Sant Kabir Das Jayanti | Contribution to Bhakti Movement | UPSC Notes (2023)

FAQs

What was the role of Kabir Das in Bhakti movement? ›

Contribution of Kabir to Bhakti Movement:

Kabir Das is the first Indian saint who has coordinated the Hinduism and Islam by giving a universal path which could be followed by both Hindus and Muslims. According to him every life has relationship with two spiritual principles (Jivatma and Paramatma).

He was an advocate of the nirguna form of Bhakti. According to Kabir, the same God was referred to by several names like Rama, Hari, Allah, Rahim and many more. Everyone should be devoted to God and not pay heed to religious differences. He rejected the caste system, idol worship and pilgrimages.

They opposed idol worship and religious rituals. They were against caste and religious differences. Kabir and Baba Guru Nanak guided their disciples through the path of devotion so they could attain access to God.

Kabir Jayanti, also known as Kabir Praakat Diwas, is celebrated to commemorate the manifestation of Kabir, a famous poet and mystic saint in India. It is celebrated once in a year on the full moon day in the Hindu month Jyeshtha, which is the month of May or June according to the Gregorian calendar.

He, like the other prominent saints of his time, argued that it was only through bhakti, intense love or devotion to God could one attain salvation. In many of his verses, Kabir proclaimed that people of all castes have the right to salvation through the bhakti tradition.

Kabir preached the Nirgun form of bhakti.

This school of Hinduism proposes worshipping of idols as God is believed to be existing in those bodily forms.

The major teachings of Kabir were as follows:

Kabir described God as nirankar (having no shape). He used the terms drawn from Islamic tradition like Allah, Khuda, Hajrat and Peer but also used words of Vedic traditions like Alakh ( (the unseen) and nirakar ( the formless). Thus, he freely took to both traditions viz.

Kabir's message is immortal so he is remembered even today. His message of equality, love, communal amity and brotherhood without distinction on the basis of caste, creed and religion remains the beacon light for us.

God was the focal point of Kabir's religion and Kabir addressed him in different names. In his opinion God alone was Ram, Rahim, Govind, Allah, Khuda, Hari etc. But for Kabir, 'Saheb' was his favorite name. He said god was everywhere and His domain is unlimited.

What was the moral influence of Bhakti movement? ›

The most important social impact of the Bhakti movement was that the followers of the Bhakti movement rejected the caste distinction. They began to mix together on the basis of equality. They took their meals together from the common kitchen. The movement tried to loosen the bond of caste.

A large factor that led to the spread of the Bhakti movement was the invasion of India by the Islamic people who propagated the Muslim religion and discouraged Hinduism. The text that was most influential in Bhakti Hindusim was the Bhagavad Gita.

Sant Kabir stressed the idea of one God. He taught that Ishwar Allah Ram and Rahim were different names of one God. He spread the message of Hindu-Muslim unity Universal brotherhood tolerance and banned idol worship caste system and rituals.

Kabir spread his messages through verses and Saakhi. These made a deep impact on people. He believed that there is only one Supreme being and who was omnipresent. He told people that they should love all God's creations as it was similar to loving god himself.

He was a renowned saint, poet and social reformer of India who lived during the 15th century. His esteemed works and poems describe the greatness and oneness of the Supreme Being. Sant Kabir Das was a proponent of Bhakti Movement.

Kabirdas was a disciple of Ramananda, and was raised by a Muslim weaver. He stood for doing away with all the unnecessary customs and rituals in both religions and bringing union between these religions. He became one of the mainstay of Bhakti movement during medieval period in India.

Bhakti movement in Hinduism refers to ideas and engagement that emerged in the medieval era on love and devotion to religious concepts built around one or more gods and goddesses. Bhakti movement preached against the caste system using the local languages so that the message reached the masses.

That his early life began as a Muslim there is no doubt, although he later became influenced by a Hindu ascetic, Ramananda.

These are, shravana, kirtana, smarana, pada-sevana, archana, vandana, dasya, sakhya and atma-nivedana. Shravana is listening to the divine name, the lila's or sports of the Lord, the stories of saints, as these may orient one's mind towards spirituality.

bhakti, (Sanskrit: “devotion”) in Hinduism, a movement emphasizing the mutual intense emotional attachment and love of a devotee toward a personal god and of the god for the devotee.

What are followers of Kabir teachings called? ›

His followers are known as Kabirpanthis which means travellers who go on the path of Kabir.

Sant Kabir Vehemently Criticised Social, Religious Evils Unlike Guru Nanak. Kabir strongly criticised certain religious and social evils (of both Hindus and Muslims), which according to him were not important or even detrimental to the spiritual growth of people.

The Main Differences

Guru Nanak established a new religion called Sikhism, which was quite different from Hinduism and Islam. He explained his teachings in the holy scripture of Guru Granth Sahib. Whereas saint Kabir never found any religion but went on to earn millions of followers using his dohas.

Sant Kabir stressed the idea of one God. He taught that Ishwar, Allah, Ram, and Rahim were different names of one God. He spread the message of Hindu-Muslim unity, Universal brotherhood, tolerance, and banned idol worship, caste system, and rituals.

Kabir preached that a simple union (sahaja-yoga), an emotional integration of the soul with God through personal devotion, could be achieved by all people, whether they were Hindus or Muslims ("I am not a Hindu, nor a Muslim am I"), or whether they were of high or low caste ("Now I have no caste, no creed").

Kabir described the 'Ultimate Reality' by drawing the ranges of traditions such as from Islam, he had drawn the Ultimate Reality as Allah, Khuda, Hazrat and Pir. Several terms from the vedantic traditions, such as Alakh, Nirakar, Brahmana, Atman were also taken.

Born in the city of Varanasi in what is now Uttar Pradesh, he is known for being critical of both organized religion and religions. He questioned what he regarded to be the meaningless and unethical practices of all religions, primarily what he considered to be the wrong practices in the Hindu and Muslim religions.

That his early life began as a Muslim there is little doubt, but he was later strongly influenced by a Hindu ascetic, Ramananda.

The knowledge giver of Quran Sharif says HE is the same GOD, Allahu Akbar 'Kabir, who created the entire universe and all that is between the Earth and Sky in six days and sat on the throne, in His Eternal Place (Satlok) on the seventh day.

Brahma(ब्रह्म), God, paramātmā (परमात्मा), khudā (ख़ुदा), allāha (अल्लाह ) are all synonymous names for Supreme God, the Lord of the universe. The literal meaning of brahma is great or big. ​He is not only bigger than other big things, He is the biggest of all.

Who started the Bhakti movement? ›

Bhakti Movement started from South India, by Alvaras and Nayanars. Alvaras are the devotees of Lord Vishnu and Nayanars are devotees of Lord Shiva. These devotees travelled to various places singing hymns in praise of their Gods.

The evolution of the Bhakti movement awakened the Hindus and Muslims from false superstitions. Both religions appreciated removing differences in their thoughts and practices, resulting in religious intolerance. The movement also dropped the prestige of Brahmins and evolved the Sikhism culture.

It may be said that bhakti movement and the neo Vaishnavism in India arose not only with the influence of Buddhism but at the expense of Buddhism. In a way, it may be said that Hinduism banished Buddhism from India and took from it the jewel of bhakti along with other Buddhist elements and institutions as its own.

Explanation : The Pandharpur Movement is associated with the Bhakti Movement of Maharashtra.

Some of the earliest bhakti movements (c. sixth century) were led by the Alvars (literally, those who are “immersed” in devotion to Vishnu) and Nayanars (literally, leaders who were devotees of Shiva). They travelled from place to place singing hymns in Tamil in praise of their gods.

Sufism was a liberal reform movement within Islam. It had its origin in Persia and spread into India in the 11th century. Most of the Sufis (mystics) were persons of deep devotion who disliked the display of wealth and degeneration of morals following the establishment of the Islamic empire.

He believed in the oneness of God and opposed the idea of worshipping the idols. Kabir emphasized the need to persistently purify the soul to be close to God rather than to indulge in various rituals.

The Nayanars and Alvars were Tamil poet-saints who played an essential role in the propagation of a Bhakti Movement in the South part of India during the 5th – 10th centuries.

Bhakti Movement started from South India, by Alvaras and Nayanars. Alvaras are the devotees of Lord Vishnu and Nayanars are devotees of Lord Shiva. These devotees travelled to various places singing hymns in praise of their Gods.

The Bhakti Movement was first organized by Ramanuja. From the 7th century, the Bhakti Movement was started in South India as the revival of religion.

What was Kabir philosophy? ›

Love for all was Kabir's principal tenet. He emphasized that love was the only medium which could bind the entire human kind in an unbreakable bond of fraternity. Kabir detested the frivolities and rituals in Hinduism and Islam for, these could never bind together mankind.

From Hinduism he accepted the ideas of reincarnation, or transmigration, and the law of karma, but he rejected idolatry, asceticism, and the caste system. From Islam he accepted the idea of one God and the equality of man before God. The ideas of the Muslim mystics, called Sufis, also influenced Kabir greatly.

Kabir is widely believed to have become one of the many disciples of the Bhakti poet-saint Swami Ramananda in Varanasi, known for devotional Vaishnavism with a strong bent to monist Advaita philosophy teaching that God was inside every person, everything.

Kabir laid stress on religious toleration and taught a lesson of brotherhood to Hindus and Muslims. Kabir raised his voice against the custom of sati and child marriage, the two evils which were purely social in character.

Challenge from Rival Religion: the impact of the Muslim rule and Islam put dread in the heart of Hindu masses. The Hindus had suffered a lot under some of the fanatic rulers. They wanted some solace to heal their despairing hearts. Influence of Sufism: The Sufi saints of the Muslim community also inspired the movement.

Answer: The Bhakti movement was a major religious development in the history of Medieval India. Its results deeply influenced the contemporary religious and cultural trends in India. The movement gave a new dimension to ancient beliefs and values and it initiated great changes in the prevailing social condition.

bhakti, (Sanskrit: “devotion”) in Hinduism, a movement emphasizing the mutual intense emotional attachment and love of a devotee toward a personal god and of the god for the devotee.

Ramanuja was the pioneer of the Bhakti movement in India. He was a Vaishnava saint. Ramanuja himself wrote influential texts, such as Bhasya on the Bramha Sutra and the Bhagwat Gita in Sanskrit. He organised a group of cadres called Bairagis.

The movement probably began in the Tamil region around the 6th and 7th century AD and achieved a great deal of popularity through the poems of the Alvars and Nayanars, the Vaishnavite and Shaivite poets.

The Bhakti Movement gained momentum from the 12th centuries in the central western regions of India, then moved northward coming to an end roughly in the 17th century.

Who practices Bhakti yoga? ›

In Hinduism, Bhakti yoga is the spiritual practice that's centered on loving devotion. It's one of the three spiritual paths that lead to Moksha (aka salvation) in Hinduism. All you need to practice Bhakti is an open, loving heart.

Bhakti Movement Activists

The founder of the Bhakti movement, Ramananda, is thought to have flourished during the first part of the fifteenth century. From the 16th century, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had been an austere Hindu monastic and a social activist.