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RELIGION AND RELIGIOSITY Question 1 Trace the historical development of various religious thoughts, beliefs, and rituals of India with special emphasis on Brahmanic, Sharmanic, Puranic, Tantaric and Bhakti tradition.

Ans wer Religion in India is characterised by a diversity of religious beliefs and practices. The preamble of the Indian constitution states that India is a secular state. The Indian subcontinent is the birthplace of four of the world's major religions: namely Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism— collectively known as Indian religions that believe Moksha is the most supreme state of the Atman (soul). According to the 2011 census, 79.8% of the population of India practices Hinduism, 14.2% adheres to Islam, 2.3% adheres to Christianity, 1.72% adheres to Sikhism, 0.7% adheres to Buddhism, and 0.37% adheres to Jainism. Zoroastrianism, Yungdrung Bon, Sanamahism, and Judaism also have a history in India, and each has at least several thousand adherents in India. Brahmanism, ancient Indian religious tradition that emerged from the earlier Vedic religion. In the early 1st millennium BCE, Brahmanism emphasized the rites performed by, and the status of, the Brahman, or priestly, class as well as speculation about brahman (the Absolute reality) as theorized in the Upanishads (speculative philosophical texts that are considered to be part of the Vedas, or scriptures). In contrast, the form of Hinduism that emerged after the mid-1st millennium BCE stressed devotion (bhakti) to particular deities such as Shiva and Vishnu. During the 19th century, the first Western scholars of religion to study Brahmanism employed the term in reference to both the predominant position of the Brahmans and the importance given to brahman (the Sanskrit terms corresponding to Brahman and brahman are etymologically linked). Those and

subsequent scholars depicted Brahmanism either as a historical stage in Hinduism’s evolution or as a distinct religious tradition. However, among practicing Hindus, especially within India, Brahmanism is generally viewed as a part of their tradition rather than as a separate religion. Shramana traditions in ancient India were brought about by the ascetics who renounced worldly life to search for the truth about life and the universe. They included many groups, sects and varieties of opinions. The most famous among them were the Buddhists, the Jains, the materialist Lokayatas and groups like the Ajivikas. In the Brahmanical order the Brahmins were privileged as intermediaries between deities and followers, and were considered the protectors of the sacred learning found in the Vedas. The Shramanas rejected the authority of the Brahmins and opposed the ritualistic orthodox ideas of the Brahmanas. The Shramana movement was a Non-Vedic movement parallel to Vedic Hinduism in ancient India. The Shramana tradition gave rise to Jainism, Buddhism, and Yoga, and was responsible for the related concepts of sa ṃsāra (the cycle of birth and death) and moksha (liberation from that cycle). The Sramanic traditions seemed to have gained momentum in the first half of the first millennium BCE, although some of them may be as old as some hymns of the Rigveda. As Gavin Flood pointed out, it is difficult to arrange the ancient renouncer traditions into such clear-cut categories as Vedic and non-Vedic since the history of that period is vague. It is true at least with regard to the influences which shaped the later Vedic period and the available information does not “provide us with an adequate picture of the religious and cultural life of that period spanning over half a millennium.” Puranic Hinduism means the popular Hindu religion whose objects of worship are deities like Siva, Vishnu, Brahma, Goddess Mother, the Sun, etc. The origin of these deities is mythology found in the puranas. Based on this mythology, popular Hinduism has three main sects - Saivism (Siva worship), Vaishnavism (Vishnu worship) and Sakteyism (worship of mother goddess). Another feature of Puranic Hinduism is the caste system.

It included Vaishnavism and Saivism in which there was growing emphasis on the worship of a chosen deity. In such worship the bond between the devotee and the god was visualised as one of love and devotion or bhakti. In case of Vaishnavism, cults developed around the various avatars of incarnations of the deity. Ten avatars were recognised within the tradition. Some of these forms were represented in sculptures as were other deities. Shiva for instance, was symbolised by the linga, although he was occasionally represented in human form too. Tantrism” or the tantric traditions originated as a development within Hinduism during the first millennium CE. Over the course of this millennium Hinduism went through a remarkable series of transformations, transitioning from the ancient Vedic tradition into the classical traditions of Hinduism. This period saw the rise of both the tantric and the Bhakti devotional movements. While the latter drew from the tendency toward monotheism seen in late Vedic literature, Tantrism developed from Vedic ritual traditions as well as from the yogic and meditative traditions that developed both within ancient Hinduism as well as in rival Buddhist and Jain traditions. Hinduism as currently practiced is a product of the intermixture of tantric and devotional approaches to practice that developed during the first millennium CE. The Bhakti saints talked about God being Supreme Being and concept of one god. The message was self surrender to god and removal of caste and birth distinctions. They emphasized on complete devotion as the path to god and urged people to shed age old superstitions. However the Bhakti saints in early period belonged to Hinduism and recognized Hindu gods although they too preached message of love and unity. The teachers of this movement: Shankaracharya, Mirabai, Surdas, Tulsidas. The later Bhakti saints like Kabir, Nanak remained apostles of Bhakti movement. They learned from old masters but showed a novel path. They didn’t adhere to any particular religion.They preached against idolatry, superstitions, casteism, polytheism, rituals and ceremonies. They believed in devotion as only way of salvation. They asked for unity amongst all religions.

The Bhakti and Sufi movements were well developed before an active process of interaction between them began from the 11th century onwards. The Bhakti movement was a continuation of the earlier devotional cult.But what distinguished it now was that the Sufi ideas influenced its doctrines, as did also certain Islamic concepts, particularly those of social justice. Their interaction grew till it reached a climax in the 16th century.Its impact, however, continued to shape popular minds and attitudes till the end of the 18th century when new conditions were created with the advent of colonialism. The Bhakti teachers taught that the relationship between man and god was based on love and worshiping the god with devotion was better than merely performance of religious ceremonies. Bhakti teachers stressed the need for tolerance among men and religions. Question 2 Is it viable to find connections between Sufism and Bhakti?

Answer The term Bhakti is derived from the Sanskrit root “Bhaj” means to serve. Dharma means the natural internal characteristics of a thing. The meaning of “movement” is the practice that influences a large section of a society. In the early beginning, the word Bhakti is first mentioned in Rig-Veda as worship to Indra and Surya Devata. It is also noted in the famous discourse on Bhakti by Narad in Narad Bhakti Sutra. Similarly it also appears in Vishnu-sookta. Later, Upanishads emphasized Para Bhakti. Bhakti and Upasana of Vishnu, Shiv, Roodra, Narayan, and Surya are also indicated in Upanishad. The great epic Ramayana emphasized Pitra Bhakti and Guru Bhakti. During the period that saw the rise and spread of the Bhakti movement, India also saw the advent of Islam with the ascendancy of the Mughal Empire that lasted between the 16th and the 19th century. It started with the ascension of Babur in 1526 and ended with the death of Aurangzeb in1707. Within fifty years of Aurangzeb’s death, this large Mughal Empire started disintegrating. With weak successors to Aurangzeb, a near empty treasury, the rise of the regional princes of various Hindu kingdoms and the arrival of the East India Company that established the British rule, the Mughal Empire came to an end. The last of the Mughal emperors was Bahadur Shah who was

deposed and deported to Rangoon by the East India Company in 1757. The Sufi movement came to India two centuries before the Bhakti movement and spread among the Muslims. The Chishtiya Sufi order was established in India by Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti in the 12th century. He died in 1230. The Bhakti and Sufi movements showed people that the existence of God could be experienced under the guidance of a guru. Priest and ulemas are not required to feel the pressure of God. Thus, many people began to question the authority and domination of their religion by religious authorities. Both the Bhakti and Sufi movements emphasized on the feeling of universal brotherhood and religious tolerance. As a result, an environment of mutual love and respect was created among different sections of societies. There is also a link between Quran an d Upanishads as the message given through both of these is same that love and respect of their religion and to live with feeling of brotherhood. The Sufi saints who have settled In India influenced Indian masses with their teachings and way of life. Since the abodes of the Sufi saints were visited by all irrespective of caste and creed some Bhakti saints also came into their contact. When Kabir was in search of spiritual guide he visited the best of musalman and Hindus. It is possible that among the best of musalmans, he might have visited some Sufi saints. The expression of Kabir teachings was shaped up by that of Sufi saints. Though we don’t find much personal contact between Sufi saints and bhakti saints but the interaction of Sufi and bhakti though suggests that both of these movements were affectedly each other. As both the bhakti movement and Sufi movement flourished in India at the same time, it was natural that both of them influenced each other. The result was the in the form of adaption of common practices. Both the Bhakti and Sufi saints criticized the existence of rituals in India. They also said that Islam and Hinduism were two different paths leading to the same destination and that Ram and Rahim, Krishna and Karim, Allah and Ishwar were different names of the same Almighty. Bhakti and Sufi saints preached their teachings in local language only. This led to the development of the local and vernacular languages. Thus Advaita and Sufi traditions echo each other when it comes to philosophical concepts dealing with existence.

QUES 3. How do you look at interaction of Islam with contemporary religious beliefs and practices ? ANS . Islam is not at all disturbed theologically by the presence of other religions. The existence of other traditions is taken for granted, and in fact Islam is based on the concept of the universality of revelation In the Qur'an although generally only the A brahamic tradition has been considered, the principle of the universality of revelation applies to all nations, and Muslims applied it outside the A brahamanic family when faced with Zorastrianism in Persia and Hinduism in India. The spiritual anthropology depicted in the Qur'an makes of prophecy a necessary element of the human condition. According to Islam, man is truly a man only by virtue of his participation in a tradition which is shaped by revelation. Adam was also the first prophet. Man did not evolve from polytheism to monotheism. Islam is today the religion of more than 350 million Muslims (or Moslems or Mohammedans), occupying a wide belt stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific, across Africa, parts of Europe, and Asia. Partly because of the importance of the Muslim habitat (or dar el-Islam) in world affairs, the West has begun to take special interest in studying Islam and is trying to understand its relation to the life of the Muslim....