University, D.Phil. from Oxford)
From: www.murugan.orgArunagirinatha has also displayed a large-hearted liberal tendency in his hymns.He harmonises all faiths, philosophies. We shall see through his words how all Deities are praised and honoured!
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