Bhakti (Sanskrit:भक्ति;Pali:bhatti) is a term common inIndian religions which means attachment, fondness for, devotion to, trust, homage, worship, piety, faith, or love.[1] In Indian religions, it may refer to loving devotion for apersonal God (likeKrishna orDevi), a formlessultimate reality (likeNirgunaBrahman or theSikh God) or for anenlightened being (like aBuddha, abodhisattva, or aguru).[2][3][4][5][6][7] Bhakti is often a deeply emotional devotion based on a relationship between a devotee and the object of devotion.[8][9][10]
One of the earliest appearances of the term is found in theearly BuddhistTheragatha (Verses of the Elders).[11] In ancient texts such as theShvetashvatara Upanishad, the term simply means participation, devotion and love for any endeavor, while in theBhagavad Gita, it connotes one of the possible paths of spirituality and towardsmoksha, as inbhakti marga.[12]
Bhakti ideas have inspired many popular texts and saint-poets in India. TheBhagavata Purana, for example, is aKrishna-related text associated with the Bhakti movement in Hinduism.[13] Bhakti is also found in other religions practiced in India,[14][15][16] and it has influenced interactions between Christianity and Hinduism in the modern era.[17][18]Nirguni bhakti (devotion to the divine without attributes) is found inSikhism, as well as Hinduism.[19][7] Outside India, emotional devotion is found in someSoutheast Asian andEast Asian Buddhist traditions.[4][5][20]
The term also refers toa movement, pioneered by theTamilAlvars andNayanars, that developed around the godsVishnu (Vaishnavism),Shiva (Shaivism) andDevi (Shaktism) in the second half of the 1st millennium CE.[2][3][21][22][23][24]
Devotional elements similar to bhakti have been part of variousworld religions throughout human history.[25] Devotional practices are found in Christianity,[25][26] Islam,[27][28] Buddhism[29][30][31] and Judaism.[25][32]
The Sanskrit wordbhakti is derived from the verb rootbhaj-, which means "to worship, have recourse to, betake onself to" orbhañj-, which means "to break."[13][33][34][35] The word also means "attachment, devotion to, fondness for, homage, faith or love, worship, piety to something as a spiritual, religious principle or means of salvation".[1][36]
The meaning of the termBhakti is analogous to but different fromKama. Kama connotes emotional connection, sometimes with sensual devotion and erotic love. Bhakti, in contrast, is spiritual, a love and devotion to religious concepts or principles, that engages both emotion and intellection.[37] Karen Pechelis states that the word Bhakti should not be understood as uncritical emotion, but as committed engagement.[37] She adds that, in the concept ofbhakti in Hinduism, the engagement involves a simultaneous tension between emotion and intellection, "emotion to reaffirm the social context and temporal freedom, intellection to ground the experience in a thoughtful, conscious approach".[37] One who practicesbhakti is called abhakta.[38]
The term bhakti, inVedic Sanskrit literature, has a general meaning of "mutual attachment, devotion, fondness for, devotion to" such as in human relationships, most often between beloved-lover, friend-friend, king-subject, parent-child.[13] It may refer to devotion towards a spiritual teacher (Guru) asguru-bhakti,[39][40] or to a personal God,[13][41] or for spirituality without form (nirguna).[42]
According to the Sri Lankan Buddhist scholar Sanath Nanayakkara, there is no single term in English that adequately translates or represents the concept ofbhakti in Indian religions.[43] Terms such as "devotion, faith, devotional faith" represent certain aspects ofbhakti, but it means much more. The concept includes a sense of deep affection, attachment, but not wish because "wish is selfish, affection is unselfish". Some scholars, states Nanayakkara, associate it withsaddha (Sanskrit:Sraddha) which means "faith, trust or confidence". However,bhakti can connote an end in itself, or a path to spiritual wisdom.[43]
The termBhakti refers to one of several alternate spiritual paths tomoksha (spiritual freedom, liberation, salvation) in Hinduism,[44] and it is referred to asbhakti marga orbhakti yoga.[45][46] The other paths areJnana marga (path of knowledge),Karma marga (path of works),Rāja marga (path of contemplation and meditation).[44][47]
The termbhakti has been usually translated as "devotion" inOrientalist literature.[48] The colonial era authors variously describedBhakti as a form of mysticism or "primitive" religious devotion of lay people with monotheistic parallels.[49][50][51] However, modern scholars state "devotion" is a misleading and incomplete translation ofbhakti.[52][53]
Many contemporary scholars have questioned this terminology, and most now trace the termbhakti as one of the several spiritual perspectives that emerged from reflections on the Vedic context and Hindu way of life. Bhakti in Indian religions is not a ritualistic devotion to a God or to religion, but participation in a path that includes behavior, ethics, mores and spirituality.[52] It involves, among other things, refining one's state of mind, knowing God, participating in God, and internalizing God.[52] Increasingly, instead of "devotion", the term "participation" is appearing in scholarly literature as a gloss for the termbhakti.[52][53]
Bhakti is an important term in Sikhism and Hinduism.[19] They both share numerous concepts and core spiritual ideas, butbhakti ofnirguni (devotion to divine without attributes) is particularly significant in Sikhism.[19][7][54] In Hinduism, diverse ideas continue, where bothsaguni andnirguni bhakti (devotion to divine with or without attributes) or alternate paths to spirituality are among the options left to the choice of a Hindu.[19][44]
The last of three epilogue verses of theShvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23), dated to be from 1st millennium BCE, uses the wordBhakti as follows:[55][56]
yasya deve parābhaktiḥ yathā deve tathā gurau ।
tasyaite kathitā hyarthāḥ prakāśante mahātmanaḥ[57]
He who has highestBhakti ofDeva (God), just like hisDeva, so for hisGuru (teacher),
To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.
This verse is one of the earliest use of the wordBhakti in ancient Indian literature, and has been translated as "the love of God".[49][58] Scholars[59][60] have debated whether this phrase is authentic or later insertion into the Upanishad, and whether the terms "Bhakti" and "Deva" meant the same in this ancient text as they do in the modern era.Max Muller states that the wordBhakti appears only once in this Upanishad, that too in one last verse of the epilogue, could have been a later addition and may not be theistic as the word was later used in much laterSandilya Sutras.[61] Grierson as well as Carus note that the first epilogue verse 6.21 of the Shvetashvatara Upanishad is also notable for its use of the wordDeva Prasada (देवप्रसाद, grace or gift of God), but add thatDeva in the epilogue of the Shvetashvatara Upanishad refers to "pantheisticBrahman" and the closing credit to sage Shvetashvatara in verse 6.21 can mean "gift or grace of his Soul".[49]
Scholarly consensus seesbhakti as a post-Vedic movement that developed primarily during theHindu Epics andPuranas era of Indian history (late first mill. BCE-early first mill. CE).[62][63]
TheBhagavad Gita is the first text to explicitly use the word "bhakti" to designate a religious path, using it as a term for one of three possible religious approaches oryogas (i.e.bhakti yoga).[64]
TheBhagavata Purana (which focuses onKrishna bhakti) develops the idea more elaborately,[13] while theShvetashvatara Upanishad presents evidence ofguru-bhakti (devotion to one's spiritual teacher).[45][65]
TheBhakti Movement was a rapid growth of bhakti, first starting in the later part of 1st millennium CE, fromTamil Nadu in southern India with the ShaivaNayanars[23] and the VaishnavaAlvars. Their ideas and practices inspired bhakti poetry and devotion throughout India over the 12th-18th century CE.[22][23] The Alvars ("those immersed in God") were Vaishnava poet-saints who wandered from temple to temple, singing the praises of Vishnu. They hailed thedivine abodes of Vishnu and converted many people toVaishnavism.[23]
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Like the Alvars, theShaiva Nayanar poets were influential. TheTirumurai, a compilation of hymns by sixty-three Nayanar poets, is still of great importance in South India. Hymns by three of the most prominent poets,Appar (7th century CE),Campantar (7th century) andSundarar (9th century), were compiled into theTevaram, the first volumes of theTirumurai. The poets' itinerant lifestyle helped create temple and pilgrimage sites and spread devotion to Shiva.[67] Early Tamil-Shiva bhakti poets quoted theKrishna Yajurveda.[68] The Alvars and Nayanars were instrumental in propagating the Bhakti tradition. TheBhagavata Purana's references to the South Indian Alvar saints, along with its emphasis onbhakti, have led many scholars to give it South Indian origins, though some scholars question whether this evidence excludes the possibility thatbhakti movement had parallel developments in other parts of India.[69][70]
Scholars state that thebhakti movement focused on Vishnu, Shiva, Shakti and other deities, that developed and spread in India, was in response to the arrival ofIslam in India about 8th century CE,[71] and subsequentreligious violence.[2][3][72] This view is contested by other scholars.[72]
The Bhakti movement swept over east and north India from the fifteenth-century onwards, reaching its zenith between the 15th and 17th century CE.[73] According to Patton Burchett, the four key features of this early modern bhakti movement in north India were:
First and foremost, these communities were united by a distinctive focus on personal devotion to the Divine, as opposed to other traditional pillars of Indic religiosity such asknowledge, ritual, or the practice ofyoga orasceticism. This devotion took place in the context of an intimate, loving relationship with the Divine in which caste, class, or gender typically were said to have no place. This was a bhakti that found its most characteristic expression in (a) the context of spiritual fellowship (satsaṅg) with other devotees (bhaktas), (b) the medium of song, (c) the idiom of passionate love (śṛṅgāra/mādhurya) or painful separation (viraha), and (d) the remembrance—in meditation, recitation, chant, and song—of the name(s) of God. Second, these new devotional communities ofMughal India were alike in their production and performance of devotional works, composed in vernacular languages, remembering the deeds of God (especiallyKṛṣṇa andRām) and exemplary bhaktas. Third, important in all these communities was the performance and collection of songs attributed to renowned bhakti poet-saints like Kabīr, Raidās, and Sūrdās. Finally, despite their many differences, the vast majority of bhakti authors and sectarian communities in early modern North India came together in articulating a devotional sensibility distinct from—and often explicitly positioned in opposition to—certaintantric paradigms of religiosity.[74]
Bhakti poetry and ideas influenced many aspects of Hindu culture, religious and secular, and became an integral part of Indian society.[23] It extended its influence toSufism,[75]Christianity,[15] andJainism.[16]Sikhism was founded byGuru Nanak in the 15th century, during the bhakti movement period, and scholars have identified it as drawing from many Bhakti traditions and ideas.[76]
Saints such asMirabai,Soordas,Narsinh Mehta composed several bhajans that were a path towards Bhakti for many, that are universally sung even today. A modern age saint, Shri Devendra Ghia (Kaka) has composed about 10,000 hymns. These hymns are related to bhakti, knowledge, devotion, faith, introspection and honesty.[77]
The movement has traditionally been considered as an influential social reformation in Hinduism, and provided an individual-focused alternative path to spirituality regardless of one's birth caste or gender.[73]Postmodern scholars question this traditional view and whether theBhakti movement were ever a social reform or rebellion of any kind.[78] They suggest Bhakti movement was a revival, reworking and recontextualization of ancient Vedic traditions.[79]
TheBhagavad Gita introduces bhakti yoga in combination withkarma yoga andjnana yoga,[80][81] while theBhagavata Purana expands on bhakti yoga, offering nine specific activities for the bhakti yogi.[82] Bhakti in theBhagavad Gita offered an alternative to two dominant practices of religion at the time: the isolation of the sannyasin and the practice of religious ritual.[83]Bhakti Yoga is described bySwami Vivekananda as "the path of systematized devotion for the attainment of union with the Absolute".[84] In various chapters, including the twelfth chapter of theBhagavad Gita, Krishna describesbhakti yoga as one of the paths to the highest spiritual attainments.[85] In the sixth chapter, for example, the Gita states the following about bhakti yogi:
The yogi who, established in oneness, Honors Me as abiding in all beings,
In whatever way he otherwise acts, Dwells in Me.
He who sees equality in everything, In the image of his own Self, Arjuna,
Whether in pleasure or in pain, Is thought to be a supreme yogi.
Of all yogis, He who has merged his inner Self in Me,
Honors me, full of faith, Is thought to be the most devoted to Me.[86]
TheShandilya Bhakti Sutra andNarada Bhakti Sutra define devotion, emphasize its importance and superiority, and classify its forms.[87][88][89]
According toRamana Maharishi, bhakti is a "surrender to the divine with one's heart". It can be practiced as an adjunct to self-inquiry, and in one of four ways:[90]
TheBhagavata Purana (verse 7.5.23) teaches nine forms of bhakti:
TheBhagavata Purana describes many examples of bhakti, such as those exhibited byPrahlada and thegopis. The behavior of the gopis in theBhagavata Purana exemplifies the essence of bhakti. When separated from Krishna, the gopis practiced devotion by listening to his stories (śravaṇa), praising his glorious deeds (kīrtana), and other acts to keep him in their thoughts.[91][92]
Traditional Hinduism speaks of five differentbhāvas or "affective essences".[93] In this sense,bhāvas are different attitudes that a devotee takes according to his individual temperament to express his devotion towards God in some form.[94] The differentbhāvas are:
Several saints are known to have practiced thesebhavas. The nineteenth century mystic,Ramakrishna is said to have practiced these fivebhavas.[95] The attitude ofHanuman towards the godRama is considered to be ofdasya bhava.[96] The approach ofArjuna and the cowherd boys ofVrindavan with the godKrishna is regarded assakhya bhava.[95][97]Radha's love towards Krishna ismadhurya bhava.[95] The attitude of Krishna's foster-motherYashoda towards him exemplifiesvatsalya bhava.[98] TheChaitanya Charitamrita mentions thatChaitanya came to distribute the four spiritual sentiments of Vraja loka: dasya, sakhya, vatsalya, andsringara. Sringara is the relationship of the intimate love.
Inbhakti worship, rituals are primarily directed towards physical images. The terms "murti" and "vigraham" are commonly used in Hinduism to describe these images. Amurti denotes an object with a distinct form that symbolizes the shape or manifestation of a particular deity, either a god or goddess. A ritual calledpranapratishta is performed before worshipping a murti, establishingprana (life force) into the image and inviting the god or goddess to reside in the murti.[99]
Bhakti (bhatti inPali) has always been a common aspect ofBuddhism, where offerings, prostrations, chants, and individual or group prayers are made to theBuddha andbodhisattvas,[4][101] or to otherBuddhist deities.[102] According toKarel Werner Buddhist bhakti "had its beginnings in the earliest days".[5] Perhaps the earliest mention of the term bhatti in all Indic literature appears in the early BuddhistTheragatha (Verses of the Elders).[11] As such, Har Dayal writes that, bhakti "was an integral part of the Buddhist ideal from the earliest times".[11] John S. Strong writes that the central meaning of Indian Buddhist bhakti was "recollection of the Buddha" (Sanskrit:buddhanusmrti).[6]
One of the earliest form of Buddhist devotional practice was the early Buddhist tradition of worshiping the Buddha through the means ofstupas and bodily relics (sarira).[103] Later (after about the third century CE), devotion using Buddha images also became a very popular form of Buddha bhakti.[104]
Sri Lankan scholar Indumathie Karunaratna notes that the meaning ofbhatti changed throughout Buddhist history.[105] Inearly Buddhist sources like theTheragāthā,[106]bhatti had the meaning of 'faithful adherence to the [Buddhist] religion', and was accompanied with knowledge. Later on, however, the term developed the meaning of an advanced form of emotional devotion. This sense of devotion was thus different than the earlyBuddhist view of faith.[107]
According to Sanath Nanayakkara, early Buddhist refuge and devotion, meant taking the Buddha as an ideal to live by, rather than the later sense of self-surrender. But already in theCommentary to theAbhidhamma textPuggalapaññatti, it is mentioned that the Buddhist devotee should develop hissaddhā until it becomesbhaddi, a sense not mentioned in earlier texts and probably influenced by the Hindu idea ofbhakti. There are instances where commentatorBuddhaghosa mentions taking refuge in the Buddha in the sense of mere adoration, indicating a historical shift in meaning. Similar developments in Buddhist devotion took place with regards to worshipping the Buddha'srelics andBuddha images.[108]
TheMahāsāṃghika school of early Buddhism seems to have promoted devotional practice and bhakti to a high status and to have anchored this practice in the purity and radiance of the Buddha.[109] TheMahāvastu, one of the few surviving Mahāsāṃghika texts, states:
The purity of the Buddha is so great that the worship of the Exalted One is sufficient for the attainment of Nirvāna, and that one already acquires endless merit by merely walking round a stupa and worshipping it by means of floral offerings...from the Buddha’s smile, there radiate beams which illuminate the entire buddhafields.[110]
In later faith-oriented literature, such as theAvadānas, faith is given an important role in Buddhist doctrine. Nevertheless, faith (śraddhā) is discussed in different contexts than devotion (bhakti).Bhakti is often used disparagingly to describe acts of worship to deities, often seen as ineffective and improper for a Buddhist. Also,bhakti is clearly connected with a person as an object, whereasśraddhā is less connected with a person, and is more connected with truthfulness and truth. Śraddhā focuses on ideas such as the working ofkarma andmerit transfer.[111] One source for Indian Buddhist devotion is theDivyāvadāna, which focuses on the vast amount ofmerit (puṇya) that is generated by making offerings to Buddhas,stupas and otherBuddhist holy sites.[112]
This text contrasts faith in the Buddha with bhakti for mundane deities (such as Hindu gods), and in this case, it sees bhakti as something for those who are less developed spiritually.[113] However, in other passages, the term is used positively, and in one story, the sageUpagupta says to the demonMara:
Even a very small bit of bhakti [toward the Buddha] offers nirvana to the wise as a result. In short, the wicked things that you [Māra] did here to the Sage, when your mind was blind with delusion, all of these have been washed away by the copious waters ofśraddhā that have entered your heart.-Divyāvadāna 360.1–4 [Aśokāvadana 22.7-9][114][113]
In the 11th century, the Bengali Buddhist scholar Rāmancandra Kavibhārati composed a work on Buddhist bhakti called theBhakti Śataka.[115]
Today, affective devotion remains an important part of Buddhist practice, even in Theravada Buddhism. According to Winston King, a scholar onTheravāda inMyanmar, "warm, personalized, emotional"bhakti has been a part of theBurmese Buddhist tradition apart from the monastic and lay intellectuals.[116][117] TheBuddha is treasured by the everyday devout Buddhists, just like Catholics treasureJesus. The orthodox teachers tend to restrain the devotion to the Buddha, but to the devout Buddhist populace, "a very deeply devotional quality" was and remains a part of the actual practice. This is observable, states King, in "multitudes ofPagoda worshippers of the Buddha images" and the offerings they make before the image and nowhere else.[116]
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A rich devotionalism developed in IndianMahāyāna Buddhism and it can be found in the veneration of the transcendent BuddhaAmitabha ofPure Land Buddhism and of bodhisattvas likeMañjusri,Avalokiteshvara (known asGuanyin in East Asia and Chenrezig in Tibetan) and the goddessTara.[118][105][119][120] Mahayana sources like theLotus Sutra describe the Buddha as the loving father of all beings, and exhorts all Buddhists to worship him.[121]
Mahayana bhakti also led to the rise of temples which were focused on housing a central Buddha image, something which became the norm during theGupta period.[122] Gupta era Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism stressed bhakti towards the Buddha as a central virtue and liberally made use of Buddha images, which are often accompanied by attendant bodhisattvas.[122]
These new developments in Buddhist bhakti may have been influenced by the pan-Indianbhakti movement, and indeed, many Gupta monarchs, who were devoted to theVaishnavaBhagavata religion also supported Buddhist temples and founded monasteries (including great ones likeNalanda).[123] Buddhists were in competition with the Hindu religions of the time, like the Bhagavatas and Shaivas, and they developed Buddhist bhakti focused on the Buddhas and bodhisattvas in this religious environment.[124]
Mahāyāna interpretsBuddhahood as a transcendent and eternal state (as found in theLotus Suta) and is also equated with the ultimate reality (Dharmakaya).[108] Bodhisattvas were also considered to be extremely powerful divinities that could grant boons and rescue people from danger.[120] This shift towards devotion to a transcendent being in later Buddhism has been seen as being similar totheistic forms of Hindu bhakti.[125][126] Mahayana Buddhist bhakti was also sometimes aimed at aMahayana sutra, such as thePrajñaparamita sutra and theLotus Sutra.[127][128]
Some sources, like theSukhāvatīvyūhasūtra, even state that through devotion to the Buddha Amitabha one can attain rebirth in hisPure Land and here one can be purified of all negative karma and eventually attain Buddhahood. As such, they make Buddha bhakti a central element of theirsoteriology. Bhakti in these sutras supersedes the making of good karma and cultivation of the path in favor of devotion to the Buddha Amitabha who can lead one to liberation in the Pure Land.[108] This eventually came to be seen as its own path to liberation, its ownmārga, often called the "easy path". A text attributed toNagarjuna, the *Dasabhumikavibhāsā (Chinese:Shí zhù pípóshā lùn 十住毘婆沙論, T.1521) teaches the "easy practice" which is simply being constantly mindful of the Buddhas.[129]
All of these ideas became the foundation for the later development of East AsianPure Land Buddhism.
Mahayana Buddhist bhakti is grounded in the Mahayana ideals of thebodhisattva,bodhicitta (the mind aimed at awakening for the benefit of all beings) and skillful means (upaya).[120] Mahayana bhakti practices include various forms of ritualpujas and prayers. The Mahayana form of the practice ofBuddhānusmṛti (remembering the Buddha) could include visualization practices and recitation of the names of a Buddha or bodhisattva (as innianfo) was also a common method of devotional practice taught in numerous Indian sources.[126]
One common puja and prayer format in Indian Mahayana was the "seven part worship" (saptāṇgapūjā orsaptavidhā anuttarapūjā).[130] This often included various offerings of flowers, food, scents, and music.[131] This ritual form is visible in the works ofShantideva (8th century) and includes:[132]
Devotion to the Buddhas and bodhisattvas continued to be a major part of the laterVajrayana Buddhist traditions of tantra.[120] Vajrayana Buddhism also added another form of bhakti to their teachings: guru bhakti (i.e.guru yoga), devotion towards the tantricguru. In India, various forms of devotion were practiced, including tantric songs of realization calledCharyagitis. These first arose in the so called calledCharyapadas of medieval BengaliSahajiya Buddhism.[133]
As such, both inTibetan Buddhism andEast Asian Buddhism, there remains a strong tradition of devotional veneration of various Buddhas and bodhisattvas (which includes making offerings and chanting their names ormantras), and this is one of the most popular forms of lay Buddhist practice.[102]
Bhakti has been a prevalent ancient practice in various Jaina sects, wherein learnedTirthankara (Jina) and humangurus have been venerated with offerings, songs andĀratī prayers.[134]
Jainism participated in the Bhakti school of medieval India, and has a rich tradition of bhakti literature (stavan) though these have been less studied than those of the Hindu tradition.[135] TheAvasyaka sutra of Jains includes, among ethical duties for the devotee, the recitation of "hymns of praise to the Tirthankaras" as the second Obligatory Action. It explains thisbhakti as one of the means to destroy negative karma. According toPaul Dundas, such textual references to devotional activity suggests thatbhakti was a necessary part of Jainism from an early period.[136]
According toJeffery D. Long, along with its strong focus on ethics and ascetic practices, the religiosity in Jainism has had a strong tradition ofbhakti or devotion just like their Hindu counterparts. The Jain community built ornate temples and prided in public devotion for its fordmakers, saints and teachers.Abhisekha, festival prayers, community recitals andMurti puja (rituals before an image) are examples of integrated bhakti in Jain practice. Some Jain monks, however, reject Bhakti.[137][138][139]
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