SAIVISM'S AFFIRMATION OF FAITH

The proclamation "God Siva is Immanent Love and Transcendent Reality" is a potent affirmation of faith. Said in any of Earth's 3,000 languages, it summarizes the beliefs and doctrines of the Saivite Hindu religion.

An affirmation of faith is a terse, concise statement summarizing a complex philosophical tradition. "God Siva is Immanent Love and Transcendent Reality," is what we have when we take the milk from the sacred cow of Saivism, separate out the cream, churn that cream to rich butter and boil that butter into a precious few drops of ghee.

"God Siva is Immanent Love and Transcendent Reality" is the sweet ghee of the Saivite Hindu religion. In the Sanskrit language it is Sivah Sarvagatam Prema, Param Satyam Parah Sivah. In the sweet Tamil language it is even more succinct and beautiful: Anbe Sivamayam, Satyame Parasivam.

In French it is Dieu Siva est Amour omniprÚsent et RÚalitÚ transcendante. We strengthen our mind with positive affirmations that record the impressions of the distilled and ultimate truths of our religion so that these memories fortify us in times of distress, worldliness or anxiety.

The Tirumantiram proclaims, "Transcending all, yet immanent in each He stands. For those bound in the world here below, He is the great treasure. Himself the Parapara Supreme, for all worlds He gave the way that His greatness extends."

Why Respect Tradition?

Let's look at the word tradition. Webster defines tradition as "a story, belief, custom or proverb handed down from generation to generation, a long-established custom or practice that has the effect of an unwritten law." We all know human nature, because we are people living on this planet. We are fickle; we are changeable. We are always curious to try new things. Change is a wonderful part of life, within certain bounds. We do not want to be too restrictive, yet we do want to be strict. Be strict without being restrictive, and life will be balanced between discipline and freedom.

This has always been the Asian way. Take a look back into history, back to the time of Saint Tiruvalluvar, who lived 2,200 years ago.

He would not have written the Tirukural if people were perfect, if they were, as a whole, strong, steady and self-disciplined. He wrote those sparkling gems of wisdom and advice for fickle, changeable people, so that they could keep their minds controlled and their lives in line with the basic principles of dharma for men and women clearly set forth in the Vedas six to eight thousand years ago. Tradition adapts itself to culture and climate.

The Hindu women raised in Western countries will not be able to follow all the traditions of the East. But they have to fulfill enough of those traditions to fulfill their stri dharma. And, of course, they will have to adjust slowly. Scriptural advice is just as pertinent today, thousands of years later. Why? Because people are human, because they are little different today than they were then. Societies change, knowledge changes, language changes. But people do not change all that much.

That is exactly the reason that traditions do not change much or change very slowly. They still apply. They are still valid. They are the wisdom of hundreds of generations assembled together. The wise always follow the ways of wisdom, always follow tradition. Does that mean they cannot be inventive? No. Does that mean they cannot use their mind and will to advance themselves and humanity? No. Does that mean they must avoid being creative, original, individualistic? No. It simply means that they express these fine qualities within the context of religious tradition, thus enhancing tradition instead of destroying it.

Tradition, with its spoken and unspoken ways, is far too precious to throw out or tear down. The unwritten laws and customs of tradition are what has developed and proved out to be best for the peoples on this planet for centuries. We cannot casually change tradition. It takes centuries to build a tradition. We cannot sit at a meeting and arbitrate a change like that. Take all of this that has been said into your meditations.

Think deeply about the natural balance of masculine and feminine energies in the world and within yourselves. You will discover a new appreciation for the woman's role and for the traditions which allow her to fulfill it.

Teaching And Modeling Good Conduct

Siva's followers love their children, govern them in a kind but firm way and model the five family practices: proper conduct, home worship, religious discussion, continuous self-study and following a preceptor.

Microcosm, Macrocosm

The mind of man--his entire mental, emotional and spiritual structure--exists within the microcosm, which exists within the macrocosm that we can see and touch and that we call the physical universe.

The Gods also live within the microcosm.

The microcosm is within this macrocosm, and then again, within that microcosm is another dimension of space, another macrocosm.

Similarly, one can look into a drop of water through the microscope and see a new dimension of space in which myriads of tiny creatures are experiencing a total existence. Those minute living things are in the microcosm; from where they stand they see it as a macrocosm.

While one might say there is only one millionth of an inch between each of those little organisms swimming in the drop of water, to them it may seem like fifty yards. There are tens of thousands within that single drop, and yet they are not at all crowded, for it is a different dimension of space. This is how the microcosm can have an even bigger macrocosm than this one within it.

That bigger macrocosm is the Third World, the Sivaloka, where all the Gods and Mahadevas reside. It is within you, but it is ethereal, which means it is nonphysical. Your mind is in the microcosm. That is how it does all the things that it does. You can take your mind completely around the world in an instant, or across the galaxy.

Right now we can take our minds to a star that is 680 million light years away from Earth. We can think about that star and see it in our mind. Time is not involved, nor is space. Thought is there instantly.

The Gods are also in the microcosm, and in the macrocosm within the microcosm. From their view, all that they do is, to help you work out a problem, even if they work on it for days of their time, happens faster than instantly.

Since our mind, too, exists within the microcosm, the change takes place instantaneously. It then takes a day or two for the effects of that change to be felt in the macrocosm. Deep within our mind, in the microcosm, the problem vanished the instant we stood before the God in the temple.

It takes us a few days, or at least a few hours, to catch up to the inner event and see the results in physical form.