Ayyavazhi

Ayyavazhi (Tamil: "path of the father") is a monistic religion that originated in South India in the mid-19th century. It is a Tamil Hindu sect. Though Ayyavazhi has not received official recognition, it has come to be a distinctive religious phenomenon, making its presence felt in the southern parts of Thiruvitankur and Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli, and Tuticorin districts. It is one of the fastest growing religions of South India. Christian missionary reports of the mid-19th century took note of the religion's extraordinary growth rate. Ayyavazhi focuses on Ayya Vaikundar as the Manu avatar of Trimurthi.

Scriptures and Holy places

The holy books of Ayyavazhi, and the source of the religion's mythology, is the Akilattirattu Ammanai and Arul Nool. There are five sacred places for the devotees of Ayyavazhi, called "Panchappathis", as well as other, lesser Pathis.The Swamithoppepathi is the head quarters of the Ayyavazhi Religion.

Symbol

The symbol of the Ayyavazhi religion is a lotus carrying a flame. The lotus represents the 1,008-petalled Sahasrara (in Tamil, Ladam ) and the flame represents the Aanma Jyothi or atman, sometimes translated as "soul" or "self".

Beliefs

Ayyavazhi condemns the caste system advocated by many followers of Hinduism, and rejects the use of murti in worship, but it retains belief in both reincarnation and the Dharma Yukam. Although his followers have rejected murti worship, Shri Ayya Vaikundar recognized that human beings still need an image to focus on; they use a non-anthropomorphic symbol (see Nizhal Thangal). This practice is similar to that of other Hindu sects that use non-anthropomorphic symbols, including Shaivism, whose symbol of God is the linga, and Vaishnavism, which uses the saligrama. Similarly, in Ayyavazhi, the Elunetru, which is placed in the Palliyarai, is considered a seat of God rather than God himself. The same is true of the Elunetru's alternative name, Asanam, which means "seat" (see also Ayyavazhi and Hinduism).

Ayyavazhi beliefs are closely related to those of Smartism and Advaita Vedanta; hence, Ayyavazhi's followers believe that Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva are different aspects of the same God. While some claim that the beliefs of Akilattirattu are related to Dvaita and Vishishtadvaita, backing this up with quotations, Ayyavazhi endorses the concept of Ultimate Oneness.

Followers of Ayyavazhi differ from other Hindus in that they recognise a Satan-like figure, Kroni, who is the primordial manifestation of evil and manifests in various forms, for example, Ravana and Duryodhana, in different ages or yugas. God as Vishnu becomes incarnate in his avatars, including Rama, Krishna and others, to destroy such evil.

Kroni, the spirit of Kali Yuga, is said to be omnipresent in this age and that is one of the reasons that followers of Ayya Vazhi, like other Hindus, believe that the current yuga, Kali Yuga, is so degraded.

Charity is Ayyavazhi's main mission. One can see Anna Dharmam (offerings of food) in Ayyavazhi centres of worship at least once a month.

New Religious Phenomenon

It may be concluded that Ayyavazhi emerged as a 'new and singular' religious phenomenon in that context. The sanskritic Hinduism, the newly introduced Christianity, the not-so-prominent Islam, and the ubiquitous folk forms of worship - amidst these traditions, Ayyavazhi was developing as a distinctively alternative religio-cultural form in its place of origin (South India).

This fact had been recognised by the followers of Ayyavazhi. They addressed their religion with a new nomenclature as "Ayya Vazhi" (The path or way of Ayya) and thereby confirmed its new identity. They considered it, on the one hand, as ghee churned out of the existing religious traditions, and on the other as a new phenomenon that had come to replace the old traditions. They believed, on the one hand, Vaikundar had 'unified' all the existing deities unto himself, and, on the other, that the essence of the old traditions had gone awry with the advent of Vaikundar. They placed their religion within the existing traditions and yet perceived it to be different.

The distinguishing aspect of Ayyavazhi needs to be seen against the background of the sanskritic tradition whose pre-eminence was upheld by the state. That Ayyavazhi had emerged differently against this religious tradition is a pointer to its distinct singularity. The emergence of Ayyavazhi needs to be seen also against the presence of the British in the country. In a sociological point of vision, reform movements in general had the patronisation of the British in the nineteenth century Thiruvithankur. But Ayyavazhi was not patronised by the British; it arose and stabilised without their support. In one sense, it was anti-establishment. It presented itself to be new to them in terms of a difference and in terms of a synthetic character. They called it new as well as a medley of the extant traditions.

See also

• List of Ayyavazhi-related articles

External links

• Ayya Vaikundar The Spiritual light
• Ayya-Vazhi
• Ayya Vaigundar