Shiva Siddhanta
Founder and History of Movement
Occasionally such an individual is born who, by following his tradition correctly and completely, approaches perfection and becomes a symbol to the world. Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami was such a man, a living example of awakening and wisdom, a leader recognized worldwide as one of Hinduism's foremost ministers. Gurudeva Suvaya Subramuniyaswami was the foremost exponent and teacher of Saiva Siddhanta in the West, a self-realized Western spiritual master of an age-old Saivite tradition. The name Subramuniya is from Sanskrit and is formed from subhra meaning, light; intuition, and muni, silent sage. Ya means restraint; religious meditation. Thus Subramuniya means a self-restrained soul who remains silent, or when he speaks, speaks out from intuition. Saiva Siddhanta, the name of the Gurudeva’s Church is from the Sanskrit language as well and could be roughly rendered in English as The Church of God Siva's Revealed Truth.
Subramuniyaswami as born on January 5, 1927, in Oakland, California, and grew up near Lake Tahoe. He was orphaned by age 11 and raised by a family with deep connections to India. In his teenage years he was trained in classical Eastern and Western dance and in the disciplines of yoga, becoming the premier dancer of the San Francisco Ballet by age 19. Increasingly drawn to a spiritual life, he renounced his career at its height and sailed to India and Sri Lanka in 1947, on the first ship to sail to India following World War II. There he intensified his spiritual training under renowned yogis. In 1948, in the mountain caves of Jalani in central Sri Lanka, he fasted and meditated until he burst into enlightenment. Soon after that God Realization at just 21 years old, he met his satguru (teacher), Yogaswami, in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. The 72-year-old sage gave him his Hindu name, Subramuniya, and initiated him into the holy order.
Yogaswami, his teacher lived in Jaffna, Sri Lanka during the first part of this century, making his transition to the inner worlds in 1963. During his life Yogaswami gave out his wisdom spontaneously in songs and sayings. He also carefully edited his journal called The Sivathondan (The Servant of God) which was published by his devotees. People of all ages and all walks of life, irrespective of creed, caste or race, went to Yogaswami. They sought solace and spiritua...
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...ared he would accept no treatment to attempt to cure the disease. He also made the decision to follow the Indian yogic practice, called Prayopavesa, to abstain from nourishment and take water only from that day on. He died on the 32nd day of his self-declared fast, passing on quietly at 11:54 pm on November 12, 2001, surrounded by his 23 monastics. Gurudeva was known to the end for spending personal time with new members, island visitors who pilgrimage to his sacred home on Kauai and new young monks who have come to the monastery to give their life in selfless service and the Great Search for God within man. All of his work and mission, his amazing vision and all-encompassing projects now go forward under the able guidance of his successor, Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami.
Works Cited
Central Gurudeva Site. http://www.gurdeva.org (11/16/04)
Magazine Site. http://www.hinduismtoday.com (11/15/04)
Biography Site. http://www.carnatic.com/karmasaya/ 11/17/04)
Hawaiian Island Site. http://www.kauai.hawaii.gov/ (11/17/04)
Endowment Fund Site. http://www.hheonline.org/ (11/16/04)
Academy Site. http://www.himalayanacademy.com/academy/ (11/16/04)
...is wound was healing, his pain was dispersing; his Self had merged into unity" (111). He now understood that all things are in harmony, heading towards the same goal and he therefore knew he had no reason to mourn over his son. Siddhartha had then completed his search for inner direction and attained Nirvana through experiences of the mind, body, and spirit.
During this period-the realm of the mind, Siddhartha actively sets about letting the self die, escaping his Self. This attempt reaches its most concentrated form during his stay with the ascetic Samanas, during which he discards all material possessions and tries further to flee his own body and control his other needs. This is shown when he says, "He killed his senses, he killed his memory, he slipped out of his Self in a thousand different forms." S...
The man commonly known as Buddha was born in 560 B.C. and died at the age of eighty in 450 B.C. He was born to Suddhodana, king of the Sakhyas, and Maya. He was born in Lumbini, near the city of Kapilauastu in the Himalayan mountain ranges. His real name is Siddhartha (meaning “one who has accomplished his aim”) Gautama (his family name). Unfortunately, Buddha’s mother died a week after he was born, so he was raised by his aunt, Mahaprajapati.
Seeking nirvana, Siddhartha assessed his situation and came to the conclusion that he had learned all there was to learn from his home and his teachers there. So he found new teachers, the Samanas. Through their teachings, he could only find the higher self by killin...
The founder of Buddhism was a man named Siddharta Gautama. He was born as a prince of a small kingdom located near today’s Nepal, around 500 B.C.E. (Gurinder 1). According to the legends, Siddharta was raised in the lap of luxury. He was given the finest clothes, riches, and a mansion for every season (Fisher 136). Despite having anything his imagination could conjure, he was unconvinced of their value (136). As the story continues, he was presented with the four sights that were being kept from him (136). These sights included death, sickness, old age, and a monk seeking lasting happiness rather than material possessions (136). After these sights, Sidhharta began his long path to enlightenment. After six years of searching, he had reached his goal of an ultimate consciousness called Nirvana, or enlightenment that is above ordinary human states of mind (Gurinder, Numrich, Williams 1-2). After his discovery of the ultimate consciousness, he was given the title of Buhhda, which means “Enlighten One” (2).
Siddhartha is referred to by many names, of which include “The Enlightened One”, “The Awakened One”, and “The Great Physician. The Enlightened One because he was once in the dark, but now is in the light. The Awakened One because he was once asleep, but now is awake to the true reality of life. The Great Physician because he found the truth of life to overcome humanity’s
Siddhartha was the son of a king of a north India kingdom. He lived a rich life and was destined to become a powerful king. At the age of 29, Siddhartha confronted a sick man, an old man and a dead man. These encounters forced the young prince to reevaluate his pampered life. He came to notice that wealth and luxury did not grant him happiness. He was determined to come to a deeper understanding of life so he left the palace, leaving his father, wife and child behind. He traveled for six years, studying under many different yoga masters and spiritual teachers. He tried many forms of meditation and yoga, including severe methods of fasting during which he nearly died. Once he found the Middle Path and achieved enlightenment.
In order to know how Tibetan Buddhism got to Hawaii, we need to know where it is coming from. The namesake of the movement was a spiritual leader born around the fifth century B.C.E in northern Indian or present day Nepal. While initially completel...
Siddhartha begins his journey leaving his father, a religious leader, who has taught him the Brahmin way of life and expects his son to walk in his footsteps, "he envisioned him growing up to be a great wise man and priest, a prince among Brahmins" (Hesse 4). Siddhartha, however, wants more of a challenge in life. He and his best friend Govinda, which admires him very much and is like a "shadow" to him, set out to join an ascetic group called samanas. The samanas teach the two young men endurance and "to let the ego perish" (Hesse 13), among many other valuable life skills. Siddhartha, still unfulfilled, takes leave of the samanas with his friend. They go to hear the wisdom of a well known and respected teacher, Gotama. After hearing the Buddha speak, the two see that he is indeed enlightened, this inclines Govinda to join him and his followers. Siddhartha, however, feels that he needs more than another's account of how enlightenment is obtained, still unfulfilled, he surprises and disappoints his friend when he chooses not to opt for the same path as him. He leaves his friend to continue his pursuit.
This qualitative case study is an approach to research how yoga can affect the human mind in a positive way and lead to a healthy lifestyle using 2 sources one being a book called The Science Of Yoga: The Risks and the Rewards by William J. Broad 2012. And the other being a private interview with a 22 year old male Yogi. This ensures that the issue is not getting explored through one side, but rather a variety of sides which allows for different inputs to be reveled and understood. There are two key approaches that help determine if yoga helps affect the human mind in a positive way. One flourished by William J. Broad (2012) which explores different factors on how yoga contributes to a healthy lifestyle and interviews fellow yogis who give there insight on the matter. And the second being a personal webcam interview conducted by the researcher ...
While in India, Gilbert—a white, upper-middle class, Christian woman—explores Buddhist teachings through yoga. While religion was never very strongly
"The Dhammapada: Socrates & Buddha Vs. Desire — The League of Ordinary Gentlemen." The League of Ordinary Gentlemen. Web. 05 July 2011. .
Of course, don’t take the title too seriously. Taking good care of your teeth and mouth today is as much important as taking care of your body as a whole. However, there are destructive dental habits that are guaranteed to damage your teeth.
The tradition of yoga was essentially passed on through generations by word of mouth and since, has been shared around the world (General Yoga). It is uncertain to know exactly when yoga surfaced but there are traces found that date back to 3000 B.C., or over 5,000 years ago. Yoga is more than just mastering poses and meditation; it is an exercise that means “ Spiritual Discipline” in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. “Yoga is a combination of both physical and spiritual exercises, entails mastery over the body, mind, and emotional self, and transcendence of desire” (Yoga Beyond Asana). “The ultimate goal is moksha, the attainment of liberation from worldly suffering and the cycle of birth and rebirth” (Yoga Beyond Asana). “The whole system of yoga is based on three main structures: exercise, breathing, and meditation” (General Yoga).
Just like lots of arts and sciences that are deep, beautiful, and powerful, yoga has endured from the divine deficiency of the present day world. It has been trivialized, watered down, or reduced to clichés. The profound and eternal substance of yoga has been misrepresented and packed for the personal gain clever people. As a result of some, the yoga has been reduced to the position of yet another exercise program on videotape. In other contexts, yoga has been offered as a cult religious beliefs, aimed at appealing to "devotees." Such a haze of distress has been created across the clear and natural idea of yoga that it's now essential to redefine yoga and clarify its interpretation and purpose.