how are the features of the bhakti and sufi movements different from the present religious orthodoxies
Answers
In contemporary times, religion and religious identity is being used as cover for political agenda. Be it terrorist violence or sectarian nationalism in various parts of the world, religion is used to mask underlying politics.
Where once there was talk of separation of religion and politics many decades earlier, our current age is swinging in the opposite direction, more so in South Asia.
This is unfortunate, because keeping the problematic relation between state, politics and religion aside, there are some traditions within the major religions that have broad universal appeal that could help us progress as a whole.
The Sufi and Bhakti tradition in Pakistan and India are two such trends from within Islam and Hinduism respectively, that are focused more on the unity of humanity as a whole, overcoming sectarian divides.