UNIT 24 MEDIEVAL RELIGIOUS

MOVEMENTS I - BHAKTI AND

SUFISM
Structure

24.0 Objectives
24.1 Introduction
24.2 The Bhakfi Tradition
24.2.1 Paths and Pillars of Bhakti
24.2.2 The Bhakti Tradition : South
24.2.3 The Bhakti Tradition : North
24.3 Sufism
24.3.1 What is Sufism ?
24.3.2 The Spread of Sufism in India
24.4 Sufism and Bhakti : A Comparison
24.4.1 Growth of Medieval Mysticism
24.4.2 Sufi-Bhakti Interaction
24.4.3 Bhakti-Sufi Teachings
24.5 Let Us Sum Up
24.6 Key Words
24.7 Further Readings
24.8 Answers to Check Your Progress

24.0 OBJECTIVES
After studying this unit you will understand

two religious movements that were found.to prevail in India during the medieval
period
8 Hindism and its basic tenets in a very general way
e the bhakti and Sufi traditions and what they evoked
e the interaction and interchange between Sufism and the Bhakti tradition.

24.1 INTRODUCTION
We have examined various religions in the previous Block 5 in our units on religions
pluralism. In these unitswe have also covered units on Hinduism (Unit 19) and
Islam (Unit 22). These units form an essential backdrop to our present unit on
Bhakti and Sufism which are medieval religious movements.

We begin by introducing the structure of the unit and describing the background of
the development of Bhakti and Sufism. We then go on to examine the Bhakti
Tradition, including the three paths of Bhakti and the two pillars of Bhakti. We then
turn to the bhakti tradition in the South and then examine the bhakti tradition in the
North. OU; next section (24.4) compares Sufism and Bhakti.

This section includes the growt of medieval mysticism, Sufi-bhakti interaction and
Bhakti-Sufi teachings. We therefore provide an adequate picture of the bhakti and
sufi movements in medieval times.

Let us now also introduce the necessary background of these medieval religious
movements. Thus Bhakti emphasizes a personal devotion for one god. It may be
pointed out that the Alvar bhakti saints of South. India composed .their devotional
Religious Movements : Poetry between 5th and 9th century AD. They were worshippers of Krishna. They
Medieval and Modern approatched him with a love based on parental, filial, friendly and devotional attitudes.
The ac ha ryas who followed the Alvars had an intellectual approach treated
depencdence on god as logical rather than emotional.

Vallab ha formed a sect based on Sri Krishna-Radha in the 16th century AD.
Krishrla-Bhakti was also given much attention by Sri Chaitanya (AD 1485-1533)
who wras a contemporary of Vallabha. However Sri Chailanya's worship was of the
ecstatiIC kind and popularization of the chanting of Hari (Sri Krishna), as a way to
spiritula1 liberation. Namdeva (end of 14th centry AD) and Rarnananda were further
impontant Bhakti Saints. The North Indian school was popularized by the disciples
of Ramananda such as Kabir who used local language for preaching. Mirabai
hersel f was initiated by Ravidas as disciple of Ramananda.

Let us now turn to Sufism, which is a disciple which aims at the personal experience
of the unity of God. Sufism began around the 8th century with Saints such as
Hadrat3Iabib Ajami (AD 738). Some scholars feel that Sufmm is not against the
Islami law. In fact the process of Sufism is closely interwoven in the Islami law.
Sufm1q can be explained from the viewpoint of three basic religious attitudes found
in the Quran. These are the attitudes of Islam, Iman and Ihsan.

The a.ttitude of Islam is that of submission to the will of Allah and the teachings
of the Quran. Iman designates a further penetration into the religion and strong faith
in its teachings. Ihsan is the highest stage of spiritual ascent. These are the three
stages of religiosity in Islam.
8

We may point out in our introduction that the Sufi and the Bhakti movements
coalesce in various areas. Let us now turn first to the Bhakti tradition.

24.2 THE BHAKTI TRADITION

In medieval India it was caste structures that governed the lives of men and the
networks of relations that they could enter into. The structure of social divisions that
arose thus was, as mentioned, a rigid, inflexible and unequal one that created
extremes of inequality, privileges and disprivileges between men and social groups.
Although this was an extremely unfair system, little could be done or said against
it as it was supported by Hindu religious ideology, particularly the notions of high
and pure birth and occupation as against the low and impure. In other words,
Hinduism was as much a social system as it was a religion, and provided an
ideological framework on the basis of which Hindu society arose.

In other words. Hinduism was both religion and social framework and
governed the lives of Hindus. To be a Hindu meant that one's life was goveorned
by factors such as being born in a caste, being subject to ones' actions or karma,
to be a part of Brahman and aim at achieving moksha or Liberation of ones soul
or salvation. Further, it must be remembered that Hinduism was not a revealed
religion that had just a single text. With every phase in the development of Hinduism
came new scriptures and texts. Thus we have the Veda, the Upnishad, the Purana
and the Bhagavad Gita. Even though we have stressed that the caste system was
a system that formed the basis of life in Hindu India and was rigid and unchangeable,
there nevertheless occurred many anti-caste movements in the course of the
development of the religion. We already mentioned in Block 5 (Unit 20 : ESO-05).
Buddhism and Jainism in the 6th century B.C. that spoke up against caste divisions
and social inequality. This struggle was carried forward and saw its culmination in
the rise of the medieval movement of-bhakti or 'selfless' devotion to a single God,
with which this unit is primarily concerned.
Hinduism was greatly criticised and faced many movements against it (see Unit 19 Medieval Religious
on Hinduism in Block 5 of this course ESO-05 which will provide a background). Movements I :
Bhakti and Sufism
Of these, the bhakti movement has great significance. This is so because even
though the bhakti movement was against some of the tenets of Hinduism, much
of what is a part of Hinduism in later ages developed as an outcome of the bhakti
tradition. This tradition was widespread, in fact from Northto South India. We will
outline its development in the South and North seprately. ,

24.2.1 Paths and Pillars of Bhakti

From a modem historical standpoint the development of bhakti is the coming
together of considerably earlier theistic tendencies in three major religious traditions
of ancient India:

i) the sacrificial cult of the invading Aryans and the recitation of the Brahmana
priests that become the foundation of the Vedas;

i i the practice of bodily mortification and groups known as Srarnanas probably

-
continuing traditions of earlier inhabitants of India but soon adapted by some of
the Aryans; and

iii) the pre Aryan cults of spirits and village goddesses inhabiting trees and rocks and
protecting special people or special groups.

Those who worship Vishnu as the Supreme' diety are known as Vaishnavas;
likewise those who accord the Supreme place to Shiva are known as Saivas; and
those who are devotees of the Goddess of Power are known as Saktas. Each sect
is subdivided into lineages of teachers and teachings. The major forms of bhakti
are divided according to the Various mood of the devotees. Raw emotion or bhava
is transformed in drama to a refined mood or rasa. Each cbmbination of bhava or
rasa uses a particular human relationship, or devotional stances such as servant to
master or child to parent or fried to friend, parent to child and beloved to lover.
While bhakti stresses passionate attachment it is in striking contrast with Yoga
which stresses detachment. Yet many forms of bhakti do talk of detachment such
as that taught in the Bhagavad Gita. The bhakti movements, stand religiously
between the extreme ascetic paths and popular Hindu religiosity. Bhakti generally
shares the ascetic concern for moksa -release from finite existence and realization
of transcendent beatitude. What is primary is communion with the lord.

A few bhaktas make the toial commitment of time and style of life characteristic
of Hindu 'renouncers' spending whole days in chanting and singing the praise of
their Lord. Bhakti shares with popular Hinduism the basic ritual of puja, worship

Kabii Das a prominent Bhakti saint.

Religious Movements : of the diety in image form with fruit, flower and vegetables which are returned after
Medieval and Modern worship as prasada that is material substance filled with the Lord's grace. Such
puja may take place in the home shrine or local temple. The worship could be for
any spiritual or mundane purpose. There are &o distinctive bhakti rituals -
communal singing of hymns and chants, performance of dramas, dances and chants
and recital of heroic deeds of Vishnu.

These three paths of Bhakti that Lord Krishna offered to Arjuna were:

i) the path of knowledge or jnana;

ii) the path of action or karma and

iji) the path of devorion or bhakti

The Sanskrihterm bhakti is most often translated as "devotion" and bhaktimarg

as "path of devotion". Bhakti is the divine-human relationship as experienced
from the human side. There are at least three major forms of bhakti that is
Vaisnavas, Saivas, and worshippers of the great power (Sakti). Each sect is divided
into many subjects. Bhakti is between popular religion and asceticism. Bhakti
shares the concern for moksa, that is release from the bondages of life on earth.
The ritual of puja is very important. There are other rituals too - communal
singing of hymns and chants; recitations of epics; recounting of sacred lore.

It is this last path of devotion that forms the basis of a religious tradition that
survives and proliferates today even across international boundaries. The basic
teaching of this tradition was the idea of 'loving devotion' by concentrating upon
the image of a single God and without any thought for oneself, as being the way
of liber'ation of ones soul. Any God could be the focus of one's devotion. This God
was then seen as ones personal God or ishta deva. Ishta deva is a deity that the
worshipper chooses as a personal diety and accords it personal devotion. The most
often chosen God for ones devotion we find, has been Krishna and most of the
bhakti tradition has evolved around him. It is particularly his character as the
incarnation of Vishnu and his relationship to the Gopis and Radha in particular,
which are of central importance here. Gopis is the name given to the ladies who
were worshippers of ~ r i s h n aand with whom he played many of his divine games
(lila). In fact, the love that the Gopis had for Krishna has been regarded as the best
example of the devotion of the individual for God. The idea of 'self abandonment'
or the forgetting of everything in !he presence of one's God, is also seen as an
important part of the bhakta or devotee's devotion to God.

This particular form of relationship between theSGodand devotee has been called
viraha bhakti. Viraha bhakti is the name given to exclusive personal devotion to
Sri Krishna where feeling of separation or longing is felt for the deity by the
devotee. The devotion to Krishna and the bhakti cult that arose around him became
prominent in South India around the 8th century. We nbw turn to the pillars of
bhakti.

The two main pillars of the bhakti tradition are 'love' and 'meditation'. The 'love'
is for God, and it is ecstatic in nature as well as symbolising a feeling of bliss or
happiness that is unparalleled; and an intimacy or closeness with God like that with
ones beloved. The idea that is being conveyed here is to be lost in the love of God
as though He were a beloved. At the' ske time the relatidnship that arises here
may be one of dependence upon the God. On the other h'and, as far as the aspect
of meditation is concerned, there are two kinds of meditation in bhakti. These are:

i) saguna bhakti, where one meditates on God as a separate being, through

disciplined practice;
ii) nirguna bhakti, where God and self are merged into one and little distinction is Medieval Religious
made between self and God. Movements I ' :
Bhakti and Sufism

24.2.2 The Bhakti Tradition :South

The Krishna cult arose in South India around the 8th century. We now trace here,
the development of the bhakti tradition in the South. The 8th century saw the rise,
in the Tamil country, of persons who called themselves the Alvars .e. men who
have intimate and intuituve knowledge of God. They claimed to have an intensely
personal relationship with God. They rejected the caste system by recruiting saints
to their movement, from all divisions of society and refusing to use Sanskrit as a
language, as it was Brahmanic in nature. An important saint here was Nam'alvar
who spoke of the oneness of God and the 'ndividual soul. He also stressed that
k'
unleashed passionate spirituality among p ople was the only way to show one's
devotion to the ishtadeva. There were also other followers such as Yamunacharya
and Nathamuni, through whose efforts, the bhakti movement spread and developed.
Besides the Alvars, the Southern bhakti movement also found expression in the
work of Ramanuja in the 13th century. He primarily made the conkibution of
stressing, devotion to a personal deity and saw the Bhagvad Gita as a major work
in the bhakti of Krishna. He represented the saguna tradition.

Unit 25 on Veerashaivism deals with aspects of Veerashaivism and Bhakti. We

would like to mention aspects of it in this unit. In all theke were 12 Alvars and a

Lord Vishnu with adoring devotees.

7
 dcligious Movements : major form of their contribution to the Bhakti tradition was in the hymns that
.Medieval and Modern focused on the divine lord as the recipient of ones devotion. Other than the rise of
the Krishna bhakti in South India, we also find a major tradition arising around the
worship of Siva as the main deity or ishta deva. It was in the 12th century that
we find the rise of this tradition in the form of a left handed sect of Vira Saivas
or Lingayats. The founder of this sect was Basava, a Brahmin prime minister of
the principality of Kalyan. This tradition denounced both the caste system and
image worship. Very interestingly, even though the founder was a Brahmin, this
movement was anti-Brahmin. The Lingayats were identified by the wearing of an
image of the lingam, enclosed in either silver or brass, around the neck.'This
lingam was worn by all Lingayats irrespective of sex, age or caste. The wearing
of the lingam was symbolic of the oneness rl.f all who worshipped Siva as the ishta
deva. This was a tradition that clearly rejected the idea of inequality that
Hinduism professed between men. It was open to all castes and social divisions
and recognised all as equal in the worship of the Siva lingam. Once again, like the
Alvars, much of this bhakti tradition was in the form of lyrics and hymns and
'sayings' or vacana, in the Kannada language. These were essentially bhakti
poems of personal devotion to a God and clearly rejected the great tradition of
Vedic religion. These mocked orthodox beliefs and recitations and questioned the
classical belief systems, social customs, Vedic rituals and so on.

Activity 1 ,

Talk to several Hindus from the North and the South of India about the
Bhakti Tradition. Record what they say about the similarities and
differences between the two types of Bhakti traditions. Write down your
findings in two to five pages of your notebook and discuss them, if possible,
I with other students at/he Study Centre.

To put it simply then, Veerashaivism or Lingayatism was a protest movement that

through the method of bhakti and selfless abandonment, lashed out against the
orthodox and polytheistic natureof Hinduism. It stressed the oneness not just of God
and devotee, as in the Krishna cult but also of oneness of the devotee with the
people. Thus we have the famous legend about a Saiva saint called Ghantakama,
who realising the supremacy of Siva as the sublime God, offered his body to Siva.
This is the supreme sacrifice, to offer oneself in toto to a deity. That is to lay down
one's life at his feet. Thus, the legend goes, Ghantakarna's body became the
threshold of a temple to Siva, his limbs became the frames of the door, and his head,
the bell of the temple. Such was the extent of a devout bhak'ta's bhakti. The main

A Hindu prayer room decorated with pictures of various deities on the wall.
 reason for the popularity of this tradition of bhakti in the South was the social Medieval Religious
change it signified in terms of social upliftment of the low and poorer divisions of Movements I :
Bhakti and Sufism
society in all spheres of life. Further, since central to the bhakti tradition in South
India was the use of devotional songs in the language of the people, it reached out
to a larger population and contributed to the unity of the people on various social
I and cultural levels.

l 24.2.3 The Bhakti Tradition :North

i
From the South of India we find that the bhakti tradition spread to Central and
North India. Each added its own local traditional beliefs and devotional forms to
both the Vaishnava and Saiva bhakti traditions. Thus we find in Central India,
particularly in the Marathi belt, Krishl~abhakti finding a stronghold. Its most famous
saint here was Tukaram (1 598-1649). He and his followers worshipped Krishna in
the form of 'Vitobha' or 'Vithala'. The main theme here was that of seeking
liberation within oneself, by becoming one or merging with the Lord. It was around
the 15th century that a spiritual descendent of Alvars, Vallabhacharya (1479-153 1)
went further North and gave life to the Krishna cult in the Mathura region. This
survives even today as probably the most vital centre of Krishna bhakti. The three
major figures associated with bhakti in this period are Surdas (1485-1563) who
spoke of losing oneself in Krishna; Mirabai (1500-1550) who abandoned her position
as Queen of Mewar for her bhakti to Krishna as 'Girdhar Gopal'.

All of us are familiar with the bhakti of Mirabai. It is believed that such was the
intensity of her devotion that Krishna absorbed her soul into his own. Finally we
have the significant role played in this period by Chaitanya (1485-1533). Chaitanya
played a major role in the establishment of Mathura as a bhakti centre. he professed
that the highest knowledge of all was the knowledge of devotion to Krishna and the
greatest of sorrows was separation or viraha from Krishna. Further, he taught that
the longing that Radha and the Gopis had for Krishna should be duplicated in the
soul of every devotee in his search for oneness with Kiishna. Although the movement
now was open to all social groups and castes it could not totally do away with the
caste system.

Chaitanya was born in 1485 in a Brahmin family in Bengal. When Bengal

had been under Muslim control for almost 300 years. Hindu religion under
Muslim retreated into an orthodox pattern of living and worship. Chaitanya
learned Sanskrit as a matter of course in his childhood. When he grew up
be became a schoolmaster and disapproved of bhakti. He was not interested
in religion. However he could not ignore the fact that all his eight elder
brothers and sisters had died before him. His meeting with the ascetic
Isvara Puri also changed his life at the shrine in Gaya. He began having
mystic visions that he could not fully describe in words. Isvara Puri initiated

Even so we find today in Mathura and specifically Virndaban, how the lives of the
poeple are totally tided up to their worship of Krishna (at home and in the temple),
I
as a chiid or as the young lover of the Gopis. In this small town near Mathura. the
people wake when Krishna awakes in the temple, they eat when he eats, they sleep
when he sleeps, and their every moment is devoted to thoughts of Krishna to the
t
extent that they even greet each other with a "Radhe-Radhe". So totally enwrapped
L
are their lives with that of God. It is this form of Northern bhakti that represents
r
the best example of Saguna bhakti.

The bhakti movement reached further North-east from here and was carried to
Assam in the 16th century where the Metheis, a local tribe, are Vaishnavites.
I
Religious Movements : Besides the Vaishnava tradition coming North we also find that the Siva bhakti
Medieval and Modern tradition also found a foothold in North India, particularly in Kashmir. Its greatest
follower and proponent was Abhinavagupt. and later one of the Kashmiri women
saints, Lalla. Although Siva bhakti found many followers here, they found the
renderings of the tradition difficult to'follow, even so their numbers did not diminish
and 'Shivaratri' is one of the most celebrated occasions in Kashmir. It may once
again be noted, why the bhakti tradition became so popular in North India. Against
the strict and orthodox character of Hinduism that stressed the inequality of men
before God and thus did not allow all men and women equal access to the divine
and to religion, the bhakti tradition offered an alternative. It was an alternative path
of worship through devotion, open to all sections of society and offering all of them
equality before God and in the acces to the divine. Since it used local idioms,
language and songs, it reached out to a far larger population and appealed to all
sections of society. It celebrated the relationship of the individual to God, as a very
personal relationship and rejected the Vedic form of worship through intermediaries.
Moreover, its rejection of the caste system and the inequalities subscribed by it,
were openings that a large section of society were looking for. Bhakti thus offered
a way of relating to the divine that was personalised, unique and fulfilling.

Check Your Progress 1

1) What were the basic teachings of Hinduism that the bhakti tradition protested
against? Answer in 5-10 lines.

....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
What i s bhakti? How was it an alternative to the prevalent religious trend?
Answer using 5-10 lines.
'
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
3) Briefly describe the three types of bhakti: viraha, saguna and nirguna. Answer Medieval Religious
using 10 lines. Movements I :
Bhakti and Sufism

24.3 SUFISM
Having examined the basic teachings of bhakti and how it created a new path for
devotion or rdigious worship, e now proceed to consider the influence of Islam
L'
on the Indian subcontinent, and e consequence that it had for the bhakti tradition
in particular. As an offshoot of Wis influence we have the role of the Sufi movement
in India.

Islam as a world religion confronted1Hinduism in full force rather than getting

absorbed into it. Historically, we find that the beginning of the 10th century there
were Muslim invasions. This is the time when Mahmud of Ghazni invaded the
Indian subcontinent 17 times. In early 16th century, the Moghvls invaded India. It
was in the later half of the 17 century t$at the Hindus launched a counter offensive.
It was particularly in the struggle by the Maratha King Shivaji, that the moral power
of Hinduism received impetus and the bhakti tradition resurged as a response to
the impact of Islam. The Indian tradition tried to find a response within its own
spiritual condition since the Muslim ruler discriminated againstthe Hindu who were
their subjects. Further, with tis contact between the two different social and cultural
traditions, interaction and synthesis began particularly on the level of social custom,
tradition and practice of the Hindus and the Muslims. At the same time we find that
the Islamic, mystic and ecstatic, tradition of Sufism greatly influenced the bhakti
saints. To understand the nature of this influence let us briefly consider what
Sufism was about.

24.3.1 What is Sufism?

In the beginning Sufism developed in Mesopotamia, Arabia, Iran and modem
Afghanistan. It was formalized by the end of the 8th century. Right from the
beginning there was a hiatus between the ulemas and the mystics. The latter
claimed to be delving into the interior of religion, which depended on the heart.'The
Sufi and bhakti traditions are characterised by adherence to religious text,
governmental authority and opposed to external ritualism of prayer. The Sufis aim
for a direct relationship with God and thus their basic features incorporate strands
from various sources including Hinduism. ,

Ritu Dewan has pointed out that as a consequence of the 12th century Mongal
invasion many Sufis took shelter in India, especially in Multan, Punjab, and Sindh.
One of the greatest Sufi mystics Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi (1207-1273) was
very influenced by Indian folklore and even wrote a poem dedicated to the
Religious Movements : flute of Krishna. He founded the Maulavi Sufi order in which music and dance
Medieval and Modern were spiritual methods. Soami ji Maharaj founder of the Radha Soami sect was
much influenced by Rumi who he often quoted in his discourses. Guru Nanak too
was inspired by Rumi. Rumi and Baba Farid's compositions (1 173-1265) have been
included in the Granth Sahib together with those of Kabir.

Guru Nanak was called guru of the Hindus and pir of the Mussalmans. By the end
of the 16th century the Bhakti movement had covered the -entire north 1ndia
resulting in an intermingling of Hindu ,mysticism with Sufism. Kabir's following
verse illustrates this:

The Mussalmans accept the Tarifat

The Hindus, the Vedas and Puranas
but for me the books of both religions are useless
(Kabir, 1440-15 18).

Sufis were also against external ritualism in religion. Prayers and fasting were held
to be inferior to works of charity. And Jihad not external war but a fight against
the lower self of man. Some Sufis like Shah Abdul Latif and Sachal Sarmast called'
upon people to "strike the Mullahs".
C

In Bengal the influence of Chaitanya was felt on a popular level, speciauy on the
Baul movement. Muslim Bauls followed the Sufi tradition and Hindu Bauls the
Vaishnavite. Both of these traditions expressed themselves saying:

You have been to Gaya,

Bcnares and Vrindavan,
and have travelled through
many rivers and forests and
other places of pilgrinidge
But away have you seen in all
these anything of Him of Whom
you have heard?

Sufi literature of Rumi and Hafiz (d. 1389) influenced Raja RamMohan Roy and
Devendranath Tagore, and Rabindranath Tagore. Sufi literature remains fresh today
though long years have passed since it was first penned:

Is there one God in the peepul tree and

\ another in the babool?
If Islam was creited by Allah
then who created Kufir
If Ka'ba be the House of God
Why find fault with the temple?
The same light bums bright
within the temple and the mosque.
(Sufi Bhai Dalpatram 1768-1842)

Thus we see that there was a commingling of the Bhakti and Sufi movements.

Sufism, specialises in the spiritual dimension of Islam. It believes in revelation as

a source of contact with the sacred and attempts to get a personal experience of
the unity of God. This leads to a realization that God alone is to bk adored. This
is basic to Sufism. While orthodox priests of Islam feel that this desire to merge
in the unity of God is anti-Islam the Sufis do not feel this is so. In fact they feel
it is closely related to Islamic doctrine. The two are interdependent. Ammalogy
given to clarify the relationship is that of the kernel of the walnut and the shell.
Neither, can possibly do without the other.
Another.example is that Islamic doctrine is like the circumference of a circle at the Medieval Religious
centre of the centre of which lies the ultimate Reality (Haququat). Sufism is a Movements I :
Bhakti and Sufism
mediator between Islamic doctrine and Utlimate Reality.

Sufism can be explained through three basic religious attitudes of

-1) Islam

2) Iman

3) Thsan

1slam.i~the attitude of submission to the will of Allah.

Iman designates a firm faith in the teachings of the Islam.

Ihsan is to adore Allah though one may not see him. Sufism is the spirituil progress
of a devotee from the initial stage of Islam to the ultimate stage of Ihsan.

As Islam in India, it came to enfold in its cloak, the system of monasticism and
a defined way of community life. The Sufi mystic however was in no way forced
to live a defined and organised life. By the 9th century, these Sufis who had come
to form a brotherhood and a definite way of community life, also began wearing
a particular kind of coarse woollen garment known as sufi and thus came to be
called sufis. Suifis, though Muslim, are considered to be pantheistic mystics. This
was a basic difference with orthodox Islam but in common with the bhakti school
of the Hindus.

The Sufis followed the Quran, and sought to reveal their purpose in life through
their sayings, actions and the path that they followed. This path was often shared
by different mystics and came to be called tariqah or sufism. The path of
lunselfishness' through either renouncing the world and ones possessions and desires
or by adopting an attitude of patience, humility and charity, towards God, were
essential to being a sufi. The sufis also had a special method of their own for
producing the state of mind in which they would have revelations. They called this
dhikr.

Its simplest form is the continual repetition of the name of Allah with intense
concentration on the thought of God, and losing one's individuality in this. If we
examine these teachings closely we can see how the idea of dhikr which was
central to Sufi thought is similar to the idea in bhakti tradition of concentrating on
the ishta deva, in one's quest for liberation particularly in the saguna tradition.
.Thus, Sufism mainly professed mysticism and upon this the Sufis built the basic
theological doctrines of their religious movement. A major practice devised by the
Sufis for stimulating religious emotion was listening to music and song or sama.
These songs are capable of sending one into a trance. The subject of the songs was
love, which was often erotic. One could not clearly distinguish whether the love,
being talked about here was human love or the love for the deity. Once again this
is similar to the love in the bhakti tradition between the bhakta and the God as
was expressed for Krishna by the Gopis.

We find, many attempts were made to define the Sufi in different ways. In general
it was however agreed that the Sufi had metaphysical, social and philanthropic
characteristics. Further, the Sufi doctrine we find was moulded by different
influences such as the developments in Muhammadan monotheistic ideas or the
influence of Greek and Indian philosophies. Moreover, we can also include here,
political, sbcial and intellectual conditions that favoured the grbwth of mysticism.
The Sufis were very strict about accepting disciples or murid. blowly however,"as
Religious Movements : followers flocked to them, many Sufis became recognised as teachers of Shaikhs
Medieval and Modern and Pirs and 'orders' arose within Sufism. The four major orders that arose were
the.(a) Qudiri (b) Suhrawardi (c) Chisti and (d) Naqshbandi. By the 13th century,
Sufism had become a movement in its own right in India.

24.3.2 The Spread of Sufism in India

Sufism mainly flowed into Indian from Arabia, Mesopotamia, and Iran. We have
accounts of the various saints of different orders spreading Sufi teachings in different
parts of India: To name a few, we have the well-known Shaikh Muinuddin Chisti
who had established himself in Ajmer and Shaikh Nizarnuddin Auliya whose teachings
and followers spread all over India.

As far as the spread of Sufism in India is concerned, its character changed to

adapt to tQe Hindu environment. Thus, the metaphysical aspect was avoided and
personal instruction of disciples was undertaken. Not all Sufis however took disciples.
Those who did were called Shaikhs. The Shaikh besides being a teacher was
regarded as a protector, friend, companion and benefactor or Wali. The teacher
was also believed to possess supernatural powers or Karamah. The Shatkh or pir
was regarded as the spiritual guide of the disciple or murid. We find that most of
the people who came to the Sufi saints, desired to use their spiritual pawers to cure
an illness or fulfil a wish. Even today we find that of the many de"o;t who may
visit the resting place of a pir, i.e. his dargah, come there to seek the fulfilment of
a wish or a blessing.

There were as mentioned earlier four main orders among the Sufis. Each of these
we find different from the other in the emphasis of its teachings and'the extent to
which it spread in India. All four orders however regarded the SNariah as the
spiritual guide. All four believed that a Sufi should have no wordily possessions.
Each order had over time found devout disciples who in turn had reached the
stature of being capable of having their own disciples and were known as Khalifahs.
These Khalifahs played imported roles in the spread of their order's teachings.

Of the four orders, the Suhrawardis, were the most orthodox and played a leading
role in the spread ofSuEsq in the North-West of India. They believed that to be

Sufism is an eclectic faith and borrows ideas and ways of worship from both Hinduism
and Islam; for example Sai Baba of
able to perform their functions better, they had to maintain good relations with the Medieval Religious
political authority of the time. Movements I :
Bhakti and Sufism
Of these orders, it is however the Chisti Sufis who are best known. They spread
al.1 over the country and their principal Shaikh Nizamuddin, settled in Delhi and
gave the order its expansive character. The Chistis consistently maintained that the
political authority was an influence to be avoided. By th'e time Nizamuddin died in
1325 and his successor Nasiruddin took over, in 1356, a spiritual empire had began
to form. It reached its peak in the personality of Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya. By this
time-the Chisti order had spread to Bihar and Bengal and had an even older order
in Rajasthan that began with Khwaja Muinuddin Chisti in Ajmer in the 1190s. The
expansion of this order into the Deccan was carried out by Shaikh Gesu-daraz.

Box 24.02

Sufism is one of the creative manifestations of Islam. It is amystic sect

which developed out of Islam. Sufism seeks mystical union. Many Sufi
saints who were responsible for developing sufism include Hasan al-
Basvi, Ibrahim Ibn Adham Rabiati Adawiyah, Dhu al nun al Misri.
Each of these saints developed Sufism in their own way. For example Al-
Hallaj was initiated into sufism while still a teenager. He lived in relative
seclusion (for twenty years) and was trained by many masters. His basic
teaching was moral reforms and intense Union with the Beloved. In mystical
ecstasy he cried out loud: "Ana-al-Hagg!" ("I am the Divine Truth"). Al-
Hallaj was decapitated and burnt by his detractors but he died with dignity
and grace believing it to be the will of God (Encyclopaedia of Religion).

It is imported to note that because of the presence of dzfdrences between the

order and individualistic approach of many of the Shaikhs, a single Muslim
unijied community of disciples could not be formed. Instead, each order had its
devout disciples who together formed a united brotherhood. Overtime, Sufism lost
its spiritual intensity and became missionary in character. By the end of the 14th
century, Hinduism had evoked a response in the Sufis. The devotional character of
Hindi songs and the language, had brought the S u f ~and Hindu closer. An intermixing
of the two people on a cultural level had begun to take place. In fact we find that
a common ground had opened up in which the mutual acceptance of the aesthetic
values of the Hindus and Muslims had come to be accepted by each other. This
intercharge of cultures will be discussed in the following section that specifically
deals with the meeting of Sufism and the bhakti tradition.

SUFISM AND BHAKTI : A COMPARISON

Having outlined what the tradition of Sufism entailed let us now consider the role
of Sufism in the bhakti tradition. You may have already noticed that much of what
the Sufis taught was very similar to the bhakti teaching of concentrating upon a
God and the significance of sacred music and song. This interaction between the
two (as mentioned earlier in sub-section 24.3.1) it is believed to have led to the
creation of a medieval mysticism which was independent of sectarian or orthodox
practices and disclaimed particularly caste practices and atrocities. The first
Sufi teacher who came to India was, as mentioned earlier, Khwaja Muinuddin
Chisti, who arrived in Delhi in 1193 and settled in Pushkar in Ajmer. He had both
Hindu and Muslim followers. We are all familiar with the 'Urs' at his dargah in
A-jmer, to which flocks of followers come, treating it as a major pilgrimage centre
even today. As mentioned, these Sufis, were Islamic mystics who sought the
path of salvation through an ardent and passionate love for God. The teachings
of the Sufis greatly influenced not only followers but many saints of the bhakti
tradition who came to combine in themselves, sufi and bhakti teachings. The two
Religious Movements : most significant figures here from the 15th116th century, were Kabir and Guru
Medieval and Modern Nanak. We will briefly consider their role in the development of medieval mysticism.

24.4.1 Growth of Medieval Mysticism

An important role in the growth of medieval mysticism was played by Ramananda
(1370-1440) who himself was a follower of Ramanuja. Ramananda challenged
caste divisions, questioned traditional ceremonies and accepted the Hindu philosophy
of divisions, questioned traditional ceremonies and accepted the Hindu philosophy
of jnana or knowledge, meditation or yoga and devotion or bhakti. He had many
disciples of which twelve were the more important and came from low castes. The
most famous of these disciples was Kabir, the son of a Muslim weaver. It is
believed that though, he early in his life abandoned the Muslim faith, he retained the
strict monotheism of Islam and an aversion to the caste system. He saw religion
as a personal concern and stressed relationship between man, God and his teacher
or guru. He combined in him, elements of both the Sufi and bhakti traditions,
claiming
s
that both Allah and Rama were the same thing.

Since he was trying to reach out to the common people he used the dialect or its
variant as the language of communication. He stressed the importance of both
material and spiritual things in one's life. He had both Hindu and Muslim followers
and was non-sectarian. It is possible however that his Hindu followers are greater
in number. Much of Kabir's life and work is derived from reconstructing its course
from the dohas or sakhis rendered by him. These were essentially rhymed poems;
set to music. There is much debate however about how many of these dohas were
written by Kabir himself and how many of his followers or the Kabir panthis.
Thus, there is doubt about the legitimacy of some of the sayings that are attributed
to Kabir. Many it is believed are those of his devotees. These dohas, it is believed
were very often included by the Sufi saints into their sama.

Important among Kabir's followers was Dadu (1 544-1608) who also belonged to
a Muslim .family. He made the important contribution of seeking a unification of
faiths, and founded the Brahma-Sampradaya where God would be worshipped
without ritual or orthodoxy. As a mystic he contributed to the idea of the beauty
of the world to be discovered not by becoming a recluse or an ascetic but by living
a full life and enjoying what it had to offer.
L

Activity 2

Find out from some of your Muslim friends about the Sufi orders and their
belief patterns. Ascertain from them whether Sufis are non Muslims or a
different type of Muslim. Who have been the famous Sufis? If possible try
to visit one or more of their commemoration sites where their graves are.
Write down your findings and experiences in two to five pages of your
notebook and discuss the same if possible with fellow students in the Study
Centre.

At the same time as Kabir we have, the contribution of Guru Nanak of Punjab
(1469-1538). There is greater certainty about his dates and origins than those of
Kabir. Live Kabir, he too was a monotheist and was greatly opposed to the caste
system. His disciples, the Sikhs, were organised into a close knit community. His
teachings and writings and those of the subsequent Gurus were compiled together
by the fifth Guru, Arjun, into the sacred book of the Sikhs, the Adi-Grantha. The
Sikhs represented a bhakti sect, where their bhakti was sung in the form of the
Gurbani. Guru Nanak's religious renderings we find, also incorporated the best of
sufi influence and much of his teachings reflect the union of bhakti and sufi
practices.
24.4.2 Sufi-Bhakti Interaction Medleval Keligious
Movements I :
Bhakti and Sufism
This interaction of the Sufi and bhakti traditions occurred to give to the lives of
Kabir and Nanak a peculiar flavour. Kabir was linked to the Sufis, not just in terms
of the' mystical nature of his renderings but also on the level or organization of
thought. In the Khazinat al-asfiya, by Ghulam Sarvar Lahori, we find that Kabir
is identified, rightly or wrongly as a Sufi and related to the Chistis. Scholars have
aruged in recent times that this, however, presents a chronological error. In these
writings, he is believed to have visited many Sufi centres and is even believed to
have debated with Sufi saints. None however denies the significant position that his
dohas had come to occupy. Guru Nanak too it is believed had encounters with Sufi
teachers or Shaikhs of which a single encounter, with a Shaikh Ibrahim, of
Pakpattan near Multan is considered authentic by scholars.

On most fronts, however, the available documentation on contact between Sufi

mystics and the Hindu sants or saints, are contradicted. The most convincing field
for the consideration of an inter-change between the Sufis and the sants can be
found in the themes of their poetry and devotional songs particularly the attitude of
the two traditions towards the "love relationship" between disciple, God and teacher
which is central to both traditions. Thus, both traditions shared the nature of the pain
and suffering of the devotees in their relationship to the divine. This suffering, which
we earlier called viraha, in ones lovt for the God as beloved, is found in Kabir's
writings too. Scholars compare this bhakti notion of viraha to the Sufi notion of
ishq which is expressed not through viraha but dard. It leads to an experience that
is called atish which is similar to the experience of agni or burning of one's soul
in viraha. The ideas in Kabir's dohas about love, separation and suffering are
found revealed in the lyrics of Sufi poetry as well (see sub-section 24.3.1), as we
can see. Both, Kabir's nirguna bhakti and the Sufi tradition, also speak of the idea
of how without Lord and devotee, there can be no devotion. There is in fact another
sphere of the bhakti tradition where the Sufi influence is seen. This is in the
context of hagiographic writing about the bhakti saints. Here the influence of the
Sufi tradition is revealed in the style of writing. This tradition of biographic writing
about the lives of saints had existed in the Sufi tradition from the 15th century and
before.

24.4.3 Bhakti-Sufi Teachings

It is important to remember that the relationship between the Sufi and bhakti saints
was reciprocal and the Sufis too were influeked by the bhakti tradition. Thus,
besides this major similarity in terms of the method of devotion and its expression,
we find that the Sufi tradition also produced its saints such as the Shah Karim and
Shah Inayet from the 17th century in whose teachings little distinction was made
between the divine as Allah 'or Rama or Hari, similar to what Kabir sought to say,
and revealing the influence of the bhakti tradition.

In the section above, we have tried to point out how medieval mysticism revealed
a certain sycretism between the Hindu and Muslim traditions of bhakti and Sufism.
The two reveal a major similarity in the nature of devotion and openness to all
sections of society which made both, relatively more egalitarian. The influence of
S.ufi thought on the lives of Kabir and Nanak is seen very clearly. Guru Nanak on
many of his journeys is believed to have been wearing Sufi robes. In fact so
significant was his attempt at bringing the bhakti of gurbani and sufi teachings
toghether, that when he died, his last rites were performed according to the
customs of both the movements Sufi and Bhakti; and two different religious
'
structures mark his resting place. Kabir's life was also devoted to teachings about
salvatiop, liberation, true love and suffering in ones devotion to the Lord. We also
saw how there were major similarities between Kabir's or the bhakti traditions
Religious Movements :
' notions of viraha and agni and the Sufi ideas of ishq, dard and atish. Further both
Medieval and Modern Kabir and Nanak though mystical, were also concerned with the inequities
represented by caste society and Hindu orthodoxy in general and spoke up against
it.

Check Your Progress 2

1) What are the main teachings of Sufisim ? State in 5-7 lines.

....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
.............. .....................................................................................................
i

....................................................................................................................
2) Point out in 10 lines some similarities between the Bhakti and Sufi traditions,
which would reveal interaction having taken place between them.

24.5 LET US SUM UP

In this unit we discussed Bhakti and Sufism. We began by examining the Bhakti
. tradition, both in the South (from where it began) and the North (to where it
spread). We then focused on the Sufi tradition and explained what Sufism is, and
described its spread in India. Finally we made a comparison between Sufism and
. bhakti, covering the growth of medieval mysticism, sufi-bhakti interaction and
Bhakti-Sufi teaching. In this way we have clarified Bhakti and Sufism.

24.6 KEY WORDS

Bhakti : means an act of devotion where one forgets everything
except one's worship of the ishta deva.

Ecstatic : that which makes one feel joyous and may even send
.one into a trance.
-
 : refers to the writing of a saint's life. .. Medieval Religious
18agiography
Movements I :
Bhakti and Sufism
Incarnation : means to give wncrete or visible form to a spiritual
notion. It is believth that Vishnu had 10 incarnations
each of which appeared at a moment of social crisis.
Of these Krishna was one. Some of the others include
Varaha, Mohini, Parashurama. The Hindi wol.d for
incarnation is avatar.

Ishta Deva : a personal God to whom one dedicates ones worship

in search of salvation.

Lingam : is the idolic representation of Siva that we-find in

temples. This Siva lingam is made very small and
then kept in a metal container that the Lingayats were
around their neck.

Mystic : that which deals with things of spiritual significance.

A person who lives the life of a mystic, seeks to
obtain unity with the divine or God through
contemplation and selfless devotion.

Polytheistic : essentially refers'to belief in more than one God.

Salvation : means the saving of the soul or a belief that one can
be delivered of one's sins, and reach heaven. It is a
religious notion used extensively in Christianity as well.

Selfless : without thinking of oneself. So 'selfless'devotion' would

be devotion where one thinks only of the God and not
of oneself and what one bill get out of such devotion.

Sufi : refers to the mystic saints that are a sect in the Islamic
tradition.

Syncreticism : the unification of different schools of thought or sects

or beliefs.

Tenets : refers to basic doctrine, dogmas or principles of a

digion.

24.7 FURTHER READINGS

Dewan R., 1993. The Religion of Love in The Sunday Times of India, 21 Nov.,
1993.

Eliade, Mircea, 1987. The Encyclopaedia of Religion, Vol. 2. Macmillan Publishing

Company : New York. 130-33.

Farugui, Azad, I.H. 1984. Sujism and Bhakti. Abinav Publications.

Mujeeb, M., 1967. The Indian Muslims. George Allen & Unwin Ltd. : London. pp.
113-167 and 283-3 15.

Ramanujarn, A.K., 1973. Speaking of Siva. Penguin Books : Middlesex. pp. 19-
55.

Zaehner, R.C., 1962. Hinduism. Oxford University Press : London. Chapter 6.

Iteligious Movements :
Medieval and Modern 24.8 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
Check Your Progress 1

I ) The basic teaching against which the bhakti tradition protested was the Hindu .
belief in society being divided into many social groups that were unequal in nature
and gave rise to the caste system. This inequality meant that these men were:
unequal even in the eyes of God and were not allowed to worship God as others
could. It also lashed out against the orthodox and polytheistic nature of Hinduism.

2) Bhakti is a reference to the act of devotion or worship of a particular deity

without consideration for oneself or any other deity. One is believed to become
totally involved in one's worship to a chosen deity. It developed as a movement in
the medieval period in India. Lord Krishna and Shiva have been the main deity's
around whom the bhakti tradition arose. The movement offered an alternativeto
the orthodox nature of Hinduism. It particularly stressed the idea of the equality of
all men in the eyes of God and rejected the unfair nature of the caste system.

3) The three types of bhakti can be described as follows:

i) Viraha : The word viraha means separatiuii. 'l'he ~ i i ~aspect

i ~ l therefore of
viraha bhakti is the devotion of the dcvotee to the God, in the absence ofthe
deity or, the foeling of loss that arises when the God goes away and the
devotion that arises out of this. It is called viraha bhakti as it is a particular
form of deep devotion that arises in the absence of someone.
ii) Saguna :This is bhakti where through disciplined practice the devotee comes
to worship God as an entity separate from the devotee and above him. This is
possible through the worshipping of a personal deity or ishta deva. This form
is mostly found in the South of India.

iii) Nirguna :This is bhakti where the aim is to seek union or fusion with the
deity whom one is worshipping. This is once again possible only through worship
and years of devotion. It is believed that the deity through such devotion
becomes so pleased that.he absorbs his devotee into his own body. As for
example, the texts tell us that Mirabai was absorbed by Lord Krishna into his
body. This form of bhakti is found mostly in North India.

Check Your Progress 2

I) Sufism is a mystic movement. The Sufis are mystic teachers and for centuries
have had disciples. Sufis follow the Quran and believe in a life of unselfishness
and renouncement of wordly possessions. They also believe in an attitude of
patience, humility and charity. The basic teachings include the devotion to God or
Allah through a concentration on his being and by repeating his name. This is
known as dhikr. It encourages the listening of music and song to create religious
emotion. This is called sama.

If we closely look at the nature of bhakti and Sufi traditions we find many
similarities between them. To begin with in both traditions there is an emphasis on
concentrating attention upon a single deity. In Sufism, this is called dhikr and
ishq in bhakti, it is the idea of the ishta deva. Secondly, the notion of viraha in
bhakti can be compared to what the Sufis call dard. Just as viraha leads to
experiencing agni (fire in the soul) dard leads to atish. Finally, both-thetraditions
as we gee talk about a love between the devotee and the deity and in both cases
this lover for the deity resembles the love that one feels for one's beloved and the
nature of pain and suffering of the devotee in his relationship to the divine, are
found in both traditions. Thus, we can say that these similarities do point to the
two tradition?having interacted with each other.