Mirabai
Meerabai's name is foremost among medieval devotees. Meera was born by Acharya Ramchandra Shukla V.S. It is believed in 1573 (AD.1516) while historians like Gaurishankar Hirachand Ojha, Harvilas Sharda and Gopinath Sharma etc. have given the birth of Mirabai in V.No. It is believed in 1555 (AD 1498). Meera was the daughter of Ratan Singh, son of Rao Duda, the Rathor ruler of Merta.
When Meera was two years old, her mother passed away. Meera was married to Bhojraj, the eldest son of Maharana Sanga of Mewar. After seven years of marriage, Bhojraj got Veergati in a war. A few days later, Meera's father-in-law Maharana Sanga and father Ratan Singh also died in the battle of Khanwa. After some time, King Maldev of Jodhpur snatched his Merta kingdom from Mira's uncle Veeramdev.
She was of religious nature since childhood and considered Shri Krishna as her husband. Now she became detached from worldly pleasures and started worshiping the Lord with the sages and saints. After Maharana Sanga, his sons Ratan Singh and Vikramaditya became the Maharana of Mewar respectively, but both of them did not like Meera singing hymns and dancing with the sadhus.
He tried to stop Meera but Meera left Chittor and went to Vrindavan. From there she went to Dwarka for a few days and there her body was completed.
Mirabai renounced the princely splendor of Chittor and assumed detachment and made Saint Raidas, born in Chamar caste, her guru. She did not believe in caste and hierarchy. He worshiped the sagun-embodied form of God. She was a poet of a high order.
Even today his hymns are sung with great love and fervor among the masses. Inspired by Mirabai, crores of women of the country adopted the path of devotion to Shri Krishna, due to which the atmosphere of Hindu families became filled with Shri Krishna. Many kings of Rajputana also propagated the poetry of Shri Krishna Bhakti and Braj Bhasha.
There are three stages to Meera's spiritual journey. In the first step, Meera yearns for Krishna and sings very anxiously- 'Main virahni satti jagoo, jag sove ri aali.' She sings 'Daras bin Dukhan lage nain' in Krishna's disillusionment. In the second stage of Krishna Bhakti, Meera attains Shri Krishna and she says- 'Payoji Maine Ram Ratan Dhan Payo'
In the third and final stage of devotion, Meera becomes self-realized and becomes one with God. This is the climax of Sayujya Bhakti. Reaching this stage, Meera says- 'Mhare to girdhar gopal dujo na koi'
Meera's poetry gives a feeling of complete surrender to God by renouncing worldly bondages. Meera considered Krishna to be God and imperishable. His devotion is without pomp. Meera was not tied to any particular sect and the doors of her temple were open to all. Meera has composed many verses which are available in retail form. According to Mahadevi Varma, the verses of Meera are the priceless gems of devotional literature of the world. Meera 'Raag Govind' A book named was also written but this book is not available.
Dadu Dayal
Dadu Dayal's name is taken with great respect among the saints of the Bhakti movement. He was born in Ahmedabad and spent most of his life in Rajasthan. Like Kabir and Nanak, Dadu also opposed superstition, idol-worship, caste-system, pilgrimage, fasting, etc. and preached to the public to lead a straight and true life.
Dadu was a good poet. He emphasized on increasing the spirit of love and brotherhood among different sects through hymns. His cult became famous as Dadu-Panth. After his death his disciples- Garibdas and Madhodas worked tirelessly to spread his teachings.
Goswami Tulsidas
Tulsidas, a disciple of Narahari Anand, became a contemporary saint of Akbar, a prominent member of Ramananda's disciples. He was born around AD 1532. He composed texts like Ramcharit Manas, Geetavali, Kavitavali, Vinay Patrika, and Hanuman Bahuk etc.
He inspired the people of India to worship the archer Dasharatha-Nandan Shri Ram, who assumes human body to protect the earth, Brahmins, cows and gods- 'Go Dwij Dhenu Dev Hitkari, Kripasindhu Manush Tanudhari.' And those who make people happy, protect Vedic religion and destroy the wicked - 'Jana Ranjan Bhanjan Khal Brata. Bed Dharma Rachhak Sunu Bhrata.'
Tulsi gave inspiration to the general public to have faith in God and said- O God, you are my master, guru, father and mother, where should I go except your lotus feet- 'More you Lord Guru Pitu Mata, where should I go where my post would have been burnt.'
Tulsidas called upon the general public to read the scriptures and condemned the creeds and paths spread by various gurus so that Hindu-dharma could be kept in the thread of unity and religion-fearing subjects were attacked by evil persons in the name of religion. To prevent wandering in the mazes that are being created.
Tulsi warned the hypocritical gurus and said- 'Hari sisya dhan sok na hari. So gur ghor hell mahu parai.' That is, the guru who does not defeat the grief of the disciple, but grabs his wealth, he falls into a terrible hell. He also directed the kings to obey their good subjects, ie gentlemen, saying- 'Jasu Raj dear people are dukhari, so Nripu Avasi Narak Adhikari.'
He 'Kou nrup hohu us ka loss' Told the mentality of slaves and slaves. Tulsi's Ramcharit Manas reached door to door. Millions of people got its quadrupeds by heart and started reciting it from house to house. Due to the belief in Shri Ram of Ramcharit Manas, new courage was infused in the minds of the people who were oppressed for hundreds of years. People remained firm on their religion by having faith in the divine power.
Tulsidas's efforts to coordinate various sects:During the Delhi Sultanate (13th-16th century AD) and the Mughals (16th-18th century AD), there was an atmosphere of bitterness between the Shaiva, Shakta and Vaishnava sects of Hinduism. Even between the Sagunopasaks and the Nirgunopasakas there was bitterness. The followers of all the sects used to deny the opinion of the other by saying that their own opinion is superior.
Goswami Tulsidas made a successful attempt to end this bitterness through Ram Charit Manas. In this book, Tulsi declared Shiva, the deity of the Shaivas, and Rama, an incarnation of Vishnu, as each other's lord, friend and servant.
Ram Bhakt Tulsi said 'Sevak Swami Sakha Siya-Piya Ke, Hit Nirudhi Sab Bidhi Tulsi Ke' He praised Shankar by saying. Not only this, Tulsi had spoken from the mouth of her lord Ram- 'Aur ek guput mat sabi kahan kar jori, sankar bhajan without nara bhagati na pavai mor' He showed the way of worshiping Lord Shiva to the devotees of Ram and got success in bringing the Shaktas and Vaishnavas closer by praising Shiva-wife Gauri from the mouth of Ram-wife Sita- 'Jai Jai Giribar Raj Kisori . Jai Mahesh Mukh Chand Chakori.'
Tulsi did 'Sagunahi agunahi nahi kuthu pierda, village sage Puran Budh Beda' By saying that he tried to bridge the gap between Sagunopasaks and Nirgunopasaks. Tulsi, ending the distance between the path of devotion and the path of knowledge, said- 'Bhagathi knowledge is not kuchu bheda, ubhay harhim bhav sambhav kheda.'
Tulsidas believed in the superiority of brahmins, but his Rama was the common man who ate berry at the house of a woman of Shabar caste, saved Jatayu of Gridhra caste, made Nishadraj his friend and saved Kevat and Ahilya. Tulsi's Rama by killing Tadka-slaughter, Shurpanakha's nostrils and by killing Simhaka gave a clear message that if a woman is endowed with good qualities, then she is worshipable, an evil woman is as worthy of slaughter as a bad man.
Tulsi's efforts were also emphasized by other saints who came later, as a result of which the distance between the followers of Shaivism, Shakta and Vaishnava sects and the different ideologies present within these sects was reduced and Hinduism, religions and religions coming from foreign soil. boldly stood in front of him. Tulsi died in AD 1623 (V.No.1680).
Sant Tukaram
Sant Tukaram was born in AD 1608 in Dehu village of Maharashtra. He was a great saint and poet of his time and was the main pillar of the Bhakti movement going on in India at that time. Him 'Tukoba' Also called. There is a difference of opinion among scholars regarding his birth etc. Tukaram was worshiped by a monk named Chaitanya 'Rama Krishna Hari' He preached the mantra in a dream. Sant Tukaram preached to the general public for 17 years.
About 4000 'abhang' sung by him in the latter part of his life and recorded by his disciples are still available today. Tukaram studied the scriptures of Saints Dnyaneshwar and Namdev deeply in his sadhak state. The same spiritual thread is threaded in the literature of these three saint poets. Being outspoken in nature, there is a harshness in his speech, his main objective behind that was to protect the religion by eliminating the wicked from the society.
He always relied on the truth and without paying attention to anyone's happiness and unhappiness, along with the protection of religion, did the work of denial of hypocrisy. He has criticized very sharply the social stigmas such as the inexperienced bookhi-pundit, the mischievous-religious leader, etc. This is the essence of his teachings that instead of the momentary happiness of the world, one should try to attain the eternal happiness of Paramarth.
Other Bhakti Sects
In this tradition of Bhakti sects, Rudra sect of Vishnu Goswami, Radhavalabhi sect of Hitharivansh and Haridasi sect are important.
Impact of Bhakti Movement
The Bhakti movement had a profound impact on the religious, social and political life of Indians. This effect was so deep that while the common people stood up against the Muslim invaders as their shield against the religion, the Hindu kings of India also took the task of protecting their subjects from the hands of the enemies as a divine command-
(1.) World of Courage in Hindu Caste
The Hindu people were drowning in the river of despair due to the repression by the Muslim rule. After getting the reliance of God-devotion from the Bhagavad Gita, he got the power to bear the atrocities of the Muslims.
(2.) Reduction in atrocities of Muslims
The teachings of Bhakti-Margi saints also had an impact on Muslims. These saints preached the unity of God and told that different religions are like different paths to reach one God. This reduced the atrocities being committed by Muslims on Hindus.
(3.) Reduction in extravagance
Bhaktimargi saints strongly condemned the extravagance in religion and preached to make life simple and conduct pure.
(4.) Denial of idol-worship
Saints like Kabir, Namdev and Nanak believed in the worship of the Nirguna-formal God. He denied idol-worship.
(5.) Communication of generous feelings
As a result of the teachings of Bhakti-Margi saints, there was a communication of generosity between Hindus and Muslims and they started showing tolerance towards each other.
(6.) Demonstration of fundamental unity of religions
Bhaktimargi saints and Sufi preachers demonstrated the fundamental unity of both religions by emphasizing monotheism, love of God and devotion. This affected both Hindus and Muslims and they started trying to understand each other.
(7.) Origin of ethnic and personal pride
The message of incarnation of Vishnu and his incarnations to be devotee-Vatsal and to suppress the tyrant was strongly conveyed to the general public by Bhakti Margi saints. This created caste and personal pride among the Hindus. They started considering it as a divine quality to protect the weak and also started presenting themselves for this task. He considered the protection of cow, woman and refuge as a means of obtaining God's grace.
(8.) Development of provincial languages
Bhakti Margi saints adopted folk languages to take their teachings to the masses. As a result, the progress of provincial languages and Hindi language got a big boost and various types of literature flourished.
(9.) New life to the castes considered to be Dalit
The teachings of the saints aroused new enthusiasm and new hope among the Dalit castes of India. By following the path of Bhakti, Prapati and Sharnagati, human beings of every class and every caste could attain salvation. This movement reduced the growing gap between upper and lower castes in Indian society and infused new hope in Hindu society.
(10.) Awakening of national spirit
The political impact of the Bhakti movement was also huge. As a result of this movement, national movements started in Punjab and Maharashtra during the Mughal period. This movement was started by Guru Gobind Singh in Punjab and Shivaji in Maharashtra. This influence continued even during the British rule.