Jaswinder Singh

Student ID- 201910058

Reception of Bhakti in Vaishnava Tradition

Introduction
As Klaus K. Klostermaier states that there is three distinct paths for gaining
salvation is found in Hindu religiosity: karmamārga, the path of works,
Jñānamārga, the path of knowledge and bhaktimārga, the path of loving
devotion.1 According to the Bhagavad-Gita, a Hindu religious text, the path of
bhakti, or bhakti-marga, is superior to the two other religious approaches, the
path of knowledge (jnana) and the path of ritual and good works (karma)2. The
majority of Hindus today are followers of the bhaktimārga, whose exterior
manifestation in temples, images, processions, feasts, and popular gurus
characterize so much of present-day India 3. On the contrary of the above
statements Krishna Sharma in his book, ‘Bhakti and the Bhakti movement- A New
Perspective’, claimed that bhakti is neither a cult nor a doctrine. Nor does it
signify any specific religious mood or belief. Further, he asserts that the
juxtaposition of Shankar’s Advaita Vedanta and bhakti and that of Bhakti and
Gyana is unwarranted.4The genealogy that constructs Bhakti as a social
movement is the genealogy of one of the many publics produced by Bhakti over
Millennia. It has its roots in colonialism, orientalist scholarship, and the Indian
Independence movement, on the one hand, and the rise of sociology and
structural analysis of a culture in Europe American scholarship of the late
nineteenth and twentieth century, On the other. 5My point in this paper is not
been to prove or disprove this question of whether Bhakti is a “moment” but to
ask the question “who says” it is a moment. The fallacies involved in the current
approach to Bhakti and the Bhakti movement can be rectified only if the generic
meaning of Bhakti is accepted in academic circles. In this paper, we attempt to
understand what the term Bhakti itself is, how it emerged in Indian tradition
1
Klaus K. Klostermaier, A survey of Hinduism { Albany: State University of New York press, 1989}, 119.
2
Doniger Wendy, Article Title:Bhakti, Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., March 03, 2015,URL:
https://www.britannica.com/topic/bhakti Access Date:April 17, 2020.
3
Klaus K. Klostermaier, A survey of Hinduism { Albany: State University of New York press, 1989},181.
4
Sharma, Mr. Krishna, Bhakti and the Bhakti movement: A new perspective {New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal
Publishers, 1987), preface 9-17.
5
Novetzke, Christian Lee. “Bhakti and Its Public.” International Journal of Hindu Studies 11, no. 3 (2007): 266.
Accessed April 16, 2020. www.jstor.org/stable/25691067.

1
particularly in Vaishnava tradition. Further, we will also make an approach to the
fact that how bhakti manifests through its public and what was its embodiment.
The Gupta Kings and the Spread of Vaishnava Tradition
The Garuda Emblem on the coins of Samudragupta suggests that this king was
also a Vaishnava. It should be mentioned in this connection that in most of the
side of the river of the coins the Goddess Lakshmi is shown. All these things no
doubt show that Samudragupta was devoted to Vaishnavas king. As regards the
successor of Samudra Gupta it may be mentioned that his son Chandragupta II
was a devoted worshipper of God Vasudeva- Vishnu. So, we see that these two
Kings were the devotees of Lord Vishnu it maybe we expected that they worked
for the propagation of the religion professed by them. And it was during their
reign-period that Vaishnavism traveled to the island overseas.6
Vaishnava tradition has not lost its importance in modern times. Swāmi Rāma
Tīrtha has carried the message of Lord Viṣṇu to the West. Swāmi Bhaktivedānta
founded ISKCON, a movement to propagate Gauḍīya-Vaiṣṇavism not only in India
but also throughout the whole world.

1.1 Etymology and Meaning of Bhakti

Most of the scholars assert that the word Bhakti originated from Sanskirt
bhaj, to adore, honor, worship and it is a central spiritual path in Hinduism,
involving devotion and service of the chosen deity.7 If derived from the root
bhañj-, to separate, bhakti would have to be translated as separation. That makes
sense insofar as bhakti presupposes that the individual human person is
separated from and not identical with the Supreme Being. In this view, inner
longing for the reunion is the characteristic of human life and the Bhakta is one
who is aware of the painful separation Between humans and God and tries to
overcome it.8Although scholarly work typically associates Bhakti with literary
practices that signal the rise of devotional sentiment, many non-literary practices

6
Mukherjee, Shyam Chand. “THE GUPTA KINGS AND THE SPREAD OF VAISHNAVISM IN GREATER INDIA.”
Proceedings of the Indian History Congress 20 (1957): 89-93. Accessed April 16, 2020.
www.jstor.org/stable/44304446.
7
Jones, Constance A., Encyclopaedia of Hinduism {USA: An imprint of InfoBase Publishing, 2007}, 76.
8
Klaus K. Klostermaier, A survey of Hinduism {Albany: State University of New York press, 1989}, 181.

2
are also described as bhakti, including pilgrimage, daily worship, the repetition of
a deity's name or names, as so on. In practical terms, the bhakti resists
confinement to any particular action or utterance.9
There is also available a translation of the word bhaj, to share, to apportion and
hence comes most commonly to indicate love, sharing, worship, and devotion.
The verbal root has other association too, however the most common include: to
divide, distribute and bestow; to obtain as one's share, to enjoy or possess; to
resort, to engage in, assume(as a form), put on; to experience; to practice or
cultivate; to choose; to serve and adore.
The noun Bhakta refers to a person or in some cases a thing in whom some
qualities of Bhakti inhere. Thus, a bhakta is someone who is devoted, who serves,
who is associated with the community and who is faithful and loyal.
Bhakti means not only love for God but also enmity toward those, who do not
love him in the same way. Even a saint like Tulasīdāsa, whose verses generally are
expressing a very humane form of religiosity, teaches the Rāma bhaktas: avoid
those who do not love Rāma and Sītā, as your most bitter enemies, no matter
how near of kin they may be.
1.2 The Embodiment of Bhakti Through Practices
There are some main practices performed by bhaktas in their daily routine. we
have mentioned some of them in the below points.
1.2.1 Prayer
Hindu prayer books contain hymns to all the main deities who Form the object
of loving devotion and adoration of many groups of bhaktas. Included are prayers
to Gaṇeśa, Viṣṇu, Śiva, Sūrya, Devī, Dattā, Rāma, Kṛṣṇa and besides hymns to
Gaṅgā and Yamunā, the planets and various less popular Avatāras of the main
deities. Fifteen numerically the Viṣṇu bhaktas with their many subdivisions are
the most important group. Śiva bhaktas come second and Devī Bhaktas or Śāktas,
rank third followed by the rest.
1.2.2 Temple Worship

9
Novetzke, Christian Lee. “Bhakti and Its Public.” International Journal of Hindu Studies 11, no. 3 (2007): 258..
Accessed April 16, 2020. www.jstor.org/stable/25691067.

3
 At the end of the Gupta Empire (320-647) and in the reign of the Pallavas and
the Pandyas in South India (fourth to tenth centuries), we see a surge in royally
sponsored temple construction, the creation of “homes” for deities and loci for
public worship. These provide at least one early context for the practices
associated with bhakti, such as the process of making visual contact with a deity,
or darshan, and the offering of goods to a deity’s image, or puja.
1.2.3 Recitation of Name
This has led practically all the bhakti schools to teach that the name of God is
sufficient to bring salvation to everyone who utters it. Therefore, many bhakts
recite the “mantra of the sixteen names,” which is the “Great Mantra” for the
japa of Kṛṣṇa bhaktas:
Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare
Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare.10

1.3 Bhakti as An Aesthetic Sentiment

Bhakti is not only considered as a devotion but also considered as an
aesthetic sentiment. There are eight sentiments according to Bharta. They
are erratic (srngâra), comic (hàsya), pathetic (karuna), furious (raudra),
heroic (vira), terrible (bhayànaka), odious (bibhatsa) and marvelous
(adbhuta). These eight sentiments have eight corresponding sthàyi
Bhàvas.11The rasas are together called as Navarasa and are considered to be
explained by Bharata Muni. Ramayana and Mahabharata are equally
popular for their flair of depicting various incidents with elaborate mention
of Navarasas which is an integral part of our day to day life. Aacharya
Abhinavagupta mentions Bhakti in his commentary on the Natya Shastra, as
an important accessory sentiment of the Shanta Rasa, which he strove with
great effort to establish. However, just as Shantha slowly attained a state of
primacy that it was considered the Rasa of Rasas, Bhakti also soon began to
10
Klaus K. Klostermaier, A survey of Hinduism { Albany: State University of New York press, 1989}, 186.
11
BHADURI, NRISINHA P. "BHAKTI (DEVOTION) AS AN AESTHETIC SENTIMENT." Journal of
Indian Philosophy 16, no. 4 (1988): 377-410. Accessed April 17, 2020.
www.jstor.org/stable/23445538.

4
loom large and despite the lukewarmness of the great run of Alankarikas,
had the service of some distinguished advocates, including Tyagaraja. It is
the Bhagavata that gave the great impetus to the study of Bhakti from an
increasingly aesthetic point of view.12
1.4 Three Grades of Bhakti
Sādhana-bhakti, the first stage, contains vaidhi-bhakti, ritualistic devotion, and
rāgānugā, or passionate following. It begins with having faith in Kṛṣṇa, enjoins
association with good people, participation in worship, avoidance of the
worthless, steadfast devotion and real liking of the Lord, which results in
attachment and love. The next major stage is bhāvana-bhakti, emotional
devotion, in which the theory of rasas finds a masterful application. Beginning
with the sentiment of peacefulness, continuing through servitude,
companionship, parental love, and culminating in madhu-rasa, sweet love, the
authors expound a complex system of religious psychology at the center of which
is Kṛṣṇa’s divine bodily presence. When emotional devotion has fully matured it
develops into the third stage of bhakti, premā, which is simply loved at its highest
level. This is considered to be permanent and cannot be taken away from the
devotee under any circumstances.
2.1 Bhakti in Vaishnava Theology
Vaishnava tradition is one of the major forms of modern Hinduism,
characterized by devotion to the god Vishnu and his incarnations (avatars). A
devotee of Vishnu is called a Vaishnava. The Devotional Vaishnava literature that
emerged in Sanskrit and vernacular writings from the 10th through the 16th
century continues to be a part of Vaishnava worship, though it is often
supplemented by later philosophical and narrative texts, both written and oral. In
the following paragraphs, we will be trying to examine the basic conception of
bhakti in Vaishnava tradition
2.1.1 Bhakti of Lord Vishnu and his Adherents

12
Wikipedia contributors, “Indian aesthetics,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia,
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Indian_aesthetics&oldid=902516059 (accessed
April 17, 2020).

5
 Worshipping and praising God is the most prominent activity of Viṣṇu
bhaktas. Countless people praise Viṣṇu, whom they have accepted as their one
and supreme Lord. Contemporary Vaiṣṇavism, the largest section of all Hindu
traditions, comprising about 70 percent of Hindus today. The core of Vaiṣṇava
tradition, however, is Lord Viṣṇu as savior, a belief that, again, has found
expression in countless myths. The most popular and consequently the most
important part of Viṣṇu mythology is focused on the avatāras, the bodily descents
of Viṣṇu exercising his function as the saviour of the world. The ten most widely
recognized avatāras are described in so many texts are Matsya, (the fish),
Ekaśṛṅga (the unicorn), Kūrma (the tortoise), Varāha ( the boar), Nṛsinha( the
man-lion), Vāmana ( the dwarf), Parashurama, The Rāma, and Kṛṣṇa. The most
popular among the Viṣṇu avatāras is, undoubtedly, Kṛṣṇa, “the black one,” also
called Śyāma. Popular myths reveal faith in Kṛṣṇa as a manifestation of God,
capable of liberating mankind. His birth is surrounded by miracles. In later
Vaiṣṇavia tradition, Śrī becomes a major part of it we can see in Śrī Worship an
element of popular Indian religion, in which worship of goddesses Always
occupied a prominent place13.
2.1.2 Poet-Saints of Vaishnava Tradition and Bhakti
Andal is one of the best-loved poet-saint of the Tamils. Pious tradition
holds her to be the incarnation of Bhūmi Devi (Sri Lakshmi as Mother Earth)
to show humanity the way to Lord Vishnu's lotus feet. Sūrdās (1478 to ca.
1560) was, according to tradition, blind from birth. Yet his poetry, aflame
with the love of Kṛṣṇa, was so famous all-over North India. Vaiṣṇava
tradition had and has a deep appeal to women. One of the woman-saint
Mīrābāī’s songs may help to appreciate the depth of feeling that is Viṣṇu
bhakti.

2.1.3 Bhakti as Personal and Impersonal Devotion in Vaishnava Tradition

A common scholarly convention interprets Bhakti to mean personal devotion or
sentiment of intimacy with a deity, but the term is also used in highly abstract
contexts where the person is not present. In these cases both in scholarship and
13
Klaus K. Klostermaier, A survey of Hinduism {Albany: State University of New York press, 1989}, 198-218.

6
the Indian public sphere, Bhakti defined as in the form of saguna and nirguna.
Nammalvar, the last of the great Tamil Vaishnava saints called Alwars (880-930
A.D) said in his great poem, the Tiruvaymoli that God participates in two states
both in the world of forms and existence and qualities (saguna) and in the world
of formlessness and non-existence without qualities (nirgun).14 The manifestation
of personal God could be observed from the process of making visual contact with
deity or darshan, and the offering of goods to a deity’s image, or puja. On the
other hand, the nirguna deity is manifested as Brahman, the impersonal divine
substance of which all living things are elements. Although there is a big
difference between nirguna and saguna bhakti, however, one can see similar
interactions in these beliefs by looking in the structure of the Hindu temple. In
some Hindu temples for instance as the Meenakshi Temple in South India, one
can see that the outlook of temple expressed in a mind-blowing variety of detail
about Saguna bhakti manifestations however when we look the innermost shrine,
the center of the temple, called garbha griha (Sanskrit for 'womb house') here
one encounters the nirguna god.15 In the South Indian temples, too one
encounters the simplest of images in the garbha griha, usually a Shiva Lingam or
Vishnu's Shalgram stone, sometimes a small icon completely mummified in layers
of cloth, a sinister image but one without qualities, nirguna. This is the triumph of
the nirguna deity in the Hindu temple. So, we can say that the minimal temple is
Nirgun, the orthodox temple is saguna and the mobile temple mediates between
them giving qualities to the formulas Central image.
Conclusion
As we have discussed in the above Paragraphs that each of the major divinities
of Hinduism like Vishnu, Shiva, and the various forms of the Goddess have distinct
devotional traditions. Vishnu-bhakti is based on Vishnu’s avatars (incarnations),
particularly Krishna and Rama. Devotion to Lord Vishnu is associated with his
14
If you say he exists, he does.
His forms are these forms.
If you say he does not,
His formlessness
Is of these non-forms.
If he has the qualities
Of existence and non-existence,
He is in two states.
He who pervades is without end. {Tiruvaymoli of Nammalvar, 1.1.9, from Carman and Naranayan, The Tamil Veda}
15
Doniger, Wendy, On hinduism, {New York: Oxford University press, 2014}, 151-156.

7
frequent manifestations on earth. As we have seen that there is no one Particular
meaning which could be attributed to bhakti. However, much work has been
written about Bhakti and the Bhakti movement in the field of Indian history,
philosophy, religion, literature, and sociology but there are many fallacies
involved in the current approach to Bhakti and Bhakti movement. These fallacies
should be rectified, as I mentioned above, through exploring the generic meaning
of bhakti. In this paper we have examined the fundamental question about bhakti
and its conception in the mind of Scholars and as well as of bhaktas. Through this
evaluation, we have been going through the expression of bhakti in the
Vaishnavas tradition. This paper was a little attempt to looking for the true
expression of bhakti throughout modern works done by scholars in the context of
devotion.

8
 Bibliography
Books
 Doniger, Wendy, On Hinduism, Oxford University Press, New York 2014.
 Klaus K. Klostermaier, A survey of Hinduism, State University of New York
Press, Albany, 1989.
 Sharma, Mr. Krishna, Bhakti and the Bhakti movement: A new perspective,
Munshiram Manohar Lal Publishers, New Delhi, 1987.
Encyclopedia
 Jones, Constance A., Encyclopaedia of Hinduism, An imprint of InfoBase
Publishing, USA, 2007.
Online resources
 BHADURI, NRISINHA P. “BHAKTI (DEVOTION) AS AN AESTHETIC
SENTIMENT.” Journal of Indian Philosophy, vol. 16, no. 4, 1988, pp. 377–
410. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/23445538. Accessed 17 Apr. 2020.
 Mukherjee, Shyam Chand. “THE GUPTA KINGS AND THE SPREAD OF
VAISHNAVISM IN GREATER INDIA.” Proceedings of the Indian History
Congress, vol. 20, 1957, pp. 89–93. JSTOR,
www.jstor.org/stable/44304446. Accessed 17 Apr. 2020.
 Novetzke, Christian Lee. “Bhakti and It's Public.” International Journal of
Hindu Studies, vol. 11, no. 3, 2007, pp. 255–272. JSTOR,
www.jstor.org/stable/25691067. Accessed 17 Apr. 2020.
 Wikipedia contributors. "Indian aesthetics." Wikipedia, The Free
Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 19 Jun. 2019. Web.17
Apr. 2020.
 Doniger Wendy, Article Title: Bhakti, Encyclopædia Britannica,
Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., March 03, 2015, URL:
https://www.britannica.com/topic/bhakti Access Date: April 17, 2020.