SOME ASPECTS OF BHAKTI MOVEMENT

30th October, 2021 Prelims

The Bhakti movement, was a cultural, social and religious revolution.
Bhakti in Sanskrit, means “attachment, fondness, homage, faith, love, devotion, worship and is usually used to denote devotion to and love for a personal god.

Bhakti arose in South India in the 7th to 10th centuries in poems that the Alvars(Vaishnavite) and the Nayanars (Shaivites) composed in Tamil to the gods Vishnu and Shiva, respectively.
In the 7^th-8^th century AD the social fabric of India was torn by all round degradation and cultural distortion and corruption permeated all section of the society, right from the ruling class to the priestly class.
Various malpractices were committed in the name of religion, which vitiated the social structure included animal and human sacrifices, magical rites, spels, casteism etc.
The poor and downtrodden people became victims of these ghastly practices.
It was at this juncture, that Bhakti Movement began in the Tamil that had gradually spread to the rest of India.

Reasons behind rise of Bhakti Movement in a nutshell

Evil practices in Hindu Society like
Brahminical Dominance
rigidity of caste system,
irrelevant rituals and religious practices,
blind faiths and social dogmas.
polytheism,
segregation,
severe economic disparity due to casteism, untouchability etc
Influence of Sufism
Rival religions like Islam: The Islamic principles of one God, equality and fraternity of mankind and complete surrender to God appealed to the liberal Hindus.
Emergence of Great Reformers: Hindu liberals like Rmanuja, ChaitanyaMahaprabhu, Kabir, etc emphasized aspects like equality irrespective of caste, creed, and colour, virtues of kindness of heart and mind, devotion to one God (monotheism), freedom from all kinds of ritualism and preaching in the language of the common people.

Features of the Bhakti Movement:

Unity of God or one God though known by different names.
Bhakti, intense love and devotion, the only way to salvation.
Repetition of the True Name.
Self-Surrender.
Condemnation of rituals, ceremonies and blind faith.
Rejection of idol worship by many saints
Open- mindedness about deciding religious matters.
Did not linked themselves with any particular religious creed
Emphasized on fundamental unity of all religions.
No distinction of different castes, higher or low
Need of a guru for guidance advocated by some.
Preaching through local or regional languages and travelling from place to place for spreading the religious message.

Sankardeva’s philosophy

Sankardeva propagated a form of Bhakti called eka-sharana-naam-dhrama, and espoused a society based on equality and fraternity, free from caste differences, orthodox Brahmanical rituals and sacrifices.
His teaching focused on prayer and chanting (naam) instead of idol worship.
His dharma was based on the four components of deva (god), naam (prayers), bhakats (devotees), and guru (teacher).

Important Bhakti Movement Saints

Contribution of women in Bhakti Movement

AkkaMahadevi: She was a poet of Kannada Language. She is known to have considered the god Shiva as her husband. Her mystical poems have notable contribution to Kannada literature.
MeeraBai:MeeraBai a mystical poet and singer known for her songs of devotion to Lord Krishna. Mira is a symbol of a liberated woman who risked all to protect her independence, freedom, and love towards Krishna.
Andal: A well-known South Indian poet and only female among 12 Alwars of TamilNadu.
LalDed: The Muslim poetess from Kashmir Lalded&HabbaKhatun, represented the saint tradition of Bhakti and wrote Vakhs (maxims), which are peerless gems of spiritual experience.
JanaBai:Janabai was influenced by teachings of Saint Namdev. Her poetry encompasses the discrimination faced by women &sudras. This awakens the sudras and women for their rights.

Social impact:

Rejection of the caste distinction. People belonging to all “so called classes” began to mix together on the basis of equality.
It led to the upliftment of people in the lower rungs of the society in fundamental ways.
They took their meals together from the common kitchen. The movement tried to loosen the bond of caste.
A spirit of harmony among different sections of society and religion received impetus.
The evil practice of ‘Sati’ received some set back.
The status of women got improved.

Religious impact:

The movement aroused awakening among the Hindus and Muslims regarding the futility of ritualism and superstitions.
The feeling of appreciation of the difference between the thought and practices of the two religions emerged.
The movement encouraged religious toleration.
It gave birth to a new sect i.e. Sikhism.

Impetus to Vernacular Languages

In place of Sanskrit, Arabic and Persian, the Bhakti saints preached through the medium of local languages which could be understood very easily.
For instance Surdas used ‘Brij’ dialect. GoswamiTulsi Das composed his works in ‘Awadhi’.

Moral influence

The movement attempted to infuse a spirit of piety in the daily life of the people.
It emphasized earning of wealth through hard work and honest means.
It encouraged the value of social service to the poor and the needy.
It developed a humanitarian attitude. It pointed out the virtues of contentment and self control.
It drew attention to the evils of anger, greed and vanity.

Bhakti movement, which dates back to the 6th century, reshaped the cultural, social and religious life of India, breaking barriers of caste and gender and it continues to do so when India and the world is grappling with issues like:
- Inter-communal Violence: Figures at 723 for the year 2017 (NCRB Report).Communal violence rose by 28% from 2014 to 2017.
- Intolerance :India ranks fourth highest in terms of social hostilities against religion (PEW Report)
- Inequality: The top 10% of the Indian population holds 77% of the total national wealth- Oxfam Report.
- Casteism
Top 10% upper caste households own 60% wealth - World Inequality Database.
According to a report by Human Rights Watch: Discriminatory and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment of over 165 million people in India has been justified on the basis of caste.
Nine states accounted for 84% of all crimes against Dalits in India in 2019 though they accounted for only 54% of the country’s SC population--National Crime Records Bureau.
- Status of women:
India’s female labour force participation rate stands distressingly low at 23.4 per cent (2019) as per the World Bank (modelled ILO estimates)
The crime rate registered per lakh women population is 62.4 per cent in 2019, up from the 58.8 per cent figure of 2018- NCRB
India ranked 108^th out of 149 countries on Gender Gap Index by World Economic Forum.

It is clearly evident that the songs and the teachings of the Sufi and the Bhaki saints are relevant even today.
It can actually act as a healing balm to the suppressed classes.
It still encourages religious tolerance by promoting the idea of universal brotherhood.
We as a society are at a juncture even in this 21^st century where annihilation from the shackles of regressive and redundant social practices like oppression of women, casteism and religious prejudices from the root and cause can be achieved only if we follow the teachings of great people like that of the saints of Bhakti Movement.

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