| Saiva Siddhanta Church | |
| Formation: | 1949 (In United States) |
| Type: | 501(c)(3) |
| Headquarters: | Hawaii, United States |
| Language: | English |
| Founder: | Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami |
| Leader Title: | Current head |
| Leader Name: | Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami |
| Num Staff: | Approx. 20 monks, plus volunteers |
| Website: | Śaiva Siddhanta Church |
Saiva Siddhanta Church is an organization that identifies itself with the Saivite Hindu religion. It supports the work of the late Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, a spiritual teacher initiated by Siva Yogaswami of Jaffna with the honorary title Gurudeva. The mission of the church is to preserve and promote the Saivite Hindu religion. Membership in the church extends to many countries in the world, including the United States, Canada, Mauritius, Malaysia, Singapore, India, Sri Lanka and several European nations. Members are organized into regional missions with the goal of supporting Shaivism in their families, communities, and in the global community under the leadership of Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami.
The Church was founded in 1949 by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, a Saiva Hindu Guru initiated by his guru, Siva Yogaswami of Jaffna.[1] The name of the Church is from the Tamil language and could be roughly rendered in English as "The Church of God Śiva's Revealed Truth." The Saiva Siddhanta Church was incorporated under the laws of the United States of America in the State of California on December 30, 1957, and received recognition of its US Internal Revenue tax exempt status as a temple on February 12, 1962. Among America's oldest Hindu institutions, it established its international headquarters at Kauai Aadheenam, also known as Kauai's Hindu Monastery, in Kauai, Hawaii, on February 5, 1970.[2] Kauai's Hindu Monastery has two temples, Iraivan Temple and Kadavul Temple.[3]
Saiva Siddhanta Church supports all major projects supervised by Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami, including:
Saiva Siddhanta Church belongs to a monistic branch of the school of Saiva Siddhanta. Its theology is grounded in the Vedas, Saiva Agamas and the ancient Tirumantiram, a Tamil scripture composed by Tirumular. The church's theology is based on a synthesis of devotional theism and uncompromising nondualism. It is referred to as "monistic theism", which recognizes that monism and dualism/pluralism are equally valid perspectives. God is both within us and outside of us, the Creator and the creation, immanent and transcendent. Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami explains:
The decision to create the organization as a church in U.S. law was explained thoroughly by the monks in the July 2006 edition of Hinduism Today Magazine:
In Saiva Siddhanta Church's own website, the organization is explicitly described as a church, and never as a temple.[6]
Kauai Hindu Monastery is situated in Kauai, Hawaii and is home to two temples: Kadavul Temple and Iraivan Temple.[7] The Kadavul Temple was established in 1973 by Sivaya Subramuniyaswami.[8] [9] The construction of Iraivan Temple began in 1990. It is the first all-stone, white granite temple to be built in the western hemisphere.[10] [11]
Referring to the Iraivan Temple, New York Times reporter Michelle Kayal wrote: