Science in Religious Samskaras

About the Author Dr. Panditaradhya Shivacharya, the head of the VeerapuraMatha in Sagar Taluk, is well-known in the spiritual field of the land. He is one among the tallest personalities in the world of religious institutions, such as mathas. His are not confined to one caste or religion, and they go beyond and stand firmly for the upliftment of the whole of humanity in a true sense. With immense spiritual concerns, Dr. Shivacharya is for awakening people from superstitions prevailing in all castes and creeds.

I have been savouring for over the past thirty years the spiritual thoughts and great lectures of Dr. Shivacharya as a devotee of the Matha, and as his close associate. Like me, many of his devotees have wished and requested him that his noble thoughts and knowledge bestowed on him by the Supreme God be made available to society as guidance for the people. As a result, several of his books and articles have been published, being an invaluable gift to the spiritual and cultural traditions of the nation.

Dr. Shivacharya accepted his father as his guru and earned all the knowledge on the strength of the learning from him. He completed his schooling up to the higher secondary level. He then went on to earn a post-graduation degree from the Mysore University, even while heading the VeerapurHirematha, continuing with the tradition of the Chaula Hiriyur Hiremetha. He has received an honorary Doctorate for his thesis, 'Indian Culture and Cultural Traditions' from the Cosmopolitan University of the USA. He has also been honored with a Doctorate of Literature (D.Lit) for his thesis 'A Scientific Study on the Need of Rituals for Personality Development' by the Kannada University, Hampi. The University of Agriculture, Raichur invited and honored him by publishing his book 'The Agriculture of Rishis'. It is a matter of pride that several of his works have already reached the mass of people. His immense knowledge of Veerashaiva literature; his expertise in linguistics; his in-depth study on sculpture and Vastu; his rational analysis of 'Devi Mahatme'; his novel commentaries on meaning of words; and his spiritual concepts are truly laudable. I wish to such a seer, on behalf of all of this land, that he may take up more and more studies in the future.

Preface India is the birth place of several religions, and the centre of the spiritual world. Here sadhus, saints, rishis, monks, gurus, ascetics and noble personalities have always been endeavouring towards religious and spiritual attainments here. Due to this reason, temples and Mutts have come up everywhere in India. And they have evolved into spiritual knowledge centres. Although these are religious institutions operating under the leadership of great personalities, accomplished in metaphysical knowledge, they have become social organisations because of their societal association and guidance for the people in worldly life. As seen in the history pages, the dwelling place of the guru is as significant as the palace of the ruler in India. Indian culture has been evolved under the aegis of rishis and seers. Ashrams and gurukulas here have taught us to learn about spirituality along with worldly knowledge, and attain metaphysical achievements along with sensual pleasures. And the codes of conduct to regulate such a life are called 'Samskara'.

'Samskara' are not the subject matter to be considered just within the framework of religiosity.

Introduction Tha India's literary canon. They have been integrated into the regional languages used and spoken on divinity in the post-Vedic period as well. Accordingly, even in the Kannada language, there has been the tradition of creating literature on divinity since ancient times, as shown by the Vachana literature of Basaveshwara and other Sharanas, Dasa literature from the Dasa tradition as well as works of Kannada poets, such as Sarvajna, Ranna, Pampa, Janna, Harihara, Raghavanka, Shadakshardeva, and Sri NijagunaSivayogi, along with Kannada versions of Ramayana and Mahabharata. Studying these works helps gain insights into the Indian culture, religious traditions and customs, people's beliefs in samskaras (sacraments), as well as human values. These literatures have become a sustained force to inculcate noble thoughts in people, evolving and embracing progressive elements from time to time over the past thousands of years.

In India, religion has taken many forms, branching into several sects and sub-sects.

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