BHAKTI MOVEMENT IN INDIA: A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE (Dr.G.Narayanan,Associate professor, Department of Vedanta, SSUS R.

C Thiruvananthapuram)
A social movement aims at radical change in society and the struggle to achieve it. It can be an organized struggle or may be an undercurrent that is running unnoticed in the society. The Bhakti movement, well-known in the history of medieval India, also suggests such an idea. In history it has been considered as a current that has challenged the orthodoxy in the society, particularly the Hindu orthodoxy. What is Bhakti? When has it originated, was it a new invention of medieval India? These questions have to be met with. The modern academicians who asked these questions had intentions to make Bhakti an academic problem. Generally these attempts started with European scholars who found some close similarity among Christianity and Kriaism or vaiavism in a broad sense. These academic endeavors produced many theories and one among them is Bhakti movement. This is not to negate the idea of Bhakti movement. As a social phenomenon that has brought qualitative changes in the medieval Indian society it have importance. This paper attempts a discussion on Bhakti movement in the general religious-philosophic background beginning from the Vedic period. Here, at first we have to define Bhakti and to discuss how it was received in its early phase. Next we must consider the change in its meaning and its effects in the second phase and the reasons that lead to the development. Bhakti This term is roughly translated into English as devotion. In Sanskrit the word is used in various senses- upsana, dhyna1, desire for one etc. Patajali in his yoga sutra has opined that one can attain yoga through Iswarapraidhna ()2. According to dilya it is strong desire for God3 ( ). To Narada it is supreme love.4 To

1 . ankarchrya in his vivekachdamai described Bhakti as

. 2. Yogasutra I-23. Vyasa in his commentary describes pranidhana as Bhakti viea 3. ilya bhaktistram I-i-2, Svapnevara Described it as 4. Nradabhaktistra-2

madhusdana saraswati Bhakti is the transformation of mind into the form of Brahman or isvara.5 To vaishnava sects it is surrender to god. To chaitanya it is the longing for Krishnathe emotional virahabhakti.6 Later, this Bhakti is divided into intellectual Bhakti and emotional Bhakti. The philosophical schools upheld the intellectual Bhakti while religious sects followed later. The argument of a section of scholars that Indian religious sects, particularly vaishnavits, inherited the doctrine from Christianity is baseless. The first hymn of Rig Veda, the Agnisukta, though not clearly spealt out, speaks aloud two types of Bhakti adoring the highest and surrendering oneself at his disposal.7 Moving ahead, in Upanishads there is a sea-change in the ideology where upasana substituted the yaga. The asvamedha brahmana of brhadaranyaka Upanishad is the best example8. Isavasyopanishd proposes an entirely different concept which is theistic in content rejects the doctrine of Karma9. Perhaps it was the first step towards a theology. In svetasvatara Upanishad we have a matured idea of isvara and Bhakti10. The Bhakti described in svetasvatara is entirely different from the one that we met in chndogyopaniad and bhadrayakopaniad. The next stage, the period of epics and puras, we have well formed theology and definitions of Bhakti. During the period of epics power equations were changed and the Brahmin orthodoxy has forced to admit change11. The Vedic deities lost their supremacy to trimurtis, especially to siva and Vishnu. The period also produced vast literature affiliated to 5.

rmadbhaktirasyanam-2 6. Caitanya reacts differently. The affective identification with the gops that penetrates his total awareness, far from managing to bridge the gulf between Ka and man, confronts him with the gops own situation. Like himself they suffer in the fire of loneliness Viraha-Bhakti- The early history of Ka devotion in south India, Friedhelm Hardy, OUP, Delhi.1983; p-7-8 7. Rg.Veda I.i.1-2 8. Bhadarayaka upaniat I.i.1 bhadrayaka vrtikasra describe it as I-5-18. 9. a-1,2, 3, 9. 10. vetvatara upaniad-III-20; VI-23 11. Indian Philosophy, Dr.S.Radhakrishnan,vol.I, OUP, Delhi. 2008. P.403.

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both these deities. Bhakti almost replaced ritual at first and knowledge later as the highest means for moksha. The upaniadic idea of unity with Brahman, which was considered as moka, has been changed to surrender to god and achieving similarity with him, while

keeping the difference. This later doctrine became accepted as the highest moka in puras. On the part of authoritative texts Bhagavad-Gita though advocated and admitted vara system permitted dras to practice Bhakti for moka. Both the epics describe this with examples. Bhagavad-Gita persuades Brahmins saying that even women and dras can attain the noble stage of moka12. The puric religion was centered on theism and Bhakti. There ware many sects also. Though they admitted Bhakti they have differences on the nature and practice of the doctrine.13 At a stage we can see that philosophers taking part in the debate. Especially Vedanta and its various subsystems were influenced by the puric doctrines of Bhakti. In fact, the Vedic-upaniadic doctrine of upsana and the puric idea of Bhakti received rational philosophical support and explanation in Vedanta. The Advaita Vednta of ankarcrya elaborated the upaniadic doctrine of Brahman. He controverted with other philosophical and religious systems. His arguments against supreme personal God-head were enough to destabilize any strong theist system Advaitavednta God and Bhakti are rather unimportant15. Sankaras criticisms lead to the development of vaishnavite and saivaite philosophical schools. From the Tamil Vaiava tradition of vrs the rvaiava school of Vedanta has been developed. Madhva introduced Dvaita system of Vednta by developing the idea of personal Brahman further to absolute dualism. Both these spiritual teachers tried hard to refute the arguments of ankarcrya and his absolute monism. Nimbarka and Vallabha developed their own devotional philosophy depending on Ramanuja and Madhva. All these philosophers treated Bhakti as the means of moksha. They defined and interpreted the concept in their own way. The most important aspect of these systems is 12. Bhagavad-Gita IX 32-33 13. Indian Philosophy, Jadunath Sinha, New central Book Agency, Culcutta, 1987.P.153-154 14. Brahmasutra II.ii.37-45 15. Indian Philosophy Vol.II, Dr.S.Radhakrishnan, OUP,Delhi, p.606-608
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14

. In

their influence on social and religious reformers and common people. The reformers used the ideology of these spiritual personalities16 to counter the orthodoxy and they talked in the language of common people. With this development the second phase of Bhakti movement- an event that brought sweeping changes in the Indian society- has started. The Bhakti movement- first phase The concept of social movement has been already defined. A perusal of the doctrine of Bhakti in the Indian context shows that it was used against ritualism or ritualistic religion of Vedas. Also the strong opposition from the orthodoxy suggests its non Vedic origin. The uprising of north eastern clans, kyas, Lichavis and Stvatas, against the ritualistic Vedic religion is well known. The name of Sakya and lichavi were connected with Buddha and Mahvra and their contributions are well studied. The third group, Stvatas was connected with Bhgavatism17. This Bhgavatism later developed into vaiavism18. Among the three groups vehemently criticized the orthodoxy but Stvatas were not that much critical. They were more conservative than the other two. Hence they could co-exist with conservatives. They fought against ritualism, criticized the animal sacrifice but accepted the authority of Vedas and allied literature. This co-existence forced both to adjust to compromises.

Bhgavatas admitted Vedic corpus and rituals to an extant at a later time. In return the orthodox people accepted the Bhgavata doctrine Bhakti. In the beginning Satvatas followed Bhagavatism- a cult developed on the vedic deity Bhagavan. Later they identified Vishnu with bhagavan. Further the Narayana, Rama and the Krishna were integrated with Vishnu and formed the Vaishnavism. This process of identification was achieved through long process of exegesis on Vedas and puranas. The foundation of this new religion was given in the agamas like Pancharatra Agama, Vaighanasa Agama etc. The agamas discussed a philosophy- the metaphysics and cosmology- along with the details of worship, rituals, construction of temples etc. later puranas developed this ideas and the doctrine of Bhakti.

16. There are exceptions. A group of Sants who followed nirgunabhakti never cared for any system 17. Evolution of religio-philosophic culture in india, R.C.Majumdar; cultural heritage of india, vol.IV.Ed.Haridas Bhattacharya,Ramakrishna institute of culture. Culcutta. 2001. P.38 18. Ibid . 114
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As mentioned earlier the attempt of stvatas was a movement against ritualistic religion of priests. It presented Bhakti against yaja. It also controverted against the upaniadic doctrine of jna19. This hints that this movement was directed against the social order and the rights related to them. Particularly the rights attached to different varnas. Only trivarnikas had right over yaja and knowledge. But Bhakti is open to all irrespective of caste and gender. This new doctrine of worship and religious practice developed unchallenged till the day of Sankaracharya. Sankara, the aupanishada has challenged the very concept of an almighty personal god. He also questioned the legitimacy and authority of agamas the scripture of Satvatas and Saiva-Pasupatas. His strong arguments forced the religious followers to establish the authority and validity of agamas on par with the Vedas and to establish the philosophy of Bhakti on a logically sound platform. This makes the agamapramanya of yamunacharya noteworthy 20 . Ramanujas vedarthasamgraha also attempts to establish that upaniads and Veda teach the philosophy of Nryaa- the saguabrahman- and Bhakti. Among the three reformist movements of ancient India Bhgavatism-vaishnavism followed a pro-Vedic approach21. They adjusted to affordable extent to the conservative outlook of the orthodoxy and tried to transform and clean it from inside. The innumerable narratives appearing in Mahbhrata, Rmyaa, Adhytmarmayaa, and puras display supremacy of Bhakti against yaja. The impermanence of the results of yga formed subject matter of many stories. These stories presented Bhakti as the highest means to attain moksha. They taught that the grace of God lead one to moksha and the grace of God can be 19. Bhagavad-Gita grants only secondary importance to knowledge as a means of Moka. XI53,54; XII-12. 20. Ymuncrya in this book collects the arguments putted forth against the people called Bhagavatas, satvatas etc. He answers this and allied questions. Here he purticulary refers to ankaras criticism and rejection of pancharatra agama as invalid. Yamuna strived hard to prove that Satvatas are utkha brhmins. Vide Agama Pramanyam, Yamunacharya, Ed.Ramamisra Sastri, Tara press, Varanasi -1937. 21. Dr.V.Varadachari, Pcartrgama, Tirumala Tirupati devasthanams, Tirupati, 2001. P.28
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attained through Bhakti22. God pleased on his devotee removes the sin clogged on the devotee as a cow remove the dirt on its calf. It is impossible to attain moksha without the grace of God. The first phase of Bhakti movement lasted till the advent of ankarcrya and the development of Bhakti schools of Vedanta23. This period that from ankara to Madhva, made qualitative changes in the doctrine of Bhakti. The emotional content of Bhakti depicted in puras was transformed to intellectual Bhakti. This trend started in ankara and almost completed with Rmnuja. Rmnujas interpretation of Bhakti and prapatti are best examples of this. Here Bhakti is intellectual Bhakti- the Bhakti yoga of Bhagavad-Gita while prapatti is a clarification upon karma-samnyasa24. As both streams- the orthodox Brahmanism and the Bhgavata movement, arrived on some compromise on Bhakti, vaiavits tried to undo the differences. Rmnuja treated prvammmsa and uttaramimamsa as a single system. The quotation by Madhva from unknown sources also an attempt toward direction. More over he introduced the use of the replica of animal made of flour in yga instead of the slaughter of real animal in the yga. The animal sacrifice was the object of criticism by almost all philosophical systems and reformist movements. By replacing the animal sacrifice with the sacrifice of flour replica and interpreting it as the real intention of the Veda Mdhva could satisfy both sides. These philosophical Bhakti schools upheld a more conservative stand than ankarcrya while commenting on Apadrdhikaraa. Medieval Bhakti Movement- the second Phase This stage is a direct continuation of the philosophical Bhaktism. As stated earlier the philosophers concentrated on rationalization of God, Bhakti and to reply to the criticism of rivals especially advaitavedanta. In this process the emotional content of Bhakti has been lost considerably. The viidvaita philosophy lacks the emotional flavor felt in the poems

22. The Nahushopakhyana of Mahabharata, Ajamilamoksha of bhagavata, prahladopakhyana, the markandeyopakhyana etc. illustrate this idea. 23. ankara wrote many popular stotras apart from his philosophical works. This led some scholars to argue that the medieval Bhakti movement starts with ankara. The Bhajagovindam ascribed to ankara presents an idea similar to that of vaiavits. But his philosophical view is different. In his brahmasutrabhashya he speaks about mrtipuja as a type of upsana. Yet, to him Jna is the highest means of moka. 24. Friedhelm Hardy. P.46
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of vrs; the spirit and sweetness of the prayers of ndl. Further the Sanskrit language and the scholarly philosophical literature also kept the common man away from the philosophical Bhaktism. Still it influenced the movement. The saints who followed the teachings of these Bhakti philosophers tried to retain the lost spirit the emotional factor of Bhakti and teachings of these philosophers. They preached in the regional languages. This caused a surge of literature in regional languages. These new literature were either

translation of famous religious texts or original creations or adaptions. The new idea of Bhakti was disseminated through all popular means so that it could receive maximum audience. Art, music, performing arts like drama, dance, ritual performances etc. carried the message of Bhakti. The sant movement in medieval India is considered as Bhakti movement by historians. The sants were wandering poet saints. There were two groups: the vaiava poet saints from Maharashtra, flourished from fourteenth to eighteenth century, and the saints from Hindi speaking area who were active from fifteenth century onward. These north Indian saints rejected the sagua aspects and could not be treated along with the Hindu classifications of Bhakti. 25 They were known as practitioners of nirgunabhakti. The Nirguabhakti followed by these saints and the nirguabhakti advocated by bhgavata are different. The nirgua devotion according to bhaavata is superior to saguabhakti. It is unmotivated, immediate and spontaneous
26

. Karine Schomer too considers this

nirguabhakti as a relatively new phenomenon.27 The sant tradition of medieval North India commences with Rmnanda. He was a vaiava saint lived in Varanasi. According to vaiava tradition he comes in the direct line of Rmnuja. Due to differences he broke away from the parent group and founded Rmnandi sect which was more liberal. He considered Ram as brahma. Later his sect divided into two groups: those who worshiped Ram as saguna and a group of sants who rejected all orthodox religious practices. Tulsidas, the author of Rmacaritamnas belongs to the former group and Kabir who championed the doctrine of new nirguabhakti was a

25. The Saints: Studies in a devotional Tradition of India. Ed. Karine Schomer and W.H.McLeod,Motilal Banarsidas, Delhi,1987.P.3 26 . Jdunath Sinha, P.195; 27 . Karine Schomer P.3
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member of later group28. The rapid change in the social and economic front in medieval India also contributed to the wide acceptance of Bhakti. One reason was the ideology of equality advocated by the sant movement29. The beneficiaries of Bhakti movement were not Bhakti schools alone. The philosophical systems also enjoyed the benefits of this movement. The saints affiliating themselves to a particular philosophical school wrote books on the system in regional languages. These were considered equal to their Sanskrit counterparts30. Advaitavednta too contributed to this Bhakti movement. Madhusdana Sarasvati wrote Ghrthadpika, a commentary on Bhagavad-Gita promoting Bhakti, and Bhaktirasyana an independent work on the advaitic version of nirguabhakti. Nryaatrtha wrote a commentary on the dilya Bhakti stra. Contemporary Bhakti cults The God-man cult also started with the Bhakti movement31. It is still continuing. In fact this movement kept the systems alive. The vaiava, aiva and kta cults have good number of followers. Devotional literature and devotional media - music albums; video albums and- even devotional channels- have a good market share today.

28. Karine Schomer p.4-5 29. Charlotte Vaudeville writes . Sants? Socially they belonged to the lower strata of hindu and Muslim society: nearly all were shudras, some of them even atishudras,i.e. Untouchables. They were poor, mostly uneducated or even illiterate; quite a few were women. They had no access or right to brahmanical knowledge, were not acquainted with Sanskrit and could only express themselves in the local languages of the people, the archaic Indo-Aryan Vernaculars of Hindustan and central India Sant Mat: Santism as the Universal path to Sanctity in The Saints: Studies in a devotional Tradition of India. Ed. Karine Schomer and W.H.McLeod, p.21 30. The Siddhanta Leasamgraha of Appayya Dkita supposes such a purvapaksha. Very excellent texts were produced in regional languages during the period of philosophy. The vttiprabhakar and vcharsagar of santh Nischal das in north India and the Chintaratnam of ezhuttachan in Malayalam are just few of them 31. Especially with the Vallabha sect.
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