Meivazhi
Encyclopedia
Meivazhi is a syncretic
monotheistic
religion based in Tamil Nadu
, India
. Its focus is spiritual enlightenment and the conquering of death, through the teachings and example of its founder and leader, Brahma Prakasa Salai Andavargal, believed to be the incarnation
of God expected by all religious holy scriptures and said to be over 120 years old. Meivazhi has its own holy scriptures that runs over 7 volumes and its own prayer system and spiritual festivals.
Although it draws strongly on Hindu
religious practices, its founder was born to a Muslim
family, and Mevaizhi preaches the "oneness of essence" message of all the previous major scriptures, particularly Hinduism, Buddhism
, Islam
, Judaism
and Christianity
and allows membership regardless of creed.
Meivazhi maintains an ashram
, Meivazhi Salai
, in Pudukkottai district
, Tamil Nadu
. Its official liturgical language is Tamil
. Male followers wear a turban
, and the Meivazhi flag is an upward-pointing crescent
.
Salai Andavargal. Andavar was born in a small Village
called markampatty in Dindugal district
on 1857. Andavar was a good disciple to Pattaiyar who lived for almost 600 years. Pattaiyar had also been the Teacher of Vadallur vallal piran. Meivazhi Salai Andavar first started his Ashram in Madurai
District
in Tamil Nadu
which was later taken by British Government when India was ruled by British. Then later he founded his Ashram
in Pudukkottai
District
. Later he gathered thousands of people as disciples from sixty nine religion who had been still walking in the path of Andavar.
Syncretism
Syncretism is the combining of different beliefs, often while melding practices of various schools of thought. The term means "combining", but see below for the origin of the word...
monotheistic
Monotheism
Monotheism is the belief in the existence of one and only one god. Monotheism is characteristic of the Baha'i Faith, Christianity, Druzism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Samaritanism, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism.While they profess the existence of only one deity, monotheistic religions may still...
religion based in Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Its focus is spiritual enlightenment and the conquering of death, through the teachings and example of its founder and leader, Brahma Prakasa Salai Andavargal, believed to be the incarnation
Incarnation
Incarnation literally means embodied in flesh or taking on flesh. It refers to the conception and birth of a sentient creature who is the material manifestation of an entity, god or force whose original nature is immaterial....
of God expected by all religious holy scriptures and said to be over 120 years old. Meivazhi has its own holy scriptures that runs over 7 volumes and its own prayer system and spiritual festivals.
Although it draws strongly on Hindu
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
religious practices, its founder was born to a Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
family, and Mevaizhi preaches the "oneness of essence" message of all the previous major scriptures, particularly Hinduism, Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
, Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
and Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
and allows membership regardless of creed.
Meivazhi maintains an ashram
Ashram
Traditionally, an ashram is a spiritual hermitage. Additionally, today the term ashram often denotes a locus of Indian cultural activity such as yoga, music study or religious instruction, the moral equivalent of a studio or dojo....
, Meivazhi Salai
Meivazhi Salai
-Meivazhi Salai:Meivazhi meaning “The true path”, is a monotheistic religion which maintains an ashram established at pudhukottai district in Tamil Nadu, India in the year 1942...
, in Pudukkottai district
Pudukkottai District
Pudukkottai District is a district of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. The city of Pudukkottai is the district headquarters...
, Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
. Its official liturgical language is Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
. Male followers wear a turban
Turban
In English, Turban refers to several types of headwear popularly worn in the Middle East, North Africa, Punjab, Jamaica and Southwest Asia. A commonly used synonym is Pagri, the Indian word for turban.-Styles:...
, and the Meivazhi flag is an upward-pointing crescent
Crescent
In art and symbolism, a crescent is generally the shape produced when a circular disk has a segment of another circle removed from its edge, so that what remains is a shape enclosed by two circular arcs of different diameters which intersect at two points .In astronomy, a crescent...
.
History
Meivazhi Salai was founded by Kadhir Baksha who had been commonly known as MeivazhiMeivazhi
Meivazhi is a syncretic monotheistic religion based in Tamil Nadu, India. Its focus is spiritual enlightenment and the conquering of death, through the teachings and example of its founder and leader, Brahma Prakasa Salai Andavargal, believed to be the incarnation of God expected by all religious...
Salai Andavargal. Andavar was born in a small Village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
called markampatty in Dindugal district
District
Districts are a type of administrative division, in some countries managed by a local government. They vary greatly in size, spanning entire regions or counties, several municipalities, or subdivisions of municipalities.-Austria:...
on 1857. Andavar was a good disciple to Pattaiyar who lived for almost 600 years. Pattaiyar had also been the Teacher of Vadallur vallal piran. Meivazhi Salai Andavar first started his Ashram in Madurai
Madurai
Madurai is the third largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It served as the capital city of the Pandyan Kingdom. It is the administrative headquarters of Madurai District and is famous for its temples built by Pandyan and...
District
District
Districts are a type of administrative division, in some countries managed by a local government. They vary greatly in size, spanning entire regions or counties, several municipalities, or subdivisions of municipalities.-Austria:...
in Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
which was later taken by British Government when India was ruled by British. Then later he founded his Ashram
Ashram
Traditionally, an ashram is a spiritual hermitage. Additionally, today the term ashram often denotes a locus of Indian cultural activity such as yoga, music study or religious instruction, the moral equivalent of a studio or dojo....
in Pudukkottai
Pudukkottai
Pudukkottai is a town and a municipality in Pudukkottai district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Pudukkottai District was carved out of Tiruchirappalli and Thanjavur districts in January 1974.It is the administrative headquarters of Pudukkottai District....
District
District
Districts are a type of administrative division, in some countries managed by a local government. They vary greatly in size, spanning entire regions or counties, several municipalities, or subdivisions of municipalities.-Austria:...
. Later he gathered thousands of people as disciples from sixty nine religion who had been still walking in the path of Andavar.