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Essence of World Religions
Liberalism. A secondary goal for Shaivism is Savikalpa Samadhi or experience of God Shiva as Sat Chit Anand or consciousness full of truth and bliss. A secondary goal for Shaktism is to perform good work selflessly. For Shaktäs, God is both the formless Absolute (Shiva) and the manifest Divine (Shakti or Goddess Durga Käli). However, importance is given to the feminine manifest by which the masculine unmanifest (Shiva) is ultimately reached. A secondary goal of Vaishnavism is the experience of God's Grace, which can be reached while yet embodied through taking refuge in God's unbounded love. Lord Vishnu is God, all pervasive consciousness and the soul of the universe.
Path of Attainment Hinduism believes that each soul is free to find his own way to liberation by following the path of devotion (Bhakti Yoga), path of knowledge (Jnän Yoga), path of yoga and meditation (Raja Yoga), or path of selfless service (Karma Yoga). It relies strongly on the studying, listening, and recitation of the Vedäs, Upanishadas, Puräna, Gitä, and other sacred scriptures. It values devotion, yoga, and contemplative spiritual practice (Sädhanä). The path for Shaivism divides the spiritual progress of the soul into four progressive stages of belief and practice, called Charya, Kriya, Yoga, and Jnän. The soul evolves through the process of reincarnation, gradually maturing from the instinctive intellectual sphere into virtuous and moral living. It then progresses into temple worship and devotion, followed by yoga and meditation. The sustained and consistent practice of yoga brings union with God through the grace of the living true teacher (Sat Guru) and culminates in the soul's maturity, the state of wisdom (Jnän). The spiritual practices in Shaktism are similar to those in Shaivism. There is more emphasis on Shakti, God's power as opposed to Being, and on embracing apparent opposites: male and female, absolute and relative, pleasure and pain, cause and effect, mind and body. A minor sect undertakes Täntric practices, consciously using the world of form to transmute and eventually transcend that world. The Vaishnavites believe that religion is the performance of
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