Counter-Liberation and Cult-Formation

The process of cult-formation from a counter-liberation movement suggests that there cannot be only one pattern of development of a religious tradition, at least of all, in Indian contexts. This article explores the development of the cult of Muthukutty Swamy, Vaikunda Swamy or Ayya Vazhi as it is variously called. This research shows once again that religious life is immensely complex and infinitely varied. Research in the Indian context demonstrates that the socio-economic-cultural background certainly contributes to the particular contextual manifestation of cults. This study shows that the development of cults in India have their origins in the long and widespread religious roots of all cultural life of the country. Consequently, even the secular ideals are soon “religionised”. It investigates the creation and flourishing of a particular religious cult as a means of reflecting on the process by which counter-liberation movements develop into cult-formation. This article, therefore, recognizes the importance of religiously motivated liberation in the socio-economic sphere and the counter-liberation movements that led into a cult-formation as is evident in the cult of Muthukutty

Aesthetics · Ancient history · Archaeology · Cult · Flourishing · Liberation movement · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Gender Studies · History · Indian History and Philosophy · Law · Philosophy · Psychology · Religion and Society Interactions · Religion, Society, and Development · Social Psychology