Mysuru: Giving yet another twist to the ongoing controversy over a separate religious tag for Lingayats, Nidumamidhi Math seer, Channamalla swamiji asserted here on Friday that not all devotees of Lord Shiva were Hindus.
Addressing a seminar held as part of the "Bali Chakravarthi Smaranothsava" here, he said, "I respect all devotees of Shiva. But it would be wrong to say that they are all Hindus as a few have opposed the Varna system and kept a distance from Vedic culture. Political and religious leaders need to understand this difference."
The seer's statement contradicts the views of Vishwesha Tirtha Swami of Paryaya Pejawar Mutt, who believes that while Veerashaivas and Lingayats have different traditions, they are branches of the Hindu religion. "When people of both these traditions worship Shiva as their chief deity, do Shiva Panchakshari Japa and offer prayers to the Shiva Linga, how can they be different or separate from the Hindu religion?" he contended recently.
But Channamalla swamiji, who clearly doesn't share his views, went on to add, "Ganapathi is not Parvathi's son but of Shiva's first wife, Dakshayini, daughter of Dakshabrahma. Shiva was non- Vedic. Ravana, Mahishasura and Bali Chakravarthi were not bad, they were not villains. Just because they were against Vedic culture, they can't be called rakshas(demons). They voiced needs of the suppressed and it is wrong to humiliate them."
A procession of Bali Chakravarthi was held from the Kote Anjaneyaswamy temple to the north gate of the Mysuru palace prior to the seminar that was organised by the Moolanivaasigala Sanskrithi Saahithya Adhyana Samshte.
‘Lingayats not in Hindu society for 850 years’
Responding to Pejawar seer Visvesha Thirtha Swamiji's comment that when Hindus too worshipped Lord Shiva, the Lingayats could not claim to be a separate entity, Former IAS officer, S.M. Jamdar said that they did not worship Lord Shiva in any form.
"We believe that Lord Shiva has no shape and is invisible. We don't believe either in the Vedas or Vedic rituals. Lingayats believe there is only one Lord Shiva, but Hindus believe that Lord Shiva is one of three deities. That is why there is no mention of him in three of the four Vedas," he said, adding that the community had not been part of Hindu society for over 850 years.
"The question of leaving Hindu society does not arise when the Lingayats have not been a part of it at all," he argued.
The former bureaucrat challenged BJP and RSS leaders, the Pejawar seer and writers like S.L. Byrappa, who were against giving religion status to the Lingayats and Veerashaivas to an open debate on the issue. "They should stop making baseless statements,'' he stressed.
