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Inclusiveness and exclusivity in Ayyavazhi is theinclusive andexclusiveideology ofAyyavazhiscriptures over otherreligions. The idea of inclusivism and exclusivism applied in the religio-cultural universe of Ayyavazhi is one that is not found anywhere else in the world. Though there are separate verses towards inclusivism and exclusivism as central themes inAkilam, the mixture of both is unique. The inclusivist theory of accepting the views of different religions for a certain period of time and afterward exclusivistically rejecting all of them by narrating that all the previous had lost their substances ismythical and a religious breakthrough.
Ayyavazhi accepts all God heads of several religions such as the concept ofAllah and almost all God-heads inHinduism. TheVaishnavite concept ofMaha Vishnu is often referred to in Ayyavazhi scriptures. It also includes the avatars ofNarasimha,Rama,Krishna etc. Also, many quotes inAkilam give space for glorifying the activities and discussions ofVishnu. More overVaikundar is said to be son ofNarayana. TheSaivite concept ofParasiva, TheTrimurthi conception, all found place here. It also says thatSiva is the supreme head of all theDeva Sanga. It also includes many events about theTamil GodMuruga. But unlike inHinduism, Muruga is considered as one among the six primaryAvatars of Vishnu. Akilam refer to Vaikundar asThanumal Vethan, which means Vaikundar himself isSivaVishnu andBrahma. In midst of the meta-narrative mythography it also refers toGanapathi,Indra,Varuna,Vayu, etc. It too refers to female god-heads such asLakshmi,Sarasvati,Parvati,Kali,Saptha Kannis, etc. All the God-heads are treated with similar powers as referred inHindu scriptures. All this divine powers (god-heads) are viewed as the lesser manifestation of one and supreme powerEkam.
But due to the advent ofKaliyan and because of thecruel nature of his boons, for the first time the supreme God or the 'God beyond Consciousness' (Ekan) incarnates in the world as Vaikundar and so all the God-heads were surrendered to Vaikundar and all the previous scriptures had lost their substances. And so for theKaliyukam, Vaikundar was said to be the only worshipable God and hence, thetheology of Ayyavazhi was channeled towardsexclusivism.
Apart from this it also refers to some God-heads fromAbrahamic traditions. It says thatNarayana, who is one among the three power-head inAyyavazhi Trinity was the one who incarnates asChrist. Quotes fromAkilam andArul Nool refers to the Islamic conception of 'Allah', also.
By all these, Akilam reveals an inclusive character of God. It don't rejects any religion's views on focussing the God. A quote inAkilam refersVaikundar as, "You moves around the world in various forms". So, it says that one and the single god is worshipped in different names all over the world.
The manner in whichAkilathirattu Ammanai treats the scriptures of different religions is complicated when compared to its view on God-heads. While it refers toVedas,Shastras,Agamas andPuranas extensively, it says that this scriptures had lost their substances at two stages. One at the advent ofKaliyan in this world and then during the incarnation ofVaikundar.
During the advent ofKaliyan he bought the powers of variousHindu scriptures including Vedas as boon fromSiva, who was the ultimate power and the supreme of Deva Sanga. He also bought the form ofBrahmin as boon. He also added several additions to the true scriptures. By this the scriptures and its powers are controlled by Kaliyan. So the divine Knowledge couldn't be achieved through that 'Kali-affected scriptures'. Then during the incarnation of Vaikundar the ruling-power of deva Sanga is shifted from Siva to Vishnu and thenVishnu toVaikundar, since Vaikundar is the incarnation of the SupremeEkam. Since for the first time the 'God beyond consciousness' incarnated in the world, the universal power vested with Vaikundar and so the supremacy. So no God to be worshipped other than Vaikundar since then. Also, since all the previous scriptures lost their substances new scriptures which are unaffected to Kali is given by God to the world and that isAkilam. But on the other hand the scriptures other than that ofDharmic conceptions are completely rejected by Akilam, though the god-heads on those scriptures are accepted.
WhileKalineesan arrested Vaikundar and proceeded towardsThiruvananthapuram, the situation of Vaikundar was narrated as,"As once on the non-liberative Cross, suffered the beatings of thorns, dead and reanimates for uplifting the poor, for this yuga here, he suffer this for the liberation of the downtrodden."Akilam 13:227-231. By this it means that Vaikundar was the one who incarnates asJesus and so by this verse Akilam accepts Christ. But it did not recognise TheBible. Thus, a quote in Vinchai about Venneesan reads,"He created a Veda (scripture) of his own intention". Also about Kaliyan it says about Bible that, "There will be a religion of him which tells the world to treat greatly, the Cross."Akilam 10:244 Likewise, Akilam accepts that the term 'Allah' and views it in relation to 'Ekam' (the supreme power). But it rejects the religion ofIslam and its ideas. A quote reads, "There will be another which make a call to the world to put upon caps."Akilam 10:243
Ayyavazhi accepts the incarnation ofRama andKrishna but seems that it rejects theRamayana and theMahabharata as there is no mention of these. It accepts only the fourVedas as the 'Books of Perfection'. However, this view of the Vedas is not inconsistent with Hinduism's views nor is different. InHinduism, the Vedas are viewed asŚruti, or primary scripture, while other scriptures such asRamayana are viewed asSmriti or secondary scripture. But later, Kaliyan had bought the Vedas as boon and so the Vedas had lost their substance by the advent of Kaliyan. It also says that he (Kaliyan) had performed several additions and had hidden several contents of them. And hence God incarnated as Vaikundar. So for the present age,Akilathirattu Ammanai is the only 'Book of Perfection'.
According toAkilathirattu, theVedas are the only religious text to be followed and all others were mere incarnations ofGod and thus, the religion based ideas based on such beliefs were created by the intention of man but not of God. But since now, the Vedas were destroyed byKaliyan, for the present age,Akilam, which describes the incarnation of the Supreme God, Ekam is the only 'Book of Perfection'. By this Ayyavazhi rejects all other scriptures and follows onlyAkilathirattu Ammanai.
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| Akilathirattu | ||
| Arul Nool | ||
