The vernacular turn: Bhakti, Sufism & Sikh thought

In the medieval period, Indian philosophical thought underwent a profound transformation: it stepped out of elite Sanskrit academies and into the public streets, weaving sheds, fields, and vernacular poetry.¹

Through the Bhakti (devotion open to all), Sufi and Sikh traditions, thinkers argued that direct communion with ultimate truth required not high-caste birth or complex Vedic rituals, but pure inward devotion (bhakti), ethical conduct, and compassionate solidarity with ordinary human beings.

The Sharana movement and the Anubhava Maṇṭapa

In 12th-century Karnataka, the statesman and philosopher Basaveśvara (Basavaṇṇa), alongside the poet-saint Allama Prabhu and the female ascetic Akka Mahadevi, is associated with a gathering later remembered as the Anubhava Maṇṭapa (Hall of Spiritual Experience), a forum for discussing spiritual experience; its early history is debated.²

Composing rhythmic Kannada poems termed vacanas, the Sharanas articulated radical principles:

• Kāyaka (Dignity of Labour): Every honest occupation (from weaver and shoemaker to cultivator) is a sacred spiritual path.
• Dāsoha (Selfless Community Service): Wealth and resources are to be shared with the community.
• Deha-Devālaya (The Body as Temple): In one vacana, Basaveśvara contrasts the temples the rich build for Śiva with his own body as a temple, and says, in substance, that what stands will fall while what moves will stay.³

The Nirguṇa poets: Kabir and Ravidas

In northern India, 15th-century weaver-philosopher Kabir and leather-worker philosopher Ravidas developed a fierce critique of empty ritualism and caste supremacy (Nirguṇa Bhakti):

• Universal Inner Light: Kabir rejected external religious divisions between temple and mosque, asserting that the formless Divine (Rām / Allāh) resides within the human heart. One verse says, in substance, that if bathing in water brought salvation, frogs would be saved.⁴
• The Vision of Begumpura: Ravidas envisioned an ideal egalitarian society termed Begumpura (“The City Without Sorrow”) — a social space free from taxes, caste discrimination, and fear.⁵

Sufi teachers and Sikh philosophy

Sufi teachers and poets (such as Amir Khusrau, Nizamuddin Auliya, Baba Farid, and Bulleh Shah) were part of this landscape, and the idea of Wahdat al-Wujud (the Unity of Existence) circulated among Indian Sufis.⁶

In Punjab, Guru Nanak (1469–1539) taught an uncompromising monotheistic and egalitarian ethic:

• Ik Onkar: The absolute unity of the Formless Creator.
• Langar & Pangat: Community kitchens where all individuals — regardless of caste, religion, or gender — sit side by side to eat shared meals, challenging commensal taboos.⁷
• The Adi Granth (compiled in 1604) became an ecumenical scripture, preserving the poetic compositions not only of the Sikh Gurus, but also of Kabir, Ravidas, Namdev, Trilochan, and the Muslim Sufi Baba Farid.

Four terms to carry forward

What this chapter does not claim

1. That medieval Bhakti was an anti-intellectual emotional outburst; poets engaged with complex metaphysical issues of non-duality and ethics.
2. That Bhakti instantly abolished caste across the subcontinent; social hierarchies frequently reasserted themselves around sectarian lines.
3. That all Bhakti traditions were identical; later anthologies and scholarship distinguish Nirguṇa (formless Divine) and Saguṇa (manifest Divine with forms/narratives) strands.
4. That Sufi and Bhakti traditions lost their distinct identities; they shared a conversational, syncretic vocabulary of devotional love and social critique.

Sources and further reading

Version 0.4 · September 2026 · Editorial orientation · Reading list provided · Not expert-reviewed. Corrected after an editorial audit in September 2026.