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Whereas Vaishnuism is devotional, constituting the way of Bhakti, and metaphysically dualistic or at least a dualism in monism; Shaivism is primarily yogic. Certainly there are Shaivite sects, primarily in the South of India, which had and have a dualistic devotional approach, but for the most part, and especially in the North (e.g. Kashmir) Shiva (or Ishwara, or Mahadeva ("Great God")) is identified with the monistic Absolute Reality, and the goal of the yogi is to return to Shiva; to identify his or her finite consciousness with the infinite Shiva consciousness. Thus Shiva is sometimes referred to as "the Lord of the Yogis". A prominent Shaivite movement in the West is the "Siddha Yoga" sect founded by Swami Muktananda.
