Chapter 21§
Church Perspective
शिवसॆव
TTERING THE WORD CHURCH CALLS TO MIND A MULTI-FACETED, INTERNATIONALLY-ACCEPTED FORM OF RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATION. BUT IT IS RARELY USED IN CONJUNCTION WITH INDIAN SPIRITUALITY. IN FACT, OURS IS THE FIRST HINDU CHURCH ON EARTH. HERE WE EXPLAIN THIS KEY CONCEPT, DEFINING CHURCH AND SUMMARIZING ITS USE IN OUR MINISTRIES, WHILE OFFERING AN HISTORICAL VIEW AND BRIEF INSIGHTS INTO CHURCH SERVICE.§
411 ¶Religious service can also be understood through the Western concept of ministry. The word minister is both a verb and a noun, derived originally from the Latin word, ministrare meaning to supply; to provide; to give help to or to attend to needs. In modern use, as a noun, a minister is any person thought of as serving as the agent of some other power. In government, a prime minister is the chief agent of the people, whose duty it is to attend to their needs. There are also other kinds of ministers in government such as the minister of defense, the minister of home affairs, the minister of foreign affairs. Ministry in religion is similar to ministry in government, for both attend to the needs of the people. These two ministries working together make for a strong society. The words ministry and minister are descriptive terms applicable to all governments and to all religions. Ministry cannot be defined as a function belonging to one religion more than another. There are many religions today that have recognized that the modern church system is the vehicle for the religious work of the future. They have developed visible and sophisticated forms of ministry, carried out by ordained ministers and lay missionaries under their direction. In Śaiva Siddhānta Church, the maṭhavāsi community are the ministers and the kulapati community are the missionaries.§
Church: an Ideal Vehicle Of Service§
412 ¶In this century many religions have adopted the word church to describe their worldwide organizations and local bodies. We can look in the telephone book in any large city and find listed churches of many faiths. But what qualifies a church? The United States has created a specific definition of a church for tax purposes and to delineate the division between church government and the federal, state and county governments. For an organization to be recognized as a church, wherein all are committed to the same doctrine, rather than a religious organization, in which members may be of many religions and persuasions while sharing a similar philosophy, the Internal Revenue Service has developed the following fourteen-point list. §
1. a distinct legal existence; §
2. a recognized creed and form of worship; §
3. a definite and distinct ecclesiastical government; §
4. a formal code of doctrine and discipline; §
5. a distinct religious history; §
6. a membership not associated with other churches or denominations;§
7. an organization of ordained ministers who minister to the congregation;§
8. ministers selected after completing prescribed courses of study; §
9. a literature of its own; §
10. established places of worship; §
11. regular congregations; §
12. regular religious services; §
13. Sunday and religious schools for the instruction of the young; §
14. schools or seminaries for the preparation of ministers.§
Any religious organization that meets most or all of the above characteristics can be legally classified as a church in the United States and receive many benefits that “religious organizations” do not qualify for. This is the highest status of a tax-exempt organization. Śaiva Siddhānta Church has met these requirements since February 12, 1962, as the first formal Hindu church on the planet.§
Characteristics Of Religious Organizations§
413 ¶Qualifications for religious organizations or bodies are less stringent but nonetheless important. For example, the following requirements are held by the province of Alberta, Canada, for recognition of a religious body and licensing of clergymen to perform marriages. §
1. Evidence of religious beliefs, such as a church book containing ceremonies, primarily those used for solemnizing marriages. §
2. Evidence of continuity of existence such as: a) a written constitution; b) certificate of incorporation under the Religious Societies’ Land Act from the Alberta Department of Consumer and Corporate Affairs; c) number of member adherents over the age of 18 resident in the community (minimum 100); d) address of regular meeting place; schedule of days and hours; e) Number of years in existence. §
3. Information regarding the denomination and/or association the organization is affiliated with in Alberta, Canada. §
4. Names, addresses and phone numbers of those people to be licensed as clergymen, plus evidence of ordination or appointment according to the rites and usages of the religious body; and proof of acceptance by the group as a spiritual leader and their desire to have him registered to solemnize marriages. (This may be a letter from the president or secretary.)§
Thus have we now approached the All-Knower, the one who is the best procurer of good things. Endow us, O Majesty, with strength and glory.§
ŚUKLA YAJUR VEDA 3.38. VE, 362§
The Value Of the Modern Church System§
414 ¶A look at religion on the planet today shows that the most successful churches have integrated their mission with modern forms of social and technological development. In doing so they have created highly sophisticated, workable systems through which their teachings are disseminated. These international churches have their executive branches, committees, agencies, communication systems, publishing facilities, ministries and local branches. Their local, national and international boards and missionaries work tirelessly to communicate with members and the public. A strong church in a stable nation can easily be compared to a government within a government. The division of church and state, found in democratic societies, will become better and better defined as a valuable factor in the preservation of the freedoms that a society provides its peoples in the years to come. Comparing this to ancient days when Mahārājas supplicated the sagely guidance of ṛishis, today’s church represents the ṛishi, and the government represents the rāja. In a real sense, there was a separation—and a working together—of church and state then just as there is now.§
The Church System In Hinduism§
415 ¶The era of the Mahārājas and Hindu villages wherein devotees of one tradition lived and worked together is gone. In today’s pluralistic, global society, neighbors are diverse and aloof. When Hindu churches are formed, they reestablish the village community, organizing men, women and children of the same tradition and belief into coherent groups that nurture and advance one and all. They crystallize traditional Hindu community and activity which might not otherwise exist in the 21st century’s disparate social cultures. Within many modern Hindu denominations and organizations we find the elements of church, including monks and nuns, priesthoods, scriptures, religious schools, āśramas and seminaries, thousands of temples conducting daily services. §
About English Religious Terms§
416 ¶Church is one of many English religious words that had their origin in Greek and Latin and were given new and Christian meanings by the early Catholics. Church is derived from the Greek kyriakondoma, meaning “house of the Lord.” Other such words widely used by Hindus are temple, originally referring to the Jewish temple; congregation, from the Jewish, meaning “all the people of Israel;” priest, from the early Roman Catholic Church and ultimately derived from Sanskṛit. Some of the many other English religious terms include sacrament, clergy, monk, scripture, hymn, devotee, consecrate, saint, His Holiness and God. §
The Bias Against the Term Church§
417 ¶It is a shame that in Asia, where Christian conversion aggressiveness has been an unbearable force against society, the word church is often only associated with Catholicism or Protestantism. The members of our Śaiva Siddhānta Church have to remove the stigma from this word and educate the people that it is a common and appropriate term, owned by no special group, but used by the Buddhists, Hindus and others in these times. Christians have no special rights to the term church, just as they have no special rights or privileges in the US or most other countries. All religions are equal and equally protected under democratic laws.§
Śaivism’s Past Patterns Of Service§
418 ¶A general and brief review of Śaivism’s past will help us understand the need for nurturing and encouraging religious service within this oldest religion today. Let us first go back in time to the days of India’s feudal kingdoms. Śaivism was administrated by the Mahārāja, the Mahārāja’s kshatriya ministers and the brāhmin priests. A benevolent Śaivite king saw to the needs of the people, built Śiva temples, schools, maṭhas and aadheenams. He was in turn often guided by an elderly ṛishi or satguru. The mahārāja supported the priesthood, the saints, the paṇḍitas and the priests who perpetuated the temples, the ceremonies, the traditions and the scriptures, bringing spiritual upliftment and unfoldment to all. Śaivite culture, by its very nature, integrated religious thought and practice in the fabric of daily life, thrived and perpetuated itself from one generation to the next.§
Hinduism’s Traditional Teachers§
419 ¶A conclusive analysis of religious culture in India’s past may not be possible, since often no historical records were kept. Nevertheless, it is obvious that many persons were devoted to the maintenance and proclamation of Śaivism. For the most part these were householders. There were the ancient ṛishis of the Upanishads, such as Yājñavalkya, a married sage who expounded the Truths to kings. There were numerous paṇḍitas who read the scriptures to the people and discussed vital philosophical points. There were the brāhmins who performed the sacraments, maintained the sacred scriptures and kept the temples active with daily services and numerous festivals each year. Many mahārājas were themselves sages and teachers of the faith. §
Even as the radiance of the sun enlightens all regions, above, below, and slantwise, so that only God, glorious and worthy of worship, rules over all His creation.§
KṚISHṆA YAJUR VEDA, SVETU 5.4. VE, 335§
Hinduism’s Traditional Ministers§
420 ¶There were also the kulagurus, the guardians of small groups of families connected by bloodlines, spiritual lineage or geographical proximity. Our Śaiva saints, many of them also family men, went about the countryside proclaiming the faith through songs to our Supreme God Śiva. They encouraged public worship by worshiping in the great temples of India. And, of course, the brāhmins were vowed to maintain the dharma of our religion by conducting their lives in accordance to śāstrīc law. In the background, working in the microcosm throughout the country were the sannyāsins and sādhus, some of whom occasionally came forward to preach and bless the people.§
Breakdown After Muslim Invasions§
421 ¶Then came the Muslim invasions. Temples were destroyed in India’s North, mahārājas were disposed and deposed, sannyāsins and sādhus were scattered, and we might surmise that the brāhmins and kulagurus were forced to curtail much of their overt religious activities. This was the first crushing blow to the life of Śaivism. Throughout the Muslim occupation of India, the brāhmin caste still preserved the knowledge of Vedas, maintained the temples and performed the services of the faith afforded them by birth. But because of the disruption of society itself, the laity who had been actively involved in religious service retreated, leaving the brāhmins alone in charge.§
The Incursion Of British Christians§
422 ¶Next came the Christian colonists; the Dutch, Portuguese and then most significantly the British. While draining the wealth of the country, like those before them, the British set up a bureaucracy of modern political and economic administration that utilized primarily the brāhmin caste for clerical positions. Under the British, the mahārājas could no longer function as they had, and there was no longer a kshatriya caste in power to perpetuate religion as they once had. The British further weakened the religious fabric by setting up an educational system throughout the country in which Indians were taught to ridicule and belittle their own religious heritage and cultural traditions in the name of Western secularism. This system of education was established by Lord Macaulay, and it continues to this day.§
How the Faith was Threatened§
423 ¶Slowly and steadily occurred the erosion and the loss of many kinds of religious service, such as singing and dancing in the temples, inspired lectures by paṇḍitas, philosophical debate in temple maṇḍapas, and teaching religion in schools and colleges. All this and more contributed to the weakening of every sect. Hinduism was left with only a skeleton of its original complex ministerial infrastructure, the one it had before the Muslims first came to power 1,000 years earlier. Hinduism might not have survived at all but for its tight extended family structure. After independence in 1947, the secularization of India was virtually complete. The swāmīs came forward to fill the void left by the many brāhmins leaving their dharma to become doctors and engineers. They became the primary religious leaders, the full-time ministers, the amachars, the proselytizers of Sanātana Dharma. They became father, mother, rāja to some, minister to others and an image of divinity to hundreds of thousands of Hindus of all sects.§
The Upsurge Of Renaissance Leaders§
424 ¶It is fortunate for all of us that despite the secularization of India, many noble souls maintained their religious attitudes and kindled the fires of faith over the past century. Śrī Arumuga Navalar of Sri Lanka, Swāmī Vivekānanda and many other Hindu renaissance leaders took up the ministry of inspired proclamation and they expounded in a powerful way the teachings of Śaiva Siddhānta and Vedānta. Śrī Aurobindo, Swāmī Śivānanda and others wrote books. Rāma Tīrtha and other savants traveled around the world teaching and setting up missions and societies. Thousands of new organizations began to do social work from the platform of Hinduism.§
The Need For Lay Missionaries§
425 ¶The work of these swāmīs has been a lifeline for the Sanātana Dharma. But it has always been known that swāmīs alone are not enough to serve the needs of Hindus. Though they number into the hundreds of thousands, their sannyāsa dharma necessarily prohibits them from over-involvement in the world, in family and in social problems. It is the task of their followers, the leaders within the family community, to fulfill the kinds of service that are part of their family gṛihastha and vāṇaprastha dharma. With this in mind, the swāmīs have set up training schools and camps to encourage devotees to further the religion in the lives of children, youth and families, to serve God through serving humanity, to spread the message of the Vedas, to stand strong for Hinduism.§
Recovery Has Been Accomplished§
426 ¶Over the past 100 years, since the time of Swāmī Vivekānanda, this renaissance movement of new energy and Hindu pride has swept across the planet, touching the hearts of Hindus in every community. Each community has dozens of effective programs, and is developing more. The lay missionaries, seeing how much religion is needed in this day and age, are consulting with their gurus, sādhus, swāmīs, yogīs, paṇḍitas and elders to find new ways to reach out and fulfill dharma. They send devotees out to help the poor, feed the hungry and perform uplifting service in more than 120 countries.§
Hinduism’s Missionary Force Globally§
Brahman is the priest, Brahman the sacrifice; by Brahman the posts are erected. From Brahman the officiating priest was born; in Brahman is concealed the oblation.§
ATHARVA VEDA 19.42.1. VE, 360§
427 ¶It is indeed fortunate that a vital and growing lay missionary force is emerging on a global scale comprising primarily family men and women who are dedicated to furthering religion, improving conditions in their society and assisting others. Many are official emissaries of established organizations, churches, monasteries, temples and yoga schools. All are inspired from within, reaching out as a cohesive, loving force to provide aid in times of need, counsel in moments of confusion, comfort in periods of despair and clarity at crossroads of decision. They come from all walks of life: priests, doctors, laborers, housewives, attorneys, and more, each offering his or her special gifts to the community. Hindu ministry has blossomed over the past fifty years. Campus ministries, once limited to Christian ministers and Jewish rabbis, are now also conducted by Hindus, with thousands of students gaining confidence in their words. Hospital visitation ministries have sprung up in many countries, as small bands of Hindus take flowers, song, devotion and encouragement to the ill or injured. Hindu swāmīs and lay ministers in dozens of countries outside India are called upon to share pastoral duties with ministers of other faiths at civic events. Temples in America, India, Sri Lanka, England, Trinidad and Tobago and elsewhere feed the poor and help the needy and homeless. §
About the Following Chapter§
428 ¶The essence of our next chapter, spiritual people living in harmony, is captured in a story. Hundreds of years ago in the city of Madurai, known as the Athens of India for its cultural achievements, at the Meenakshi Somasundareśvara Śivan Koyil there was constructed within the vast temple tank a magic boat called the philosophers’ barge. Ṛishis came from the Himālayas, paṇḍitas from all corners of India and humble bhakta siddhas from the South to sit together and discuss life, illumination and release from mortality and rebirth. The magic lay in the boat’s extraordinary ability to expand to accommodate any number of people who conversed with an attitude of respect and harmony. But it grew smaller when discussion turned rancorous, and those who brought the contention suddenly found themselves in the water, swimming to shore in embarrassment. In Śiva’s temple, it seems, only nonargumentative discussion was allowed. We have no magic boat today, or maybe we do, as you will learn while exploring penance in the next chapter. §
I go for refuge to God who is One in the silence of eternity, pure radiance of beauty and perfection, in whom we find our peace. He is the bridge supreme which leads to immortality, and the spirit of fire which burns the dross of lower life.§
Kṛishṇa Yajur Veda, SvetU 6.19. UpM, 96§
Only by a tranquil mind does one destroy all action, good or bad. Once the self is pacified, one abides in the Self and attains everlasting bliss. If the mind becomes as firmly established in Brahman as it is usually attached to the sense objects, who, then, will not be released from bondage?§
Kṛishṇa Yajur Veda, MaitU 6.34. VE, 422§
Words cannot describe the joy of the soul whose impurities are cleansed in deep contemplation—who is one with his ātman, his own Spirit. Only those who feel this joy know what it is.§
Kṛishṇa Yajur Veda, 6.34. UpM, 103§
Even though he causes pain to his patient by applying certain remedies, the physician is not taken to be the cause of the suffering, because in the final analysis he has produced the good that was sought after.§
Mṛigendra Āgama, Jñāna Pāda 7.A.18. MA, 184§
O, my Lord, the five senses have taken possession of my body and driven me away from your holy feet. I am confused and troubled at heart, like the curd which is being churned. Bestow enlightenment upon me.§
Tirumurai 4. HY, 11§
The virtuous wife, devotee true and jñānī great—those who have done exceeding harm to shock these, their life and wealth will in a year disappear.§
Tirumantiram 532. TM§
Disputes, worldly associations and quarrels should be avoided. Not even spiritual disputations should be indulged in, whether good or bad. Jealousy, slander, pomp, passion, envy, love, anger, fear and misery should all disappear gradually and entirely.§
Devākālottara Āgama, Jñāna Pāda, 77–78. RM, 116§
As the intense fire of the furnace refines gold to brilliancy, so does the burning suffering of austerity purify the soul to resplendence.§
Tirukural 267. TW§