Exercise - Question:
Que: Match the following:
The Buddha namghar
Shankaradeva worship of Vishnu
Nizamuddin Auliya questioned socialdifferences
Nayanars Sufi saint
Alvars worship of Shiva
Ans:
| The Buddha | Questioned social diffrence |
| Shankardeva | namgar |
| Nizamuddin Auliya | Sufi sant |
| Nayanars | worship of shiva |
| Alvars | worship of vishnu |
Que: Fill in the blanks:
(a) Shankara was an advocate of ————-.
(b) Ramanuja was influenced by the —————.
(c) ————, ———— and ———— wereadvocates of Virashaivism.
(d) ———————— was an important centre ofthe Bhakti tradition in Maharashtra.
Ans:
(a) Advita
(b) Vishtadvaita
(c) Basavanna, Allam, Prabhu, Akkamahadevi,
(d) Pandharpur.
Que: Describe the beliefs and practices of the Nathpanthis,Siddhas and Yogis.
Ans:
(i) They Criticised the ritual and other aspects of convential religion and the social order.
(ii) They used simple and logical arguments to present their thoughts.
(iii) They advocated renunciation of the world.
Que: What were the major ideas expressed by Kabir? How did he express these?
Ans:
(i) Ha balived in a formless Supreme God and Preached that the only path to Salvation was through bhakti or devotion.
(ii) He also ridiculed the pre-eminence of the priestly classes and the caste system.
(iii) To express his ideas, he used a form of spoken.
Que: What were the major beliefs and practices of the Sufis?
Ans:
(i) Sufi saints composed poems and prose litreature including anecdotes and fables.
(ii) They belived that the heart can be trained to look at the world in a diffrent way.
(iii) The sufi saints held their assembiles in their khanqas or hospices.
Que: Why do you think many teachers rejected prevalentreligious beliefs and practices?
Ans:
(i) The social order had many unequal social castes. The lower castes was opperesed by the upper casts.
(ii) They belived in the power of personal devotion.
Que: What were the major teachings of Baba Guru Nanak?
Ans:
(i) He emphased the importance of the worship of one God.
(ii) He insisted that caste, creed or gender was irrelevant for attaining liberation.
(iii) He directed to the importance of right belief and worship, honest living and helping others.
Que: For either the Virashaivas or the saints of Maharashtra, discuss their attitude towards caste.
Ans: Attitude of the Virashaivas towards caste :
They believed in the equality of all human beings. They were against Brahmanical ideas about caste and the treatment of women. They wished for a society where people of all backgrounds could live in harmony without any feelings of high and low, rich and poor.
Que: Why do you think ordinary people preserved the memory of Mirabai?
Ans: Mirabai was a Rajput princess married into the royal family of Mewar. But she had no interest in the worldly affair. She was an ardent devotee of Krishna and wanted to devote her time to the worship of her lord. She had no belief in princely status and other norms of high-class society. Her devotion to her deity was supreme. Hence, she left the royal palace and began to lend. Simple life with ordinary people.
Que: Find out whether in your neighbourhood there are any dargahs, gurudwaras or temples associated with saints of the Bhakti tradition in your neighbourhood. Visit any one of these and describe what you see and hear.
Ans: Students are suggested to do this exercise themselves.
Que: For any of the saint-poets whose compositions have been included in this chapter, find out more about their works, noting down other poems. Find out whether these are sung, how they are sung, and what the poets wrote about
Ans: Mainly Guru Nanak. Read the chapter and write down.
