Page 180 - Hinduism

The Saiva Siddhanta recognizes three entities: God, the Soul or the aggregate of souls, and bondage (Pati, Pasu and Pasa). The expression Bondage denotes the aggregate of the elements which fetter the soul and hold it back from union with God. In one of its aspects it is Malam, the taint clinging to the soul. In another aspect it is Maya, the material cause of the world. The peculiarity of the Saiva Siddhanta doctrine which calls itself Suddhadvaita is its difference from the Vedanta Monism. God pervades and energizes all souls and, nevertheless, stands apart. This concept of the absolute is clear from the Tamil word for God, Kadavul, meaning that which transcends (kada) all things and is yet the heart (ul) of all things. When the absolute becomes manifest, it is as Force (Shakti) of which the universe is the product. The Dvaita system, on the other hand, insists on a radical pluralism, and at the same time relies on the complete dependence of the souls and the world on God.
One of the important Saivite sects known as Virasaiva was founded by a Brahmin named Basava, who was for some time the minister of a ruler in Kalyan. The Basava Purana outlines Basava's life. There are Basava's own writings in Kannada, describing the fundamentals of a doctrine based on rigid monotheism. Siva is regarded as the supreme, limitless and transcendent entity. Brahman is the identity of "being", "bliss" and “consciousness”, and devoid of any form of differentiation. It is
180