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Bhakti was propagated by Ramanuja in the eleventh century. It is an intense devotion to God conceived as personal, a Saviour worthy of trust and ready to be gracious, it is an important element of Vaishavism and Saivism as expounded in the Gita and Svetasvatara Upanishad.
Followers of Bhakti cult preached the fundamental equality of all religions and the unity of Godhead, and held that dignity of man depended on his actions and not on his birth, protested against too much ritualism and formalities in matters of religion as also the domination of the priesthood. They emphasised simple devotion and faith as a means of salvation for one and all. Substance of Bhakti cult lies in loving devotion to the supreme Diety variously named Krishna, Vishnu, Narayana etc. and communion with Him.
With the establishment of the Turkish rule in North India, Islam came as a challenge to Hinduism and Hindu society. Bhakti cult met this challenge of Islam by introducing a liberal character in the society under Ramananda’s leadership. He is said to have been born in Mysore by some and at Allahabad by others and perhaps lived during the end of the fourteenth and early years of the fifteenth centuries. Ramananda served as “the bridge between the Bhakti movement of the South and the North.” He preached in the language of the common people, i.e. Hindi. He rejected castes and admitted men of all classes as his disciples, among whom were a cobbler, a barber and a Muhammadan weaver, namely Kabir. Ramananda was a worshipper of Rama and his followers are still numerous in the Gangetic plain. Mira Bai, a Rajput princess renounced the palace life of Chitor and became a disciple of the follower of Ramananda. Ramananda’s doctrines were embodied by her in Hindi and Gujarati devotional verses of high quality. Some of Ramananda’s hymns have been included in the Adi Granth by Guru Arjan.
Ramananda is supposed to have been connected with the great Vaishnava Ramanuja. But Ramananda substituted Ram and Sita for Vishnu and Lakshmi of Ramanuja sect as objects of devotion. Ramananda propagated his Bhakti cult in Hindi and not in Sanskrit as did Ramanuja sect, and thus his appeal to common people was great as they understood his language.
Ramananda raised his movement above caste prejudices, unlike Ramanuja sect, allowing people of all castes high or low to eat and drink together, thus get emancipated from the restrictions of caste prejudices. The followers of Ramananda were therefore, known as Abhadhuts, i.e. emancipated. Ramananda considered formalities of worship as immaterial and superfluous, for, “supreme reward” would come to the devotee by incessant taking of the name of God. One, who loves God, is loved by God Himself. “Whoever adores God is God’s own” he would say, hence there was no question of any one’s identification by his caste or birth.
The liberal idea propagated by Ramananda appears to have been to an extent due to the impact of Islam. This was most likely for he lived during the period of Muslim rule in India. But his liberalism in matters of castes and inter-dining was regarded as a great threat to Hindu orthodoxy. But despite a section of orthodox Hindus, who would like to cling to traditional class restrictions in social behaviours, the need for acceptance of the challenge of Islam and socio-religious adjustment was felt by a liberal section of the Hindus and as such Ramananda’s movement was welcomed by them. Ramananda did not leave any organised sect behind him and this was the reason why while his influence had flowed into different channels it lost its momentum in its original form.
By: Abhishek Sharma ProfileResourcesReport error
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