[7] Lingayats are known for their unique practice of Ishtalinga worship, where adherents carry a personal linga symbolizing a constant, intimate relationship with Parashiva.

[8] A radical feature of lingayats is their staunch opposition to the caste system and advocacy for social equality, challenging societal norms of the time.

[11] Unlike mainstream Hinduism, Lingayats reject scriptural authority of vedas, puranas, superstition, astrology, vedic priesthood ritualistic practices, and the concept of rebirth, promoting a direct, personal experience of the divine.

[17][18] Lingayats celebrate anniversaries (jayanti) of major religious leaders of their sect, as well as Hindu festivals such as Shivaratri and Ganesh Chaturthi.

[web 4] The origins of Lingayats is traced to the 11th- and 12th-century CE in a region that includes northern Karnataka and nearby districts of South India.

[web 5] A central text in this tradition is Siddhanta Shikhamani, which was written in Sanskrit, and gives an elaboration of "the primitive traits of Veerashaivism [found] in the Vedas and the Upanishads" and "the concrete features given to it in the latter parts (Uttarabhaga) of the Saivagamas.

Basavanna rejected gender or social discrimination, and caste distinctions,[44] as well as some extant practices such as the wearing of sacred thread,[40] and replaced this with the ritual of wearing Ishtalinga necklace, with an image of the Shiva Liṅga,[45] by every person regardless of his or her birth, to be a constant reminder of one's bhakti (loving devotion) to god Shiva.

In 1167 the Veerashaivas were repressed, and most of them left Kalyāna, Bijjala's new capital, spreading Basava's teachings into a wider area in southern India.

Due to their roots in the traditional schools, the gurusthalada monasteries were more conservative, while the viraktas "constituted the true Virasaiva monastic organisation, shaped by the ideals of Basava and his contemporaries.

The Lingayat text Sunyasampadane grew out of the scholarly discussions in an Anubhava Mantapa, and according to Bill Aitken, these were "compiled at the Vijayanagara court during the reign of Praudha Deva Raya".

[54] After the collapse of the Vijayanagara empire, the Lingayat Keladi/Ikkeri dynasty ruled the coastal Karnataka till the invasion and their defeat by Hyder Ali seeking a Mysore-based Sultanate.

"[69][page needed] According to Schouten, in the early 20th century Lingayats tried to raise their social status, by stressing the specific characteristics of their history and of their religious thought as being distinctive from the Brahmin-dominated Hindu-culture.

"[web 10] In March 2018, the Nagamohan Das committee advised "to form a separate religion status for the Lingayats community."

In the 20th century, leaders like Bahu Halakatti revived the egalitarian Vachana philosophy, asserting Lingayat distinctiveness and challenging caste hierarchies.

Demands during the British era, such as separate kitchens and Sanskrit education, reflected tensions between their egalitarian ideals and aspirations for higher social status.

This sparked widespread mobilization among Lingayats but faced opposition from the BJP and RSS, while the Veerashaiva Mahasabha showed mixed reactions.

[73] According to Gauri Lankesh, Veerashaivism is preserved and transmitted by five peethas (Rambhapuri, Ujjaini, Kedar, Shreeshail, Kashi), which play an essential role in the Veerashaiva tradition.

[74][note 15] According to Sri Sharanbasava Devaru of Charanteshwar Mutt, interviewed in 2013, Lingayat is a separate religion, distinct from the Hindu cultural identity, while Veerashaivism is a Shaivite sect "based on Vedic philosophy.

"[web 17] Sri Sharanbasava Devaru further states that Veerashaivism "started gaining importance only after 1904 with some mutts mixing Veerashaivas with Lingayats.

[17][web 1] The istalinga is made up of a small blue-black stone coated with fine durable thick black paste of cow dung ashes mixed with some suitable oil to withstand wear and tear.

Every day, the devotee removes the ishtalinga from its box, places it the in left palm, offers puja, and then meditates about becoming one with the lingam, in their journey towards the atma-linga.

[79] While Lingayats accept the concept of transmigration of soul (metempsychosis, reincarnation),[80] they believe that they are in their last lifetime[80][81] and will be reunited with Shiva after their death by wearing the lingam.

[83] According to Schrader, it was Abbe Dubois who first remarked that Lingayats rejects metempsychosis – the belief that the soul of a human being or animal transmigrates into a new body after death.

Jan Peter Schouten states that it tends towards monotheism with Shiva as the godhead, but with a strong awareness of the monistic unity of the Ultimate Reality.

[78] Schouten calls this as a synthesis of Ramanuja's Vishishtadvaita and Shankara's Advaita traditions, naming it Shakti-Vishishtadvaita, that is monism fused with Shakti beliefs.

[99][100] According to Virasaivism, skilful work and service to one's community, without discrimination, is a means to experiencing the divine, a sentiment that continues to be revered in present-day Virasaivas.

[101] According to Jan Peter Schouten, this doctrine is philosophically rooted in the more ancient So'ham Sanskrit oneness mantra related to Shiva, and which means "I am He".

Upon attaining the age of 8–11 years, the child receives Diksha from the family Guru to know the proper procedure to perform pooja of ishtalinga.

[112][113][113] The 13th-century Telugu Virashaiva poet Palkuriki Somanatha, author of Basava Purana—a scripture of Veerashaivas, for example asserted, "Virashaivism fully conformed to the Vedas and the shastras.

[26] It has been a Lingayat institution since the time of Basava, serving as an academy of mystics, saints and poet-philosophers for discussion of spiritual and mundane questions of life, in open.