By: Subham Baruah
The writer has a Masters degree on Ancient India and is a teacher
Since time immemorial, two parallel streams of spiritual knowledge are flowing in India in a non-stop form. The name of the first stream is Shrutimarg and the name of the second stream is Agammarg. The additional name of Shruti is Nigam or Veda. Agama itself is called Tantra by means of distinction. Barring the Buddhist Agamas, almost all the Agamas, being hymnical, represent the Vedas only and are the sub-brihan forms of the Vedas.
In Sanskrit literature the word 'Agama' has been used in a variety of senses, but in spite of apparent contradictions they are almost uniform. The word 'Agama' is derived from the root 'Gam' with the prefix 'a', meaning 'Agama, which carries meaning from all sides. Similarly, since 'Nigam' is also derived from the root 'Gam' with the prefix 'ni', both 'nishsheshena artha gamayati iti nigamah' mean the complete expression of a knowledge. The verb 'Gam' is movement as well as knowledge. The prefix 'aa' means completeness. Thus Agama means perfect knowledge, holy knowledge, spontaneous knowledge, pure knowledge, undisturbed knowledge, knowledge more secret than the secrets, knowledge of Shiva, knowledge of divine scriptures, knowledge of the form of understanding and principles, etc. Thus 'Agama' is the scripture by which everything is known.
Sri Vachaspati Mishra has stated in his Tattvavaishardi that Agama is the process of explaining how man attains liberation even while achieving happiness in this world. Defining the word Agama in the study of the worshippers, it is said that Agama is the knowledge of the fourfold meanings of Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha.
Agama also means 'supreme knowledge'. The knowledge by which one knows one's own nature is also called Agama. Swaroop means indifference from Paramesh Swaroop. Arthipratyarthi means gracious feeling in both the seer and the speaker. All scripture is verbal, because there is no knowledge in the world that is not verbal. Yes it is certain that not all experiential knowledge is expressed in word form. The implication is that there is no utterer and no counter-destroyer of this perceived knowledge.
Thus Agama is the knowledge that leads to self-realisation. Agama believes that all visible objects in the world and their forms are one. The smallest of it affects the largest part, because they are composed of a mysterious formula. The eternal being of the world is never separated from it; this is the root of Tantric philosophy. This also implies that the undifferentiated knowledge of the soul with the cosmic entity is the Agamaic or Tantric knowledge. The word Agama has been used in its ideological journey through various stages, sometimes in the sense of Veda, sometimes Shastra, sometimes in the sense of the authentic element of the word, as is clear from the use of this word in various scriptures.
Tantragamiya literature is very rich and vast in number. How many Tantric sects emerged and how many disappeared in the later period, it is hard to say. There are differences in the processes of worship and differences in rituals due to the differences in worshippers. This is usually the main reason for the difference. Shaiva, Shakta, Vaishnava, Ganapati, Skanda and Solar- these are predominantly recognised. There are also many inferior differences among these sects. Appayadikshita in 'Shivarkamanidipika' has mentioned two divisions of Shaivagama - vedic and non-vedic. Vedic Tantra for vedic authorities and non-Vedic Tantra.
Vaishnavagam has an important place in the history of tantric philosophy and practice. In this Agama, only Lord Vishnu (powerful) has been depicted as supremely worshipable, venerable, revered, hymnable, worthy of worship and taking refuge, hence this Agama is famous as Vaishnavagam.
According to Vaishnavagam, the omnipresent Supreme Soul is Lord Vishnu. He is the reader of all the names of Brahmavachak. Just as his divine omnipresence is in the formless form, the world is pervaded by the power of this Supreme Lord. The creation and destruction of the world take place only because of his passion and nimesh and he is the one who maintains the world. He is also Nirguna and is also different from both Saguna and Nirguna Saguna. In this way, those who are nirguna from the point of view of thought, they become saguna from the point of view of emotion. Thus accruing to the supreme Vishnu, Narayana or Vasudeva the scriptures are designated by the term Vaishnavagama.
The major branches of Vaishnavagama are Pancharatra Agama and Vaikhanasa Agama.
The seeking devotees who follow the Pancharatra Agama are called Satvata, Bhagavata, Ekantin, Aikantin and Panchakalajna. The literature of the Pancharatra Agama is very rich. Obviously, it is also possible to distinguish between those who will prosper. Scholars have mentioned the number of Pancharatra texts as 219 in the Upodghata of Lakshmi Tantra. According to the Ishwara Samhita and the Parameshwara Samhita, there are four divisions of this Agama: Agama Siddhanta, Mantra Siddhanta, Tantra Siddhanta and Tantra Siddhanta. The word Pancharatra has been interpreted in many ways. The word 'Pancharatra' is made from the combination of two words - 'Panch' and 'Ratra'. The word 'Ratri' is derived from the word 'Ra' with the Trippy suffix, "which means absence of day or is considered to be lack of light. The word 'Rat' in the figurative sense of joy.
In the Ahirbudhnya Samhita, mentioning the five forms of the liberating God, Pancharatra is described as the liberating method. These five forms of God are Para, Vyuha, Vibhava, Antaryami and Archa respectively. The word used in the Narayana Parva of the Mahabharata also establishes the relationship of Narayana with the five sacrifices and the five nights.
Sri Vedanta Desika, based on various Agama and other texts, has explained the nature of the term Pancharatra in conclusion form and said that Pancharatra is the scripture that preaches devotion to Sri Vishnu with exclusive feeling. 'Shadvidhasharanagati' is the achievement of this philosophy. It has the special prestige of twelve Alwar saints and devotees.
Vaikhanasa Agama is Vaikhanasa formula-based. All the rituals and religious rituals and household rituals of Vaikhanasa Vaishnavas are prescribed on the basis of Vaikhanasa sutras and scriptures. It worships Lakshmivishishta Narayana. That is why their opinion is called Lakshmivishishtadvaita.
Vaikhanasa Agama has its own characteristic that it is the first link connecting the chain of Agama and Nigam and it has a very close relationship with the third Vanaprastha Ashram under the Vedic Varnashrama system. The origin of the word Vaikhanas is also believed to be from the root 'Khan', which means to dig deeply, that is, the name of the Maharishi who introspected for the esoteric revelation has been considered as Vikhanas. The name of Vikhanas is taken with great reverence in the Gopigeet of Shrimad Bhagwat Purana. Here the word Vikhnas means Brahma or a sage. "According to the Anandasamhita, the sage Vikhanas, who was Brahma, composed the Vaikhanasa Sutras. This Vaikhanasasutra was according to a branch of the Yajurveda and it paved the way for the worship of Vishnu.
A large part of this Agam literature remains unpublished. Whatever is published from home or abroad cannot be considered sufficient. It is a living sect. All their activities are done on the basis of scriptures. At present, archa is performed at the Balaji Temple in Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh according to the Vaikhanasa ritual and the worship method of the Pancharatra tradition is prevalent in temples like Srirangam in the South. The Vaishnavagama tradition accepts the elements of God, beings and nature and accepts the principle of devotional worship of the divine auspicious image of Lord Vishnu.
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