Vachanananda Swamiji, president of Harihara Panchmasali Peeth, has emphasised that Hinduism and Lingayatism are fundamentally the same. Speaking at Jnana Yogashram in Vijayapura, he asserted that all Lingayats are Hindus and urged respect across different spiritual traditions, highlighting the commonalities among Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, and other faiths.