Bhakti Sufi Traditions Changes in religious Beliefs and Devotional Texts

 

6 Bhakti sufi traditions

Changes in religious beliefs and devotional texts

(8 to 18 century)

Main sources

1. 1  Archaeological sources

2. 2  Textual Traditions

3. 3  new Textual sources

4. 4  Hagiographies

(Stupas,monasteries and temples) (Puranas and traditional literary works) (Composition of poet saints) (Biographies of saints)

A mosaic of Religious beliefs and practices (8 to 18 centuries)

Two processes of integration of cults

1. 1  Spread of Brahmanic ideas through puranic texts in simple language to other social categories

2. 2  Brahmanas accepted the beliefs of other social categories

   eg:

   1. a)  Image of local deity in Puri orissa recognised as Jagannatha or Vishnu

   2. b)  Many local deities equated with Laxmi(wife of Vishnu) or Parvati(wife of shiva)

‘Great traditions’ and ‘little traditions’

(Coined by American Sociologist Robert Redfield)

1. 1  Great tradition-rituals and customs of dominant categories observed by peasants

2. 2  Little tradition-rituals and customs of local people observed by peasants

Differences and conflict between Vedic and tantric ideology

Vedic tradition

1 Deitys are Agni, Indra ,Soma
2 Practices of Mantras and Sacrifices

Tantric tradition

1 Worshiped Godesses
2 Ignored caste differences
3 Ignored authority of vedas
4 Tried to project Vishnu or Shiva as supreme God

Bhakti movement

1. 1  Bhakti means devotion to God

2. 2  Became popular movement between 6th to 12th century

3. 3  Regular worship in temples

4. 4  Ecstatic worship

5 Singing and chanting of devotional songs

6. 6  Poet saints

7. 7  Women and lower castes Participated

Two catagories of Bhakti

1 Saguna bhakti -Worship of specific dieties like Vishnu Shiva 2 Nirguna bhakti -Worship of formless God

Tamil Bhakti Movement features

1. 1  Originated in 6th cent. CE

2. 2  Led by Alwars and Nayanars

3 There were 12 Alwars and 63 Nayanars

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4. 4  Alwars-worshipers of Vishnu

5. 5  Nayanars-worshipers of shiva

6. 6  They built large temples

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7. 7  Did not support caste system

8. 8  Tondaradippodi An Alwar brahman wrote against caste system

9. 9  Chola rulers supported both brahmanical and bhakti traditions by making land grants and constructing temples for Vishnu and shiva

Tamil Bhakti literature

1 Alwars Nalayira divya Prabandham by Nathamuni 2 Nayanars Thevaram Songs by Appar and Sundarars

Women in Tamil Bhakti movement

1 Andal - A women devotee of Vishnu (Alwar) 2 Karaikkal Ammanar - A devotee of Shiva (Nayanar)

Chola rulers (9-13CE)and Bhakti movement

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Chola rulers supported bhakti movement They granted lands for shiva Vishnu temples

(Shiva temples in Chidambaram,Thanjavur,Gangai konda cholapuram)

They sought support from Vellala peasants who supported Alwars and Nayanars

Chola king Paranthaka I consecrated metal image of Appar, Sambandar and Sundarar

Bhakti Movement in Karnataka (12 century CE) -The Virashaiva tradition

1. 1  Bhakti movement in Karnataka known as virashaiva movement

2. 2  Vira Shaivas also known as Lingayats (wearers of Linga)

3. 3  They worshiped shiva in linga form

4. 4  They wore a small linga in a silver case on a loop strung over their left shoulder

5. 5  They also adored Jagama or wandering monks

6. 6  Lingayath philosophy was influenced by Sankara and Ramanuja

7 Against caste system and pollution

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Encouraged Post Puberty marriage and widow remarriage

Lingayats movement led by Basavanna(1106-68)

Basavanna was initialy a Jaina and minister of Chalukya king Bijjala Kalachuri

New religious developments

1. 1  Composition of Bhagavata Purana in Sanscrit influenced by Tamil Bhakti movement

2. 2  Bhakti movement developed in Maharashtra in 13th Century

Religious ferment in North India

• Brahmanas occupied significant position in north India

• Naths, Jogis ,Sidhas questioned the authority of Vedas

• Turks established Delhi Sultanate in 13 th century and Brahmana power declined

Islamic tradition in North India(New strands in the fabric)

Islam as new strand in the fabric of India

1 In 711 Arab General Muhammed Quasim conquered Sind

2 In 1206 Delhi sultanate was established by Turks and Afghans

3 This followed by formation of sultanates in other parts

4. 4  Muslim rulers were to be guided by Ulama (Scholars of Islamic studies)

5. 5  Administration was carried on according to the sharia (Islamic law based on Quaran and Hadith)

6. 6  New class known as Zimmi developed in India (Zimmi-non muslims lived in muslim rulership)

7. 7  Zimmis or non muslims paid a tax called Jizya

8. 8  Muslim rulers respected and supported zimmis

Five pillars of Islam

1. 1  Shahada

2. 2  Namaz

3. 3  Zakat

4. 4  Sawm

5. 5  Hajj

There is one God Allah, and prophet Muhammed is his messenger

Local customary practices combined in Islamic faith in India- Examples

1 Khojas a Shia sect propagated Quaranic ideas through ginan
(Ginan- devotional poems - in Punjabi Multhani Sndhi Karachi Hindi and

Gujarati )

2 Arab Muslims settled in Kerala adopted Malayalam language and local custums like matriliny

3 Architecture of mosques influenced by local tradition Examples

a) in Bangladesh was built in brick
b) mosque in Srinagar built in Kashmiri wood

Universal architectural features of mosque

1. 1  Orientation towards Mecca

2. 2  Mihrab

3. 3  Minbar

Names for Muslim communities

➔ The term Hindu and Muslim didn't prevail for long time .

1. 1  Turuska

2. 2  Tajika

3. 3  Parashika

4. 4  Mlechchha

-Turkish -Tajikistanis -Persians

-All migrant communities

Atiya mosque

Shah Ramadan

Sufism

➔ Sufism is an English word coined in the nineteenth century. ➔ The word used for Sufism in Islamic texts is Tasawwuf.

Origin of the word Sufism

1. Suf, meaning wool, referring to the woollen clothes worn by sufis.

2. Safa, meaning purity.

3. Suffa, the platform outside the Prophet’s mosque,

Sufis

1. Sufis are a group of Muslim religious- minded people turned to asceticism and mysticism

2. They grew as a protest against the growing materialism of the

Caliphate as a religious and political institution.

3. They laid emphasis on seeking salvation

4. They expressed intense devotion and love for God

5. They regarded Prophet Muhammad as a perfect human being.

6. The Sufis thus sought an interpretation of the Qur’an on the basis of their personal experience.

The Khanqahs

• ➔  Khanqahs : Institution or hospice of sufis for quranic study and sufi practice

• ➔  Sheikh (Arabic)Pir or Murshid (Persian) :Sufi teaching master

➔ Murids :disciples

➔ khalifa

➔ Dargah

:Successor

: When the shaikh died, his tomb-shrine became dargah (centre of devotion for his followers)

: pilgrimage to sheikhs grave, on his death anniversary (urs)

:friend of God was a sufi who claimed proximity to Allah, acquiring his Grace (barakat) to perform miracles (karamat).

➔ Ziyarat

➔ Wali (plural auliya)

Be-Sharia

Ba-Sharia

• Sufis who ignored Sharia

• Thy left the khanqah and took to mendicancy and observed celibacy and extreme forms of asceticism were called Be-Sharia

• They were known by different names – Qalandars, Madaris, Malangs

• Sufis, who adhere with the Sharia(Islamic law)

• The Sufis who lived in Khanqas by following normal Sharia practices were called Ba-Sharia Sufis

Silsilas(sufi orders)

• The word silsila means Spiritual chain

• It is sufi order

• Signifying a continuous link between master and disciple,

• Stretching as unbroken spiritual genealogy from Allah> the Prophet

  Muhammad > Sufis > devotees.

• The Qadiri order (sufi silsila) was named after Shaikh Abd’ul Qadir Jilani its founder

• The Chishti order, were named after their place of origin, in this case the town of Chisht in centralAfghanistan.

The Chishtis’s Tradition in the Subcontinent

• ✔  There were 12 silsilas in India

• ✔  The Chisht is,one of the groups of Sufis who migrated to India in the late twelfth century

• ✔  Khwaja Muinuddin chisti was founder of Chisti silsila in India

  Life in the Chishti khanqah

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The khanqahwas the centre of social life.

Itcomprisedseveralsmallroomsandabighall,wheretheinmatesand visitors lived and prayed.

The inmates included family members of the Shaikh, his attendants and disciples.

• ✔  The Shaikh lived in a small room on the roof of the hall where he met visitors in the morning and evening.

• ✔  There was an open kitchen(langar), run on charity.

• ✔  From morning till late night people from all walks of life – soldiers, slaves,singers, merchants, poets, travelers, rich and poor, Hindu jogis and came seeking discipleship, amulets for healing.

• ✔  Practices :bowing before the Shaikh, offering water to visitors, shaving the heads of initiates, and yogic exercises.

• ✔  Shaikh Nizamuddin appointed several spiritual successors and deputed them to set up hospices in various parts of the subcontinent.

  Chishti devotionalism

  ✔ Pilgrimage,called Ziyarat,to tombs of sufi saints

• ✔  Music and dance including mystical chants performed by specially trained musicians or qawwals to evoke divine ecstasy.

• ✔  The sufis remember God either by
  a) reciting the Divine Names
  b) evoking His Presence through sama‘(“audition”) c)performance of mystical music called Qawwali.

  Amir Khusrau

• ✔  Amir Khusrau the great poet, musician and disciple of Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya

• ✔  He gave a unique form to the Chishti sama by introducing the qaul, a hymn sung at the opening or closing of qawwali

• ✔  Today qawwali is performed in shrines all over the subcontinent.

Dargah of Khwaja Muinuddin chisti

• ✔  The most popular dargah is that of Khwaja Muinuddin, popularly known as “Gharib Nawaz” (comforter of the poor).

• ✔  Located at Ajmer a trade route connecting Delhi and Gujarat

• ✔  Earliestconstructiontohousethetombwasfundedinthelatefifteenth century by Sultan Ghiyasuddin Khalji of Malwa.

• ✔  Muhammad bin Tughlaq was the first Sultan to visit the dargah.

• ✔  Akbar, the Mughal emperor visited dargah at Ajmer fourteen times

• ✔  Akbar gave generous gifts on each visit

• ✔  Akbar constructed a mosque within the dargah

Languages and communication in Chishti Tradition:

• ✔  In Delhi, those associated with the Chishti silsila conversed in Hindavi, the language of the people.

• ✔  Other sufis such as Baba Farid composed verses in the local language

• ✔  Some composed masnavis (long poems of divine love )using human love as an allegory (Symbol).

  Eg: the prem-akhyan(love story) Padmavat composed by Malik Muhammad Jayasi revolved around the romance of Padmini and Ratansen, the king of Chittor.

  eg: the prem-akhyan(love story) Padmavat composed by Malik Muhammad Jayasi

• ✔  A different genre of sufi poetry was composed in Urdu in and around the town of Bijapur, Karnataka.(by Chishti sufis)

✔ Other compositions were in the form of lurinama or lullabies and shadinama or wedding songs.

Sufis and their relations with the state(Rulers)

• ✔  The sufis accepted grants and donations from the political elites.

• ✔  The Chishtis accepted donations for meeting expenses

• ✔  Delhi sultans or Kings sought legitimation from sufis.

• ✔  kings often wanted their tombs to be in the vicinity of Sufi shrines and hospices.

• ✔  Occasionally the Sufi shaikh was addressed with high-sounding titles likes .(sultan among sheiks -Nizamuddin Auliya )

sultan-ul-

ma shaikh

Life and teachings of Kabir(14 -15 centuries)

• ✔  Poet saint of north India

• ✔  According to vaishnava tradition Kabir was born in a Hindu family (Kabirdas)but was raised by a poor Muslim family of weavers or julahas

• ✔  He was initiated into bhakti by a guru Ramananda.

• ✔  Verses ascribed to Kabir have been compiled in three distinct traditions.

  a) The KabirBijak is preserved by the Kabir panth in Varanasi and in UttarPradesh

  b)The KabirGranthavali is associated with the Dadupanth in Rajasthan,

  c) His composistions found in the AdiGranth Sahib.

✔ Kabir’s poems have survived in several languages and dialects.

✔ Some are composed in the special language of nirguna poets, the santbhasha.

• ✔  Others,known as ulatbansi(upside-down sayings), are written in a form in which everyday meanings are inverted.

• ✔  Kabeer used three important traditions to describe God

  a-islamic tradition-Allah ,Khuda,Hazrath pir

  b-Vedantha tradition-Alak,nirakar,brahma,athma

  c-Yoga tradition -Shabda ,shunya-

✔ Diverse and sometimes conflicting ideas are expressed in these poems.

✔ SomepoemsdrawonIslamicideasandusemonotheismandiconoclasmto attack Hindu polytheism and idol worship;

• ✔  others use the Sufi concept of love( ziker, ishq) to express the Hindu practice Namsimaran(remembrance of God’s name).

• ✔  Stood for Hindu Muslim unity

• ✔  Condemned the caste system and rituals and practices The Ten Sikh Gurus

  •1. Guru Nanak Guru from 1469 to 1539
  •2. Guru Angad Guru from 1539 to 1552
  •3. Guru Amar Das - Guru from 1552 to 1574
  •4. Guru Ram Das - Guru from 1574 to 1581
  •5. Guru Arjan - Guru from 1581 to 1606
  •6.Guru Har Gobind - - Guru from 1606 to 1644
  •7. Guru Har Rai - Guru from 1644 to 1661
  •8. Guru Har Krishan - Guru from 1661 to 1664
  •9. Guru Tegh Bahadur - Guru from 1665 to 1675 •10. Guru Gobind Singh Guru from 1675 to 1708 •11. Guru Granth Sahib- Guru from 1708 to eternity

Life and Teachings of Guru Nanak(1469-1539)

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Baba Guru Nanak was the founder of Sikhism and the first of the ten Sikh Gurus.

Baba Guru Nanak was born in a Hindu merchant family in a village called Nankana Sahib near the river Ravi Punjab (now in Pakistan).

He trained to be an accountant and studied Persian.

Hespentmostofhistimeamongsufisandbhaktas.

He traveled Mecca Medina Srilanaka

Headvocatedaformofnirgunabhakti.

He rejected sacrifices, ritual baths,image worship, austerities and the scriptures of both Hindus and Muslims.

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For Baba Guru Nanak,the Absolute or “rab” had no gender or form.

He proposed a simple way to connect to the Divine by remembering and repeating the Divine Name,through hymns called “shabad”in Punjabi.

BabaGuruNanakwouldsingthesecompositionsinvariousragaswhile his attendant Mardana played the rabab.

BabaGuruNanakorganisedhisfollowersintoacommunity.

He set up rules for congregationalworship (sangat) involving collective recitation.

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He appointed one of his disciples, Angad, to succeed him as the preceptor (guru), and this practice was followed for nearly 200 years.

• ✔  After his death his followers consolidated their own practices and distinguished themselves from both Hindus and Muslims.

• ✔  The fifth preceptor, Guru Arjan,compiled Baba Guru Nanak’s hymns along with those of his four successors and other religiou s poets like Baba Farid, Ravidas and Kabir in the AdiGranth Sahib.

• ✔  These hymns, called “gurbani”, are composed in various languages.

• ✔  In the late seventeenth century the tenth preceptor, Guru Gobind Singh, included the compositions of the ninth guru, Guru TeghBahadur,and this scripture was called the Guru Granth Sahib.

• ✔  Guru govind sing also laid the foundation of the KhalsaPanth (army of the pure) and defined its fives symbols:

  1 uncut hair,
  2 a dagger,
  3 a pair of shorts, 4 a comb and
  5 a steel bangle.

• ✔  Under Guru Gobind Singh the community got consolidated as a socio- religious and military force..

  Life and Teachings of Mirabai(15-16 centuries)

• ✔  Mirabai was best-known woman poet within the bhakti tradition.

• ✔  Known as devotee princes

• ✔  She was devotee of Krishna avatar of Vishnu

• ✔  According to the traditions, she was a Rajput princess from Marwar

• ✔  She was married against her wishes to a prince of Mewar, in Rajasthan.

✔ She defied her husband and did not submit to the traditional role of wife

and mother, instead recognizing Krishna, the avatar of Vishnu, as her lover.

• ✔  Her in-laws tried to poison her, but she escaped from the palace to live as a wandering singer composing songs

• ✔  According to some traditions, her preceptor(student) was Raidas, a leather worker.

• ✔  After rejecting the comforts of her husband’s palace, she is supposed to have donned the white robes of a widow or the saffron robe of the renouncer.

• ✔  Although Mirabai did not attract a sect or group of followers, she has been recognised as a source of inspiration for centuries.

• ✔  Her songs continue to be sung by women and men, especially those who are poor and considered “low caste” in Gujarat and Rajasthan.

Shankaradeva

✔ Leading proponents of Vaishnavism in Assam.

✔ Histeachings,oftenknownastheBhagavatidharmabecausetheywere based on the Bhagavad Gita and the Bhagavata Purana

Sources used to reconstruct the history of sufi traditions

1. Treatises or manuals dealing with sufi thought and practices

2. Malfuzat or conversations of sufi saints They were compiled over several centuries.

3. Maktubat or written collections of letters.

4. Tazkiras or biographical accounts of saints