Important Saints of the Bhakti Movement || UPSC

Bhakti Movement : 

• Originated in 8th century Tamil South India and spread across north and east India. Reached its zenith in between 15-17th century. Developed regionally around Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism(goddess Shakti) and Smartism(Smriti corpus of texts). Some scholars call Sikhism a bhakti sect of Indian tradition. Guru Granth Sahib, the sacred scripture of Sikhs, contains the hymns of the Sikh gurus, thirteen Hindu bhagats, and two Muslim bhagats(Kabir and Sufi saint Farid).
• Ancient Indian texts such as Shvetashvatara Upanishad , the Katha Upanishad and the Bhagavad Gita mention Bhakti (concept).
• Alwars and Nayanars started the movement in South India. The poems of Alvars are compiled as Divya Prabandham  while Tirumurai is the compilations of hymns on Shiv by 63 Nayanars poet-saints.

Important Saints : 

Bhagat Pipa (1425- unknown) : 

•  Rajput king turned Bhakti saint of Malwa;
• Wrote verse in Guru Granth Sahib.

Allama Prabhu (12th century) : 

• Vachana poet of Kannada language.
• Included in Trinity of Lingayat , along with Basavana and Akka Mahadevi.

Akka Mahadevi (1130-1160) : 

• Female poet of Kannada literature and prominent personality of Lingayat religion;

Basavanna (1105-1168) : 

• 12th century Hindu philosopher.
• Kannada poet in Shiva - focused Bhakti movement. 
• Social reformer during reign of Kalachuri dynasty King Bijjala 1 ;
• Spread social awareness through his poetry known as vachanas;
• Rejected gender/social discrimination, superstitions and rituals such as wearing sacred thread.
• Introduced Ishtlinga necklace with an image of Shiv Linga to every person regardless of birth.
• As chief minister of his kingdom, introduced new public institutions such as Anubhava Mantapa - hall of spiritual experience;

Andal (7th or 8th century) : 

• Only female alvar among the 12 alvar saints of South India.
• Credited with great Tamil works -- Thiruppavai and Nachiar Tirumozhi.

Adi Shankara (788-820): 

• Founder of Dashnami Sampradaya and Advaita Vedanta;
• Advaita Vedanta - is a school of Hindu philosophy, and one of the classical Indian paths to spiritual realisation. The term Advaita refers to the idea that true self, Atman, is same as the highest metaphysical reality, Brahman. The followers of this school seek spiritual liberation through acquiring vidya, meaning knowledge, of one's true identity as Atman, and the identity of Atman and Brahman.

Ramanuja(1017-1137) : 

• Proponent of Vishist Advaita- non dualistic school of Vedanta philosophy.
• Vishistadvaita- means Advaita with uniqueness or qualifications. The living entities are believed to be qualitatively one with the Supreme and at the same time quantitatively different. Ramajunam's assertion was that the quantitative difference means that the fragmentary parts of the Supreme are dependent on the Supreme but they cannot become the Supreme. 
• 216 feet Statue of Equality in Hyderabad.

Namdev(1270-1350) : 

• Poet saint from Maharastra who is significant to Varkari sect of Hinduism.
• Was influenced by Vaishnavism and became widely known for his bhajan kirtans.
• Was influenced by Islam. 
• Was a tailor by profession.

Ramananda (14th century).  : 

• 14th century Vaishnav devotional poet saint in Ganga river region.
• Hindu tradition recognises him as founder of Ramanandi Sampradaya; tradition asserts that he developed his philosophy and devotional themes inspired by South Indian Vedanta philosopher Ramanuja. 
• His disciples included Ravidas(cobbler), Kabir(weaver) and Sadhana(butcher).
• Let no man ask a man's sect or caste - was his dictum.
• First bhakti saint to use Hindi for the propagation of his message.

Kabir(15th century) : 

• Strongly denounced idol worship, pilgrimages, bathing in holy rivers, namaz etc.
• Considered neither asceticism nor book knowledge important for true knowledge. 
• Bijak is the best known compilation of compositions of Kabir and as such holy inscription to Kabir panthis.
• Saakhi, Sabad and Ramaini are compositions of Kabir while the collection of dialogues between Kabir and Dharamdas is titled as Amarmul.

Guru Nanak(1469-1539) : 

Guru Nanak painting by Raja Ravi Verma via Wikimedia Commons

• Like Kabir laid emphasis on one God, by repeating whose name and dwelling on it with love and devotion one could get salvation without distinction of caste,creed or sect.
• He denounced idol worship, pilgrimages and other rituals and advocated middle path.

Nimbarka - 12th century: 

• Propagated Vaishnav theology of Dvaita Advaita(dualistic non dualism)-  3 categories of existence according to him are - cit(jiva) ,acit(jagat)  and ishvara ; cit and acit are different forms of ishavara and is different from ishvara; ishvara is independent while cit and acit are dependent on him. It states that humans are both different and non different from ishvara. 

Madhavacharya (1238-1317) :

• Proponent of dvaita school of vedanta;
• Called his philosophy as Tattvavada meaning realistic viewpoint.
• Dvaita school believes that god and individual souls exist as independent realities and these are distinct. It contrasts with other 2 main sub schools of Vedanta- Advaita Vedanta of Adi Shankar which posits non dualism i.e. the ultimate reality (Brahman) and human soul are identical and all reality is interconnected oneness, and the Vishist Advaita of Ramanuja which posits qualified non dualism i.e. the ultimate reality( Brahman) and human soul are different but with the potential to be identical.

Annamacharya (1408-1503) : 

• 15th century Hindu saint and is the earliest known Indian musician to compose songs called sankirtans in praise of God Venkateshwara, a form of Vishnu. He is the first known composer in the Carnatic music.
• He is believed to the avatar of Nandaka, the sword of Vishnu. He is widely regarded as the Andhra Prada Kavita Pitamha- Godfather of Telugu song writing.

Vallabhacharya (1479-1531) :

• Devotional philosopher who founded Krishna centred Pushti sect of Vaishnavism in braj region of India.
• Proponent of Shuddha Advaita - there is no real difference between God and self but unlike Shankar's Advaita, Vallabha does not deny God as a whole and individual as a part.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu(1486- 1534) :

• Was a spiritual leader who founded Gaudiya Vaishnavism.
• Believed to be Krishna himself by some of his devotees.

Mira Bai(1498-1546) :

• Was married to Bhoj Raj, crown prince of Mewar in 1516, who was killed in battle with the Delhi Sultanate in 1521.
• Prem Ambodhi Pothi, a text attributed to Guru Gobind Singh, and completed in 1693 contains poetry of Mirabai as one of the 16 historic bhakti saints important to Sikhism.
• Wrote Rag-Govind. 
• Was contemporary of Tulsidas and also used to send letters to him.

Tulsidas(1532-1623) :

• Was a Hindu Vaishnav saint and poet, often called reformer and philosopher from the Ramanandi Sampradaya.
• Author of Ramchatirmanas, retelling of the Sanskrit Ramayana, in the local Awadhi dialect of Hindi.
• Believed by many to be incarnation of Valmiki, original creator of Ramayana.
• Gitavali, Kavitvali and Vinay Patrika were written by him.

Bhakt Tukaram(1568-1649, debate around his birth and death) :

• Hindu poet and Bhakti saint from Maharastra.
• Part of Varkari tradition.
• Best known for his devotional poetry known as Abhanga. His poetry was dedicated to Vithhala/Vithoba, an avatar of Vishnu.
• According to some scholars, he met Shivaji.
• Tukaram Gatha is a Marathi language compilation of his works.

Sankardeva (1449-1568) :

• Assamese polymath credited with devising new form of music(Borgeet), theatrical performances(Ankia Naat, Bhaona), literary language(Brajawali), dance(Sattriya).
• The bhagvatic religious movement started by him- Ekasarana Dharm- influenced two medieval kingdoms- Koch and Ahom.

Dadu Dayal (1544-1603) :

• Was a religious reformer, poet- saint from Gujrat. Formed a sect which came to be known as Dadupanth.
• His compositions in the Braj language were recorded by his followers and came to known as Dadu Anubhav Vani.

Saint Tyagraj (1767- 1847) :

• One of the Trinity of Carnatic Music- along with Muthuswami Dikshitar and Syama Shastri.
• Firmly believed in nadopasana- practice of music as an aid to cultivate devotion and contemplation- can lead one to salvation only if it was combined with bhakti.
• Ardent devotee of Lord Rama.