The only Libertarian Religion

Report by Hardik Raman

I am going to say something controversial. Of all the philosophies and religions on this planet, there is only one that is truly libertarian; and that is Hinduism. Not any form of Hinduism but the Dravidian Aaiyyanist form. The Dravidian Hindus were the original Hindus that existed in South India tens of thousands of years ago.

One of the main groups of Dravidian Hindus are called ‘Aaiyyanists’. They are of a Saivite ideology that worship the Destroyer (Siva) as an embodiment of Godhead. Brief background: in Hindu Aaiyyanism, Creation (Brahma) is the simple act of breaking and remaining separate from Brahman (the omnipotent OM). Preserving/protecting is the realm of Vishnu and his incarnations such as Rama/Krishna. However, merging back with Brahman in a act of destruction to kill the ego self, as well as destroy all the realms (Talas/Lokas) in order to fuse into Oneness – that is the greatest gift of Siva.

Now unlike our Northern Hindu compatriots, the Southern Dravidian Aaiyyanists never had a caste system. They allowed men, women and transgendered (Hijras) to act as priests, healers and Siddhis (spiritual guides). In fact, the only way you could rise up the levels in Hindu Aaiyyanism was to perform acts/rituals/prays for others, so this was and still is a totally merit based system. Many of the high founders and devotees now and in the past were made up of men, women, third gender, and indigenous tribal people (who would be classed as outside of the caste system in the Northern Hindu tradition).

In Hindu Aaiyyanism there is only one tenet: “One cannot condemn nor condone anyone’s actions”. All paths lead to the truth and all truth is part of Brahman. Thus it is forbidden to condemn or chastise anyone for their beliefs or actions. So in Aaiyyanism one cannot comment or go against anyone’s religious belief, gender orientation, gender preference or tribe/race. Aaiyyanists are taught to love all as One and also to understand that we are really part of ‘The Whole’, so we cannot go against anyone’s ideas but must in fact embrace it as a part of Aaiyyanism.

Hindu Aaiyyanists basically follow the strict covenants of Dravidian practice and absorbs and welcomes all faiths as part of its greater whole. In Aaiyyanism there is the belief that all faiths point to a central truth (even if they contradict one another). There are many pebbles on the same path and Hindu Aaiyyanists are taught to study all religions as a small part of Aaiyyanism, i.e. Judaism, Christianity, Islam, various Hindu philosophies, Jainism,  Tantric knowledge, Buddhism, Paganism, Witchcraft etc…these are all part of the truth that is encompassed in Dravidian Hindu Aaiyyanism.

Now Aaiyyanism does realize that everyone is different and have different beliefs, so they allowed the formation of Aaiyyanist schools. For example, the Aatmaani School (the Pure Healing School of Aaiyyanism), the Aardra (Green) School which caters for Ayurvedic practises,  the Varna School which deal with poetry, dance and art and even the Abhichaara School which is a Tantric (Black Magic) school. Aaiyyanism is completely libertarian in that anyone can set up their own school and formulate their own ideas about the path to Moksha (liberation).

The Aaiyyanists also believe that all people are allowed to follow their own path and must be allowed to do so without anyone, including the state or higher powers to deny them this right.  They also believe that no group can dictate their collective will against an individual.

So, in summary, as a Hindu Aaiyyanist you cannot judge anyone and must allow everyone to live their life as they see fit. You cannot impose your will on anyone and create/support laws and regulations that will impact another’s freedom.

The Aaiyyanist can only love all peoples and ideas as One with Brahman and ultimately part of The Greater Truth.