Religion in India After the 13th Century

Introduction

Religion and culture have played an important role in history from ancient India to modern India. India is a country where different religions are established. All religions have different characteristics and different religious practices. Four important religions Hindu, Sikh, Jain and Buddhist were born in the land of India. These religions are known as Eastern religions. In India, more importance is given to the practice of religion because religion is not limited to just beliefs and customs, religion is the culture, philosophy of life and the art of living life.

Religion in the 13th Century

Islam is the second largest religion in India after Hinduism. The people who follow this religion are called Muslims. This religion emerged in India in the 7th century with the arrival of Arab traders. The main text of Islam is the Quran. The people of this religion follow the teachings of Prophet Muhammad. The people of Islam are mainly divided into two classes. In which there are Shia and Sunni. During the 13th century a new form of Islam had emerged in the form of Sufism.

Sufism

In the 13th century Sufism as a religion was at its peak. It started as a branch of Islam but influenced a large part of India.

• Sufism is life and death for God. Sufism is that sublime spiritual branch of Islam, in which special attention has been given to the sense of melody for the realization of God.

• Tasavvuf is the knowledge that helps to understand the existence of God and creates love in both the Creator and the Creator.

• Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, a disciple of Khwaja Osman Harooni's exponent of this order. He was a native of Afghanistan in 1192 AD and came in India with the army of Shihab-ud-din Ghori and settled permanently in Ajmer in 1195.

• The Sufi seeker considers the perfect human to be his guru. According to him, without a Guru, a human cannot achieve anything.

• According to Dr. Tarachand of Modern History, “Prophet Mohammad advised the man to surrender to Allah and laid special emphasis on surrender to the master of Sufism.

• Sufis turned to meditation to attain religious pleasure. Sufis believed that serving humanity is the ultimate form of devotion to God.

• They do not discriminate between Hindus and Muslims. The Sufi movement had a significant impact on Indian society.

Bhakti Movement- A Religious Movement

The Bhakti movement refers to the movement that was going on here before the advent of the Tuks and continued till the time of Akbar. It emerged as a new Hinduism with the involvement of different strata of society.

• This movement emphasized establishing the mystic relationship between man and God.

• Some scholars are of the view that the beginning of the Bhakti spirit is as old as the Vedas of the Aryans.

• But this movement has its roots in the seventh century. There were many reasons for the rise and spread of the Bhakti movement in the medieval period.

• For example, many evils of the Hindu religion, Hindu-Muslim coordination, the path of knowledge of Guru Shankaracharya, the propaganda work of Sufi saints, the preaching work of devotee saints, the rise of devotee saints etc.

Nayanars and Alvar

In Hinduism, Nayanars were devotees of Lord Shiva. They originated in the medieval period mainly in Tamil Nadu of South India. A total of 63 Nayanars played an important role in the spread of Shaivism. Similarly, the devotees of Vishnu are called Alvars.

• The Alvar and Nayanar saints raised their voices against the caste system and the supremacy of Brahmins.

• They travelled from place to place singing hymns in Tamil in praise of his presiding deity. In the course of their travels, the Alvar and Nayanar saints declared some holy places as their abode of Datka.

• Later, huge temples were built on these sites and they became places of pilgrimage. The hymns of the saint-poets were sung with rituals in these temples as well as the idols of these saints were also worshipped.

• The biggest feature of this tradition was the presence of women in it. For example, the devotional songs of an Alvar woman named Andal were widely sung.

Hinduism- Oldest Religion in India

Hinduism is recognised as the oldest religion in the world. The origin of word Hindu is considered to be the name of the main civilization of India, the Indus Valley civilization, the river Indus and the sentinel Himalayas of India.

Hinduism is not established by any particular person. It is the contribution of those sages who composed the Rigveda that laid the foundation of Hinduism. The names of Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Agni, Aditya, Vayu and Angira are very common.

Spatrishi, who narrated the Vedas thousands of years ago after hearing from Brahm (God) is considered to be the founder. Hinduism is the result of the oral tradition of the Vedas. In the Gita, Shri Krishna says that whenever there is a loss of religion, I will come to establish religion.

Hindu philosophy is based on salvation. There are innumerable souls in the universe, who take the body and move in the cycle of birth and death. The ultimate goal of the soul is salvation. Moksha can be attained only by devotion, knowledge and yoga. This is the eternal path.

Conclusion

India has witnessed a number of religions. The most acceptable and simpler version of these religions came into existence in the 13th century. A division of religions was also seen due intermixing of various ideas and components. However, despite it, Hinduism was maintained as the purest and oldest religion in India with a major change in its adaption and structure. But the idea of devotion to God remains the same in all religions.

FAQs

Q1. How many religions are found in India?

Ans. The people of all seven religions living in India are as follows – Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian, Buddhist, Jain and Parsi. If we believe the religious leaders of these religions, then all of them say that their religion has been established for the welfare of mankind. The number of atheists on this earth is small, but most of the population definitely believes in some religion.

Q2. How did Islam flourish in India?

Ans. In 613 AD Prophet Muhhamad started preaching the knowledge of Islam and the event leads to the beginning of Islam. However, till this time it was not seen as a new religion.

Q3. Who wrote the Quran?

Ans. It is believed that Quran was not written by anyone but it was a mystical book. however, the Quran was orally preached by Prophet Muhhamad.

Q4. Who was the first Sufi saint of India?

Ans. The first saint to come to India was Sheikh Ismail who came to Lahore. His successor was Sheikh Ali bin Osman Al Hujwiri, who was popularly known as Dataganj Baksh. Shaikh Ali bin Osman Al Hujwiri wrote the famous work Kashful Mahjuv related to Sufism. Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, 1192 AD.