Chapter 2.

Devotional Path to the Divine

Very Short Q&A:

Q1: By the word "MAYA" shankara meant________________.
Ans: Illusion
Q2: State the language employed by Surdas for his devotional songs.
Ans: Hindi (Avadhi)
Q3: Who were the Pulaiyar and the Panars?
Ans: Untouchables
Q4: What was the greatest social impact of the Bhakti Movement on medieval Hindu
society?
Ans: equality between high and low castes
Q5: Name the Bhakti saint who was a great satirist and ridiculed all the institutions of
his time.
Ans: Kabir
Q6: The Sangam literature was compiled in the three assemblies held in __________
under the Pandya rulers.
Ans: Madurai
Q7: Name the regional language popularised by the Bhakti leader Shankradeva.
Ans: Assamese
Q8: Sufis were_________.
Ans: Muslim mystics
Q9: What was the name of holy law developed by Muslim Scholar?
Ans: Shariat
Q10: Alvars were the worshippers of lord________.
Ans: Vishnu
Q11: Tevaram was a____________.
Ans: Compilation of songs.
Q12: Khwaja Muinuddin Chisti belongs to_________.
Ans: Chisti Silsila
Q13: The idea of Bhakti was first discussed in_____________.
Ans: Bhagvad Gita
Q14: The practice that was borrowed by the Sufis from Hinduism was practice of a
number of yogic exercises as a means of contemplation. True/ False
Ans: True
Q15: The doctrine of vishishtadvaita was propounded by sankracharya. True/ False
Ans: False
Q16: Give an example showing that Mirabai rejected the rigidity of caste system.
Ans: Mirabai was a disciple of Ravidas. Ravidas belonged to the society of
'untouchables'. It shows that Mirabai rejected the rigidity of caste system.
Q17: Lehna, the successor of Guru Nanak was also called_____.
Ans: Guru Angad
Q18: What was the language used by Jalaluddin Rumi?
Ans: Persian
Q19: The earliest form of Tamil literature is known as__________.
Ans: Sangam literature
Q20: Who finally authenticated Guru Granth Sahib?
Ans: Guru Gobind Singh
Q21: Bible was translated into German by________.
Ans: Martin Luther
Q22: Langar is a
a. Common kitchen
b. Common sikh literature
c. Common worship place
Ans: Common kitchen
Q23: Bhakti and Sufi movements came into existence in the_________ century.
Ans: Eighth century
Q24: Where the temple of lord vitthala is located?
Ans: Pandharpur
Q25: The method of singing adopted by Sufi saint is known as SAME. True/ False.
Ans: True
Q26: Guru Arjun was assassinated during the reign of_______.
Ans: Jahangir
Q27: Name a Sikh community.
Ans: Khalsa community.
Q28: Kabir's teachings comprised of small poems which were collected in a small book
known as_____________.
Ans: Bijak
Q29: What is the new name of dharmsal?
Ans: Gurdwara
Q30: The Sufi Khanqahs had its visitors from royalty, nobility and __________.
Ans: Ordinary people.
Q31: What is a dargah?
Ans: Dargah is a Sufi shrine built over the grave of a Sufi saint. Many Muslims believe
that dargahs are portals by which they can call upon the deceased saint's blessing.
Q32: Who started Virashaiva movement?
Ans: The Virashaiva movement began in Karnataka in the mid-twelfth century. It was
started by Basavanna and his companions like Allama Prabhu and Akkamahadevi.
 Short Q&A:
Q1: What was the purpose of "Nayanar movement"?
Ans: Nayanar movement was started in order to check the development of Buddhism
and Jainism in the southern peninsula. They wanted to protect their religion from the
incursion of these new religions.
Q2: What was the purpose of Langer started by Guru Nanak?
Ans: To try and preach universal toleration and do away with caste discriminations.
Q3: What is Hagiography?
Ans: Hagiographies are the biographies of the Alvars and Nayanars or can be
considered as religious biographies. These are very helpful in writing histories of Bhakti
tradition.
Q4: What were dharmsal?
Ans: The places where Sikh congregation and religious gatherings of the followers of
Guru Nanak were held were called Dharamsalas. These were also the places for feeding
the poor. Eventually, every Sikh home became a Dharamsala. Now it is known as
Gurdwara.
Q5: State the main contribution of the Chola and Pandya kings for the growth of the
Bhakti movement.
Ans: The Chola and the Pandyas built many temples around many shrines between the
tenth and twelfth centuries. The saint- poets visited these shrines and sang songs of
Bhakti. It strengthened the links between the Bhakti tradition and temple worship.
Q6: Write a short note on Shankara and his teachings.
Ans: Shankara was one of the most popular religious philosophers of India born in
Kerala. He was the expounder of the concept of Advaita which is the doctrine of
oneness of the individual soul and the supreme god. He was a fully developed Yogi,
Jnani and Bhakta. He believed that Brahman alone is real, this world is unreal. He
considered the world as Maya or an illusion. He preached renunciation of the world and
adoption of the path of knowledge.
Q7: Why did people turn to Buddhism and Jainism during the medieval period?
Ans: Many people were not satisfied with the notion that noble and high caste of human
beings come by birth. These two religions helped them overcome notion that high caste
comes by birth. That was why most of the people started following Buddhism and
Jainism.
Q8: What were the teachings of Ramanuja?
Ans: Ramanuja was born in Tamil Nadu in the eleventh century. He was deeply
influenced by the Alvars. He was an exponent of the doctrine of Vishistadavita or
qualified non-dualism. He advocated that the best means of attaining salvation was
through intense devotion to Vishnu. According to Ramanuja's teachings, Lord Narayana
or Bhagavan is the Supreme Being. He believed that Vishnu helped devotees to attain
the bliss of union with Him. Later his teachings inspired the Bhakti cult in North India.
Q9: Who started Virashaiva movement?
Ans: The Virashaiva movement began in Karnataka in the mid-twelfth century. It was
started by Basavanna and his companions like Allama Prabhu and Akkamahadevi.
Q10: Write a short note on Nathpanthis, Siddhas and Yogis.
Ans: A number of religious groups criticized the rituals and other aspects of
conventional religion and preached the social order using simple logical arguments.
They advocated renunciation of the world. To achieve the salvation, they advocated
intense training of the mind and body through practices like yogasanas. They became
popular among low castes in North India.
Q11: Who were Sufis?
Ans: Sufis were Muslim mystics. They rejected outward religiosity and emphasized love
and devotion to God and compassion towards all fellow human beings. They
condemned the elaborate rituals and codes of behaviour demanded by Muslim religious
scholars. They also composed poems expressing their feelings.
Q12: What were khanqahs?
Ans: Khanqahs were like hospices. It was a place where the Sufi masters held their
assemblies. Devotees of all descriptions including members from the royal and noble
groups, and ordinary people gathered there. They discussed spiritual matters and were
blessed by the saints.
Q13: Who was Guru Nanak?
Ans: Guru Nanak was born in Talwandi. He preached against caste distinctions
ritualism, idol worship and the pseudo-religious beliefs that had no spiritual content. He
chose to mix with all. He dined and lived with men of the lowest castes and classes
which was socially and religiously unheard of in those days of rigid Hindu caste system.
His followers ate together in the common kitchen called langar which became a nucleus
for religious gatherings of his society and of establishing the basic equality of all castes,
classes and sexes.
Q14: Whom did Guru Nanak appoint as his successor before his death?
Ans: Guru Nanak appointed one of his followers named Lehna as his successor before
his death. Later Lehna came to be known as Guru Angad and projected himself as part
of Guru Nanak.
Q15: Who ordered the execution of Guru Arjan and why?
Ans: The Mughal emperor Jahangir ordered the execution of Guru Arjan Dev. By the
beginning of the seventeenth century, the town of Ramdaspur (Amritsar) developed
around the central Gurdwara, also called Harmandar Sahib (Golden Temple). It was like
a state with self-governing. The Mughal emperor saw this development as a potential
threat against his rule. So he ordered the execution.
Q16: This is a picture of Baba Guru Nanak as a young man, in discussion with holy
men. Answer the following questions related to Guru Nanak:

a. Where was Baba Guru Nanak born?

b. Who was appointed by Guru Nanak as his successor?
c. When did Baba Guru Nanak die?
Ans:
Baba Guru Nanak was born in 1469 at Tailwind (Nankana Sahib in Pakistan).
Baba Guru Nanak was born in 1469 at Tailwind (Nankana Sahib in Pakistan).
Baba Guru Nanak died in 1539.
Q17: Who was Martin Luther? How did he view the Roman Catholic Church?
Ans: Martin Luther was one of the most important leaders of the changes that took
place within Christianity.Luther felt that several practices in the Roman Catholic Church
went against the teachings of the Bible.
Q18: When did local myths become a part of the Puranic stories?
Ans: When gods and goddess were identified with Shiva, the local myths and legends
became part of the Puranic stories and the methods of worship introduced in the
Puranas were followed for the local gods and goddesses.
Q19: To whom were Alvars and Nayanars devoted?
Ans: During the seventh and ninth centuries new religious movements were led by the
saints called the Nayanars who were devoted to Shiva and Alvars who were devoted to
Vishnu.
Q20: How did Khalsa Panth emerged?
Ans: The Sikh movement began to get politicized in the seventeenth century.
Development culminated in the institution of the Khalsa by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699.
Thus, the community of the Sikhs called the Khalsa Panth came into existence as a
political entity.
 Long Q&A:
Q1: What were the teachings of the Bhakti saint Kabir?
Ans: Kabir's teachings were based on a complete, indeed vehement and rejection of the
major religious traditions.
1. His teachings openly ridiculed all forms of external worship of both Brahmanical
Hinduism and Islam, the pre-eminence of the priestly classes and the caste
system.
2. The language of his poetry was a form of spoken Hindi widely understood by
ordinary people. He also sometimes used cryptic language, which was difficult to
follow.
3. Kabir believed in a formless Supreme God and preached that the only path to
salvation was through bhakti or devotion.
4. He drew his followers from among both Hindus and Muslims.
5. His teachings reflect the secular values of life.
Q2: Explain the teachings of Guru Nanak.
Ans: The ideas of Guru Nanak had a huge impact on people from the very beginning. He
emphasized the importance of worship of one God. He insisted that caste, creed or
gender was irrelevant for attaining liberation. He himself used the terms nam, dan and
isnan for the essence of his teaching, which actually meant right worship, welfare of
others and purity of conduct. His teachings are now remembered as nam-japna, kirt-
karna and vand-chhakna, which also underline the importance of right belief and
worship, honest living, and helping others.
Q3: What were the teachings of the saints of Maharashtra?
Ans: The saints of Maharashtra were strong and outspoken drawn from all social
classes. They focused on the Vitthala (a form of Vishnu) in temple in Pandharpur whom
they identified with Lord Krishna. They stressed on the notion that personal god is
residing in the hearts of all people, the efficacy of gods name, professed love and
brotherhood. They condemned the idea of all forms of ritualism and social differences
based on birth. They even rejected the idea of renunciation and preferred to live with
their families like other persons and serve human beings.