North India When the popularity of the bhakti movement in south India reached its peak, the doctrine of bhakti was expounded at the philosophical level by a series of Vaishnava scholars and saints. Ramanujar expounded the philosophy known as Vishistadvaita, or qualified monism. His teaching qualified Adi Sankara’s emphasis on absolute monism or the oneness of the ‘supreme’ and the ‘souls’. If the Bhakti movement flourished in the Tamil country from the seventh century, it was only from the fifteenth century that there was an extraordinary outburst of devotional poetry in north India.
The society had degenerated into a caste-ridden community with practice of segregation, polytheism and idolatry. The religious minded saints raised their voice XI History - Lesson - - Cultural Syncretism: Bhakti Movement in India . They advocated the principle of Universal brotherhood. .
They criticized idol worship. . They stressed the singing of hymns with deep devotion. .
Arguing that all living beings, including humans, were god’s children, they strongly denounced caste system which divided people according to their birth. . They condemned ritualism, pilgrimages and fasts. .
They did not consider any language as sacred and composed poems in the language of the common people.