Smartas - The Eclectic Hindus
In our quest for our roots, most of us have an interest in knowing about the Smarta
religion. But there is very little research material on the subject. Another major problem
is that though the tenets of the Smarta religion are followed all over India, only in South
India we call ourselves Smarta.
The basic tenet of the Smarta religion is non-Sectarianism. It is eclectic in belief. We
believe in all Gods/Goddesses. It is this Smarta belief which is Hinduism to most of the
Hindus all over the world. Again Smarta are not Vedantins. They believe in all the six
Dharshanas or the systems of philosophy.
I would like to start with the evolution of Smarta religion.
Hinduism has been plagued by sectarianism for a long time. This sectarianism made Hinduism
weak. We all know about the fight between the Saivites and the Vaishnavites in Tamil Nadu.
That is history. To look at some sectarian beliefs you have to only visit any Hare Krishna
web site. Shiva and all other Gods/Goddesses are not even Gods. They are only demi-Gods.
Frequent rants against Adi Sankara forgetting the historical fact that but for him, there
might not have been any Hinduism at the time of Chaitanya Maha Prabhu.
You can very well imagine how it must have been in the middle ages when sectarianism ruled
the roost.
There was another problem also with sectarianism in the middle ages. Saivism and
Vaishnavism in those days were both Agamic. The Pancharatra Vaishnavism and Kalamukha and
other brands of Saivism. These did not lay emphasis on the Vedas or Vaidic practices.
So it was felt that a non sectarian religion was required to unify Hinduism, and also to
revive Vaidic practices. And it was also felt necessary to bring the different warring
philosophies together since different sects followed different philosophies.
Now this bringing about the unity has been attributed to Adi Sankaracharya. But scholars
have questioned whether Adi Sankaracharya the exponent of pure Advaita could have been the
founder of a religion which emphasized on all the six Dharshanas. Whether it was one or
many Sankaracharyas does not matter for us. The fact is that it is the Sankaracharyas and
the mutts established by him which played a major role in this unification.
Now I expect some of the Smartas to object to my classifying the Smartas as following all
the six Dharshanas or systems of philosophy. This may seem contrary to the widespread
belief that they are Advaita Vedanta followers.
I do not know how many of you are aware of the titles of the Matathipathi of Sankara
Matams. These titles are recited by people who consider the Sankaracharya as their personal
Guru.
Shad Dharsana sthanapacharya
Sankyathraya prithipadaka
Vaidhika Marga Pravarthaka
A sloka
Sasthram sarira Mimansa devasthu Parameswara
Acharya Sankaracharya santhu me janma janmani
These clearly indicate that Smarta religion follows all the six Dharshanas or systems of
Philosophy.
Why did the Smartas do it? Tamil Smartas always talk about Shanmadham, but not about Shad
Dharshana.
The basic idea of Smarta religion was to reestablish Vaidic practices. Vedas are non-
sectarian unlike the Puranas. There are verses in praise of all Gods. Indra, Varuna, and
other Vaidic Gods. Then we have Rudraprasna, Narayana Suktham and Sri Suktham among others.
In these verses the god to whom the verses are addressed is considered the Supreme God.
Again the Vaidic practices are basically from Karma Kanda and follow Purva Mimansa.
Advaita is Gnana Kanda. Then Yoga has become a part and parcel of Hinduism. Sankhya is the
basic philosophy of the Sakthas.
You can not bring about a unity among different sects or revive the Vaidic practices
without bringing together the six systems of Philosophy.
So Smartaism became Shan Madha and Shad Dharshana. Though it is not stated clearly Smartas
also absorbed the concept of Bhakthi. The various slokas attributed to Sankaracharya are
evidence of this.
Now about Vishishtaadvaita and Dwaita. Even here the only problem that the Smartas have is
the definition of Narayana and Vishnu as the only supreme God. Smartas are not comfortable
with that. Otherwise the philosophies of Vishishtaadvaita and Dwaita are perfectly
acceptable.
The followers came from all the sects. Initially we did have sub-classifications of
Smarta-Saiva, Smarta-Vaishnava and Smarta-Sakthas. But this disappeared over a period of
time. The best part of Smarta religion is that you could continue your sectarian worship.
The Panchayathana Puja was a compromise. But here the central deity could be Shiva, Vishnu,
Sakthi, Skanda or the Sun. The Smartas went to the extent of even allowing sectarian marks.
That is how we have Nama Iyers for example.
Two important points to be considered now.
1. How do I say that most of the Hindus are Smartas?
Take the case of Bengal. Sri Ramakrishna's family deity was Raghubir (Krishna). His Tantrik
Guru was Bhairavi Brahmani a Vaishnavite Tantrika. He worshiped Krishna and Kali. This is
Smartaism. Most of the Brahmins in Bengal are like this.
Kerala: The Nambhoodiris claim to be Purva Mimansa followers. But see the worship. Shiva,
Devi and Krishna temples are all over Kerala. Everyone goes to all these temples. Swami
Chinmayananda spent his lifetime spreading the message of Bhagavad Gita. But in all his
Ashrams the central temple is Shiva's temple. This is Smartaism.
2. Some one might say that "But there is proof that Smartas are Saiva, Vaishnava". We have
had discussions regarding this. This is exactly what you are supposed to believe. Smartaism
is Saivism for Saivas and Vaishnavism for Vaishnavas. All things to all people is the name
of the game. We can not claim that Smartas are pure Advaita Vedanta people. Pure Advaitins
reject Purva Mimansa. They do not subscribe to Sri Vidya practices which basically believes
in Saguna Brahman.
I would also like to point out the all important role of the Sankara matams and thousands
of other matams which are loosely affiliated to these matams. These matams have spread the
idea of non-sectarian Hinduism all over India. They have also revived the Vaidic practices.
Again India has been known for the millions of wandering renunciates. Smarta religion tried
to bring some order here also by creating the Dasanami Sampradhayas of Sannyasis. They
created a semblance of an organization. But this affiliation is only nominal. They do not
even have a uniform practice of dealing with the dead bodies of Sannyasis.
Time-Frame
Though the formal Smarta religion seems to hve originated in the middle ages, it is very
difficult to specify the date of the Smarta religion. The Smarta religion with its
syncretistic tendencies seem to have been in existence for long. There is evidence for that
like the medieval sculptures of Panchayatana Sivalinga and Harihara. But organizing them
into a force in Hinduism could be attributed to Adi Sankaracharya.
Since these are developments which took place over a period of hundreds of years, we do not
have a time frame for this development.
Finally
If Smarta religion is so good and has strengthened Hinduism how come no one is talking
about it?
Here lies the crux of the matter. Smarta called themselves Smartas because they wanted to
emphasize the role of the Smiritis/Dharmasasthras. Dharmasasthras are founded on
Varnashrama Dharma. So the Smartas have been accused of propagating the Varnashrama Dharma.
But this criticism does not take into account the seminal role played by the Smartas in
strengthening Hinduism and preventing it from becoming divided into a number of warring
sects.
Hope
The vision shown by Adi Sankarachrya or Sankaracharyas is unparalleled in the history of
Hinduism. We can only pray that such a visionary will be born in India again who will unite
all the castes together, so that the caste name would signify only a tradition or culture.
A Dalit should say proudly of the Brahmins "Here are the people who have kept OUR Vedic
traditions alive."
Smarta's View of Adi Sankaracharya
Adi Sankaracharya is universally known as the Acharya who first enunciated the principles
of Advaita. In Hinduism the ideas always mattered more than the personality. That is why we
have Advaita, Sankhya, Yoga, Vishishtaadvaita, Dvaita and others. This is totally different
from the Western way of thinking where the individual is more important than their ideas.
Thus we have philosophies named after Aristotle, Plato, Kant among others.
Now Smartas tend to view Adi Sankaracharya as the founder of Shanmadha/Shaddharshana
religion. He is credited with recovering the glory of the religion of the Vedas.
These two different views do clash. The historical image of Adi Sankara as the ultimate
pure Advaitin clashes with the image of Adi Sankara who brought back the glory of the Purva
Mimansa religion. How could a person who debated the Purva Mimansa people throughout his
life turn to be a follower of Purva Mimansa? How could he become a Saktha Tantrik and
author Soundarya Lahari? How could he become a Bhakta and author the various slokas
attributed to him? The questions are many.
There is no historical evidence that Adi Sankara was anything but a pure Advaitin.
It is probable that we are talking not only about Adi Sankara, but also Sankaracharyas who
have adorned the different Peetams over a period of time. Great men like Abhinava Sankara,
Vidyaranya. Probable, but not confirmed in the absence of historical records.
In the early days of the internet this used to be the favorite topic of discussion on the
Hindu usenet groups. Adi Sankara the Advaitin Vs Adi Sankara as projected by the Smartas.
The Smartas always defended their stand by saying "We know." Thus it boiled down to
question of belief and not history.
Smartas should be aware of this conflict between history and their belief.
This post is an old one. This article was written to enable the Smarthas to understand their religion.
It is not against Sakthism, Saivism or Vaishnavism. Or against any Acharyas.
In our quest for our roots, most of us have an interest in knowing about the Smarta
religion. But there is very little research material on the subject. Another major problem
is that though the tenets of the Smarta religion are followed all over India, only in South
India we call ourselves Smarta.
The basic tenet of the Smarta religion is non-Sectarianism. It is eclectic in belief. We
believe in all Gods/Goddesses. It is this Smarta belief which is Hinduism to most of the
Hindus all over the world. Again Smarta are not Vedantins. They believe in all the six
Dharshanas or the systems of philosophy.
I would like to start with the evolution of Smarta religion.
Hinduism has been plagued by sectarianism for a long time. This sectarianism made Hinduism
weak. We all know about the fight between the Saivites and the Vaishnavites in Tamil Nadu.
That is history. To look at some sectarian beliefs you have to only visit any Hare Krishna
web site. Shiva and all other Gods/Goddesses are not even Gods. They are only demi-Gods.
Frequent rants against Adi Sankara forgetting the historical fact that but for him, there
might not have been any Hinduism at the time of Chaitanya Maha Prabhu.
You can very well imagine how it must have been in the middle ages when sectarianism ruled
the roost.
There was another problem also with sectarianism in the middle ages. Saivism and
Vaishnavism in those days were both Agamic. The Pancharatra Vaishnavism and Kalamukha and
other brands of Saivism. These did not lay emphasis on the Vedas or Vaidic practices.
So it was felt that a non sectarian religion was required to unify Hinduism, and also to
revive Vaidic practices. And it was also felt necessary to bring the different warring
philosophies together since different sects followed different philosophies.
Now this bringing about the unity has been attributed to Adi Sankaracharya. But scholars
have questioned whether Adi Sankaracharya the exponent of pure Advaita could have been the
founder of a religion which emphasized on all the six Dharshanas. Whether it was one or
many Sankaracharyas does not matter for us. The fact is that it is the Sankaracharyas and
the mutts established by him which played a major role in this unification.
Now I expect some of the Smartas to object to my classifying the Smartas as following all
the six Dharshanas or systems of philosophy. This may seem contrary to the widespread
belief that they are Advaita Vedanta followers.
I do not know how many of you are aware of the titles of the Matathipathi of Sankara
Matams. These titles are recited by people who consider the Sankaracharya as their personal
Guru.
Shad Dharsana sthanapacharya
Sankyathraya prithipadaka
Vaidhika Marga Pravarthaka
A sloka
Sasthram sarira Mimansa devasthu Parameswara
Acharya Sankaracharya santhu me janma janmani
These clearly indicate that Smarta religion follows all the six Dharshanas or systems of
Philosophy.
Why did the Smartas do it? Tamil Smartas always talk about Shanmadham, but not about Shad
Dharshana.
The basic idea of Smarta religion was to reestablish Vaidic practices. Vedas are non-
sectarian unlike the Puranas. There are verses in praise of all Gods. Indra, Varuna, and
other Vaidic Gods. Then we have Rudraprasna, Narayana Suktham and Sri Suktham among others.
In these verses the god to whom the verses are addressed is considered the Supreme God.
Again the Vaidic practices are basically from Karma Kanda and follow Purva Mimansa.
Advaita is Gnana Kanda. Then Yoga has become a part and parcel of Hinduism. Sankhya is the
basic philosophy of the Sakthas.
You can not bring about a unity among different sects or revive the Vaidic practices
without bringing together the six systems of Philosophy.
So Smartaism became Shan Madha and Shad Dharshana. Though it is not stated clearly Smartas
also absorbed the concept of Bhakthi. The various slokas attributed to Sankaracharya are
evidence of this.
Now about Vishishtaadvaita and Dwaita. Even here the only problem that the Smartas have is
the definition of Narayana and Vishnu as the only supreme God. Smartas are not comfortable
with that. Otherwise the philosophies of Vishishtaadvaita and Dwaita are perfectly
acceptable.
The followers came from all the sects. Initially we did have sub-classifications of
Smarta-Saiva, Smarta-Vaishnava and Smarta-Sakthas. But this disappeared over a period of
time. The best part of Smarta religion is that you could continue your sectarian worship.
The Panchayathana Puja was a compromise. But here the central deity could be Shiva, Vishnu,
Sakthi, Skanda or the Sun. The Smartas went to the extent of even allowing sectarian marks.
That is how we have Nama Iyers for example.
Two important points to be considered now.
1. How do I say that most of the Hindus are Smartas?
Take the case of Bengal. Sri Ramakrishna's family deity was Raghubir (Krishna). His Tantrik
Guru was Bhairavi Brahmani a Vaishnavite Tantrika. He worshiped Krishna and Kali. This is
Smartaism. Most of the Brahmins in Bengal are like this.
Kerala: The Nambhoodiris claim to be Purva Mimansa followers. But see the worship. Shiva,
Devi and Krishna temples are all over Kerala. Everyone goes to all these temples. Swami
Chinmayananda spent his lifetime spreading the message of Bhagavad Gita. But in all his
Ashrams the central temple is Shiva's temple. This is Smartaism.
2. Some one might say that "But there is proof that Smartas are Saiva, Vaishnava". We have
had discussions regarding this. This is exactly what you are supposed to believe. Smartaism
is Saivism for Saivas and Vaishnavism for Vaishnavas. All things to all people is the name
of the game. We can not claim that Smartas are pure Advaita Vedanta people. Pure Advaitins
reject Purva Mimansa. They do not subscribe to Sri Vidya practices which basically believes
in Saguna Brahman.
I would also like to point out the all important role of the Sankara matams and thousands
of other matams which are loosely affiliated to these matams. These matams have spread the
idea of non-sectarian Hinduism all over India. They have also revived the Vaidic practices.
Again India has been known for the millions of wandering renunciates. Smarta religion tried
to bring some order here also by creating the Dasanami Sampradhayas of Sannyasis. They
created a semblance of an organization. But this affiliation is only nominal. They do not
even have a uniform practice of dealing with the dead bodies of Sannyasis.
Time-Frame
Though the formal Smarta religion seems to hve originated in the middle ages, it is very
difficult to specify the date of the Smarta religion. The Smarta religion with its
syncretistic tendencies seem to have been in existence for long. There is evidence for that
like the medieval sculptures of Panchayatana Sivalinga and Harihara. But organizing them
into a force in Hinduism could be attributed to Adi Sankaracharya.
Since these are developments which took place over a period of hundreds of years, we do not
have a time frame for this development.
Finally
If Smarta religion is so good and has strengthened Hinduism how come no one is talking
about it?
Here lies the crux of the matter. Smarta called themselves Smartas because they wanted to
emphasize the role of the Smiritis/Dharmasasthras. Dharmasasthras are founded on
Varnashrama Dharma. So the Smartas have been accused of propagating the Varnashrama Dharma.
But this criticism does not take into account the seminal role played by the Smartas in
strengthening Hinduism and preventing it from becoming divided into a number of warring
sects.
Hope
The vision shown by Adi Sankarachrya or Sankaracharyas is unparalleled in the history of
Hinduism. We can only pray that such a visionary will be born in India again who will unite
all the castes together, so that the caste name would signify only a tradition or culture.
A Dalit should say proudly of the Brahmins "Here are the people who have kept OUR Vedic
traditions alive."
Smarta's View of Adi Sankaracharya
Adi Sankaracharya is universally known as the Acharya who first enunciated the principles
of Advaita. In Hinduism the ideas always mattered more than the personality. That is why we
have Advaita, Sankhya, Yoga, Vishishtaadvaita, Dvaita and others. This is totally different
from the Western way of thinking where the individual is more important than their ideas.
Thus we have philosophies named after Aristotle, Plato, Kant among others.
Now Smartas tend to view Adi Sankaracharya as the founder of Shanmadha/Shaddharshana
religion. He is credited with recovering the glory of the religion of the Vedas.
These two different views do clash. The historical image of Adi Sankara as the ultimate
pure Advaitin clashes with the image of Adi Sankara who brought back the glory of the Purva
Mimansa religion. How could a person who debated the Purva Mimansa people throughout his
life turn to be a follower of Purva Mimansa? How could he become a Saktha Tantrik and
author Soundarya Lahari? How could he become a Bhakta and author the various slokas
attributed to him? The questions are many.
There is no historical evidence that Adi Sankara was anything but a pure Advaitin.
It is probable that we are talking not only about Adi Sankara, but also Sankaracharyas who
have adorned the different Peetams over a period of time. Great men like Abhinava Sankara,
Vidyaranya. Probable, but not confirmed in the absence of historical records.
In the early days of the internet this used to be the favorite topic of discussion on the
Hindu usenet groups. Adi Sankara the Advaitin Vs Adi Sankara as projected by the Smartas.
The Smartas always defended their stand by saying "We know." Thus it boiled down to
question of belief and not history.
Smartas should be aware of this conflict between history and their belief.
This post is an old one. This article was written to enable the Smarthas to understand their religion.
It is not against Sakthism, Saivism or Vaishnavism. Or against any Acharyas.
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