Smartism
See also the Smartha page
Smartism is a denomination of the religion of Hinduism and is closely affiliated with the Advaita tradition. Smartism is monist in theological belief.
Smartas (followers of Smartism) accept and worship all major forms of God, (Ganesha, Siva, Sakti, Vishnu, Surya and Skanda). Following a meditative, philosophical path, the denomination is generally considered to be liberal and non-sectarian.
In Smartism, devotees pray to whatever form of God a devotee prefers, (or as monists prefer to call, Ishta Devata, i.e., the preferred form of God) and ask for God's grace in order to achieve Moksha, end of the cycle of rebirth.
In Sanskrit smartra means "one who remembers, a teacher, (etc)", and smārta means "relating to memory, recorded in or based on the smrti, based on tradition, prescribed or sanctioned by traditional law or usage, (etc)", from the root smr = "remember".
The Ishta-Deva concept has confused outsiders and hence made them perceive Hinduism as polytheistic as Smartas are monists, and view multiple manifestations of the one God or source of being. Hindu monists see one unity, with the personal Gods, different aspects of only One Supreme Being, like a single beam of light separated into colours by a prism, and are valid to worship. This view of Smartism, the Ishta-Deva concept, has colored the perception of what Hinduism is to the outsider, when in fact the other denominations, do not strictly espouse the belief and more closely adhere to a more conventional Western perception of what a monotheistic faith is.
After all, Swami Vivekananda, a follower of Ramakrishna, along with many others, who brought Hindu beliefs to the West, were all Smarta in belief. Other denominations of Hinduism do not strictly hold this belief. Only a Smartist would have no problem worshiping Shiva or Vishnu together as he views the different aspects of God as leading to the same One God. It is the Smarta view that dominates the view of Hinduism in the West.
God, thus, according to Smarta theology, can have a multitude of aspects and thus, according to this belief, they hold that Vishnu and Shiva are one and the same God. The Smarta theologians, have cited many references to support this view. For example, they interpret verses in both the Shri Rudram, the most sacred mantra in Shaivism, and the Vishnu sahasranama, one of the most sacred prayers in Vaishnavism, to show this belief. By contrast, a Vaishnavite considers Vishnu as the one true God, worthy of worship and other forms as subordinate. See for example, an illustration of the Vaishnavite view of Vishnu as the one true God, at this link. Accordingly, Vaishnavites, for example, believe that only Vishnu can grant the ultimate aim for mankind, moksha. See for example, this link. Similarly, many Shaivites also hold similar beliefs, as illustrated at at this link and at this link.
Notably, Shakti is worshipped to reach Shiva, whom for Shaktas is the impersonal Absolute. Additionally, Shaivites and Vaishnavites often regard Surya as an aspect of Shiva and Vishnu, respectively. For example, the sun is called Surya Narayana by Vaishnavites. In Saivite theology, the sun is said to be one of eight forms of Siva, the Astamurti. Additionally, Ganesh and Skanda for them, would be aspects of Shiva and Shakti. According to smartism, most Hindus worship Saguna Brahman as Vishnu or Shiva.
Prominent Smartha communities of South India include the Iyer community of Tamil Nadu, the Namboothiri community of Kerala, and the vaidiki Mulukanadu, Vaidiki Velanadu, vaidike Badaganadu, Vaidiki Telanganya, Babboor Kamme, Hoysala Kannada, Koti, Arvel Niyogi and Gaud Saraswat communities of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, among many others.
- Also, see the web sites listed below.
External links
- http://www.hinduism-today.com/archives/2003/10-12/44-49_four_sects.shtml (Description of Smartism among the four major divisions of Hinduism.)
- Vaishnava.com's site on facts about Hinduism that features a good overview of the four divisions of Hinduism and 9 core Hindu beliefs.
- http://www.kamakoti.org/hindudharma/part14/chap9.htm (oneness of God and also see chapter 10.)
- http://www.advaita-vedanta.org/avhp/ad_faq.html#8 (oneness of God, through the six forms.)
- Overview of the three major divisions, from the book, Hindu Dharma, Saivism, Shaktism, Vaishnavism, and the three other schools devoted to Ganesh, Skanda and Surya.
- Great overview of the six schools.