Chapter 6 — Bhakti-Sufi Traditions

The Alvars were poet-saints 'immersed' in devotion to Vishnu, while the Nayanars were leaders devoted to Shiva. They led some of the earliest bhakti movements (c. sixth century) in Tamil Nadu, travelling from place to place singing hymns in Tamil. Large temples were later built at the shrines they identified, and their compositions became part of temple rituals.

It is an anthology of compositions by the twelve Alvars, compiled by the tenth century — the title means 'Four Thousand Sacred Compositions'. It was frequently described as the Tamil Veda, claiming the same significance as the four Vedas in Sanskrit cherished by the Brahmanas.

Saguna bhakti centred on worship of specific deities — Shiva, Vishnu and his avatars, and forms of the goddess — often conceptualised in human form. Nirguna bhakti was devotion to an abstract, formless god with no attributes. Kabir and Baba Guru Nanak are associated with nirguna bhakti.

Basavanna (1106–68) was a Brahmana and minister in the court of a Kalachuri ruler who founded the Virashaiva (Lingayat) movement in twelfth-century Karnataka. Lingayats worship Shiva as a linga, challenge the idea of caste and the 'pollution' attributed to certain groups, question the theory of rebirth, and ceremonially bury their dead instead of cremating them. They also encouraged practices like post-puberty marriage and widow remarriage that were disapproved in the Dharmashastras.

A silsila literally means a chain, signifying a continuous spiritual link between master and disciple stretching back to the Prophet Muhammad. Sufi silsilas began to crystallise in different parts of the Islamic world around the twelfth century. It was through this chain that spiritual power and blessings were transmitted to devotees.

The Chishtis, who migrated to India in the late twelfth century, were the most influential because they adapted successfully to the local environment and adopted several features of Indian devotional traditions. They used local languages like Hindavi, practised sama' (mystical music), ran open kitchens (langar) on charity, and maintained austerity that attracted people from all walks of life.

The five major Chishti saints are: Shaikh Muinuddin Sijzi (d. 1235, Ajmer, Rajasthan), Khwaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki (d. 1235, Delhi), Shaikh Fariduddin Ganj-i Shakar (d. 1265, Ajodhan, Pakistan), Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya (d. 1325, Delhi), and Shaikh Nasiruddin Chiragh-i Dehli (d. 1356, Delhi).

Kabir (c. fourteenth–fifteenth centuries) described the Ultimate Reality using terms from Islam (Allah, Khuda, Hazrat), Vedantic traditions (Brahman, Atman, nirakar) and yogic traditions (shabda, shunya). He rejected distinctions between religious communities. His verses are compiled in three traditions: the Kabir Bijak (Kabirpanth, Varanasi and Uttar Pradesh), the Kabir Granthavali (Dadupanth, Rajasthan), and the Adi Granth Sahib.

Baba Guru Nanak (1469–1539) advocated nirguna bhakti, firmly rejected sacrifices, ritual baths, image worship, austerities and the scriptures of both Hindus and Muslims. He expressed ideas through hymns called 'shabad' in Punjabi, sang them in various ragas with his attendant Mardana playing the rabab, and set up rules for congregational worship (sangat). After his death his followers distinguished themselves from both Hindus and Muslims. The fifth preceptor Guru Arjan compiled the Adi Granth Sahib; the tenth preceptor Guru Gobind Singh compiled the Guru Granth Sahib and founded the Khalsa Panth with five symbols: uncut hair, a dagger, shorts, a comb, and a steel bangle.

Mirabai (c. fifteenth–sixteenth centuries) was a Rajput princess from Merta in Marwar who was married against her wishes to a prince of the Sisodia clan of Mewar, Rajasthan. She defied her husband, recognised Krishna as her lover, and left the palace to live as a wandering saint composing songs of intense devotion. According to some traditions her preceptor was Raidas, a leather worker — indicating defiance of caste norms. Her songs continue to be sung especially by the poor and those considered 'low caste' in Gujarat and Rajasthan.

The chapter lists the five pillars as: the declaration of faith (shahada — there is one God, Allah, and Prophet Muhammad is his messenger); offering prayers five times a day (namaz/salat); giving alms (zakat); fasting during the month of Ramzan (sawm); and performing the pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj).

Historians draw on four main types of sufi texts produced in and around khanqahs: (1) treatises on sufi thought and practices, such as Hujwiri's Kashf-ul-Mahjub; (2) malfuzat — recorded conversations of sufi saints, like the Fawa'id-al-Fu'ad compiled by Amir Hasan Sijzi; (3) maktubat — collections of letters written by sufi masters to disciples; and (4) tazkiras — biographical accounts of saints, such as the Siyar-ul-Auliya (fourteenth century) and the Akhbar-ul-Akhyar of Abdul Haqq Muhaddis Dehlavi (d. 1642).

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