Ritual bhakti match

Source: TW

It’s important to read history of one’s religion and be fully aware of the diverse forms of our religion & what they achieved.

I’m no fan of Kabīr & the like (it’s not my cup of tea and there are far more satisfying forms of religion for me, personally). However, one has to be honest and ask himself what leads to the proliferation of such forms of religion, which are more focused on “feel-good”, “vibes” & “social justice”? Changes like this do not happen in a vacuum. They are reactions to profoundly dissatisfying transformations of traditional religion, due to the erosion & corrosion of the caliber of the traditional custodians.

Complementarity

If one looks at just the last 3-400 years, one would be convinced that traditional religion & the concerns most vocalized by the “Reformers/Deformers” are mutually exclusive. But he would be wrong for thinking so. This is why it’s important to study the history of Dhārmika thought and see the possibilities of religious experience which were realized once.

The Āgamika religions were deeply traditional but made significant advances in opening up the treasures of Dharma to a wide range of groups, including Antyajas.

It is no coincidence that the Southern Āgamika traditions partnered with Southern Bhakti traditions, which also deeply respected the orthodoxy and traditional mores despite their emphasis on greater access for all. Together, they achieved something remarkable.

Public works, hospitals and food choultries for all, customized initiation to cater to the spiritual needs of all, etc.

shUdra rise

Antyajas were exposed to hygiene norms and opportunities for literacy & some Caturthas were shot into the realm of elite religious scholarship & leadership, thanks to the Āgamika Sampradāyas.

By 1000-1200 CE, in the Deep South in TN, various Antyaja jātis were proud donors whose names were recorded with honour on inscriptions and were members of city councils along with men of other Jātis. By 1600s, you had excellent Samskrta-writing philosophers and theologians from Caturthavarņa.

Non-rebellion

None of this was born of some rebellious spirit. The key stakeholders in the Āgama-Bhakti period were all avowedly traditional and committed to orthodoxy. The traditional Vipra ritualists had to be cherished and protected and there can be no compromise on this: This was a shared understanding.

An exceptionally powerful equilibrium was born and sustained.

Ritual autism

Around the same time or a little later, throughout Bhārata, including in TN, a different type of religion was shaping up: Insanely autistic focus on dietary restrictions, obsession with complicating the rules regarding ritual purity, making a mark for oneself by writing nibandhas on these topics due to want of capability in higher Vidyās, etc. There was an unfortunate class of individuals whose claim to Punditry was on the basis of such inane obsessions.

Unfortunately, one of the most important and mainstream schools of Dharma did not find it in itself to push back on this ossification but rather accommodated it fully, with zero corrective measures, such that lay, non-renunciate members of that school were exceptionally devoted to the disciplines covered by the Nibandhas, ignoring all the warning signs of what was going to hit them.