Religion: Tamil devotional cult, Growth of Bhakti - 1 | History Optional for UPSC (Notes) PDF Download

Introduction

Bhakti: A Path of Devotion and Surrender

• Bhakti is a religious concept that involves devotional surrender to a personally conceived Supreme God as a means to attain salvation.
• The core ideology of bhakti revolves around the relationship between the soul and the Supreme Being.
• While the bhakti movement became prominent in Hinduism during the 14th and 15th centuries, its roots can be traced back to ancient Indian religious traditions.
• The doctrine of bhakti has origins in both Brahmanical and Buddhist traditions of ancient India, as well as in various scriptures like the Gita.
• The term "bhakti" in Pali literature dates back to the 8th century B.C.
• Bhakti is mentioned in ancient texts such as the Vedas, Upanishads, epics, and Puranas.
• References in the Bhagavad Gita, pre-Buddhist texts, and the Chhandogya Upanishad highlight the emergence of devotion to a single personal God.

Vedanta Philosophy

• Vedanta philosophy focuses on the relationship between God (Brahman or Paramatman) and the soul (atma).
• It emphasizes the concepts of rebirth, transmigration of the soul, and the theory of karma (deeds).
• The ultimate goal of the soul is to reunite with God.
• Salvation occurs when the soul escapes rebirth due to karma and merges with the universal soul (God).
• Salvation is referred to as mukti, moksha, or nirvana.
• Vedanta outlines three paths to salvation:
  • Gyan marga: Acquisition of true knowledge or enlightenment.
  • Karma marga: Selfless or disinterested action.
  • Bhakti marga: Devotional worship of God.

Evolution of Bhakti

• Between the 7th and 10th centuries in South India, bhakti transformed from a religious doctrine into a popular movement emphasizing religious equality and broad-based social participation.
• From the time of the Bhagavad Gita to the 13th century, the concept of bhakti evolved through a compromise between classical Upanishadic philosophy and the desire for a personal God.
• Monotheism and pantheism were intertwined with the warmth of bhakti in the Bhagavad Gita.
• Until the 13th century, bhakti largely remained within the framework of Vedic intellectualism, as evidenced by the recognition of caste divisions in the Bhagavad Gita.

Bhakti Movement in South India

Tamil devotional cult 

Bhakti Cult in Tamil Region

• The bhakti cult in the Tamil region emerged as a response to the growing influence of Buddhism and Jainism.
• It spread across South India for about three centuries, primarily through the efforts of Saiva saints known as nayanars and Vaishnava saints called Alvars.
• These saints advocated for personal devotion to God as the path to salvation.

Spread of Bhakti Doctrine

• The Saiva Nayanar and Vaishnava Alvar saints disseminated the doctrine of bhakti among various sections of society, transcending caste and gender barriers between the 7th and 10th centuries.
• Some of these saints hailed from “lower” castes, and some were women.
• They conveyed their messages of love and personal devotion to God throughout South India using local languages.

Characteristics of the Bhakti Movement

• Bhakti gained a popular base for the first time, characterized by intense emotional preaching and the promotion of religious egalitarianism.
• Saint-poets emphasized personal devotion over rituals, traveling extensively to sing, dance, and advocate for bhakti.
• The Alvar and Nayanar saints used the Tamil language instead of Sanskrit for their devotional compositions.
• They challenged the authority of orthodox Brahmins, making bhakti accessible to all without caste or gender discrimination.
• The saints succeeded in championing religious equality, forcing Brahmins to accept the rights of “low-caste” individuals to preach and access bhakti and the Vedas.
• The South Indian bhakti saints criticized Buddhists and Jains, who were favored by South Indian kings at the time, and successfully won over many followers from these rigid and formal religions.

Limitations of the Bhakti Movement

• The movement did not consciously oppose Brahmanism or the varna and caste systems at the social level.
• By not questioning the ideological and social foundations of the caste system, the South Indian saint-poets ultimately strengthened it.
• Brahmanical rituals such as idol worship, recitation of Vedic mantras, and pilgrimages to sacred places persisted despite the emphasis on bhakti as the superior mode of worship.
• The primary targets of the movement were Buddhists and Jains, not Brahmins.
• Brahmin-dominated temples played a significant role in the growth of the South Indian bhakti movement.
• Eventually, after its peak in the tenth century, the movement was gradually assimilated into conventional Brahmanical religion.

Tamil Devotional Cults

• Shaiva Siddhanta: Accepted the authority of the Vedas, considered God, Universe, and Soul as eternal. The Tamil compendium of devotional songs known as Tirumurai, the Shaiva Agamas, and Siddhanta Shastras form the scriptural canon.
• Siddhas: Followed unorthodox sadhana to attain salvation through Yogic practices and Tapasya.

Shankaracharya:

• Considered the founding father of the bhakti movement and proponent of Advaita (non-dualism or monism). Preached the Upanishad doctrine of salvation through Knowledge (Gyan Marga).
• Although he emphasized Gyan Marga, it was not practical for the average person. Subsequent preachers of Vedanta philosophy replaced it with Bhakti Marga.

Ramanuja (11th Century)

• One of the early exponents of the bhakti movement, Ramanuja (1017-1137) from modern Andhra Pradesh, was a significant Vaishnava teacher.
• He proposed Vishisht Advaita (qualified non-dualism), arguing that while the individual soul created by God out of His essence returns to its maker and lives with Him forever, it remains distinct.
• Emphasizing that salvation can be achieved solely through the bhakti marga, Ramanuja redefined Vedanta philosophy by stressing devotional worship to a personal God who constitutes the supreme reality.
• He believed in a mutual relationship between the devotee and God, where God needs people just as people need God. He also advocated for bhakti as a mode of worship accessible to all, including Sudras and outcastes, and aimed to eradicate untouchability.

Madhava (13th Century)

• Madhvacharya, born on the west coast of Karnataka, was the chief proponent of the Dvaita (dualism) school of Vedanta.
• His philosophy, Tattvavada, emphasizes arguments from a realist viewpoint. Madhva’s Dvaita school asserts that Vishnu, known as Hari, Krishna, Vasudeva, and Narayana, can only be understood through the proper connection and understanding of Vedic teachings.
• Like Ramanuja, Madhva did not dispute the orthodox Brahmanical restriction of Vedic study by Sudras.
• He viewed bhakti as an alternative avenue of worship for Sudras.

Bhakti movement in north india

Although there were many points of contact between South and North India, the spread of the ideas of bhakti from south to north took quite a long time. 

Many popular socio-religious movements in North, East and West India arose during Sultanate period. 

Relation between South Indian bhakti movement and north Indian bhakti movement and among themselves:

Similarities:

• Bhakti and Religious Equality: Two common features of the movements are bhakti and religious equality.
• Connection to South Indian Vaishnava Acharyas: Most bhakti movements during the Sultanate period are linked to South Indian Vaishnava acharyas, suggesting a continuation of earlier bhakti traditions.
• Philosophical and Ideological Links: There were philosophical connections between the movements due to contact or diffusion. For example:
• Discipleship Links: Leaders of non-conformist monotheistic movements in North India were believed to be disciples of Ramananda, who was connected with Ramanuja's philosophical order.
• Chaitanya's Connections: Chaitanya, a key figure in the Vaishnava movement in Bengal, was linked to the philosophical school of Madhava and possibly to Nimbarka's school due to its emphasis on Krishna bhakti.
• Religious Egalitarianism: Both South and North Indian movements promoted egalitarianism in the religious sphere but did not denounce the caste system, the authority of Brahmanical scriptures, or Brahmanical privileges (except for popular monotheistic movements).
• Assimilation into Brahmanical Religion: Like South Indian bhakti, most later Vaishnava movements were assimilated into Brahmanical religion, although this process involved significant changes in Brahmanical practices.
• Contribution to Vernacular Languages: Both traditions contributed to the development of modern vernacular languages.
• Bhagavata Purana: The Bhagavata Purana served as a link between most Vaishnava bhakti movements of the medieval period.
• Orthodox Brahmanical Theory: The Bhagavata Purana accepts the orthodox Brahmanical theory of the varna system but emphasizes bhakti over Brahmanical superiority based on status or birth.

Differences:

• Each movement had its own regional identity and was shaped by different socio-historical and cultural contexts.
• Non-conformist movements based on popular monotheistic bhakti had features that set them apart from various Vaishnava bhakti movements. For instance, Kabir's understanding of bhakti differed from that of vaishnava saints like Chaitanya or Mirabai.
• Non-conformist movements did not believe in incarnations and outrightly rejected Brahmanical and scriptural authority.
• The influence of the Bhagavata Purana tradition was not directly on the monotheistic movement. Many of these saints were illiterate and lacked direct access to the Bhagavata and other scriptures.
• Within the Vaishnava movement, there were distinct differences between Maharashtra bhakti and the vaishnavism of Bengal or North India, as represented by figures like Ramanand, Vallabha, Surdas, and Tulsidas.
• In the later stages, as the vaishnava bhakti movement solidified into different sects, there were frequent disputes among them, some of which became violent.
• Some sects evolved into organized religious communities like the Sikhs, while others became various sects or panths.

Popular Monotheistic Movement and Vaishnava Bhakti Movement

• So, their rise had certain common causes for example ‘the influence of Islam on Hinduism’.
• But the causes and sources of the two movements and the factors exerting influence on them were quite diverse.
• Monotheistic movements arose and reached their peak in the Sultanate period itself, while vaishnava movements began in the Sultanate period but reached their climax during the Mughal period.

Factors leading to the Rise of the Bhakti Movement

These movements had a significant impact on a large number of people in North India during the 14th to 17th centuries. They emerged due to various political, socio-economic, and religious factors.

Political Factors:

• The decline of power and influence of the Brahmins, along with the new political landscape, created conditions conducive to these movements.
• The Turkish conquests ended the dominance of the Rajput-Brahmin alliance.
• Before the Turkish conquest, the socio-religious environment was controlled by the Rajput-Brahmin alliance, which opposed any heterodox movements. The nathpanthis were among the first to benefit from the weakening of this alliance and reached their peak at the beginning of the Sultanate period.
• The advent of Islam challenged the power and prestige of the Brahmins, paving the way for the growth of non-conformist movements with anti-caste and anti-Brahminical ideologies.
• Brahmins suffered both materially and ideologically:
• Ideologically, Brahmins had convinced people that the images and idols in temples were not just symbols of God but were gods themselves, possessing divine power that could be influenced by the Brahmins.
• Materially, the Turks deprived Brahmins of their temple wealth and state patronage.

Socio-Economic Factors:

• It is argued that the bhakti movements of medieval India represented the sentiments of the common people against feudal oppression.
• From this perspective, elements of revolutionary opposition to feudalism can be found in the poetry of bhakti saints ranging from Kabir and Nanak to Chaitanya and Tulsidas.
• Sometimes, these movements are seen as the Indian counterpart of the Protestant Reformation in Europe.
• However, the bhakti movements cannot be regarded as the Indian variant of the European Protestant Reformation for the following reasons:
• There is nothing in the poetry of the bhakti saints to suggest that they represented the class interests of the peasantry against the surplus-extracting feudal state.
• Vaishnava bhakti saints broke away from orthodox Brahmanical order only to the extent that they believed in bhakti and religious equality, while continuing to subscribe to many basic principles of orthodox Brahmanism.
• Radical monotheistic saints rejected orthodox Brahmanical religion altogether, but they did not call for the overthrow of the state and the ruling class.
• The European Protestant Reformation was a much greater social upheaval linked to the decline of feudalism and the rise of capitalism.
• This does not mean that the bhakti saints were indifferent to the living conditions of the people; they always tried to identify themselves with the suffering of the common people.

Economic and Social Changes:

• The popularity of the monotheistic movement can be attributed to significant socio-economic changes brought about by the Turkish conquest of Northern India.
• Expansion of the class of urban artisans:
• The Turkish ruling class, unlike the Rajputs, resided in towns.
• The extraction of large agricultural surpluses provided wealth to the ruling class.
• This led to a demand for manufactured goods, luxuries, and other necessities by the ruling class, resulting in the introduction of new techniques and crafts.
• This, in turn, led to the expansion of the class of urban artisans in the 13th and 14th centuries.
• This growing class was attracted to the monotheistic movement because they were dissatisfied with their low position in the Brahminical hierarchy. For example, Khatris in Punjab.
• The popularity of the monotheistic movement was also supported by this class of society.
• In Punjab, even Jat peasants (not part of the urban class) supported the movement, contributing to the development of Sikhism as a mass religion.

Role of Delhi Sultanate in the rise of Bhakti Movement in North India

Historians have proposed various reasons for the rise of the Bhakti movement:

• According to R.G. Bhandarkar, the Bhakti movement emerged from the Vaishnavite tradition, particularly the Krishna Bhakti tradition found in the Bhagavata Purana.
• Historians like Alvar and Nayanar view the Bhakti movement as an extension of the Shaivite and Vaishnavite religious movements in South India.
• The Bhakti movement is seen as a reaction against feudal oppression, particularly during the early medieval period when feudal suppression was backed by a Brahmin-Rajput coalition.
• David Kinsley believes the movement was born out of dissatisfaction and tension in a patriarchal society, leading to protests and the search for a divine consort, as seen in the lives of Mirabai, Lalded, and Mahadevi Akka.
• Some historians argue that the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate and the arrival of Islam were key factors in the rise of the Bhakti movement.
• Yusuf Hussain suggests that before the 13th century, the Bhakti movement was an individual sentiment, but post-Delhi Sultanate, it evolved into a cult-like doctrine influenced by Islam.
• R.C. Zaehner posits that the Bhakti movement was inspired by Islamic concepts of monotheism and equality that gained prominence after the Delhi Sultanate.
• Tarachand argues that the movement was influenced by Sufi ideas of equality, service, and universal brotherhood, which became significant after the Delhi Sultanate.
• Historians Muhammad Habib and Irfan Habib view the rise of the Bhakti movement in an economic context, linking it to the foundation of the Sultanate, political centralization, and the emergence of new economic groups like artisans and traders who were dissatisfied with the Brahmanical caste structure.
• Some see the Bhakti movement as a defensive response against Islam following the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate.
• The establishment of the Sultanate also dealt a setback to the Rajput-Brahmin coalition, which was hostile to heterodox and non-conformist ideas, creating a more favorable environment for the Bhakti movement.
• While multiple factors contributed to the rise of the Bhakti movement, the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate and the influence of Islam were significant catalysts.