Basava

While Basava rejected rituals, he encouraged icons and symbols such as the wearing of Istalinga (necklace with personal linga, symbol of Shiva), of Rudraksha seeds or beads on parts of one body, and apply Vibhuti (sacred ash on forehead) as a constant reminder of one's devotion and principles of faith. Another aid to faith, he encouraged was the six-syllable mantra, Shivaya Namah, or the shadhakshara mantra which is Om Namah Shivaya. Both declare Hindu Sruti and Smriti to be sources of valid knowledge, but they disagree on the marga (path) to liberated, righteous life. Basava's father favors the tradition of rituals, while Basava favors the path of direct, personal devotion (bhakti).

According to Velcheru Rao and Gene Roghair, the supreme mantra, is its mantra. The dress – locks of hair, ashes and rudrashaka beads – place a man beyond the cycle of birth and death. It follows the path of liberation. (...) This path offers nothing less than liberation in this lifetime." Lingayat constitutes around 17% of Karnataka's population and has dominance over 100 out of 223 constituencies. Among the total of 23 chief ministers that Karnataka had since 1952, 10 were from Lingayat community.

thumb|upright=.7|A necklace with pendant containing linga symbol of Shiva are worn by devotees of the tradition championed by Basava. [[Rudraksha beads (shown above) and Vibhuti (sacred ash on forehead) are other reminders of one's principles of faith. One difference between the two was that Sharanas welcomed anyone, whatever occupation he or she might have been born in, to convert and be reborn into the larger family of Shiva devotees and then adopt any occupation he or she wanted.

Synthesis of diverse Hindu traditions

Basava is credited with uniting diverse spiritual trends during his era. Jan Peter Schouten states that Lingayathism, the movement championed by Basava, tends towards monotheism with Shiva as the godhead, but with a strong awareness of the unity of the Ultimate Reality. Schouten calls this as a synthesis of Ramanuja's Vishishtadvaita and Shankara's Advaita traditions, naming it Shakti-Vishishtadvaita, that is monism fused with Shakti beliefs.

Jessica Frazier et al. state that Basava laid the foundations of a movement that united "Vedic with Tantric practice, and Advaitic monism with effusive Bhakti devotionalism."

Icons and symbols

thumb|The bust of Basava, unveiled in [[London in 2015, facing the UK Parliament ]]

Basava advocated the wearing of Ishtalinga, a necklace with pendant that contains a small Shiva linga. He was driven by his realization; in one of his Vachanas he says Arive Guru, which means one's own awareness is his/her teacher. Many contemporary Vachanakaras (people who have scripted Vachanas) have described him as Swayankrita Sahaja, which means "self-made".

Relations with Jains

Some historians have discussed tensions between Jain communities and emerging Śaiva, Vīraśaiva and Lingayat traditions in medieval Karnataka. Shantinath Dibbad, in a chapter on the destruction of Jaina basadis, discusses the large scale damage and reuse of Jain temples in the region during periods of religious and political change.

Later scholarship on medieval Karnataka has noted that a number of Jain temples were taken over and reused by Vīraśaiva groups, while also treating these developments within the wider context of changing royal patronage, sectarian competition and regional political shifts.

Monuments and recognition

The then President of India Abdul Kalam inaugurated Basaveshwara's statue on 28 April 2003 in the Parliament of India.
Basaveshwara is the first Kannadiga in whose honour a commemorative coin has been minted in recognition of his social reforms. The former Prime Minister of India, Dr Manmohan Singh was in Bengaluru, the capital of Karnataka to release the coins.
On 14 November 2015 The Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi inaugurated the statue of Basaveshwara along the bank of the river Thames at Lambeth in London.
Basava Dharma Peetha has constructed 108 ft (33 m) tall statue of Basava in Basavakalyana.
Vishwaguru Basaveshwara Statue is constructed in the year 2015 next to the lake in Gadag district of Karnataka. This is the tallest standing basaveshwara statue with the height of 111ft.

Synthesis of diverse Hindu traditions

Icons and symbols

Relations with Jains

Monuments and recognition

References

Further reading

External links

Social reform

Synthesis of diverse Hindu traditions

Icons and symbols

Relations with Jains

Monuments and recognition

References

Further reading

External links