Tavam of Vaikundar

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According to Akilattirattu Ammanai, for ten months, Ayya Vaikundar revealed to the people all about the past, present, and future in the form of songs. He sang definitively about the future. Some of those who heard him, took his words as meaningless mutterings. Vaikundar, realising that forbearance and fortitude were the essential virtues needed in his project of transforming the world, becalmed himself and performed the Tavam (Meditation). Having justice in his breath, the thought of mercy in his mind, and renouncing the desires of the body and containing the tendencies of his ego, Vaikundar performed the Tavam concentrating totally on the commands he had received from his father. His appearance was squalid, with holy ashes smeared on him, and the long unkempt hair flowing in the air.

Ayya Vaikundar Indian avatar

Lord Ayya Vaikundar, is believed to be the tenth avatar or incarnation of Lord Vishnu, also called as Sriman Narayana Vaikundasamy or Narayana Pandaram, was a 19th-century social reformer and iconoclast who worked for the upliftment of downtrodden people in the Kingdom of Travancore. He is central to the Hindu denomination of Ayyavazhi, as per holy scripture. Akilattirattu Ammanai says that he was Lord Vishnu. In order to attain human form, Lord Vishnu used the body of previous avatar for the incarnation of Lord Ayya Vaikundar, kept in Parvatha Ucchi Malai after the completion of the Lord Krishna Avatar. In order to attain natural growth of the human body, Lord Vishnu used the soul of Sampooranathevan a deva also called Mudisoodum Perumal, he was granted moksha before the Lord Ayya Vaikundar Avathar in the sea.

The Structure erected above the Vatakku Vasal where Ayya Vaikundar performed the Tavam Vadakku vasal.jpg
The Structure erected above the Vatakku Vasal where Ayya Vaikundar performed the Tavam

This tavam was so effective that it surpassed the Tavam undertaken even by Isvaran previously. He undertook to perform a six-year tavam, divided into three phases, for three different causes.

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Dharma Yukam

Dharma Yukam is the state of absolute bliss as per Ayyavazhi mythology. Dharma Yukam is described in the Akilam seventeen in Akilattirattu Ammanai. It is related to Dharmic moksha and to Abrahamic heaven.

Caste form of social stratification characterized by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a lifestyle often including occupation, status in a hierarchy, customary social interaction, and exclusion, existing in various regions including South Asia

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Within these six years, a great multitude of people - old and young, men and women- came to him from all directions. They all gathered there as one humanity, as children of a single parentage without any discrimination on the basis of might or caste. Vaikundar cured the sick, blessed those without progeny to have with offspring, made the dumb speak, the blind see, and rooted out the curses that had been engulfing the people. Whoever came and experienced him exclaimed that God Almighty had come among the people. Seeing the multitude of people coming together as children of one family, and, drinking from the same well and dining in one place, the learned persons surmised that what had been said in the Akamankal - was coming true.

See also

Ayyavazhi mythology

Ayyavazhi mythology is the mythology of the growing South Indian religious faith and a sect of Hinduism known as Ayyavazhi. The main source of Ayyavazhi mythology is the Ayyavazhi scripture, Akilattirattu Ammanai, and its supplement, Arul Nool. The Akilattirattu Ammanai is a recitation by Mayon to his consort Lakshmi. It is divided into three sections: pre-incarnational events, incarnational events and post-incarnational events.

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Akilathirattu Ammanai poem

Akilathirattu Ammanai, also called Thiru Edu, is the main religious text of the Tamil belief system Ayyavazhi. The title is often abbreviated to Akilam or Akilathirattu.

Mutta Pathi

Mutta Pathi, is one of the Pancha pathi, which are the primary centers for worship of the Ayyavazhi. This is the third important pilgrim center of Ayyavazhi. This place earn the religious importance in Akilam from the event that, Ayya Vaikundar is given two Vinchais here by Narayana under the Sea; One just before the arrest of Vaikundar by Swathi Thirunal and the second after the completion of Thuvayal Thavasu.

Pancha pathi

Pancha pathi are the five important pilgrim centers of Ayyavazhi. These are also considered as the primary Pathis and as worship centers of Ayyavazhi with primary status. The first pathi is Swamithope pathi itself and is the headquarters of Ayyavazhi. The other Pathis are Muttappathi, Thamaraikulam Pathi, Ambalappathi and Pooppathi.

Vinchai to Vaikundar

In the literature of Hinduism, Vinchai are proclamations and instructions to the newly born child Vaikundar, by his father Narayana, also known as Vishnu, one of the three godheads in Akilattirattu Ammanai, the source of Ayyavazhi mythology. Three such Vichais took place during the period of Vaikundar; the first in Thiruchendur, immediately after his incarnation; the venue second and third Vinchais are in Muttapathi (sea), one by one between his incarnational activities.

Ayyavazhi rituals

Ayyavazhi rituals are the religious practices prevalent among the followers of Ayyavazhi. Most of them are connected with Akilam and Arul Nool and a few, though not associated with the holy books, are practiced for over a century right from the beginning of Ayyavazhi. Some practices are unique for Pathis and some others are common for all worship centres.

Ayyavazhi theology

Ayyavazhi theology is the theology of a South Indian religious Faith and officially a sect of Hinduism known as Ayyavazhi. Several fundamental theological beliefs distinguish the Ayyavazhi tradition from Hinduism.

Anna Dharmam

Anna Dharmam is a term used for an Ayyavazhi ritual that involves sharing food without inter-dining. Inter-dining refers to the act of dining within one's own caste, and excluding others. The practice of Anna Dharmam may have emerged in association with inter-dining.

Ayyavazhi, a belief system originating from South India, is mentioned in a number of reports by Christian missionaries in the 19th century. In some of these reports, it is claimed that Ayyavazhi is an anti-Christian religious phenomenon. The rapid growth of the London Missionary Society is heavily challenged by Ayyavazhi in Thiruvithancore, which is the most succeeded venue of LMS in India and revealed in certain reports.

Thirunamam

Thirunamam represents the 'Sacred name of God'. The phrase Namam also represents the white clay found at the deeper layer of earth, which is used as the powder to wear a flame shaped mark. The Ayyavazhi people wore this Namam, starting from the central point between the eyebrows, going straight up near the top edge of the forehead.

Teachings and impacts of Ayyavazhi

The Ayyavazhi includes a corpus of teachings of its initiator Ayya Vaikundar in the form of instructions and slogans found in the religious book Akilattirattu.

Akilam five

Akilam Five is the fifth section of Akilam, which is the primary scripture of Ayyavazhi. It narrates the cruel reign of Kaliyan, the death of two Santror and the subsequent curse given to Kali. It also hints about the start of the Kalineesan dynasty that tortured Vaikundar.

History of Ayyavazhi

The History of Ayyavazhi traces the religious history of Ayyavazhi, a belief-system originated in the mid-19th century in Southern India. Ayyavazhi came to be noticed by the large number of people gathering to worship Ayya Vaikundar in the middle of the 19th century. The majority of the followers of Ayyavazhi were from marginalised and poor sections of society.

Timeline of Ayyavazhi history

The purpose of this chronology is to give a detailed account of Ayyavazhi from the beginning of the incarnational events of Vaikundar to the present time. Question marks on dates indicate approximate dates. A star (*) indicates the mentioning of that particular date in Akilam or Arul Nool. All dates but a few are found in the Tamil calendar and so doesn't coincide exactly with the months of the Gregorian calendar. The dates may span over any halves of the two consecutive months (Gregorian).

Muthiri kinaru

Muthiri Kinaru is the sacred well located in the north-western corner of Swamithoppe village. This is the famous theertha of the temple. It is located half a kilometre west from the main Pathi.

Structure of Ayyavazhi

Ayyavazhi is a belief system originating from South India, which advocates that Ayya Vaikundar is an incarnation of Narayana, based on its religious scripture Akilattirattu Ammanai. Some of its core believers advocate that Ayyavazhi is a religion in itself, whereas others believe that it is a sect within Hinduism. The path of Akilam is also viewed as a renaissance of Hinduism which regenerates and organises the ideas of all Hindu scriptures. But on the other hand it acts as an agent of reformation in the nineteenth century Tamil and Malayalam Society.

Ayyavazhi beliefs

Ayyavazhi beliefs are those associated with the South Indian religious faith known as Ayyavazhi. Some of the beliefs of Ayyavazhi are shared with that of Hinduism, and others are unique to Ayyavazhi.

Swamithope Pathi

Swamithoppe Pathi is the primary pathi of the Ayyavazhi, the head of all Worship centers of Ayyavazhi, and the sacred venue of the Tavam. Religiously Swamithope is considered primary among the Pancha pathi and the primary centre of the incarnational activities of Vaikundar.

References

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