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Dedication
समर्पणम्
HAT IS A CHURCH? FIRST AND FOREMOST, A CHURCH IS A GROUP OF DEVOUT PEOPLE WHO SHARE THE SAME BELIEFS. A CHURCH’S PRIMARY OBJECTIVES ARE TO PRESERVE THE DOCTRINES OF FAITH AND TRADITION AND TO SERVE THE NEEDS OF THE CONGREGATION. The clergy preserve theological doctrine and teach it to members. Clergy and lay members together minister to the needs of the congregation. This they do through sermons and devotional services, through counseling for personal and family problems, assistance offered in times of hardship, religious and secular education for the youth, missionary work and spiritual, social and cultural events. A church seeks to up lift and guide its members in the fulfillment of all four aspects of their life: spiritual, cultural, social and economic. Our Śaiva Siddhānta Church has through the grace of my satguru, the venerable sage of Sri Lanka, Yogaswāmī, grown stronger and stronger through the years in the fulfillment of the above-stated purposes. It all started in 1949 when, with a powerful slap on the back and instructions for my spiritual mission, Yogaswāmī initiated me into this ancient siddhar lineage. This compendium of Śaiva culture for successful, harmonious living on planet earth is dedicated to that great soul who was spiritual monarch of his nation for half a century and whose four Great Sayings are: §