BHAKI MOVEMENT
The social roots of the non-conformist movement, the ideologies it espoused, social constitution of leadership and its concept of god and bhakti distinguished it from other older bhakti movements and even later bhakti movements. Regardless of these superficial differences, the doctrine of bhakti spread among various sections of the society regardless of the sex or caste. The saint-poets preached the doctrine emotionally and furthered religious egalitarianism.
As a devotional idiom, bhakti religiosity is strongly inclined towards the presence of God, the devotees witnessing of this presence, and the actualization of this presence. To any individual familiar with the bhaki movement, this does not come as a surprise. However, the emphasis placed on the presence in the representation of bhaki results in inattention to the quietness and emissions in the historical record. The greatest gap that exists is the apparent role that Islam played in the emergence of bhakti movement. Apart from tracing the spread of this movement in India, this paper also aims at exploring the role that Islam played in the formation of the movement.
Monotheistic movement
The earliest and the most outstanding figure within the monotheistic movement that started during the 15th Century was Kabir. There were also other prominent saints during this time associated with the monotheistic movement. The fundamental teaching of the saints who were linked with this movement had distinct characteristics that offered the movement its unity. Most of the saints belonging to this movement came from the low castes and were aware of the unity of ideas which existed among themselves. In fact, the majority of the saints were familiar with each others teachings and influences. They make reference to each other in their verses in a way that indicate a harmonious ideological connectedness.
The vaishnava concept of bhakti, Sufism, and the nathpanthi influenced all the monotheists and non-conformists in varying degrees. The monotheists represented an integration of various elements of the three traditions. However, they rejected the original forms of these traditions and made many modifications which provided new meanings for old concepts.
The only way of forming a communion with God according to the monotheists was through personally experienced bhakti. Even though vaishnava bhakti saints also followed this doctrine, there existed one basic distinction. They were both considered monotheists owing to their undaunted belief in one God. The path followed by monotheists was independent of Islam and Hinduism which were the dominant religions at the time. They rejected any association or allegiance to these dominant religions and criticized some of their beliefs and practices.
An Analysis of the Bhakti Movement
There is no link between the Bhakti movement that existed during the Sultanate epoch and the older South Indian bhakti. However, they both derived their influences in one way or another from particular traditions and movements that can be traced back to the period preceding the Sultanate. These influences include the Bhagavat Purana bhakti tradition, nathpanthis, and the religious practices and ideologies of scholar saints. The bhakti doctrine if completely established in Bhagavat Purana which is the most famous of the Puranas composed about 9th century. The most outstanding feature is its stress on Vishnu bhakti particularly in the form of Krishna. The orthodox Brahmanical theory concerning the origin of the verna system is accepted by the Bhagavata even though it denies the superiority of the Brahmans based on status or birth. Bhakti is therefore the major criteria for it. The common link between the various bhakti movements has often been held to be Bhagavata Purana. However, there is no direct exertion of Bhagavata traditions influence on various monotheistic saints such as Nanak and Kabir. The majorities of the saints were not literate and thus did not directly access the Bhagavata and other scriptural texts. There is much disparity between the way Kabir conceived of the concept of bhakti and that of Bhagavata. Like other non-conformists, Kabir did not accept the scriptural and Brahmical authority neither did he believe in incarnations.
The influence of heterodox movements on the ideas of Kabir and other individuals who adopted monotheism is evident. Among these influences was that of nathpanthis. The majority of the preachers came from the lower castes and when Turkish rule was established in northern India, nathpanthi movements popularity experienced its peak. This took place during the thirteenth and 14th centuries. Ones caste did not bar himher from being initiated into nathpanthi yogis sect. the influence of nathpanthi on Kabir is clearly indicated in his independent thinking, style of utterances which is characteristically harsh, his non-conformist attitude, mystical symbolism and ulatbasi language. However, there was selective adoption of the ideas of nathpanthi among the monotheists and this was mainly because of their innovative and critical ways. Even then, these ideas were only adapted subjectively to suit their own purpose. The asceticism and esoteric practices that were characteristic of nathpanthi were rejected by Kabir. He was also opposed to the physical methods. In this regard, nathpanthis influence on the medieval monotheistic saints is more evident in their heterodox attitudes towards Brahmanical religion than the practices.
Influence of Islam
It has often been held that Islamic influence prior to and after the 12th century resulted in the birth of the doctrine of bhakti and the variants of the bhakti movement. This claim is founded on the various similarities between the bhakti cults and Islam. It has also been argued that the bhakti and bhakti movement can be traced back to indigenous origins. It has been pointed out in this paper that as a religious concept, bhakti emerged in the traditions of ancient India. The movement as it existed in south India cannot also be explained in terms of Islamic influence since there is evidence that it may have preceded Islam.
Conceptually, there is no peculiarity of a movement founded on the idea of devotion to any particular religion since devotion or grace can be independently established in various religions at different periods of time depending in the concrete historical conditions. Understanding medieval bhakti movement in its historical context would be more appropriate than exploring other sources of inspiration from any specific religion. The influence of Islam on bhakti cults cannot however be denied especially on monotheistic movements. Some of the ideas of non-conformist saints were derived from Islam. Such included the unabated belief and faith in one god, the rejection of incarnation, attack on idolatry and caste system, and their concept of nirguna bhakti. However, these ideas were not embraced without criticism and rejection of numerous fundamentals of orthodox Islam.
The movement of vaishnava bhakti cannot be seen in light of Islamic influence since they were not opposed to idolatry and caste system nor incarnation theory. They had a common belief in saguna bhakti. The kind of relation that monotheistic bhakti movement had with Islam appeared to have been that of mutual influence. The common ground was provided by Sufism. There are numerous ways through which the concepts of pir and mystic union with God which are central to Sufism correspond with the concept of guru and devotional surrender of God that was held by the non-conformist saints. It is even believed that Kabir was affiliated with Chishti Sufi saints even though there is no strong historical evidence for this affiliation. The junam-sakhis describes the encounters of Guru Nanak with the Sufis. Even though there was historical independence of Sufism and other monotheistic movements, there existed a striking similarity in some fundamental ideas they held. This included their common rejection of orthodoxies of Hinduism and Islam. However much the interaction between them was indirect, it must have provided a sufficient force for both of them.
The challenge theory
Among the modern perspectives associated with communal understanding of Indian history, is the view that the medieval bhaki movement arose due to an alleged persecutions of the Hindus under Muslim rule and to the challenge that Islam posed to Hinduism through its doctrines of Unity of God, equality and brotherhood. The proponents of this theory argue that the bhakti movements was an attempt to save the Hindu religion by getting rid of practices that were considered evil such as idolatry and caste system while at the same time defending its fundamental tenets by popularizing it. In other words, it was a defensive mechanism for saving the religion. Kabir and Nanak, among other saints, are believed to have carried out the task of cleansing the Hindu religion of idolatry and caste system. The task of defending the fundamental tenets of Hindu religion, while at the same time popularizing it, was accomplished by Tulsidas during the late 16th and early 17 centuries. However, evidence does not support this conception of the medieval bhakti movement.
This theory has been refuted on claims that the supposed threat to Hinduism by Muslims is inherently a projection of modern communal prejudgments into history. The critics of this view further hold that the Islamic doctrine of brotherhood had waned and all kinds of inequalities had infiltrated into the Muslim society. The Turkish ruling class looked down on the Indians who abandoned their religion and converted to Islam and therefore it served no purpose to convert into Islam because one still remained a second rate citizen.
The observation and celebration of Hindu festivals continued despite the Muslim presence. There is enough evidence to support the view that many people remained Hindu even within the proximity of the sultanate. Again, the orthodox dimensions of Islam and Brahmanism together with the ritualistic practices that characterized these faiths were denounced by the monotheistic saints. Assuming that the actions of all monotheistic and vaishnava bhakti saints was a response to Islamic threats fail to hold much ground since Kabir and together with other low caste saints did not have any unity of purpose with the saints affiliated to vaishnava cults.
Finally, the available texts and teachings of saints belonging to vaishnava bhaki do not suggest any concern with the influence of Islam. On the contrary, they suggest an indifference to the religion. There are even some suggestions that Muslims and Hindus stood side by side among the disciples of Chaitanya as had been the norm under Kabir, Dadu Daval or Nanak.
Conclusion
The sultanate period presents one the most widespread interconnectedness and variation of social and religious movements in the history of India after the 6th century B.C.s emergence of heterodox movements. The entire Indian country was influenced by these movements at varying times by espousing new social and religious ideas and practices. The majority of the current popular Hindu practices have their origin in the medieval bhakti movements. Apart from influencing the realm of religion such as the growth of organized religious communities such as the Sikhs and the evolution of sects, the bhakti movement also contributed to the growth of the variety of modern vernacular languages.
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