Siddha

In the Hindu philosophy of Kashmir Shaivism (Hindu tantra), siddha refers to a Siddha Guru who can by way of Shaktipat initiate disciples into Yoga. A Siddham in Tamil means "one who is accomplished" and refers to perfected masters who, according to Hindu belief, have transcended the ahamkara (ego or I-maker), have subdued their minds to be subservient to their Awareness, and have transformed their bodies (composed mainly of dense Rajotama gunas) into a different kind of Body dominated by sattva. This is usually accomplished only by persistent meditation.

According to Jain beliefs, Siddhas are liberated souls who have destroyed all the Karma bondings. Siddha do not have any kind of Body, they are soul at its purest form. They reside in Siddha-shila which is situated at the top of the Universe.

A siddha has also been defined to refer to one who has attained a Siddhi. The Siddhis as paranormal abilities are considered emergent abilities of an individual that is on the path to siddhahood, and do not define a siddha, who is established in the Pranav or Aum – the spiritual substrate of creation. The Siddhi in its pure form means "the attainment of flawless identity with Reality (Brahman); perfection of Spirit."

Siddha or Siddhar (Tamil tradition)

In Tamil Nadu, South India, a siddha (see Siddhar) refers to a being who has achieved a high degree of physical as well as spiritual perfection or Enlightenment. The ultimate demonstration of this is that siddhas allegedly attained physical immortality. Thus siddha, like siddhar or cittar (indigenisation of Sanskrit term in Tamil Nadu) refers to a person who has realised the goal of a type of sadhana and become a perfected being. In Tamil Nadu, South India, where the siddha tradition is still practiced, special individuals are recognized as and called siddhas (or siddhars or cittars) who are on the path to that assumed perfection after they have taken special secret rasayanas to perfect their bodies, in order to be able to sustain prolonged meditation along with a form of pranayama which considerably reduces the number of breaths they take.

The well known 18 siddhars are listed below. The head of all siddhars is Sri Kagapujandar

    Patanjali
    Agasthyar
    Kamalamuni
    Thirumoolar
    Kuthambai
    Korakkar
    Thanvandri
    Konganar
    Sattamuni
    Vanmeegar
    Ramadevar
    Nandeeswarar (Nandidevar)
    Edaikkadar
    Machamuni
    Karuvoorar
    Bogar
    Pambatti Siddhar
    Sundarandandar

Siddha in Jainism

Siddhas are the liberated souls. They have completely ended the cycle of birth and Death. They have reached the ultimate state of salvation. They do not have any karmas and they do not collect any new karmas. This state of true freedom is called Moksha. They are formless and have no passions and therefore are free from all temptations.

According to Jains, Siddhas have eight specific characteristics or qualities (8 guñas). Ancient Tamil Jain Classic 'Choodamani Nigandu' describes the eight characteristics in a beautiful poem, which is given below.

"கடையிலா ஞானத்தோடு காட்சி வீரியமே இன்ப
மிடையுறு நாமமின்மை விதித்த கோத்திரங்களின்மை
அடைவிலா ஆயுஇன்மை அந்தராயங்கள் இன்மை
உடையவன் யாவன் மற்று இவ்வுலகினுக்கு இறைவனாமே"

This means,the soul that has infinite knowledge (Ananta jnāna, கடையிலா ஞானம்), infinite vision or Wisdom (Ananta darshana, கடையிலா காட்சி), infinite Power (Ananta labdhi, கடையிலா வீரியம்), infinite bliss (Ananta Sukha, கடையிலா இன்பம்), without name (Akshaya sthiti, நாமமின்மை), without association to any Caste (Being vitāRaga, கோத்திரமின்மை), infinite Life span (Being Arupa, ஆயுள் இன்மை) and without any change (Aguruladhutaa, அழியா இயல்பு) is God.

Thiruvalluvar in his Tamil book Thirukural refer to the eight qualities of God, in one of his couplet poems.
Siddhashila
Siddhashila as per the Jain cosmology

In Jain cosmology, siddhashila is situated at the very top of universe. The siddhas (liberated souls who will never take birth again, who have gone above the cycle of Life and Death) go to the siddhashila after being liberated and stays there till infinity. Siddha is a level of soul above Arihant who possess kevala jñana.

In Hindu cosmology, siddhaloka is a subtle world (loka) where perfected beings (siddhas) take birth. They are endowed with the eight primary Siddhis at birth.
Siddhashrama

In Hindu theology, Siddhashrama is a secret land deep in the Himalayas, where great yogis, sadhus and sages who are siddhas live. The concept is similar to Tibetan mystical land of Shambhala.

Siddhashrama is referred in many Indian epics and Puranas including Ramayana and Mahabharata. In Valmiki's Ramayana it is said that Viswamitra had his hermitage in Siddhashrama, the erstwhile hermitage of Vishnu, when he appeared as the Vamana avatar. He takes Rama and Lakshmana to Siddhashrama to exterminate the rakshasas who are disturbing his religious sacrifices (i.28.1-20).
Siddha Sampradaya

Whenever siddha is mentioned the 84 siddhas and 9 nathas are remembered and it is this tradition of siddha which is known as the Siddha Sampradaya. Siddha is a term used for both Mahasiddhas and nathas. So a siddha may mean a siddha, a Mahasiddha or a natha. The three words siddha, Mahasiddha and natha are used interchangeably.
The eighty-four Siddhas in the Varna(na)ratnakara

A list of eighty-four siddhas is found in a manuscript (manuscript no 48/34 of the Asiatic Society of Bengal) dated Lakshmana Samvat 388 (1506) of a medieval Maithili work, the Varna(na)ratnākara written by Kaviśekharācārya Jyotirīśvara Ṭhākura, the court poet of King Harisimhadeva of Mithila (reigned 1300–1321). An interesting feature of this list is that the names of the most revered Nathas are incorporated in this list along with the Buddhist Siddhacharyas. The names of the Siddhas found in this list are:

    Minanātha
    Gorakshanātha
    Chauranginātha
    Chāmarinātha
    Tantipā
    Hālipā
    Kedāripā
    Dhongapā
    Dāripā
    Virupā
    Kapāli
    Kamāri
    Kānha
    Kanakhala
    Mekhala
    Unmana
    Kāndali
    Dhovi
    Jālandhara

    Tongi
    Mavaha
    Nāgārjuna
    Dauli
    Bhishāla
    Achiti
    Champaka
    Dhentasa
    Bhumbhari
    Bākali
    Tuji
    Charpati
    Bhāde
    Chāndana
    Kāmari
    Karavat
    Dharmapāpatanga
    Bhadra
    Pātalibhadra

    Palihiha
    Bhānu
    Mina
    Nirdaya
    Savara
    Sānti
    Bhartrihari
    Bhishana
    Bhati
    Gaganapā
    Gamāra
    Menurā
    Kumāri
    Jivana
    Aghosādhava
    Girivara
    Siyāri
    Nāgavāli
    Bibhavat

    Sāranga
    Vivikadhaja
    Magaradhaja
    Achita
    Bichita
    Nechaka
    Chātala
    Nāchana
    Bhilo
    Pāhila
    Pāsala
    Kamalakangāri
    Chipila
    Govinda
    Bhima
    Bhairava
    Bhadra
    Bhamari
    Bhurukuti

The Siddhas in the Hathayogapradipika

In the first upadeśa (chapter) of the Haṭhayogapradīpikā, a 15th century text, a list of yogis is found, who are described as the Mahasiddhas. This list has a number of names common with those found in the list of the Varna(na)ratnākara:

    Ādinātha
    Matsyendra
    Śāvara
    Ānandabhairava
    Chaurangi
    Minanātha
    Gorakṣanātha
    Virupākṣa



    Bileśaya
    Manthāna
    Bhairava
    Siddhibuddha
    Kanthaḍi
    Koraṃṭaka
    SurāNanda
    Siddhapāda

    Charpaṭi
    Kānerī
    Pūjyapāda
    Nityanātha
    Nirañjana
    Kapālī
    Bindunātha
    Kākachaṇḍīśvarā



    Allāma
    Prabhudeva
    Ghoḍā
    Chholī
    Ṭiṃṭiṇi
    Bhānukī
    Nāradeva
    Khaṇḍakāpālika

Siddha Medicine
Main article: Siddha Medicine

Siddha Medicine (" சித்த மருத்துவம் " or " தமிழ் மருத்துவம் " in Tamizh) is one of the oldest medical systems known to mankind. Contemporary Tamizh literature holds that the system of Siddha medicine originated in Southern India, in the state of Tamil Nadu, as part of the trio Indian medicines - ayurveda, siddha and unani. Reported to have surfaced more than 2500 years ago, the Siddha system of medicine is considered one of the most ancient traditional medical systems.

Source

Wikipedia:Siddha