INTERNATIONAL FAMILY CONGREGATION
The membership of Saiva Siddhanta Church extends to many countries of the world, including the USA, Canada, Mauritius, Malaysia, Singapore, India, Sri Lanka and several European nations. Hundreds of thousands of individuals participate in our teachings through lessons, literature, study courses, travel-study programs and youth retreats. Several thousand actively pursue the spiritual path under our guidance. At the core of this group is the formal, tithing membership of the Church and its Himalayan Academy, several hundred fully dedicated individuals, giving ten percent of their income as “God’s money” each month to advance the Church’s work. These men, women and children are family persons or single individuals living in their own private residences in the world and pursuing their chosen professions and family goals.
THE CHURCH’S TEN BROAD OBJECTIVES
Our mission is to protect, preserve and promote the Saivite Hindu religion as embodied in the Tamil culture, traditions and scriptures of South India and Sri Lanka. Thus, the Church is unequivocally oriented to serving those of Tamil descent, especially those from Sri Lanka. Yet, its membership is open to–and we wholeheartedly serve–seekers of all ethnic backgrounds who wish to follow this most ancient and venerable religious and cultural pattern. The overall purpose of Saiva Siddhanta Church can be summarized in the following ten objectives.
- To protect, preserve and promote Saivite Hinduism, especially the enlightened monistic Saiva Siddhanta philosophy, called Advaita Ishvaravada, of the Nandinatha Sampradaya’s Kailasa Parampara.
- To live and share with others the spiritual teachings of our lineage as capsulized in Dancing with Siva, Hinduism’s Contemporary Catechism, to share with mankind the path which leads souls through service, worship, sadhana and yoga toward God Realization.
- To nurture among members a rich, rewarding and spiritually fulfilling extended family life based on the traditions and culture of Saivite Hinduism, strengthening family love, inspiring security within the home and encouraging regular religious study and daily sadhana, which is spiritual effort.
- To foster Saivite monasticism among those who qualify, training and caring for those who have dedicated their lives in selfless service to others and to God, Gods and guru, encouraging all monastics to follow and exemplify the strict ideals and disciplines found in their vows.
- To support and strengthen Saivism by maintaining Kauai Aadheenam, also known as Kauai’s Hindu Monastery, with its San Marga Iraivan Temple and Kadavul Koyil, as a citadel of pure, orthodox Saivism, and by developing a worldwide membership with strong family missions.
- To assemble and translate into modern English and other languages the sacred scriptures of Saivism and to produce and publish as needed religious books, texts, magazines, literature, audio and video recordings, websites.
- To raise the general awareness and commitment of all Hindus toward their religion, educating them in the depth and beauty of the planet’s oldest faith, through the World Outreach Mission by distributing Hinduism Today magazine and other religious literature, promoting the sharing of knowledge and resources among Hindus of all sects.
- To generate international interest and support, through the Hindu Heritage Endowment, for Hinduism’s diverse institutions, such as temples, societies, schools and the Church’s own missions, so that these institutions and the religion they protect will continue to flourish.
- To develop services and leadership among local communities by fostering family ministry, Saivite monasticism and the Saivite priesthoods.
- To foster international alliances with organizations of all sects of Hinduism based on the doctrine of Hindu solidarity, with the objective of providing a firm foundation for the Sanatana Dharma to persist in the future with the same potency which has made it the world’s spiritual leader and guide for thousands of years.
LOCAL FAMILY SOCIETIES OR MISSIONS
Family members gather in homes in sacred fellowship to participate in the fulfillment of the ten Church objectives. Each of these family groups is known as a Church mission. They foster satsanga, prayer and hymn singing, reading of scripture, selfless service and the distribution of religious literature. Within these missions, families work together to generate activities for youth, men, women and children year after year. They seek in every way to make their spiritual life a vital force in the community at large by setting new standards in traditional dress, music, philosophy and protocol. Inwardly they seek to propel each and every one onward along the path toward God as they perform sadhana, dance with Siva, live with Siva and merge with Siva. The focus of their seva is the fulfillment of the goals established by the spiritual head of Kauai’s Hindu Monastery, formally known as the Guru Mahasannidhanam of Kauai Aadheenam.