Diversity of languages and religions is
an important characteristic of the Indian
society. Considering this feature, the Indian
Constitution has adopted the principle of
secularism. In medieval India, too, attempts
to bring about religious synthesis in social
life were made on the basis of this principle.
Among these efforts, the Bhakti movement,
Sikhism and the Sufi sect have a significant
place. These different streams of thought
arose in different parts of India. They
emphasized harmony between the different
sects and religions along with devotion to
God. We shall study them in this chapter.
Initially, rituals and brahmadnyan were
greatly emphasized in the Indian religious
life. In the medieval period, they gave way
to Bhakti Marg - the path of devotion.
Bhakti Marg did not give undue importance
to hierarchies, which further facilitated
religious synthesis. In the different regions
of India, we find different forms of the path
of devotion, according to the local situation
there. The Bhakti movement used the
common people’s language instead of
Sanskrit. This helped the development of
regional languages.
Bhakti Movement : It is believed
that the Bhakti movement originated in
South India. The Naynar and Alawar
Bhakti movements emerged in this region.
The Naynars were devotees of Shiva,
while the Alawars were devotees of
Vishnu. There were also attempts to
consider Shiva and Vishnu as one and
the same and bring them together.
‘Harihar’ idols which depict half Vishnu
and half Shiva were produced in this
period on a large scale. People belonging
to all social strata had participated in
these Bhakti movements. They preached
values like love of God, humanity,
compassion, mercy, etc. Ramanuja and
other Acharyas strengthened the base of
the Bhakti movement in South India.
They told people that God is for all.
God does not discriminate. The teachings
of Ramanuja had a great impact in
North India also.
Sant Ramanand strengthened the Bhakti
movement in North India. Sant Kabir is a
well-known sant in the
Bhakti movement. He
did not attach any
importance to places of
pilgrimage, vratas or
idol worship. For him,
Truth was God. He
taught that all human
beings are equal. He
did not believe in any differences based on
caste, creed, sect and religion. He wanted to
bring about Hindu and Muslim unity. He
criticized the extremely orthodox people in
both Hindu and Muslim religions in strong
terms.
In Bengal, Chaitany Mahaprabhu
underlined the importance of Krishnabhakti.
Due to his teachings, people joined the
Bhakti movement in transcending the
boundaries of caste and creed. Under his
influence, Shankaradeva spread the Bhakti
movement in Assam. Narsi Mehta was a
renowned Vaishnawa Sant in Gujarat. He
was an ardent devotee of Krishna. He gave
the message of equality. He is known as
the first poet of the Gujarati language.
Sant Mirabai stressed the importance
of devotion to Krishna. She belonged to the
royal family of Mewad. She renounced all
pleasures of the royal family and immersed
herself in devotion to Krishna. She composed
devotional verses in Rajasthani and
Gujarati. Her devotional verses give themessage of devotion, tolerance and
humanity. Sant Sena was an influential
Sant. Sant Rohidas was a great Sant. He
gave the message of equality and humanity.
Surdasa, a great poet of Hindi literature,
composed the poetical work ‘Sursagar’.
Devotion to Krishna (Krishnabhakti) is the
subject of his work. The verses on
Krishnabhakti composed by the Muslim
Sant Raskhan are melodious. ‘RamcharitaManasa’ of Sant Tulshidas is a beautiful
composition expressing devotion to Rama.
In Karnataka, Mahatma Basaveshwar
spread the lingayat stream of thought. He
opposed the caste system and stressed the
dignity of labour.
‘Kayakave Kailas’ is
his well-known saying
which means ‘Work is
Kailas’ (Work is
worship). He encouraged
women’s participation
in his movement. Men
and women belonging to
all castes began to
participate in the
religious discussions conducted in the hall
‘Anubhava Mantapa’. Mahatma
Basaveshwar conveyed his teachings in the
language of the people, i.e., Kannada,
through the medium of ‘Vachana’ literature.
His work had a great impact on society.
His followers have composed their work in
Marathi also. Of these compositions,
‘Paramarahasya’ composed by Manmath
Swami is very well-known. Great sants in
Karnataka include Pamp, Purandardasa
and others. They composed many devotional
verses in Kannada.
Mahanubhav Panth : In the thirteenth
century, Chakradhar Swami founded the
‘Mahanubhav Panth’ in Maharashtra. This
sect preaches devotion to Krishna. Shri
Govind Prabhu was the Guru of Chakradhar
Swami. The followers of Chakradhara
included men and women belonging to all
castes and creeds. He
supported equality. He
travelled to all parts of
Maharashtra preaching
in Marathi. He preferred
Marathi instead of
Sanskrit. This led to the
development of the
Marathi language. Many
works were composed in Marathi.
This sect mainly spread in the Vidarbha
and Marathwada regions of Maharashtra.
Riddhipur in Vidarbha is an important place
for people of this sect. This sect had reached
up to faraway regions like the Punjab
and Afghanistan.
Mahatma Basaveshwar
Chakradhar Swami
Some of the main compositions of
the followers of the Mahanubhav Panth
are : The treatise ‘Leelacharitra’
compiled by Mhaimbhat describing the
deeds of Chakradhar Swami; ‘Dhavale’
of the first Marathi poetess Mahadamba,
‘Sutrapath and Drishtantapath’ compiled
by Keshobas, ‘Vacchaharan’ of
Damodar Pandit, ‘Shishupalvadha’ of
Bhaskarbhat Borikar and ‘Rukmini
Swayamvara’ of Narendra.
Do you know?
A conversation between a Hindu
and a Muslim written by Sant Eknath
is important from the viewpoint of
religious harmony. The famous quote
of Sant Shaikh Mohammad ‘शेख महंमद
अविंध । त्याचे हृदयी गोविंद ।।’ is an example
of this religious harmony.
Do you know?
Guru Nanak : Guru Nanak was the
founder of Sikhism and the first guru of
Sikhs. His work has to be mentioned as a
great attempt at religious synthesis. He
visited the holy places of both Hindus and Muslims. He had
also visited Mecca.
He realised that the
feeling of devotion
is common
everywhere. He
taught that all
persons should be
treated equally. His
teachings aimed at
achieving HinduMuslim unity. He emphasized chaste
behaviour.
Many people were influenced by the
teachings of Guru Nanak. The number of
his followers increased day by day. The
followers of Guru Nanak are known as
‘Sikhs’ (Shishyas) meaning ‘disciples’.
The ‘Aadigrantha’, also known as the
‘Guru Granth Sahib’ is the Holy Book of
the Sikhs. The Aadigrantha includes
compositions by Guru Nanak, Sant
Namdeo, Sant Kabir and other Sants.
Guru Nanak was succeeded by nine Gurus
of the Sikhs. Guru Gobindsingh was the tenth Guru of the Sikhs. After Guru
Gobindsingh, Sikhs regard the ‘Guru
Granth Sahib’ as their Guru, as per the
orders of Guru Gobindsingh.
The Sufi Sect : This is a sect in
Islam. The Sufi saints believed that God
is full of love and the only way to reach
him is through love and devotion. Their
main teachings are love for all living
beings, meditation and simple living.
Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti, Shaikh
Nijamuddin Avaliya were great Sufi
Saints. The teachings of Sufi Saints led
to unity in the Hindu and Muslim
communities. Sufi music has made
valuable contribution to Indian music.
The path of Bhakti taught by the
Sants was easy to follow for the common
people. The Bhakti movement was open
to all men and women. The Sants
expressed their thoughts in the language
of the people. The common people found
them close to their heart. The Bhakti
movement has contributed greatly to the
making of the Indian Culture.
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