holistic health facility. The center teaches nontra-
ditional methods of healing, including biofeed-
back, MEDITATION, yoga, fasting, nutrition, and
massage.
Kriyananda instructs students in Yogananda’s
KRIYA YOGA path of supreme bliss (samadhi); he
teaches the oneness of God and a non-dual VEN-
DANTIC cosmology. He has written several books
about kriya yoga, astrology, and meditation.
The temple publishes a periodical, The Flame
of Kriya, and maintains a Web site.
Further reading: Goswami Kriyananda, The Bhagavad-
Gita: The Song of God (Chicago: Temple of Kriya Yoga,
n.d.); ———, Pathway to God-Consciousness (Chicago:
Temple of Kriya Yoga, 1970); ———, Yoga, Text for
Teachers and Advanced Students (Chicago: Temple of
Kriya Yoga, 1976).
Tevaram
The Tevaram is the collected hymns of the three
most prominent NAYANMARS or Tamil SHAIVITE
saints, APPAR, Jnanasambanthar (also known as
SAMBANTHAR or Tirujnanasambanthar), and SUN-
DARAR (Suntharamurtti), whose lives spanned
the sixth through eighth centuries C.E. These
hymns, in the Tamil language, are considered
by Tamil Shaivites to be equal in sanctity to
the SANSKRIT VEDAS as scripture and MANTRA;
in a sense, the Tevaram is a Veda. The text is
memorized and sung by a hereditary community
called Otuvars during daily temple rituals and
ceremonials.
The hymns of the Tevaram celebrate SHIVA
with passionate devotion, dwelling on the many
tales of Shiva; his wives, SAT I and PARVATI; and his
two sons, GANESHA and KARTTIKEYA. They lovingly
describe the deity’s physical attributes and recount
his visitations to famous devotees at the sites of
many important Shaivite shrines in Tamil Nadu.
Further reading: Indira Viswanathan Peterson, Poems
to Siva: The Hymns of the Tamil Saints (Princeton, N.J.:
Princeton University Press, 1989); R. Vijayalakshmy, An
Introduction to Religion and Philosophy—Tevaram and
Tivviyappirapantam (Chennai: International Institute of
Tamil Studies, 2001); Kamil V. Zvelebil, Tamil Literature
(Leiden: Brill, 1975).Thailand
Contemporary Thailand is a predominantly Ther-
avada Buddhist country, where Hinduism, ani-
mism, Islam, and Christianity are also practiced.
The Hindu minority constitutes only about 1
percent of the population. Nevertheless, the his-
toric influence of Hinduism is still apparent. The
king of Thailand is always referred to as RAMA,
the name of the title character of the Ramakien
(the local version of the SANSKRIT RAMAYANA), and
he is considered an AVATA R of VISHNU. Though
the Thai monarchies date to the formation of the
kingdom of Sukothai, the first king to take the
title of Rama was Phraphutthayotfa Chulalok,
who was named Rama I during the 18th century.
The most famous Thai king was Rama V, also
known as King Chulalongkorn, who defended
Thailand’s independence from European coloniz-
ers and introduced democracy. The West knows
of him primarily as the child prince of King Mon-
gkut (Rama IV) in the book Anna and the King
of Siam. The current king, Adulyadej the Great,
who rose to power in 1946, is called Rama IX.
The Ramakien is a central part of Thai cul-
ture. The epic is illustrated in the artwork of
many temples and is often performed in dance
and puppet plays. The best known image is a
massive fresco painted on the wall of the Royal
Temple (Temple of the Jade Buddha). Other
Hindu imagery, such as YAKSHAS, who act as
guardians of the doors, can be found within many
Buddhist temples.
Monuments to the Hindu gods SHIVA and
Vishnu are found in Thai Buddhist temples. The
Royal Temple has a small group of BRAHMINS to
conduct royal rituals, as Buddhist monks cannot
preside over these rites. Thai Buddhism sharesThailand 443 J