The Bhakti Movement and the Path of Devotion

With their stress on personal realization, the Upanishads are profoundly elitist--it is never assumed that anyone but the most spiritually advanced can fruitfully tread the path of Knowledge, and attain final liberation. The Law Books give the second path, the Path of Action, which stresses performing one's duty AS duty, without thought of personal, individual reward. This is open to everyone, but means buying into a highly stratified, profoundly hierarchal social system. The final Path, that of Devotion to God (bhakti), has been the strongest influence on Indian religious life for the past thousand years. By drawing personal worth not from one's conventional social status, but solely the depth of one's devotion, it not only provided a spiritual path that was open to everyone, but also a way that subverted the established social order.

The word's literal meaning conveys its most important sense, which is that of relationship: on one hand, an intense and passionate love between devotee and deity, and on the other, the formation of alternative communities here on earth, composed of people bound together by their common love of god, and thus "sharing" this aspect as well.  This stress on emotional and passionate devotion is a later development in Hindu theism.  Although a stress on bhakti can be found in much earlier texts, such as the Shvetashvatara Upanishad and the Bhagavad Gita, it seems that the bhakti propounded in these texts is radically different from the later developments.  In both these texts, bhakti is presented as a form of yoga, in which one contemplates god as part of a controlled and disciplined practice--a far cry from the abandonment and passionate involvement characterizing it in later times.

The beginnings of this latter sort of bhakti arise in the Tamil country of deep south India, between the sixth and ninth centuries.  It has an intensity that is radically different from earlier notions, a devotional "heat" that is markedly different than the yogic "coolness."  Tamil bhakti expresses its devotion through devotional songs expressed in vernacular languages, conveying a deep sense of intimate relationship with a personal God.

Almost without exception, these characteristics hold true for the rest of bhakti's history.  The use of vernacular speech is especially significant, for this is the language of ordinary people and ordinary life, and marks the egalitarianism that was one of the hallmarks of bhakti devotion.  Bhakti devotees were men and women from all strata of society, from the highest to the lowest, for here was an opportunity for religious life based solely on the depth and sincerity of one's devotion, rather than on one's birth.  Despite this religious egalitarianism, devotees rarely tried to restructure their highly hierarchical societies.  Bhakti egalitarianism was religious equality, and pointed to way of living and being attempting to transcend rather than reform human society.

Aside from its insistence on egalitarianism and on personal experience, bhakti religiosity also stressed community, based on the interconnections between devotees.  Though each devotee was an individual (and indeed, bhakti poets are seen as having real personalities, as the abundant hagiography bears witness) they also fall into "families," and saw themselves as connected with each other.  Many of the bhakti saints fall into recognizable groups--some centered around a particular sacred place, such as the temple at Pandharpur in Maharashtra state, some connected as teachers and students, such as Nammalvar and his disciple Nathamuni, some connected by long-term associations, as within the Lingayat community.  In all cases, these devotees were keenly aware of those who had preceded them, and their connections with one another.  Such communities were both formed and reinforced through the emphasis on satsang, the "company of good people" whose influence over time was believed to have the power to transform one.  This was a type of "sharing" which bound devotees to each other and to their teacher, and through these two vehicles, carried them to God.

These are general characteristics, and bhakti's regional manifestations often take on a unique and distinct flavor--if nothing else, marked by the differing languages.  The Padma Purana speaks of bhakti (a grammatically feminine noun) as a maiden who was born in South India, attained maturity in Maharashtra state, and was rejuvenated in north India.  Although this is a metaphor, it accurately charts the historical diffusion of bhakti religiosity, as well as its changes as it moved north.  All bhakti is the product of a specific time, place, and circumstances; and all of these help to shape any particular manifestation.

So to reiterate and recapitulate, bhakti religiosity is marked by three important characteristics:

1. Equality--Personal worth being measured not by birth, but the depth of one's devotion. This also demanded that each believer make a personal commitment to God. Unlike earlier movements, the bhakti poets come from all strata of society--from the highest to the lowest--and include women as well as men. This stress on equality, and the implicit subversion of the caste system, makes bhakti one of the most radical, subversive movements in Indian religious history. It is a mistake, however, to think of the bhakti poets as social activists struggling to free the oppressed masses. Bhakti was a religious movement stressing passionate love of God, and the equality it stressed was religious equality before God, rather than a leveling of social distinctions. It does not aim to reform society as they knew it, but to transcend it altogether.

2. Accessibility--The bhakti poetry was generally written not in Sanskrit (the priestly, elitist language) but in the vernacular language of the region, which everyone could understand. The bhakti poets also tended to deemphasize ritual, and instead focused on singing or repeating the Name of God. Their major vehicle was not the written text (property of the literate, socially elevated brahmins) but songs and poetry which ordinary people could hear, remember, and transmit to one another.

3. Community--Bhakti poets tend to come in "families," groups of people freely associating with each other. These "families" contain people from all sorts of social backgrounds, and usually include at least one woman. Here we see the formation of a parallel (and better) society to normal human society.