Bhakti


 * __Bhakti__**

The bhakti movement was long opposed by the brahminis because it disregarded Vedic rituals, ignored caste differences (many of the bhakti saints and leaders were of the lower castes), and stressed devotion over knowledge. Calm speculation about the all-pervading Brahman was eschewed in favor of the mystical exuberance. But, when the bhakti movement gained popularity, it quickly attracted large numbers of Brahmins. The //Bhagavad Gita// is the first expression of bhakti, with its concentration on the adoration of Vishnu, who appears in the work in the person of Krishna. Over the centuries this movement became powerful in South India among the Alvars, and thus throughout the entire country, developing not only Vaishnavite but also Shivite and Shakti forms. Partially the movement grew when being carried by wandering holy men through the means of song and music and the recitation of the great texts. Bhakti essentially became the religion of the masses of India, for it enables the individual to approach the Divine directly and to become a part of his all-encompassing love. Tiru-Mular, a Shaivite poet of the Middle Ages sang: "The ignorant say love and God are different; None know that Love and God are the same. When the know that Love and God are the same; They rest in God's Love." More formal but obscure bhakti texts can state: "The nature of bhakti is absolute love for Him," and "Bhakti is supreme attachment for the Lord." The bhakti poet Nammalvar sang: "My Lord, though endless pains afflict me, I will not cease to look for thy mercy." In more recent times the saint most strongly associated with bhakti is the venerated Indian holy man known as [|**__Vallalar__**] (aka: Ramalinga Swamigal, 1823-1874). One of the major themes of bhakti is that of avatar, God manifesting himself on earth in some form (even animal as well as human) in order to benefit humankind in time of troubles; Krishna is often cited as the supreme example of an avatar, so too by many, the [|**__Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi__**]. The other equally important text besides the //Bhagavad Gita// in presenting bhakti beliefs is the //Bhagavata Purana//. According to tradition its authorship is assigned to Marharshi Veda Vyasa who also is credited with the //Gita//, but internal and external evidence dates the //Purana// as being composed around the ninth or tenth century AD. The //Purana//, in summary, is a synthesis of many themes of various schools of bhakti, but also contains many legends, folk stories, discourses, theological and philosophical views, and scraps of unconscious anthropology and sociology centering around hundreds of avatars, saints, heroes, gods, and holy people. It has been a fertile source for many Indian films. And, there are many more works of literature, music, and art that bespeak of bhakti. Special reference may be given to Alvars, Kabir, and Mira Bai. Besides challenging brahminical institutions, bhakti also sharply differs with some Hindu basic beliefs, especially that of [|**__Karma__**]. This bhakti belief of Karma differs with the ordinary karmic conception of working off, or eliminating, good or evil Karma that the individual has developed, or earned, in previous lives. In the bhakti concept, Karma is set aside; the devotee expects the Lord will return Love for love and to ignore the predestined course of Karma. The question as to whether the Lord will abide by the ironclad law of Karma, or bestow his grace by removing it from the bhakti has fallen into the hand of the priestly castes, without resolution. Bhakti, like so many other aspects of the Hindu religion and life, has been categorized ad infinitum, and such categories seem to multiply within them as they are examined. But, the masses seem to ignore such scholasticism.
 * Bhakti**, in Hinduism, teaches the path love and devotion as opposed to the path of knowledge, or [|**//jhana//**]. Bhakti is the expression of love and adoration centered upon the Supreme Person rather than the Supreme Abstraction. It is a popular, folk, movement, traceable to the post-Vedic period, though it probably originated earlier among the pre-Vedic, pre-Aryan peoples of the Indus and elsewhere, and climaxing with a peak expression during the Middle Ages. Bhakti is manifested in the worship of various deities, the most popular being Vishnu, Shiva, and Shakti, all originally non-brahminical.

The term bhakti is defined as “devotion,” or passionate love for the Divine. //Moksha//, or liberation from rebirth, was not in the following of rules, regulations or societal ordering, it was through simple devotion to the Divine. Within the movement at large, useful distinctions have been made by contemporary scholars between those poet-saints who composed verses extolling God //with// attributes or form, namely, “//saguna//” bhaktas, and, those extolling God without and beyond all attributes or form, “//nirguna//.” While the differences between these two branches are indeed important, their overarching similarities cannot be minimized; both focused on singular devotion, mystical love for God, and had a particular focus on a personal relationship with the Divine. Given their belief in the centrality of personal devotion, poet-saints were highly critical of ritual observances as maintained and fostered by the Brahmin priesthood. For many, their critique also included the caste system that supported the traditional religious hierarchy, with Brahmins at the head of this hierarchy. Many poet-saints, particularly as the movement developed northward, were themselves of lower caste lineages. Another commonality was their usage of the vernacular, or regional languages of the masses, as opposed to the sacred language of the elite priesthood, Sanskrit. This practice, too, stemmed from the movement’s focus on inner, mystical, and highly personal devotion to the Divine. Many of the bhakti poet-saints rejected asceticism as the crucial means toward liberation; some bhaktas were instead householders. As well, themes of universalism, a general rejection of institutionalized religion, and a central focus on inner devotion laid the groundwork for more egalitarian attitudes toward women and lower-caste devotees. Women and //shudras//, both at the bottom of the traditional hierarchy ordering society, became the examples of true humility and devotion. Female poet-saints also played a significant role in the bhakti movement at large. Nonetheless, many of these women had to struggle for acceptance within the largely male dominated movement. Only through demonstrations of their utter devotion to the Divine, their outstanding poetry, and stubborn insistence of their spiritual equality with their contemporaries were these women reluctantly acknowledged and accepted within their ranks. Their struggle attests to the strength of patriarchal values within both society and within religious and social movements attempting to pave the way for more egalitarian access to the Divine. The imagery of bhakti poetry is grounded in the everyday, familiar language of ordinary people. Women bhaktas wrote of the obstacles of home, family tensions, the absent husband, meaningless household chores, and restrictions of married life, including their status as married women. In many cases, they rejected traditional women’s roles and societal norms by leaving husbands and homes altogether, choosing to become wandering bhaktas; in some instances they formed communities with other poet-saints. Their //new// focus was utter devotion and worship of their Divine Husbands. Caste status and even masculinity were understood as barriers to liberation, in essence a rejection of the hierarchy laid out by the Law Books of the Classical Period. Male bhaktas often took on the female //voice// calling to her Beloved, utterly submissive to His desires. However, while male bhaktas could engage in this role-playing on a temporary basis, returning at will to their privileged social status as males, women bhaktas faced overwhelming challenges through their rejection of societal norms and values, without having the ability to revert back to their normative roles as wives, mothers and in some cases, the privileges of their original high-caste status. While it is tempting to see women’s participation within the bhakti movement as a revolt against the patriarchal norms of the time, there is little evidence to support this perspective. Injustices and the patriarchal order itself were not a major focus of these poet-saints. Women bhaktas were simply individuals attempting to lead lives of devotion. Staying largely within the patriarchal ideology that upheld the chaste and dutiful wife as ideal, these women transferred the object of their devotion and their duties as the “lovers” or “wives” to their Divine Lover or Husband. Nonetheless, that their poetry became an integral aspect of the bhakti movement at large is highly significant and inspirational for many who look to these extraordinary women as ideal examples of lives intoxicated by love for the Divine. Further, it would appear that with the movement’s northward advancement (15th through 17th centuries), its radical edge as it pertained to women’s inclusion was tempered. Greater numbers of women took part in the movement’s earlier development (6th to 13th centuries); it is largely male bhaktas and saints that are today perceived as the spokespersons for the movement in its later manifestations. The poetry of women bhaktas from this latter time period is generally not indicative of a rejection of societal norms in terms of leaving family and homes in pursuit of divine love. Instead, some of the later poet-saints stayed within the confines of the household while expounding on their souls’ journeys, their eternal love for the Divine, as well as their never-ending search for truth.
 * The Bhakti Movement**
 * Women in the Bhakti Movement**