Shaivism: An
Introduction
page 2
There are six primary schools of Shaivism,
though not all devotees of Shiva will consider themselves as belonging
to any one of these schools. These schools are: Pasupata Shaivism, Vira
Shaivism, Kashmir Shaivism, Shaiva Siddhanta, Gorakhnath Shaivism, and
Shiva Advaita. The differences are philosophic, geographic and linguistic
in character. The similarities include the desire to liberate the mind
or soul from its binding attachments to the body and the physical world.
Some of the common features that distinguish Shaivas in general, and yogis
in particular, are: covering the body with ashes or making three horizontal
ash marks across the forehead. Some sects of Shaivites wear their hair
long and matted and many sects wear a necklace or rosary, of rudraksha
berries, representing their "austere ties." Isolated sects of
those practicing Shaivas may also practice self-mortifying vows such as:
never lying down, inserting needles into their body, lying on a bed of
nails, walking on a bed of hot coals, and long periods of fasting or sleep
deprivation.
Recommended reading:
 Siva
Sutras: The Yoga of Supreme Identity, ed. by Jaideva Singh
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