Thus Spake the Divine - Shankara Sampradaya

Thus Spake the Divine

Shankara Sampradaya

Advaitins have been presumed to be Shaivaites and even Shankara (and our own Periyava too!) was labelled as Shaivaite-Guru! In this chapter, Pujyashri Maha Periyava contests the misconception of many. For this he draws references from Vedas and Upanishads and other Theologians such as Buddhism, Karma Mimamsakas and Nyayikas to establish his stand point. His detailed pondering over the misconstrued “Smarta Sampradaya” vis-à-vis “Shankara Sampradaya” provides brilliant clarity to his devotees. The signifi cance of nonconflicting attitude towards different Gods, equanimity and the feeling of oneness are well-established by our Periyava.

Those who follow Sri Adi Shankara Bhagavadpada and His Advaita Siddhanta carry the title “Smarta”. Smartas of younger generation are not aware of this title. They call themselves “Iyer”.

Vaishnavites, who are Vishishtadvaitins, are called Iyengars. Dvaitins have their surnames as Raos or Acharyas. They follow Madhvacharya and thus are called Madhvar. They are also devotees of Vishnu. But for us, Vaishnavites are followers of Sri Ramanujacharya. Like Madhvas, even Vaishnavites have their surname as Acharya. For example, Rajagopala Iyengar was also known as Rajagopalachariyar. While Madhva is used to denote the followers of Madvacharya, the followers of Shankara and Sri Ramanuja are not called after the names of their respective Acharyas. The term “Shankara Advaitin” may be seen in any English Siddhanta book or used in discourses and lectures.

It is not used in day-to-day parlance. As of now, we have Dvaitins as Raos, Vishishtadvaitis as Iyengars and Advaitins as Iyers. Generally, Smartas have Shastri or Sharma as their surname. A few among Smartas of the southern region have surname of Dikshitars too. It is a title given to those and their families who engage in Yagas (Dikshitars of Chidambaram are totally different). Advaitins mostly consider themselves as belonging to the Iyer caste. Because of the practice of using one’s caste as surname, we think Iyer is a caste. The newer generation does not use caste names because it thinks such nomenclatures must be avoided. Even in the earlier generation, there were people, like Raojis, who did not use their surnames. Only when we go through the lineage of our grandfathers will we come to know that we are grandchildren of an Iyer, a Rao or an Iyengar. The Vaishnavites, who have Acharya as their surname, do not claim it as their caste. They prefer calling themselves only as Iyengars. Smartas also opt to be known as Iyers and not Sharma or Shastri and so on.

As people, who follow Shankara Bhagavadpada, are not aware that their sect is “Smarta”, they also remain ignorant of another matter. These Advaitins are not aware that our Acharya

did not emphasise on any one God as “This is the God”. He had advocated that all Gods be treated on par. The Advaitins contend that as Acharya adopted Paramashiva as his Upasana

Murti (worshipping idol), they must call themselves Shaivaites.

I think there is a reason as to why they think so. Dvaitins and Vishishtadvaitins both worship Vishnu. That is why it appears that Advaitins, who are Smartas of today, call themselves Shaivaites, as they are different from both these sects.

Such thinking of theirs is, however, wrong. Iyer, Iyengar and Rao are not Sanskrit names. But to highlight one’s caste, an Iyengar calls himself a Vaishnavite and Rao a Madhva. There is nothing wrong in their being so. Only those of Advaitin Iyer caste alone erroneously call themselves a Shaivaite. Such wrong impressions are not limited to just these castes. Many people presume that even I am a Shaivaite Acharya. One Japanese Professor by name Hajime Nakamura came to meet me. He said: “I have read the Sutra Bhashyam and Gita Bhashyam of Acharya (Shankara Bhagavadpada). These Bhashyams mention only Advaita and there is no mention about Shiva. Then, why are you a Shaivaite Acharya?” I asked him back: “What makes you say I am Shaivaite?” He answered: “You are wearing Vibhuti (sacred ash) and you are doing Shiva Puja (Chandra Mauleeshvara Puja). While Acharya has not made any distinction between Shiva and Vishnu, why do you and other Shankara Mutt people wear symbols of Shiva and perform His Puja?”

Historical facts need to be gone through if we are to answer this question.

Before the avatar of our Acharya, which religion was prevalent among the many religions in this country? “Shankara Vijayam” mentions the Vedic Religion or Sanatana Dharma and 72 other religious cults, some with questionable religious practices. Only Buddhism was the predominant and important religion, apart from Vedic Religion. Be it the public or research

scholars, most of them were followers of either Vedic Dharma or Buddhism. Followers of other religions were scanty (as how there are nowadays lot of ‘isms’ and ‘schools’ with staunch followers, though very small in number). Though such small groups were ardent followers of their respective cults, the broad division involved only Vedic Religion and Buddhism. Those who belong to Sanatana Vedic Religion are called Smartas. “Smarta’ means those who follow the Smriti. Smriti means Dharma Shastra, which is a consolidated Rule Book, carefully segregated and codifi ed into various rules and regulations that are to be adhered to by the society as a whole. Smriti contains elaborate guidelines for the whole journey of a human being, from the time a baby is conceived in the mother’s womb, born, grown, undergoing education, getting married followed by childbirth, and cremation after death. The book details what a person must do in each phase of his/her life. It is because of this that those who follow the Smriti or Dharma Shastra are called as “Smarta”.

This was the original title for the followers of Vedic Religion, who are currently called “Hindus”. There is nothing in Dharma Shastra that insists on a person worshipping only Vishnu or just Shiva. All Gods referred to in the Veda have equal status. There is no distinction between Gods and there is nothing wrong in worshipping any God. Being devoted to a God with conviction that all Gods are the same is really appreciable. Smartas mainly worship five Devatas viz. Surya-Ambal-Vishnu-Ganesha-Maheshvara. Since they follow these fi ve Gods, the process of their worship is referred to as “Panchayatana Puja”. One can worship one’s own most favourite God too (Ishta Devata). In the same house, the elder brother may have Lord Shiva as his Ishta Devata. The younger may worship Lord Vishnu. This does not mean that one brother is a Shaivaite and the other a Vaishnavite. There have been even marriage alliances between Shaivaites and Vaishnavites. Veda is common to both, as are Karmanushthanam (rituals) ordained by Veda.

It is stated in Veda that all should perform Yajnya Karmanushthanam and wear the Homa Bhasma (sacred ash) of the Yajnya. Dharma Shastras also mention the same. Earlier, all Smartas did Yajnya and wore the Bhasma. This included even those, who were worshipping Vishnu as their Ishta Devata. Even now, Vaishnavites and Madhvas wear Homa Bhasma when they perform Yajnya.

Wearing different forms of Nama - with U-shape, extended with a foot under it etc. were arrangements made by Vaishanavite Acharyas who came much later. This is evident from the various Guru Parampara stories of Vaishnavites. Later, when a group of people started worshipping Vishnu as their principal God and formed a separate religion, they felt the need for a new identity and symbol for those who join this new religion. Similarly, followers of Madhvacharya also started a separate new group. They had the symbol of sandal paste with a small black dot in the centre.

Those who continued adhering to Vedic Religion and remained followers of Bhagavadpada did not create any new names. They continued the original name of “Smarta”. Similarly, wearing of Homa Bhasma, as ordained in Vedas continued. There is a mantra in the Veda for wearing Vibhuti by turning it into a paste mixed with water and wearing the same on the forehead.

Even in case of Sri Ramanuja, before he established the new Vishishtadvaita Siddhanta, staunch devotees of Lord Vishnu remained Smartas and wore Homa Bhasma. A Sanyasi is exempt from doing Yajnya (or anything to do with fi re) or wearing Homa Bhasma. But he still wears the Vibhuti. Even today, Vaishnavites wear Homa Bhasma while performing Pancharatra Dhiksha.

This article is a snippet from the Book Thus Spake the Divine, is available online at www.giri.in and across Giri Trading Agency Private Limited, A chain of Specialty Stores dealing in all kinds of products needed in Indian Culture and Tradition.