St.Thomas
Dravidian Christianity -
Mythical
Aspect
After St.Thomas Dravidian Christianity started developing in India, the doctrine of Trinity was envisioned from different angles in myths. When the trinity was explained as Father, Holy Spirit and Son, some envisioned the Holy Spirit in a female form. According to this group, in a family, if there is a father and a son, naturally there would also be a mother in between them. So, they envisioned the Holy Spirit as mother or Sakthi or Power and they explained the trinity as Appan (father), Ammai (mother-Sakthi) and Makan (Son). They also explained Siva (which means love), Sakthi and Kumarakkadavul (son of God) as Somaskanda. Somaskanda is a Sanskrit word (Sa+Uma+Skanda) which means God who is with Uma (Mother) and Skanda (Son). This is known as Saivism.
When the Holy Spirit was envisioned in female form by one school of thought, naturally there would be opposition and another school of thought emerged. According to it, since a virgin gave birth to a Son by the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit must be a male form, and it was envisioned in a male form. They explained all the three in the trinity in male forms. (Father in male form, Holy spirit in male form and Son in male form). This is developed as Mummoorthy in Vaishnavism.
While Saivism denoted Holy Spirit as Sakthi (female form); Vaishnavism denoted Holy Spirit as Vishnu (male form). The root word for Vishnu is Vinn. Vinn and Vaan to the sky or firmament. The word 'Vishnu' is the Sanskritised form of Vinn. Trinity is explained in Vaishnavism as Siva, Vishnu and Brahma that is Mummoorthy. This is known as Vaishnavism. Both the Saivite and Vaishnavite mythical explanations refer to God the father as one and the same person, Siva. God the Holy Spirit is in two forms, one is in female form that is Sakthi (Saivism) and the other is in male form that is Vishnu (Vaishnavism).
If the left half of Siva's body is portrayed in female form (Sakthi), it is known as 'Arthanarieswara' and if the same left half of Siva's body is portrayed in male form (Vishnu), it is known as 'Harihara'.
Since the left half of Siva's body is portrayed in male form as well as in female form, it clearly shows that the left half of Siva's (God the father) body is the metaphorism of Holy Spirit in two different angles.
The envisioning of the Holy Spirit in a female form has developed into Saivism and the envisioning of the Holy Spirit in a male form has developed into Vaishnavism.
The Son of God is envisioned in four angles in Saivism and Vaishnavism.
1.
The victory over Satan is explained in Kumarakkadavul (Son of God)
concept;
2.
Death and resurrection is explained in Ganapathi or Pillaiyar concept. (Pillai-son
of God, 'ar' is a respectable suffix);
3.
His power of creation is explained in Brahman (creator) concept.
4.
Seeing
Son of God as the light of the world is explained in 'Aiyappa concept'. People
visit Sabarimalai to see light (Mahara Jyothi) in the Aiyappa worship.
Though four names are mentioned, actually they all refer to one, that is Son of God in four views as explained above.
Father |
Holy
Spirit |
Son |
Siva |
Sakthi
|
Kumarakkadavul |
|
|
Pillaiyar |
|
Vishnu |
Brahman |
|
|
Aiyappan |
Seven names are mentioned in the above chart. Siva is the father of four different names that refer to the Son of God. In the place of Holy Spirit, Sakthi and Vishnu are seen.
The four names mentioned above to explain the son of God refer to one and the same person in four different views and except Brahman, others developed as separate sects. Since, the Brahman the concept was corrupted by the Aryans (Brahminism) there is no separate sect for Brahma. Out of the seven names mentioned above, six have developed as Six-Fold Religion and they are the denominations of Early Indian Christianity. The trinity concept in Saivism and Vaishnavism are explained in the following charts.
DOCTRINE OF TRINITY
Judaism |
God |
Spirit |
Word |
||||
Christianity |
Father |
Son |
Holy Spirit |
||||
Buddhism |
Dharma Kaya |
Samboga Kaya |
Nirmana Kaya |
||||
Saivism |
Father* |
Mother |
Son |
||||
Saktham |
Siva |
Sakthi* |
Son |
||||
Gowmaram |
Siva |
Sakthi |
Son (Murugan)* |
||||
Kanapathyam |
Siva |
Sakthi |
Son (Ganapathy)* |
||||
Vaishnavism |
Siva |
Vishnu* |
Son (Brahma) |
||||
Sowram |
Siva |
Vishnu |
Son (Ayyappan)* |
||||
|
Siva |
- |
Sasivism |
|
|||
|
Sakthi |
- |
Saktham |
|
|||
|
Murugan |
- |
Gowmaram |
|
|||
|
Ganapathy |
- |
Kanapathyam |
|
|||
|
Vishnu |
- |
Vaishnavism |
|
|||
|
Ayyappan |
- |
Sowram |
|
|||
Trinity
in Saivism:
Formless |
Semiform |
With Form |
Param |
Paraparam |
Aparam |
Trinity in
Vaishnavism:
Formless |
Semiform |
With
Form |
|
|
Vyuha |
Para |
Antaryami |
Vibhava |
|
|
Arcavatara |
Para |
- |
Transcendent |
Antaryami |
- |
Immanent |
Vyuha |
- |
Manifestation |
Vibhava |
- |
Avatar |
Arcavatara |
- |
Adorable
form |
Contribution of Dravidian Religious Heritage to India's Peace and Social Harmony
108
Questions to Sankara Mutt |
Iconography
of Hindu Religion |
Humane
love and Spirituality |
Is
Indus Valley Civilization of Dravidians or Aryans?
|
Bhakthi
from North or South? |
Racism
through Advaita Philosophy
|
Sin_Avatar_Salvation_in_Hindu_Religion
|
‘Hindu’,
‘Indian Religions’, ‘Hindu Religion’ and ‘Hinduism’ - Differences |
Worships
and Religions of India in B.C|
Arrival
of Christianity in India |
Offshoots
of St.Thomas
Dravidian
Christianity
|
Religion an instrument for social exploitation and upheaval |
Who are the Aryans?...Sanskrit.....
Are the Brahmins Leaders of Hindu Religion?
St.Thomas Dravidian Christianity - Mythical Aspect
Dr. M. Deivanayagam Ph.D.
Dr. D. Devakala Ph.D.
International Institute of
Dravidian Vedic - Agamic - Research & Training
278.Konnur High Road,
Ayanpuram, Chennai - 600 023.
Website:http://www.geocities.com/dravidian_religion