Structure:

1. Introduction- what is Bhakti movement- 20 words
2. Characteristics of Bhakti movement- 50 words
3. Impact on Social and religious life of people- 80 words

• Bhakti movement is called by this name because this was a non ritualistic movement and totally based on Bhakti.
• In the whole religious life of India, the glory of this period is most This period spreads over almost 250 years from 1300 to 1550.
• It emphasized a religion or faith, which was essentially Hindu but reflected the forceful monotheism of Islam
• All Bhakti cults are essentially monotheistic.
• It is the religion; philosophy and social thinking that were created during this revival, which enabled Hinduism to reassert itself in the following period
• Ramanand, Kabir, Mira, and Vallabhacharya in the north, Chaitanya in Bengal, Madhava, Vedanta Desika and numerous others contributed a lot in this movement

Characteristics of Bhakti Movement

1.  There was no need to perform rituals, yagas or complicated methods to praise One could worship god by love and devotion.
2. There was no need to worship different idols or deities. Bhakti movement emphasized belief in one
3. Bhakti saints emphasized stress on equality of all They said that, no one is high or low in front of god. Everyone is equal.
4. Due to stress on castes equality, other religions came closer to Hindu This emphasized Hindu Muslim unity.
5. Before bhakti movement, Sanskrit language was used to perform yagas or rituals. Religious books or scriptures were in Sanskrit language. This language was mostly understood by common people were not able to understand this language. But bhakti saints preached in language of common people. So it became easy to understand for everyone.
6. Before bhakti movement, it was a deal of complicated rituals to realize god or have grace of But bhakti saints preached everyone that you only need a true, honest and kind heart to reach and realize god.
7. Due to this movement religion became a matter of spirituality and devotion; instead of rituals and propagandas.

Impact of the Bhakti Movement on Indian Society:

With a view to understand the impact of the Bhakti movement, we have to consider the background under which the movement gained momentum. Under the impact of the Muslim rule, the Hindus had suffered a lot materially, morally and spiritually. The Muslim rulers in general wanted to enforce the Islamic laws on the Hindus. The Muslim rule had put dread in the hearts of the Hindu masses.

• They wanted some solace to heal their despairing The Bhakti movement brought them hope and support and inner strength to save themselves.
• During the course of time, several evil practices had crept into the Hindu society. There was a lot of caste and class Several divisions had occurred.
• There was a good deal of bitter men between the two communities i.e. the Hindus and Some healing touch was needed. Fortunately with the foreign invaders, some Sufi Muslim saints had also come to India and settled here. They were very liberal minded. They emphasized the virtues of love and devotion, brotherhood and equality etc. This helped to bring the two communities nearer. It also helped to harmonise the conflicting interests.
• The saints of the Bhakti movement rejected the difference of caste. An important factor which led to the popularity of Bhakti movement was that most of the promoters of this movement attempted to reconcile the differences between the Hindus and the Muslims by stressing that Rama and Rahim were one and the same. They condemned the hatred of the fanatic Pandits and Mullas
• The Hindus realised that it was difficult to drive away the Muslim rulers and Muslims from India. On the other hand the Muslims also appreciated that the Hindus were in absolute majority and it was impossible to force all of them to embrace Islam. So under the impact of the new movement both sides started making efforts for coming closer to each
• For the Hindus the effort was initiated by the Hindu saints of the Bhakti movement and for the Muslims by the Sufi
• The Hindu and as well as the Muslim saints emphasized religious They stressed human qualities and moral attitudes. They stressed that a true religious man is one who is pure in thought and action.
• The Bhakti saints believed in equality of man and man. According to them there was no distinction and consideration of high and low on the basis of Their doors were open to all classes.
• The Bhakti saints tried to generate an environment of good will between the Hindus and the
• The Bhakti saints were social reformers They condemned several social evils.
• The Sufi Saints like Khwaja Muinuddin Chisti, Bakhyiya Kaki, Nizamudin Aulia and Nasiruddin Chirag-i-Delhi etc. attempted to restrain the fanaticism of the Muslims and tried to bring them nearer to the Hindus. Several Hindus became followers of the Sufi saints but without relinquishing their own

Social impact:

• The most important social impact of the Bhakti movement was that the followers of the Bhakti movement rejected the caste distinction. They began to mix together on the basis of equality. They took their meals together from the common kitchen. The movement tried to loosen the bond of caste.
• A spirit of harmony among different sections of society and religion received impetus
• The evil practice of ‘Sati’ received some set back
• The status of women received more importance.
• The movement further divided the Hindu society. For instance, the followers of Kabir came to be known as Kabir Panthis
• Bhakti Movement led to emergence of new forms of spiritual leadership and social cohesion such as community singing, chanting together of deity names, festivals, pilgrimages, rituals many of which are in vogue even today.
• It also led to new forms of voluntary social giving such as Seva {service}, Dana (Charity) and Community Kitchens {Bhandra / Langar }.
• Some of the temples and Gurudwaras adopted social functions such as helping poor, providing education by establishing charity schools, charity hospitals, relief in the aftermath of natural disasters

Religious impact:

• The movement aroused awakening among the Hindus and Muslims regarding the futility of ritualism and superstitions. The feeling of appreciation of the difference between the thought and practices of the two religions The movement encouraged religious toleration.
• It led to devotional transformation of medieval Hindu society and pushed the early means to achieve salvation {Vedic rituals and ascetic lifestyles} to background and brought individualistic relationship with personally defined God on Thus, Salvation which was hitherto considered achievable only for Brahmins, Kshatriya and Vaishya castes, was not available to everyone. Thus, this movement provided inclusive path to spiritual salvation to women and members of Shudra and untouchable community.
• Guru Granth Saheb the holiest book of the Sikhs which was complied later on included the messages of saints belonging to different sects. This was on account of the spirit of toleration preached by the Bhakti
• It gave birth to a new sect i.e. Sikhism

Promotion of regional languages of the common people:

• In place of Sanskrit, Arabic and Persian, the Bhakti saints preached through the medium of local languages which could be understood very easily. For instance the language of Kabir was a mixture of several languages of every day use. Surdas used ‘Brij’ dialect. Goswami Tulsi Das composed his works in ‘Awadhi’.

Political influence:

• Some of the rulers adopted liberal religious policies under the impact of the Bhakti movement
• It is perhaps far-fetched to say that Akbar’s broad outlook was on account of the impact of the Bhakti movement

Moral influence:

• The movement attempted to infuse a spirit of piety in the daily life of the people. It emphasized earning of wealth through hard work and honest means. It encouraged the value of social service to the poor and the
• It developed a humanitarian
• It pointed out the virtues of contentment and self control. It drew attention to the evils of anger, greed and vanity.

Additional reading:

There were many factors that helped in the development of the Bhakti movement. Some important factors are as follows:

1. During the medieval period, Hindus were mistreated by Muslims rulers. Hindus were forced to convert their religion to Islam and imposed jaziya on them. To preserve their religion, Hindus supported and strongly contributed in bhakti movement
2. Hindu society was divided in lower castes and upper castes. The people of lower castes had to suffer discrimination, injustice and cruelties by the persons of the upper So, people of lower castes supported bhakti saints because these saints preached equality of castes.
3. Rituals and complicated methods were performed to praise god. But due to insufficient knowledge and lack of money, a common man was not able to do such kind of Bhakti saints preached the path of devotion and discarded all rituals. Bhakti saints told a common man that to realize god, one needs only a kind, loving and devotional hearth and nothing else.
4. There were many evils in Hindu society. Bhakti saints tried to remove these evils and emphasized on a moral life. So everybody supported them.
5. Due to mechanical methods of rituals, Hindu religion had become a dead There was no scope for any new idea, creativity and thought. Bhakti saints tried revive this religion. They make it more intellectual; instead of mechanical. This was a rebirth of Hinduism.