Shaivism

Shaivism (or Íaivism) is one of several branches of the Hindu religious traditions, centered on the worship of the god Shiva (the “auspicious” one). Together with Vaishnavism (worship of the god Vishnu) and Shaktism (worship of the goddess or Shakti), it constitutes one of the three largest sectarian traditions within Hinduism. The deity Shiva has antecedents in the Vedic god Rudra, the “roarer” or “howler,” a fierce deity associated with storms and disease, dating back to the oldest period of the Vedas (1500 BCE). In one of the latest parts of the Vedas, the Shvetashvatara Upanishad (400–200 BCE), Rudra is elevated to the position of a supreme deity, identified as the one, omniscient lord—attributes that would later be ascribed to the classical Hindu deity Shiva.

In classical Hindu mythological literature and iconography, Shiva is traditionally portrayed as the supreme lord of yoga, an ascetic with long matted dreadlocks, covered in ash, and seated in a meditative posture with a water pot and trident. However, he is also a paradoxical deity who embodies the extremes of renunciation and sensuality, described by some scholars as the “erotic ascetic.” In Hindu mythology, Shiva is the “destroyer,” who annihilates the universe with fire at the end of each cosmic age, returning the universe to the primordial ocean from which it will be reborn in the next cosmic age. But he is also a deity associated with creative power whose primary symbol is the lingam, or phallus. Although a yogi and ascetic, he is also a family man, who has a wife, Parvati, and two children, the warrior god Skanda and the elephant-headed god Ganesha.

Under the large umbrella of Shaivism, there are numerous sectarian traditions that developed throughout South Asia from roughly the fourth century onward. The most important of these include the Pashupatas, the Shaiva Siddhanta, the Lingayats, the Kapalikas, the Aghoris, and the Kashmir Shaivite tradition. Some of these are devotional traditions centered on Shiva as the Lord (pati) of his devotees (pashus), while others center on Shiva as the radical ascetic without fear (aghora) beyond human worldly society. And still others such as the Kashmir Shaivite tradition are highly philosophical traditions centered on the ultimate identity between the individual self and the supreme consciousness of Shiva. Typically, Shaivite ascetics can be recognized by the three horizontal bars drawn on their foreheads, symbolizing Shiva's trident. Many also wear long matted dreadlocks, carry a trident, and/or a skull begging bowl in imitation of Shiva.

Unlike the Vaishnava tradition, Shaivism does not typically have a concept of avatars or earthly “descents” and incarnations of the deity into the material world. However, in modern times, there have been some noteworthy exceptions. The most famous is Satya Sai Baba, a modern Indian holy man who claimed to be the human incarnation of Lord Shiva, descended in a unique form for the last age, the Kali Yuga, before the end of this cosmic era.