Lingayatism

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Saints
Part of a series on Lingayatism

Basavanna · Allama · Akka Mahadevi
Channabasavanna · Panchacharyas
Beliefs & practices
Ashtavarana · Shatsthala
Panchachara · Vegetarianism
Ishtalinga · Kayaka
Daasoha
Scriptures
Karana Hasuge · Mantra Gopya
Shunyasampadane · Vachanas
Shaivaite Agamas
Lingayat Pilgrim Centers
Kudalasangama · Basava Kalyana
Ingaleshwara · Shrishaila · Ulavi
Yedeyur · Basavana Bagewadi · Sholapur
Related topics
Shaivism · Sharanas · Linga
Anubhava Mantapa · Leaders
Glossary of terms · Caste system
History · Deities

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Lingayatism or Veerashaivism is a name given to social reformation to deprive social classes of prejudices and superstitions . The adherents of this social spiritual formation much above than a meagre religion are known as Lingayats or Veerashaivas. The term is derived from Lingavantha in Kannada. There is still a debate to include this as a religion or not as it represents a whole new social reformation attributed to Basavanna and others in the 12th century.Since it originated in India and the literary works had mentions of Sanathana Dharma (or the Hindu) it is popularly considered a sect of Hinduism.

Basavanna(1134 - 1196 AD) of the 12th century. It is said that Basavanna, though born a Brahmin rebelled against the rigid practices of the caste system, attracted by veerashaivism, accepted veerashaiva faith from his guru Jatavedamuni of Sarangamath. He is largely responsible for spread of veerashaivism that is founded by Renukadi Panchacharyas Rambhapuri peetha-Karnataka, who gave linga diksha to Adi Shankara.

Basavanna lived and taught in the northern part of what is now Karnataka State. This movement found its roots during the brief rule of the southern Kalachuri dynasty in those parts of the state. Some believers believe that Basavanna is an incarnation of Nandi, Shiva's greatest devotee.

However, some scholars maintain that Basavanna only brought about a renaissance in an already existing sect. They attribute the founding of the sect to the Panchacharyas. The Panchacharyas or the 'Five Prophets' consisted of Sri Revanaradhya or Revanasiddha, Marularadhya or Marulasidhdha, Ekoramaradhaya or Ekorama, Panditaradhya and Vishwaradhya. This theory however, does not have many takers nor is not supported by historic evidence. Nonetheless, Basavanna is widely held as having founded this sect.

[edit] Lingayat Theosophy

Main articles: Panchachara, Ashtavarana, and Shatsthala

Lingayats believe in a monotheistic world where Shiva the supreme God and self are one and the same. This form of monotheism is called Shakti Vishishtadvaita. However, unlike other Hindus, Lingayats reject the Vedas but rather focus more on the Hindu Agamas, specifically, the Shaivite Agamas. Some Lingayats view the Vedas to be polytheistic in nature while the Agamas are held as being strictly monotheistic and devotional in nature.

Veera Shaivism's means of attainment depends on the concepts of Panchāchāra (five codes of conduct) and ashtāvarana (eight shields) and Shatsthala which are central to Lingayat theosophy.

The Panchacharas describe the five modes of conduct to be followed by the believer. The Ashtavaranas shield the devotee from extraneous distraction and worldly attachments. The Shatsthala refers to the different levels of attainment that the devotee can achieve. to protect the body as the abode of the Lord.

[edit] Panchacharas

Panchachara or the five modes of conduct of:

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

[edit] Ashtavarana

Ashtavarana or the 'eight protections' include: Guru, Linga, Jangama (wandering monk), Pādodaka (water from bathing the Linga or guru's feet), Prasāda (sacred offering), Vibhuti (holy ash created using cow dung), Rudrāksha (holy beads) and Mantra (Namah Sivaya).

[edit] 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 concept of Shatsthala was also unavoidable. While Basavanna understood Shatsthala as a process with various stages to be attained in succession, the credit of refuting this and redefining Shatsthala goes to Channabasavanna, Basavanna's nephew. Channabasavanna differed radically from his uncle and held that a soul can reach its salvation in any stage.

[edit] Concept of God

Lingayats believe in a monotheistic world where Shiva is the supreme God and the self and Shiva are one and the same. This form of monotheism is called Shakti Vishishtadvaita. The concept of God in Veerashaivism is very interesting and its synthesis is even more fascinating. The Istalinga worn by the Veerashaivas on their body is technically a miniature of the Sthavaralinga worshipped in the temples. The Sthavaralinga is also known as Shivalinga and it is considered to be an amorphous representation of Shiva.

[edit] Concept of Shoonya

True union and identity of Siva (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.

[edit] Anubhava Mantapa

The Anubhava Mantapa was an academy of mystics, saints and philosophers of the Veerashaiva faith in the 12th century Kalyana. It was the fountainhead of all religious and philosophical thought pertaining to the Veerashaivas. 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.

[edit] Saguna and Nirguna

Saguna is one who has Guna or characteristic manifestations.This way leads to Saguna Upasane.This is accomplished by engaging our senses like eyes to watch Abhisheka ,ears to hear Sthotra and Mantra,and tongue to chant etc .This means that involving our characteristics for worship.

Nirguna means one who has gone past all attributes.When a person follows the Ashtavarana for the body and Shatsthala for the mind (these gradually converts a person from Saguna to Nirguna) will lead self to rise and reach nirguna state.This way leads to Nirguna Upasane.

[edit] Scriptures

[edit] Lingayat customs and practices

[edit] 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. Lingayats do not partake non-vegetarian food like most brahmins.

[edit] 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 permitting upanayana to only males this ceremony or deeksha can be taken by both men and women in presence of a satguru. This practice was started by revolutionary Basavanna himself who refused to undergo upanayana seeing the discrimination of women.

[edit] Kaayakave Kailaasa

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 complimentary to this which talks about keeping the Kaaya or body purely goes as

yenna kaale kamba dehave degula shirave honna kaLashavayya sthaavakkaLivuntu jangamakkaLivilla

As one theory goes Indian subcontinent can be divided as North and South divided by the Vindhya mountain ranges. While the North is blessed with the Himalayan rivers flowing all through the year and boasts of Ganga -called as sacred river. The South has river Kaveri which originates at Talakaveri dries up in summer.

Hence the North is referred as Punya Bhoomi residents of which believe in taking a dip in Ganga with Bhakthi will wash off all your sins. But South is referred as Karma Bhoomi who believe in their Karma which will decide the fate.

The Kaayaka Tatva of Basavanna also bases itself into Karma Siddhantha -Philosophy of Karma.

[edit] Daasoha

This is a unparalleled service done on the mankind. It means a free offering to those who are in need providing a sense of satisfaction of Daana and Dharma for the giver and a sense of fulfillment for the receiver. Some forms of it are

Anna Daasoha
Gnaana Daasoha
Bhakti Daasoha

and anything done as selfless service.

Its effect is even prevalent today. Any temple of Dakshina Kannada, Uttara Kannada, Male Mahadeshwara hills, Biligiri hills will have Anna Daasoha. How it is arranged is even more interesting. Local daanis will help in providing cereals, grams , rice(Anna) and vegetables. The dishes are prepared by locals youths without any caste differences and served in a big hall where everyone sits on floor in pankthi - also called sahapankthi bhojana - in order and feel the essence of Annapoorneshwari -Goddess of food - without any differences.

This sahapankthi Bhojana was a practice among Brahmins who used to arrange Mristanna -tasty and energetic food only for themselves - for every religious ceremony and would take the gifts having filled there bellies - has been ridiculed humorously by various Kannada poets.

Not only in temples but in schools also Daasoha has taken shape of mid-day meals in Karnataka - the first state to start this scheme. A famous vachana says

Soham yennade Daasoham yendenisayya - which means be selfless (Daasa Aham) rather than selfish (Naanu or Aham).
Dayavillada Dharma yaavudayya Dayave Dharmada moolavayya - signifies that Kindness is the origin of Dharma.

Gnaana Daasoha means offering of Knowledge or Gnaana. Siddaganga Mutt of Tumkur speaheaded by His Highness Sri Sri Sree Sree Shivakumara Swamiji- in his late nineties- stands as greatest example of such ideology. It is imparting education to all those thousands of underprivileged children under one roof. It even has a vedic school in it for imparting Sanskrit education and Indian culture. Many other Mutts or centres of charity at unknown corners of the world follow these ideals for welfare of human kind. Even ISKCON in Bangalore has started to practice Akshara and Anna Daasoha for the needy.

This form of selflessness and kindness can only be attributed to 12th century reform.

[edit] Festivals

Main article: Basava Jayanthi

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[edit] 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.

[edit] Veerashaiva literature

Main article: Shree Siddhaantha Shikhamani

Main article: Vachanas

Siddhanta Sikhamani is the Dharma grantha of Veerashaivas/Lingayats,is in samskrit langauage. The preachings of the siddhanta sikhamani were expanded and written in common man language Kannada in 12th century by Basava and other renowned sharanas .

The rise of Veerashaivism 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 and Basavanna himself were at the forefront of this development. 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.

[edit] Veerashaiva Mathas and Mathadipathis

Historically there are 5 mathas known as pancha peethas located at

Balehonnuru-It is in Chikkamagaluru District of Karnataka. Jagadguru Shree Renukacharya (profounded Veerashaiva philosophy with other four Acharyaas Marularadhya or Marulasiddha,Ekoramaradhya or Ekorama,Panditaradhya and Vishvaradhya) preached Agasthya Maharshi about all Veerashaiva philosophies. Preachings of Shree jagadguru Renukacharya was collected in a book called Shree Siddhaantha Shikhamani by Shree Shivayogi Shivacharya.

Ujjaini - Kudligi, Bellary district, Karnataka state.
Kedar - Uttaranchal
Shreeshaila - Andhra Pradesh.
Kashi- Uttar pradesh.

founded by

Revanaradhya or Revanasiddha,Marularadhya or Marulasiddha,Ekoramaradhya or Ekorama,Panditaradhya and Vishvaradhya respectively.

Please help improve this article or section by expanding it.
Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion.
This article has been tagged since Febraury 2007.

[edit] Lingayat demographics

Lingayats today are spread all over the state of Karnataka. Sizeable populations are also found in parts of Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh bordering Karnataka. In Karnataka, the Lingayat population is quite large and widespread. Lingayats are spread in several villages such as Sogathurai, Katteri etc in the Nilgiri District of Tamil Nadu.They constitute roughly 15-20% of the total population of Karnataka.

Other than this, 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.

[edit] 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 organisations 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 and the K.L.E.

[edit] Famous Lingayats

M.P.Prakash (Present Home,Law,Parliamentary afairs Minister of Karnataka)
Kashi Jagadguru Dr. Chandrashekhara Shivacharya Swamiji (The great Samskrit scholar)
B D Jatti (Former Vice President of India and former CM of Karnataka)
S.Nijalingappa (Former CM of Karnataka)
Basavaraj Rajguru (One of the best Classical Music Masters of Karnataka)
Mallikarjun Mansur (Great Classical Musician)
G. S. Shivarudrappa, poet and critic, Rashtra Kavi.
B S Yediyurappa (Present Dy. CM of Karnataka)
Baba Kalyani (Promoter of Bharat Forge)
Sree Sree Shivakumara Swamiji (President, Siddaganga Mutt)
Sree Shivarathri Deshikendra Swamiji (Suttur Mutt)
Late Veerendra Patil (former Chief minister, Karnataka and Union Minister, Govt of India)
Shivaraj Patil (Cabinet minister, Govt of India, Former Speaker, Loksabha)
Shivaraj V Patil (Retired Judge of Supreme Court of India)
Justice V S Malimath (Former Chief Justice of Karnataka and Kerala)
Justice Bannurmath (Judge, Karnataka High Court)
Dr. M ChidanandaMurthy (Famous historian)
Late Dr D M Nanjundappa (Noted economist, Chairman of Committee for Redressal of Regional imbalances, Former Chairman Karnataka Planning Commission )
S R Bommai (senior leader Janatha Dal and former CM Karnataka)
Veteran Kannada Actors M P Shankar,Doddanna, Lohitashva, Late Vajramuni.
Kannada actor-directors Prem.
Amol Shetye (Technocrat)
Late justice K B Navadgi(former Justice Karnataka High Court)
Kirupanandha Variyar Swamigal (Tamil saint)
Late jayadevi Taayi Ligade (first lady chief of akhila Bharatha Kannada saahitya sammelana)
Sripathi Panditaradhyula Balasubrahmanyam (Famous Singer of India)
Vijaya Sankeshwara (Editor of popular Vijaya Karnataka and Vijay Times)
Gundappa Vishwanath , Sunil Gavaskar (Cricketers of yesteryears)

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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