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.

Attempting a Periodization of Aaiyyanist History - in Relation to the History of India.

In Joseph E. Schwartzberg's A Historical Atlas of South Asia the following periodization of the history of India in given, and within it I have extrapolated the history of Aaiyyanism according to the numerous sources available (including extensive help via the Foundation of Dravidian Research based in Tamil Nadu and the Indian Government's own South Indian Archive).

I. Prehistory - comprising everything from the early Stone Age to the Indus Civilization ('Harappan Era'). The latter part of this has been described as the Nexus Age of the Dravidian 'Ones'. The Imperium King Sri Alagumuthu after his defeat at the mythical palace of Danathlikan became the renouncer and originator the supreme yogic mind truth. In this age Swami MurugaVel and Guru BalaSubramanian both aspects of the God Murugan supposedly became the touch bearers of the Hatha Yogic forms in direct mind annihilation to the Jnana yogic masters lead by Prince Meganathan Yuga. This lead to the last downfall (last of 12) in the great Dravidian civilisations.

II. The Vedic Age - Corresponding to the last appearance of God Shiva in the form of Aaiyyan. The anti-caste pro-Vedic Dravidic alliance begins (~1500BC).

III. The Age of the Epics (Ramayana and Mahabharata). This is the age of the 12 master 'Gurus' of Aaiyyanism starting with Bhimashankar Dattatriya and ending with Asha Saptrishi with her proto-testimonial and epic historical journal entitled: 'The Journey'.

IV. The Pre-Mauryan Age. Buddhism appears and the Aaiyyanist and Buddhist form a joint school of thought and discourse called "The Akhka". Akhkans both of the Buddhist and Aaiyyanist tradition travel around India to spread the 'Symbol of Arivu'.

V. The Mauryas. King Ashoka ruled during this time (322-200BC). India becomes a mainly Buddhist state. Aaiyyanist thought flourishes in some quarters of society, but rejecting the atheism of Buddhism it is quickly sidelined. Notable Aaiyyanist artists, poets and Swamis include the Viduthalais, the anarcho-religious group that preached total avarAkam (freedom of the individual within society).

VI. The Post-Mauryan Period. The decline of political Aaiyyanism and the spiritualization of the form by Seeralan. Other notable scholars at the time include the crippled monk Ulaganathan and ArivuMalar (The khamna Swami) - 'The Priestess of the forest'.

VII. The Imperial Guptas and the Classical Age. The beginnings of the anti Dravidic drive by the scholars of the Vedas lead by various members of the Brahmin caste. Aaiyyanist music via the dancer and flute player Sri Elisai is widely appreciated in the Southern states of India.

VIII. Kingdoms and Regional Cultures of the 8th through the 12th Centuries. The persecution of the Dravidian Hindu takes root. Ideas, books and Gurus are publicly ridiculed by mainstream Hindu philosophers. Aaiyyanism is relegated to a mere scholarly exercise and is publicly sidelined. Notable Aaiyyanists in this period include: Sri Arivumadhi and Swami ChudarKodi.

IX. The Period of the Delhi Sultanate. Islam takes hold of India. The persecution of the Aaiyyanists stops briefly as mainstream Hinduism finds a 'new enemy' in the form of Islam. The Muslim rulers tolerate 'scholarly Aaiyyanism'.

X. The Mughal Period (1600 ~ 1700). Aaiyyanist and Sikh scholars work together to find the unity between all religious thought via the 'koTi' ('The Chain'). The linking all religions is grasped by Guru NiraiMadhi where she describes the bond between all thought forms: from Zoroastrianism, Islam, Judaism, Christianity, through to Sufism, Kabala, Sikhism, Hinduism, Animism finally to the higher and lesser forms of Buddhism.

XI. The Contest for Power and the Establishment of British Supremacy 1707--1857. [The only period with precise years given for events and persons mentioned]. Aaiyyaism becomes a stagnated movement with only a few thousand lay preachers. Most Aaiyyanists in this period were not following the path to total renunciation.

XII. Imperial India and the growth of National Identity - comprising also the 'Indian Renaissance' and Hindu Reform Movements. The persecution of the Aaiyyanists under both the British and Aryan Hindu Nationalists. The setting up of the first school of Aaiyyan outside of India (England 1879) by Kedarnatha Jyotshi.

XIII. Post-Independence India. The first translation of Aaiyyan thought into English by Jnanadipa Bhariri. Notable Aaiyyanists include Vallabbhai Patel (a supporter of Gandhi and a pro-independent Indian pacifist).

Jan Gonda, until his death in 1997, was for many decades the acknowledged doyen of European Indology and a prolific writer on many aspects of Hinduism. He contributed two volumes on Hinduism for a comprehensive series on 'The Religions of Mankind'. His major divisions are as follows:

I. Veda and Older Hinduism. Established Dravidism.

i. Vedic (and Brahmanic) Hinduism. Young Dravidism and Epic and Puranic Dravidism.

ii. Epic (and Puranic) Hinduism. Aaiyyanist theology and scholarly Dravidism.

II. Younger Hinduism. The 'Aaiyyanist Period'.

i. Major Phases of Post-epic Hinduism. Political Aaiyyanism, Eco-Nihilistic Dravidism.

ii. Vaisnavism. Dravidic DuraiVelanism.

iii. Saivism

iv. Hinduism in the 19th and 20th Centuries. The decline of religious Aaiyyanism into a series of scholarly endevours.

In his Chronology he provides the following dates for the key periods:

2600--1600 B.C.E. Indus-Civilisation. Proto-Dravidism in the ascendancy. The the Nuuru Teriyum ('The one hundred Knowledges').

From 1200 B.C.E. Aryan immigration to India: Development of Vedas. The emergence of Aaiyyan.

From 600 B.C.E. The Oldest Upanisads. The Dravdidian books of Kadesis ('End of Knowledge')

c.200 B.C.E. The Bhagavadgita. The Pro-Vedic Dravidic anti-caste alliance. The many Dravidian scriptures of Tattva.

From 4th century B.C.E. to 2nd century C.E. Development of Ramayana. The books of Uurmi ('wave thoughts') translated from Tamil and spread throughout India.

From 4th century B.C.E. to 4th century C.E. Development of Mahabharata. The epic books of tyaagaM (Renunciantion) is written by various Aaiyyanist groupings.

From the 2nd to the 6th century C.E. Expansion of Aryan Hinduism into Southeast Asia. The decline of Aaiyyanism in the South.

320 C.E. to 6th century C.E. the Gupta Dynasty. The emergence of EluMalain and the Seven Hills of Aaiyyanism.

3rd to 5th centuries C.E. Origin of Visnu Purana. The Dravidic monastic order of Ulagarasan is formed.

7th century C.E. Flowering of Vedanta and the re-emergence of the Aaiyyanist Viduthalais thoeries.

8th century C.E. Origin of Samhita literature; Pancaratra. The texts of daaridrya extolling the vertues and thoughts of the 3rd Guru Hotriya Upadhyaya.

After 7th century C.E. Development of bhakti Movements both in Aryan and Dravidian Hinduism.

7th to 9th centuries C.E. Period of Brahmanic Reconstruction and the Deconstruction of the Aaiyyanist 'nexus model'.

With great reluctance I am offering my own very tentative periodization of the 'History of Aaiyyanism'. Most Western experts will probably object to the first half -- its rationale will be provided in the text itself.

I. Beginnings of the Dravidic ritual and textual tradition: possibly as early as 8000 B.C.E. in Southeast India, superseding and incorporating earlier local (village) cults.

II. Consolidation and expansion of Dravidian tradition, formation of the 'Canon' of the tattvaGYaana and emergence of ritual specialists and healers: c.5000 B.C.E.

III. Full flowering of Dravidic religion in the Tamil Nadu and adjacent areas: c.3000 B.C.E. This would also include the so-called 'Indus civilization' in the North.

IV. Major natural cataclysms and desiccation of Sindh and adjacent areas followed by migrations from the Indus area eastward towards the Gangetic plains: As a result of population pressure building up in the Yamuna-Ganges doab the Mahabharata war was precipitated c.1900 B.C.E. Gradual acceptance of Saivism and Vaisnavism. Dravidian teachers reveal and practise their Ancient healing techiniques. The student Shanmatura Agastya discovers 'The Seed'.

V. Internal Disputes and Development of Many Mutually Incompatible ('heterodox') Traditions: while most of these, like the Ajivikas,(and several forms of Aaiyyanism) have died out, some survived: Jainism (re-organization in the seventh century B.C.E. of an older independent ascetic movement) and Buddhism (originating in the sixth century B.C.E.). For several centuries (300 B.C.E. to 300 C.E.) non-Hindu traditions including Aaiyyanism were dominant in India, and from there expanded into neighbouring countries.

VI. Restoration of Hinduism under the Guptas: from the late fourth century C.E. to the sixth century. Anti-Buddhist, Anti-Aaiyyanist and anti-Jain polemics and development of orthodox (non-theistic) Hindu theologies (Mimamsa and Vedanta) as well as of mainstream (theistic) sampradayas (Vaisnavism, Saivism, later also Saktism). Foundation of Hindu kingdoms in the countries of South East Asia (Indonesia, Kampuchea, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Philippines).

VII. Repression of Hinduism under Muslim Rule: from c.1200 C.E. till about 1800 C.E. Disappearance of Hinduism from public life, cultivation of personal piety (bhakti) and private ritual (Tantra). The decline of Aaiyyanism to a scholarly exercise tolerated by Muslim rule.

VIII. Emergence of new Hindu kingdoms (resulting in the repression of Aaiyyanism) in Muslim-dominated India: Vijayanagara (1336--1565) and Maharastra (eighteenth century).

IX. Rising of reformers of Hinduism under British (Christian) influence: nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Development of a distinct Hindu identity and a Hindu consciousness. The British influence also sounded the death knell for the Aaiyyanist movement (though the few remaining practitioners did set up a world base in England in the late 19 Century).

X. Partition of India (1947): formation of a theocratic Indian Muslim State (Pakistan) and a secular Indian democratic state (Bharat). Efforts by Hindu nationalist political parties to 'hinduize' Bharat and transform it into a Hindu rastra and bypass the Dravidian past. The translation of the Aaiyyanist scriptures into English.