To the oldest philosophical question ‘Who am I?’ the Vachanakaras of Lingayat answer: ‘I am Linga, my origin is Linga, and my destination is Linga. I am not the body that carries with it the senses and antahkaranas; I am not even the empirical self subject to the six enemies of spiritual life, but am Shiva himself. However, because of ignorance, I am not aware of my true nature and wrongly think that I am an individual independent of others and Para-shiva.’
Though the soul is bound to the body, mind, and senses, it
is not limited by them, because being conscious it can control and direct them
either for selfish or for spiritual purposes. But it is also a fact that it
depends on them, being unable to see or think or perform any act without them.
One of the functions of the jivatman is to receive the
sensations reported by the senses, hold them together, subject them to analysis
and synthesis, and compare and contrast them to reach appropriate conclusions.
The jivatman perceives by means of the senses and analyses and synthesizes by
means of the antahkaranas. This means that it is the central processing unit,
to which the senses and mind, as well as motor organs like legs and hands, are
related. They cannot function without it, just as it cannot know or act without
them. The jivatman and the body interact in such a manner that the happiness of
the soul is dependent on the well-being of the body.
The Lingayat doctrine of the division of Nishkala-Linga into
innumerable angas implies that plurality of selves is not merely an appearance,
as held by the doctrine of Advaita, but a reality. However, though the limited
nature of the soul is real, reunification with God and indistinguishably
merging with him is the coveted aim of a spiritual aspirant.
Many Lingayats claim that Lingayatism does not entertain the
doctrine of karma and rebirth. Before we answer this claim it is necessary to
distinguish between the two statements that the Lingayats are not subject to
the law of karma and rebirth and that they do not believe in it. That they do
believe in the law of karma is amply evidenced by their Vachanas, which state
that they are born again and again due to neglect of their moral and religious
duties in previous births. They also say the non-Lingayats — bhavis, those who
are reborn — are subject to this same law. But they believe that the very fact
that they are born in a Lingayat family ensures their liberation — freedom from
karma and rebirth — provided they lead the life of a perfect Lingayat.
Source – excerpts from article titled ‘Lingayat Philosophy and Vedanta’ by Prof. N G Mahadevappa in the 2010 issue of Prabuddha Bharata Magazine.