Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism

163 Saögam

holder and forest dweller. Usually the

formal entry into samnyäsa is preceded

by a period of instruction in the partic-

ular customs of a sa™pradäya(sect) and

solemnly confirmed through an initia-

tion ceremony (dïk•ä) by the GURU. This

includes stripping and symbolic self-

cremation, the acceptance of a new

name and the transmission of a MANTRA

(3), through which the initiate becomes

a member in the line of succession (guru

paraƒparä). Samnyäsa, while freeing

the initiate from all normal religious

and social obligations, is strictly

regulated by the rules of the yatidharma

(seeYATI).

samnyäsi

(fem. samnyäsinï, ‘renouncer’)

Someone who has taken up SAMNYÄSA.

Normally acceptance by a GURUfrom

an acknowledged order is a prerequisite

for becoming a samnyäsi. However,

there are cases of self-initiation, so-

called svatantra samnyäsis. The number

of samnyäsis and samnyäsinïs in India is

fairly large: estimates range from 7 to

15 million. There are associations of

samnyäsis, such as the Akhila Bhäratïya

Sädhu Samäj, and some Hindu orders

have also begun to accept non-Indians.

saƒpradäya (‘tradition’)

Usage, denomination, sect.

saƒsära

The transient world, the cycle of birth

and rebirth.

sa™skära (‘sacrament’)

A rite of passage, through which a

Hindu of the three higher VARŒAS

becomes a full member of the communi-

ty. While in former times a great num-

ber of sa™skäras were performed, today

there are mainly four that are important

in the life of a Hindu: birth

(jäta-karma), initiation (upanayana,

investiture with the sacred thread), mar-

riage (vivaha), and last rites (ÿraddhaor

antye•fli). A Hindu who wilfully neglects

the sa™skäras is no longer a member of

the community.

samudra manthana

See CHURNING OF THE OCEAN.

samvat

A Hindu era, beginning in 57 BCE, a

widely used chronological system in

modern India.

samyama

In PATAÑJALIYOGA, the triad of dhär-

aæa, dhyänaand samädhi.

sanätana dharma (‘eternal law’)

A self-designation of ‘Hinduism’ by

Hindus, implying either that the DHARMA

is eternal or that it has been promulgat-

ed by an eternal lawgiver. Many Hindus

derive from this explanation the univer-

sal validity of Hindu dharma for the

whole of humankind and for all of his-

tory. ‘Sanätanists’ are those who rigidly

adhere to traditional law.

Sanat-kumära

The most prominent of the four mind-

born sons of BRAHMÄ. (See also

KUMÄRAS.)

Ÿäæõilya (c. 100 CE)

The author of the Chäæõogya Upani-

•ad, of a law book, and of a Bhakti-

sütra.

Saögam (‘confluence’) (1)

The place near Präyäga (Allähabad)

where the YAMUNÄ flows into the

GA¢GÄ, merging with the (invisible)

SARASVATÏ.

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