One of the distinguishing features of an organised religion as against the folk religion is the presence of well organised socio-religious institutions through which the religion functions and prospers. Cristianity functioned through the church, buddhism prospered through the sangha and hinduism survived due to the mathas. The church, the sangha, and matha are the socio-religious institutions of their respective religions. Similarly, veerasaivism could prosper through its socio-religious organisations, like pancha pithas, the mathas and the rectories. Unlike other religions of the world, veerasaivism is one which never dependended on royal patronage. It, on the other hand, flourished and prospered through cough the mathas and the rectories. "sri sharanabasaveshwara dasoha maha mane" at kalburgi is on of such great rectories of veerasaivism which has played a determining role in the struggle for the survival and prosperity of this religious sect in hyderabad karnataka and adjoining areas, especially at the face of muslim rule. It is proposed to make a critical study of the role played by this rectory in maintaining the integrity of veerasaivism, preserving its socio religious institutions and values through several religious and educational programmes and institutions. We start with the assumption that hinduism is general and veerasaivism in particular would not have survived in this area, but for this great religious institution.

Epigrams of Lingayat philosophy.

With reference to Karnataka, India.

This Collection of Fairy Tales consists of the following Books: Fairy Tale of a Writing Fairy Fairy Tales of Faraway Lands The Most Helpful Fairy How Do the Faires Life?

The Vacanas Or Free-Verse Lyrics Written By Four Major Saints Of The Great Bhakti Protest Movement Which Originated In The Tenth Century Ad. Composed In Kannada, A Dravidian Language Of South India, The Poems Are Lyrical Expressions Of Love For The God Siva. They Mirror The Urge To Bypass Tradition And Ritual, To Concentrate On The Subject Rather Than The Object Of Worship, And To Express Kinship With All Living Things In Moving Terms. Passionate, Personal, Fiercely Monotheistic, These Free Verses Possess An Appeal, Which Is Timeless And Universal.

Today, most intellectuals agree that (a) Christianity has profoundly influenced western culture; (b) members from different cultures experience many aspects of the world differently; (c) the empirical and theoretical study of both culture and religion emerged within the West. The present study argues that these truisms have implications for the conceptualization of religion and culture. More specifically, the thesis is that non-western cultures and religions differ from the descriptions prevalent in the West, and it is also explained why this has been the case. The author proposes novel analyses of religion, the Roman 'religio', the construction of 'religions' in India, and the nature of cultural differences. Religion is important to the West because the constitution and the identity of western culture is tied to the dynamic of Christianity as a religion.