CHAPTER

23 Devotional Paths
to the Divine

You may have seen people perform rituals of worship, or singing bhajans, kirtans
or qawwalis, or even repeating the name of God in silence, and noticed that some
of them are moved to tears. Such intense devotion or love of God is the legacy of
various kinds of bhakti and Sufi movements that have evolved since the eighth
century. In class VI you would have read about the Bhakti poems of Alvars and
Nayanars who were worshippers of Vishnu and Siva, respectively. Soon kings and
chiefs built large temples for these gods and made land grants and other gifts to
perform various rituals. Temple worship became elaborate, complex and expensive.
Specially trained priests performed the rituals. People belonging to some castes
were not allowed to even enter the temples. Soon, a reaction set in against such
rituals and inequalities. New ideas on devotion to god emerged. Read on to know
about it.

Philosophy and Bhakti Ramanuja, born in South India in the

eleventh century, was deeply influenced by
Shankara, one of the most influential the Alvars. According to him the best means
philosophers of India, was born in Kerala of attaining salvation was through intense
in the eighth century. He was an advocate devotion to Vishnu. Vishnu in His grace
of Advaita or the doctrine of the oneness helps the devotee to attain the bliss of union
of the individual soul and the Supreme God with Him. Ramanjua also to a large extent
which is the Ultimate Reality. He taught ensured a place for people of lower castes
that Brahman, the only or Ultimate Reality, in temple worship. He propounded the
was formless and without any attributes. He doctrine of Vishishtadvaita or qualified
preached renunciation of the world and oneness according to which the soul even
adoption of the path of knowledge to when united with the Supreme God
understand the true nature of Brahman and remained distinct. Ramanuja’s doctrine
attain salvation. greatly inspired the new strand of bhakti
which developed in north India
subsequently.
Basavanna’s Virashaivism The Saints of Maharashtra
We noted earlier the connection From the thirteenth to the seventeenth
between the bhakti movement and temple centuries Maharashtra saw a great number
worship. This in turn led to a reaction that of saint-poets, whose songs in simple
was best represented in the Virashaiva Marathi continue to inspire people. The
movement initiated by Basavanna and his most important among them were
companions like Allama Prabhu and Jnaneshwar, Namdev, Eknath and Tukaram
Akkamahadevi. This movement began in as well as women like Sakkubai and the
Karnataka in the mid-twelfth century. The family of Chokhamela, who belonged to the
Virashaivas argued strongly for the equality “untouchable” Mahar caste. This regional
of all human beings and against Scriptural tradition of bhakti focused on the Vitthala
ideas about caste and the treatment of (a form of Vishnu) temple in Pandharpur,
women. They were also against all forms as well as on the notion of a personal god
of ritual and idol worship. residing in the hearts of all people.

These are vachanas or sayings attributed

to Basavanna:

The rich
Will make temples for Shiva.
What shall I,
A poor man
Do?
My legs are pillars,
The body the shrine,
The head a cupola
Of gold.
Listen, O Lord of the meeting rivers,
Things standing shall fall,
But the moving ever shall stay.

What were the major ideas

expressed by Basavanna?

What is the temple that Basavanna

is offering to God?

Fig 23.1 A fireside gathering of ascetics.

Free Distribution by Govt. of A.P. Devotional Paths to the Divine 197

 These saint-poets rejected all forms of You made us low caste,
ritualism, outward display of piety and Why don’t you face that fact, Great Lord?
social differences based on birth. In fact, Our whole life – left-over food to eat.
they even rejected the idea of renunciation You should be ashamed of this.
and preferred to live with their families, You have eaten in our home.
earning their livelihood like any other
How can you deny it?
person, while humbly serving fellow human
Chokha’s (son) Karmamela asks
beings in need. A new humanist idea
Why did you give me life?
emerged as they insisted that bhakti lay in
sharing others’ pain. As the famous Gujarati
saint Narsi Mehta said, “Vaishnavas are Discuss the ideas about the social
those who understand the pain of others.” order expressed in these
compositions.
This is an abhang (Marathi devotional
hymn) of Sant Tukaram:
Nathpanthis, Siddhas and Yogis
He who identifies A number of religious groups that
with the battered and the beaten, emerged during this period criticised the
Mark him as a saint, ritual and other aspects of conventional
For God is with him. religion and the social order, using simple,
He holds logical arguments. Among them were the
Every forsaken man Nathpanthis, Siddhacharas and Yogis.
Close to his heart, They advocated renunciation of the world.
He treats To them the path to salvation lay in
A slave
meditation on the formless Ultimate
Reality and the realisation of oneness with
As his own son.
it. To achieve this they advocated intense
Says Tuka,
training of the mind and body through
I won’t be tired practices like yogasanas, breathing
to repeat again, exercises and meditation. These groups
Such a man became particularly popular among low
Is God castes. Their criticism of conventional
In person. religion created the ground for devotional
religion to become a popular force in
Why do you think Tukaram northern India.
considers the friends of the poor
and suffering as the real devotees Islam and Sufism
of God? The saints had much in common with the
Sufis, so much so that it is believed that
Here is an abhang composed by
they adopted many ideas of each other.
Chokhamela’s son:
Sufis were Muslim mystics. They rejected
198 Religion and Society
outward religiosity and emphasised love and the Sufis too believed that the heart can be
devotion to God and compassion towards trained to look at the world in a different
all fellow human beings. way. They developed elaborate methods of
training using zikr (chanting of a name or
Islam propagated strict monotheism or
sacred formula), contemplation, sama
submission to one God. It also rejected idol
(singing), raqs (dancing), discussion of
worship and considerably simplified rituals
parables, breath control, etc. under the
of worship into collective prayers. At the
guidance of a master or pir. Thus emerged
same time Muslim scholars developed a
the silsilas, a genealogy of Sufi teachers,
holy law called Shariat. The Sufis often
each following a slightly different method
rejected the elaborate rituals and codes of
(tariqa) of instruction and ritual practice.
behaviour demanded by Muslim religious
scholars. They sought union with God much A large number of Sufis from Central
as a lover seeks his beloved with a disregard Asia settled in Hindustan from the eleventh
for the world. Like the saint-poets, the Sufis century onwards. This process was
too composed poems expressing their strengthened with the establishment of the
feelings, and a rich literature in prose, Delhi Sultanate, when several major Sufi
including anecdotes and fables, developed centres developed all over the
around them. Among the great Sufis of subcontinent. The Chishti silsila was
Central Asia were Ghazzali, Rumi and Sadi. among the most influential orders. It had a
Like the Nathpanthis, Siddhas and Yogis, long line of teachers like Khwaja
Moinuddin Chishti of Ajmer,
Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki of Delhi,
Baba Farid of Punjab, Khwaja
Nizamuddin Auliya of Delhi and
Bandanawaz Gisudaraz of Gulbarga.
The Sufi masters held their
assemblies in their khanqahs or
hospices. Devotees of all
descriptions including members of
the royalty and nobility, and ordinary
people flocked to these khanqahs.
They discussed spiritual matters,
sought the blessings of the saints in
solving their worldly problems, or
simply attended the music and dance
sessions.
Often people attributed Sufi
masters with miraculous powers that
could relieve others of their illnesses
Fig 23.2 Mystics in ecstasy. and troubles. The tomb or dargah of
Free Distribution by Govt. of A.P. Devotional Paths to the Divine 199
a Sufi saint became a place of pilgrimage Thallapaka Annamacharya (1408 – 1503)
to which thousands of people of all faiths was a popular saint-composer of Andhra
thronged. Pradesh and is revered as ‘pada kavita
pitamaha’. Annamayya dedicated his life
If you have ever been to a dargah for composing and singing the glories of
describe it to your friends in the Lord Venkateswara of Tirupati. His
class. How do people show compositions were mostly extempore in
respects to the Pir and what do they spoken dialect unlike in the classics of the
pray for there. age which were written in the classical
(Grandhika) style. In ‘Annamacharya
New Religious Developments in Charitramu’ it is said that Annamayya
India composed thirty two thousand keertanas
on Lord Venkateswara.
The period after the thirteenth century
saw a new wave of the bhakti movement in In his keertanas, he took up subjects
north India. This was an age when Islam, such as morality, dharma and righteousness.
Hinduism, Sufism, various strands of He was one of the first few who opposed
bhakti, and the Nathpanths, Siddhas and the social stigma towards the untouchable
Yogis influenced one another. We saw that castes in his era. In his sankeertanas,
new towns and kingdoms were emerging, “Brahmam Okkate Parabrahmam
and people were taking up new professions Okkate...” and “E Kulajudainanemi
and finding new roles for themselves. Such Evvadainanemi...”, he describes that the
people, especially crafts persons, peasants, relationship between God and human is the
traders and labourers, thronged to listen to same irrespective of the later’s color, caste
these new saints and spread their ideas. and financial status, in beautiful yet
Some of them like Kabir and Baba Guru powerful usage of words.
Nanak rejected orthodox customs and
beliefs. !"#$%&'()*+,(-( !"#$%&'./012
Poets like Bammera Potana, !"#$%&'(3456,(-( !"#$%&'
Annamacharya, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu,
Tulsidas and Surdas accepted existing
78*/,9:;<<=>?@A(./2B78*/,9:;<<=>?@A(./2B
beliefs and practices but wanted to make 78*/,9:;<<=>?@A(./2B78*/,9:;<<=>?@A(CCC
these accessible to all.
D"EF2B(2&G(D7H"I!<(D7#$J!<<(%K=>@L
Potana who lived the life of a peasant in M"EN%O(8"P<(D7#$(MHJ!<<(%K=>@L(CCC
the village Bammera near Warangal,
composed the famous Mahabhagavatamu :;<"E;Q'(78*/,9R<EN<(-(:;<P<S345TU<(J;<<=>@L
in Telugu. Potana was called a ‘Sahaja I!"EFV<EN<"EOWX(Y/Z345TU<(J;<<=>@L(CCC
Kavi’, a natural poet. He wrote to express - Annamacharya Keertana
his natural devotional feelings in a lucid
poetry.

200 Religion and Society

 Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1534) Tulsidas conceived of God in the form
was a Vaishnava saint and social reformer of Rama. Tulsidas’s composition, the
in eastern India (present day Bangladesh and Ramcharitmanas, written in Awadhi (a
West Bengal). Chaitanya was a notable language used in eastern Uttar Pradesh), is
proponent for the Vaishnava school of important both as an expression of his
Bhakti yoga (meaning loving devotion to devotion and as a literary work. Also
Krishna/God) based on the philosophy of contemporary was Shankaradeva of Assam
the Bhagavata Purana and Bhagavad (late fifteenth century) who emphasised
Gita. He propagated community singing of devotion to Vishnu, and composed poems
Bhajans and dancing with devotion. He and plays in Assamese. He began the
worshipped the forms of Krishna and practice of setting up namghars or houses
popularised the chanting of the ‘Hare of recitation and prayer, a practice that
Krishna’ mantra. continues to date.
This tradition also
Kancherla Gopanna (1620 - 1680),
included saints like
popularly known as Bhakta Ramadasu, was
Dadu Dayal, Ravidas
a 17th century devotee of Sri Rama and a
and Mirabai. Mirabai
composer of Carnatic music. He is one
was a Rajput princess
among the famous vaggeyakaras (same
married into the royal
person being the writer and composer of a
family of Mewar in the
song) in the Telugu language. He is
sixteenth century.
renowned for constructing a famous temple
Mirabai became a
for Sri Rama at Bhadrachalam. He
disciple of Ravidas, a
composed devotional lyrics to Rama which
saint from a caste
are popularly known as Ramadaasu
c o n s i d e r e d
Keertanalu. He wrote Dasarathi
“untouchable”. She was
Shatakamu, a collection of nearly 108 Fig 23.3 A painting
devoted to Krishna and of Mirabai.
poems dedicated to Lord Rama.
composed innumerable
bhajans expressing her intense devotion.
[(\2B<]^(''<(#$J<! (I!TI;#:$ _`(a'(b"cd be! <(2&bT Her songs also openly challenged the
%&( !2BbT(345b(fg]^2Bh<#$'<`('i'(#$6j=>kR(2&bT norms of the “upper” castes and became
popular with the masses in Rajasthan and
7l2B.m/<<'"#$'(Yn &(2Bb<R,`(7o !p'(qrs/=>(2&bT Gujarat.
=t2B<R,uVJ!<(34=5 (e> b2B#($ D'<`(=>'vH(=t'<./0(2&bTCCC A unique feature of most of the saints is
that their works were composed in regional
- Ramadasu Keertana languages and could be sung. They became
immensely popular and were handed down
Can you name some vaggeyakaras orally from generation to generation.
and their Keertanas? Usually the poorest, most deprived
communities and women transmitted these
Free Distribution by Govt. of A.P. Devotional Paths to the Divine 201
songs, often adding their own experiences. of his ideas from a vast collection of verses
Thus the songs as we have them today are called sakhis and pads said to have been
as much a creation of the saints as of composed by him and sung by wandering
generations of people who sang them. They bhajan singers. Some of these were later
have become a part of our living popular collected and preserved in the Guru Granth
culture. Sahib, Panch Vani and Bijak.

Have you listened to any such old Kabir’s teachings were based on a
bhajans in your mother tounge? complete, indeed vehement, rejection of the
Find out who composed them. major religious traditions. His teachings
Write down some of them and openly ridiculed all forms of external
discuss their meaning in the class. worship of both Hinduism and Islam, the
pre-eminence of the priestly classes and the
A Closer Look: Kabir caste system. The language of his poetry was
a form of spoken Hindi, widely understood
Kabir, who probably lived in the by ordinary people.
fifteenth-sixteenth centuries, was one of
the most influential saints. He was brought Kabir believed in a formless Supreme
up in a family of Muslim julahas or God and preached that the only path to
weavers settled near the city of Benares salvation was through bhakti or devotion.
(Varanasi). We have little reliable Kabir drew his followers from among both
information about his life. We get to know Hindus and Muslims.

Here is a composition of Kabir:

O Allah-Ram present in all living beings

Have mercy on your servants, O Lord!
Why bump your head on the ground,
Why bathe your body in water?
You kill and you call yourself “humble”,
But your vices you conceal.
Twenty-four times the Brahmana keeps
the ekadasi fast,
While the Qazi observes the Ramzan.
Tell me why does he set aside the eleven
months
To seek spiritual fruit in the twelfth?
Hari dwells in the East, they say
And Allah resides in the West,
Search for him in your heart, in the heart
of your heart;
23.4 A painting of Kabir working on a loom. There he dwells, Rahim-Ram
202 Religion and Society
A Closer Look:
Baba Guru Nanak
We know more about
Guru Nanak (1469-
1539 AD) than about
Kabir. Born at Talwandi
(Nankana Sahib in
Pakistan), he travelled
widely before
establishing a centre at
Kartarpur (Dera Baba
Nanak on the river Ravi).
Irrespective of their
former creed, caste or
gender, his followers
ate together in the
common kitchen
(langar). The sacred
space thus created by
Guru Nanak was known
as dharmsal. 23.5 Baba Guru Nanak as a young man, discussion with holy men.

The number of Guru Nanak’s followers was not that of a state of inert bliss but
increased through the sixteenth century rather the pursuit of active life with a strong
under his successors. They belonged to a sense of social commitment. He himself
number of castes; but traders, agriculturists, used the terms nam, dan and isnan for the
artisans and craftsmen predominated. This essence of his teaching, which actually
may have something to do with Guru meant right worship, welfare of others and
Nanak’s insistence that his followers must purity of conduct. His teachings are now
be householders and should adopt remembered as nam-japna, kirt-karna and
productive and useful occupations. They vand-chhakna, which also underline the
were also expected to contribute to the importance of right belief and worship,
general funds of the community of honest living, and helping others. Thus,
followers. Guru Nanak’s idea of equality had social and
political implications. This might partly
The ideas of Guru Nanak had a huge explain the difference between the history
impact on this movement from the very of the followers of Guru Nanak and the
beginning. He emphasised the importance history of the followers of the other
of the worship of one God. He insisted that religious figures of the medieval centuries,
caste, creed or gender was irrelevant for like Kabir, Ravidas and Dadu whose ideas
attaining liberation. His idea of liberation were very similar to those of Guru Nanak.
Free Distribution by Govt. of A.P. Devotional Paths to the Divine 203
Key words :
5. Bhakti
1. Advaita 6. Yogasanas
2. Salvation 7. Bijak
3. Alvars 8. Abhang
4. Nayanars

Improve your learning

1. Fill in the blanks:

(a) Ramanuja was influenced by the —————.

(b) ————, ———— and ———— were advocates of Virashaivism.

(c) ———————— was an important centre of the Bhakti tradition in Maharashtra.

2. Describe the beliefs and practices of the Nathpanthis, Siddhas and Yogis.

3. What were the major ideas expressed by Kabir? How did he express them?

4. What were the major beliefs and practices of the Sufis?

5. Why do you think many teachers rejected prevalent religious beliefs and practices?

6. What were the major teachings of Baba Guru Nanak?

7. For either the Virashaivas or the saints of Maharashtra, discuss their attitude towards caste.

8. Why do you think ordinary people preserved the memory of Mirabai?

Project work :
1. Find out whether in your neighbourhood there are any dargahs, gurudwaras or temples associated
with saints of the bhakti tradition. Visit any one of these and describe what you see and hear.

2. For any of the saint-poets whose compositions have been included in this chapter, find out more
about their works, noting down other poems. Find out whether these are sung, how they are
sung, and what the poets wrote about.

204 Religion and Society