About Bhakti (History of Bhakti)

 
The Word Bhakti is used in a variety of ways.

1. Most simply, Bhakti refers to the common religious devotion that is held in the heart of a devoted person of any spiritual faith.

2. Bhakti can also refer to a practice of yoga (Bhakti-yoga), a spiritual discipline meant to bring one to a state of pure love of God. The path of Bhakti-yoga is commonly followed through activities such as kirtan (devotional mantras put to music), study and discussion of sacred texts such as the Bhagavad-gita, Ramayana and Srimad Bhagavatam, the rituals of temple worship, and pilgrimage to holy places. Beyond these, there are principles of Bhakti philosophy which can be carried into all aspects of daily life.

3. More specifically, the term Bhakti can refer to the devotional interpretation of Vedanta. Vedanta is the most popular of India’s six classical schools of philosophy and the primary influence in Hinduism.

4. Bhakti also is used to refer to a trend within the history of Indian spirituality – the Bhakti Movement.

5. Finally, the word Bhakti refers to the perfected state of consciousness – exclusive and continuous love of God, the natural condition of the soul; eternal, enlightened bliss.

So, when we speak of Bhakti, we could be referring to an emotion, a practice, a school of philosophical thought, a popular movement, or a state of consciousness. The common thread that connects all of these uses of the term is their relation to the soul’s dormant love for God that is seen as the very essence of our being. The idea that the very purpose of human life is uncovering that essence is found throughout the worlds spiritual traditions.

In India, the second and first millennia BCE are known as the Vedic Period, named so due to the influence of the Vedas, a vast body of Sanskrit scripture. Large segments of the Vedas stress a gradual process of elevation trough a complex system of rites and rituals, the performance of which were reserved for an exclusive priesthood.

Beginning in the 6th century CE a new movement developed around the writings of mystics who extracted the devotional essence from the Vedas, de-emphasizing the particular formalities of ritual or caste. Prominent among these are the Alvars, twelve South Indian mystics who expressed their intimate love and longing for God through song and poetry. These devotional sentiments were gradually expanded upon, supported philosophically and organized into a method of devotional yoga by saintly philosophers such as Ramanuja and Madhva. They were followed centuries later by prominent saints and teachers such as Sri Chaitanya, Sri Vallabha, Nimbarka, Meera Bai, Tukarama and many others. The widespread effect of the teachings of these saints eventually became known as the Bhakti Movement. Over the centuries, the Bhakti Movement has gone on to promote devotion through philosophy and art, by ever expanding lineages, many of which still flourish today, each with their own unique contribution.

Article from bhakticenter

History of Bhakti

Scholarly consensus sees bhakti as a post-Vedic movement that developed primarily during the era of Indian epic poetry. The Bhagavad Gita is the first text to explicitly use the word "bhakti" to designate a religious path, using it as a term for one of three possible religious approaches. The Bhagavata Purana develops the idea more elaborately, while the Shvetashvatara Upanishad evidences a fully developed Shiva-bhakti (devotion to Shiva) and signs of guru-bhakti. An early sutra by Pāṇini (c. 5th century BCE) is considered by some scholars as the first appearance of the concept of bhakti, where the word "vun" may refer to bhakti toward "Vasudevarjunabhya" (with implied reference to Krishna Vasudeva).[29] Other scholars question this interpretation.

The Bhakti Movement was a rapid growth of bhakti beginning in Tamil Nadu in Southern India with the Saiva Nayanars (4th-10th century CE) and the Vaisnava Alvars (3rd-9th century CE) who spread bhakti poetry and devotion throughout India by the 12th-18th century CE. The Alvars ("those immersed in God") were Vaishnava poet-saints who wandered from temple to temple singing the praises of Vishnu. They established temple sites (Srirangam is one) and converted many people to Vaishnavism. Their poems were collected in the 10th century as the Four Thousand Divine Compositions also referred to as Dravida Veda or Alwar Arulicheyalgal or Divya Prabhandham, which became an influential scripture for the Vaishnavas. The Alwars and Nayanmars were instrumental in propagating the Bhakti tradition. For the first time, Bagwan or God reached the masses and the masses were able to associate themselves with the religion. Another significant thing was that the Alwars and Naynmars came from various background and castes including that of the Sudras (working class). The Bhagavata Purana's references to the South Indian Alvar saints, along with its emphasis on a more emotional bhakti, have led many scholars to give it South Indian origins, though there is no definitive evidence of this.

Like the Alvars the Saiva Nayanar poets softened the distinctions of caste and gender. The Tirumurai, a compilation of hymns by sixty-three Nayanar poets, is still of great importance in South India. Hymns by three of the most prominent poets, Appar (7th century CE), Campantar (7th century) and Cuntarar (9th century), were compiled into the Tevaram, the first volumes of the Tirumurai. The poets' itinerant lifestyle helped create temple and pilgrimage sites and spread devotion to Shiva. Early Tamil-Siva bhakti poets quoted the Black Yajurveda specifically.

By the 12th to 18th centuries, the bhakti movement had spread to all regions and languages of India. Bhakti poetry and attitudes began to color many aspects of Hindu culture, religious and secular, and became an integral part of Indian society. Prominent bhakti poets such as Ravidas, eknath and Kabir wrote against the hierarchy of caste.It extended its influence to Sufism, Sikhism,Christianity, and Jainism. Bhakti offered the possibility of religious experience by anyone, anywhere, at any time.