Sampradaya


In Hinduism, a sampradaya Hindu Denominations can be translated as ‘tradition’, 'spiritual lineage' or a ‘religious system’. It relates to a succession of masters and disciples, which serves as a spiritual channel, and provides a delicate network of relationships that lends stability to a religious identity.
The word identity in this respect is problematic. Where identity can be seen as static, sampradaya allows flexibility; one can leave one sampradaya and enter another.

Background

Continuity

Sampradaya is a body of practice, views and attitudes, which are transmitted, redefined and reviewed by each successive generation of followers. Participation in sampradaya forces continuity with the past, or tradition, but at the same time provides a platform for change from within the community of practitioners of this particular traditional group.

Initiation

A particular guru lineage in guru-shishya tradition is called parampara, and may have its own akharas and gurukulas. By receiving diksha into the parampara of a living guru, one belongs to its proper sampradaya. One cannot become a member by birth, as is the case with gotra, a seminal, or hereditary, dynasty.

Authority

Membership in a sampradaya not only lends a level of authority to one’s claims on truth in Hindu traditional context, but also allows one to make those claims in the first place. An often quoted verse from the Padma Purana states:
And another verse states:
As Wright and Wright put it,
Nevertheless, there are also examples of teachers who were not initiated into a sampradaya, Ramana Maharshi being a well-known example. A sannyasin belonging to the Sringeri Sharada Peetham once tried to persuade Ramana to be initiated into sannyasa, but Ramana refused.

Type of sampradayas

Major sampradayas
Vaishnavism
According to the Padma Purāṇa, one of the eighteen main Purāṇas, there are four Vaishnava sampradāyas, which preserve the fruitful mantras:
Each of them were inaugurated by a deity, who appointed heads to these lineages:
Main DeityParampara lineageAcharyaPrimary MathasLinked sampradaya
Śrī Devī Sri SampradayaRamanujacharyaMelukote, Srirangam, Vanamamalai, Tirukkurungudi, Kanchipuram, Ahobila, ParakalaRamanandi Sampradaya
BrahmaMadhva SampradayaMadhvacharyaSri Krishna Matha, Madhva Mathas, Gaudiya Math, ISKCONGaudiya Vaishnavism
RudraRudra SampradayaViṣṇusvāmī/VallabhacharyaPushtimarg sect
Four KumārasKumara SampradayaNimbarkaKathia Baba ka Sthaan, Nimbarkacharya Peeth, Ukhra Mahanta Asthal, Howrah Nimbarka Ashram

During the Kali yuga these sampradāyas appear in the holy place of Jaganatha Puri, and purify the entire earth.
Various sampradāyas emerged from these four, which are quite different from them. There are also other sampradāyas, such as Swaminarayan Sampradaya, which some people claim it to be non-vedic sampraday since it is not associated to these four traditions but the truth is that Swaminarayan sampraday is associated with sridevi tradition and comes under lineage of Ramanujacharya as he gave guru-mantra to Ramanand Swami which was passed on to Sahajanand swami.
The lineage of Sri Bramha Madhava Gaudiya Sampradāya founded by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu falls under the lineage of Bramha sampradaaya.
Hence, all these sampraday are also bonafide ones since they fall among the four traditions as mentioned above.

Shaivite sampradayas

There are three main saivite sampradayas known as "Kailasa Parampara" - Nandinatha Sampradaya, Adinath Sampradaya and Meykanda Sampradaya.
In Balinese Hinduism, Dutch ethnographers further subdivided Siwa into five – Kemenuh, Keniten, Mas, Manuba and Petapan. This classification was to accommodate the observed marriage between higher caste Brahmana men with lower caste women.
The Nandinatha Sampradaya traces its beginning to at least 200 BCE. Its founder and first known spiritual preceptor was the Maha Rishi Nandinatha. Nandinatha is said to have initiated eight disciples and sent them to various places to spread the teachings of non-dualistic Shaivism all over the world. Saiva Siddhanta Church of Hawaii identifies itself as principle Matha or monestory of lineage. Spiritual lineage of the Nandinatha Sampradaya : Maharishi Nandinath→ Tirumular→→→ unknown→Kadaitswami→ Chellappaswami→ Siva Yogaswami→Sivaya Subramuniyaswami → Bodhinatha Veylanswami
Tamil Shaiva Siddhanta philosophy is known as the descendant from the teaching of Sanatkumara, one of the Kumaras.Saiva Siddhanta Church of HawaiiTirumantiramis one of the significant holy book along with other saivite text.Meykandar SampradayaMeykandarShaiva SiddhantaSaiva adheenams in South Indiatrace its origin at SanatkumaraAdinath SampradayaMatsyendranath, GorakshanathSiddha Siddhanta Nisargadatta Maharaj and International Nath OrderConnected with Inchegiri branchTrika SampradayaDurvasa VasuguptaKashmir ShaivismSwami Lakshmanjo Academy and other Kashmir Saivite MathasAlso known as Ragasya Sampradaya and Trayambaka Sampradaya. Starts its gurus at Srikantha, Vasugupta, and Somananda. Sometimes Durvasa also included.
Nandinatha and Meykandar Sampradayas are associated with the Shaiva Siddhanta while Adinath Sampradaya is associated with Nath Shaivism. Other popular Saivite sampradayas are Veerashaiva Samprdaya, Lingayat Sampradaya and Srouta Sampradaya

Dashanami Sampradaya

Dashanami Sampradaya, "Tradition of Ten Names", is a Hindu monastic tradition of ēkadaṇḍi sannyasins generally associated with the Advaita Vedanta tradition. They are distinct in their practices from the Saiva Tridaṇḍi sannyāsins or "trident renunciates", who continue to wear the sacred thread after renunciation, while ēkadaṇḍi sannyāsins do not.
The Ekadandi Vedāntins aim for moksha as the existence of the self in its natural condition indicated by the destruction of all its specific qualities. Any Hindu, irrespective of class, caste, age or gender can seek sannyāsa as an Ekadandi monk under the Dasanāmi tradition.
The Ekadandis or Dasanāmis had established monasteries in India and Nepal in ancient times. After the decline of Buddhism, a section of the Ekadandis were organized by Adi Shankara in the 8th century in India to be associated with four maṭhas to provide a base for the growth of Hinduism. However, the association of the Dasanāmis with the Sankara maṭhas remained nominal.

Advaita Vedanta sampradaya

Advaita Mathas

Adi Sankara founded four to preserve and develop his philosophies. One each in the north, south, east and west of the Indian subcontinent, each headed by one of his direct disciples.
According to Nakamura, these mathas contributed to the influence of Shankara, which was "due to institutional factors". The mathas which he built exist until today, and preserve the teachings and influence of Shankara, "while the writings of other scholars before him came to be forgotten with the passage of time".
The table below gives an overview of the four Amnaya Mathas founded by Adi Shankara, and their details.
Shishya
DirectionMatha|Veda
EastRig VedaBhogavala
SouthYajur Veda
WestSama VedaKitavala
NorthAtharva VedaNandavala

The current heads of the mathas trace their authority back to these figures, and each of the heads of these four mathas takes the title of Shankaracharya after Adi Sankara.
According to the tradition in Kerala, after Sankara's samadhi at Vadakkunnathan Temple, his disciples founded four mathas in Thrissur, namely Naduvil Madhom, Thekke Madhom, Idayil Madhom and Vadakke Madhom.

Shakta Sampradaya

There are 2 Shakta Sampradayas, which are
1. Kalikula : Prevalent in Bengal, Assam, Nepal & Odisha. Primary deity is Kali
2. Srikula : Prevalent in Tamil Nadu, Andhra, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala & Sri Lanka. Primary deity is Lalita Devi

Other denominations

MINOR SAMPRADAYAS

Suryaism / Saurism

The Suryaites or Sauras are followers of a Hindu denomination that started in Vedic tradition, and worship Surya as the main visible form of the Saguna Brahman. The Saura tradition was influential in South Asia, particularly in the west, north and other regions, with numerous Surya idols and temples built between 800 and 1000 CE. The Konark Sun Temple was built in mid 13th century. During the iconoclasm of Islamic invasions and Hindu–Muslim wars, the temples dedicated to Sun-god were among those desecrated, images smashed and the resident priests of Saura tradition were killed, states André Wink. The Surya tradition of Hinduism declined in the 12th and 13th century CE and today remains as a very small movement except in Bihar / Jharkhand and Eastern Uttar Pradesh. Sun worship has continued to be a dominant practice in Bihar / Jharkhand and Eastern Uttar Pradesh in the form of Chhath Puja which is considered the primary festival of importance in these regions.

Ganapatism

Ganapatism is a Hindu denomination in which Lord Ganesha is worshipped as the main form of the Saguna Brahman. This sect was widespread and influential in the past and has remained important in Maharashtra.

Indonesian Hinduism

Hinduism dominated the island of Java and Sumatra until the late 16th century, when a vast majority of the population converted to Islam. Only the Balinese people who formed a majority on the island of Bali, retained this form of Hinduism over the centuries. Theologically, Balinese or Indonesian Hinduism is closer to Shaivism than to other major sects of Hinduism. The adherents consider Acintya the supreme god, and all other gods as his manifestations.
The term "Agama Hindu Dharma", the endonymous Indonesian name for "Indonesian Hinduism" can also refer to the traditional practices in Kalimantan, Sumatra, Sulawesi and other places in Indonesia, where people have started to identify and accept their agamas as Hinduism or Hindu worship has been revived. The revival of Hinduism in Indonesia has given rise to a national organisation, the Parisada Hindu Dharma.

Shrautism

Shrauta communities are very rare in India, the most well known being the ultra-orthodox Nambudiri Brahmins of Kerala. They follow the "Purva-Mimamsa" in contrast to Vedanta followed by other Brahmins. They place importance on the performance of Vedic Sacrifice. The Nambudiri Brahmins are famous for their preservation of the ancient Somayaagam, Agnicayana rituals which have vanished in other parts of India.

Kaumaram

is a sect of Hindus, especially found in South India and Sri Lanka where Lord Muruga Karttikeya is the Supreme Godhead. Lord Muruga is considered superior to the Trimurti. The worshippers of Lord Muruga are called Kaumaras.

Newer movements

The new movements that arose in the 19th to 20th century include:
Buda sampradaya or Buddha sampradaya is a classification based on the observance of Dutch ethnographers of Brahmana caste of Balinese Hinduism into two: Siwa and Buda. The other castes were similarly further sub-classified by these 19th-century and early-20th-century ethnographers based on numerous criteria ranging from profession, endogamy or exogamy or polygamy, and a host of other factors in a manner similar to castas in Spanish colonies such as Mexico, and caste system studies in British colonies such as India. This concept of Budha Sampradaya could be applied to all Buddhist communities.

Written references

Web-references