Chapter 8 - Devotional Paths to the Divine

• Intense dedication or love of God is the inheritance of different sorts of Bhakti and Sufi developments that have advanced since the eighth century.

The Idea of a Supreme God:

1. Before extensive kingdoms rose, diverse gatherings of individuals revered their own particular Gods and Goddesses. As individuals were united through the development of towns, exchange and domains, new thoughts started to create.
2. The possibility that every single person are not equivalent during childbirth made strides amid this period.
3. The possibility of a Supreme God who could convey people from servitude through dedication or bhakti developed.
4. Gods and goddesses revered in various territories came to be related to Shiva, Vishnu or Durga.

A NEW SORT OF BHAKTI IN SOUTH INDIA-NAYANARS AND ALVARS

1. The seventh to ninth hundreds of years saw the development of new religious development, drove by Nayanars (holy person gave to Shiva) and Alvars (holy people committed to Vishnu).
2. They were pointedly incredulous of the Buddhists and Jainas and lectured fervent love of Shiva or Vishnu as the way to salvation.
3. The Nayanars and Alvars went from place to put making dazzling sonnets out of acclaim of the gods cherished in the town they went to, and set them to music.
4. The Chola and Pandya lords manufactured expound sanctuaries around a significant number of the places of worship.

REASONING AND BHAKTI:

1. Shankara, a rationalist, of Kerala supported Advaita or the precept of the unity of the individual soul of the Supreme God which is a definitive reality.
2. Ramanuja of Tamil Nadu supported that the best methods for achieving salavation was through exceptional dedication to Vishnu.

BASAVANNA'S VIRASHAIVISM:

1. Virashaivism development was started by Basavanna and his associates Allama Prabhu and Akkamahadevi in Karnataka in mid-12century.
2. They contended unequivocally for equity of every single person, restricted Brahmanical thoughts on station and treatment of ladies.

THE SAINTS OF MAHARASHTRA:

1. Jnaneshwar, Namdev, Eknath, Tukaram, Sakkubal and the group of Chokhamela concentrated on the bhakti of Vitthala (a type of Vishnu).
2. Some of these had a place with bring down positions. They dismissed all types of formality, outward show of devotion and social contrasts in view of birth.

NATHPANTHIS, SIDDHAS AND YODIS:

1. Various religious gatherings that rose amid this period censured the custom and different parts of traditional religion and the social request, utilizing basic, consistent contentions.
2. Among them were the Nathpanthis, Siddhcharas and Yogis.

ISLAM AND SUFISM:

1. Islam engendered monotheism or accommodation to one God.
2. It additionally dismissed icon venerate. Muslim researchers built up a blessed law called Shariat.
3. The Sufis dismissed the intricate codes of conduct requested by Muslim religious researchers.
4. The looked for union with God, as a sweetheart looks for his dearest with a negligence for the world.
5. Among the immense Sufis of Central Asia were Ghazzali, Rumi and Sadi.
6. The Chisti silsila was among the most powerful requests. A long line of educators included Khwaja Murinuddin Chisti of Ajmer, Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki of Delhi, Baba Farid of Punjab, Khwaja Nizamuddin Auliya of Delhi and Bandanawaz Gisudaraz of Gulbarga.

NEW RELIGIOUS DEVELOPMENTS IN NORTH INDIA:

1. The period after the thirteenth century saw another flood of bhakti development in North India.
2. This wave was driven by researchers like Tulsida, Surdas, Kabir and Baba Guru Nanak.
3. This custom additionally included holy people like Dadu Dayal, Ravida and Mirabai. Mirabai was dedicated to Lord Krishna.
4. A one of a kind element of a large portion of these holy people is that their works were formed in provincial dialects and could be sung.
5. Kabir: Kabir criticized icon adores and trusted in one amorphous Supreme God with dedication as the way of salvation.

BABA GURU NANAK:

1. Guru Nanak underscored on the significance of one God and nam-japna, kirti-karna and vand-chhakna.
2. The quantity of Baba Guru Nanak's devotees expanded through the sixteenth century under his successors.