Aum
Smartas treat all deities as same, and their temples include five deities (Pancopasana) or Panchadevata as personal saguna (divine with form) manifestation of the nirguna (divine without form) Absolute, the Brahman. Smartas include... moreSmartism
Aum
Smartas treat all deities as same, and their temples include five deities (Pancopasana) or Panchadevata as personal saguna (divine with form) manifestation of the nirguna (divine without form) Absolute, the Brahman. Smartas include (Ganesha, Shiva, Shakti, Vishnu, Surya, and sometimes others such as Skanda).[19] The choice of the nature of God is up to the individual worshiper since different manifestations of God are held to be equivalent. It is nonsectarian. Smarta belief includes Advaita Vedanta beliefs. Generally Smartas worship the Supreme in one of six forms: Ganesha, Siva, Sakti, Vishnu, Surya and Skanda. Because they accept all the major Hindu Gods, they are known as liberal or nonsectarian. They follow a philosophical, meditative path, emphasizing man's oneness with God through understanding.[20]
The movement is credited to Shankara (~8th century CE), who is regarded as the greatest teacher[29][30] and reformer of the Smartha.[31][30] According to Hiltebeitel, Shankara... less
