Devotional Paths to the Divine Class 7 Questions and Answers History Chapter 8
Class 7 History Chapter 8 NCERT Textbook Questions and Answers
Question 1.
Match the foilowing-
| The Buddha | Namghar |
| Shankaradeva | Worship of Vishnu |
| Nizamuddin Auliya | Quertioned social differences |
| Nayanars | Sufi saint |
| Alvars | Worship of Shiva |
Answer:
| The Buddha | Quertioned social differences |
| Shankaradeva | Namghar |
| Nizamuddin Auliya | Sufi saint |
| Nayanars | Worship of Shiva |
| Alvars | Worship of Vishnu |
Question 2.
Fill in the blanks-
1. Shankara was an advocate of ……………..
2. Ramanuja was influenced by the …………….
3. ………….., …………… and ………………. were advocates of Virashaivism.
4. ……………. was an important centre of Bhakti tradition in Maharashtra.
Answer:
1. Advaita
2. Alvars
3. Basavana, Allama Prabhu, Akkamadevi
4. Pantharpur.
Question 3.
Describe the beliefs and practices of the Nathpanthis, Siddhas and Yogis.
Answer:
A number of religions groups that emerged during this period criticised the ritual and other aspects of conventional religion and the social order, using simple, logical arguments. Among these were the nathpanthis, Siddhacharas And Yogis.
Beliefs and practices of the Nathpanthis, Siddhas and Yogis-
- They advocated renunciation of the world.
- According to them, the path to salvation lay in meditation on the formers. Ultimate Reality and the realisation of oneness with it.
- To achieve the above they advocated intense training of the mind and body like yogasanas, breathing exercises and meditation.
- For their beliefs and practices, these groups became particularly popular among ‘low’ castes.
Question 4.
What were the major ideas expressed by Kabir ? How did he express there?
Answer:
- Kabir’s teachings were based on a complete, indeed vehement; rejection of the major religions traditions.
- Kabir’s teaching openly ridiculed all form of external worship of both Brahmanical Hinduism and Islam the pre-eminence of the priestly classes and the caste system.
- The language of his poetry was a form of spoken Hindi widely understood by ordinary people.
- Kabir believed in a formless supreme God and preached that the only path to salvation was through bhakti or devotion.
Question 5.
What were the major beliefs and practices of the sufis?
Answer:
Major beliefs and practices of the sufis-
- Sufis were Muslim Mystics. They rejected outward religionsity and emphasised love and devotion to God and compassion towards all fellow human beings.
- The Sufis often rejected the elaborate rituals and codes of behaviour demanded by Muslim religions scholars.
- They sought union with God much as a lover seeks his beloved with a disregard for the world.
- Like the saint poets, the sufis too, composed poems expressing their feelings, and a rich literature in prose, inducting anecdotes and fables, developed around them.
- The sufis also believed that the heart can be trained to look at the world in a different way. They developed elaborate methods of training using Zikr (Chanting of a name or sacred formula), contemplation, same (singing), raqs (dancing), discussion of parables, breath control, etc. under the guidance of a master or pir.
Question 6.
Why do you think many teachers, rejected prevalent religions beliefs and practices?
Answer:
Many teachers rejected prevalent religions beliefs and practices because they were irrational, unlogical and very difficult to understand. For example, Kabir and Guru Nanak rejected all orthodox religions and their beliefs and practices. Many teachers did not favour casteism; the feeling of up or down or low or high castes. They favoured humanism.
Some teachers like Tulsidas and Surdas accepted beliefs and practises but wanted to make these accessible to all though the languages of the common people.
Question 7.
What were the major teachings of Baba Guru Nanak?
Answer:
Major teachings of Baba Guru Nanak-
- Guru Nanak emphasized the importance of the worship of one God. He insisted that caste, creed or gender was irrelevant for attaining liberation. His idea of liberation was not that of a state of inert bliss but rather the pursuit of active life with a strong sense of social commitment.
- He himself used the terms nam, dan and isnan for the essence of his teachings which actually meant right worship, welfare of others and purity of conduct.
- His teachings are now remembered as nam-japna, kirt-karma and vand-chhakha, which also underline the importance of right belief and worship, honest living, and helping others.
Question 8.
For either the Virashaivas or the sants of Maharashtra, discuss their attitude towards caste.
Answer:
The Virashaivars or the saint of Maharashtra had a very progressive humanistic attitude, they opposed casteism or inequality based on any ground. From the thirteen to seventeen centuries Maharashtra saw a great number of saint poets.
The most important among them were Janeshwar, Namdev, Eknath and Tukaram as well women like Sakhu bai and the family of Chokhamela. They belonged to the “untouchable” Mohar Caste.
There was a Gujarati Saint Narsi Mehtra. He was a famous Vaishnava. He said, “They (men and women) are vaishnavas who understand the pain of others.
All saints (male as well female) stressed Bhakti particularly on the vithala (a form of Vishnu). They participated in the temple of Pantherpur. They favoured the nation of a personal god residing in the hearts of all people.
These saints, poets, rejected castism and all types of ritualism. They did not favour disparity and differences based on birth.
Question 9.
Why do you think ordinary people preserved the memory of Mirabai?
Answer:
- Mirabai was a Rajput princes married into the royal family of Mewar in the sixteenth century. Mirabai became a disciple of Ravidas, a saint from a caste untouchablef. She was devoted to Krishna and composed inumerable bhajans expressing her intense devotion.
- Her songs also openly challenged the norms of the “upper” caste and became popular with the masses in Rajasthan and Gujarat.
Question 10.
Find out whether in your neighborhood these are any dargahs, gurudwaras or temples associated with saints of the bhakti tradition in your neighborhood. Visit any one of these and describe what you see and hear?
Answer:
Yes, these are many dargahs, gurudwaras or temples associated with saints of bhakti tradition in our neighbourhood.
I have visited all these religious places from time to time along with my mother or father or elder brother.
I have seen that people go there with devotion and they ofter prayer and hear preaching of religious people with great devotion.
Question 11.
For any of the Saint-poets where compositions have been included in this chapter, find out more about their works, noting down other poems. Find out whether these are sung, how they are sung, and what the poets wrote about?
Answer:
We have read about many bhakti saint and sufi saint in this chapter. I have heard about Kabir, Baba Guru Nanak, Mirabai, Goswami Tulsidas and Surdas. Their religious works poems, bhajans are read out and sung at religious place and by bhakt singers and poets. I have heard devotional song on radio and Television. I have also read certain books related . with the above saint poets.
Question 12.
There are several saint-poets whose names have been mentioned but their works have not been included in the chapter. Finds out more about sung and what their compositions were about.
Answer:
- All Marathi saint such as Janeshwar, Namdev, Eknath and Tukaram had written and sung in Marathi.
- Narsi Mehta had written and sung in Gujarati.
- Tulsidas had written in Awdhi (Hindi).
- Surdas had written in Brij Bhasha (Hindi).
- Mirabai had written in Rajasthani (Hindi).
- Kabir had written in composit language taking words from Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi and other languages of India. His language is called Khichri Bhasha.
- Guru Nanak Dev had written and sung in Hindi and Punjabi.
- They were not in a favour of converting Hindus to Islam.