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[..]
>
> The Saiva Siddhanta (Suddhadvaita): The unity of India transcends the
> diversities of blood, fusions in color, language, dress, manners and
> sects. It is seen in the fusion of Brahminical ideas and institutions
> with Dravidian beliefs. The Saiva Siddhanta recognizes three entities:
> God, the Soul or the aggregate of souls, and Bondage (Pati, Pasu and
> Pasa). The expression Bondage denotes the aggregate of the elements which
> fetter the soul and hold it back from union with God. In one of its
> aspects it is Malam, the taint clinging to the soul. In another aspect it
> is Maya, the material cause of the world. The peculiarity of the Saiva
> Siddhanta doctrine which calls itself "Suddhadvaita" is its difference
> from the Vedanta Monism.
The Saiva Siddhanta school is a result of a fusion of earlier Saiva
systems like Pasupata, Kalamukha, Kapalika etc. The Pasupatas
contributed mainly to the philosophy, while the legacy of the Kalamukhas
and Kapalikas is seen in the religious practices of the Saiva ascetics.
Many Nyaya and Vaiseshika ideas, like the size of the soul, are also
found in the Saiva Siddhanta teaching. It is quite difficult to separate
out Brahminical and Dravidian elements in this system.
Be that as it may, does Saiva Siddhanta call itself Suddhadvaita? To the
best of my knowledge, the one school which labels itself "Suddhadvaita"
is the Vaishnava Pushti Marga teaching of Vallabhacharya. Saiva
Siddhanta, on the other hand, follows Saiva Agamas as its basic texts,
and does not claim to be monistic in thought. There is only one saint,
Thayumanavar, who explicitly strikes a middle ground between Advaita
Vedanta and Saiva Siddhanta, and he sings of "vedanta-siddhanta
samarasa". But other southern Saiva saints like Manickavacakar seem
quite opposed to a monist philosophy.
There is a school called Sivadvaita, quite distinct from Saiva
Siddhanta, expounded first by Srikantha Sivacharya in his commentary on
the Brahmasutras, and by Appayya Dikshita, in his sub-commentary to
Srikantha's work. Through the influence of Appayya Dikshita and his
disciples, the followers of Sankaran Advaita and Sivadvaita have drawn
closer together over the centuries.
Another important school of Saivism is Virasaivism, which is prevalent
in Kannada and Telugu speaking areas. There are many philosophical works
by Virasaiva authors such as Sripati Pandita, Renukacharya etc. The
fourth and fifth volumes of "History of Indian Philosophy" by S. N.
Dasgupta gives a nice overview of different Vaishnava and Saiva schools.
S. Vidyasankar
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