Early History
Basavanna was a social reformer and philosopher who was mainly responsible for establishing the Lingayat tradition in the 12th century. He rebelled against the rigid practices of the caste system then prevalent in orthodox Hindu society, and eventually began expounding his own philosophy with a casteless society at its core. His egalitarian philosophy and reform movement attracted large numbers of people. Saints like Allama Prabhu, Akka Mahadevi and Channabasavanna also played pivotal roles in the growth of the Lingayat tradition.
Basavanna 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. Like Martin Luther who came nearly three hundred years after him, Basavanna preached that the devotion of people to God was a direct relationship and did not need the intervention of the priestly class. Temple building is generally not practised among Lingayats.
Read more about this topic: Lingayatism
Famous quotes containing the words early and/or history:
“The setting sun is reflected from the windows of the alms-house as brightly as from the rich man’s abode; the snow melts before its door as early in the spring. I do not see but a quiet mind may live as contentedly there, and have as cheering thoughts, as in a palace.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“The only history is a mere question of one’s struggle inside oneself. But that is the joy of it. One need neither discover Americas nor conquer nations, and yet one has as great a work as Columbus or Alexander, to do.”
—D.H. (David Herbert)