Information about "The Idea Of Bhakti"
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The mystic Saints of medieval India were the exponents of the Bhakti movement. They were not affiliated to any particular sect. They had no blind faith in any sacred scriptures, no device to set up separate sects, no loyalty to any particular creed. They attained greatness without following any ritual or ceremonies and through individual exertion. The exponents of Bhakti movement condemned idolatry and believed in monotheism. They thought that Bhakti or Single minded, uninterrupted and extreme devotion to God was the only means of Salvation.
Their view was that God was the source of all joys and external bliss. God lives in the hearts of men. Approach to God through personal love and devotion required the purification of body and mind from all sins which could not be done without the help of a Guru. Contrary to the general belief that Bhakti movement is the outcome of the emergence of Islam in India, it was an attempt by the Hindu saints and philosophers to modify and save Hinduism in the changed circumstances, and a serious threat mainly posed by all evil practices of Hinduism, particularly those relating to the rigidity of caste and image worship.
Shankaracharya was the first saint to start the movement through establishment of a logical monistic system and emphasized on attainment of salvation through knowledge.But the common people could not properly follow the system of Sankaryacharya due to its strong philosophical base.
However, the saints of medieval India, succeeded in attracting people towards the movement. The movement drew popular mind because people got solace in devotion to God. The movement also became popular due to its philosophy against caste system. At that time a large number of Hindus were embracing Islam in order to get rid of the tyranny of the caste system.
along with Hinduism, nirguni bhakti is found in Sikhism
bhakti arose in s.infia and soon spread to n, india
each of the major divinity have distinct devotional traditions