Medieval India — (D) Composite Culture

(R) is the reason for (A)

Explanation — The interaction of the Turks with the Indians led to the development of a new composite culture, called Indo-Islamic culture. This new culture, as described in statement (A), influenced all aspects of life such as culture, art, architecture, and literature.

(R) is the reason for (A)

Explanation — The compilation of Kabir’s verses, known as Bijak, reflects his acquaintance with both Hindu and Muslim religious and philosophical ideas.

(A) and (R) are independent of each other

Explanation — The content of the Guru Granth Sahib, includes hymns, songs, and utterances of a wide variety of saints, sages, and bards. It describes a philosophical principle which is the fundamental unity of all religions.

(R) is true but (A) is false.

Explanation — The dargah or shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti is located at Ajmer in Rajasthan. It is one of the most revered sites in India not only for the Muslims but also for the people of other faiths.

(R) is the reason for (A)

Explanation — The fusion of Indian and Islamic cultures in music was due to introduction of new instruments and impact of Turks.

(R) is the reason for (A)

Explanation — Bhakti movement indeed originated in India as a reaction against caste divisions and ritualism. Bhakti saints preached personal devotion to God as a means to reach God rather than the costly and complex rituals.

(R) is the reason for (A)

Explanation — Bhakti movement originated in India as a reaction against caste divisions and ritualism. Therefore, Bhakti saints tried to evolve a new social order based on equality and devoid of caste distinctions bringing in significant social changes.

(R) is the reason for (A)

Explanation — Mirabai renounced the world and became a devotee of Lord Krishna. In her poems, she portrays a deep personal association with Lord Krishna. Through her devotional songs (bhajans) and her poems she showed people with her personal example how to surrender themselves to Lord Krishna.

(A) and (R) are independent of each other

Explanation — Mirabai was Rajasthani princess of Mewar who married Bhoja Raja. She renounced the world and became a devotee of Lord Krishna. Jnaneswar belonged to Maharashtra. He was a 13th century Bhakti saint, poet and philosopher.

(A) and (R) are independent of each other.

Explanation — The orders to which the Sufi saints who settled in India belonged, were the Chishti and Suhrawadi orders. The fundamental unity of all religions was the belief held by them.

Sakhi, Ramaini and Shabda

Khwajah Moinuddin Chishti

St. Francis Church

Urdu

All of the above

Padavali

Both (1) and (2)

Hazrat Nizamuddin

The term composite culture refers to the culture that developed due to the interaction of the Turks and the Indians. This culture was neither purely Persian nor entirely Indian, but a fusion of the best elements of the two. This culture is also known as Indo-Islamic culture.

Two factors which promoted composite culture during the Mughal Age are:

1. The immense wealth and the unlimited power in the hands of the Mughal emperors enabled them to continue their patronage of fine arts and literature. They used their wealth to build palaces, forts and monuments.
2. The glorious and rich culture heritage of the Mughals on the one hand and Indians on other hand, created a unique atmosphere for the brilliant output of letters and fine arts.

The Bijak is the compilation of the verses of Kabir. Kabir was an oral poet, whose works were written by others. The Bijak is preserved by the Kabirpanthis (the followers of Kabir) in Varanasi and elsewhere in Uttar Pradesh.

Two sections into which Bijak is divided are:

1. Sakhi — composed in Doha or couplet form.
2. Ramaini — written in the form of chaupai and is usually based on musical raga.

Two teaching of Kabir, according to the Bijak are:

1. There is only one God. He may be worshipped under many names.
2. Devotion to God and good actions are only means of salvation.

Guru Granth Sahib was compiled by the tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Singh.

Guru Granth Sahib is known as the living Guru because it is considered as a spiritual guide for the entire humanity and one can find in it all the answers regarding religion and morality.

Ajmer Sharief is the holy shrine of the sufi saint, Khwajah Moinuddin Chishti.

The main beliefs of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti were achieving oneness with God, devotion to the Divine, leading a pure life, showing compassion and charity for the helpless and poor.

Two doctrines of the Bhakti cult are:

1. God is one. He must be worshipped with love and devotion.
2. Guru, an enlightened teacher, is indispensable for realising God.

Sufism was a movement by Islamic sect that preached religious tolerance, brotherhood and oneness of God. The word 'Sufi comes from arabic word Suf meaning wool and was used for the mystics who used to wear only a coarse woollen garment.

Khwajah Moinuddin Chishti was one of the Sufi saints.

The two doctrines of Sufism are:

1. Individual soul is the manifestation of the supreme God and human soul will finally merge with it.
2. Fundamental unity of all religions.

St. Francis Xavier was born on April 7, 1506 in the castle of Xavier in Spain. After completing his studies and working as teacher for sometime, St. Xavier displayed zeal and charity in attending to the sick in hospitals. In 1537, he became a priest. In 1541, he started his missionary journey towards India and landed at Goa in 1542. He spent the first five months in preaching and attending to the sick in hospitals. He worked relentlessly for ten years in India, and preached essentials of christianity. He died on December 2, 1552, when he was on a sea voyage to China. His mortal remains were brought back and reached Goa after a whole year. It is said that when the body reached India, after a whole year, it was still fresh as it was on the day of burial. The body of St. Francis Xavier is still enshrined in the Basilica of Bom Jesus in Goa.

(a) Bijak — Bijak is the compilation of verses of Kabir. Kabir was an oral poet, whose works were written by others. The Bijak is preserved by Kabirpanthis (the followers of Kabir) in Varanasi and elsewhere in Uttar Pradesh. Bijak comprises three main sections called Sakhi, Ramaini and Shabda and a fourth section containing miscellaneous folk song forms. According to Bijak, Kabir taught that there is only one God who is worshipped under many names. Kabir denounced idol worship, empty rituals, meaningless ceremonies and pilgrimage. Bijak presents Kabir's compositions in a simple style and exhorts his listeners to shed their delusions, pretensions and orthodox views in favour of direct experience of truth.

(b) Guru Granth Sahib — It is the only scripture of its kind which contains the songs, hymns and utterances of a wide variety of saints, sages and bards. This shows that Guru Arjan Dev wanted to affirm the fundamental unity of all religions and the unitary character of all mystic experience. It is indeed, a magnificent compendium of religions, mystic and metaphysical poetry written or uttered between the 12th and the 17th century in different parts of India. It is also at the same time, a mirror of the sociological, economical and political conditions of those days.

(c) Ajmer Sharief — Ajmer Sharief is the holy shrine of the sufi saint, Khwajah Moinuddin Chishti, located at Ajmer in Rajasthan. The Dargah of Khwajah Moinuddin Chishti is one of the most revered sites in India not only for the Muslims but also for the people of other faiths, who hold the saint in high esteem. Every year thousands of people visit Ajmer Sharief to pay reverence at the sanctified dargah. A yearly carnival, known as Urs is held for six days in the honour of the beloved saint.

(a) Equality of all human beings — Bhakti saints preached universal brotherhood and emphasised equality of all men. The teachings of Kabir, Guru Nanak, Ravidas helped reform Indian society. They tried to evolve a new social order by following the principle of equality and by denouncing caste distinctions. By exposing the futility of empty rituals, they did away with the domination of priests. Thus, the Bhakti movement brought in social changes.

(b) Fostering unity and harmony between different communities —The Bhakti movement played an important role in fostering Indo-Islamic culture. The Bhakti movement emphasised the essential unity of Islam and Hinduism, and laid stress on a religion based on love and devotion rather than one based on rituals. Thus, they created an atmosphere in Which liberal sentiments and views could grow and religious narrowness was shunned. They preached that the God is one and only the ways of worshipping him are different. The God must be worshipped with love and devotion.

(c) Promoting regional languages and devotional literature — The Bhakti movement played an important role in promoting regional languages and devotional literature. The Bhakti saints preached in the language of people. Languages like Hindi, Bhojpuri, Maithili and Oriya became popular. Among important literary works of this period were Ramcharit Manas by Tulsidas, Gurmukhi literature of the Sikh Gurus and the Vaishnava literature in Bengal. The local languages became even more popular by Bhakti saints like Mira Bai and Sant Janeshwar.

(a) Devotion to God — Sufi saints like Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti and Hazrat Nizamuddin, stressed love and good actions as means of realising God. According to Sufism one can reach God through personal devotion and not through empty rituals. The Doctrines of Sufism include that individual soul is manifestation of the Supreme God and human soul would finally merge with it. Also inner purity and self-discipline are essential for gaining the knowledge of God.

(b) Caste distinctions — Sufism was a liberal reform movement which created an atmosphere on which liberal sentiments and views could grow and narrowness of cast and religion was shunned. Equality and brotherhood of all human beings irrespective of caste, colour, creed was emphasised. Sufism basically freed people from the holds of age old rigid caste system.

(c) Unity of all religions — Sufism believed in fundamental unity of all religions. It insisted that the God is one and only he is worshipped under different names. They shunned all the rituals of different religions as according to them one can reach the God through personal devotion and not through empty rituals. Sufism fostered the feelings of Hindu-Muslim unity. It played a great role in promoting feelings of tolerance among the rulers. People, irrespective of their religion, began to understand and appreciate others' faith.

(a) St. Francis Xavier arrived in India in 1542. He spent the first five months in preaching and attending to the sick in hospitals. He would go through the streets ringing a little bell and inviting the children to hear the word of God. When he had gathered a large number of people, he would take them to a church and explain the beliefs related to Christianity to them. During the six years that St. Xavier had been working in India, other Jesuit missionaries had arrived in Goa. In 1584, he sent these missionaries to the principal centres of India, where he has established missions. He worked relentlessly for ten years in India, and preached essentials of Christianity.

(b) The missionaries in order to understand and to be understood by the Indian people brought out grammars and dictionaries of the Indian languages. The missionaries began teaching Western music, dance and instrumental music in Church schools in India. The missionaries and the Church were also teachers and patrons in India of the arts of paintings, carving and sculpture. The religious paintings of the Churches influenced the Mughals. Portuguese, English and Mughal records show the interest of Akbar and Jahangir in Christian works of arts. The Portuguese Church provided the earliest introduction to European architectural ideas in India. The Missionaries were the best interpreters of India to the Western World with their popular letters from the mission field. All these works of the missionaries brought the Indians and Europeans closer.

(c) The Missionaries, in order to establish effective communication with Indian people, brought out grammars and dictionaries of the Indian languages. St. Francis Xavier learnt the language of Malabar and brought out a manual of grammar and a vocabulary which helped the Jesuits and other missionaries to learn the language of the people of Malabar. The English Jesuit, Thomas Stephens, brought out an epic in Konkani and a grammar book. Diogo Ribeiro, another English missionary, wrote a grammar book and booklets on Christian doctrines. The missionaries began teaching Western music, dance and instrumental music in Church schools in India. The Missionaries and the Church were also teachers and patrons in India of the arts of painting, carving and sculpture. The religious paintings of the Churches influenced the Mughals. The Portuguese Church provided the earliest introduction to European architectural ideas in India. This included the long, two-storeyed house, with high-pitched roof, balconies and verandas, many windows and elaborately carved walls.

(a) The Bhakti Saints given in the pictures are Mirabai and Sant Jnaneswar (Dnyaneshwar). Mirabai was born in Mewar in Rajasthan and Sant Jnaneswar was born in Apegaon village on the banks of Godavari river near Paithan in Maharashtra.

(b) A number of sufi and bhakti saints emphasised the essential unity of Islam and Hinduism. They laid stress on a religion based on love and devotion rather than one based on rituals. Thus, they created an atmosphere in which liberal sentiments and views could grow and religious narrowness was shunned. In these ways, the Sufi and the Bhakti movements played an important role in fostering growth of Indo-Islamic culture.

(c) The two teachings of Mirabai were:

1. She preached complete devotion to Lord Krishna.
2. She denounced the caste system and believed in the equality of all human beings.

The two teachings of Sant Jnaneswar (Dnyaneshwar) were:

1. He regarded bhakti (devotion) as the means to liberation.
2. He emphasised remembering God at all times and living a simple and virtuous life, and helping others.

The teachings of Kabir and Guru Nanak Dev promoted the feelings of peace and harmony among different communities. Their teachings advocated the unity of God and unity of mankind. They preached that the God can be worshipped under different names but there is only one God. They emphasised that good actions, meditation and devotion are only means of salvation. They were against the ritualism. Kabir had renounced idol worship, empty rituals, meaningless ceremonies etc. Guru Nanak believed that personal devotion to God could lead to salvation regardless of caste, creed or sect. Their teachings brought people of different religions closer. The people felt that they are free from obligations of religion and ritualism. Thus, the teachings of Kabir and Guru Nanak promoted the feelings of peace and harmony among different communities and thereby, strengthened the composite culture of India.

As the Secretary of the Students Wing of the RWA of my society, I would initiate following measures to strengthen the composite culture of India:

1. I would arrange for celebration of all festivals like Holi, Eid, Christmas, Diwali etc, together where people of all religions will get involved in celebration. Festivals are great way of strengthening bonds between the people.
2. I would make sure that no one is ignored or sidelined on any basis. Participation of all without any discrimination is important for strengthened composite culture of India.
3. National festivals can be celebrated in society with cultural programmes. Plays or programmes may be staged, teaching empathy & compassion, tolerance and acceptance.