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60
Vīra-saivism
[CH. and Gorakṣa in the Prabhu-linga-līlā. We have also examined briefly some of the contents of Siddha-siddhānta-paddhati of Gorakṣa, and we find that the șaț-sthala doctrine preached by Allama was more or less similar to the Yoga doctrine found in the Siddha-siddhānta-paddhati. If we had more space, we could have brought out an interesting comparison between the doctrines of Allama and Gorakṣa. It is not impossible that there was a mutual exchange of views between Gorakṣa and Allama. Unfortunately the date of Gorakṣa cannot be definitely known, though it is known that his doctrines had spread very widely in various parts of India, extending over a long period in the Middle Ages.
The interpretation of șaț-sthala is rather different in different works dealing with it. This shows that, though the șaț-sthala doctrine was regarded as the most important feature of Vīrasaivism after Basava, we are all confused as to what the sat-sthala might have been. As a matter of fact we are not even certain about the number. Thus in Vira-saiva-siddhānta (MS.) we have a reference to 101 sthalas, and so also in Siddhānta-sikhāmaņi. But elsewhere in Śrīpati's bhāsya, Anubhava-sūtra of Māyi-deva, and in Prabhu-linga-līlā and Basava-purāņa we find reference to six sthalas only.
In the same way the sthalas have not been the same in the various authoritative works. The concepts of these sthalas are also different, and they are sometimes used in different meanings. In some works sthala is used to denote the six nerve plexuses in the body or the six centres from which the power of God is manifested in different ways; sometimes they are used to denote the sixfold majestic powers of God and sometimes to denote the important natural elements, such as earth, fire, air, etc. The whole idea seems to be that the macrocosm and microcosm being the same identical entity, it is possible to control the dissipated forces of any centre and pass on to a more concentrated point of manifestation of the energy, and this process is regarded as the upward process of ascension from one stage to another.
