SAIVA-SIDDHANTA

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SAIVAISM IN ITS RELATION TO OTHER SYSTEMS, 355
I have urged Christians to drop the word "
Saguna
(meaning clothed in the three gunas, Satva, Rajas and Tamas),
and to drop their prejudice against the word Nirguna, which
means non-material or Pure Intelligence and spirit. Our Idea
of God is Sat-chit-ananxla, symbolised in the form of Somaskanda
(Sa-uma-skanda) and this is the same as God the father,
God the mother or Holy ghost, and God the son, and I have
quoted in some other place the definition of these terms from
Bishop Westcott, God as pure being or spirit, God as light that
links to him all humanity, and God as Love.
I
have referred to the Doctrine of Grace as a special feature
of Saiva Siddhanta in my last address and
;
in this respect
differs in no respect from that of the Christian Doctrine.
also, it
Christian Theologians have fought over the question of desert
and grace, and there is a similar divergence in Saiva Siddhaftta
schools also. The doctrine of Nirhetukaruna is well set forth
by Saiva sages also, and all schools recognize that even where
you deserve the grace, it is God that helps you to deserve it.
Our Skarjda is Kumara Skanda, son of God, the first teacher
and Parama Guru, and I have shown that unless God comes/
downjp us,.as- llie__son of man, our redemption is not possible.
Christianity speaks of only one revelation for all time to come/
But in the Saiva Siddhanta, God reveals Himself as the son
arid Guru to each in his own fulness of time.
What repels most Christians in Hinduism is its idealism
$nd Pantheism. But in the manner in which advaita? is
defined by the Saivite school and hence called Suddha Advaita
Thou art
Siddhanta, the doctrine is without any reproach.
not aught in the universe; Naught is there save Thou ; (God)
Who can know Thee ? is our postulate. We distinguish
clearly between the plane of God, the plane of man and the
plane of the universe, just in the same way as Professor Henry
Drummond does, and we postulate a unity at the same time.
God is all and not all is one of our axioms. Even in regard
to the doctrine of atonement, there is considerable agreement.
We equally say with Christians, that where we can do His
will, atoning ourselves with God, then He takes upon Himself
all our burdens, and all our burdens fall off. (Vide Sivjnana-