Sufism and Bhakti Movement

Sufism

• Originated in Persia & spread to India by 11^th century.
• 1^st Sufi saint was Shaik Ismail of Lahore
• Most famous Sufi saint of India was Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti, who settled in Ajmer which became centre of his activities
• His disciples were called Sufis of Chisti order > Nizamuddin Aulia of Chisti order became a mighty spiritual force
• Sufism stressed on Love & devotion as an effective & only mean of realization of God & attaining salvation
• According to Sufism, Love of God meant love of humanity, they believed service to humanity equals service of God
• Self-discipline was key to gain knowledge of God by perception
• Sufism believed in inner purity not in rituals, they believed in brotherhood & in one God (Did not believe in class division)
• According to them, one must have guidance of a Pir or Guru, without whom spiritual development is impossible
• Sufism inculcated a spirit of tolerance among its followers
• Sufism emphasized on Meditation, Good action, Repentance of sins, Performance of prayers, Pilgrimage, Fasting, Charity & Suppression of passions by ascetic practices
• When Sufi movement was becoming popular in India, about the same time Bhakti cult was also gaining strength among Hindus.
• The liberal & unorthodox features of Sufism had a profound influence on medieval Bhakti Saints

Bhakti Movement

900 AD > Shankaracharya

• Born in Kaladi, Kerala
• Followed doctrine of advaita / monoism (Non duality & oneness of God)
• Faced reaction against his concept of Nirgunbrahamana (or God without attributes) due to emergence of idea of Sagunabrahamana (or God with attributes)

1200 AD > Ramanuja

• Born in Sriperumbur, Chennai
• Advocated Prabhattimarga (or path of self-surrender) to God
• Preached philosophy of vishishtavaida; According to which God is Sagunbrahamana
• Taught that God is an inner substance & rest are his attributes, Hence God, Soul & matter are real
• According to him, creative process & all objects in creation are real, not illusionary as depicted by Shankaracharya

1300 AD > Madhava @ Kannada

• Propagated the philosophy of Dvaita, Dualism of Jivatma & Parmatma
• According to his philosophy, world is not an illusion but a reality & God, soul & matter are unique in nature

1400 – 1500 AD > Ramananda, Kabir & Nanak

• Great apostles of Bhakti movement > Helped common people to shed old age superstitions
• Preached salvation by Bhakti & pure devotion
• Did not linked themselves with any particular religious creed
• Emphasized on fundamental unity of all religions & never believed in rituals & ceremonies
• Condemned polytheism, denounced all type of idolatry & believed in one god.
• Believed only Bhakti as a mean to attain salvation

Ramanada

• Ram worshiper, born at Allahabad & originally follower of Ramanuja
• Later he founded his own sect & preached his disciples in Hindi at Banaras & Agra (1^st time in vernacular language)
• He strongly believed in 2 ideals, namely:

• Simplification of Worship
• Emancipation of people from traditional caste rule

• He choosed his disciples from all sections of the society irrespective of any caste viz.

Kabir

• Born near Banaras; Borned to a Brahmin family but brought up by a weaver Muslim family
• Was familiar with both Hindu & Muslim teachings
• Regarded devotion to God with a pure heart as effective mean to attain salvation
• Pure heart, according to Kabir, meant free from cruelty, Dishonesty, hypocrisy & insincerity.
• His primary object was to reconcile Hindu & Muslims and establish harmony between them
• Emphasized oneness of all religions by describing Hindus & Muslims as Pots of same clay.
• To him Ram & Allah, Mandir & Mosque were the same
• Denounced idolatry & rituals (Like Pilgrimage, Bathing in holy river, Namaz & Prayers etc.
• Laid emphasis on equality of man before God

Guru Nanak (1469)

• Born in Talawandi near Lahore, trained in accountancy > Disciple of Kabir
• Founder of Sikh religion & was highly practical & ethical > His disciples were known as Sikhs
• Denounced caste distinctions & rituals like Pilgrimage, Bathing in holy river, Namaz etc.
• Emphasized on giving up selfishness, falsehood & hypocrisy and to live life with truth, Honesty & Kindness
• He composed hymns and sang them to the accompaniment of the ‘Rabab’, a musical instrument.
• “Abide pure amidst the impurities of the world” was one of his famous teachings.
• Dedicated life to establish harmony b/w Hindu & Muslims

Chaitanya

• Born in Bengal & popularized Kirtan (or musical gatherings) of Krishna cult.
• Though he was a Brahman he condemned the caste system and emphasized on the equality of all.
• Renounced the world & became ascetic
• Believed that through love & devotion, song & dance a devotee can feel the presence of God.

1600 AD (Eknath) > Opposed caste systems & formed many lyrics & Bhajans.

For more updates, explore the Ancient India History. Feel free to share your thoughts and comments.

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