ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Hinduism's Online Lexicon - A-z Dictionary P pada: (Sanskrit) "A step, pace, stride; footstep, trace." pada: (Sanskrit) "The foot (of men and animals); quarter-part, section; stage; path." Names the major sections of the Agamic texts and the corresponding stages of practice and unfoldment on the path to moksha. According to Saiva Siddhanta, there are four padas, which are successive and cumulative; i.e.

in accomplishing each one the soul prepares itself for the next. (In Tamil, Saiva Siddhanta is also known as Nalu-pada, "four-stage," Saivam.) --charya pada: "Good conduct stage." Stage one, learning to live righteously, serve selflessly, performing karma yoga. It is also known as dasa marga, "path of the slave," a time when the aspirant relates to God as a servant to a master. Traditional acts of charya include cleaning the temple, lighting lamps and collecting flowers for worship.

Worship at this stage is mostly external. --kriya pada: "Religious action; worship stage." Stage of bhakti yoga, of cultivating devotion through performing puja and regular daily sadhana. It is also known as the satputra marga, "true son's way," as the soul now relates to God as a son to his father. A central practice of the kriya pada is performing daily puja.

--yoga pada: "Stage of union." Having matured in the charya and kriya padas, the soul now turns to internalized worship and raja yoga under the guidance of a satguru. It is a time of sadhana and serious striving when realization of the Self is the goal. It is the sakha marga, "way of the friend," for now God is looked upon as an intimate friend.

--jnana pada: "Stage of wisdom." Once the soul has attained Realization, it is henceforth a wise one, who lives out the life of the body, shedding blessings on mankind. This stage is also called the San Marga, "true path," on which God is our dearest beloved. The Tirumantiram describes the fulfillment of each stage as follows. In charya, the soul forges a kindred tie in "God's world" (salokya). In kriya it attains "nearness" (samipya) to Him. In yoga it attains "likeness" (sarupya) with Him.

In jnana the soul enjoys the ultimate bliss of identity (sayujya) with Siva. See: jnana, nirvani and upadeshi. padapuja: (Sanskrit) "Foot worship." Ceremonial worship of the guru's sandals or holy feet, often through ablution with precious substances and offering of fruit and flowers.