Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Chapter X: Religion
Role of religion, regarding pan-Indian deities in Hinduism and local deities
The first part of this chapter explains the onlookers perspective and westernized Indian
perspective on Indian religion “missionaries and administratios who wrote on Indian religion
have always concentrated on exotic and sensational elements such as multiplicity of deities,
their bloodthirstiness, cruelty fantastic shapes and forms, immorality: on outlandish beliefs
and customs, excessive ritualism, wasteful expenditure at weddings and funerals: and finally
on the sense of hopelessness, despair and fatalism, induced by the endless rounds of birth
and rebirth”. Westernised Indians- the critics and reformers of folk religion have dismisses
this as superstitions. The reformation attempts to present decent cultural shop window to
foreigners.
It further details the Indological research in the nineteenth century which indirectly
led to the down gradation of folk religion. “Educated Indians from higher caste had
prejudice against ritual involving body slaughter of animals, consumption of native, low
status liquor fire-walking , hooks-winging and other cruel customs thereby ignoring folk
tradition underplaying these features satisfying national ego” .Translating Indian scripts to
European languages aroused excitement in western literature circles thereby satisfaction to
educated Indians.
Religion was important through its relation it bears but does not deal with the
paramount concern of developing countries: economic development and modernization.
The rational approach which followed it did not take folk religion seriously due to its
stereotypes and prejudices. Srinavas states that “when I examined my own faith, I found
that it contained many factors present in peoples and did not regard this as something to be
ashamed of”
The part played by fatalism is something that is discussed and wrongly understood
by foreign observers.” When a farmer looses his bullock at height of agricultural season or
his wife dies suddenly dies off leaving behind his children at his misfortune is is explained
with reference to “karma or hone baraha”. The idea that what was written (by Brahma or
Fate) on forehead would come to pass and was further detailed with its link to past events
and births. Misfortunes was frequent due to pitiful resources but strict conformity was
demanded or otherwise will be “oztraticed”- become a non member of the small face to
face communities. It was pointless to blame villagers as they were struck by irrationality of
behavior.
Complexity of religious deities is further detailed the composite culture, multitude of
dieties, festivals, “pavadas” or miracles”(possessed by dieties), house deities (centre of
Sanskritic hinduism), ancestors fortnight (pitru paksha), gali (sprits), “nityakarma” etc.. each
process was regulated by custom and interwoven with ritual and this varied among castes .
The idea of purity (madi) and pollution (mailige) was practiced during inter-caste relations
and difference attributed to division of labour between man and women.
Further elaborating on deities we can see that there was specialization among
deities varied from diety to diety. For instance deities presiding over epidemics were the
most specialized of all and they were propitiated elaborately during epidemics or periodic
festivals/ jatra. The diety preceding over epidemics was “Mari” also known as Kali. The
different villages prefixed the village name to Mari. Thus Mari of “Kere” village was known
as “Kere Mari” or was reffered to as “amma” or “mother”. Likewise house deities ”mane
devaru” was concerned with well being of the house. Each temple in village had a special
association with particular caste group and did now encourage other castes or other caste
deities into their temples and the priestly class too varied with this selective process. Each
caste ha their own identification symbols; for instance Vaisnavities decorate their forehead
with “namam”. The association with a certain caste r group of caste with a diety did not
prevent them from seeking aid of another diety.
There were duties assigned to priests this involved the undertaking ”pooja”, lighting
earthen lamp in the “sanctum sanctorium” during prescribed time and looking after
festivals. Here too the dividend of rich and poor is seen as minuscule portions to poorer and
sizable to the rich tough both have to contribute to festival.
The characteristic behavior assigned to the deities is also significant, for instance
Rama is a mild vegetarian diety while “Mari” a frightening figure and had to be “tampu
ereyundu” or cooled down. The house deities also has sectarian orders such as naming kid
after deities name, following certain rules, orders, lifestyle and dress code. Sectariaan
differentiation occurred in Hinduism right from its earliest days of medieval times. This
begun with Sankara introducing “advaita”- monistic idea that the individual soul was
identical in nature with God and was sestined to be merged with the latter. Ramanuja
criticized “advaita “and proposed “vishisistadvaita” a qualified monoism which stated that
the individual soul did not completely merge itself with God and retained a sense of
identity. Ramanija followed by Madhwa advocated “dvaita or dualism” in which individual
soul and God was regarded as separate entities . Basava found Virashaivism (militant
shivaism) or Lingayathism. This is preliminary to brief description of “Dasayya ”- shaivite and
“Jodqayya”- Vaishnavaities which had their own obligations.
Astrology the woven thread into the fabric of Hindu religion. Almaic listed
“nakshtras”- asterisms, inauspicious periods (Rahu kala, Gulika kala) and insisted on does
and don’ts of each period. The basic religious ideas linked in pair was necessary to
understand the religious day-to-day life. For instance purity (madi) was linked to its
contrarary impurity (mailge),wrong conduct (tappu) with right (sari), lustice (nyaya) with
injustice (anyaya),sin (papa) with meritorious conduct (punya) etc… The linked idea of
Karma – actions have subsequent consequences in subsequent incarnations, dharma –
moral conduct can be sited from proverbs and sayings “dharmakke kala katti
karmakkemosale bittaru”- dig a pond to gain dharma and leqave a crocodile in it to gain
karma.
Man and God had an intimate relation with each other; this relationship was
charectericed by inequality as Gods were powerful to grant favors or disasters as men were
weak and needed protection from myriad, hostile forces around them. “Devotion, offerings
and sacrifices were made for deities according to the division of labor among Gods –
appropriate deities “but if the diety failed his devotee he approached another. This states
that reciprocity was fundamental principle sought. The opposition to the diety “virodha
bhakti” like adoration or worship is legitimate relationship with God. Dieties existed because
they could be prayed for obtaining certain desirable objects bringing desirable events,
provided a sense of security and hope for day-to-day living. Devoties needed to maintain
ritual purity and was needed to make offerings and worship them the failure of which would
invite punishments.