Living with Śiva

Temples and Priesthood

SŪTRA 256: OUR HOLY GATHERING PLACES

My devotees revere Kauai Aadheenam’s San Marga Iraivan Temple as their center of the universe, our Śaiva dharmaśālas as sites of learning and service, and mission houses as places of study, worship and assembly. Aum.§

SŪTRA 257: FOUR VEHICLES OF SERVICE

My devotees give full energy and dedication to Saiva Siddhanta Church, Himalayan Academy, HINDUISM TODAY and Hindu Heritage Endowment. These four form a mighty, unified force for Sanātana Dharma. Aum. §

SŪTRA 258: OUR SACRED PRIESTS

My Church honors our maṭhavāsis as its official priesthood. For samskāras and special festivals we may engage closely devoted Tamil priests, as well as hereditary Śivāchāryas, who preside at all temple consecrations. Aum.§

SŪTRA 259: THE VEDIC SCIENCE OF TEMPLE BUILDING

My devotees perpetuate in our temples the architecture set forth in the Śaiva Āgamas and Vāstu Śāstras, and exemplified in the sanctuaries of South India, to create holy places where even the stones have sanctity. Aum.§

SŪTRA 260: APPROPRIATE PLACES OF WORSHIP

My devotees worship at their home shrines, dharmaśālas, Kauai Aadheenam and all Śaivite temples. They do not attend temples of other denominations except on pilgrimage or as required socially. Aum Namaḥ Śivāya. §

Weekly Gatherings

SŪTRA 261: THE IMPORTANCE OF FAMILY MISSIONS

My congregation is organized into local missions to nurture religious life through shared worship, extended family gatherings, sacraments and community service, in accordance with the Śaiva Dharma Śāstras. Aum.§

SŪTRA 262: CONNECTING WITH THE INNER WORLDS

My devotees rush to family gatherings for bhajana, havana satsaṅga and fellowship, to worship devoutly and sing loudly in praise of God, Gods and guru. They attend Śaivite temples weekly and during festivals. Aum. §

SŪTRA 263: EXPRESSING DEVOTION WITH SONG

At gatherings among themselves, my devotees sing from our Śaiva Church hymnal, primarily Sage Yogaswami’s Natchintanai. When with devotees of other sects, they enthusiastically join in their devotional songs. Aum.§

SŪTRA 264: DECISION-MAKING BY CONSENSUS

My devotees abide by “consensualocracy.” All involved in a decision must unanimously agree and obtain the guru’s blessings before proceeding. No votes are taken based on the majority superceding the minority. Aum.§

SŪTRA 265: EDICTS FROM THE SEAT OF AUTHORITY

My devotees never apply the principle of unanimous agreement to sovereign edicts issued from Kauai Aadheenam’s seat of power. Such proclamations are the uncontestable law of the satguru. Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.§

New Members

SŪTRA 266: SHARING THE TEACHINGS WITH OTHERS

All my devotees reach out for new members by enthusiastically printing and distributing Hindu literature and putting sacred texts of our lineage into libraries, bookstores and educational institutions worldwide. Aum.§

SŪTRA 267: AN ELITE AND STEADFAST ASSOCIATION

All within my Saiva Siddhanta Church are stalwart and dedicated. Not one is half-hearted or equivocal. Each is a jewel, important to me and to each other. Thus, strictness is necessary when accepting new members. Aum.§

SŪTRA 268: EMBRACING NEWCOMERS

All within my Saiva Siddhanta Church accept newcomers as part of their own family. They care for, teach, gently guide and prepare these souls for their first initiation. Yea, they too were once new members. Aum.§

SŪTRA 269: THE PROBATIONARY FIRST YEAR

All within my Śaiva Church who sponsor new members are responsible for their strengths and failures during the probationary year, their study for initiation and their merger with others as milk poured into milk. Aum.§

SŪTRA 270: THE QUEST FOR MONASTIC CANDIDATES

All my devotees search for souls ripe to enter the monastery, realizing that the core of my Śaiva Church is its Śaiva Siddhānta Yoga Order, and many old souls are being born to perpetuate our lineage. Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.§

Coming Home to Śaivism

SŪTRA 271: REACHING OUT TO ŚAIVITE SOULS

My ardent devotees relentlessly search for Śaivite souls, finding them, drawing them to Śiva and their satguru and, when necessary, helping them convert to Śaivism from the faiths or philosophies they have rejected. Aum.§

SŪTRA 272: SPECIAL ATTENTION TO ARDHA-HINDUS

My ardent devotees reach out to seekers who, half-converted, bear a Hindu first name. Gently they assist them through a full and ethical conversion from any and all former faiths, then accept them wholeheartedly. Aum.§

SŪTRA 273: SEVERING FORMER RELIGIOUS TIES

My ardent devotees of other religions or lineages who seek to enter my Śaiva Church must, with authorized guidance, formally sever all loyalties by talking with former preceptors and gaining a written release. Aum.§

SŪTRA 274: CONVERSION FROM OTHER HINDU SECTS

My ardent devotees affirm that even seekers from within the Hindu fold must convert to enter our strict Śaiva Church. All former commitments and memberships must be dissolved before new ones can be made. Aum.§

SŪTRA 275: THE TRANSFORMATION CALLED CONVERSION

My ardent devotees well know that conversion means a change of one belief structure into another and is never without some degree of fire and pain. Counseling is necessary in this soul-searching time. Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.§

Detractors and Adversaries

SŪTRA 276: SHUNNING ENEMIES

My devotees abide by the custom of shunning those who oppose, criticize or attack their lineage. By not interacting with detractors, they forestall conflict and thus protect their lineage as well as themselves. Aum.§

SŪTRA 277: THE MEANING OF SHUNNING

My devotees realize that shunning means tactful avoidance, exclusion, ignoring and ostracizing. Thus a firm, protective wall of silence is built between our lineage and its detractors, whether individuals or groups. Aum.§

SŪTRA 278: WHEN TO STOP SHUNNING

My devotees who refuse to shun those who should be shunned should themselves be shunned. But none shall shun those who have reconciled with the preceptor and been publicly welcomed back into association. Aum.§

SŪTRA 279: WELCOMING BACK THOSE WHO RECONCILE

My devotees extend every effort to welcome and bring back into the lineage those seeking to reenter its fold, having formerly left, provided they show grief, remorse and repentance, and reconcile with the satguru. Aum.§

SŪTRA 280: WITHDRAWING FROM ERRANT MONASTICS

My devotees know that any monastic who abandons his sacred vows and leaves the monastery or is dismissed should be shunned and treated as an outsider until he rights himself with his preceptor. Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.§

Raising Sons for the Monastery

SŪTRA 281: CONCEIVING SONS FOR THE MONASTERY

Each Saiva Siddhanta Church family prays to birth a son for the monastery. Prior to conception, parents mix with the swāmīs and beseech the Gods to bring through a divine soul destined to perpetuate our lineage. Aum.§

SŪTRA 282: NURTURING MONASTIC INCLINATIONS

My devotees with sons inclined toward monastic life wholeheartedly encourage these noble aspirations. Fathers and young sons live as monastery guests periodically to nurture monastic patterns and tendencies. Aum.§

SŪTRA 283: SATGURU GUIDES THE LIFE OF DEDICATED SONS

My devotees regard any son destined for the monastery not as their own child, but as the satguru’s progeny in their trusted care. All details of his upbringing, training and education are to be guided by the preceptor. Aum.§

SŪTRA 284: PARENTS OF MONASTICS EXPECT NO PRIVILEGES

My devotees with a monastic son never claim special access or privileges based on blood ties. They dissociate from him and do not involve themselves in his life or seek to influence our Śaiva Church through him. Aum.§

SŪTRA 285: SERVING TWO YEARS IN THE MONASTERY

My family devotees raise their sons to be worthy of entering my monastery for two years to serve, study and grow in character as they live the monk’s selfless life. This is the ideal for all young men. Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.§

Sacred Scriptures

SŪTRA 286: OUR SCRIPTURAL BEDROCK, VEDAS AND ĀGAMAS

All my devotees recognize that the primary scriptural authority of our Nandinātha lineage derives from the Śaiva Āgamas and the four noble Vedas, which include the Upanishads. Ours is a Vedic-Āgamic tradition. Aum.§

SŪTRA 287: OUR ŚAIVITE HINDU BIBLE

All my devotees revere as scripture The Holy Bible of the Śaivite Hindu Religion—which includes excerpts from the Vedas, the Āgamas, Tirumantiram, Tirumurai and Tirukural—and guide their lives by its wisdom. Aum.§

SŪTRA 288: THE TEACHINGS OF PRISTINE TAMIL SAINTS

My Hindu Church decrees as true Tamil Śaiva saints the great ones who upheld dharma, ahiṁsā and monistic Śaiva Siddhānta through the ages. We revere their words as scripture and bestow our heartfelt praṇāmas. Aum.§

SŪTRA 289: SAGE YOGASWAMI'S PROFOUND HYMNS

All my devotees revere as sacred scripture the songs and sayings of Satguru Siva Yogaswami, called Natchintanai, which embody the teachings of our lineage, commanding one and all to “Know thy Self by thy self.” Aum.§

SŪTRA 290: MY TRILOGY AND OTHER LEGACY WORKS

All my devotees revere as sacred scripture Dancing with Śiva, Living with Śiva, Merging with Śiva, Lemurian Scrolls and my other authorized texts and discourses, including Śaiva Dharma Śāstras. Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.§

Temple Worship

SŪTRA 291: THE DEDICATED HOME SHRINE ROOM

All my devotees must have an absolutely breathtaking home shrine, used solely for meditation and worship of Śivaliṅga, Naṭarāja, Murugan, Gaṇeśa and the satguru’s tiruvadi. This is the home’s most beautiful room. Aum.§

SŪTRA 292: AUTHORIZATION TO PERFORM WORSHIP RITES

My initiated devotees perform the Śaiva ātmārtha pūjā, but only in home shrines, not in temples. Unless formally, traditionally authorized, they are prohibited to learn, teach or perform the parārtha temple pūjā. Aum.§

SŪTRA 293: LIVING NEAR ŚAIVA TEMPLES

My devotees wisely settle in areas where Gaṇeśa, Murugan or Śiva temples exist for their frequent pilgrimage, worship and spiritual security. None should live farther than a day’s journey from such sacred sanctuaries. Aum.§

SŪTRA 294: PILGRIMAGE TO ŚIVA'S SPECIAL ABODES

My devotees hold as most sacred and pilgrimage to each at least once: Śiva’s San Mārga Iraivan Temple on Kauai, His Himālayan and Gangetic abodes, His five elemental temples and the Madurai Meenakshi citadel. Aum.§

SŪTRA 295: VISITING SHRINES TO GODS AND GURUS

My devotees all revere and pilgrimage to Nallur and Murugan’s six South Indian temples, Gaṇeśa’s many temples and shrines, especially Kumbhalavalai, and the samādhi shrines of our lineage. Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.§

Symbols, Mantras and Names

SŪTRA 296: WEARING THE EMBLEMS OF ŚAIVISM

All Śiva’s devotees, men and women, boys and girls, wear holy ash and the proper forehead mark for religious events and in public when appropriate. They wear a single rudrāksha bead on the neck at all times. Aum.§

SŪTRA 297: BENEDICTIONS FOR GREETING AND PARTING

All my devotees greet others by saying Aum Namaḥ Śivāya, Aum Śivāya or the more general benedictions vanakkam, namaste or namaskāra. These, or the sweet expression Aum, Aum, also serve when parting. Aum.§

SŪTRA 298: ŚAIVISM'S AFFIRMATION OF FAITH

Just before sleep, all my devotees utter: “Anbe Sivamayam Satyame Parasivam,” while pondering the great depths of this affirmation. Upon awakening, their first words are “Anbe Sivamayam Satyame Parasivam.” Aum.§

SŪTRA 299: SACRED MANTRAS FOR MEALS AND GATHERINGS

All my devotees chant the Bhojana Mantra before each meal, offering thankful praise to God, Gods and guru. They chant the Vedic Śānti Mantra to begin and end all meetings, invoking peace and one-mindedness. Aum.§

SŪTRA 300: PROUDLY USING ONE'S ŚAIVITE NAME

All my devotees bear and legally register their Śaivite Hindu name, first and last, and use it proudly each day in all circumstances, never concealing or altering it to adjust to non-Hindu cultures. Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.§

Cultural Accomplishments

SŪTRA 301: DEVELOPING A USEFUL CRAFT

All my devotees are encouraged to learn a skill requiring the use of their hands, such as pottery, sewing, weaving, painting, gardening, baking or the building arts, to manifest creative benefits for family and community. Aum.§

SŪTRA 302: MUSIC, ART, DRAMA AND THE DANCE

All my devotees are encouraged to perfect a cultural accomplishment, be it a form of art, singing, drama, dance or a musical instrument of Śiva’s ensemble—vīṇā, mṛidaṅgam, tambūra, cymbals and bamboo flute. Aum.§

SŪTRA 303: USING OUR MYSTICAL LANGUAGES

All my devotees are encouraged to embrace Sanskrit as their language of ritual worship, Shūm Tyēīf as their language of meditation and the Tyēīf script for offering prayers to the devas through the sacred homa fire. Aum.§

SŪTRA 304: HINDUISM'S SACRED CALENDAR

All my devotees are encouraged to use the South Indian lunar calendar as a daily guide to auspicious planning for travel, business, innovation, ceremony and major life events. Our year begins with the month of Aries. Aum.§

SŪTRA 305: LIVING THE SUBLIME TAMIL ŚAIVA CULTURE

All my devotees are encouraged to adopt the gestures, attitudes, customs, ways of worship, dress and refinements of Tamil Śaiva protocol. They learn by living and studying with traditional Śaivites. Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.§

Spiritual Study

SŪTRA 306: THE MASTER COURSE AS DAILY GUIDE

My devotees avidly study The Master Course as their lifetime sādhana, allowing its mystical and practical teachings to light their inner path. In these profound lessons they discover the meaning of life’s many lessons. Aum.§

SŪTRA 307: SELF-MASTERY THROUGH INTROSPECTION

My devotees study the five states of mind: conscious, subconscious, sub-subconscious, subsuperconscious and superconscious. They let go of negative attachments and become master of mind, body and emotions. Aum.§

SŪTRA 308: REMOLDING THE SUBCONSCIOUS

My devotees succeed by remolding subconscious magnetic forces. They purge the dross through vāsanā daha tantra—writing and burning past transgressions and current problems—then use positive affirmations. Aum.§

SŪTRA 309: RĀJA YOGA, THE ROYAL PATH TO REALIZATION

My devotees learn and perfect the five steps to enlightenment: attention, concentration, meditation, contemplation and finally samādhi, wherein they realize the unspeakable Truth known only by the knower. Aum.§

SŪTRA 310: FATHOMING OUR SUBTLE NATURE

My devotees study these three to discover the mysteries of being: the subtle bodies of man, the aura, which is a rainbow of thought and feeling, and the twenty-one chakras, or centers of consciousness. Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.§

Occultism

SŪTRA 311: AVOIDING THE ADVICE OF PSYCHICS

My devotees do not counsel with trance mediums, clairvoyants, past- and future-life readers or psychic mentors. Nor do they consult astrologers or palmists other than those approved by their preceptor. Aum.§

SŪTRA 312: CAUTION AGAINST DABBLING IN THE OCCULT

My devotees may spontaneously experience but do not practice clairvoyance, clairaudience, astral projection, lucid dreaming, trance mediumship, mind-reading, fortunetelling, magic or other distracting occult arts. Aum.§

SŪTRA 313: SHIELDING FROM ASTRAL FORCES

My devotees are under the satguru’s psychic protection and remain untouched by negative occult forces. Those who are as yet susceptible to such afflictions should seek relief through pūjā, prayer and penance. Aum.§

SŪTRA 314: DREAMS ARE TO BE FORGOTTEN

My devotees do not indulge in remembrance or interpretation of dreams, unless as a special discipline from their guru. They intentionally forget their dreams and positively concern themselves with waking life. Aum.§

SŪTRA 315: SENDING PRAYERS TO THE INNER WORLDS

My devotees practice the ancient rite of sending prayers to the devas and Gods through the sacred fire, but only during auspicious times at Church missions and temples designated by the preceptor. Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.§