Explanation:

 Bhakti movement relied on true devotion as a means to attaining God. It tried to bring respect for mankind moving over the barriers of caste. It was against any rituals and pilgrimage

It is generally accepted that the Bhakti Movement was the result of the combination of a number of factors, which are as follows:
Firstly, the people were not happy with the highly philosophical exposition of Hinduism as given by Shankaracharya and looked for a system which could be easily comprehended by all.
Secondly, the high caste ridden character of the medieval Hindu society with the higher castes committing all sorts of atrocities on the members of lower castes and untouchables,evoked strong reaction and convinced the Hindu saints and philosophers of the need of evolving a movement which did not believe in castes and other distinctions and laid emphasis only on Bhakti or devotion.
Thirdly, the adaptation of Islam by a large number of low caste Hindus convinced the saints and reformers, that unless the rigours of caste system were reduced, it would be difficult to retain the lower caste Hindus in the fold of Hinduism.
Fourthly or finally, it is argued that the impact of Muslims on the Indian society was also largely responsible for the rise of the Bhakti movement. While it may be denied that the Bakhtri movement was the direct result of Islam alone and most of the saints borrowed the principles of universal brotherhood of man, human equality, opposition to idol worship, disbelief in the caste system and Unity of God from Islam, because according to Hindus these principles were known to the Hindus much before the advent of Islam. But i myself strongly oppose and did not recognize this point because, Hindus were crept in these evils from the very beginning of their religion . Besides the above mentioned points or causes, their were various other causes for the rise of the Bhakti movement. I think the third mentioned point or cause, was mainly responsible for the rise of the Bhakti movement in India.
The word "Bhakti" is derived from the Sanskrit word, "Bhaj" which means devotion and personal attachment to God. In Hindu philosophy and thought, Bhakti is one of the ways to reach God, also the name of an important religious and social movement in medieval India that propagated Bhakti. Sometime in medieval India, a religious movement broke out that emphasized on the devotion to God, as sole means of salvation, collectively known as the Bhakti movement. The Bhakti movement was a continuation of the earlier devotional cult. But what distinguished it now was that the sufi ideas influenced its doctrines, as did also certain Islamic concepts, particularly those of social justice. Their interaction grew till it reached a climax in the 16th century. Its impact, however, continued to shape popular minds and attitudes till the end of the 18th century when new conditions were created with the advent of colonialism.
Sri Vallabha defines Bhakti as firm and all-surpassing affection of God with full sense of His greatness. It means attachment to God and that presupposes detachment from all other things. The feeling of oneness with God is not its culmination. It is gained through the grace of God and that is won by the purity of heart.
According to A. L. Srivastava, "Perhaps after the decline of Buddhism, there has never been a more widespread and popular movement in our country than the Bhakti movement. The term Bhakti movement is used for the efforts made by the religious leaders and philosophers to reform the Hindu religion during the 15th and 16th centuries. As most of the religious preachers and philosophers laid emphasis on Bhakti for the attainment of salvation, the movement is popularly known as the Bhakti movement."