Chapter 7 - Conclusion

The Śvetāśvatara upaniṣad gives t There is aVedic dictum [...] A Supreme being is one and the learned people have given different names to that. Vedic Sages have called him in the name of Indra, Varuṇa,Yama etc. The philosophers have called that as one beyond description, and they have termed that as Brahman. The Saivas perceived that as Śiva the Supreme Being. Likewise people have conceived that Supreme being in various names. Each group of people have been offering prayers following certain customs and manners traditionally handed over by the ancestors.

The existence of that abstract supreme power has been recognized by all those who are in the spiritual pursuit. The creation as well as the destruction process of the universe is discussed at length by the philosophers of Bhakti Schools.

The Śaiva schools of philosophy highlight Śiva, originally conceived as Rudra prior to yajurveda. Oṃkāra is a common factor or Nāda the sound form of the Supreme being. Therefore the followers of Śaivism described Praṇava to be the form of Śiva. Then gradually the worship of Siva through Mantras and through Idols became the ideal manner of Śaivites. The purpose of worshipping Śiva as in the case of other schools is to aspire for dharma, artha, kāma and mokṣa the ultimate aspirations of every soul.

The devotees of Śiva apart from following the Śiva Tattvas realize the presence of Lord Śiva through meditation on Praṇava or on Liṅga or any form of Śiva. In that respect they conceived Śiva with faces each one bestowing different kinds of special grace of Lord Śiva on devotees. To receive, the grace of Lord Śiva the devotees scientifically and reasonably created a discipline to worship Śiva. So they made it essential for a devotee of Śiva to wear Bhasma and Rudrākṣa etc.

Though there are various external worship of Śiva followed by the devotees, some are outdated such as Kāpālikā worship.

From the study of Śaiva Upanisads it is clear that the worship of Śiva is of a different kind. Meditating on the lines of yoga is suggested as the means to realize Siva within one's heart. Thus, the saying “devo devālayaproktaḥ jīvaḥ prokto sanātanaḥ” also testifies and justifies the Śaiva Upaniṣadic approach of Lord Śiva the all powerful Almighty. Lord Śiva is the ultimate being and the merging of every individual with Him is the objective of every being of this universe.

Though elobarate discussions are found on the philosophical lines in Kāsmīrian Śaivism and a few other Śaivistic school, Śaiva Upaniṣads mainly concentrate on the realization of Lord Śiva as the Supreme Brahman, the Omnipotent, Omniscient and the Omnipresent.

May that Śiva be courteous to accept every soul and show the path of wisdom to realize Him, “īśvarāt jñānam anvichet”; I have tried my level best to bring out crisply and critically evaluated the thoughts expressed by seers in the Śaiva Upaniṣads. This study must be fascinating to all the readers and will be quenching the thurst of devotees of Śiva and the curiosity to know the quintessence of Śaiva Upaniṣads.

Other Shaivism Concepts:

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Discover the significance of concepts within the article: ‘Conclusion’. Further sources in the context of Shaivism might help you critically compare this page with similair documents:

Brahman, Yoga, Shaivism, Shivatattva, Shvetashvataropanishad, Supreme Being, Yoga meditation, Lord Shiva.

Concepts being referred within the main category of Hinduism context and sources.

Linga, Pranava, Omkara, Worship of Shiva, Devotees of Shiva, Spiritual pursuit, Almighty, Dharma, Artha, Kama, Moksha, Vedic sages, Bhasma and Rudraksha.