Anubhava Mandapam is a religious complex located in Basavakalyan in Bidar district in the state of Karnataka. Anubhava Mantapa is the world’s first religious parliament, literally translated as “Parliament of Experience”. Anubhava Mantapa, founded by Basavanna in the 12th century, is a religious complex in Basavakalyana and an academy for mystics, saints and philosophers of the Lingayat faith.
Anubhava Mandap is about 738.9 km from Bangalore, 6 km from Basavakalyan and 76 km from Bidar city.
It was used primarily as a tool for all religious and philosophical thought related to Hindu and Veerashaiva (Lingayat) values, was also the fountainhead of vachana literature and was attended by many devotees from other parts of India under Allama Prabhu’s presidency.
Akka Mahadevi, Allama Prabhu, Channabasavanna, Basavanna and other stalwarts of Veerashaiva Brahmanism were active in Anubhava Mantapa. The Sharanas came from all social castes and participated without any discrimination: men, women, Dalits, Shudras, Brahmins, Vaishyas – all were united. The social reformer Basaveshwara provided equal opportunities to these devotees, encouraged them to rely on their own work, think rationally and contribute to society through “dasoha”.
This experience was also the source of mantapa vachana literature, a medium for propagating Sarana’s outlook and philosophical thought.. It was in many ways a socio-spiritual revolution unique to the establishment of an egalitarian society. The members of Shivanubhava Mandapa strive to build a vibrant, casteless, non-sectarian society through the promotion of human values through vachanas and primary worship of Lord Shiva in a non-mainstream manner.
The philosophy propounded by Basaveshwara was based on the principles of arivu (true knowledge), achara (right conduct) and anubha (divine experience) which brought about social, religious and economic reforms at that time.