Bhakti & Sufism

The book BHAKTI & SUFISM-New Spheres is about Bhakti and Sufism in Indian society. The Bhakti movement originated in ancient Tamil Nadu. It began to spread to the north during the late medieval ages when north India was under Islamic rule. During the 14th -17th centuries, a great Bhakti movement swept through central and northern India, initiated by a loosely associated group of saints. Ramananda, Ravidas, Sankardeva, Chaitanya Surdas, Meera , Kabir, Tulsidas, Tukaram and other mystics spearheaded the Bhakti movement in the North while Annamacharya, Ramadas, Tyagaraja among others propagated Bhakti in the South. Sufism belong to different orders -congregations formed around a master-which meet for spiritual sessions (majalis), in meeting places known as zawiyahs, Khanqahs. Sufi orders may trace many of their original precepts from the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, with the notable exception of the Naqshbandi who trace their origins through the first Caliph, Abu Bakr. Prominent orders include Chishti, Khalwati, Naqshbandi, Nimatullahi, Oveyssi, Qalandariyya, Sarwari Qadiri, Shadhiliyya and Suhrawardiyya. The effort is to highlight Bhakti and Sufism participation in Indian society.