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

Q1. How did the idea of a Supreme God get around?
Ans:

• People came together through the growth of towns, trade and empires and new ideas developed.
• The idea that all living things pass through countless cycles of birth and rebirth as per good and bad deeds was accepted.
• The idea that all human beings are not equal even at birth gained ground dining this period.
• The belief that social privileges are due to birth in a ‘noble or high’ caste was a subject of debate.
• People were attracted to the idea of “Supreme God” who could deliver them from this bandage if approached with devotion.

Q2. How did the ideas of Bhakti become very popular?
Ans:

• Shiva, Vishnu and Durga as supreme deities came to be worshipped through elaborate rituals.
• At the same time, gods and goddesses worshipped in different areas came to be identified with Shiva, Vishnu or Durga.
• In the process, local myths and legends became a part of the puranic stories.
• The methods of worship recommended in the pur anas were introduced into the local cults.
• In course of time the pin-anas also said that it was possible for devotees to receive the grace of God regardless of their caste status. The idea of bhakti became so popular that even Buddhists and Jainas adopted these beliefs.

Q3. Describe the new kind of Bhakti in south India.
Ans:
New kind of Bhakti in south India-Nayanars and Alvars

• During the seventh to ninth centuries new religious movements, emerged.
• They were led by the Nayanars (saints devoted to Shiva) and Alvars (saints devoted to Vishnu).
• They came from all castes including those considered ‘untouchable’ like the Pulaiyar and the Panars.
• They sharply criticised the Buddhists and the Jainas.
• They preached ardent love of Shiva or Vishnu as the path to salvation.
• They drew upon the ideals of love and heroism as found in the Sangam literature.
• These Nayanars and Alvars went from place to place. They composed exquisite poems in praise of the deities in the villages which they visited, and set them to music.

Q4. Give an account of Shankar a.
Ans:
Shankara

• Shankara, one of the most influential philosophers of India, was bom in Kerala in the eighth century^
• He was an advocate of Advaita.
• It is 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.
• He considered the world around us to be an illusion or maya.
• He preached renunciation of the world and adoption of the path of knowledge to understand the true nature of Brahman and attain salvation.

Q5. Briefly write about Ramanuja.
Ans:
Ramanuja:

• Ramanuja was bom in Tamil Nadu in the eleventh century.
• He was deeply influenced by the Alvars.
• According to him the best means of attaining salvation was through intense devotion to Vishnu.
• Vishnu in His grace helps the devotee to attain the bliss of union with Him.
• He advocated the doctrine of Vishishtadvaita or qualified oneness.
• It is that the soul even when united with the Supreme God remained distinct.
• Ramanuja’s doctrine greatly inspired the new strand of Bhakti which developed in north India afterwards.

Q6. Describe Virashaivism of Basavanna.
Ans:
Basavanna’s Virashaivism: The connection between the Tamil Bhakti movement and temple worship is best represented in the Virashaiva movement initiated by Basavanna and his companions like Allama Prabhu and Akkamahadevi.
This movement began in Karnataka in the mid-twelfth century.

• The Virashaivas argued strongly for the equality of all human beings and against Brahmanical ideas about caste and the treatment of women.
• They were also against all forms of ritual and idol worship.

Q7. Describe the saints of Maharashtra.
Ans:
The Saints of Maharashtra:

• From the thirteenth to the seventeenth centuries a great number of saint-poets were bom in Maharashtra.
• Their songs in simple Marathi continued to inspire people.
• The most important among them were Janeshwar, Namdev, Eknath and Tukaram, Sakkubai and the family of Chokhamela.
• They belonged to the “untouchable” Mahar caste.
• This regional tradition of Bhakti focused on the Vitthala temple in Pandharpur, as well as on the notion of a personal God residing in the hearts of all people.

Q8. What were the views of these saints?
Ans:

• These saint-poets rejected all forms of ritualism, outward display of piety and social differences based on birth.
• Actually they even rejected the idea of renunciation.
• They preferred to live with their families, earning their livelihood like any other person, while humbly serving fellow human beings in need.
• A new humanist idea emerged as they insisted that Bhakti lay in sharing others’ pain.
• The famous Gujarati saint Narsi Mehta said “They are vaishnavas who understand the pain of others”.

Q9. What measures were adopted by the Sufi saints to seek God?
Ans:
Sufis rejected the elaborate rituals and codes of behaviour. They sought God like a lover who seeks his beloved, not caring for the world.

• They composed poems expressing their feelings. Rich literature of fables anecdotes developed.
• Sufies like Ghazzali, Rumi and Sadi from Central Asia believed that heart can be trained to look at the world in a different way.
• They developed Elaborate methods of training using Zikr (chanting of a name), sama (singing), raqs ( dancing), contemplation, discussions, breath control etc.
• Thus emerged the Silsilas genealogy of Sufi masters. Each of them followed a different tariqa (method) of ritual practice.

Q10. During which period did the Sufi-Bhakti movements strengthen in India?
Ans:

• Several Sufis from Central Asia settled in Hindustan from the eleventh century onwards.
• This process was strengthened with the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate.
• During this period several major Sufi centres developed all over the subcontinent.
• The Chishti silsila was among the most influential orders.
• It had a long line of teachers.

They were:

• Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti of Ajmer.
• Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki of Delhi.
• Baba Farid of Punjab.
• Khwaja Nizamuddin Auliya of Delhi.
• Bandanawaz Gisudaraz of Gulbarga.

Q11. What new developments happened in north India?
Ans:

• In the period from the beginning of the 14th century onwards a new wave of the Bhakti movement started in north India.
• In this period Islam, Brahmanical Hinduism, Sufism, various strands of Bhakti, and the Nathpanthis, Siddhas and Yogis influenced one another.
• New towns and kingdoms emerged during this period.
• People took up new professions and found new roles for themselves.
• These people especially craftspersons, peasants, traders and labourers, thronged
• to listen to these new saints and spread their ideas. ‘

Q12. Describe the contributions of some of the saints of this period.
Ans:

• Kabir and Baba Guru Nanak rejected all orthodox religions.
• Others like Tulsidas and Surdas accepted existing beliefs and practices.
• They wanted to make these accessible to all.

Tulsidas conceived of God in the form of Rama.

•  His composition, the Ramcharitmanas, written in Awadhi is important both as an expression of his devotion and as a literary work.

Surdas was an ardent devotee of Krishna.

• His compositions were compiled in the Sursagara, Surasaravali and Sahitya Lahari.
• They express his devotion.

Shankaradeva of Assam emphasised devotion to Vishnu.

• He composed poems and plays in Assamese.
• He began the practice of setting up namghars or houses of recitation and prayer.
• It was a practice that continues to date.

Q13. Describe the contributions of Mirabai.
Ans:
Bhakti tradition also included saints like Dadu Dayal, Ravidas and Mirabai.
Mirabai was a Rajput princess married into the royal family of Mewar in the sixteenth century.

• She became a disciple of Ravidas, a saint from a caste considered ‘untouchable’.
• She was devoted to Krishna.
• She composed innumerable bhajans expressing her intense devotion.
• Her songs also openly challenged the norms of the ‘upper’ castes.
• She became popular with the masses in Rajasthan and Gujarat.

Q14. Give a life sketch of Guru Nanak.
Ans:
Baba Guru Nanak:

• Guru Nanak (1469-1539) is more known to us than Kabir.
• He was bom 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.
• Irrespective of their former creed, caste or gender, his followers ate together in the common kitchen Hangar).
• The sacred space thus created by Guru Nanak was known as Dharmsal.
• It is now known as Gurdwara.

Before his death in 1539, Guru Nanak appointed one of his followers as his successor.

• His name was Lehna but he came to be known as Guru Angad.
• It signified that he was a part of Gum Nanak himself.

Q15. How was Guru Granth Sahib compiled?
Ans:
Gum Angad compiled the compositions of Gum Nanak to which he added his own in a new script known as Gurmukhi.

• The three successors of Gum Angad also wrote under the name of ‘Nanak’.
• All of their compositions were compiled by Gum Aijan in 1604.
• The writings of other figures like Shaikh Farid, Saint Kabir, Bhagat Namdev and Gum Tegh Bahadur were added to his compilation.
• In 1706 this compilation was authenticated by his son and successor, Gum Gobind Singh.
• It is now known as Gum Granth Sahib, the holy scripture of the Sikhs.

Q16. How did Khalsa panth become a political identity?
Ans:

• By the beginning of the seventeenth century the town of Ramdaspur {Amritsar) had developed around the central Gurdwara called Harmandar Sahib (Golden Temple).
• It was virtually self-governing and modern historians refer to the early seventeenth century Sikh community as ‘a state within the state.
• The Mughal emperor Jahangir looked upon them as a potential threat.
• He ordered the execution of Guru Arjan in 1606.
• The Sikh movement began to get politicized in the seventeenth century, a development which culminated in the institution of the Khalsa by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699.
• The community of the Sikhs called the Khalsa panth, became a political entity.

Q17. What were the teachings of Guru Nanak?
Ans:
Guru Nanak emphasized the importance of the worship of one God:

• As per him caste, creed or gender were irrelevant for attaining salvation.
• His idea of liberation was not that a state of internal bliss but pursuit of active life with social commitment.
• He used the term nam, dan and isnan for the essence of his teaching.
• His teachings underline the importance of right belief, worship, honest living and helping others.
• His idea of equality had social and political implications from the beginning.
• This shows that there was difference in the followers of other religious saints like Kabir, Ravidas and Dadu. Though they had similar ideas.