Kevalaodhi Buddhist And Jaina History Of Deccan Vol 2

Author(s): Aloka Parasher Sen, B Subrahmanyam, E Siva Nagi Reddy
Publisher: Bharatiya Kala Prakashan

Page 64

RELIGIOUS PATRONAGE AND IDENTITY FORMATION-A STUDY OF JAINA INSCRIPTIONS (6TH-12TH CENTURIES AD)
A. ARUNA
Introduction
"...... The two processes, that of the cultural development of the group and that of the cultural development of the individual, are, as it were, always interlocked. For that reason some of the manifestations and properties of the super-ego can be more easily detected in its behaviour in the cultural community than in the separate individual."
-S. Freud
This speaks about the larger role of religion in a society particularly as a cultural, ideological referent and as a cementing force in bringing forth the complexity of social, economic and political relations of individuals together during different historical times. It is in fact through religion that the individuals and groups have tried to seek their social, as well as religious identities. This is particularly relevant to all those communities or individuals who have been trying to raise their social and political status and assert their authority in a society. In this sense religion can be viewed as a channel through which upward social mobility was encouraged and promoted. Since religious symbolism constitutes a part of wider cultural, economic and political relations it is also considered crucial for social formation. Further, the role of religion as an authority for conferring legitimacy to particular structures of power underlies its ideological purpose and therefore, the necessity for the individual or the group to patronize a particular religious faith. In this regard patronage patterns emerge as a mechanism through which an individual or a group consciously try to assert its specific identities through ideological mechanisms. Despite such pervasive influence of religion in a society, it cannot persist totally in isolation. Hence, religious ideology requires the support of the society to sustain and this implies that the relationship between the ideology and the individual/group is based on reciprocity. In the process of acquiring the mass support, the religion may even transform to a great extent relaxing its rigid rules to accommodate larger sections of the populace.
In a multi-cultural society like India that presents the existence of heterogeneous religious ideologies and belief systems the patronage patterns of religious ideology by different social groups appears more complex to understand. However, we perceive, on the one hand, that patronage patterns appear more complex in the sense that they do not really reflect the personal faith of an individual but transcend the personal and social to attain spiritual and cosmological salvation. On the other hand, patronage of a certain religious faith may be understood as a strategy through which an individual or a group may try to