Bhakti Tradition and Poetics of Introspection

Towards Excellence, 2020

The devotional literature we find in India's regional languages is sometimes referred to as Bhakti's literature. Since the poets from Bhakti Panth are more social and cultural, they are more thinkers and more social than literary figures. The translation of classics is particularly meaningful when a native language is translated into English. The classics are introduced to the world. In contemporary Shri Aurobindo and Dilp Chitre did, what Hsuan-tsang did for Sanskrit scripts. A. K. Ramanujan has also made a strong flow of translation in the post-colonial literature and Bhakti has been one of these literatures. This article explores the devotional poems of Narsinh Mehta that are important even in the 21st century.

The medieval Indian history faced drastic upheavals that affected common man’s way of life. Many changes took place in almost all phases of life. However, the major changes in religion and religious theologies of the time affected a lot to socio-political life of the people. The most important religious development was the emergence of Bhakti Movement. The term Bhakti that is often used today sounds simple yet contains a profound meaning. There are different interpretations of Bhakti available as it has been presented in different context by different people. It was spontaneous and was outcome of retrospection by the reformers of medieval era. Surprisingly the works created by the poet-saints of medieval time shared tremendous resemblance in their objectives. They mainly advocated a new religion that led to reform of the vices that had taken place in ancient Vedic Brahminic religion. May be that is the reason they share many similar characteristics. Some of the great literary scholars even evaluated, interpreted, and represented the term and theology of Bhakti.

In recent years, there has been a surge in bhakti literature and this is evident from the recent developments in Indian writing in English. Bhakti transcends geographical, sociocultural and literary boundaries and the same can be said about bhakti literature as well. India is known for its spiritual and bhakti culture and tradition. Whenever the balance of the universe is disturbed by external interference from any of its parts, the redeemer, as the power of eternal balancing, appears for the protection of those who are in harmony and the rectification of everything disharmonious. This dharma, i.e., the religion of God, the Sanatana Dharma, the eternal religion, has survived even as Abrahamic religions and atheism spread across the world in the last 1000 years primarily because of its inherent patriotism. It is on this that the whole idea of the religion is based. The religion treats the nation as mother. The roots of nationalism can be traced to its spiritual and bhakti traditions. In this Kaliyuga, the means attaining salvation is bhakti alone. The aim of the present paper is to outline the relevance of bhakti literature and its implications to nationalism. Further, it discusses the contribution of Kerala’s bhakti literature in general and Poonthanam’s and Melpathur’s literary contribution in particular to Indian nationalism.

Frequently titled as Bhakti literature is the devotional literature we find in regional languages of India. As it is more social and cultural, the poets from Bhakti Panth appear more as philosophers and social rather than literary figures. The translation of classics gives sense of belonging especially when a native language gets translated in English. The classics get presented before the world. What Hsuan-tsang did for Sanskrit scriptures, in modern age Shri Aurobindo, Dilip Chitre and A. K. Ramanujan also did in Post Colonial literature which has a heavy flow of translation and Bhakti literature is one of them. This paper discusses about Narsinh Mehta's devotional poems which are relevant even in 21 st century.

Professor Shubhra Tripathi is a Head of the Department of English in a college in Madhya Pradesh. She explores one of the important movements of time, Bhakti Movement. She analyses the effects of Bhakti tradition and its effect on masses. It carried sublime philosophy to the common people. She feels that this movement is still inspiring our generations. It is prominent in its popularity, reach and spacio-temporal significance.

Better is to live one day virtuous and meditative than to live a hundred years immoral and uncontrolled‖ (The Buddha) Bhakti movement in India has been a path-breaking phenomenon that provided a solid shape and an identifiable face to the abstractions with the help of vernacular language. As a religious movement, it emphasized a strong personal and emotional bond between devotees and a personal God. It has come from the Sanskrit word Bhaj-‗to share'. It began as a tradition of devotional songs, hagiographical or philosophical-religious texts which have generated a common ground for people of all the sects in the society to come together. As counterculture, it embraced into its fold all sections of people breaking the barriers of caste, class, community, and gender. It added an inclusive dimension to the hitherto privileged, exclusivist, Upanishadic tradition. It has provided a very critical outlook on contemporary Brahminical orthodoxy and played a crucial role in the emergence of modern poetry in India.

Narada, the author of Bhakti-sutra, defines Bhakti as intense love of God.1 Comparing to other Hindu religious paths Bhakti, the path of devotion is simple. For example Jnana, the path of knowledge is apt to be hard and Karma the path of work (or religious performances) has often been exclusive. The teachings of Upanishads, or Samkhya, [adivedanta] seemed so metaphysical and thus difficult to understand the concept of God where as in the Bhakti movement let to religious enthusiasm rather than to claim speculations about all pervading Brahman. So it not wonder the path of devotion is more appealing to the common people. In this paper the Bhakti Movement in South India is historically evaluated.

Rupkatha Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities, 2021

The wave of the Bhakti movement significantly affected India for over a period of twelve centuries. Considering that it left inerasable impressions on the history and culture of the land, this research paper argues that what only imbibed the feeling of pure devotion also became a tool in the hands of those who were desirous of radical religious, political and social changes. To prove this, the paper undertakes the translation of Dadu Dayal’s Sanskrit compositions. Additionally, the paper also questions the very model of Bhaktikal (the Age of Devotional Literature), propagated by the scholars of Hindi Literature, which divides it into two distinct theological categories, Sagun and Nirgun. By examining the devotional poetry of Jayadeva Goswami and Dadu Dayal, and their sectarian positions, it demonstrates that the proponents of the two diametrically opposite schools of Bhakti did not always honour such a distinction for bhakti’s spirit is above such schisms.