Making of Composite Culture – Sufi and Bhakti Movements
ICSE Class 7 · History & Civics · Chapter 10
What this chapter covers
- What is a composite culture?
- The Bhakti movement: its causes
- Features of the Bhakti movement
- The Alvars and the Nayanars
- Shankaracharya and Jnaneshwar
- Kabir and Guru Nanak Dev
- The Sufi movement: saints and teachings
- Bhakti and Sufi: how alike were they?
- Impact on society
Key definitions
Amir Khusrau was a poet and musician and a devoted disciple of Nizamuddin Auliya.
Key points
- A composite culture is formed when many traditions mix and enrich one another; the Bhakti and Sufi movements did much to build India's.
- The Bhakti movement rose because of costly rituals, the caste system, the work of earlier saints, contact with Islam and Sufism, and the need for comfort in hard times.
- Its features were devotion to one God, love over ritual, equality, use of regional languages, respect for the guru and a pure life.
- The Alvars (12, devoted to Vishnu) and the Nayanars (63, devoted to Shiva) sang in Tamil between about the sixth and ninth centuries and welcomed all castes and women.
- Shankaracharya of Kaladi taught Advaita and set up four mathas across India.
- Jnaneshwar of Maharashtra wrote the Jnaneshwari in Marathi and is honoured as a founder of the Varkari tradition.
- Kabir, a weaver of Varanasi, taught one formless God, rejected caste and ritual, and spoke through dohas collected in the Bijak.
- Guru Nanak Dev (1469–1539 CE) taught one God, honest work, sharing and equality, began the langar and founded the Sikh faith.
- Sufis were Muslim mystics organised in silsilas such as the Chishti and Suhrawardi; a pir taught his murids in a khanqah, and sama grew into the qawwali.
- Sufism rose and spread in India because it valued inner faith over pomp, found safety under the Delhi Sultanate, taught equality, kept open khanqahs and used local languages and music.
- Great Sufis of India include Moinuddin Chishti of Ajmer, Baba Farid, Nizamuddin Auliya of Delhi, Amir Khusrau and Bahauddin Zakariya of Multan.
- Bhakti and Sufi saints shared a belief in one God, love over ritual, the guide, equality and devotional music.
- Together they encouraged harmony, weakened caste, enriched regional languages and music, and shaped the shared culture India lives with today.
Questions answered
What is meant by a composite culture?
A composite culture is a way of life made up of many traditions that have mixed together over time, each borrowing from and enriching the others.
Give three causes of the rise of the Bhakti movement.
Any three of: costly and complicated rituals; the unfairness of the caste system; the influence of earlier saints such as the Alvars, the Nayanars and Shankaracharya; contact with Islam and Sufi ideas; the need for comfort in hard times.
List four features of the Bhakti movement.
Any four of: devotion to one God; love over ritual; equality of all people; use of regional languages; importance of the guru; surrender to God; a pure and simple life.
Give two similarities and two differences between the Alvars and the Nayanars.
Similarities: both sang in Tamil; both came from many castes and included women; both rejected caste as a measure of worth; both travelled from temple to temple. Differences: the Alvars worshipped Vishnu and the Nayanars Shiva; tradition counts 12 Alvars and 63 Nayanars; their hymns are in the Nalayira Divya Prabandham and the Tevaram respectively.
What did Shankaracharya teach, and why are his four mathas important?
He taught Advaita, that Brahman and the individual soul are one. His four mathas at Sringeri, Dwarka, Puri and Jyotirmath linked the four corners of India and encouraged pilgrimage across the land.
Why is the Jnaneshwari important?
Jnaneshwar wrote it in Marathi, so the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita reached ordinary people who could not read Sanskrit.
Name two of Kabir's teachings and the book in which his sayings are collected.
Any two of: one God for all; opposition to empty rituals in both religions; rejection of caste; the importance of the guru and God's name; simple living. His sayings are collected in the Bijak.
What are the three main duties taught by Guru Nanak Dev?
Naam japna (remembering God's name), kirat karna (earning by honest work) and vand chhakna (sharing with others).