Tamilnadu
Board 11th History Notes
(English)
Chapter
18. Bhakti Movement In Medieval India
Feature :
Notes Class
: 11th
Language :
English By
Priyanshu Thakur
Content-Learning
Objectives
Students
will acquire knowledge about
·
Rise and spread of Bhakti Movement in
India.
·
Sufism and its development in India.
·
Bhakti saints like Sankara, Ramanuja
and others.
·
Ramananda, Kabir and Guru Nanak and
their teachings.
·
Bhakti Movement in Bengal and
Maharashtra. 6. Importance of Bhakti Movement.
Introduction
We have
already studied the rise of Bhakti cult in Tamil Nadu during the seventh and
eight centuries. The Saivaite Nayanmars and Vashnavaite Alwars preached the
Bhakti cult under the Pallavas, Pandyas and Cholas. But, the spread of Bhakti
movement in medieval India is a different kind. This medieval Bhakti movement
was the direct result of the influence of the spread of Islam in India.
Monotheism or belief in one God, equality and brotherhood of man and rejection
of rituals and class divisions are the distinctive characteristics of Islam.
These Islamic ideas created a profound impact on the religious leaders of this
period. Moreover, the preaching of Sufi teachers shaped the thinking of Bhakti
reformers like Ramananda, Kabir and Nanak.
Sufism
Sufism was a liberal reform movement
within Islam. It had its origin in Persia and spread into India in the eleventh
century. The first Sufi saint Shaikh Ismail of Lahore started preaching his
ideas. The most famous of the Sufi saints of India was Khwaja Muinuddin
Chishti, who settled in Ajmer which became the centre of his activities. He had
a number of disciples who are called Sufis of the Chishti order. Another well
known Sufi saint was Bahauddin Zakariya who came under the influence of another
famous mystic Shihabuddin Suhrawardi. His branch of Sufi saints was known as
the Sufis of the Suhrawardi Order. Yet another famous Sufi saint was Nizamuddin
Auliya who belonged to the Chishti order and who was a mighty spiritual force.
These Sufi saints are revered even today by not only Muslims but by a large
number of Hindus. Their tombs have become popular places of pilgrimage for both
communities.
Sufism stressed the elements of
love and devotion as effective means of the realisation of God. Love of God
meant love of humanity and so the Sufis believed service to humanity was
tantamount to service to God. In Sufism, self discipline was considered an
essential condition to gain knowledge of God by sense of perception. While
orthodox Muslims emphasise external conduct, the Sufis lay stress on inner
purity. While the orthodox believe in blind observance of rituals, the Sufis
consider love and devotion as the only means of attaining salvation. According
to them one must have the guidance of a pir or guru, without which spiritual
development is impossible. Sufism also inculcated a spirit of tolerance among
its followers. Other ideas emphasised by Sufism are meditation, good actions,
repentance for sins, performance of prayers and pilgrimages, fasting, charity
and suppression of passions by ascetic practices.
These liberal and unorthodox
features of Sufism had a profound influence on medieval Bhakti saints. In the
later period, Akbar, the Mughal emperor, appreciated Sufi doctrines which
shaped his religious outlook and religious policies. When the Sufi movement was
becoming popular in India, about the same time the Bhakti cult was gaining
strength among the Hindus. The two parallel movements based on the doctrines of
love and selfless devotion contributed a great deal to bringing the two
communities closer together. However, this trend did not last long.
Bhakti Movement
In the ninth century Sankara
started a Hindu revivalist movement giving a new orientation to Hinduism. He
was born in Kaladi in Kerala. His doctrine of Advaita or Monism was too
abstract to appeal to the common man. Moreover, there was a reaction against
the Advaita concept of Nirgunabrahman (God without attributes) with the
emergence of the idea of Sagunabrahman (God with attributes).
In the twelfth century,
Ramanuja, who was born at Sriperumbudur near modern Chennai, preached
Visishtadvaita. According to him God is Sagunabrahman. The creative process and
all the objects in creation are real but not illusory as was held by
Sankaracharya. Therefore, God, soul, matter are real. But God is inner
substance and the rest are his attributes. He also advocated prabattimarga or
path of self-surrender to God. He invited the downtrodden to Vaishnavism.
In the thirteenth century,
Madhava from Kannada region propagated Dvaita or dualism of Jivatma and
Paramatma. According to his philosophy, the world is not an illusion but a
reality. God, soul, matter are unique in nature. Nimbarka and Vallabhacharya
were also other preachers of Vaishnavite Bhakti in the Telungana region. Surdas
was the disciple of Vallabhacharya and he popularized Krishna cult in north
India. Mirabai was a great devotee of Krishna and she became popular in Rajasthan
for her bhajans. Tulsidas was a worshipper of Rama and composed the famous
Ramcharitmanas, the Hindi version of Ramayana.
In the fourteenth and
fifteenth centuries, Ramananda, Kabir and Nanak remained great apostles of the
Bhakti cult. They drew inspiration from old masters but showed a new path. They
helped the common people to shed age-old superstitions and attain salvation
through Bhakti or pure devotion. Unlike the early reformers, they were not
linked with any particular religious creed and did not believe in rituals and
ceremonies. They condemned polytheism and believed in one god. They also
denounced all forms of idolatry. They strongly believed in Bhakti as the only
means of salvation. They also emphasised the fundamental unity of all
religions.
Ramananda
Ramananda
was born at Allahabad. He was originally a follower of Ramanuja. Later he
founded his own sect and preached his principles in Hindi at Banaras and Agra.
He was a worshipper of Rama. He was the first to employ the vernacular medium
to propagate his ideas. Simplification of worship and emancipation of people
from the traditional caste rules were his two important contributions to the
Bhakti movement. He opposed the caste system and chose his disciples from all
sections of society disregarding caste. His disciples were: a) Kabir, a Muslim
weaver b) Raidasa, a cobbler c) Sena, a barber d) Sadhana, a butcher e) Dhanna,
a Jat farmer f) Naraharai, a goldsmith and g) Pipa, a Rajput prince.
Kabir
Among the
disciples of Ramananda the most famous was Kabir. He was born near Banaras to a
brahmin widow. But he was brought up by a Muslim couple who were weavers by
profession. He possessed an inquiring mind and while in Benares learnt much
about Hinduism. He became familiar with Islamic teachings also and Ramananda
initiated him into the higher knowledge of Hindu and Muslim religious and
philosophical ideas. Kabir’s object was to reconcile Hindus and Muslims and
establish harmony between the two sects. He denounced idolatry and rituals and
laid great emphasis on the equality of man before God. He emphasised the
essential oneness of all religions by describing Hindus and Muslims ‘as pots of
the same clay’. To him Rama and Allah, temple and mosque were the same. He
regarded devotion to god as an effective means of salvation and urged that to
achieve this one must have a pure heart, free from cruelty, dishonesty,
hypocrisy and insincerity. He is regarded as the greatest of the mystic saints
and his followers are called Kabirpanthis.
Guru Nanak
Another
well-known saint-preacher of the medieval period was Guru Nanak, founder of the
Sikh religion and a disciple of Kabir. He was born in Talwandi near Lahore. He
denounced caste distinctions and rituals like bathing in holy rivers. His
conception of religion was highly practical and sternly ethical. He exhorted
people to give up selfishness, falsehood and hypocrisy and to lead a life of
truth, honesty and kindness. ‘Abide pure amidst the impurities of the world’
was one of his famous sayings. His life was dedicated to establishing harmony
between Hindus and Muslims. His followers were known as Sikhs.
Chaitanya was another well-known saint and reformer of Bengal who
popularised the Krishna cult. He renounced the world, became an ascetic and
wandered all over the country preaching his ideas. He proclaimed the universal
brotherhood of man and condemned all distinction based on religion and caste.
He emphasised love and peace and showed great sympathy to the sufferings of
other people, especially that of the poor and the weak. He believed that
through love and devotion, song and dance, a devotee can feel the presence of
God. He accepted disciples from all classes and castes and his teachings are
widely followed in Bengal even today.
Gnanadeva was the founder of the Bhakti Movement in Maharashtra in the
thirteenth century. It was called Maharashtra dharma. He wrote a commentary of
Bhagavat Gita called Gnaneswari. Namadeva preached the gospel of love. He
opposed idol worship and priestly domination. He also opposed the caste system.
In the sixteenth century, Ekanatha opposed caste distinctions and sympathetic
towards the lower castes. He composed many lyrics and his bhajans and kirtans
were famous. Another Bhakti saint of Maharashtra was Tukaram, a contemporary of
Sivaji. He was responsible for creating a background for Maratha nationalism.
He opposed all social distinctions.
Importance of the Bhakti Movement
The importance of the Bhakti movement was very great. Various preachers
spoke and wrote in the regional languages. So, the Bhakti movement provided an
impetus for the development of regional languages such as Hindi, Marathi,
Bengali, Kannada, etc. Through these languages they made direct appeal to the
masses. As the caste system was condemned by the Bhakti saints, the lower
classes were raised to a position of great importance. The importance of women
in society was also increased because the Bhakti movement gave equal importance
to them. Moreover, the Bhakti movement gave to the people a simple religion,
without complicated rituals. They were required to show sincere devotion to
God. The new idea of a life of charity and service to fellow people developed.
Summary-Learning
Outcome
After
learning this lesson the students will be to explain
·
Origin and spread of Bhakti Movement
in medieval India.
·
Sufism and its different orders such
as Chishti and Suhrwardi Orders.
·
Early Bhakti saints like Sankara,
Ramanuja and others.
·
The teachings of Ramananda, Kabir and
Guru Nanak.
·
Bhakti Movement in Bengal and
Maharashtra.
·
Importance of Bhakti Movement.
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