harishsubramanian

The Siddhas are called by Hindus as heretics.Yet even the orthodox respect them.Nobody knows when their cult became popular.yet,inspite,of their unorthodox,way of thinking,their founder was supposed to be a vedic sage agastya.They also are known to be healers or practitioners of medicine,and are famous for using metals such as mercury in their medicines.
They form a distinctive part of a larger movement which spread throughout South Asia, from Sri Lanka in the South to Tibet in the north, between the seventh and eleventh centuries. Siddhas everywhere share common practices, cosmology, and symbols derived from Tantrism whether the practitioner is Hindu, Buddhist, or Jain. All are part of a "pan-Indian tantric yoga movement" which Eliade described as formulating over a five hundred year period, between the 7th and the 11th centuries, but fully flowering only after the 12th century. The Siddhas would be scoffing at temple worship, reliance upon Brahminical authority, and proclaiming the injustice of caste; while the Saiva Siddhantins would berate the Siddhas that the Siddhas are "mostly plagiarists and impostors" and in addition, "Being eaters of opium & dwellers in the land of dreams, their conceit knew no bounds".

The rift between the two orders has been sharply polarized by the fact that some Saiva Siddhantins, who mostly worship their God Shiva as the Lingam or sacred Phallus, have had a difficult time accepting the Siddhas tendency to emphasize the Goddess. To the Tamil Siddhas, Shiva is the unqualified and ultimate reality beyond form or comprehension, but Shakti, the Goddess, is immanent and accessible as the divine force abiding within the body itself. There she can be coaxed & subdued, manipulated & directed. As the serpent power Kundalini, flowing through the subtle body, she can propel the consciousness of the Siddhar into union with the Absolute.

Within the context of Hindu myth the name Siddha originally denoted one of the eighteen categories of celestial beings. These beings of semi-divine status were said to be of great purity and their dwelling was thought to be in the sky between the earth and the sun. Later they became associated with a class of more adept human being, often an accomplished yogi. The term had been derived from the Sanskrit root sidh meaning "fulfillment" or "achievement," so the noun came to refer to one who had attained perfection. Because the Tamil language lacks the aspirated consonants of Sanskrit the word has been written and pronounced by the Tamils as cittar. This has lead the Tamils to associate the word more with the Sanskrit term chit, meaning "consciousness."

Tirumular discusses the basis of Kundalini Yoga whereby the breath, carrying one of the vital airs known as prana, flows into the solar and lunar currents which run from the right and left nostrils down to the base of the spine and are there brought into union. The point of this union is at the root chakra Muladhara, the first of six chakras or nerve plexuses through which the Kundalini energy will flow. This energy is moved by the solar and lunar streams of vital breath that have entered the central current at Muladhara and will ascend upwards through the six chakras, each corresponding to a higher and more expansive state of consciousness. The individual awareness is sublimated into divine union at the crown of the head. It is a kind of inner journey towards the infinitude of the Divine, but begins only after the two streams flow into the central current.It's emphasis on the experiential aspects of the individual's religious experience collided with the Shaivite orthodoxy like the Gnostic heresy did with the early Christian Church.

In 1293, on his way back from China, Marco Polo got a taste of South India when he stopped along the Malabar Coast. He records a meeting he had with a group of yogi alchemists who, by preparing a tincture of mercury and sulfur, were afforded a lifespan of 150-200 years. Mercury was viewed as the seminal seed of Shiva. It formed a part of the alchemical triad of mercury sulfur and air, corresponding to the trinity of moon sun, and wind. Breath controlled through the practices of Pranayama, transformed the body's winds into a spiritual mediator that could unify the solar and lunar currents within the body. Much like the alchemical process applied air to mercury and sulfur to form the amalgam that brought the work to completion.
Consciousness was seen to ride the vehicle of breath into union with the absolute in the Sahasrara chakra at the top of the head. The Siddha could, through the intercession of the Goddess, placated by manipulation of the breath, expand consciousness to the point where it becomes what is called the Maha Chitta or "Great Awareness" which is the God Shiva himself.

Ramalinga, as all other Tamil Siddhas, was somewhat iconoclastic, not adequately deferential to temple or Brahminical tradition. He did not worship the linga. Forgoing all such images, he perpetrated the greatest of heresies by blatantly revealing the true face of God veiled within volumes of tantric lore. At the shrine he established at Vadalur, behind the curtain that housed the holy of holy's, he established a single flame's light to illuminate a mirror that would reflect the image of the worshipper as the secret face of god and final mystery of the Tamil Siddha cult.

Certain Siddhas have been believed to have powers even to nullify the fatal effects of snake poison.

The use of 'Yantras' for curing diseases is widespread. These are certain mystic magical diagrams engraved on the arm or with the chain around the neck. A special prayer is held to instill divine powers into it. The Yantra is then assumed to be able to protect the worshippers from evil and to bestow on him health and wealth.
The first two of the 18 Siddhas, Nandi Thevar and Agasthya are said to have found out the medicinal value of herbs by a process of trial and error. And when the herbs turned out to cure diseases, the Siddhas are believed to have planted the seedlings of the herbs in high altitudes and other inaccessible places. Bogar was another famous Siddhar who used chemicals for treating diseases more than a thousand yers ago.

lulay

"It is very interesting where you describe the conflict between the Lingham/sacred phallus and the Goddess factions of these 'heretics'.....as we see, even heretics fall out

Again i am intuiting literalization, and the worship of 'superhumaness'....ie., the actual belief that a sacred penis can be loding it over a scared vagina

don't know if you are familiar with a groundbreaking book b J M. Allegro, titled The Sacred and the Cross?....well, he shows the deeper layers of mythical writings/symbols. what is interesting is that we see that there appeared to be a -what i call--'spermocentric' emphais behind the secret names of the 'sacred plants........The idea that 'God's Penis' semen is more powerful in particular plants and fungus etc, and collects under the Earth. now this is a blatant rip off from the preceeding Goddess myth, where Goddess was always associated with Water.
one can see a similar conflict in that myth similar to what you describe s what i am saying

so which is is? the penis or the vagina? i am thinking ambiguity--hearmphroditism. though it has to be said, that insight was also known by Allegro as being secretly referred to. as i have seen it is so in Indian myth

so it must be our abstracting minds. shared East and West alike. where some of us seem only able to choose 'one-side' versus 'another side' not realizing that this is just abstract nonesense

and regarding superhumaness...ie., being able to harness continuuous sense of kundalini power? i am more for seeing through the false myths which abound. and i see life as a continuum. that ne hasordinary life. we shit, fidget, get bored. all this is natrual, but we also do other stuff including maybe teking hallucinogens and letting loose. but can one aLWAYs be in ecstasy? would you WANT that? do you think it even possible?

premjan

I don't believe it is traditional in Shaivism for the penis to lord it over the vagina: rather the act of cosmic copulation is symbolized by the shivalingam which traditionally consists of a phallus enveloped by a yoni or vagina. Shiva himself is depicted in one of his forms as a hermaphrodite Ardha Nareeshvara (Vishnu on the other hand can take on the form of either a man (Krishna) or a woman (Mohini) emphasizing the dualist nature of Vishnu vs the monist one of Shiva). Although a man, Shiva is accomplished in the female arts (e.g. dancing).

lulay

I know. but what i am interested in is how there happened/happenes a conflict between people who claim either sexual organ is more powerful than the other one.

let me ask you--do you think that that power trip is more specific to the side with the Lingham or the side with the Yoni, in your opinion?

premjan

what makes you think there is a power trip in shaivism?

lulay

didn't you say in a previous post detiling all about it how two factions had separated, those of the Lingham and those of the Goddess?

premjan

rift between the two orders is what I read. I don't think it is a straight male/female fight anyway. for one thing most of the worshippers are probably men on both sides. it seems a bit abstract of a battle in this case.

Philippe*

I guess there are indians here, maybe they could tell me what indian people think of :

- Kriya Yoga from Babaji, Lahiri Mahasaya, Sri Yukteshwar, Yogananda
- Saint Ramalingam
- Sri Aurobindo's Integral Yoga

Are hindus agressive towards people practising these paths and consider that as heretic, are these teachings well-known, are they practised by many people ?

Thanks,

Philippe

premjan

The profusion of these gurus should indicate to you that Indians are easy prey for gurus (perhaps lack of a standard holy book other than the vague and diffuse vedas contributes). For every godman out there, there are some people willing to stand in line for his blessings. Basically any self-assured fast talker can make a buck off of human insecurities in this world. Always has been true in India and increasingly so in other places as well.

harishsubramanian

1)Kriya Yoga from Babaji, Lahiri Mahasaya, Sri Yukteshwar, Yogananda-
These folks dont fall into the mainstream practices,but they are well regarded by the masses especially in Eastern UP,Nepal,Bihar and Bengal.Autobiography of a yogic-book written by yogananda popularised his name in other parts of the country.Nobody really knows of Babaji accept from accounts of him.Stories about him ,lead to unbelievable trails.Lahiri mahasaya was a family man,happily married,but yet claimed to be a yogi,with unbelievable mystic powers.You will find a whole lot of stories about these folks in the Internet itself.But lahiri mahasaya personally was recognized as a spiritually advanced yogi,by quite a number of people(many of whom are extremely well educated).
- Saint Ramalingam-
He is believed to be a siddha,a yogi,and a reformer.He was popular in tamil nadu,and was a scholar in tamil and also knew sanskrit.He did not support caste system or even Idol worship.He worshipped god as a flame of light.
And it is believed that after his death,he just vanished into thin air,as though he became a vapour.But apart from that,he has won the admiration of even secular scholars(including disbelievers in god),for his piercing observations.

- Sri Aurobindo's Integral Yoga

Aurobindo was also extremely well regarded by a large number of Indians.Educated in the west(though an Indian-There is a story that his dad did not approve of Indian values and religion,and took his family to the west to keep them away from ),he came into contact with theosophist in the west,that was his journey into religion.He left them,and finally came to India
and participated in India's freedom movement.Then somehow,spirituality attracted him and he turned into a monk

An orthodox brahmin a few centuries ago would defintely have considered them as heretic,but times have changed and so have attitudes.They are well regarded by all section of people.

Yoga of Aurobindo is popular among his followers.But a majority of people dont follow these techniques considering them as too advanced