“North India saw the first wave of Bhakti movement from the 13th century onwards”.
Explain the statement.
Answers
Answer:
The spread of Bhakti Movement in North India was spontaneous and was centered around Rama and Krishna (incarnation of Vishnu).
However, all the forms of Bhakti Movement peacefully coexisted and were immensely popular with the masses.
The 14th - 17th century A.D saw the wave of Bhakti Movement sweeping through North India and the teachers of this movement were referred to as sants Chaitanya, Vallabhacharya, Meerabai, Kabir, Tulsidas, Tukaram etc. they wrote in vernacular prose and poetry in the ethnic language of the state using simple language to express eheir devotional estasy.
In the 13thcentury Basava founded the Virashaiva school and rejected casteism, condemned ritualism and insisted on the bhakti of one God.
Seminal works in the regional languages on the theme of Bhakti are seen in Shyama Sangeet in Bengal which were composed by Ram prasad Sen and are still an integral part of Bengali culture. Dedicated to Goddess Kali they use allegory as a medium of expression, Ram Prasad had dialogues with the Mother Goddess through his poetry, at times scolding her and at times adoring her.
Another Bengali leader in Bhakti movement was Mahaprabhu Chaitanya who defined his system of philosophy as "achintya bheda bhed" (inconceivable and simultaneous oneness and differnce). His philosophy is taught at the Hare Krishna movement worldwide.