CBSE Class VII (7th) History| Our Pasts-II Chapter 8. Devotional-Paths to the Divine|Solved Exercises
the cast system. Relate the conversation.
Answer.
1. Siant would critically examine the caste system.
2. He would present its disadvantage and prove them with suitable
examples.
3. He would also suggest ways in which the caste system can be
reformed. Otherwise he would denounce the caste system ask
his followers to breakway from it.
4. He would suggest the path of Bhakti (personal devotion to beloved
God) to his followers.
5. He would sing devotional songs (bhajan) to
end the meeting.
Additional Question.
Q 1. What did Buddha teach?
Answer. Buddha taught that it was possible to overcome social
differences and break the cycle of rebirth throw personal effort.
Q 2. What was the source of Idea of Bhakti ?
Answer:The idea of Bhakti (devotion) was advocated in the Bhagavadggita.
Q 3. Which Gods were worshipped by Bhaktas.
Answer:Bhaktas worsipped Shiva, Vishnu and Durga
Q 4. Who were Alvara and Nayanars?
Answer: The saints devoted to Shiva and Vishnu were Nayanars
and Alvars, respectivily.
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Exercises Solved
Let's Recall
Question 1. Match the following:
The Buddha Namaghar Nizamuddin
Shankaradeve Worship of Shiva
Auliya Worship of Vishnu
Nayanars Questioned social differences
Alvars Suffi Siant
Answer:
The Buddha Questioned social differences
Shankaradeve Namaghar Nizamuddin
Auliya Sufi Siant
Nayanars Worship of Shiva
Alvars Worship of Vishnu
Question 2. Fill in the blanks:
(a) Shankara was an advocate of _____.
(b) Ramanuja was influenced by the ____.
(c) _____,_____ and ______ were advocates of Virashaivism.
(d) _____ was an important centre of the Bhakti tradition in Maharashtra.
Answer:
(a) Shankara was an advocate of Advaita.
(b) Ramanuja was influenced by the Vishistadvaita.
(c) Basavanna,Allama Prabhu and Akkamahadevi were advocates of Virashaivism.
(d) Pandharpur was an important centre of the Bhakti tradition in Maharashtra.
Question 3. Describe the briefs and practices of the Nathpanthis,
Sidhas and yogis.
Answer: The briefs and practices of the Nathpanthis, Sidhas and yogis were as under:
1. The criticised the ritual and other aspects of conventional regional and the social order.
2. They used simple and logical arguments to present their thoughts.
3. They advocate renuciation of the world.
4. According to them Salvation could be attained by meditation on the formless ultimate reality and realisation of oneness with it.
5. To achieve Salvation, they advocated intense training of the mind and body through practices like yogasanas, breathing exercise and meditation.
Question 4. What were the major ideas expressed by kabir?
How the express these?
Answer: The major ideas of Kabir were follows:
1. He believed in a formless Superme God and preached that the only path to Salvation of through bhakti or devotion.
2. His teachings were based on a complete, ineed vehement, reaction of the major religious traditions.
3. He openly ridiculed al forms of external worship of both Brahmanical Hindusthan and Islam.
4. He also ridiculed the pre-eminence of the priestly classes and the caste system.
5. To express his ideas, he used a form of spoken hindi.
Let's Understand
Question 5. What were the major beliefs and practices of the Sufis?
Answer:
1. Sufis rejected oput wards religiosity and emphasised love and devotion to God and compassion towards all fellow human beings.
2. They often rejected the elborate rituals and codes of behaviour demanded by Muslim religous scholars.
3. They sought union with God much as a lover seeks his beloved with a disregard for the world.
4. Sufi saints composed poem and prose literature including anecdotes and fables.
5. They believed that the heart can be trained to look at the world in different way.
6. They developed elaborate methods of training using zikr (chanting of a scared formula), contemplation, sama (singing) raqs (dancing).
7. The Sufi Siants held their assemblies in their khanqahs or hospices.
Question 6. Why do you think many teachers rejected pervalent religious beliefs and practices? Answer: It has the following ways:
1. The social order had many unequal social castes.The lower castses were oppressed by the uppercasts.
2. The teachers of Bhakti of Sufisam wanted to free the right of worship God and simplify it by abandonning elaborate rituals to please God.
3. They believed in the power of presonal devotion.
4. The upliftment of lower castes could be attained by rejection of pervalent religious beliefs and practices.
Question 7. What were the major teaching of Baba Guru Nanak?
Answer. The major teaching of Baba Guru Nanak were as under:
1. He emphasised the importance of the worship of one God.
2. He insisted that caste, creed or gendar was irrelevant for attaining liberation.
3. His idea of liberation was not that of a state of inert blis but the pursuit of active life with a strong sense of social commitment.
4. He, himself, used the twerms nam, elan and insan for the essence of his teachings which actually meant right worship, welfare of purity of conduct.
5. He directed to the importance to right belief and worship, honest living and helping others.
Let's Discuss
Question 8. For either the Virashaivas or the sants of Maharashtra, discuss their attiude towards caste.
Answer. The attiude of Virashaivas towards caste wase as follows:
1. They reacted to the temple worship.
2. The towards Virashaivas argued strongly for the equality of all human beings.
3. The rejected Brahmanical ideas about caste and the treatment of women.
Question 9. Why do you think ordinary people preserved the
memory of Mirabai?
Answer. Due to ther following resons, the ordinary people preserved
the memory of Mirabai:
1. She was a queen and devote of Krishna.
2. She composed innumerable bhajans expressing here intense
devotion to his beloved lord.
3. She left her husband's but she did not die. This popularised
her as being saved by Lord. Thus, her authenticity as a true devotes
was proved.
4. She even drank poison, sent by her husband, but she did not die. this popularised her as being saved by lord. Thus, her authenticity as a true devote.
5. Her songs openly challenged the nomars of the "upper" castes and become popular with the masses in Rajasthan and Gujarat.
Let's do
Question 10. Find out weather in your neighbourhood there are any dargahs, gurdwaras or temples associated with saints of the bhakti tradition in your neighourhood. Visit any one of these and describe what you see and hear?
Answer. Students, do it yourselves. Hint: There wouldn't be any picture or idol of any God. The religious shrine would be devoted to some saint, etc.]
Question 11.Find any of the saint-poets whose compositions have been included in this chapter, find out more about their works down other poems. find out weather these are sung, how they are sung, and what the poets wrote about.
Answer. Students, do it yourselvess.
[Hint: You can look for Kabir'spoem in Hindi textbooks]
Question 12. There are a several saint-poets whose names have been mentioned but their works have not been includes in the chapter. Find out more about the language in which they composed, whether their compositions were sung, and what their compositions were about? Answer. Students, do it yourselves. [Hint: You can search internet for the subcontinental Bhakti and Sufi literature of various saints and Sufi masters. Also, you can discuss with your history teacher.]
