Hinduism: Details about 'Bhakti Movement'
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Home
|
Bhakti movements are Hindu religious movements in which the main spiritual practice is the fostering of loving devotion to God, called bhakti. They are monotheistic movements generally devoted to worship of Shiva or Vishnu or Shakti.
OriginsThe Bhakti Movement was essentially founded in South India and later spread to the North during the late medieval period. The notion of 'Bhakti' (loosely translated as devotional love to God) is of hoary antiquity. A nascent consciousness of what 'Bhakti' constitutes is already to be found in the earliest Vedas, especially in relation to deities such as Varuna. A clearer expression of Bhakti began to be formed during the so-called Epic Period and the Puranic periods of Hindu history. Texts such as the Bhagavad Gita and the Bhagavata Purana clearly explore Bhakti Yoga or the Path of Devotion as a means to salvation. The Bhakti Movement itself is a historical-spiritual phenomenon that crystallized in South India during Late Antiquity. It was spearheaded by devotional mystics (later canonised as Hindu saints) who extolled devotion and love to God as the chief means of salvation (moksha). The Bhakti movement in South India was spearheaded by the sixty-three Nayanars (Shaivite devotees) and the twelve Alvars (Vaishnavaite devotees). Among the earliest Shaivite mystics was Karaikkal Amaiyar, who probably lived around the late 5th century AD or perhaps the early 6th century. She was said to be a contemporaray of the Vaishnavaite saints Bhuttalwar and Peialwar. Kannapa nayanar was also an early Shaiva Bhakti saint. But most famous among the Shaiva Bhakti saints were the 'Nalvar' (The Four Eminent Ones), namely Sundarar, Appar, Sambandar and Manikkavasagar. Their devotional hymns are ecstatic, lyrical and moving. They are undoubtedly the gems of medieval Tamil literature. The Vaishnavaite Bhakti movement was contemporaneous with the Shaiva Bhakti movement. The hymns of the twelve alvars are held together as the 'Nalayira Divya Prabandham' and recited (as like the Shaiva texts) in temple rituals. Whilst all the saints are held in great reverence, Andal or Goda-devi in particular holds a special place among the Vaishnava Saints. Not only is she the only female Vaishnava saint but also her hymns are one of the best expressions of bridal mysticism in the Hindu religion. The twelve Alvars and the sixty-three Nayanars nurtured the incipient bhakti movement in South India under the Pallavas and Pandyas in the 5-7th centuries AD. They constitute rayana_Guru" title="Narayana Guru">Sree Narayana Guru | Aurobindo | Ramana Maharshi | Sivananda | Chinmayananda | Sivaya Subramuniyaswami | Swaminarayan | A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada | Lokenath | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Denominations: | Vaishnavism | Shaivism | Shaktism | Smartism | Agama Hindu Dharma | Contemporary Hindu movements | Survey of Hindu organisations | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Hindu deities: | List of Hindu deities | Hindu mythology | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Yugas: | Satya Yuga | Treta Yuga | Dvapara Yuga | Kali Yuga | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Castes: | Brahmin | Kshatriya | Vaishya | Shudra | |||||||||||||||||||||
|
Visitors who viewed this also viewed: |
|
Hinduism: Assamese Language |