Bhakthi Movement in India

What is the Bhakti movement and why did it start?

Adi Shankaracharya, Madhav Acharya, Surdas, Mirabai, Tulsidas, Tukaram and many other great personalities were always known only as saints but it is still unaware among some of the peoples that they uplifted the Bhakti movement to unite Hindus.  The Bhakti movement started in South India which later spread across different parts of India where Saints used to spread knowledge by their poems, preaching’s and they also brought social reforms by uniting Hindus irrespective of their caste and gender. The rigorous caste system, the complex ritualism that included the custom of worship and the inherent should move to a better fulfilling way of worship and salvation perhaps encouraged this movement.

Bhakti poets affirmed surrender to god. As well, most of the Bhakti saints were rebels who opt to oppose the currents of their time through their writings. Even in the present day, the Bhakti tradition continues in a modified version.

From the 5th century CE, India was ruled by many individual Hindu kingdoms. When Invaders invaded India they just did not take away Indian wealth but also created discrimination by spoiling Indian tradition and culture.  By 6th century CE discrimination reached to such an extent that people started dividing on the name of caste and in the name of god.  Few people stopped believing in the existence of god and started misleading Hinduism by spreading misinformation.  This was first when people started converting from Hinduism to other religions or they remained atheist.

It was around 7th century CE Alvars who are known to be devotees of Lord Vishnu and Nayanars who are followers of Lord Shiva started Bhakti movement in South India to strengthen the roots of Hinduism.  They used to move from one place to the other by leaving a message of unity by singing songs, reciting poems and preaching knowledge.  They used to talk more about society and humanity.  This was when people started misleading caste system where they used to decide caste of person by birth but not by work.Many people started social discrimination such as untouchability.  

The main  aim of the Bhakti movement was to protest  against the caste system and untouchability.  Alvars and Nayanars used to write knowledge about Hinduism and social reforms and spread knowledge about Hinduism and social reforms. 

It was around 10th century CE Nathamuni collected and scripted the composition of 12 Alvars Nalayira Divya prabandham which consists of 4000 sacred verses.  Many poets wrote poems such as Thevaram to fill a follower’s heart with devotion.

Main principles of Bhakti movement

1. God is one
2. All are equal
3. No caste discrimination
4. No superstitious beliefs
5. Worshipping God anywhere with devotion is better than performing religious ceremonies in temple
6. To worship God man should first serve humanity

As per the tradition there were 12 Alwars and 63 Nayanars who spread the roots of Bhakti movement and strengthened Hinduism. One among them is Adi Shankaracharya who founded Dashanami Sampradaya and travelled to different places across India were he organized people and did many social reforms with his preachings.  

In the 14th century CE poet and Saint Ramananda returned from South India and founded his own sect and preached his principal in Hindi in Banaras and Agra. Later the Bhakti movement spread across North India with his devotion. 

It was around the 16th century CE, blind devotional poet and singer named Surdas spread devotion to Lord Krishna with his songs. Many people followed this path and devotion. Many other great leaders like Ramanuja, Tukaram, Madhavacharya, Nimbarka, Vallabhacharya, Vidhyapati and many other prominent leaders.

Women in the Bhakti Movement

In the Bhakti movement women poet-saints also played a crucial role and most of these women saints had to struggle harder to get support within the otherwise largely male-dominated movement. In most of the cases, the women saints denied traditional women’s roles and societal norms. They left their homes to become roaming bhaktas while in some other cases, while performing their household duties itself they got involved in the Bhakti movement.

Some of the noticeable female bhaktas are:

• Akkamahadevi an ardent devotee of Shiva who is a12th-century bhakti saint. She belonged to the southern region of Karnataka. The title “Akka” was acquired, meaning elder sister from great philosophers of her time –Prabhu Deva, Basavanna, Madivalayya and Chenna Basavanna.
• Janabai worked in the household of one of the most respected Bhakti saints, saint Namdeva. She composed over 300 poems, without having any formal education mostly pertaining to her life – domestic chores or about the boundaries she faced being a low caste woman.
• Mira bai or Mira belonged to a high class ruling Rajput family. Mira’s poetry depicts a special relationship with Lord Krishna.
• Bahinabai or Bahina is a 17th-century poet-saint of Maharashtra. She wrote various abhang, women’s folk songs that depicts the working life of women mainly in the fields.
• Andal is the only female Alwar who saw herself as the beloved of Vishnu; her verses portrays her immense love for the deity.
• Karaikkal Ammaiyar is one among the 3 women Nayanars out of the 63 Nayanars. Her love towards Shiva took the path of asceticism so as to attain her goal.