Saivism English 1996

Along with Brahma and Vishnu, SHiva makes the Hindu trinity: the trimurti. The name, SHiva signifies 'auspiciousness'. But he is Rudra: the fierce, as well. Often looked upon as the principle of cosmic destruction, he also creates and reproduces. In abstract terms, SHiva is the first cause, the source of consciousness, the very substratum of the universe. Saivism: the worship of Siva, is not just a dominant religious tradition. It is also a philosophy which, over the centuries, has evolved metaphysical doctrines on different issues of universal concern, specially the nature of Reality: Siva (pati), and of its interrelatedness with the 'Individual Soul' (jivatman/pashu) and the world at large. Dr. Tagare's book is a brilliant effort to quintessentially unfold Saivism and its principal philosophical expressions. Spelling out a range of fundamental concepts like, for instance, pati (SHiva), pashu (individual soul), and moksha (liberation), the author offers a stimulating, highly systematic discussion of the major, agama-based SHaiva Schools, namely, Kashhmir SHaivism, Siddhanta SHaivism, SHivadvaita (or SHaiva Vishish]tadvaita of SHrikan]tha), and Vira-SHaivism (or SHakti-Vishish]tadvaita); besides the Vedic Pashupatism with emphasis on how one school of SHaiva thought differs from the other. Finally describing some of its syncretic forms, Dr. Tagare demonstrates how SHaivism, through a balanced synthesis of yoga, karma and bhakti, inheres a strong relevance to the tension-riven world of our times. Together with a glossary of Sanskrit terms and many bibliographic references, the book holds out a lasting appeal to the scholars of Indology, traditional Indian philosophy, and religion. AUTHOR DETAILS: G.V. Tagare, a former Member of the Maharashtra Education Service, has been a Professor of Education, in the Government Secondary Training College, Kolhapur. A versatile scholar, untiring researcher and prolific author, Dr. Tagare has written on diverse themes from Indology, linguistics and education. In addition, his published work includes translations of over half-a-dozen Mahapuranas, critical editions of Sanskrit texts, and histories (in Marathi language) of Prakrit, Pali and Assamese literatures. Dr. Tagare also has the credit of discovering several old, unpublished manuscripts: in both Marathi and Sanskrit.