Shaivism

What is Shaivism?

Shaivism seems to be a section of the Hindu religion and seems to be one of the major Hindu sects that follow and worship Shiva as their main deity; Shiva is also also known as Rudra in the Hindu religion and seems to be the supreme being and is often seen as the one with powers of disintegrating all forms of life. The Shaivism sections seem to include several sub-traditions that include practices like devotional dualistic theism cultures as the likes of the Shaiva Siddhanta as well as yoga oriented nontheism like Kashmiri Shaivism within Shaivism, these different subcultures make it one of the largest Hindu sects. The sect follows the views of the Agama scriptures as their primary source of essential theological studies of Shaivism.

Shiva, throughout the Shaivism sect, seems to be described as the creator as well as the destroyer and preserver, as well as known as the Atman, that is the “self” that seems to be present in every living entity. It seems to have a strong connection to another sect called Shaktism, and some of the worshippers that are known as Shaivas, visit both Shiva as well as Shakti temples. Shaivism devotees that follow the culture are known as Shaivites or Saivas. It is the Hindu cultural sect that seems to be known for embracing asceticism and also seems to be a culture that promotes yoga and, like other Hindu traditional cultures, invites people to explore and become one with the Shiva inside themselves. No organisation, no prophet like leaders or any kind of body that seems to govern the cultural traditions.

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Brief on Shaivism

During the first century CE, all devotional as well as monistic Shaivism gained prominent exposure and seemed to have become one of the fastest, quickly becoming the main religious culture followed throughout all of the  Hindu dominated countries. Soon after, it spread around the regions of Southeast Asia, contributing to the development of hundreds of temples made for the followers of Shaivism all around the Indonesian islands, as well as in Cambodia and Vietnam, where it seems to have further co-evolved with the regional culture that was Buddhism. The worship of  Shiva seems to be one of the most followed Hindu practises in all subcultures despite their differences that may be found all across India.

Although Shiva seems to be widely worshipped, Hinduism is one of the most complicated religions and follows or guides people towards a way of life with a wide range of spiritual cultures and customs. Hindus vary in various cultural aspects, including polytheistic, monotheistic, atheistic as well as humanist traditions and cultures; there is no specific. 

Shaivism seems to be a Hinduism tradition with their primary focus based on worshipping the Hindu deity Shiva. Shaivism seems to be divided into several subcultures, each having its own philosophy as well as a few variations that are present due to regional differences. Shaivism seems to have a large scripture present and preserved throughout centuries that includes diverse philosophical thoughts, these are studied upon in specific schools that follow their respective cultures.

The Vaishnavas originated cultural traditions in the 7th century, before that, Shaivism seemed to have been the predominant cultural aspect followed in the region of South India. It coexisted with another subculture that was largely followed, known as Buddhism, as well as Jainism, which seems to be pre-Vedic throughout historical timelines. Despite the fact that all involved Hindu systems seem to have ancient origins, Shaivism originated and spread across South India significantly earlier, especially as evidence suggests its presence in epics such as the likes of the Mahabharata.

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Conclusion

The article explains in brief about Shaivism and its primary goals, it further talks about how Shaivism works and mentions some of its key concepts. Shaivism is a Hindu sect that worships the god Shiva. It seems to have various types that are mentioned in the above article in detail. The article also mentions a few terms related to Shaivism.