followers of Sidhanta Shaivism?

[shays860]

I feel a forum could be very useful to me in my integration of this school of thought but I was surprised to find that there was not a forum on Subrmuniyaswami's site... Are there many followers of this tradition here? I know Eastern Mind is but I don't want to pester him unduly :) Anyone know of a forum dedicated to this school?

[Eastern Mind]

I feel a forum could be very useful to me in my integration of this school of thought but I was surprised to find that there was not a forum on Subrmuniyaswami's site... Are there many followers of this tradition here? I know Eastern Mind is but I don't want to pester him unduly :) Anyone know of a forum dedicated to this school?

Vannakkam: There is no general forum. There is a private 'forum' for registered students, I think, but I've never been there so I have no idea how active it is.

I really don't mind being pestered either. Feel free to send me as many PM s as you want.

Aum Namasivaya

[Avyaydya]

I feel a forum could be very useful to me in my integration of this school of thought but I was surprised to find that there was not a forum on Subrmuniyaswami's site... Are there many followers of this tradition here? I know Eastern Mind is but I don't want to pester him unduly :) Anyone know of a forum dedicated to this school?

Is this (http://www.siddha.com.my/forum/) any (http://www.siddha.com.my/forum/) good? (I am not a Shaiva)

[shays860]

Thanks for the link but it doesn't look like it gets any traffic.

[fem_phoenix1109]

Namaste shays,

I am interested in hearing more about this as well. Perhaps this could be the start of a thread exploring this tradition. Please pester EM publicly on this thread about it so I can read what he has to say too! :p

I've been getting the Master Course emails from them for a few months now, and have downloaded several of the free ebooks that they have available. I love how they go out of the way to make this information accessible to all, and I find that it is presented in a way that is easy for me to understand and relate to.

Aum Namah Shivaya!

[Eastern Mind]

Namaste shays,

I am interested in hearing more about this as well. Perhaps this could be the start of a thread exploring this tradition. Please pester EM publicly on this thread about it so I can read what he has to say too! :p

I've been getting the Master Course emails from them for a few months now, and have downloaded several of the free ebooks that they have available. I love how they go out of the way to make this information accessible to all, and I find that it is presented in a way that is easy for me to understand and relate to.

Aum Namah Shivaya!

Vannakkam: Over the years I've probably responded to maybe 10 or so individuals who were enrolled in Himalayan Academy courses on this site. The two of you could PM each other. I'm ridiculously biased. :) So I may not be the best person to answer stuff. The monks, though, might be too busy. Not sure how many enrolled students there are at any particular time. or what kind of time they have. One monk in particular is in charge of new students. There is always an ongoing group of students in Mauritius, and one of our senior members has monthly satsang/classes with them. I sat in on a couple of them last winter. There is something to be said about a group helping an individual and an individual helping a group.

But as you know too, feel free to PM me any time. We're going to Hawaii for a couple of weeks over Sivaratri too, so if there are any questions I can't answer directly, I can certainly find out.

Aum Namasivaya

[shays860]

The bias is not a problem for me. I just believe whatever resonates with me. I would love to enroll in the course and get personal instruction but I think I'm gonna read trough the course once first and decide if it is something I'm going to want to stick with. No major red flags so far though. The emphasis on temple worship is something I asked EM about but he reassured me that it was nothing to get hung up on. I am also profoundly grateful that the master course is available for free as pdfs. It seems like a sign of good intention on their part. How much have you read Phoenix?

[ShivaFan]

This is a sentinel moment.

I think this is a "wink" from the Divine that Eastern Mind should now have his own website that is a forum specific to Saiva Siddhanta, we can pester him with questions. He's on the World Book of Records anyway as "The most Internet Active Hindu from Canada", so this is his calling. Such a Saiva forum would be great. Of course, it would be free but some of us can also subscribe via a yearly donation to support the site.

SERIOUSLY.

Om Namah Sivaya

[shays860]

lol let me be the first to sign the petition

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam: HDF is a fine place to pose questions, make contacts, etc. The last thing the internet needs is another forum. This one suits the needs of this topic quite well. In fact, it's by far the best, in my experience. Other forums aren't exactly so 'user friendly'. The actual number of questions are few and far between. With Himalayan Academy, as with any group that has a website, most questions are answered via searching. There is also a 'contact us' button for anything that isn't answered there.

Aum Namasivaya

[shays860]

Ok. If you won't make us a forum guess it's time for further pestering here :) In Dancing with Siva it is noted that one should worship Ganesha even before Shiva. How long is one to worship Ganesha and how so before one is to move on to Shiva?

[Eastern Mind]

Ok. If you won't make us a forum guess it's time for further pestering here :) In Dancing with Siva it is noted that one should worship Ganesha even before Shiva. How long is one to worship Ganesha and how so before one is to move on to Shiva?

Vannakkam: Just a note to readers. My answer is specific to the Nandinatha sampradaya as taught by Subramuniyaswami, and isn't a general answer meant for all Hindus. It's also through the lens of one person, me. However, since shay860n asked publicly, I'll answer publicly ... for now anyway. We'll see how it goes.

Saiva Siddhanta Church has two mandates: Hindu Solidarity, and monistic Saiva Siddhanta. Sometimes people get those two ideas confused, and I can answer based on either one. We've always encouraged all Hindus of all sampradayas to do what their tradition is, and at the same time practice our own in a pure form. So if individuals ask public questions like this, they're not really about debating, or discussing, just about giving the POV of one school.

So: Indeed we see Ganesha as sort of the gatekeeper. Mystically he sits on the muladara chakra, so it's a starting point. But it's not like a total shift, but rather a shift of focus. We worship Siva in the beginning, and we worship Ganesha after. We will always worship both, as well as Murugan. SSC altars all have those 3, and those 3 alone. Siva is the focal point. It is a Saiva school.

Ganesha's vibration is easier to find and He can work with more mundane stuff, so in the beginning, that's very useful. So just for that reason alone it makes sense. But Siva is God too, so he's there. So it's preparation mainly. Walk before you can run. Get comfortable with Him first. Then maybe he'll say, 'I'll take you to the Leader', if that analogy works.

One of the two dikshas given to householders within SSC is initiation into doing Siva puja, the atmartha Siva puja. Just as with mantra diksha, (the other one) we believe there is power in diksha. That power comes from the Satguru. So it's a mystical thing. The sishya definitely has to prove to himself and others a sense of discipline over a longer period.

My personal daily pujas are for Ganesha (still?). The core teaching in SSC is incredibly individual. Although there are general guidelines for all individuals, the specifics apply completely to just the individual. So the Guru gets to know each sishya on a personal level, and will give them personal sadhanas or personal work. This is done in private one on one interviews generally, or by phone, or email. That's just the way it is.

So as to the question about how long before making this shift in focus, it would be dependent on the individual's sense of things, and perhaps encouragement from the Guru. Some people remain timid, humble, waiting, while others take bigger strides. It's all an individual matter.

I hope this helps, shay.

Aum Namasivaya

[karthik]

The best way to start studying saivam according to me is by properly getting samaya deekshai(initiation) :)

you will get an opportunity to clear the sins you commit everyday,your karma will get better and things are going to work out better for you from that...and i believe the only proper way to learn the religion is by learning the Tamil language first.i know there are many translation available but i find most of them to be biased or mistranslated.

[shays860]

Thank you for your advice Karthik. I think I'm gonna stick with Subramuniyaswami's teachings for now and see how they work for me.

[Araloka]

Does the group have any presence in the mainland USA? I've always been interested in Himalayan Academy but daunted by the fact that they are based in Hawaii and seem to not have centers anywhere else. I'll probably never be able to afford to go to Hawaii, not even once.

[Eastern Mind]

Does the group have any presence in the mainland USA? I've always been interested in Himalayan Academy but daunted by the fact that they are based in Hawaii and seem to not have centers anywhere else. I'll probably never be able to afford to go to Hawaii, not even once.

Vannakkam: There are a few individual members that occasionally hold satsangs, mainly in California, and Bodhinatha is often an invited guest speaker at various temples on the mainland and internationally, and meets with devotees around those times.

But no, there is no teaching center or mainland monastery.

But the gist and heart of the teaching is personal sadhana. Pilgrimages are a bonus.

Aum Namasivaya

[Araloka]

Vannakkam: There are a few individual members that occasionally hold satsangs, mainly in California, and Bodhinatha is often an invited guest speaker at various temples on the mainland and internationally, and meets with devotees around those times.

But no, there is no teaching center or mainland monastery.

But the gist and heart of the teaching is personal sadhana. Pilgrimages are a bonus.

Aum Namasivaya

Do you know if there are any other Shaiva organizations in the mainland?

[Eastern Mind]

Do you know if there are any other Shaiva organizations in the mainland?

Vannakkam: Not that I'm aware of. It's about 90% Vedanta out there, and some Vaishnava.

Aum Namasivaya

[karthik]

What about these people?

http://joomla1526.knowingourroots.com/

http://www.youtube.com/user/knowingourroots/videos

[shays860]

Namaste,

It is advised that one visit a temple at least once a week in the Master Course. Do you think it would be bad to attend a Puja for a deity other than Shiva, Ganesha or Murugan or do you think it would be better than nothing?

Thanks
Stevie

[Eastern Mind]

Namaste,

It is advised that one visit a temple at least once a week in the Master Course. Do you think it would be bad to attend a Puja for a deity other than Shiva, Ganesha or Murugan or do you think it would be better than nothing?

Thanks
Stevie

Vannakkam: You do what you can do. Any temple is better than no temple. Besides, there are very few strict Saiva temples around. I think all temples will have a Ganesha. ISKCON has Sivalingams usually. I will enter any Hindu temple at all, especially when travelling. Where is the one you had in mind?


Aum Namasivaya

[shays860]

There's one in a place called Harvest, Alabama about 30 minutes from where I live. They have Shiva and Ganesha so I would of course try to make it on the days they are being worshiped but I was thinking it might be better than nothing to go to Puja of another deity if I can't make it on those days. It's called The Hindu Cultural Center of North Alabama (HCCNA). I went today but I didn't really know what was going on. They suggested I come back on a Sunday because there's a class. I doubt I need any extra information in addition to the course but I figured I would go once to figure out the local temple protocol

[Eastern Mind]

There's one in a place called Harvest, Alabama about 30 minutes from where I live. They have Shiva and Ganesha so I would of course try to make it on the days they are being worshiped but I was thinking it might be better than nothing to go to Puja of another deity if I can't make it on those days. It's called The Hindu Cultural Center of North Alabama (HCCNA). I went today but I didn't really know what was going on. They suggested I come back on a Sunday because there's a class. I doubt I need any extra information in addition to the course but I figured I would go once to figure out the local temple protocol

Vannakkam: That's a very nice looking temple, and the first time I'd heard of it. Because it's more or less South Indian style, the deities are separated, (some temples have all the deities on one central area) and you should be able to really focus on either Ganesha or Shiva with no problem. At a temple like that, anybody can worship any God on any given day, not just the day that the puja is for a particular God. Of course, if you do want to see a Shiva abhishekam etc, you have to go then. Another great thing is it's open every day, which not all temples are.

Aum Namasivaya

[fem_phoenix1109]

Namaste,

I was reading in the master course about the Aum Namah Shivaya mantra, and it was stated that one should not do this without first being initiated by a guru. Actually that seems to be the case with many practices. I find it unlikely that I would come across a guru anytime soon, but would still like to practice on my own. Is this a bad idea to do what I can anyway, without instruction from a guru?

Aum Namah Sivaya!

[shays860]

I'm sure Eastern Mind will give a better answer but I'm doing the supervised study course right now and they recommend a lot of practices that don't require initiation including chanting aum and Ganesha Puja among other things.

[Eastern Mind]

Namaste,

I was reading in the master course about the Aum Namah Shivaya mantra, and it was stated that one should not do this without first being initiated by a guru. Actually that seems to be the case with many practices. I find it unlikely that I would come across a guru anytime soon, but would still like to practice on my own. Is this a bad idea to do what I can anyway, without instruction from a guru?

Aum Namah Sivaya!

Vannakkam: Yes, that is the case in this tradition, and others, but not all. As Shays said, there is a lot you can do on your own. Aum Saravanabhava is one you can do. This (Namasivaya) mantra is likened to be a car without a key without a guru's initiation, but a car with a key with the initiation.

Initiation is no quick deal in SSC, as you probably know by now. It can tke years of preparation. Who knows what a person's life may be like 6 or 7 years from now? When a disciplined practice of sadhana is maintained diligently, 'things' happen.

Aum Namasivaya