Bhakti in medieval India was a socio-religious movement that arose from the common people and spread rapidly. It was a beautiful phase in our history when there were no rigid sectarian barriers. There was the beautiful fusion of the Hindu way of life, Spirituality, art, and culture.
This medieval Bhakti movement was the direct result of the influence of the spread of Islam in India. Monotheism or belief in one God, equality and brotherhood of man and rejection of rituals and class divisions are the distinctive characteristics of Islam preaching of Sufi teachers shaped the thinking of Bhakti reformers like Ramananda, Kabir and Nanak.
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.
The most famous of the Sufi saints of India was Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti, who settled in Ajmer which became the centre of his activities.
He had a number of disciples who are called Sufis of the Chishti order. Another well known Sufi saint was Bahauddin Zakariya who came under the influence of another famous mystic Shihabuddin Suhrawardi.
His branch of Sufi saints was known as the Sufis of the Suhrawardi Order. Yet another famous Sufi saint was Nizamuddin Auliya who belonged to the Chishti order. Sufism stressed the elements of love and devotion as effective means of the realisation of God
In Sufism, self discipline was considered an essential condition to gain knowledge of God by sense of perception. While orthodox Muslims emphasise external conduct, the Sufis lay stress on inner purity.
While the orthodox believe in blind observance of rituals, the Sufis consider love and devotion as the only means of attaining salvation. According to them one must have the guidance of a pir or guru, without which spiritual development is impossible. Sufism also inculcated a spirit of tolerance among its followers.
Other ideas (Sufi) O are meditation, good actions, repentance for sins, performance of prayers and pilgrimages, fasting, charity and suppression of passions by ascetic practices. These liberal and unorthodox features of Sufism had a profound influence on medieval Bhakti saints. In the later period, Akbar, the Mughal emperor, appreciated Sufi doctrines which shaped his religious outlook and religious policies.
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