NCERT Solutions for Class 7 Social Science History Chapter 8: Devotional Paths to the Divine

People have different rituals of worship that they perform. Be it by repeating the name of God in silence or going on their knees whether it is for their health or want of good marks in examinations, they pray. However, from where did the idea of gods or the divine enlightenment originate from? Who is aware that before the large kingdoms had emerged, different groups of people used to worship their gods and goddesses? Chapter 8 of this book further explores the idea and explains more about the devotional paths to the divine.

In this chapter, we will study Shankara, one of India's most influential philosophers, born in Kerala in the eighth century and became an advocate of Advaita, also known as the doctrine of the confluence of the soul and the Supreme God. He taught that the Brahman was formless and was without any attributes and considered the world to be an illusion or 'Maya' and the adoption of the path of knowledge to understand what a Brahman truly is and attain salvation. The period between the seventh to ninth century also saw the emergence of new religious movements such as the Nayanars and Alvars movement.

These movements allowed all castes in the society to be a part of it, even those considered "untouchable" like the Pulaiyar and the Panars. These groups were critical of the Buddhists and Jains and so preached Shiva or Vishnu's ardent love as the path to salvation. They were formed upon the ideals of love and heroism, which is present in the Sangam literature, which was composed in the early centuries of the Common Era and blended them with values of bhakti. The Nayanars and Alvars then went from place to place composing exquisite poems to praise the deities and set them to music to promote their religion.