Before modern revolutions and political renaissances, India experienced a profound spiritual awakening through love and devotion—the Bhakti Movement. Saint-poets and mystics sang of divine freedom, sparking a transformation that reshaped the heart of Indian civilization. This episode explores how the Bhakti Movement became India’s own Renaissance, centered not on the human ego but on the soul’s eternal relationship with the Divine, revealed through music, poetry, and the dance of kirtan
India's Spiritual Renaissance
The Dawn of India’s Devotional Renaissance
Before modern revolutions, saint-poets in India sang of a deeper freedom through love of the Sweet Absolute, and their song and dance sparked the Bhakti Renaissance Movement. As Europe had a Renaissance, so did India. Humanism, or man-centered reason and art, grabbed Europe’s attention, but India was focused on Soulism, or the transcendent self/consciousness and devotion to the Divine.
While the Western world sought liberation through rational thought and social structure, Bhakti proposed liberation through the inner transformation of the heart—through love, song, humility, and surrender. India’s Bhakti Movement began in the sixth century when traveling saint-minstrels brought prayers set to music out of the temples and monasteries to the commoners on the continent. The summit of the Bhakti Movement occurred in the sixteenth century, when Sri Chaitanya took kirtan to the streets.
However, the history of bhakti predates the sixth century by thousands of years! Scholars don’t agree on the dates of the Bhakti texts such as the Bhagavad-gita and Bhagavata Purana, but the books themselves say they are 5,000 years old. In the Bhagavata Purana there is a reference that its knowledge was given by Sri Krishna to the secondary universal creator, Brahma, at the time of creation. In the Gita, Sri Krishna says he first spoke the knowledge of the Gita to the planetary ruler known as the Sun god early in the cosmic cycle.
By these accounts, Bhakti is older than the world because it has descended into this world through the creator! Still, when someone asks about the history of bhakti, they’re often referring to the Bhakti Movement, which was a significant event in Indian history.
Saint-Poets and the Rise of Kirtan in South India
For almost ten centuries, India’s spiritual renaissance was spearheaded by kirtan, the core practice of Bhakti yoga. Musical kirtan achieved prominence in the sixth century in South India and gained momentum through the sixteenth century, spreading northward and garlanding all of India with songs and mantras accompanied by music.
Around the sixth century, the Alwar saint-poets of South India broke from institutionalized religious conventions. They revitalized the Bhakti tradition by demonstrating the vibrant life of a mystic’s direct experience of the Divine. This was a radical shift at the time, and it attracted many thousands of people.
Instead of rituals mediated through priests or institutions, spiritual experience became accessible to all—regardless of caste, gender, or education—through personal devotion. The Alwars wandered to temples and towns singing their hymns of love for Vishnu and Krishna. Though Bhakti was certainly present in the ancient tradition preceding them, it was somewhat obscured until these saints’ personal example showed the joy of passionate devotion.
Almost simultaneously, in another area of India, devotee-saints of Shiva, known as the Nayanars, added to the fervor growing in the South. The Alwars and Nayanars initiated the Bhakti Revival Movement that challenged caste hierarchy, empty ritual, blind faith, and the notion that an ascetic lifestyle—which was mostly a male enterprise—was the only way of attaining spiritual perfection.
All of that dropped as insignificant in the light of their personal devotion. By singing in their local language they gave voice to the disenfranchised. At the time, spiritual and philosophical discourses were conducted in Sanskrit. But instead, by singing in the common language of the people, they welcomed everyone.
A Revolution of Equality and Sacred Activism
Their messages sought universal brotherhood and religious tolerance and inclusion. The saint-poets proved through kirtan and personal example that everyone has equal access to the Divine. They encouraged social reform, service, and charity.
Bhakti is a path that naturally encourages sacred activism because of its proposal to engage in the world with compassion and a detached, service attitude while communing directly with the Supreme. In this way, Bhakti is not only mystical but deeply engaged. And it has given rise to movements of equality, service, and spiritual dignity for all.
The universal appeal and practical application of Bhakti was thus sparked, and the poem-songs of these saints were so powerful that they drowned out other messages and changed the face of Indian history. We find the essence of their mystical experience in modern kirtan.
Some prominent people in India’s Bhakti Renaissance are Tulsidas, Ramananda, Surdas, Tukaram, Mirabai, Guru Nanak, Namdev, Narottama, Bhaktivinoda Thakura, and others further contributed to bhakti poetry and song, and their influence reached out and touched those outside the kirtan traditions, a notable example being Kabir, born in a Muslim family.
The goal of these poets’ music was to produce a mystical love for our Source and Divine Friend. Real spiritual emotion would lead the participants to liberation by gradually—and fully—absorbing the mind and heart in feelings for the Supreme. While accomplishing this elevated task, the music of kirtan also made life an enjoyable experience. It’s no wonder that the kirtan of these saints affected people so deeply!
Have you experienced kirtan yet? What was that like for you? Let me know in the comments below.
Jayadeva, Sri Chaitanya, and the Blossoming of Pure Devotion
Especially noteworthy was Jayadeva, a poetic genius of the twelfth century. His epic poem called Gita-Govinda, which is about the love of Radha and Krishna, set a new standard for poetry and kirtan, as well as Hindustani and Carnatic classical music. Jayadeva’s poem has inspired countless works of drama, painting, sculpture, music, and other art forms.
Not only is the Gita-Govinda considered the finest example of Sanskrit poetry, but the poem also astounds the theological world with the revelation that God subordinates himself to love. As we heard in the last two episodes, Krishna is conquered and completely controlled by Radha’s pure love.
During the unfolding of the Bhakti Renaissance Movement, Sri Chaitanya emerged as the leader of Bhakti and the greatest proponent and popularizer of kirtan. Though other saints had sung their own compositions, Sri Chaitanya brought attention to the holy names of the maha-mantra found in the Upanishads that is recommended in these texts as the method of spiritual progress in the current age:
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare /
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.
Sri Chaitanya’s kirtan, which was unlike the kirtan of other saints of the Bhakti Revival Movement, is the forerunner to modern-day kirtan.
The Eternal Lineage of Bhakti and Its Living Teachers
Now we might ask, who specifically are the founders of the Bhakti lineages we have today? But this isn’t quite the right question.
Bhakti is eternal because it is the eternal bond of love between the Absolute Himself and all souls. And knowledge of Bhakti is handed down from Sri Krishna through teachers throughout the ages. Therefore, since Bhakti is eternal, we can’t speak of who the founders of the Bhakti tradition are.
But there are currently five Bhakti schools, and each of them has a primary acarya, or teacher. These schools are technically known as Vaishnavism or Bhakti Vedanta schools. All of them are monotheistic, and they agree on these foundational premises:
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There is a Supreme Person who is without equal.
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The Supreme Person has unlimited energies.
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There are innumerable ātmas, or sparks of spirit, who are of the same nature as the Supreme Person, but are finite and therefore not equal to the Infinite Supreme.
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The world is temporary, but real.
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There is a spiritual world where the Supreme Person and perfected beings reside.
Here are the founders and the names of the five schools:
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Ramanuja Acharya founded Sri Vaishnavism.
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Madhwa Acharya founded the Tattvavada School.
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Nimbarka Acharya founded the Nimbarka Sampradaya.
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Vallabha Acharya is the leader of the Pushti Marg.
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Sri Chaitanya founded Gaudiya Vaishnavism.
Of these lineages, Sri Chaitanya’s school is very active and therefore most prominent. This is the tradition that I belong to. His school was brought to the Western world in 1965 by the modern-day bhakti emissary A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami. His introduction to Bhakti was the first time that pure Bhakti teachings left India to come to the West.
Since this introduction, all the Vaishnava schools have been reinvigorated and have now gained the attention of scholars and spiritual seekers worldwide. Prior to this introduction of Bhakti to the West, Occidental scholars and philosophers thought that the Advaita Vedanta school—which proposes an impersonal One as the ultimate Reality—represented the paradigmatic example of Hindu spirituality.
Now we’ve learned that Advaitin thought is not the sole perennial philosophy of ancient Vedanta, nor is it Vedanta’s primary conclusion! Rather there are five Bhakti Vedanta schools and only one Advaita Vedanta school.
As we can see, Bhakti didn’t begin in the sixth century, nor did it end with Sri Chaitanya. The message of Bhakti continues to spread around the globe and attract people to its universal message of love.
In the next episode, we’ll hear more about the Gaudiya Vaishnava school, which was founded by Sri Chaitanya.
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Until next time, svasty astu visvasya: May there be good fortune throughout the universe and for you.
