Bhagavatism

Bhagavatism is a Hindu religious tradition that focuses on the worship of Bhagavan, particularly Vishnu or Krishna, as the supreme deity. It is a form of Vaishnavism that emphasizes devotion (bhakti) to God, personal relationship with the divine, and belief in the avatars of Vishnu. Bhagavatism played a key role in the development of the Bhakti movement, promoting love, devotion, and surrender to the divine as the path to salvation. The teachings of Bhagavatism are primarily found in texts like the Bhagavad Gita, Bhagavata Purana, and Vishnu Purana.

Vedic religion Bhagavatism

Introduction

Between the heterodox religions like Buddhism and Jainism in the one extreme and the orthodox Vedic religion in the other, there grew up certain religious systems that were destined to attain considerable power at no distant date. These religious sects had no faith in the mechanical system of worship prescribed in the Vedas. But while they agreed with Buddhism and Jainism to a great extent in this respect, the differences between them were very great. Buddhism and Jainism “discarded, or passed over in silence, the doctrine of the existence even of God and laid down self-abnegation and a course of strict moral conduct as the way to salvation.” The new theistic religions were, however, based on the “ideas of a supreme God and devotion to Him as the mode of salvation.”

About Bhagavatism

The chief representatives of this new system. were Bhagavatism (known in later times as Vaishnavism) and Saivism. Bhagavatism owed its origin to the stream of thought that began with the Upanishads and culminated, in the east, in Buddhism and Jainism.’ It arose, about the same time, in the west, among the Satvatas, a branch of the Yadavas, who settled in the Mathura region. Originally, it merely laid stress upon the idea of a supreme God, God of gods, called Hari, and emphasised the necessity of worshipping Him with devotion, in preference to older methods of sacrifices and austerities. It did not, of course, altogether do away with either sacrifice or the Vedic literature, which prescribed the same, but regarded them as of minor importance and omitted the slaughter of animals, which formed the principal feature of the Brahmanical religion. The Satvatas thus made “an attempt to introduce a religious reform оп more conservative principles than Buddhism and Jainism did. The repudiation of the slaughter of animals and the inefficacy of sacrificial worship and austerities are common to this religious reform with Buddhism. But that the supreme Lord Hari is to be worshipped with devotion, and that the words of the Aranyakas are not to be rejected are doctrines which are peculiar to it.”

Krishna

The religious reform received a strong impetus from Vasudeva Krishna of the Vrishni race, which was probably another name of the Satvatas. He gave a definite shape to the reformed doctrine by promulgating its philosophical teachings in the Bhagavadgita. This led to the regular growth of an independent sect, and Erelong Vasudeva was looked upon as the supreme deity, ‘the supreme soul, the internal soul of all souls.

Gita

In its ultimate form, as developed in the Bhagavadgita, Bhagavatism stood out prominently for two things. It counteracted tendencies ‘to look upon ascetic life as a sine qua non of religious elevation,’ by emphasising the supreme importance of doing one’s worldly duties according to one’s status in society. Secondly, it sought to turn men’s minds away from ‘dry moral discourses and thoughts of moral exaltation, unassociated with a theistic faith. Theistic ideas were, no doubt, scattered in the Upanishads, but it was the Bhagavadgita that worked it up into a system of redemption capable of being easily grasped.

Original home

The new religious ideas seem at first to have been confined to the Mathura district. The Greek ambassador Megasthenes notices that ‘Herakles is held in special honour by the Sourasenoi, an Indian tribe, who possess two large cities, Methora and Cleisobora.’ Thus even in the fourth, or the beginning of the third century B.C., Herakles, who is undoubtedly the same as Vasudeva-Krishna, was specially worshipped by the Surasenas of Mathura, through whose territory flowed the river Jumna.

Extension of influence

But by the second century B.C., the new religion had spread far beyond the confines of Mathura. Inscriptions, recording the wor ship of Vasudeva, are found in Maharashtra, Rajputana, and Central India. We learn from one of these, that a Greek ambassador of king Antialcidas, called Heliodora (Heliodorus), an inhabitant of Takshasila, styled himself a Bhagavata, and erected a Garudadhvaja (a pillar with an image of Garuda at the top), in honour of Vasudeva, the God of gods, at Besnagar, the site of ancient Vidisa, in the Gwalior State. It is thus apparent that Vaishnavism, like Buddhism, made converts of the foreigners, and was distinguished enough in the second century B. c. to attract the most civilised nation among them. A Syrian Icgend further informs us that the cult of Krishna worship was prevalent in Armenia as early as the second century b. c. The popularity of the new cult about the same time is sufficiently demonstrated by the fact, that already the chief legendary exploits of Vasudeva-Krishna formed the subject of dramatic representations. From the second century b. с. the progress of the religion continued unabated, so that by the end of the period under review, it had penetrated into the extreme south of India, beyond the Krishna river.

Reconciliation with Brahmanical religion

• (1) The development of the local sect of Mathura into what promised to be an all-India religion in the second century B.C. seems to be due, at least partially, to an event of far-reaching importance. This was the adoption of the new sect into the fold of orthodox Brahmanism. The reconciliation between the two is clearly demonstrated by the fact that Vasudeva-Krishna was successively identified with two prominent Vedic gods, Narayana and Vishnu. That this identification was completed before the second century B.C. is evidenced by the dedication of Garudadhvaja by Heliodorus in honour of Vasudeva, the God of gods, for Garuda was the recognized vehicle of Narayana-Vishnu, these two deities being ultimately regarded as one.
• (2) Why or how this amalgamation was brought about is difficult to say. The advance might have been made by the Brahmanas themselves as a protection against Buddhism, which grew predominant under the patronage of Ashoka and threatened utter ruin to them. The Bhagavatas, on the other hand, probably thought it politic to attach to themselves the honour and prestige due to an old and time-honoured name. Whatever might be the reason, it must have cost the Brahmanas a bitter pang. The memorable scene in the Mahabharata, in which Sisupala poured forth the venom of his heart against Bhishma for honouring Krishna as the most ‘worshipful, seems to be a reminiscence of the spirit of the diehards, who refused to acknowledge the divine character of one who was not a Brahmana by birth.
• (3) The reconciliation of Bhagavatism with orthodox Brahmanism not only assured a permanent position for the former, but altogether gave a new turn to the latter. Henceforth Bhagavatism, or as it may now be called by its more popular name, Vaishnavism, formed, with Saivism, the main plank of the orthodox religion, in its contest with Buddhism. The sacrificial ceremonies prescribed in the Vedas no doubt survived, but gradually receded into the background.

Conclusion

Bhagavatism is a vital tradition that shapes how millions of people approach their relationship with God. Its emphasis on loving devotion, combined with a profound theological framework, continues to inspire religious practice and philosophical thought in Hinduism.

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