Bhakti Tradition and Sikhism
* Author
and Indologist, Res. Add. 19/5 Pottery Road, Kolkata 700 015.
Philosophically
speaking, Sikhism could be regarded as a later blossoming of the Bhakti
movement of Vaisnava tradition, which was developed in Tamilnadu. The Bhakti
movement maintained that God, though known by various names, and beyond
comprehension, is the one and the only Reality, that all else is illusion (maya),
and the best way to approach God is through repetition of His Name (Nama),
singing hymns of praise (Kirtan), and meditation under the guidance of a
Guru. Bhakti movement opposed the caste system. Guru Nanak, the founder of
Sikhism, was North India’s chief propounder of Bhakti tradition.1
Bhakti
movement in South India:
The philosophical basis for
the very thought–system, termed as, “Bhakti-Vada”, was founded by Ramanuja and
Srikantha. But the emergence of distinct “Bhakti Cult” in South India was the
result of emotional fervour of Alvars and Nayanars who flourished between the
seventh and eleventh centuries and had drawn their ideas from the ancient
scriptures and the epics.
These men came from the
population which remained unaffected by theism of the Upanishadic thought,
their personal attitude to God and their worship to Him is very deep and
intense.
For the first time since the
Vedic age, Namatvar, one of the Alvars, denied that man’s highest goal is
liberation, for to him, the loveless technique of Yoga had no meaning. From the
tenth century onwards, all that is most vital in the East manifested itself in
the form of Bhakti.2
Bhakti
Tradition of North India:
On the other side, the path of
Bhakti from the South was followed in the North India by Ramananda who is known
to be a bridge between the bhakti movement of the South and the North India. It
is held that, Ramananda was in the direct line of descent from Ramanuja, the
great teacher of southern Sri Vaishnas, according to a vaishnava hagiography.3 Breaking away from his own teacher he founded the Ramanandi sect.
He introduced the worship of Rama as the Supreme deity.
The bhakti movement raised its
head in the whole of India through Namdev in Maharashtra, Jaidev in Bengal,
Chaitanya in Orissa and Ramananda in the North.
Out of the teachings of these
bhaktas, especially Ramanuja, two divergent schools of bhakti arose, the first
more conservative held the doctrine of incarnation and worshipped Saguna Rama,
having attributes and his consort Sita. Its greatest exponent was Tulsidas, the
author of “Ramacharita Manasa”, or Krishna and Radha like Sur Das and
Mira. The second school was that of the saints, who completely rejected
orthodox practices and worshipped under the name ‘Rama’ the transcendent and
formless nirguna; attributeless aspect of the divinity. Greatest name
among this group is that of Kabir, the prominent figure of the Northern Saint
tradition.
Little is known about the very
earliest Northern India saints who were the predecessors and contemporaries of
Kabir. The names of some of them come down to us in the traditional list of the
disciples attribute to Ramananda in the Sikh scripture, Guru Granth Sahib,
which contains some of their carefully selected utterances as well. They are
Namdev, Jaidev, Trilochan, Kabir, Beni, Sadhana, Pipa, Dhanna, Ravidas,
Parmanand, and few others.
Bhakti
Tradition in Punjab and Emergence of Sikhism:
For the existence of
Vaisnavism in Punjab at that time, there is the first clear literary evidence.
The Bhagavata Gita, the Bhagavata Purana and the Vishnu Purana, which are
regarded as the Vaishnava text par excellence, were known even to
Al-beruni whose information may be presumed to have been collected chiefly from
the Punjab.4
In Multan, a place associated
with the Narsingh (man-lion) avatara of Vishnu remained in existence
throughout the medieval period.5
It may be safely suggested,
therefore, that Vaishnavism in its older form was known in the Punjab at that
time.
However, what distinguishes
Guru Nanak (1469 – 1539)’s “Bhakti” from the religion of the Vaishnava bhagats
is that his bhava (adoration) is addressed directly to God Himself;
emphasis upon “bhava-bhakti” is indeed very strong. There is no
salvation without bhakti, the loving devotion and dedication to God.6
Guru Nanak established a new
religion, “Sikhism”, with a distinct scripture and distinct socio-religious
group of people. He tried to harmonize the ideas of God in the light of truth
which was bestowed on him as a prophet of God through revelation. He did not
reject the essentials of any religion of the world, but tried to give them a
practical shape to be useful for self-realization. As Guru Granth Sahib
teaches: “Revelation essentially is one, comes from the one and is the
description of the one.”7 Thus, in the fifteenth century, there comes on the
historical and geographical scene of the North Western India a new vibrating
religion called “Sikhism”. When Guru Nanak depicted the names of God as Rama or
Krishna in his verses, he did not mean incarnation of Vishnu but the
unincarnate absolute God. He not only described God as Rama or Krishna or Gopal,
but also as Allah, Karim, Rahim. He maintained that children of God cannot
becomes rivals. He was not a mediator between Islam and Hinduism, but a
mediator between man and God, between conscience and the universal soul.7
Guru Granth Sahib and its Bhagat Contributors:
The Eternal Guru – Guru Granth
Sahib Ji was edited by Guru Arjun Dev ji in 1604 A.D.
Spiritual poetry of the
following 36 great contributors (Gurus, Bhagats, Bhats and Gursikhs) has been
included in Sri Guru Granth Sahib. The 36 contributors are:- 6 Gurus, 15
Bhagats, 11 Bhats, 4 Gursikhs.
Among them 15 Bhagats are:-
(1) Kabir, (2) Nam Dev, (3) Ravi Das, (4) Ramanand, (5) Jaidev, (6) Trilochan,
(7) Dhanna, (8) Sain, (9) Pipa, (10) Bhikhan, (11) Sadhana, (12) Parmanand,
(13) Sur Das, (14) Beni, (15) Farid.
The Bani of the Bhagats
which is included in Sri Guru Granth Sahib, reiterates the beliefs of the Sikh
Gurus and can transform man into a noble being. Empty rituals and barren rites
are denigrated as these lead a person away from devotion and humanitarianism.
Out of 36 contributors of Sri
Guru Granth Sahib, the above 15 are Bhagats who came from different language
regions, lived in different cultures, enjoyed different rituals and belonged to
different faiths.
These Bhagats of Bhaktas whose
scriptures are incorporated in the holy Sri Guru Granth Sahib were not only
devout children of God but also the personages who, unmindful of the so-called
caste barriers, created among mankind the feeling of fraternity and universal
brotherhood.
These Bhagats motivated their
followers to face bravely the cruelties to gain justice. Their hymns occupy an
important place because they are rich in providing spiritual and intellectual
strength to human kind.
q
Reference
1. Sikhism and Samkhya Philosophy; Dr. Debabrata Das, Sanskrit
Pustak Bhandar, Kolkata, 2002, Pg. 3-4.
2. The Philosophy of Indian Monotheism; M. P. Christanand, The
Macmillar Co. of India, Meerut. 1979, Pg. 67.
3. The Santa; Karine Scnomer & W. H. McLeod (eds.); Motilal
Banarsi Dass, Delhi, 1987, Pg. 5.
4. Vaisnavism, Saivism and Minor Religions System; Bhandarkar,
R.G., Pg. – 114
5. Twarikh–I-Zila-I-Multan, Pg – 52.
6. Rag Asa, Guru Granth Sahib, 413, 418, 420.
7. Guru Granth Sahib, Pg. – 648.