Devotional Paths To The Divine

You may have seen people perform rituals of worship, or singing

bhajans, kirtans or qawwalis, or even repeating the name of God
in silence,& noticed that some of them are moved to tears. Such
intense devotion or love of God is the legacy of various kinds of
bhakti and Sufi movements that have evolved since the eighth
century.
 Spread of Buddhism

The Idea Of a Supreme God

Before large kingdoms emerged, different groups of people
worshipped their own gods & goddesses. The idea that all living
things pass through countless cycles of birth and rebirth
performing good deeds & bad came to be widely accepted .
Similarly, the idea that all human beings are not equal even at
birth gained ground during this period
.

Many people were uneasy with such ideas and

turned to the teachings of the buddha
or the jainas according to which it was possible to overcome
social differences & break the cycle of rebirth through personal
effort.
A New Kind Of Bhakti in South India – Nayanars & Alvars

There were 63 Nayanars, who belonged to different caste backgrounds

such as potters, “untouchable” workers, peasants, hunters, soldiers,
Brahmans & chiefs. The best known among them were Appar, Sambandar,
Sundarar, & Manikkavasagar. There are 2 sets of compilations of their
songs – Tevaram & Tiruvacakam.
There were 12 Alvars, who came from equally divergent backgrounds, the
best known being Periyalar, his daughter Andal, Tondaradipoddi Alvar &
Nammalvar. Their songs were compiled in the Divya Prabandham.

The 7th to 9th centuries saw the emergence of new religious movements,
led by the Nayanars (saints devoted to Shiva) & Alvars(saints devoted to
Vishnu)who came from all castes including those considered
“untouchable” like the Pulaiyar & the Panars. They were sharply critical of
the Buddhists & Jainas & preached ardent love of Shiva or Vishnu as the
path to salvation. They drew upon the ideals of love & heroism as found in
the Sangam literature (the earliest centuries of the Common Era) &
blended them with the values of bhakti. The Nayanars & Alvars went
from place to place composing exquisite poems in praise of the deities
enshrined in the villages they visited, & set them music.
The devotee & the lord
This is a composition of Manikkavasagar:
Into my vile body of flesh
You came, As though it were a temple of gold,
And soothed me wholly and saved me,
O Lord of Grace, O Gem most Pure,
Sorrow and birth and death and illusion
You took from me, and set me free.
O Bliss! O Light! I have taken refuge in You,
And never can I be parted from You.

A bronze image of Manikkavasagar

 Philosophy & Bhakti
Shankara, one of the most influential philosophers of India,
was born in Kerala in the 8th century . He was an advocate of
Advaita or the doctrine of the oneness of the individual soul &
the Supreme God which is the Ultimate Reality. He considered
the world around us to be an illusion or maya, & preached
renunciation of the world & adoption of the path of
knowledge to understand the true nature of Brahman & attain
salvation.
Ramanuja, born in Tamil Nadu in the 11th century, was deeply
influenced by the Alvars. According to him the best means of
attaining salvation was through intense devotion to Vishnu.
Allama Prabhu

Akkamahadevi

Basavanna’s Virashaivism
We noted earlier the connection between the Tamil bhakti
movement & temple worship. This in turn led to a reaction that
is the best represented in the Virashaiva movement initiated by
Basavanna & his companions like Allama Prabhu &
Akkamahadevi. This movement began in Karnataka in the mid-
twelfth century. The Virashaivas argued strongly for the equality
of all human beings & against Brahmanical ideas about caste &
the treatment of women. They were also against all forms of
ritual & idol worship.
Basavanna
 Virashaiva vachanas

These are vachanas or sayings attributed to Basavanna:

The rich will make temples for Shiva.
What shall I,
A poor man,
Do?
My legs are pillars,
The body the shrine,
The head the cupola
Of gold.
Listen, O Lord of the meeting rivers,
Things standing shall fall,
But the moving ever shall stay.
Janeshwar Eknath

The Saints of Maharashtra

From the 13th to 17th centuries Maharashtra saw a great number of
saint-poets, whose songs in simple Marathi continue to inspire
people. The most important among them were Janeshwar,
Namdev, Eknath & Tukaram as well as women like Sakkubai & the
family of Chokhamela, who belonged to the “untouchable” Mahar
caste.
These saint poets rejected all forms of ritualism, outward display
of piety & social differences based on birth. In fact they even
rejected the idea of renunciation & preferred to live with their
families , earning livelihood like any other person, while humbly
serving fellow human beings in need ..

Namdev Chokhamela
Sant Tukaram
 QUESTIONING THE SOCIAL ORDER
This is an abhang (Marathi devotional hymn of Sant Tukaram):
He who identifies
With the battered & the beaten
Mark him as a saint
For God is with him

He holds

Every forsaken man

Close to his heart
He treats
A slave
As his own son

Says Tuka
I won’t be tired
to repeat again
Such a man
Is God
In person.
 NATHPANTHIS, SIDDHAS & YOGIS
Nathpanthis, Siddhas & Yogis advocated renunciation of the world. To them the path to
salvation lay in meditation on the formless Ultimate Reality & the realisation of oneness
with it. To achieve this they they advocated intense training of the mind & body through
practices like yogasanas, breathing exercises & meditation. These groups became
particularly popular among “low” castes. Their criticism of conventional religion created
the ground for devotional religion to become a popular force in northern India.

Nathpanthis Yogis

Siddhas
 Islam & Sufism
Sufis were Muslim mystics. They rejected outward religiosity &
emphasised love & devotion to God & compassion towards all fellow
human beings. The Sufis often rejected the elaborate rituals & codes of
behaviour demanded by Muslim religious scholars. They sought union
with God much as a lover seeks his beloved with a disregard for the
world. A large number of Sufis from Central Asia settled in Hindustan
from the 11th century onwards. This process was strengthened with the
Sultanate (Chapter 3), when several major Sufi centres developed all
over the subcontinent . The Sufi masters held their assemblies in
their khanqahs or hospices. Devotees of all descriptions including
members of the royalty & nobility, & ordinary people flocked to these
khanqahs. They discussed spiritual matters, sought the blessings of the
saints in solving their worldly problems, or simply attended the music &
dance sessions.

Often people attributed Sufi masters with miraculous powers that

could relieve others of their illnesses & troubles. The tomb or dargah of
a Sufi saint became a place of pilgrimage to which thousands of people
of all faiths thronged.

Devotees of all backgrounds visit Sufi shrines A page from a manuscript of the Quran,
 FINDING THE LORD

Jalaluddin Rumi was a great 13th century Sufi poet from Iran who
wrote in Persian. Here is an excerpt from his work:
He was not on the Cross of the Christians. I went to the Hindu
temples. In none of them was there any sign. He was not on the
heights or in the lowlands . . . I went to the Kaaba of Mecca. He
was not there. I asked about him from Avicenna the philosopher.
He was beyond the range of Avicenna . . . I looked into my heart. In
that, his place, I saw him. He was in no other place.

Jalaluddin Rumi
 New Religious Developments in
North India
The period after the13th century saw a new wave of the bhakti movement in north India. This was an age when
Islam, Brahmanical Hinduism, Sufism, various strands of bhakti, & the Nathpanthis, Siddhas & Yogis influenced one
another. We saw that new towns & kingdoms were emerging, & people were taking up new professions & finding
new roles for themselves. Such people, especially craftpersons, peasants, traders & new saints & spread their
ideas.
Some of them like Kabir & Baba Guru Nanak rejected all orthodox religions.
Chaitanyadeva, a 16th – century bhakti saint from Bengal, preached selfless devotion to Krishna-Radha. Others like
Tulsidas & Surdas accepted existing beliefs & practices but wanted to make these accessible to
all . Tulsidas conceived of God in the form of Rama. Tulsidas’s composition, Ramcharitmanas. Surdas was an ardent
devotee of Krishna. His compositions, compiled in the Sursagara, Surasaravali & Sahitya Lahiri, express his
devotion. He began the practice of setting up namghars or houses of recitation & prayer. The tradition also
includes saints like Dadu Dayal, Ravidas & Mirabai. Mirabai was a Rajput princess married into the royal family of
Mewar in the 16th century. Mirabai became a disciple of Ravidas, a saint from a caste considered “untouchable”.
She was devoted to Krishna & composed innumerable bhajans expressing her intense devotion. Her songs also
openly challenged the norms of the “upper” castes & became popular with the masses in Rajasthan & Gujarat.

Chaitanyadeva
 Beyond the Rana’s palace
This is a song composed by Mirabai:
Ranaji, I have left your norms of shame,
And false decorum of the princely life.
I have left your town.
And yet Rana why have you kept up
enmity against me?

Rana you gave me a cup of poison.

I drank it laughing.
Rana I will not be destroyed by you.
And yet Rana why have you kept up
enmity against me?
-

Mirabai
 A Closer Look: Kabir

Kabir, who probably lived in the fifteenth-sixteenth centuries, was one of

the most influential saints. He was brought up in a family of Muslim
Julahas or weavers settled in or near the city of Benares (Varanasi).
Kabir’s teachings were based on a complete, indeed vehement,
rejection of the major religious traditions. His teachings openly ridiculed all
forms of external worship of both Brahmanical Hinduism and Islam, the
pre-eminence of the priestly classes and the caste system. The language of
his poetry was a form of spoken Hindi widely understood by ordinary
people. He also sometimes used cryptic language, which is difficult to
follow.

Kabir believed in formless Supreme God and preached that the only
path to salvation was through bhakti or devotion. Kabir drew his followers
from among both Hindus and Muslims.
 In search of the True Lord
Here is a composition of Kabir:
O Allah-Ram present in all living beings
Have mercy on your servants, O Lord!

Why bump your head on the ground,

Why bathe your body in water?
You kill and you call yourself “humble”
But your vices you conceal.

Twenty-four times the Brahmana keeps

the ekadasi fast
While the Qazi observes the Ramzan
Tell me why does he set aside the eleven months
To seek spiritual fruit in the twelfth?

Hari dwells in the East, they say

And Allah resides in the West,
Search for him in your heart, in the heart of your heart;
There he dwells, Rahim-Ram.
A Closer Look: Baba Guru Nanak
We know more about Baba Guru Nanak (1469-1539) than about
Kabir. Born at Talwandi (Nankana Sahib in Pakistan), he travelled
widely before establishing a centre at Kartarpur (Dera Baba Nanak on
the river Ravi). A regular worship that consisted of the singing of his
own hymns was established there for his followers.

The ideas of Baba Guru Nanak had a huge impact on this

development from the very beginning. He emphasised the
importance of the worship of one God. He insisted that caste, creed
or gender was irrelevant for attaining liberation. His idea of liberation
was not that of a state of inert bliss but rather the pursuit of active life
with a strong sense of social commitment. He himself used the terms
nam, dan and isnan for the essence of his teaching, which actually
meant right worship, welfare of others and purity of conduct. His
teachings are now remembered as nam-japna, kirt-karna and vand-
chhakna, which also underline the importance of right belief and
worship, honest living, and helping others. Thus, Baba Guru Nanak’s
idea of equality had social and political implications. This might partly
explain the Guru Nanak and the history of the followers of the other
religious figures of the medieval centuries, like Kabir, Ravidas and
Dadu whose ideas were very similar to those of Baba Guru Nanak.

An early manuscript of the Guru Granth Sahib

 Elsewhere
Martin Luther and the
Reformation
The sixteenth century was a time of religious ferment in Europe as
well. One of the most important leaders of the changes that took place
within Christianity was Martin Luther (1483-1546). Luther felt that
several practices in the Roman Catholic Church went against the
teachings of the Bible. He encouraged the use of the language of
ordinary people rather than Latin, and translated the Bible into German.
Luther was strongly opposed to the practice of “indulgences’ or making
donations to the Church so as to gain forgiveness from sins. His writings
were widely disseminated with the growing use of the printing press.
Many Protestant Christian sects trace their origins to the teachings of
Luther.

Title page of the German Bible translated by Martin Luther

Martin Luther
Project given by: Mrs. S Zafar

Made by: Anindita Sarker