Lingayatism

Lingayatism, or Veerashaivism, is a religious tradition in India. Generally considered to be an independent religion, it is classified under Hinduism by some scholars.^[1]^[2] The adherents of this faith are known as Lingayats (Template:Lang-kn). The term is derived from Lingavantha in Kannada.

Early history

Panchacharyas(Pancha-Five, Acharyas-Gurus) Generally regarded as the founders of the Veerashaivism, are studied in both historically and mythological aspects, Early evidences of existences of panchacharyas are dates back to 6th Century A.D. supported by Historical as well as Legal evidences, as one of the ruling by Allahabad High courts regarding Kashi-Jangamawadi peetha, details about donations given to the matha by kashi naresha.
Basava lived in the 12th century (1134 – 1196 CE). When he was young, he travelled from his native Bagevadi to Kalyan in India between 1157–1167 CE during the rule of King Vijjala.^[3]

It is said that Basava, though born a brahmin, rebelled against the rigid practices of the caste system then prevalent, and eventually began expounding his own philosophy with a casteless society at its core. Soon, his philosophy began attracting large numbers of people. Saints like Allama Prabhu, Akka Mahadevi and Channabasavanna also played pivotal roles in the spreading of the message and the true meaning of Lingayatism.

Basava lived and taught in the northern part of what is now Karnataka. This movement found its roots during the brief rule of the southern Kalachuri dynasty in those parts of the state.

Lingayat theology

The early followers and adherents believed in a monotheistic world where Linga or Parasiva (Shiva) is the supreme God and the self and God are one and the same.^[4] Unlike other Hindus, early Lingayats did not place importance on the Vedas but rather focused more on the Vachana sahityas. Lingayats viewed the Vedas and Agamas to be polytheistic in nature.

Central to Lingayat theology are five codes of conduct (called Panchāchāras), eight "shields" (Ashtāvarana), and the concept of six levels of attainment that the devotee can achieve (known as Shatsthala).

Panchacharas

The Panchacharas describe the five modes of conduct to be followed by the believer. The Panchacharas include:^[5]

Lingāchāra – daily worship of the personal Sivalinga
Sadāchāra – attention to vocation and duty
Sivāchāra – acknowledging Shiva as the one God and equality among members
Bhrityāchāra – humility towards all creatures
Ganāchāra – defense of the community and its tenets

Ashtavarana

The Ashtavaranas, the eightfold armour that shields the devotee from extraneous distraction and worldly attachments. The Ashtavaranas include:^[5]

Guru – obedience towards Basava as Guru,
Linga – wearing a linga,
Jangama – worship of Shiva ascetics as an incarnation of the Lord himself,
Pādodaka – sipping the water from bathing the Linga,
Prasāda – sacred offering,
Vibhuti – smearing holy ash (created using cow dung) on oneself,
Rudrāksha – wearing a string of rudraksha (holy beads) and
Mantra – reciting the mantra "Om Shri Guru Basavalingaya Namah".

Shatsthala

Shatsthala, or the concept of six phases/states/paths, is pivotal to the Lingayat philosophy. Shatsthala is a conflation of Shat and Sthala, which means 'six phases/states/levels' through which a soul advances in its ultimate quest of realisation of the Supreme. The Shatsthala comprises the Bhakta Sthala, Maheshwara Sthala, Prasadi Sthala, Pranalingi Sthala, Sharana Sthala and the Aikya Sthala. The Aikya Sthala is the culmination where the soul leaves the physical body and merges with the Supreme.

While the origins of the Shatsthala may be traced to the Agamas, particularly the Parameshwaratantra, with the evolution of Veerashaivism the evolution of the concept of shatsthala was also unavoidable. While Basava understood shatsthala as a process with various stages to be attained in succession, Channabasavanna, Basava's nephew, differed radically from his uncle and held that a soul can reach its salvation in any stage.

Concept of Shoonya

True union and identity of Shiva (Linga) and soul (anga) is life's goal, described as shoonya, or nothingness, which is not an empty void. One merges with Siva by shatsthala, a progressive six-stage path of devotion and surrender: bhakti (devotion), mahesha (selfless service), prasada (earnestly seeking Siva's grace), pranalinga (experience of all as Siva), sharana (egoless refuge in Siva) and aikya (oneness with Siva). Each phase brings the seeker closer, until soul and God are fused in a final state of perpetual Siva consciousness, as rivers merging in the ocean.

Anubhava Mantapa

The Anubhava Mantapa was an academy of mystics, saints and philosophers of the Lingayata faith in 12th century Kalyana. It was the fountainhead of all religious and philosophical thought pertaining to the Lingayata. It was presided over by the mystic Allama Prabhu and numerous Sharanas from all over Karnataka and other parts of India were participants. This institution was also the fountainhead of the Vachana literature which was used as the vector to propagate Veerashaiva religious and philosophical thought. Other giants of Veerashaiva theosophy like Akka Mahadevi, Channabasavanna and Basavanna himself were participants in the Anubhava Mantapa. The Anubhava Mantapa was originally called the Shivanubhavamantapa.

Scriptures

Lingayat customs and practices

Ishtalinga

The Lingayats make it a point to wear the Ishtalinga at all times. The Istalinga is made up of light gray slate stone coated with fine durable thick black paste of cow dung ashes mixed with some suitable oil to withstand wear and tear. Sometime it is made up of ashes mixed with clarified butter. The coating is called Kanti (covering). Though the Ishtalinga is sometimes likened to be a miniature or an image of the Sthavaralinga, it is not so. The Ishtalinga, on the contrary, is considered to be Lord Shiva himself and its worship is described as Ahangrahopasana.

Thus, for the Lingayats it is an amorphous representation of God. Lingayat thus means the wearer of this Linga as Ishta Linga. Here the word Ishta is a Sanskrit term meaning 'adored' or 'desired'. Unlike Advaitins however, Lingayats do not treat the Ishtalinga as merely a representation of God to aid in realising God but worship the Ishtalinga itself as God. Like most brahmins, Lingayats eat only vegetarian food and should not consume meat of any kind including fish. Drinking of liquor is strictly prohibited.

Lingadharane

Lingadharane is the ceremony of initiation among Lingayats. Though it can be performed at any age, it is usually performed when a child is 3–8 days old. The child receives Istalinga from the family Guru that is worshipped until age 8 –11 years. Usually between the ages of 8 and 11 years, the child receives Diksha from the Guru. From then on, the child wears the Linga at all times for the remainder of his/her life and it is worshipped as their own Istalinga. The Linga is housed in a small silver and wooden box and cloth. It is worn on the chest or around the body using a thread.

Unlike other castes of Hinduism like brahmins, which permit only males to participate in the Upanayana or Deeksha ceremonies, Lingayats allow both men and women to participate in these ceremonies in the presence of a satguru. This practice was started by Basavanna himself, who refused to undergo Upanayana, seeing its discrimination against women.

Kaayakave Kailaasa (Work is Worship)

Kaayaka means the exertion of the Kaaya (body) for the liberation of the soul imprisoned therein. Kailaasa means "abode of Shiva" – heavenly.

Kaayakave Kailaasa literally means, Kaayaka or the body which exerts itself for nishkaama Karma – Karma without any expectation is nothing but Kailaasa – the abode of Shiva – heavenly.

A vachana complementary to this which talks about keeping the Kaaya or body purely goes as

yenna kaale kamba dehave degula shirave honna kaLashavayya sthaavarakkaLivuntu jangamakkaLivilla – meaning, 'My legs are the pillars, my body the temple, and my head the golden spire. That which is immobile is transient. That which is mobile is not.'

As one theory goes, the Indian subcontinent is divided into North and South by the Vindhya mountain ranges. While the North has the Himalayan rivers flowing year-round and boasts the river Ganga, the South has the river Kaveri, which originates at Talakaveri and dries up in the summer. Hence the North is referred as Punya Bhoomi, whose residents believe that taking a dip in the Ganga with Bhakthi will wash off all your sins. But the South is referred as Karma Bhoomi, whose residents believe that their Karma which will decide their fate. The Kaayaka Tatva of Basavanna also bases itself on the Karma Siddhantha (Philosophy of Karma).

Daasoha

Among the many injunctions prescribed for the devout Lingayat, Dasoha is a very important one. Basava created this as a protest against the feudalistic ideologies present at that time. He shunned the sharp hierarchical divisions that existed and sought to remove all distinctions between the hierarchially superior master class and the subordinate, servile class. Even though he himself served as a minister under the king, Bijjala, he pointed out that he worked only as a daasohi or one who serves. Dasoha to him meant working hard for one's livelihood and for the maintenance of society. In Basava's view, a dasohi should consider himself, but a servant of society. Therefore, dasoha in principle assumed that what belongs to God must return to Him and what came from society should be given back by way of selfless service. Basava exhorted all wearers of Ishta linga to practice dasoha without reservation.

A famous vachana says: Soham yennade Daasoham yendenisayya – which means "be selfless [Daasa Aham] rather than selfish [Naanu or Aham]".

Burial

Unlike most other Hindus who cremate the dead, the Lingayat bury their dead. The dead are buried in the Dhyana mudra (meditating position) with their Ishta linga in their left hand.

Festivals

Lingayata literature

The rise of Lingayatism heralded a new and glorious chapter in the annals of Kannada literature. It saw the birth of the Vachana style of literature with the Veerashaiva philosophy at its core. The Vachanas were pithy poems of devotional nature that expounded the ideals of Veerashaivism. Saints and Sharanas like Allama Prabhu, Akka Mahadevi,Siddarama and Basava himself were at the forefront of this development during the 12^th century. Some of the best vachanas are the padas or the devaranamas of the dasas. The dasas were a group of religious singers of the Madhva faith who wandered around the kingdom singing about social injustice and true worship.^[6] Siddarama (Siddarameswar) of solapur(Sonnalagi) is considered as one of the five prophets of Lingayat (Veerashaivism) religion and a Kannada poet who was a part Basavanna's Veerashaiva revolution during the 12th century. Siddharama[2] claims to have written 68,000 vachanas out of which 1379 are in existence.His philosophy was one of service to mankind,the path of karmayoga.He shares the world view of other vachana poets in his rejection of blind conventions and caste and sex discrimination and emphasis on realization through personal experience.He too borrows Metaphors from diverse spheres of everyday life.Apart from vachanas,he has written several devotional works in tripadi

The entire corpus of these works was in Kannada and it marks one of the glorious chapters in the history of Kannada literature. As with the Dasa Sahitya of the later Haridasas, the Vachanas were also primarily targeted at the common man and sought to demystify God as large sections of society had been deprived of access to the texts. The Jangamas played a central role in the propagation of the Vachanas.

Lingayat demographics

Lingayats today are spread all over the state of Karnataka. They are Karnataka's largest community with 21% of the state population. Sizeable populations are also found in parts of Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh bordering Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Gujarat also has Lingayat population. In north Indian more prominently they are called Kashmiri Shaivites or Veerashaiva. In Karnataka, the Lingayat population is quite large and widespread.

The Lingayat diaspora can be found in countries around the world, particularly the United States, Britain and Australia. The Lingayat community wields considerable clout in the sphere of Karnataka politics. Several important and powerful leaders have been from the Lingayat community.

Lingayata

Basava was the first Lingayat. In Vachana Sahitya all sharanas refer to Basava as the originator of Ishta linga. Ishta linga is the miniaturized approximation of formless, nameless, infinite and omnipresent God. Basava invented the ishtalinga and wore it on his neck, thus becoming first Lingayata. Then he gave deeksha to Akka Nagalambike. Later on Basava gave deeksha to many people. One of them was Animisha, the guru of Allama Prabhu. This is clearly mentioned in Vachana Sahitya. In one of the vachana, Allama Prabhu says, Basava is his Guru's Guru (Parama Guru). Siddharama has written tripadi to prove that Basava is the originator of Lingayatism. Sarvagna also says Basava is the first guru of Lingayatism. Ample examples can be given from vachana sahitya to prove that Basava is Raya Purvacharya or First Acharya.

Thus Basava is not a veerashaiva. Veerashaiva was prevalent even before Basava. Veerashaivas are brave followers of Shiva and used to worship Shiva in the form of sthavaralinga and charalinga. Charalinga looks like Ishtalinga but in concept it is totally different. Sthavara linga and charalinga represent Shiva while ishtalinga represents Lingadeva (or Allah, Parabrahma, Yehova, or Supreme God).

Basava established Anubhava Mantapa to establish spiritual social and economic democracy. People from all walks of life embraced Basava's thoughts and became Lingayats. In the same way, Veerashaivas also embraced Lingayatism and became Lingayats. They still call themselves Veerashaiva lintayats. These people want to maintain a ladder-type society placing themselves high and call themselves Jangamas. Basava was the creator of Jangamas to serve the society and establish a horizontal society where no person is supreme or untouchable just by birth but by virtue.

While Hinduism converted workmanship into castes, Basava reversed the castes into workmanship again. Hinduism differentiated people based on birth while Basava or Lingayatism offered equal status to all. As a result, large numbers of different caste people took Linga-Deeksha and became Lingayata.

Lingayats and social work

The Lingayat community, under the aegis of several Mathas, has been very active in the field of social work, particularly in the field of education and medicine. Thousands of schools are run by the Lingayat Mathas where education, sometimes free and with boarding facilities, is provided to students of all sections of society irrespective of religion or caste. In addition, various Lingayat organizations run numerous schools, colleges and hospitals across the length and breadth of Karnataka. Some of these institutions also have branches in other states of India. Some of the notable Lingayat-run institutions include the JSS group of institutions, KLE Society and Siddaganga Education Society.

But sadly lingayatism, which was established to remove caste system has been converted to a prominent caste and the followers of lingayatism are overlooking the basic idea laid by Guru Basavana. Sadly, now-a-days people are just doing politics using Guru Basavana's preaching, on which Guru Basavana was against.

Famous Lingayats

Dr. Shivakumara Swamiji (Head of Siddaganga Mutt)
Basappa Danappa Jatti President of India (acting) from February 11, 1977 to July 25, 1977.Vice – President of India from 31-8-1974 to 30-8-1979;
Justice. P. Mahadevayya, Rajadharmapraveena, Diwanbahadur, the first Kannadiga Chief Justice of Mysore 1931–1934,
Justice M. Sadasivayya, Chief Justice of High Court of Karnataka
Justice. T. N. Mallappa, High Court of Karnataka
Shivraj Patil, Home minister, Government of India
S. Nijalingappa, Freedom fighter and former Chief Minister of Karnataka, He played important roles in both the Indian independence movement and the Karnataka Ekikarana movement.
Gudlappa Hallikeri, Freedom fighter and former Chairman of Legislative Council, He was a prominent leader from North Karnataka, a Gandhian who led the Indian Independence Movement.
Jagadguru Sri Sri Shivarathri Desikendra Mahaswamigalavaru, Pontiff of JSS Math, Mysore
Basavaraj Rajguru, Classical Musician
Mallikarjun Mansur, Classical Musician
G. S. Shivarudrappa, poet and critic, Rashtra Kavi.
S. R. Bommai, senior leader Janatha Dal and former CM Karnataka
Veerendra Patil, Former Chief Minister of Karnataka
P.M. Giriraju, renowned literate who has written more than 25 books on Lingayatism.
Jayadevappa Halappa Patel, Former Chief Minister of Karnataka
B. S. Yeddyurappa, Chief Minister of Karnataka
Dr. MC Modi, famous eye surgeon and Padmashri and Padmabhushan award winner
D. M. Nanjundappa, Noted economist from Karnataka, Vice-chancellor of Bangalore University and Karnataka University.
Shri Shri Jagadguru Mate Mahadevi, Basava Dharma Peetha (R), Mahamane Mahamatha, Koodala Sangama – 587115
Jagadish Shettar, Speaker, Government of Karnataka
Chandrashekar Hiremath, Captain, Gadag

Notes

^ A. K. Ramanujan, ed. (1973). Speaking of Śiva. UNESCO. Indian translation series. Penguin classics. Religion and mythology. Penguin India. p. 175. ISBN 9780140442700.
^ "Lingayat." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2010. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 09 Jul. 2010.
^ A History of Indian Philosophy, by Surendranath Dasgupta
^ M. R. Sakhare, History and Philosophy of the Lingayat Religion, Prasaranga, Karnataka University, Dharwad
^ ^a ^b A Survey of Hinduism, by Klaus K. Klostermaier
^ Indian Music By Bigamudre Chaitanya Deva

References

Vachana Sahitya Web Site Published by Government of Karnataka – DEAD LINK
Narasimhacharya, R (1988) [1988]. History of Kannada Literature. New Delhi: Penguin Books. ISBN 81-206-0303-6.
Sastri, Nilakanta K.A. (2002) [1955]. A history of South India from prehistoric times to the fall of Vijayanagar. New Delhi: Indian Branch, Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-560686-8.
Rice, Edward P (1982) [1921]. A History of Kannada literature. New Delhi: Asian Educational Services,Oxford university press.

Matha System, Sacrament System and Ethics of Veerashaivism. Reference Books

External links

[1] A. K. Ramanujan, ed. (1973). Speaking of Śiva. UNESCO. Indian translation series. Penguin classics. Religion and mythology. Penguin India. p. 175. ISBN 9780140442700.

[2] "Lingayat." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2010. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 09 Jul. 2010.

[A_History_of_Indian_Philosophy-3] A History of Indian Philosophy, by Surendranath Dasgupta

[4] M. R. Sakhare, History and Philosophy of the Lingayat Religion, Prasaranga, Karnataka University, Dharwad

[A_Survey_of_Hinduism-5] A Survey of Hinduism, by Klaus K. Klostermaier

[Indian_Music-6] Indian Music By Bigamudre Chaitanya Deva

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