different name—in this case, sagara
(“ocean”). Upon initiation, new mem-
bers are given this name as a surname to
their new asceticnames, thus allowing
for immediate group identification.
Aside from their individual identity,
these ten “named” divisions are divided
into four larger organizational groups.
Each group has its headquarters in
one of the four monastic centers
(maths) supposedly established by
Shankaracharya, as well as other partic-
ular religious associations. The Sagara
Dashanamis belong to the Anandawara
group, which is affiliated with the Jyotir
math in the Himalayan town of
Joshimath.
Saguna
(“with qualities”) Anything having dis-
tinguishing qualities. In the context of
ideas about divinity it refers to particu-
lar deitieswith particular attributes. In
the religious traditions based on the
ideas of the Upanishads, the speculative
texts that are the final texts in the Vedas,
any manifestation of a deity with quali-
ties is seen as ultimately inferior to the
unqualified (nirguna) Brahman. This
assumption is adamantly opposed by
certain theistic traditions, such as the
Gaudiya Vaishnavareligious community,
which insists that the highest deity, in
this case Krishna, has a particular form
(and thus certain qualities).
Sahadeva
Fifth of the five Pandavabrothers who
are the protagonists in the great Hindu
epic, the Mahabharata. Sahadeva’s
mother is Madri, who is the junior wife
of King Pandu. None of the Pandava
brothers are actually Pandu’s sons,
since he has been cursed to die the
moment he holds his wife in an
amorous embrace. Madri conceives her
sons magically, using a mantragiven to
her co-wife, Kunti, by the sage
Durvasas. The mantra gives the woman
who recites it the power to call down
any of the gods and to have by him a son
equal in power to the god. With Pandu’s
blessing Kunti teaches the mantra to
Madri, who meditates on the Ashvins,
the divine twins who are the physicians
of the gods, and thus bears the twins
Nakulaand Sahadeva. As the sons of the
physicians of the gods, both are skilled
healers of animals and human beings.
Although they are among the five
Pandava brothers, they are less impor-
tant to the Mahabharatathan their
three elder siblings.Sahajiya
Religious community originating in
medieval Bengal. The Sahajiyas synthe-
size devotional practices to the god
Vishnuand the ritual practices of the
secret tradition known as tantra, partic-
ularly the extreme practices associated
with the “left-hand” (vamachara) tradi-
tion of tantra. The name sahajiyacomes
from the word sahaja (“natural” or
“spontaneous”), indicating the group’s
belief that one’s natural passions, quali-
ties, and tendencies should not be sup-
pressed but should be channeled to help
one gain final liberation of the soul
(moksha). Over this foundation of
tantric ritual practice was added the
devotion to the god Krishna and his
consort Radha, a devotional thrust
strongly influenced by the Gaudiya
Vaishnavareligious community, founded
by the Bengali saint Chaitanya. For fur-
ther information see Shashibhushan B.
Dasgupta, Obscure Religious Cults, 1962;
and Edward C. Dimock Jr., The Place of
the Hidden Moon, 1989.Sahasradalapadma
In many schools of yoga, and in the reli-
gious tradition known as tantra, one of
the sites in the subtle body(an alternate
physiological system believed to exist on
a different plane than gross matter but
with certain correspondences to the
material body). The subtle body consists
of a set of six psychic centers (chakras),
which are visualized as six multipetaled
lotus flowers running roughly along theSaguna