SAIVA-SIDDHANTA

"
312 THE SAIVA RELIGION.
(Sivajnanabodham Sutra 2, Siva-jndnasiddhiyar II. i.)
And
St. Meykandan declares accordingly: You can indeed say
God is One, without a Second, as when you say without the
vowel A no other letters exist." This is a view of Advaitam
or Monism, which is not ordinarily met with, which must
appeal to the hearts and intelligence of the people of every
nation and every religion and which I commend to your
earnest consideration.
PRACTICAL RELIGION AND FOUR PATHS.
I will just glance at the practical aspect of Saiva Religion.
holds out four paths or margas for the spiritual aspirant, called
Charya, Kriya, Yoga and Jnana,* or otherwise called Dasamarga,
Satputra-marga, Saha-marga and San-marga. When
you want to approach God, you can approach Him as your Lord
and Master, you can approach Him as your Father, or as your
Friend or as your Beloved. The last is no marga at all but where
the One-ness is reached fully and finally. There is return to
birth, while one is in the first three paths. And these paths are
} so adjusted in an ascending scale to suit the intellectual, mral
\and spiritual development of the aspirant. The lowest and the
highest have equally a place in this scheme and are given room
,for their development and progress. No one path
is put in
Apposition to the other. It will be noticed this scheme differs
from the so-called Karma-marga, Bhakti-marga, YDga marga,
and Jnana-marga, and the latter is no logical scheme at all but
involves cross division. For it
may be easily perceived that
when one approaches his Maker, he must know Him as such
(Jnana) and must love Him as such (Bhakti) and must adjust
It
(Vayu-Samhita.)
II
"Charya, Kriya, ^oga and Jnana these are styled the four paths and
these are eternal dharmas whereby one attains Me."
.
(Vayu-Samhita I.)
The higher dharmas, which are of four kinds viz :
Charya and others, are
enumerated in the Saivagamas.