Question

Why do you think ordinary people were attracted to Bhakti?

Answer 1

Hint: The Bhakti Movement originated in eighth century south India and spread Northwards, it acted as the catalyst to the formation of Sikhism. The movement can be referred to the theistic devotional trend emerged in Medieval Hinduism.

Complete answer: The Bhakti movement emerged with the aim of reforming Hinduism and developed around various sub-sects of Shaivism, Vaishnavism and Shaktism i.e. followers of goddess Shakti. The movement focused on an individual approach to attain spirituality without considering one's birth, caste or gender, thus the movement gave freedom of choice to ordinary people. The movement was a reworking of the Ancient Vedic traditions as it was the product of people’s struggle and retaliation to free the religion from control and authority of the priests. The main preaching of Bhakti movement was the fluidity of the norms and ideals of Hinduism, where a person was Independent to select his ways and means to worship a god. Bhakti literally means passion, hence pure and passionate devotion to a deity was the most imperative aspect of the movement. Few scriptures of the prime importance of the Bhakti movement included the Bhagavad Gita and the Padma Purana, both of these texts are Hindu scriptures.
All the saints of the Bhakti Movement strongly preached the need for tolerance and respect among humans. Mostly, the Bhakti Saints belonged to the lower castes like Sant ram, Sant Kabir, hence the movement gained momentum because it challenged the superiority of Brahmans as the disciples and followers of the saints could belong to any caste or diverse social backgrounds. The movement was beyond the Varna boundaries. There was no requirement for elaborate rituals as Hymns were created for praising the lord by various philosophers, and poets in local languages so that people could resonate with the Bhakti movement. These easy rules attracted people to the Bhakti movement.

Note: The Bhakti movement was initiated by Sankara, who preached monism i.e. the denial of a transcendent deity. The Alvars (followers of Lord Vishnu) and the devotees of Shiva ( Nayanars) led Bhakti movements in the sixth century.