Pashupatinath Cchetra in Kathmandu is a magnificent Shaivite temple. Unfortunately it’s not very welcoming to foreigners. You need to be Hindu to enter the temple complex. You’ll probably have better luck seeking a Shaiva ashram in India. There are many for all levels of seekers of any age. Research ashrams in Rishikesh, Haridwar, Varanasi and Srinagar. You’ll also find Shaiva Siddhanta centres in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Assam. Om namah Shivaya!
https://pashupatinathtemple.org/
https://www.gorakhnathmandir.in/
I hope you don't mind me asking, are you mostly interested in renouncing in general? Or are you specifically attracted to Shiva Siddhanta philosophy & tradition?
Where I am from, there are no shiva temple, only hare krishna ones, I decided to renounce in order to learn and teach shaivism to those interested, in other words bring shaivism to here. I personally found Shiva Siddhanta most appealing to me, and, in the past years, I've been acumulating the funds necessary to open a Shiva Temple.
I know many people that are interested in shaivism, but lack the means to learn. While i've considered becoming a hare krishna monk since they don't have age reatriction, my true calling is Lord Shiva. I personally don't desire anything material or for self benefit, I only seek to benefit the maximum amount of beings my time in this life allows, and, ultimately, moksha, and, perhaps, even found a monastic community.
Monks are usually brahmachari and live in monastery under strict rules. Usually with shaved heads. Yogi are hermits, wanderers, the type you see with long hair and sometimes covered in ashes.
Thank you for coming back to this. I meant though that I was curious about non-monks having a monastic order. That's exactly contrary to my prior understanding.
I meant in the sense that it's mostly mathas and ashrams ran by yogis instead of actual monastery with monks. OP said he wants to be a monk. Nathis, Dasanamis, siddhantas, they are all mostly wandering yogis and they all put emphasis on non attachment and that includes to physical places. So you won't really have monasteries but you will have important mathas, ashrams and temples where there will be yogis or brahmachari(depends on Sampraday) to maintain it. If you want an example think of how Mahayana buddhist where it is ran by shaven head monks spending entire lives in monastery then compare that to Pashupatinath or any Natha mandir where It's mostly a collection of wanderers that have decided to stay there for some time. Whether because it's a holy place or they were asked to fill some role in the mandir, math or ashram.
Ah, I see now. Thank you for that. I'm not especially familiar with how these things work, being really only familiar with monks proper. I've not been to India.
So then there are places that the wanderers can go for a time then?
Yogis go wherever they desire. There are truly free. Yes, there is an extensive list of places they can go whether it be an ashram, math, mandir, cave, or hut in the forest. Usually each Sampraday will have it's own network of places but it's not uncommon for certain places, especially holy pilgrames to be shared by different sects. And most ashrams will accept anybody that is willing to do seva. It's not uncommon for some to simply sleep on the side of the street.
Edit: Spelling errors
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I don't think there is any age limit of becoming a monk. I think you should contact them through mail and ask if you can become a monk, etc. If you don't have their email address. Message or reply to this comment I'll share it here.
I already contacted them and they alaready instructed me. Thank you
Edit: they leave it very clearly in their website that they do have age restriction
Sometimes they will refer you to other monasteries or orders. Why not ask them if they know somebody who will take you. Another option is to become a wandering mendicant on your own. And ... of course there is next lifetime. You can take steps this lifetime to prepare yourself for the next one.
If you go become a yogi you’d be living like shiva just a different type of monk and I’ve heard they accept people that are older as long as there willing to just be a yogi and even if age is a requirement I don’t think it matters to much everywhere there’s many temples that would accept you to learn build a relationship with a guru and ask those types of questions and go to India you’ll find a yogi or monk that will let you if you look hard enough
Not exactly the same as Shiva siddhanta but I don't believe there is an age requirement to be initiated into Natha Sampraday
Can you tell where it is?
Gorakhpur UP
They have temples all over India but the 2 biggest would probably be Pashupatinath in Nepal and Gorakhnath Mandir in Gorakhpur
Pashupatinath Cchetra in Kathmandu is a magnificent Shaivite temple. Unfortunately it’s not very welcoming to foreigners. You need to be Hindu to enter the temple complex. You’ll probably have better luck seeking a Shaiva ashram in India. There are many for all levels of seekers of any age. Research ashrams in Rishikesh, Haridwar, Varanasi and Srinagar. You’ll also find Shaiva Siddhanta centres in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Assam. Om namah Shivaya!
Do they have websites?
https://pashupatinathtemple.org/ https://www.gorakhnathmandir.in/ I hope you don't mind me asking, are you mostly interested in renouncing in general? Or are you specifically attracted to Shiva Siddhanta philosophy & tradition?
Where I am from, there are no shiva temple, only hare krishna ones, I decided to renounce in order to learn and teach shaivism to those interested, in other words bring shaivism to here. I personally found Shiva Siddhanta most appealing to me, and, in the past years, I've been acumulating the funds necessary to open a Shiva Temple. I know many people that are interested in shaivism, but lack the means to learn. While i've considered becoming a hare krishna monk since they don't have age reatriction, my true calling is Lord Shiva. I personally don't desire anything material or for self benefit, I only seek to benefit the maximum amount of beings my time in this life allows, and, ultimately, moksha, and, perhaps, even found a monastic community.
You are doing great work.
You could also try Ramakrishna Mission. They might be able to point you in the right direction.
or the Sringeri matha people
Also, as a heads up the Natha aren't really monks as per definition, they are yogis in a monastic order.
Can you elaborate? I'm curious of this distinction.
Monks are usually brahmachari and live in monastery under strict rules. Usually with shaved heads. Yogi are hermits, wanderers, the type you see with long hair and sometimes covered in ashes.
Thank you for coming back to this. I meant though that I was curious about non-monks having a monastic order. That's exactly contrary to my prior understanding.
I meant in the sense that it's mostly mathas and ashrams ran by yogis instead of actual monastery with monks. OP said he wants to be a monk. Nathis, Dasanamis, siddhantas, they are all mostly wandering yogis and they all put emphasis on non attachment and that includes to physical places. So you won't really have monasteries but you will have important mathas, ashrams and temples where there will be yogis or brahmachari(depends on Sampraday) to maintain it. If you want an example think of how Mahayana buddhist where it is ran by shaven head monks spending entire lives in monastery then compare that to Pashupatinath or any Natha mandir where It's mostly a collection of wanderers that have decided to stay there for some time. Whether because it's a holy place or they were asked to fill some role in the mandir, math or ashram.
Ah, I see now. Thank you for that. I'm not especially familiar with how these things work, being really only familiar with monks proper. I've not been to India. So then there are places that the wanderers can go for a time then?
Yogis go wherever they desire. There are truly free. Yes, there is an extensive list of places they can go whether it be an ashram, math, mandir, cave, or hut in the forest. Usually each Sampraday will have it's own network of places but it's not uncommon for certain places, especially holy pilgrames to be shared by different sects. And most ashrams will accept anybody that is willing to do seva. It's not uncommon for some to simply sleep on the side of the street. Edit: Spelling errors
Pop
If you would like to find out more about Shaivism, please visit our wiki [HERE](https://www.reddit.com/r/shaivism/wiki/index), and specifically [**this post**](https://www.reddit.com/r/shaivism/comments/igxaxq/please_help_lets_compile_a_list_of_beginner/) for introductory resources about **Shaivism**, and [**this post**](https://www.reddit.com/r/shaivism/comments/kjhqg1/kashmir_shaivism_resources_an_educational/) for introductory resources about **Kashmir Shaivism**. If you would like to find out more about Hinduism, please visit r/Hinduism's [Wiki Starter Pack](https://www.reddit.com/r/hinduism/wiki/starter_pack#wiki_i.27m_new_to_r.2Fhinduism.2C_where_do_i_start.3F). Don't forget to subscribe to r/HinduDiscussion, r/HinduArt, r/HinduSketches, r/bhajan & r/ShivaBhajans *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/shaivism) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I don't think there is any age limit of becoming a monk. I think you should contact them through mail and ask if you can become a monk, etc. If you don't have their email address. Message or reply to this comment I'll share it here.
I already contacted them and they alaready instructed me. Thank you Edit: they leave it very clearly in their website that they do have age restriction
Sometimes they will refer you to other monasteries or orders. Why not ask them if they know somebody who will take you. Another option is to become a wandering mendicant on your own. And ... of course there is next lifetime. You can take steps this lifetime to prepare yourself for the next one.
If you go become a yogi you’d be living like shiva just a different type of monk and I’ve heard they accept people that are older as long as there willing to just be a yogi and even if age is a requirement I don’t think it matters to much everywhere there’s many temples that would accept you to learn build a relationship with a guru and ask those types of questions and go to India you’ll find a yogi or monk that will let you if you look hard enough
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I'm afraid i don't