Class 7 History Chapter 6 Question Answers - Devotional Paths to the Divine

Q1. Which was the widely accepted idea?
Ans: The idea that all living things pass through countless cycles of birth and rebirth performing good deeds and bad came to be widely accepted. The belief that social privileges came from birth in a ‘noble’ family or a “high’ caste was the subject of many learned texts.

Q2. Who was Ramanuja? Describe.
Ans: Ramanuja, born in Tamil Nadu in the 11th century, was deeply influenced by the Alvars. Intense devotion to Vishnu was a means of attaining salvation. He followed the doctrine of Vishishtadvaita. His doctrine greatly inspired the new strand of bhakti which developed in north India subsequently.

Q3. Who were Sufis? What did Sufis believe in?
Ans: Sufis were Muslim mystics. They rejected outward religiosity and emphasized love and devotion to God and compassion towards all fellow human beings. Islam emphasizes monotheism (one God). It rejected idol worship and highlighted into collective prayers. Sufis composed poems expressing their feelings and a rich literature in prose, including anecdotes and fables, developed around them.

Q4. Describe, the main pillars of Islam.
Ans: Main pillars of Islam are as under:

• Belief in one God and Muhammad as his prophet
• Essential to perform five times Namaz
• Give charity (Zakat) to the poor people (2.5% of the savings)
• Fasting in the month of Ramadan (Arabic month) for those who are healthy.

Q5. Who was Shankara and what was his thought?
Ans: One of the most influential philosophers of India Shankara was born in Kerala in the 8th century. He was an advocate of Advaita or the doctrine of the oneness of the individual soul and the Supreme God which is the Ultimate Reality. He taught that Brahman, the only or Ultimate Reality, was formless and without any attributes.

Q6. What do you understand about the Virashaiva movement?
Ans: The Virashaiva movement was initiated by Basavanna and his companions Allama Prabhu and Akkamahadevi in Karnataka in mid-12th century. They argued strongly for equality of all human beings, opposed Brahmanical ideas on caste and treatment of women. They were also against all forms of ritual and idol worship.

Q7. Give the name of some Sufis.
Ans: Ghazzali, Rumi and Sadi were the great Sufis in central Asia and in India there were Khwaja Muinuddin Chisti of Ajmer, Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki of Delhi, Baba Farid of Punjab, Khwaja Nizamuddin Auliya of Delhi and Bandanawaz Gisudaraz of Gulbarga.

Q8. Who wore Nayanars and Alvars?
Ans:  New religious movements, led by the Nayanars (saints devoted to Shiva) and Alvars (devoted to Vishnu) emerged between 7th to 9th centuries. Saints and followers of these religious movements had all castes including untouchable like the Pulaiyar and the Panars. The Nayanars and Alvars went from place to place composing exquisite poems in praise of the deities enshrined in the villages they visited, and set them to music. 

There were 63 Nayanars, who belonged to different caste backgrounds such as potters, untouchable workers, peasants, hunters, soldiers, Brahmanas and chiefs. There were 12 Alvars, who came from equally divergent backgrounds, the best known being Periyalvar, his daughter Andal. 

Q9. Give names of some important saints of the bhakti movement. Describe any two of the saints.
Ans: Important saints of the bhakti movement are Kabir, Surdas, Tulsidas, Dadu Dayal, Ravidas, Mirabai, Baba Guru Nanak etc.

• Kabir was brought up in a family of Muslim julahas or weavers near the city of Benares. His ideas are found in the form of sakhis and pads. Kabir’s verses are also in the Guru Granth Sahib, Panch Vani and Bijak which is a collection of Kabir’s verses.
• Baba Guru Nanak born at Talwandi (presently in Pakistan). He established a centre at Kartarpur (Dera Baba Nanak) on the bank of river Ravi. The sacred space thus created by Baba Guru Nanak was known as dharmsal. It is now known as Gurdwara.

Q10. Give the names of saints of Maharashtra. What were their thoughts?
Ans: Jnaneshwar, Namdev, Eknath, Tukaram, Sakhubai and the family of Chokhamela focused on the bhakti of Vitthala (a form of Vishnu). All these were saints of Maharashtra. They rejected all forms of ritualism, outward display of piety and social differences based on birth. Some saints belonged to lower:castes. The idea of renunciation was rejected and they preferred to live with their families.