(“tradition”) The transmitted body of teachings that
separates one religious organization from another, literally "that which
is passed down." Belonging to a certain sampraday is predicated on
receiving lessons from one's spiritual preceptor (guru), thereby becoming a
member of a spiritual lineage, and carrying on the sampraday's existence by
passing on the teachings to students.
Although the word "sect" is often used to refer to
the sampraday, it loses its sense of distinctiveness within certain theistic
traditions.
Even though they worship the same god and have a same
cultural history, Tamil Shaiva brahmins may be divided into separate sampradays
due to their differing spiritual lineages.
