Throw light on the reasons for the rise of Bhakti movement.

Reasons for the rise of Bhakti Movement ?

Causes of Bhakti Movement

In short, the reasons for the wide spread of Bhakti movement in medieval India were as follows:

(1) Desire for simple religion—

It was difficult for the common man to adopt the ritualistic or the path of knowledge. They wanted a religion that did not have priesthood. It was only after the rise of Bhagwat Dharma that the rituals of Yagnik were decreasing. The Bhakti movement was against such orthodox views. There was also a reaction due to the complexity of Brahmanism in the society. The Brahmins had made various social and religious rules to maintain the supreme position in which the common people were not ready to accept. Alberuni writes that, “The society was dominated by Brahmins. Study of Vedas, religious worship, worship, Yagya, among others were prohibited. When Shudras and Vaishyas studied and worshiped the Vedas, Contemporary rulers, under the influence of Brahmins, had his tongue cut off if he attempted to perform a yajna. The supremacy of Brahmins in the society was not accepted by other classes. Buddhism and Jainism had also made similar efforts in ancient times, but the Brahmin class maintained its dominance by establishing control over the nature of religion and its related rituals and closed the doors of salvation for the lower castes. This religious disparity was the cause of Bhakti movement.

(2) The aspiration for social equality—

Another reason for the Bhakti movement was social inequality. The caste system had become complex in the medieval period. Many foreign classes were included in the Hindu society, due to which the caste system in the Hindu society was complicated. The children born out of pratiloma marriage had no place in the caste system. The feeling of untouchability was increasing. Buddhism and Jainism had also established the principle of social equality, but with the restoration of Brahmin religion, the caste system was also re-established in a complex form. Hence the Bhakti movement was a rebellion against this type of social inequality. All were equal in the field of devotion. Thus, the path of equality was available to the Dalits and the Untouchables. Remembering God was considered the main feature of religion. Alberuni has written the words of Lord Vasudeva in such a way that, “God judges fairly. If anyone does good deeds forgetting God, then he is evil in his eyes. If anyone remembers God even after doing bad deeds, then he is good in his eyes.

(3) Atrocities of Muslims—

The Bhakti movement developed in two phases. The first phase was in South India which was before the advent of Islam. The spread of Bhagwat religion in North India was happening before the arrival of Muslims, but the situation changed with the arrival of Islam in North India in the thirteenth century. The narrow religious outlook of the Muslim rulers created an existential crisis for the Hindu society. The Muslim rulers did not consider Hindus as their subjects. He collected Jizya from them, made them Muslim forcibly, killed them if they did not become so. Hindus could not get justice. The Hindu cultural massacre was carried out by destroying temples and idols. Therefore, in such a situation, the Hindus found peace in the devotion of God, who incarnates from time to time for the destruction of the wicked and the oppressors. This also gave rise to the spirit of escapism.

(4) Propagation of Islam—

The aim of the Muslim rulers was to spread Islam. The Ulema class used to demand this. Various means were being used to convert Hindus to Muslims. The policy of the Muslim rulers was that the Depressed Classes could easily be tempted. Therefore, one of the reasons for the Bhakti movement was to strengthen and protect the organization of Hindu society. Therefore, to prevent the spread of Islam, it became necessary to make Hindu society democratic. For this it was necessary to give equality to the lower castes and open the door to salvation to them. Dr. A. Ale. Srivastava writes that, “These Mullah-Maulvi used to emphasize on the authority of Ekeshwar and used to criticize Hindu religion and philosophy and by adopting all kinds of means, they used to try to convert Hindus to Muslims. Therefore the Hindus tried to protect themselves by removing the defects of their religion, especially the caste-system and the evils related to idol-worship.

(5) Influence of Islam—

Bhakti movement was going on before the arrival of Islam in India. The principles of monotheism and human equality were known to the Hindus and they were also established by the Alvar saints in South India, but Islam had a different effect. On the one hand, a sense of security was created in the Hindu religion and society, and on the other hand, cooperation and contact with the Muslims developed. With the permanent settlement of Muslims in India, it was natural for such social relations to be established. Close relations were also established between Sufi saints and Hindu devotees. These relations gave the Hindus an opportunity to understand Islam. Its effect was that Hindu society became free from ostentation and many evils.