The Bhakti movement is a socio-religious reform that began with the idea of removing caste distinction, superstitious beliefs of Indian society. Although the Bhakti cult was a widespread movement, It took decades to bring successful changes among the para-diagrams of various groups and sub-groups. Initially, the movement was misunderstood with the only idea of devotion to God. Later on, several reforms and initiatives of exponent leaders cleared the sand from everyone’s eyes. It was the general public’s movement that developed great interest among them. The saints constantly took significant steps to positively affectthe Bhakti movementduring the Hinduism and Islamic wars.
Effects of the Bhakti Movement in the Medieval Period
As said, the Bhakti movement took the interest of the general public, and a large number of groups and sub-groups emerged to improve the structure of Indian society. Below are the effects of the movement on different sections of society.
- Religious Impact
The evolution of the Bhakti movement awakened the Hindus and Muslims from false superstitions. Both religions appreciated removing differences in their thoughts and practices, resulting in religious intolerance. The movement also dropped the prestige of Brahmins and evolved the Sikhism culture.
Moreover, the holiest book Guru Granth Sahib also added the message of bhakti saints for the various societal sections to the account of spirit toleration approached by the exponents.
- Social Impact
The most significant impact of the Bhakti movement led to society by removing the cast system from its roots. The bhakti saints joined together to bring social equality to society. Also, they shared standard kitchens, and meals resulting in an upgraded social system—the enrichment of Indian literature and the promotion of mixed art influenced the movement.
Moreover, the female section also received great importance during the revolution. The movement led to an overall enhancement of lower caste status and improved relations between Hindus and Muslims. In this way, the revolution brought positivechanges in ideologyin the early centuries.
- Political Impact
Another section impacted by the Bhakti movement was the political sector, as many rulers accepted liberal religious policies under the socio-religious Bhakti movement.
- Moral Impact
The movement encourages many people to earn their wealth through sincere dedication, hard work, and honesty. It also motivated the male and female sections to step ahead toward social service and develop empathy for each other. Moreover, the movement also taught one to be patient and regulate self-control instead of being angry and jealous.
- Fostering Regional Languages
The advancement of regional languages has been another effect of the Bhakti movement for decades. Although, the critical exponents of the Bhakti saints used local languages instead of Persian, Arabic, and Sanskrit while practising. It gave rise to the plugging of common languages which everyone can easily understand. An example of this is the mystic poet Kabir used a mixture of several languages in his collection; on the other hand, Surdas used Brij language, and Goswami used Awadhi.
The negative impact of the Bhakti movement
Every coin has two sides; the Bhakti movement also had, i.e., one with positive impact and another negative impact. The waves of the movement decreased the prestige of Hindu society in India. Below are the negative impact of the movement-
- It gave rise to several other beliefs, such as Tantra
- The evolution of Tantras seemed like a sprout of Bhakti
- The followers of Kabir called Kabir Panthers instead of non-classification
- The movement split up the Hindu society
- The Muslims and Turko-Afghan denied the acceptance of Radha-Krishna or Sita-Rama Bhakti cults
- The emergence of Tantras and black magic encouraged people to attain desires through mystical powers
- The Bhakti movement witnessed its two-fold forms, i.e., developing reforms in Hinduism and another is to bring harmony among the Hindus and Muslims
Features of the Bhakti Movement
The bhakti movement broughtprinciples and thought changeamong the Indian societal sections by imposing the following features-
- Self-surrender of oneself in the devotion of God
- The objection to worshipping idols by Bhakti saints
- Unity in God means there is only one God with different physical forms and names
- Need for Guru to walk on the path of love, devotion, and honesty
- Bhakti, love, and devotion are the only way to attain salvation
- No partiality among different castes and creeds
Significant Causes of the Bhakti Movement
The Bhakti movement was also affected by various causes. These are-
- Spread of Islam
- Influence of Sufi sections and Vaishnavism
- Evolution of reformers
- Evil intentions of Hindus
Conclusion
The Bhakti movement was introduced between the 7th and 8th centuries. Although, the primary purpose of the movement was to preach to the citizens to join the path of love, devotion, and Bhakti. Also, it aimed to remove people’s superstitious beliefs regarding lower caste and inequality.
However, the movement partially succeeded in bringingchanges in ideology, as it could see its two-fold objectives growing as reform in Hinduism and harmony among Muslims and Hindus. The movement gave birth to a new religion, i.e., Sikhism, that further split the Hindu society in the medieval period. Therefore, the socio-religious reform led to mixedeffects of the Bhakti movementin Indian society.
