The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (2061 page)

 
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see
JANSENISM
.

 
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see
AIVISM
.

 
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aiva-
gama
.

Authoritative texts of
aivism
, the earliest being written between 400–800 CE. The texts deal with
aiva liturgy which involves
ny
sa
, mudr
,
mantra
, the construction of
yantras
or
ma
alas
and
visualization
(
dhy
na
), the construction of shrines and
temples
, and
festivals
. Interest in philosophy is somewhat limited and is mainly concerned with speculation on the power of speech and the
tattvas
. Initiation (
d
k
) is important in the texts. The
gamas theoretically follow a fourfold structure of
jñ
na
,
yoga
,
kriya
, and
carya padas
, though this pattern is seldom strictly adhered to.