The Bhakti Movement: Context and Overview The Hindu tradition has generally been divided into a number

of important histor ical and religious periods through its long development. The formative time frame from 2500 400 B.C.E. is highlighted by what are known as the sacred texts, the Vedas, a nd a nomadic people known as the Indo-Aryans; this period is classified as the Vedic Period. The Epic and Classical Periods, from 400 B.C.E. 600 C.E. are so named because of their focus on important texts, namely, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. These epics are concerned with heroes and heroic battles, kings, queens and ideal roles of i ndividuals. Also of central importance to this time frame were Law Books concerned with the ideal nature of society. The Medieval Period followed, of which the Bhakti Movement was an integral aspec t. This was due in part to the rise of a new line of kings, the Gupta lineage (320 C.E.) that supported the pantheon of gods through worship of divine images (puja) and also included the building of temples and support for devotional groups. Alongside th ese developments came a flourishing of mythical compositions about the gods, known a s the Puranas, or, ancient stories. Central to this pantheon were the gods Vishnu, the c osmic king, and Shiva, the great yogi and ascetic known by many names, and his feminin e counterpart, Shakti, or divine energy. The Bhakti Movement The term bhakti is defined as devotion or passionate love for the Divine. Moksha or liberation from rebirth was not in the following of rules, regulations or societ al ordering, it was through simple devotion to the Divine. Within the movement at large, usef ul distinctions have been made by contemporary scholars between those poet saints w ho composed verses extolling God with attributes or form, namely, saguna bhaktas, and , those extolling God without and beyond all attributes or form, nirguna. While the differences between these two branches are indeed important, their ove rarching similarities cannot be minimized; both focused on singular devotion, mystical lo ve for God and had a particular focus on a personal relationship with the Divine. Given their belief in the centrality of personal devotion, poet-saints were highly critical of ritual observances as maintained and fostered by the Brahmin priesthood. For many, thei r critique also included the caste system that supported the traditional religious hierarchy,

with Brahmins at the head of this hierarchy. Many poet-saints, particularly as t he movement developed northward were themselves of lower caste lineages. Another commonality was their usage of the vernacular or regional languages of the masse s, as opposed to the sacred language of the elite priesthood, Sanskrit. This practice too stemmed from the movement s focus on inner, mystical and highly personal devotion to the Divine.

Saints: Kabir (1440-1518)was a mystic poet and saint of India, whose writings have great ly influenced the Bhakti movement.The teachings of Kabir were based on love and uni ty. He propagated a religion of love which aimed at promoting unity among all casted and creeds. He also tried to reconcile Hinduism and Islam. Kabir taught the people t hat salvation can be achieved by true devotion to God or Bhakti. He did not believe in any caste distinction and in idol worship. According to hi m no temples or mosques are necessary to worship God. One can come nearer to God only through true devotion or Bhakti. Kabir consider the Hindus and Muslims as " pots of the same clay". Guru Nanak(1469-1539)was another great preacher of Bhakti cult. He was the found er of Sikhism. He was born in 1469 at Talwandi or Modern Nankana in Pakistan. Nanak taught that one would come nearer to God and achieve salvation only throug h his virtuous deeds, purity of mind and through true the devotion. People belong ing to both Islam and Hinduism became his followers. After Iris death he nominated his disciple Angad as his successor. Angad organised his followers into separate com munity. Their faith came to be known as Sikhism. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu(1486 1534)was a popular Vaishnava saint and reformer of medie val period. He rejected the caste system and ritual. Chaitanya preached his faith in Vishnu or Hari or Krishna, the only Supreme Being. The message of love and peace of Cha itanya appealed most to the people of lower classed of die Hindu society. Chaita nya was opposed to the supremacy of the priest and outward forms and ceremonies of religion. Mirabai Mirabai, or Mira is said to have been born into a ruling Rajput family. Mirabai s poetry portrays a unique relationship with Krishna; in it she is not onl y the

devoted bride of Krishna, but Krishna is ardent in his pursuit of Mira. Because of Mirabai s singular focus and intense devotion of her Husband, the lifter of the mountain, she can be perceived as simply upholding the wifely duties of women and patriarchal norms in general. On the other hand, she remains for many a symbol o f resistance of social order of the day. Surdas Surdas (Sant Kavi Surdas) was a 15th-century blind saint, poet and musician, kno wn for his devotional songs dedicated to Lord Krishna. Surdas is said to have wr itten and composed a hundred thousand songs in his magnum opus the 'Sur Sagar' ( Ocean of Melody), out of which only about 8,000 are extant. He is considered a s aint and so also known as Sant Surdas, a name which literally means the "slave o f melody". Tulsidas (1497-1532) was a Hindu poet-saint, reformer and philosopher renowned for his devotion to the god Rama. A composer of several popular works, he is bes t known as the author of the epic Ramcharitmanas, a retelling of the Sanskrit Ra mayana in the vernacular Awadhi. Tulsidas was acclaimed in his lifetime to be a reincarnation of Valmiki, the composer of the original Ramayana in Sanskrit.He i s also considered to be the composer of the Hanuman Chalisa, a popular devotiona l hymn dedicated to Hanuman, the divine devotee of Rama.Tulsidas started the Ram lila plays, a folk-theatre adaption of the Ramayana.He has been acclaimed as one of the greatest poets in Hindi, Indian, and world literature. Vallabhacharya (1479 1531) According to Vallabhacharya, God can be realized only b y the one. He chooses and for this choice one has to practise bhakti. In the exp ression of pushtimarga, the word marga means path or way and the word pushti mea ns grace of God. Mukti or salvation can be attained by it and in no other way! D evotion or bhakti must be without any object in view and without any desire of f ruit. It should be accompanied by love and service. Conclusion: Hindu society, during the medieval period, was suffering under the weight of cer tain social and religious practices which were incompatible with the doctrine of the brotherhood of man. It was a caste-ridden society, which encouraged segrega tion, untouchability, idol worship and polytheism (worship of many Gods). On the other hand, Islam taught monotheism (worship of one God) and preached the messa ge of universal brotherhood and equality of all human beings. Above all, the pra ctices of Islam were quite simple. Thus Hinduism came to face a new challenge. The Hindu reformers who preached the Bhakti cult saved the situation by preachin g a doctrine that aimed at eradicating most of the ills prevailing in Hindu soci ety. The religious leaders of the Hindus intended to purify the Hindu society in order to make it a living force. At the same time, they advised their followers to respect other religions and live in peace and harmony with muslims. The simp le gosril of the Bhakti cult brought great relief to common people, which preach ed "realisation of God through devotion and love". This movement influenced all communities and castes. It aimed at religious harmo ny, unity and social fraternity. It believed in liberalism and catholicity. The Bhakti movement was liked by common people, because it prescribed a simpler meth od to realise God. The Bhakti cult did not prescribe any complicated ceremony or

demand a deep knowledge of the scriptures. This movement could give the people the opportunity to attain God through deep devotion. Thus the Bhakti movement served Indian society in two ways - It tried to bridge the gulf between Hinduism and Islam and saved Hinduism from a real challenge. In fact it helped greatly to check the spread of Islam in India.