Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Rise and development of bhakti movement
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Rise and development of bhakti movement
The Status of Women and The Bhakti Movement in India
Originating in ancient Tamil Nadu, the Bhakti movement in India spread to the north during the late medieval ages when north India was under Islamic rule. The movement was spontaneous and counter to the predominant caste ideology which was dividing Hinduism. The adherents of the movement had their own rendering of devotional expression. While in the south, devotion was centered on both Shiva and Vishnu (in all his forms), the northern devotional movement was centered on Rama and Krishna, both of whom are believed to be incarnations of Vishnu. Though initially the Bhakti movement was considered unorthodox due to its defiance of caste distinctions and disregard of Brahmanic rituals, it soon rose into prominence, co-existing peacefully with other movements in Hinduism.
In a time when freedom was limited to males of upper castes, the bhakti movement in India came as a means of escape to many. The saints of the movement were not idle philosophers or merely scions of the prosperous castes. They also came from the lower sections of society and worked for their living. Though sants like Meera, Chaitanya and Tulsidas were from the upper class, others like Kabir, Namdev, Nanak and Tukaram belonged to the lower communities. These saints taught that people could cast aside the heavy obligations of ritual and caste and the convolutions of philosophy, and simply express their supreme love for god. They believed that one could reach god personally and directly, without the use of temples or idol worship. Women and members of the Shudra and untouchable communities were now included rather than excluded.
Indian women in medeival India were confined within the four walls of the house and w...
... middle of paper ...
...ss the social injustices prevalent in society and through their poetry, reached out to a large audience. They stood up against criticism and abuse from their families and the society, and in a patriarchal society, made a place for themselves not only in the Bhakti movement, but also in the religious and social history of India.
Works Cited
(i) Abbott, Justin.E. and N.R.Godbole; Stories of Indian Saints; Motilal Banarsidas Publication; India Feb 4 2007
(ii) Ho, Cynthia; Bahina Bai and Mystical Resistence; East-West Connections Publication; Jan 1 2004
(iii) Kamat, Jyotsna; Sant Janabai
(iv) Oxford Encyclopedia of Women in World History: Bhakti Movement
(v) Shobha, Savitri Chandra; Social Life and Concepts in Medieval Hindi Bhakti Poetry; Chandrayan Publication; New Delhi
(vi) Wadia, Shernaz; Another Light of Bhakti Movement: Bahinabai (1629-1700)
Chapter 2 of this book shows how the civil-rights movement had a profound effect on Indians. Deloria explains how Indians experienced many betrayals from policies that have claimed to be in the Indian’s interest. Some Indians have joined the civil-rights movement, marches,
Indian society was patriarchal, centered on villages and extended families dominated by males (Connections, Pg. 4). The villages, in which most people lived, were admini...
The opening of the poem the woman is explaining why painting her nails red is sophisticated “Because a bit of colour is a public service”(1). In line two Satyamurti calls attention to the role of women in the society and in the family- that while they are not being paid for work they do everyday of their lives, it should not be neglected. She acknowledges by “Because I am proud of my hands”, she is explaining that women ar...
Dalit literature contests written histories where the entire life and cultural heritage of these specific set of people have been neglected. Only a literature of their own can express the real life experiences and their history. The movement which began with Mahatma Jyotirao Phule and Dr. Ambedkar with the message, “Don’t let your pen be restricted to your own questions” (Nimbalkar 32 - 33) is genuinely carried out by Dalit writers, to awake, to emancipate and to make them realize that every human being is equal. In course of this development, Dalit authors’ pen not only restricted to mere proclamations of equality, liberty and fraternity but also tries to make Dalits proud of their origin by highlighting positive aspects of their culture and acknowledging various Dalit art-forms. The two biographical novels taken for this paper, Kalyan Rao’s Untouchable Spring from Telagu and Dr. Narendra Jadhav’s Outcaste - A Memoir from Marathi, are faithful to these aspects.
The word ‘Dalit’ encompasses communities known as untouchables, usually refers to that portion of the population falling outside the pale of ‘Indian caste society’. The term is an ancient Marathi words that may be define as ‘ground’ or ‘broken to pieces’. It has been said that the word was use in nineteen century by revolutionist thinker ‘Mahatma JyotibaPhule’, who used it to describe the appalling condition of the untouchables at the same time, it has been argued that Dr. Ambedkar first used the term ‘Broken men’ in his ‘The Untouchables’ published in 1948, to refer the original anceslaters of the untouchables for reasons which must have been self-evident. The concept ‘Dalit Identity’ has emerged as an avoidable phenomenon in intellectual and political sphere of this country due to the emergence of movement of the oppressed people. Walter Fernandes in his edited work understands the emergence of Dalit identity. His Contributions analyze the struggle of Dalit in different parts of India. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar chooses the term ‘broken men’ an English translation of ‘Dalit’, to refer to the original ancestors of the untouchables. The Dalit panthers revived the term and in their 1973 manifesto expanded its referents to include the schedule castes, schedule tribes, neo Budhists , the working people , the
Her book of poems Touch was published in 2006. It is a collection of ardent poems dealing with oppressor-oppressed twofold conflict. Her second collection Ms Militancy was published in 2010. Kandasamy’s poems are well-versed by a wisdom of gender relations that suggest being a female in a largely patriarchal culture is another form of being a part of minor social group. “You don’t have to be a Dalit—by being a woman the caste is in you,” she says (Stancati, n. pag.).
This autobiographical narrative is a collection Bharati Mukherjee’s experience returning to India with her Canadian husband who is also the co-author. They both separately wrote about their experiences in the country and the daily life for it’s people. The book focuses on these two contrasting points of view and cultural backgrounds ("Days and Nights in Calcutta , Bharati Mukherjee”). It is rated four stars out of five on Amazon.com.
"I am spinning the destiny of India," he said, but he has woven much more into the blanket of peace. Hundreds of others, inspired by his faith and dedication, would lead uprisings of civil disobedience - revolutions that would shake history and upturn mainstream opinions: the Civil Rights movement, Solidarity, the United Farm Worker's hunger strike, and anti-apartheid. But before that, there was merely the man, Gandhi.
Many a great saviour have appeared on the world scene from time to time to save humanity from the clutches of evil forces and for giving a message of God, the source of all virtue. Many a religion have been founded by such saviours, sages, saints and prophets. Each religion has played its part to curb evil and spread Dharma. The need has always been in the past. In its right hour there emerged a movement that brought hope, support and inner strength to the entire world. This not only planted a sense of hope and strength in people but became the most characteristic feature of religious development during the medieval period and emphasized on single-minded intense devotion to God. Therefore, the movement that focused on these ideas was the Bhakti Movement. The word “bhakti” is derived from a Sanskrit word meaning “to share”. This talks about sharing of a bond between God and human beings i.e. it signifies the importance of relationship between both God and Man. The group of people belonging
My primary concern is to bring out the Voices of Subjugation and Hegemony in the works of Omprakash Valmiki, Sharan Kumar Limbale, Bhama and Baby Kamble. Dalit literature has occupied a significant role in the world literature. It has clearly exposed the torments faced dalits by so called upper caste people in the society. Dalits have undergone pain, humiliation, discrimination, subjugation and hegemonic control because of foolish customs laid by chaturvarna system in Hindu relilgion. Chaturvarna functioned on the basis of dividing people on caste and their occupation. The Chaturvarna system has caused discrimination among human beings because it has created a society that is based on cast hierarchy. The people who are in
In Urvashi Butalia’s book, The Other Side of Silence: Voices from the Partition of India, she interviewed multiple people, specifically women, who lived through the horrific Partition of India. One significant woman who Butalia interviewed was Damyanti Sahgal. Butalia wrote that, along with being a victim of violence caused by the Partition, Damyanti later “worked for many years in the Indian State’s recovery and relief operation” (91). Damyanti’s detailed account offered significant insight into the true nature of the Central Recovery Operation. As Butalia described the broad account of what happened to women with statistics and general knowledge, Damyanti provided a first-hand account that truly illuminates the severity of the “recovery”
In the caste system of India there is very limited rights for females. There are cultural norms placed by castes on individuals. Like when people get married in India they can only get married to someone with they same caste. They can’t marry someone from a different caste. Unlike in America one can get married to anyone. The females in the caste system have to follow the norm of society and caste. Also the caste system is India is very strict, as conveyed in the article by Andre Beteille, “caste in India is perceived by millions of people today as a particularly rigid and oppressive form of inequality.” (Beteille 1990: 491). They rights of a women in the caste system is very limited since they are looked down upon. In an article by Ashwini
What do you think about when you think about India? You might think about India’s large democracy, it’s festivals, and how they dress. But beyond the surface, there is much more than that going on in India, such as the declining rate of women in India. India has had a falling number of women in India since 1961. There are multiple reasons for this. Baby girls are being killed, women are being raped and killed and women are killing themselves due to depression caused by men. In 21st century India, reversing the rate of female births and deaths in India must be a top priority. This is a major problem because India needs women to make children so their population could grow, children are healthier when taken cared for by their mother; and the crime and rape rate will go up.The most effective ways of tackling the problem include making laws that takes control from men, giving women more freedom, putting more people in jail for killing their baby girls and giving women guards to walk with them at night for safety.
“Reconstruction of society” as the central theme in Dalit Literature; A Focus on Omprakash Valmiki’s Joothan; A Dalit’s Life
Tribal literature represents a prevailing, emerging trend in the Indian literary scene. This literature is by nature oppositional because of its arching preoccupations with the location of Dalits in the caste-based Hindu society, and their struggles for self-esteem, justice and equality. Tribal literature is perched to obtain a national and an international occurrence as well as to pose a key challenge to the established ideas of what constitutes literature and how we read it. Mahasweta Devi’s writing offers insight, an asset of perceptive; amass of meaning and a base of discourse. Holding the writer’s hand, we can see an entirely diverse world, with her assistance we can seek to comprehend the potential of human accomplishment. Gloom, failure and discontent chiefly in the matter of human relationships do not, however, give rise to complete chaos and anarchy. We perceive the struggles of the protagonists, as gallant efforts that finally bring grandeur to the individual and add dignity to the courage of liberty.