It pointed out the virtues of contentment and self control. In the devotional literature the word is used to mean unquestionable faith and utter devotion to God. Bhakti arose in South India in the 7th to 10th centuries in poems that the Alvars and the Nayanars composed in Tamil to the gods Vishnu and Shiva, respectively. The. [10] In turn it influenced devotional practices in Islam such as Sufism,[56] and other religions in India from the 15th century onwards, such as Sikhism, Christianity,[57] and Jainism. In this article, we will learn about the significance of temples and monastic institutions. Terms of Service 7. Bhakti to God was accepted as salvation. Plagiarism Prevention 5. Initially, the movement originated around Shaivites and Vaishnavites. Its results have deeply influenced contemporary religious and cultural trends in India. That God is one single entity, with different names. Its fundamental ideas of love and devotion to a personal God were wholly Hindu; the ideas of theoneness of the Godhead upon which its doctrine was founded were also primarily Hindu. It gave a new dimension to the ancient beliefs and values, which heralded a major change in the existing social conditions. One should accept a genuine spiritual master (Guru), and under him or her constantly practice the activities of Bhakti yoga to achieve the highest perfection of life. , including Ramanuja, Chaitanya, Jaidev, Kabir, Ramanand, believed in the unity of God. The Bhakti movement received its impetus from the presence of iconoclastic Muslim preachers who stressed upon the unity of God, vehemently criticized the Hindu religion and thought and attempted to convert Hindus to their religion by resorting to all kinds of means. That is why Bhakti movement has often been presented as a Hindu response to the egalitarian message of Islam and its spread among the lower classes of Hindu society. This was on account of the spirit of toleration preached by the Bhakti saints. Pechilis in her book on Bhakti movement, for example, states:[135]. The concept was only to propel the Indian society to devote their life for the sake of love, devotion, and equity. Image Guidelines 4. In India, Sufism adopted many native Indian concepts such as yogic postures, music and dance. The Bhakti saints strongly denounce image-worship of the Hindus. The last of three epilogue verses of the Shvetashvatara Upanishad, 6.23, uses the word Bhakti as follows. [103], Some scholars call Sikhism a Bhakti sect of Indian traditions. bringing about reforms in Hinduism and developing harmonious relations between the Hindus and the Muslims. [130][131], Bhakti has been a prevalent practice in various Jaina sects, wherein learned Tirthankara (Jina) and human gurus are considered superior beings and venerated with offerings, songs and rat prayers. image source: theharekrishnamovement.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/lord-brahma-steeling-the-cowherd-boys-and-calves.jpg. The teachings acted as a healing balm to the suppressed classes. The Bhakti saints were social reformers also. During the time of Muslim rule in India the Hindu society was full of many social anomalies like rigidity of caste system, irrelevant rituals and religious practices, blind faiths and social dogmas. [127], Some Sikh sects outside the Punjab-region of India, such as those found in Maharashtra and Bihar, practice Aarti with lamps in a Gurdwara. Many people suggest that Ramanuja travelled from Chola to Mysore and established the Vaishnav group before their death. Observing fasts, going on pilgrimages, reading namaz or worshipping deities were totally useless if they were not done with purity of thought or a sense of surrender to God. This purification could be achieved through a high standard of morality in ones thought and action. It emphasized earning of wealth through hard work and honest means. 2. [7] These poet-saints championed a wide range of philosophical positions within their society, ranging from the theistic dualism of Dvaita to the absolute monism of Advaita Vedanta. After living together for generations and continuous interaction between the people of two communities there grew a feeling of magnanimity and generosity among the Hindus and Muslims. 3. 5. The other prominent feature of Bhakti movement was its emphasis on Bhakti or devotion to God as the only means to achieve salvation. Several splits had happened. Causes Of Bhakti Movement They believe that God lives in ones heart and not in any specific temple or mosque. Repetition of the True Name. The term Bhakti refers to a single-minded devotion to one God. 8. Disclaimer 8. Sufism found adherents among both Muslims and Hindus. Salient Features of Bhakti Movement - Bhakti Movement in India - BrainKart Answer: The Bhakti movement was primarily dominated by the significant contributions of Guru Nanak, Kabir and Ramana Answer: The Saiva Nayanars and Vaishnava Alvars founded the Bhakti movement. Main Features of the Bhakti Movement: Unity of God or one God though known by different names. [14] Many scholars are now characterizing the emergence of Bhakti in medieval India as a revival, reworking, and recontextualization of the central themes of the Vedic traditions.[14]. The Sufi Saints like Khwaja Muinuddin Chisti, Bakhyiya Kaki, Nizamudin Aulia and Nasiruddin Chirag-i-Delhi etc. The Muslims first arrived in India in the 8th century AD. [138] Further, states Pollock, evidence of Bhakti trends in ancient southeast Asian Hinduism in the 1st millennium CE, such as those in Cambodia and Indonesia where Vedic era is unknown, and where upper caste Tamil Hindu nobility and merchants introduced Bhakti ideas of Hinduism, suggest the roots and the nature of Bhakti movement be primarily spiritual and political quest instead of the rebellion of some form. Some healing touch was needed. 16.4.1 Political Factors for the Rise of Bhakti Movement 16.4.2 Socio-Economic Factors 16.5 Main Popular Movements and their Characteristics 16.5.1 Monotheistic Movements of North India 16.5.2 Common Characteristic Features 16.5.3 Vaishnava Bhakti Movement in North India 16.5.4 Vaishnava Bhakti Movement in Bengal 16.5.5 Bhakti Movement in . For example. As a movement, it emphasized on the mutual intense emotional attachment and love of a devotee toward a personal god and of the god for the devotee. Thus Bhakti is one of the three recognized means of achieving salvation. Surdas used Brij dialect. The major similarities and common ideas can be summarized in the following manner: 1. Equality of men or universal brotherhood was another cardinal philosophy of the Bhakti cult. Several divisions had occurred. Unacademy is Indias largest online learning platform. With such long-lasting impacts, the religious depression of the medieval society was set aside. Even some of the prominent rulers of India became ardent followers of these religions. The Bhakti movement also led to the prominence of the concept of female devotion, of poet-saints such as Andal coming to occupy the popular imagination of the common people along with her male counterparts. Many, but not all, bhakti movements were open to people of both genders and all castes. Adi Shankaracharya, an 8th-century Hindu religious reformer and scholar, was also instrumental in extending the Bhakti movement throughout India. With supreme devotion to the Almighty one could realize Him. I swear by Rama. I lie awake here in the thick of night. The method of worship and belief in God took a new turn during the movement. The main objective was to unite efforts through cross-sectoral coordination among various ministries and programmes, with the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) serving as the nodal agency. Updates? Thus, the general public was greatly influenced by the reforms of these Bhakti cults. They range from the 7th to 9th century, with Muslim traders settling in coastal regions of the Indian peninsula, to Muslims seeking asylum in Tamil Nadu, to raids in northwest India by, Karen Pechelis (2011), "Bhakti Traditions", in. A similar language, called Brajabuli was popularised by Vidyapati,[77][78] which was adopted by several writers in Odisha[79][80] in the medieval times, and in Bengal during its renaissance. Jaidev-Jaidev was a Sanskrit poet of the 12th century, famous for Gita Govindas poem. The orientalist images of bhakti were formulated in a context of discovery: a time of organized cultural contact, in which many agencies, including administrative, scholarly, and missionary sometimes embodied in a single person sought knowledge of India. Please read the description below to learn about their work and contribution. The idea of an open mind to decide for oneself in matters of religion may be discovered in the lines, you do as thou choosest (XVIII 63). Let us get some information and understand the trading history of India with Europe during the medieval period. The Hindu and as well as the Muslim saints emphasized religious simplicity. What are the similarities between Bhakti and Sufi movement? Corrections? [90] Some scholars disagree that the Bhakti movement was premised on such social inequalities. Bhakti Movement: Definition, Features, Spread & Impact on Indian The spiritual yearning made Kabir, Guru Nanak, Mirabai, Surdas, Tulsi Das, Chaitanya and others, the great exponents of Bhakti movement. Before uploading and sharing your knowledge on this site, please read the following pages: 1. [55], According to Wendy Doniger, the nature of Bhakti movement may have been affected by the "surrender to God" daily practices of Islam when it arrived in India. Therefore, to provide a deep study of the revolution, the write-up will discuss the role, salient. the Hindus and Muslims. W. Owen Cole and Piara Singh Sambhi (1997), A Mandair (2011), "Time and religion-making in modern Sikhism", in, "CBSE Class 12 History #CrashCourse: Bhakti movement's emergence and influence", "Ankiya-bhaona of Sankaradeva and Madhavadeva performed in the Sattra Institutions of Assam: A study", The History and Culture of the Indian People, "Andal-Nacciyar Tirumoli Poetry Makes Worlds", "Religious Movements in Hindu Social Contexts: A Study of Paradigms for Contextual "Church" Development", "The Sacred Geography of the Tamil Shaivite Hymns", "Shrines, Shamanism, and Love Poetry: Elements in the Emergence of Popular Tamil Bhakti", "Mrb and Her Contributions to the Bhakti Movement", "Author and Authority in the Bhakti Poetry of North India", "The Vithoba Faith of Maharashtra: The Vithoba Temple of Pandharpur and Its Mythological Structure", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bhakti_movement&oldid=1151004976, All Wikipedia articles written in Indian English, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 21 April 2023, at 09:44. Rejection of idol worship by many saints. Briefly describe the main features of the bhakti movement - Brainly Several harmful habits had crept into Hindu culture over time. During the course of time, several evil practices had crept into the Hindu society. The Supreme Bramhan is most merciful. [104][105] In Sikhism, "nirguni Bhakti" is emphasised devotion to a divine without Gunas (qualities or form),[105][106][107] but it accepts both nirguni and saguni forms of the divine. Complete surrender alone leads to salvation. 6. 2. Bhakti movement (video) | Early Hinduism | Khan Academy [32] Hiriyanna interprets the text to be introducing "personal theism" in the form of Shiva Bhakti, with a shift to monotheism but in the henotheistic context where the individual is encouraged to discover his own definition and sense of God.[33]. There were a lot of castes and social class division. The thirteen Hindu bhagats whose hymns were entered into the text, were poet saints of the Bhakti movement, and included Namdev, Pipa, Ravidas, Beni, Bhikhan, Dhanna, Jayadeva, Parmanand, Sadhana, Sain, Surdas, Trilochan, while the two Muslim bhagats were Kabir and Sufi saint Farid. He used to enchant songs and poems for Lord Krishna, resulting in an uprising in Vaishnavism. He used to enchant songs and poems for Lord Krishna, resulting in an uprising in Vaishnavism. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Common men in general had developed an averse attitude towards these social evils and were in need of a liberal form of religion where they could identify themselves with simple religious practices. within the body the incense, the lamps, and the food-offerings, It is known as the cult of Satyapir. The Bhakti movement was fundamentally monotheistic, with adherents worshipping a single personal God who may have a form (saguna) or be formless (nirguna). The leaders extended their support to help the ordinary people attain salvation between the 14th and 15th centuries. [7], The Bhakti movement introduced new forms of voluntary social giving such as Seva (service, for example to a temple or guru school or community construction), dna (charity), and community kitchens with free shared food. They believed in a formless and shapeless God which was the Supreme power. The Sufi saints of the Muslims also emphasized devotion to Allah (God). A Brief Guide On Main Principles Of Bhakti Movement - Unacademy The most glorious period of the Lodi Dynasty was the ruling period of Sikander Lodi. BHAKTI AND SUFI MOVEMENT - PWOnlyIAS [85], The Bhakti movement led to devotional transformation of medieval Hindu society, wherein Vedic rituals or alternatively ascetic monk-like lifestyle for moksha gave way to individualistic loving relationship with a personally defined god. Bhakti, intense love and devotion, the only way to salvation. They, therefore, felt the urgent necessity of making the dormant Hinduism more active and a living force among the common masses. Repetition of the True Name. They stressed that a true religious man is one who is pure in thought and action. The earliest reformer-saint in South was Adi Shankaracharya who had a unique success. [92], Sheldon Pollock writes that the Bhakti movement was neither a rebellion against Brahmins and the upper castes nor a rebellion against the Sanskrit language, because many of the prominent thinkers and earliest champions of the Bhakti movement were Brahmins and from upper castes, and because much of the early and later Bhakti poetry and literature was in Sanskrit. [102] Bhakti temples and matha (Hindu monasteries) of India adopted social functions such as relief to victims after a natural disaster, helping the poor and marginal farmers, providing community labor, feeding houses for the poor, free hostels for poor children and promoting folk culture. Question 3: What were the main features of Bhakti? Bhakti Movement: Meaning, Features and Impact - History Discussion Preachings through local or regional languages and travelling from place to place for spreading the religious message. [7] Salvation which was previously considered attainable only by men of Brahmin, Kshatriya and Vaishya castes, became available to everyone. Max Muller states that the word Bhakti appears only in one last verse of the epilogue, could have been a later insertion and may not be theistic as the word was later used in much Sandilya Sutras. [84], The Bhakti movement of Hinduism saw two ways of imaging the nature of the divine (Brahman) Nirguna and Saguna. Get all the important information related to the UPSC Civil Services Exam including the process of application, important calendar dates, eligibility criteria, exam centers etc. Right from the time of the compilation of the Vedas, the word Bhakti has come into vogue. Muslim ideas of surrender to God may have influenced Hindu ideas of bhakti from the start, and later poet-saints such as Kabir (14401518) introduced Sufi (mystical) elements from Islam. [54] According to Pande, the psychological impact of Muslim conquest may have initially contributed to community-style bhakti by Hindus. The Bhakti exponents raised their powerful voice against different types of immoral acts like infanticide and sati and encouraged prohibition of wine, tobacco and toddy. [63][82] These writers championed a spectrum of philosophical positions ranging from theistic dualism, qualified nondualism and absolute monism. The former's adherents, known as Vaishnavas, were further classified into Krishna - both avatars of Vishnu - as their personal God. 6. image source: bhaktiwomen.org/sites/default/files/field/image/asta-gopis_0.jpg. [119][125][note 2] The Bhakti themes in Sikhism also incorporate Shakti (power) ideas. They aimed to set up a good social order upholding high moral values. Condemnation of rituals, ceremonies and blind faith. They were based on Bhakti which was the outcome of the feeling of escapism which dominated the Hindu mind as a result of the conquest of its sacred places in Islam.. Main Features of the Bhakti Movement Unity of God or one God though known by different names. It is as old as Hinduism itself. Although, theBhakti saintsplayed a vital role in the revolution of medieval India. [1], The movement started with the Shaiva Nayanars[44] and the Vaishnava Alvars, who lived between 5th and 9th century CE. Their efforts helped in the promotion o Answer: Only one God exists. [141], Scholars increasingly are dropping, states Karen Pechilis, the old premises and the language of "radical otherness, monotheism and reform of orthodoxy" for Bhakti movement. Sufism derives is inspiration from Islam. Adultery and sodomy were also discouraged. They believe that God lives in ones heart and not in any specific temple or mosque. Although, his lessons greatly impacted the Indian society that still enchanted Kabir Chaura Varanasi. It preached against the caste system, used local languages to reach among the crowds. The Upanishad includes verses wherein God can be identified with the Supreme (Brahman-Atman, Self, Soul) in Vedanta monistic theosophy, verses that support the dualistic view of Samkhya doctrines, as well as the synthetic novelty of triple Brahman where a triune exists as the divine soul (Isvara, theistic God), individual soul (self) and nature (Prakrti, matter). To him who is high-minded, The spirit of synthesis manifested itself in the teachings of the preachers. Sikhism. Sufism, however, gained prominence in the 10th and 11th centuries during the reign of the Delhi Sultanate. They ate their meals in the shared kitchen as a group. Following are the major changes that took place during and after the Bhakti movement: 1.