Bhakti In India

Bhakti as a religious stream existed since antiquity, but from the turn of the 14th-15th centuries. You can notice a sharp increase in its popularity, the emergence of a pleiad of talented preachers, some new features in the teaching itself. Of course, Islam, in particular Sufism, gave a definite impetus to the revival of social thought, primarily religious thought. But the development of cities, the growth of the urban population , significantly stimulated by the formation of Muslim states played a role, and the upper layer of feudal lords was oriented toward urban life. City folk, artisan merchants and paupers, apparently, needed an ideology, freed from strict ritual and Hinduism, and Islam and addressed to all segments of the population. This need caused a certain ferment in the cities, the emergence of a number of Muslim, Hindu sects, as well as sects that combined in their dogmatics elements of Hinduism and Islam, which often led rebellion against nobles and mullahs. This need was reflected in the appearance in India of various preachers of bhakti.

Ramananda (late 14th - early 15th century) proclaimed the need to simplify the cult and weaken the caste rules. His preaching work, begun in the South, then continued in Varanasi. He did not create a large school of followers, but one of his disciples, the Muslim Kabbir (XV century), developed this teaching and contributed to its spread. Repetition and glorification of the name of God, of any of his names, according to Kabir, is the most direct and only way to knowledge of God and merge with him. Observance of caste rules and Hindu and Muslim rituals does not matter. The continuer of the teachings of Cabrera Nanak (1469-1539) preached in the Punjab. His followers, the Sikhs (disciples), rallied to a community that had not only its head (guru), but also its own holy scripture (Adi Granth), written down specially for this alphabet (gurmukhn), and even its capital (Amritsar).

Sikhism taught that God is one, has no name and form. In the world there is a constant struggle between a light and a dark beginning. The same struggle is also in the soul of man. Sikhism recognized Hindu concepts of karma (retribution for former deeds) and samsara (reincarnation of souls), but denied the caste system and proclaimed not only the equality of all before God, but also social equality on earth. The Sikh had to lead an orderly, businesslike life, take care of family members and the welfare of the whole community, defend their faith and community with weapons in their hands. The democratic character of Sikhism intensified when the tenth after Nanak guru Govind (1675-1708 ) abolished the guru's institution, transferred power to the community (halsa) as a whole, appropriated to all Sikhs the name Singh ("Lion") and transformed the entire community in a military manner.

Other directions of bhakti did not have the same scope. In Gujarat in the XV century. The preacher Narasimha Mehta was known, in Kashmir - Lalla. In Bengal and Orissa, Chaitanya preached (1486-1535). He talked about love and devotion to God, about the equality of all before him, he accepted into his community all - Hindus and Muslims, brahmanas and untouchables. In Maharashtra, the bhakti school took shape in Pandharpur. It belonged to Jianeshwar and Namdev (XIII-XIV centuries), Eknath and Tukaram (XV-XVI centuries), Ramdas (XVII century). In the area of Mathura, the ashram (abode) of Valla-bhacharya, which belonged to one of the founders of poetry in Hindi-Sur Das (XV-XVI centuries), was famous. The follower of bhakti was also the great poet of Hindi Tulsi Das (1532-1624), who translated the ancient poem "Ramayana" into this language. In Mithil, another outstanding poet, Vidyapati Thakur (15th century), who is considered a classic of both Mithilian and Bengali literature, created. In Rajasthan, Kabir's disciple was a famous preacher of Dadu (1544-1603). The founder of poetry on Rajasthan is the Krishna poetess Mirabai (16th century). Along with the relatively radical currents of bhakti, there was also a more conservative current. The latter is represented by the work of the poet Tulsi Das, who did not oppose the caste hierarchy as definitely as many other preachers of bhakti.

The synthesis of the Hindu and the Muslim manifested itself not only in the work of poets-bhaktas. He also went in art - architecture, painting (miniature), music, dances. Great role in the XIV-XVI centuries. In this process, relatively small sultanates split from Delhi (the states of Bengal, Jaunpur, Gujarat, Malwa), where the role of the alien element was smaller than in the capital of Northern India, and where the ruling elite stood closer to the top of the Hindus. In the 16th-17th centuries, under the Moguls, even at the courts of the padishahs, the Hindu culture won strong positions.