Bhakti Movement

Bhakti Movement: Meaning, Features and Impact Meaning of Bhakti Movement: Usually it is accepted that the most characteristic feature of the relig eligio ious us deve develo lopm pmen entt duri during ng the the medi mediev eval al peri period od was was the the movement which emphasized single-minded intense devotion to od! It was a complete surrender of oneself to od!  "he movement which emphasized primarily these ideas was the Bhakti movement#devotion to od! Bhakti to od was accepted as salvation!

Main Features of the Bhakti Movement: $! Unity of od or one od though known %y di&erent names! '! Bhakti, intense love and devotion, the only way to salvation! (! )epetition of the "rue *ame! +! elf-urrender e lf-urrender!! ! .ondemnation of rituals, ceremonies and %lind faith! /! )e0ection of idol worship %y many saints 1! 2pen- mindedness a%out deciding religious matters! 3! *o distinction of di&erent castes, higher or low

4! *eed of a guru for guidance advocated %y some! $5! 6reaching7s through local or regional languages and travelling from place to place for spreading the religious message! Many doctrines of the Bhakti cult may %e found in the Bhagavadita! "he idea of the unity of od is re8ected in the words, 9ven those devotees who worship other gods worship Me alone!; !  "he doctrine of self-surrender is echoed in the words of Aord rishna, 9ive up all religious paths, and take refuge in Me alone! I shall deliver thee from all sins!; ! "he idea of an open mind to decide for oneself in matters of religion may %e discovered in the lines,; @ you do as thou choosest; ! Dowever, the real development of Bhakti took place in outh India %etween the 1th and the $'th centuries through the teachings of  poet saints known as Elvars and *ayanar whose hymns were collected and compiled in the $5th century! "he u saints of the Muslims also emphasized devotion to Ellah ! "he spiritual yearning made a%ir, uru *anak, Mira%ai, urdas, "ulsi Gas, .haitanya and others, the great eHponents of Bhakti movement!

Impact of the Bhakti Movement on the Medieval Indian Society: ?ith a view to understand the impact of the Bhakti movement, we have to consider the %ackground under which the movement

gained momentum! Under the impact of the Muslim rule, the Dindus had su&ered a lot materially, morally and spiritually! "he Muslim rulers in general wanted to enforce the Islamic laws on the Dindus! "he Muslim rule had put dread in the hearts of the Dindu masses!  "hey wanted some solace to heal their despairing hearts! "he Bhakti movement %rought them hope and support and inner strength to save themselves! Guring the course of time, several evil practices had crept into the Dindu society! "here was a lot of  caste and class distinction! everal divisions had occurred!  "here was a good deal of %itter

men %etween

the

two

communities i!e! the Dindus and Muslims! ome healing touch was needed! Fortunately with the foreign invaders, some u Muslim saints had also come to India and settled here! "hey were very li%eral minded! "hey emphasized the virtues of love and devotion, %rotherhood and euality etc! "his helped to %ring the two communities nearer! It also helped to harmonise the con8icting interests!  "he saints of the Bhakti movement re0ected the di&erence of  caste and Uati7! En important factor which led to the popularity of  Bhakti movement was that most of the promoters of this movement attempted to reconcile the di&erences %etween the Dindus and the Muslims %y stressing that )ama and )ahim were one and the same! "hey condemned the hatred of the fanatic 6andits and Mullas alike!

 "he Dindus realised that it was diJcult to drive away the Muslim rulers and Muslims from India! 2n the other hand the Muslims also appreciated that the Dindus were in a%solute ma0ority and it was impossi%le to force all of them to em%race Islam! o under the impact of the new movement %oth sides started making e&orts for coming closer to each other! For the Dindus the e&ort was initiated %y the Dindu saints of the Bhakti movement and for the Muslims %y the u aints!  "he Dindu and as well as the Muslim saints emphasized religious simplicity! "hey stressed human ualities and moral attitudes!  "hey stressed that a true religious man is one who is pure in thought and action!  "he Bhakti saints %elieved in euality of man and man! Eccording to them there was no distinction and consideration of high and low on the %asis of %irth! "heir doors were open to all classes!  "he Bhakti saints tried to generate an environment of good will %etween the Dindus and the Muslims!  "he Bhakti saints were social reformers also! "hey condemned several social evils!  "he u aints like hwa0a Muinuddin .histi, Bakhyiya aki, *izamudin Eulia and *asiruddin .hirag-i-Gelhi etc! attempted to restrain the fanaticism of the Muslims and tried to %ring them nearer to the Dindus! everal Dindus %ecame followers of the u saints %ut without relinuishing their own religion!

Social impact:  "he most important social impact of the Bhakti movement was that the followers of the Bhakti movement re0ected the caste distinction! "hey %egan to miH together on the %asis of euality!  "hey took their meals together from the common kitchen! "he movement tried to loosen the %ond of caste! E spirit of harmony among di&erent sections of society and religion received impetus!  "he evil practice of Kati7 received some set %ack!  "he status of women received more importance!

Religious impact:  "he movement aroused awakening among the Dindus and Muslims regarding the futility of ritualism and superstitions! "he feeling of appreciation of the di&erence %etween the thought and practices

of

the

two

religions

emerged!

"he

movement

encouraged religious toleration! uru ranth ahe% the holiest %ook of the ikhs which was complied later on included the messages of saints %elonging to di&erent sects! "his was on account of the spirit of toleration preached %y the Bhakti saints!

Promotion of regional languages of the common people: In place of anskrit, Era%ic and 6ersian, the Bhakti saints preached through the medium of local languages which could %e understood very easily! For instance the language of a%ir was a

miHture of several languages of every day use! urdas used KBri07 dialect! oswami "ulsi Gas composed his works in KEwadhi7!

Political inuence: ome of the rulers adopted li%eral religious policies under the impact of the Bhakti movement!

Moral inuence:  "he 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!

Summing up:  "he Bhakti movement succeeded to a very small eHtent in realizing its two-fold o%0ective i!e! %ringing a%out reforms in Dinduism and developing harmonious relations %etween the Dindus and the Muslims! It gave %irth to a new sect i!e! ikhism! It is perhaps far-fetched to say that Ek%ar7s %road outlook was on account of the impact of the Bhakti movement! "he movement further divided the Dindu society! For instance the followers of  a%ir came to %e known as a%ir 6anthis!