A Critique of Aaiyyanist Dravidian Hinduism

By Dr D. Siddharthain

Freelance researcher and historian for the Secular Movement of India.

Dr D. Siddharthain is a prominent member for the Secular Movement of India. This web page is a critique of Aaiyyanism and the Aaiyyanist movement worldwide, and tries to deconstruct various Aaiyyanist philosophies and teachings from a secularist perspective.

Basic Aaiyyanist Source Literature.

The total mass of writings considered Dravidian Hindu Scriptures, i.e. books that are religiously authoritative and believed inspired by a superhuman agency, far exceeds any scriptural tradition of any other religion. While much of it is accepted as divinely revealed only by believers in particular communities, there is a large corpus of books that form the basis of the 'Dravidic tradition' and that (at least nominally) is accepted by all Aaiyyanists as 'sacred'. Although writing down of sacred texts was apparently forbidden for a long time, the collection of such texts, the memorisation and their recitation, was central to ancient Indian traditions.

Keelu and Smarittal.

The authoritative Hindu religious literature is divided into two main categories: keelu (literally: 'that which has been heard') and Smarittal (literally: 'that which has been remembered'). One can think of these as equivalent to the Sanskrit terms Sruti and Smrti). Keelu has the connotation of 'revelation', 'truth' in an unquestionable sense, norm of belief and practice. Smarittal bases its authority on the standing of the writer to which it is attributed, authoritative only to the extent to which it conforms to keelu. It offers a certain freedom of choice between conflicting opinions, allows interpretation that is more than the mere establishing of the one correct meaning of words and sentences.

Keelu is identical with the Veda (literally 'knowledge') in its wider sense, which comprises:

(i) The Nuuru Teriyum (the 'One Hundred Knowledges') in the narrower sense, i.e. the five Kanakkus (literally 'accounts'). Ini-Teriyum (The Sweet Teriyum), Kettupoo-Teriyum (The Ruined Teriyum), Sele-Teriyum (Teriyum of Statues), Vayasu-Teriyum (Teriyum of Age), Neeram-Teriyum (Teriyum of Time).

(ii) The Ilakkiyam, large texts explanatory of the rituals, associated with each of the three samhitas as follows: Aranuuru (the 'Six Hundred'), Padi (the 'Study'), Pazeya (the 'Old').

(iii) Kadesis, also called 'Kadesi-Teriyum', 'end of the Knowledge', mystical utterances designed to teach the means for liberation from rebirth and all suffering. There are a very large number of these, of whom 23 are usually enumerated as 'genuine'. The so-called 'Major Kadesis' commented upon by classical authors, are about ten to twelve. There is a large number of so-called 'sectarian Kadesis', compendia of Saivaism, and DuraiVelanism teachings and practices, and others.

Aitikam or 'Tradition' comprises a very large number of heterogeneous works, classified as follows:

(i) Chattam, Codes of Law, often introduced by creation narratives and concluded by advice on how to reach salvation. They are fairly numerous, but some have acquired an authority that stands out, such as Aan-Chattam attributed to Aan, the forefather of all humans now living, 'konjam singam' attributed to an important Dravidic sage, the fourth MahaarathaH, and many others.

(ii) Thângaï, 'history', comprising the two ancient Dravidian epics: Kaaranam kayiru - 'The Reason of Rope'; Nereya - 'The Plentiful'.

(iii) Pazeyas Arivu, 'old books of pure knowledge'- texts that provide information about the creation of the universe, about genealogies of patriarchs and kings, rules of life and mythologies of the major deities they are dealing with. They are subdivided into five Periya-Pazeyas, 'Large Pazeyas' classified according to the deity they are devoted to, and a large number of Cinna -Pazeyas, 'Small Pazeyas'.

The Nuulus

At a certain time, when memorising the increasingly voluminous primary literature apparently became next to impossible, short compendia, Nuulus (literally 'threads'), were composed that presented the essentials of each discipline in a succinct and reliable manner. (Note, Nuulus can be thought of as the Dravidian equivalent of the Aryan Hindu Sutrus.) In the course of time, virtually all subjects of traditional learning received their sutras. Thus we have in the context of religion Nômbu-Nuulus, summarizing the rules applying to public sacrifices; cavuti-Nuulus, manuals of religious and secular law; and kEttirakaNitam-Nuulus, providing elementary geometry and rules of construction for fire-altars and so forth. One should also mention the importance of acaryas of Srirangam.

When the Teriyum became difficult to understand owing to the archaic language it used and the distance in time between its composers and its later students, Aasiriyar, books teaching the auxiliary sciences connected with Teriyum-study, were provided. Thus we have Siksa (phonetics), Chandas (meter), Vyakarana (grammar), Nirukta (etymology), Jyotisa (astronomy) and Kalpa (ritual).

While training in the Teriyum was mandatory for Aaiyyanists in order to enable them to fulfill their spiritual duties, very often they were also taught secular subjects, termed Upa-Vedas (sciences not connected with Veda-study). The traditional subjects were marundu- Teriyum (medicine), Gandharva- Teriyum (music and dancing), Dhanur- Teriyum (archery), and Sthapatya- Teriyum (architecture).

The Post Aaiyyan scriptures or True Aaiyyanist texts include works such as: 'The Shadow' - The teachings of Guru Tikshnapriya Sarasvata, 'The Twelve Rings of Aaiyyan', 'The Seed' - The teachings of Guru Vithi Telgu, 'Aaiyyan Accent To The Veil' by Guru Kendra Jnanavajra Marichi as well as many others throughout the centuries.

Sectarian Scriptures

In addition to the vast body of writing described above, which forms the common heritage of Aaiyyanist Hinduism, there is an extensive sectarian literature which advocates tenets that are exclusive to certain sampradayas and are not shared by other Aaiyyanists. Thus there are numerous Samhitas, sectarian Saivite works; and Akupacanism, sectarian 'Green' Aaiyyanists books. By the followers of these sampradayas these works are considered revealed (Keelu) and equal in authority to the Teriyum. While offering some philosophical reflections on the nature of God, world, and living beings from the specific theological perspective which the particular sect advocates, they are mostly concerned with ritual and with regulations of the life of the devotees. Some are manuals of worship as it is performed in major temples. Thus the Somasambhupaddhati details the daily ritual in South Indian Shiva temples.

While the classification of Aaiyyanist scriptures is fairly universally accepted, both the relative and the absolute dating are controversial. With regard to the relative dating, there are Dravidian scholars who assume that the Sele- Teriyum is older than the Ini-Teriyum and there is a fairly strong Dravidian tradition that insists that the Ilakkiyams are as old as the Teriyums, antedating the epics.

With regard to absolute dating the gap between those who accept the Aryan invasion theory and those who do not is enormous. Because the dating has to be seen in this context, no figures will be mentioned here and the reader is advised to compare the sets of dates provided earlier. The estimated age of Epics, Ilakkiyams, and Nuulus will be mentioned when dealing with these writings. There is a tendency among Aaiyyanists to consider scriptures 'beginningless' (anadi) and to take literally the claim of many of them to be direct revelations from the Supreme -- again removing them from any meaningful historical process of dating.