The Unique Tradition of the Lingayats

One has certainly heard of the Bhakti Movement and its various implications on the religious dynamics of the Indian subcontinent. It was a period of progressive reformation in this field and Lingayatism was one such branch of it.

Members of the Lingayat community; Image source: Scroll

Though  Lingayatism has its roots in Hinduism, the two differ significantly in many aspects. In fact, it was this difference in ideologies that caused the Lingayats to separate themselves from the other.

Lingayatism came up during the twelfth century CE, at a time when numerous castes were coming up within the Hindu religion and casteism was on the rise. It was Basavanna, a religious reformer who came up as the leader of this new group. This tradition originated in the region of present-day Karnataka during the reign of Bijjala II, a king of the Kalyani Chalukyas.

The Bhakti movement had a significant role to play in the turn of events that was to follow. The Brahmanical Hindu traditions and rituals were a dominant force then. But the Bhakti movement was an attempt to assert the futility of these traditions and to put forth a simpler approach, an approach that was against casteism. Basavanna’s philosophy behind religious reform was highly influenced by the same. He stood against the system of caste and also against the practice of worshiping at temples.

Though a Shaivite sect, the Lingayats do not worship the typical Shiva linga. Instead, they have an Ishtalinga which is worn around their necks. It represents Shiva, one of the three chief Gods of the Hindu pantheon, and is symbolic of one’s inner conscience.

The Lingayats believe in gender equality. And they preached in the local language i.e. Kannada instead of Sanskrit which was understood only by a few. Their philosophies were recorded as Vachanas and there were several of them, usually written on palm leaves. A scholar named FG Halakatti has done a tremendous job in collecting and consolidating this huge body of work.

They have a unique concept of Dasoha. Though it can be paralleled with Dana, a concept in Hinduism, both differ significantly. A Dasohi is seen as a servant to the society who distributes essentials among the needy, unlike Dana where a Dani is seen as gifting people things from his share whenever he wishes to. In addition, a Dasohi also needs to clarify how he had earned the thing he is sharing unlike Dana where the Dani could have accumulated it through wrong means but no one questions him.

However, most of these reforms of Basavanna were short-lived. We don’t get any trace of their history from the fourteenth century to the nineteenth century and this is when a gradual shift had set in. Most of the Lingayats now go to the temples and some even discriminate against women, something they had staunchly protested against during their initial years. But as luck would have it, there’s no written record that can substantiate the reason for this U-turn, as one may call it.