THE BHAKTI MOVEMENT IN MEDIEVAL INDIA
The Bhakti Movement started in South Indian states, Kerala and Thailand, in the 8th Century and spread to other parts of India. As a part of The Bhakti movement, there was an emergence of devotional poetry in Indian literature.
The term Bhakti originated from Sanskrit. It was used in the ancient texts, to denote devotion or love for a personal God. The word ‘bhakti’ was first used in the 1st millennium BCE, in the Shvetashvatara Upanishad, the Katha Upanishad, and the Bhagavad Gita. Bhakti means an emotional devotion to one’s personal God and Bhakti marg is one of the spiritual ways to attain moksha or liberation. The ultimate goal of the Bhakti moment is to attain spiritual development or a state of eternal bliss.
The Bhakti movement widely spread in medieval India and they sang beautiful devotional songs with the love toward Rama and Krishna, the incarnations of Vishnu. This movement is significant as it not only produced great poetry, but it also opposed superficial Brahminical customs, and rituals, caste distinction, and discrimination prevalent in society.
BHAKTI POET
The Bhakti movement spread all over India through the songs of Kabir Das, Ravi Das, Meera Bai, Chaitanya, and many other lesser-known mystics. These saint-poets laid emphasis on Man’s actions that lead him to his salvation. They were called the Bhakti poets. The Bhakti poets sought to attain spiritual union with the Lord through their devotion by means of their soulful poetry.
Kabir Das, Saint Ravidas, and Meera were among the most influential poets of the Bhakti movement. They always stand for i) a loving relationship between a devotee and his/her personal god and ii) laid emphasis on devotion and individual worship of a god or goddess rather than the performance of elaborate sacrifices. The Bhakti saint poets had a liberal outlook in their message. They highlighted the freedom to worship any personal god.