Page 97 - SST Class 07

g All human beings are equal. God neither Virashaiva or Lingayat Movement, believed in
creates high or low caste people nor he equality of all human beings and equal treatment
creates Hindus and Muslims. So, people of women. It was against caste system, idol
should be tolerant of one another. worship and all types of rituals.

g Share the pain of others. Try to lesson it. Bhakti Movement Spreads in Maharashtra
Helping fellow human beings is the true In the region of Maharashtra, Bhakti Movement
form of bhakti. spread from the 13th to 17th century. Bhakti
g Knowledge is an essential part of bhakti. It saints like Namdev, Eknath, Tukaram and
can be gained through a teacher (guru). Janeshwar composed simple Bhakti songs in
g A devotee can express bhakti through Marathi. These Bhakti saints worshipped a form
devotional music. of Vishnu called Vitthala and believed that god
resides in the hearts of all the people of all castes
and classes and can be reached through selfless
w Shankara was born in 9th century in Kerala. He devotion. These saint-poets rejected all kinds of
worshipped Shiva and is considered to be great rituals. They believed in selflessly serving their
because he immensely helped in the revival of fellow human beings and in sharing the pains of
Hinduism. others. Some other categories of Bhakti saints
w A famous Bhakti saint of South India was like Nathpanthis, Siddhacharas and Yogis spoke
Ramanuja, born in Tamil Nadu. He preached the about renouncing or giving up the world. They
message of intense devotion to Vishnu. He believed that God is a formless ultimate reality
believed in the equality of all human beings. and one can connect with this universal power
Another Bhakti saint Madhavacharya who lived in through meditation, yogasanas and breathing
the 13th century in Karnataka, popularised the
exercises. They believed that these practices
worship of Krishna.
discipline our mind and body and help us to
w Basavanna, the great Bhakti saint of Karnataka,
reach out and connect to the ultimate reality.
was originally a minister in the court of a Chalukya
These groups of Bhakti saints rejected all the
king. His followers
rituals and ceremonies associated with religious
known as Virashaivas
practices.
(heroes of Shiva) or
Lingayats (wearers of
the Linga) were devoted
worshippers of Lord
Shiva. They worship
Shiva in the form of a
Linga. They believe that
on death, the devotee
will be united with Shiva
and will not return to
Basavanna
this world.

Another strand (branch) of Bhakti Movement
Namdev Maharaj Eknath
began in Karnataka under the Bhakti saint
Basavanna. This movement, known as the

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