CH 6 - Religion
· Assam was
originally known for Tantricism in India. Kamakhya
Temple in Guwahati and Kechaikhati near Sadiya are the
proof of it.
·
VAEven though, the veneration to lord Shiva was largely
done in the early periods, the mother goddess cult gained ground subsequently.
·
Even todays, Lord Shiva and mother Goddess
are venerated in different forms by the large segment of the Assamese society,
both tribal and non-tribal.
·
Vaishnavism is another form of Hinduism, that also
entered Assam. But at the beginning, it was nothing more than a cult.
·
It was Mahapurush Srimanta
Sankardeva who gave a new definition to this cult through his Neo-Vaishnavite
Movement.
·
This movement was so powerful that Vaishnavism
literally spread to every aspect of Assamese society and it has pervaded the
entire range of Assamese life and culture, cutting across religious and
sectarian beliefs and practices.
·
Sankardeva’s neo-vaishnavite bhakti movement was the
harbinger of a renaissance with many-sided ramifications – spiritual,
social, humanistic, artistic and literary.
·
The entry of Islamic religion in Assam
was basically through the Muslim rulers who ruled in Bengal, few decades
after the Mughal dynasty was established in India. Today, Islam is also an
important religion of Assam.
·
The Islamic shrines of the
state includes, Poa Mecca of Hajo (Poa means one-fourth) and Ajan Pir
Dargah near Sivasagar, among others.
· Buddhism, on the
other hand, entered into Assam through Bhutan in the North and Myanmar
in the East. In fact, the Hayagriba Madhava temple of Hajo is a
place of worship for both Hindus and Buddhists alike.
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