NCERT Class 7 History Chapter 8: Devotional Paths to the Divine YouTube Lecture Handouts
Get top class preparation for CBSE/Class-8 right from your home: get questions, notes, tests, video lectures and more- for all subjects of CBSE/Class-8.
Get video tutorial on: Examrace YouTube Channel
NCERT Class 7 History Chapter 8: Devotional Path to the Divine
Idea of Supreme God
- Before large kingdoms β idea was about small kingdoms and individual gods and goddesses
- Focus on birth and rebirth
- All human beings are not equal at birth
- Social privilege came from birth in noble family and high caste
- Some turned to Buddha & Jaina teachings
- Others bonded to bhakti (Shiva, Vishnu or Durga) or Bhagavad-Gita
- Methods of worship recommended in Puranas were introduced into the local cults
- Bhakti was adopted by Buddhist & Jainas
Bhakti in South India
- 7th-9th Century: Nayanars (saints devoted to Shiva) and Alvars (saints devoted to Vishnu) who came from all castes including βuntouchableβ like Pulaiyar & Panars
- They were critics of Buddhist and Jainas
- Based on ideals of love and heroism in Sangam literature (earliest example of Tamil literature)
- 63 Nayanars β untouchables and different castes - Appar, Sambandar, Sundarar and Manikkavasagar. 2 sets of compilations of their songs β Tevaram and Tiruvacakam.
- 12 Alvars from equally divergent backgrounds. Best were Periyalvar, his daughter Andal, Tondaradippodi Alvar and Nammalvar. Their songs were compiled in the Divya Prabandham.
- 10th -12th century: Chola & Pandya king temples, poems and bhakti traditions β hagiographies (writings of saints lives) or religious biographies of the Alvars and Nayanars were composed
Shankara
- Philosophers of Kerala in 8th century
- Advocate of Advaita or doctrine of oneness of the individual soul and the Supreme God which is Ultimate Reality
- Considered world as illusion or maya
- Preached renunciation of world or adoption of path of knowledge to understand Brahman & attain salvation
Ramanuja
- Born in Tamil Nadu in 11th Century
- Influenced by Alvars β devotion of Vishnus
- Propounded doctrine of Vishishtadvaita or qualified oneness in that soul even when united with Supreme God remained distinct
- Inspired bhakti in North India
Virashaiva Movement
- Initiated by Basavanna and his companions like Allama Prabhu and Akkamahadevi
- Connection between Tamil bhakti movement and temple worship
- It began in Karnataka in the mid-twelfth century
- Equality of human beings
- Against Brahmanical ideas of caste
- Against ritual and idol worship
Saints of Maharashtra
- 13th-17th century β saint poets β in simple Marathi
- Janeshwar, Namdev, Eknath and Tukaram (wrote abhang β Marathi devotional hymns)
- Sakkubai & Chokhamela (women) - βuntouchableβ Mahar caste
- Focused on Vitthala (a form of Vishnu) temple in Pandharpur
- Rejected ritualism & outward display of piety and social differences based on birth
- Rejected the idea of renunciation and preferred to live with their families
Sharing Others Pain
- Gujarati saint - Narsi Mehta - Vaishnavas who understand the pain of others
Nathpanthis, Siddhas and Yogis
- Criticized conventional religion and social order
- Advocated renunciation of the world
- For salvation lay in meditation on the formless Ultimate Reality and realisation of oneness with it.
- Training mind and body by Yogasanas, breathing exercise and meditation
Islam & Sufism
- Sants had common with Sufis (Muslim mystics)
- Rejected religiosity
- Emphasized love, devotion and compassion
- Strict monotheism or submission to one God
- Rejected idol worship
- Developed holy law Shariat
- Rejected elaborate rituals
- Composed poems and had rich literature
- Great Sufis of Central Asia were Ghazzali, Rumi and Sadi
- Training the heart: zikr (chanting of a name or sacred formula) , contemplation, sama (singing) , raqs (dancing) , discussion of parables, breath control etc. under guidance of pir
- Silsilas: Genealogy of Sufi teachers, each following a slightly different method (tariqa) of instruction and ritual practice
- Sufi centers developed in India under Delhi Sultanate
- Chishti silsila: Most influential orders - teachers like Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti of Ajmer, Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki of Delhi, Baba Farid of Punjab, Khwaja Nizamuddin Auliya of Delhi and Bandanawaz Gisudaraz of Gulbarga.
- Assemblies were held in khanqahs or hospices β spiritual matters, blessings of saints, music and dance were part of it.
- Sufi saints have miraculous powers that could relieve others of their illnesses and troubles.
- Tomb or dargah of a Sufi saint - place of pilgrimage
- Jalaluddin Rumi was a 13th century Sufi poet from Iran who wrote in Persian
Religious Development in North India
- Kabir and Baba Guru Nanak rejected all orthodox religions
- Tulsidas and Surdas accepted existing beliefs but wanted to make these accessible to all
- Tulsidas β Wrote Ramcharitmanas in Awadhi (language of eastern UP) β Rama Devotee
- Surdas β Krishna devotee - Sursagara, Surasaravali and Sahitya Lahari
- Shankaradeva β Vishnu devotee β Assam β established namghars or houses of recitation and prayer
- Mirabai β Rajput princess married family of Mewar in 16th century β disciple of Ravidas (untouchable) β Krishna devotee β challenged norms of upper caste & got popular in Rajasthan & Gujarat β mainly works were in regional language and oral
- Kabir - brought up in family of Muslim julahas or weavers settled in or near the city of Varanasi - collection of verses called sakhis and pads β later preserved in Guru Granth Sahib, Panch Vani and Bijak, ridiculed external worship of both Brahmanical Hinduism and Islam, pre-eminence of priestly classes and caste system & believed in formless supreme God
- Baba Guru Nanak: Born at Talwandi (Nankana Sahib in Pakistan) , he established centre at Kartarpur (Dera Baba Nanak on Ravi river) , followers ate in common kitchen β langar, created sacred space β dharmsal (Gurudwara) , before his death in 1539 β appointed Lehna (Guru Angad)
- Guru Angad: Compiled Guru NanakΥs work, added his language Gurumukhi
- Guru Arjan in 1604: 3 successors of Guru Angad wrote under the name of βNanakβ and all of their compositions were compiled
- Guru Gobind Singh: added writings of Shaikh Farid, Sant Kabir, Bhagat Namdev and Guru Tegh Bahadur. In 1706, he compiled it as Guru Granth Sahib
- Harmandar Sahib (Golden Temple) : 17th century β in town of Ramdaspur (Amritsar) β as state within a state. He ordered execution of Guru Arjan in 1606
- Sikh movement got politicized in 17th century - culminated in the institution of the Khalsa by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699. Community of the Sikhs, called the Khalsa Panth, became a political entity
Guru Nanak Ideas
- Worship of one God
- Caste, creed or gender was irrelevant for attaining liberation
- Idea of active life with social commitment
- Used terms nam, dan and isnan for the essence of his teaching, which meant right worship, welfare of others and purity of conduct
- Teachings known as nam-japna, kirt-karna and vand-chhakna, which explain right belief and worship, honest living, and helping others
Martin Luther & Reformation
- 16th century β reformation in Europe
- Against Roman Catholic
- Insisted use of language of ordinary people rather than Latin
- Translated Bible to German
- Opposed practice of indulgences or donations to church
- Spread with growing use of printing press
- Protestants suggest there origin to ideas of Martin Luther
β Manishika