Popular Culture Review Vol. 10, No. 2, August 1999 | Page 127
Bhakti as Popular Movement
121
culture and Bhakti-oriented art, dance, songs, and performances have enamored
the masses for centuries. Contributions of the Sufi saint-poet-philosophers to the
diversification and enrichment of the Indian culture are also important. Both Bhakti
and Sufi movements have transcended the narrow bounds of their respective faiths
and brought greater understanding in people and more diversity in the Indian cul
ture. In fact, some of the best Bhakti poetry has been written by Muslim saintpoet-philosophers (e.g., Rehman and Raskhan) and thanks to both the Hindu and
Muslim saint-poet-philosophers, the Bhakti tradition remains strong and popular
all over India to this day.^^
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Satish Sharma
Notes
1. This is the revised version of a paper presented at the Plenary Session of the Eighth
International Congress of Vedanta in Oxford, Ohio, USA. Dr. Satish Sharma is cur
rently a Professor and former Director, School o f Social Work, University of Nevada,
Las Vegas, USA.
2. Sen, K. M., Hinduism. Baltimore, Maryland: Penguin Books, 1969; Zaehner, R. C.,
Hinduism. London: Oxford University Press, 1966.
3. Ibid.
4. Rice, Edward, Eastern Definitions. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company,
1978; Embree, A. T., The Hindu Tradition: Readings in Oriental Thought. New York:
Vintage Books, 1972.
5. Sen, op. cit., 1969; Embree, op. cit., 1972; Goswami, Satsvarupa Dasa, Readings in
Vedic Literature: The Tradition Speaksfor Itself. Los Angeles: The Bhaktivedanta Book
Trust, 1990.
6. Zaehner, op. cit., 1966; Rice, op. cit., 1978; Sen, op. cit., 1969.
7. Ibid.
8. Embree, op. cit., 1972.
9. Sen, op. cit., 1969.
10. Radhakrishnan, S. and C. A. Moore, A Sourcebook in Indian Philosophy. New Jersey:
Princeton University Press, 1957; Parrinder, G., World Religions from Ancient History
to the Present. New York: Facts on Files Publications, 1971.
11. Prasad, R. C., Tulasidasa s ShriRamacharitamanasa. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1989,
pp. 496-98.
12. Bhaktivedanta, A. C., Bhagavad-Gita As It Is. Los Angeles: The Bhaktivedanta Book
Trust, 1986, pp. 628-635).
13. Bhaktivedanta, op. cit., 1986.
14. Goswami, Satsvarupa Dasa, Vaisnava Behavior: The Twenty-Six Qualities o f A Devo
tee. Port Royal: Gita-Nagri Press, 1983, pp. 77.