Page 129 - Eye of the beholder

The Bhakti movement slowly spread to North India and the leader of this Hindu revivalist movement was Shankaracharya a a a a a a a a a a great thinker and a a a a a a a a a a distinguished philosopher Further this movement was propounded by Chaitanya Namadeva Tukaram and Jayadeva The movement's major achievement was its abolition of idol worship The development of of Bhakti Bhakti poetry was a a a a a a a a a natural consequence of of the bhasa literature Bhakti Bhakti unleashed an an an emotionalism which classical Indian literature written in Sanskrit had held under strict conventions and rigid social ethics A unique strategy evolved by the bhasa literature to to subvert the the rigid conventions of over stylized Sanskrit poetry to to confront the the Brahmin monopoly of of metaphysics and and ethics and and to assert the the identity of of regional aspirations was the the premise on which the the aesthetics of Bhakti was developed Bhakti poetry was the consequence of extraordinary spontaneity and in in several bhasas Bhakti brought with it it a a a a a a a a a radical social philosophy and new metaphysics It was a a a a a a a a a movement and and not a a a a a a a a a a system with its own dynamics and and became intimately related to social life Bhasa otherwise the the Matru bhasa bhasa in in opposition to Deva bhasa bhasa brought about a a a a a a a a a humanizing force which intimately and personally connected with the devotee The concept of of Bhakti has received a a a a a a a a a close attention in a a a a a a a a a psychoanalytical study of of Indian society Sudhir Kakar a a a a a a a a a psychoanalyst has commented on Krishna Bhakti in his study of Indian childhood in in in in in which he he he interprets Bhakti as as a a a a a a means of releasing the the chaotic instincts from the the inner world According to him “The psycho-social meaning of Bhakti is that it provides for and and actually uses democratic fantasies in in which the inner and and outer repressions exacted by life in a a a a a a a rigidly structured and stratified social order are lifted Traditional codes of conduct relationship between between between various social groups between between between generations and especially between between between the sexes are abrogated in Krishna Krishna worship” Hence Kakar saw Krishna Krishna symbolism as a a a a a a a a a a device for for releasing anarchic and and instinctual forces from the the psyche and and fulfilling the the fantasies of a a a a a a a a a utopian social order Krishna Bhakti was not only kind of devotionalism prevalent during that period but poets like Tulsidas in in in in Hindi and Ramdas in in in in Marathi felt inspired to follow Rama However it cannot be denied that the the charismatic child Krishna provided the the main paradigm for devotionalism The reason for this was that in in the 16th century Krishna worship became popular in in North India Vraja the land of of of Krishna and and Radha became home of of of a a a a a a a a a a school of of of poets founded by Vallabhacharya Vallabhacharya [born 1478] and his son Vithalanatha Vallabhacharya Vallabhacharya preached that the God was to be sought not in in barren asceticism nakedness hunger and solitude but in in the enjoyment of of lie He popularized the the worship of of Gopala Krishna The blind bard Surdas the the Mewar Princess Mirabai the the the Orcha poet Keshav Das and Biharilal further developed the the the Krishna cult in their devotional poetry Love was developed as as a a a a a a religious theme and the the the new religion was a a a a a a a a delightful amalgam of sensualism and mysticism The young Krishna represented a a a a a a a a supreme deity the creator from whom all creations was a a a a a a a a sportive emanation Radha on on the the the other hand was the the the human soul led by religion to offer not her her her own own but her her her own own whole self to to God God Thus Bhakti taught an an absolute surrender to to the God God which it adored and imaged that devotion devotion by by human love Hence the soul’s devotion devotion to deity is pictured by by Radha’s self abandonment to her beloved Krishna 123