Bhakti Movement — Part 1 MCQs with Explanations

The Bhakti movement refers to the theistic devotional trend that emerged in medieval Hinduism and later revolutionised in Sikhism. It originated in seventh-century south India (now Tamil Nadu and Kerala), and spread northwards.

The Bhakti movement of Hinduism saw two ways of imaging the nature of the divine (Brahman) – Nirguna and Saguna. Nirguna Brahman was the concept of the Ultimate Reality as formless, without attributes or quality.

Kabir, (Arabic: "Great") (born 1440, Varanasi, Jaunpur, India-died 1518, Maghar), iconoclastic Indian poet-saint revered by Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs. The birth of Kabir remains shrouded in mystery and legend.

Ramanujacharya is famous as the chief proponent of Vishishtadvaita subschool of Vedanta, and his disciples were likely authors of texts such as the Shatyayaniya Upanishad. Ramanujacharya himself wrote influential texts, such as bhasya on the Brahma Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita, all in Sanskrit.

Kabir is widely believed to have become the first disciple of the Bhakti poet-saint Swami Ramananda in Varanasi, known for devotional Vaishnavism with a strong bent to monist Advaita philosophy teaching that God was inside every person, everything.

Moinuddin Chishti located at Ajmer, Rajasthan, India. The shrine has the grave (Maqbara) of the revered saint, Moinuddin Chisti.

Metaphysical concept of God in Hinduism, Gods general ultimate form/nature is formless pure consciousness (Nirakar Nirguna/without form/Impersonal) but it can manifests into divine form (Sakar Saugna/with form/personal). God has the ability to manifest into any kind of form and shape.

The mystic Saints of medieval India were the exponents of the Bhakti movement. They were not affiliated to any particular sect. They had no blind faith in any sacred scriptures, no device to set up separate sects, no loyalty to any particular creed. They attained greatness without following any ritual or ceremonies and through individual exertion. The exponents of Bhakti movement condemned idolatry and believed in monotheism. They thought that Bhakti or Single minded, uninterrupted and extreme devotion to God was the only means of Salvation.

Sufism found its way into India during the eleventh and twelfth centuries when many Sufi saints came to India particularly in Multan and Lahore of the Punjab. The most celebrated of these Sufi saints was Khwaja Muinuddin Chisti who came to Lahore from Ghazni in 1161 and settled in Ajmer under Prithviraj.

The early traditions of Bhakti were In the course of the evolution of forms of worship, in many instances, poet-saints emerged as leaders around whom there developed a community of devotees, Brahmanas remained important intermediaries between gods and devotees in several forms of bhakti, At a different level, historians of religion often classify bhakti traditions into two broad categories: saguna (with attributes) and nirguna (without attributes).

In the ninth century Sankara started a Hindu revivalist movement giving a new orientation to Hinduism. He was born in Kaladi in Kerala. His doctrine of Advaita or Monism was too abstract to appeal to the common man.

Sankara is regarded as the promoter of Advaita Vedānta as a distinct school of Indian philosophy, the origins of this school predate Sankara. The existence of an Advaita tradition is acknowledged by Sankara in his commentaries.

Ramanuja, the main proponent of Vishishtadvaita philosophy contends that the Prasthanatrayi ("The three courses"), namely the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Brahma Sutras are to be interpreted in a way that shows this unity in diversity, for any other way would violate their consistency. Vedanta Desika defines Vishishtadvaita using the statement, Asesha Chit-Achit Prakaaram Brahmaikameva Tatvam : Brahman, as qualified by the sentient and insentient modes (or attributes), is the only reality.

Namdev, also transliterated as Nam Dayv, Namdeo,Namadeva, (traditionally, c. 1270 – c. 1350) was a poet and a saint from Maharashtra, India who is significant to the Varkari sect of Hinduism. Bhagat Namdev's writings were also recognized by the "Gurus" of Sikhism and are included in the holy book of Sikhism, the Sri Guru Granth Sahib. Namdev worship lord Vitthal that is one of the name of lord Vishnu.

The Pandharpur Movement is associated with the Bhakti Movement of Maharashtra. The spread of the Bhakti movement in Maharashtra inculcated the spirit of oneness among the Marathas. The main teachings of the leaders were Bhakti or devotion to God and equality of all believers before God without any distinction of class or birth. The Bhakti movement united the people of Maharashtra in a common love of man and faith in one God.

Eknath wrote Rukmini Swayamwar Hastamalak, which was comprised 764 owees and based on a 14-shlok Sanskrit hymn with the same name by Shankaracharya.

Ramananda was born at Allahabad. He was originally a follower of Ramanuja. Later he founded his own sect and preached his principles in Hindi at Banaras and Agra. He was a worshipper of Rama. He was the first to employ the vernacular medium to propagate his ideas. Simplification of worship and emancipation of people from the traditional caste rules were his two important contributions to the Bhakti movement. He opposed the caste system and chose his disciples from all sections of society disregarding caste.

Tulsidas also known as Goswami Tulsidas was a Hindu Vaishnava saint and poet, often called reformer and philosopher from Ramanandi Sampradaya, in the lineage of Jagadguru Ramanandacharya renowned for his devotion to the Lord Shri Rama.

The cardinal principle of Bhakti Cult was influencing devotion to a personal God, whose grace was the only means of attaining salvation or Mukti. It stressed the idea of a personal God and pointed out the absurdity of the caste system in the presence of God and the futility of external rites and ceremonies. It allowed both men and women to achieve salvation by Bhakti. God is one, He alone should be worshipped. By following the path of true devotion (Bhakti) one can find salvation or (nijat, mukti). A true guru is indispensable for realizing God or attaining salvation.

The collection of their hymns is known as Divya Prabandha. All the saints were male except one named Andal. The 63 Nayanars saints were the Shiva devotional poets, who lived between 5th and 10th centuries.

Guru Nanak (1469−1538) Another well known saint preacher of the medieval period was Guru Nanak, founder of the Sikh. He exhorted people to give up selfishness, falsehood and hypocrisy and to lead a life of truth, honesty and kindness.

Gnanadeva wrote a commentary of Bhagavad Gita called Gnaneswari.

Kabir is widely believed to have become the first disciple of the Bhakti poet-saint Swami Ramananda in Varanasi, known for devotional Vaishnavism with a strong bent to monist Advaita philosophy teaching that God was inside every person, everything.

Sant Tukaram(c.1608 – c.1650), also Shri Tukaram, and colloquially referred to as "Tuka", was a seventeenth century Marathi poet Sant of India, related to the Bhakti movement of Maharashtra. Tukaram was a devotee of Vitthal (a form of Lord Krishna), the supreme God in Vaishnavism.

Bhakti Saint Ramanuja preached Vishishtadvaita. He said that the 'God is Saguna Brahman'.

Nirguna Saints does not advocated the worshiped the anthropomorphic manifestations of the divine being, particularly Rama and Krishna.

Chaitanya (1485-1534): Born at Navadwip in Bengal, Chaitanya was the greatest saint of the Bhakti movement. His original name was 'Vishwambhar Mishra'. He was responsible for the popularity of Vaishnavism in Bengal through his Kirtans. He began the Achintayabhedabhedavada School of theology, and preached the religion of intense faith in one Supreme Being whom he called Krishna or Hari. He adored Krishna and Radha and attempted to spiritualize their lives in Vrindavan.

Some of the earliest bhakti movements (c. sixth century) were led by the Alvars (literally, those who are "immersed" in devotion to Vishnu) and Nayanars (literally, leaders who were devotees of Shiva). They travelled from place to place singing hymns in Tamil in praise of their gods. During their travels the Alvars and Nayanars identified certain shrines as abodes of their chosen deities.

Bhakti movement preached using the local languages so that the message reached the masses.

It is commonly held that he was born sometimes in the last quarter of the fifteenth century. His works include Sur Sagar, Sahitva Ratna and Sur Sarawali. In Sur Sagar, Sur Das deals with the life of Krishna’s childhood. He dis­played himself not merely as a master of child psychology but also as a devotee of the Almighty. The works and poems of Sur Das exercised tremendous influence on the people and encouraged them to follow the path of Bhakti.

The Bhakti Movement was started in South India in the 7th century. The earliest seeds of the Bhakti movement in India was organised by Ramanuja.

Chaitanya also known as Sri Gauranga, was a popular Vaishnava saint and reformer from Bengal. He was born of Brahman parents at Nadia. After his education he became a teacher.

Ramananda was a 14th-century Vaishnava devotional poet sant, in the Ganges river region of Northern India. The Hindu tradition recognizes him as the founder of the Ramanandi Sampradaya, the largest monastic Hindu renunciant community in modern times.

Pir or Peer ('elder') is a title for a Sufi master or spiritual guide. They are also referred to as a Hazrat or Shaikh, which is Arabic for Old Man.

Literary works with compositions attributed to Kabir include Kabir Bijak, Kabir Parachai, Sakhi Granth, Adi Granth (Sikh), and Kabir Granthawali (Rajasthan).

Khwaja Muinuddin Chisti is regarded as foremost preacher of Sufism among Sufis of India. Akbar, the Mughal emperor believed that it was his blessings which lead him a son and the heir for the Mughal throne.

Chaitanya wrote Shiksha Ashtak in which he gave the cream of the Shastras.

Sri Ramanuja Acharya was an Indian philosopher and is recognized as the most important saint of Sri Vaishnavism. His philosophical foundations for devotionalism were influential to the Bhakti movement.

The Bhakti movement of Hinduism saw two ways of imaging the nature of the divine (Brahman) – Nirguna and Saguna. Nirguna Brahman was the concept of the Ultimate Reality as formless, without attributes or quality.

Baba Farid also knows as Khwaja Fariduddin was a sufi preacher and poet of 12th century. He is considered as the first poet of Punjabi Language. He found that "music is the way of reaching God".