Bhakti and Sufi Movements: Saints, Ideas and Impact

What is bhakti?

Bhakti means loving devotion to a personal god. It holds that salvation can be reached through sincere devotion, not through rituals, sacrifices, caste status or learning in Sanskrit. Ideas of bhakti appear in the Bhagavad Gita and some Upanishads, but bhakti as a mass movement began in Tamil Nadu between the 6th and 9th centuries with the Alvars and Nayanars, and spread northward between the 12th and 17th centuries.

Common features of the Bhakti movement:

• devotion to one god (monotheistic tendency) – Shiva, Vishnu (Rama/Krishna) or a formless God;
• rejection of empty rituals, idol-centred priestly control (in many cases) and caste discrimination;
• teaching through regional languages – Tamil, Kannada, Marathi, Hindi, Bengali, Punjabi, Assamese;
• importance of the guru;
• equality – saints came from all castes and included women;
• songs, kirtan and poetry as the main medium.

South Indian beginnings

• Alvars (12 Vaishnava saints): e.g. Nammalvar, Periyalvar and his daughter Andal (the only woman Alvar; Tiruppavai). Their hymns were compiled in the Nalayira Divya Prabandham ("Tamil Veda").
• Nayanars (63 Shaiva saints): Appar, Sambandar, Sundarar, Manikkavasagar (Tiruvasagam), Karaikkal Ammaiyar (a woman saint). Their hymns were compiled in the Tirumurai (Tevaram).
• Philosophical foundations (acharyas):

• Virashaivism (Lingayats) in Karnataka (12th century): Basavanna, minister of the Kalachuri king Bijjala, rejected caste, idol worship and Vedic authority, and promoted dignity of labour (kayaka). His Anubhava Mantapa was an assembly of mystics; Vachanas (prose poems) in Kannada by Basavanna, Akka Mahadevi and Allama Prabhu are famous.

Bhakti in Maharashtra: the Varkari tradition

Devotion to Vithoba (Vitthal) of Pandharpur:

• Jnaneshwar (Dnyaneshwar) – wrote Jnaneshwari, a Marathi commentary on the Gita (13th century);
• Namdev – a tailor; his verses are in the Guru Granth Sahib;
• Eknath – opposed caste; wrote Eknathi Bhagavat;
• Tukaram – contemporary of Shivaji; his abhangas are sung in the annual Pandharpur wari (pilgrimage);
• Ramdas – Dasbodh; linked to Shivaji in tradition (Dharkari sect).
• Women saints like Janabai and Muktabai; Chokhamela, a saint from a Dalit (Mahar) family.

Two streams in north India: nirguna and saguna

Nirguna bhakti – devotion to a formless God, without attributes:

• Kabir (15th century, Varanasi) – a weaver; attacked idol worship, caste, pilgrimage and the rituals of both Hindus and Muslims; his dohas and sakhis in simple Hindi are collected in the Bijak; followers – Kabirpanthis.
• Ravidas (Raidas) – a cobbler; dreamt of Begampura, a city without sorrow or caste; Mirabai is said to have been his disciple; 40 of his hymns are in the Guru Granth Sahib.
• Guru Nanak (1469–1539) – founder of Sikhism; taught devotion to one formless God (Ik Onkar), honest labour (kirat karo), sharing (vand chhako) and remembrance of God's name (naam japo); started langar (community kitchen) and sangat.
• Dadu Dayal (Rajasthan) – founded the Brahma Sampradaya / Dadupanth.

Saguna bhakti – devotion to God with form, especially Rama and Krishna:

• Ramananda (14th–15th century) – a link between south and north; taught in Hindi and accepted disciples from all castes (traditionally including Kabir and Ravidas).
• Tulsidas – Ramcharitmanas (Awadhi), written in Akbar's time.
• Surdas – blind poet of Krishna; Sursagar (Braj).
• Mirabai – Rajput princess of Mewar, devotee of Krishna as Giridhar Gopal; defied family and social norms.
• Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1533, Bengal) – Gaudiya Vaishnavism; popularised sankirtan; devotion to Radha–Krishna; travelled to Puri. Philosophy: achintya bhedabheda.
• Sankaradeva (1449–1568, Assam) – Ekasarana dharma (devotion to Krishna/Vishnu alone); set up satras (monasteries) and namghars (prayer halls); created the Sattriya dance and Ankia Naat plays; Borgeet songs. Madhavadeva was his disciple. The river island Majuli is the centre of satras.
• Purandara Dasa (Karnataka) – father of Carnatic music (Haridasa movement).

The Sufi movement

Sufism is the mystical dimension of Islam. Sufis seek direct experience of God through love, devotion and self-discipline, and they emphasise inner purity over outward ritual. Some important ideas:

• Wahdat-ul-Wujud ("unity of being") – developed by Ibn al-Arabi; all existence is one with God. This idea resonated with Advaita.
• Wahdat-ul-Shuhud ("unity of appearance") – put forward by Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi (Naqshbandi), who opposed Akbar's policies and stressed the distinction between God and creation.
• Practices: zikr (remembrance), sama (music), khanqah (hospice), pir–murid (master–disciple), urs (death anniversary of a saint, celebrated as a "wedding" with God).

Major silsilas in India:

Rishi order of Kashmir – Nuruddin Wali (Nund Rishi), inspired by the Shaiva woman mystic Lal Ded (Lalleshwari) – is a beautiful example of local synthesis.

Impact of Bhakti and Sufi movements

• Social: challenged caste and gender barriers, at least in spiritual matters; gave dignity to labouring castes.
• Religious: promoted tolerance and a composite culture; saints like Kabir and Nanak bridged Hindu and Muslim traditions; Sufi dargahs drew all communities.
• Literary: gave birth to great literature in regional languages – Hindi, Marathi, Punjabi, Bengali, Assamese, Kannada.
• Musical: kirtan, abhang, qawwali, Borgeet, Haridasa songs.
• Political: inspired regional identities, as among the Marathas and Sikhs.
• Limits: did not abolish caste as a social institution; many sects became new castes; orthodoxy remained strong.

Mains practice question

Q. "The Bhakti and Sufi movements shared a common ethos of love and equality." Elaborate with examples. (250 words)

Framework: definitions; common features (devotion over ritual, guru/pir, regional languages, music, equality, criticism of orthodoxy); examples – Kabir and Nizamuddin, Nanak and Baba Farid in the Guru Granth Sahib, Lal Ded and Nund Rishi; differences (Sufis within Islam, bhakti saints within varied Hindu traditions); impact on composite culture; conclusion on relevance to social harmony.

Quick self-test

1. Who propounded Vishishtadvaita? *(Ramanuja)*
2. Which saint founded Ekasarana dharma? *(Sankaradeva)*
3. Who wrote the Jnaneshwari? *(Jnaneshwar)*
4. Which Sufi silsila accepted state patronage? *(Suhrawardi)*
5. Who propounded Wahdat-ul-Shuhud? *(Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi)*

Sikhism: from Guru Nanak to the Khalsa

Sikhism grew out of the nirguna bhakti tradition into a distinct faith through ten Gurus:

• Guru Angad – developed the Gurmukhi script.
• Guru Amar Das – organised the manji system of preaching, opposed purdah and sati.
• Guru Ram Das – founded Ramdaspur (Amritsar) on land granted by Akbar.
• Guru Arjan Dev – compiled the Adi Granth (1604) and built the Harmandir Sahib; executed in 1606.
• Guru Hargobind – militarised the community; built the Akal Takht.
• Guru Tegh Bahadur – executed by Aurangzeb (1675); honoured as "Hind di Chadar".
• Guru Gobind Singh – founded the Khalsa at Anandpur Sahib on Baisakhi 1699, gave the five Ks, and declared the Guru Granth Sahib the eternal Guru after him (1708).

After him, Banda Singh Bahadur led a peasant uprising and abolished zamindari in parts of Punjab before his execution in 1716; later, the Sikh misls and Maharaja Ranjit Singh built a powerful state.

Key terms glossary

• Nirguna / saguna: God without / with attributes.
• Abhang: Marathi devotional verse.
• Khanqah, urs, zikr: Sufi hospice, death anniversary, remembrance.
• Langar: community kitchen.