Caste Resistance and Gender Fluidity in Bhakti & Sufi Poetry From Medieval India

An ideal society should be mobile, should be full of channels for conveying a change taking place in one part to other parts. In an ideal society there should be many interests consciously communicated and shared. There should be varied and free points of contact with other modes of association. In other words there should be social endosmosis.

- Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar

(Annihilation of Caste)

Masculinity - a set of images, values, interests and activities held important to the successful achievement of male adulthood - isn't a biologically given condition.

- Ann Oakley

(Gender on Planet Earth)

Caste and Gender are two very dominant factors that influence human society deeply, especially Indian society. Majority of crises that our society is suffering through today have their roots in these factors, that have been persistent historically, for more than 2000 years. In the 20th century, Dr. Bababsaheb Ambedkar was the most prominent voice against caste and gender inequalities, inspiring numerous Dalit and feminist movements that have actively challenged the institutions of caste and patriarchy in pursuit of egalitarian society. Neverthless, the history of such movements is as old as these issues. We can trace plenty of evidence right from the ancient times, various personalities and various movements using various mediums such as art and literature, to address caste and gender issues and promote equality. Two such movements that stand taller than any other movements in an entire Indian history are Bhakti and Sufi movements, with their unprecedented impact on society and human mind. Thus it is pertinent to look into these medieval movements again and again to address issues regarding caste and gender inequalities that are evolving into newer and newer forms.

The primary sources of insight into the Bhakti and Sufi movements are their poems, preserved in both textual and oral traditions. A careful analysis of these poetic works helps us understand how Bhakti and Sufi poets confronted the complex issues of caste and gender. Additionally, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar’s scholarly writings offer a comprehensive understanding of the caste structure in India. By integrating his detailed analysis with the poetry of the Bhakti and Sufi saints, we shall re-examine how these movements engaged with caste and gender, unveiling the methods they employed and explore if they can fill in the gaps in today’s movements against caste and gender inequalities.

Caste resistance in Bhakti and Sufi Movements:

One of the loudest anti-caste voices in Bhakti movements that we get to hear are of Kabir, Raidas, Pippa, Dadu etc who belonged to Ramanandi sect established by Ramananda.‘ जाति-पाति पूछे नहीं कोई ’ by Ramananda became a motto of sect’s caste resistance. Richard Burghart writes in his essay that, ‘ The ascetics of the Ramanandi sect led a minor social revolution in the Ganges basin by recruiting women and members of servant and untouchable caste. ’ There are fair amounts of evidences to prove that Ramanandi sect, one of the most influential sects in Bhakti movement was inspired by Dravidian tradition like Sri sect of Ramanuja of South India, who had already initiated measures to address caste inequalities. Ramanuja had established a code of conduct in the temple of Srirangam according to which people from low-caste were assigned temple duties from being accountant to offering coconut to deity. One of the most celebrated filmmakers of our time, Pa. Ranjith, renowned for amplifying the voices of marginalized communities and bringing their narratives to the forefront of cinema, in his recent film titled Thangalaan, have given a fleeting reference to Ramanuja in a scene where an upper-caste Brahmin, upon seeing a man from a lower caste performing rituals for Lord Narayana and wearing the sacred thread, cries out, “This entire fiasco is Ramanuja’s doing!”

In light of this, to mention one of the earliest Bhakti Saints who raised their voice against caste, we should start with Maharashtra’s Saint Namdev, 13th century poet born in Shimpi caste, which was believed to be a lower caste. Saint Namdev challenged monopoly of Brahmins on temples and God which can be seen in following poem written by Namdev:

हीन दीन जात मोरी पंढरी के राया
ऐसा तुम ने नामा दरजी कायकू बनाया
टाल बिना लेके नामा राऊल में आया
पूजा करते ब्रह्मन उन्ने बाहर ढकाया
देउल के पीछे नामा अल्लख पुकारे
जिधर-जिधर नामा उधर देउल ही फीरे
नाना वर्ण गवा उनका एक वर्ण दूध
तुम कहा के बहान हम कहा के सूद
मन मेरी सुई तन मेरा धागा
खेचर-जी के चरन पर नामा सिंपी लागा

This poem by Saint Namdev displays a full life journey of a saint-poet, from his birth to his spiritual awakening, as he starts right from complaining to a God about his birth in low caste i.e. a Weaver / Taylor (दरजी) and end with finding a spiritual meaning of weaving by metaphorising tools of weaving- a needle as mind and a thread as a body. As a weaver weaves cloth with the help of needle and thread, one must weave life’s cloth with help of mind and body i.e. achieving harmony between mind and body. Mind and body are always in conflict which disturbs our course of life and hence to live a good life harmony between mind and body need to be established. Namdev reaches to this realisation at the end of his poem and the path he chooses is the path of resistance and spiritual practice i.e. Sadhana, which can be seen in mid stanzas. Second stanza highlights the practice of caste discrimination by a Brahmin sitting inside a temple who throws Namdev out of the temple. In Next stanza Namdev goes in the backyard of a temple and chants ‘Alakh’ meaning formless God, a God which can’t be perceived, it refers to the idea of Nirguna mentioned in Upanishads, and this chanting of Nirguna God resulted into temple following Namdev which need to be read with metaphorical lenses. In the 4th stanza Namdev by emphasising on oneness among humans with help of metaphor of cattle and milk, questions the divisions in society as Brahmins and Shudra.

Courage displayed in this Poem by a Saint is unparalleled, at one point it dares to challenge the dominant caste system and then it also asserts human’s right to pray. On another point it underplays the importance of the physical temple by highlighting its omnipresence. Historically, entry to the low caste people into a Hindu temple was denied, which was a serious violation of one of the fundamental rights of human beings, in light of this saint Namdev being a Nirguni Bhakt emphasises on the essence of a temple which is formless. This poem by Namdev is a profound and innovative expression of connecting with God in the face of caste discrimination.

Bhakti movements also had many saints from upper caste who attacked on caste system and gave up on their privileges, they played a role of ‘cultural suicide bomber’ who blew away the very system that placed them on a higher social position than others. Poet Ramanand is good example, he did not just attack on the caste system through his poems like, जाति-पाति पूछे नहीं कोई, हरि को भजे सो हरि के होई, (Do not inquire from anyone his caste or sect; whoever worships the Lord belongs to the Lord) but also took several low-caste poets under his tutelage, some of his disciples are Kabir, Raidas, Pippa etc. Ravidas, according to several historical sources, was a guru of Meerabai. These popular poets, who belonged to different castes and genders, hint at the concept of 'social endosmosis,' as remarked by Dr. Ambedkar in his definition of the ideal society, where the ideas of Bhakti freely moved across various castes and genders. Bhakti poetry offers path to all the individuals irrespective of their social status, it empowers the marginalised ones and asks to sacrifice the privileges to individuals born in the upper caste. After a careful analysis one could also safely infer that during the Bhakti period caste system had received a two way attack, as low caste saints’ poems hint at resistance and reclaiming of religious space and high caste saints’ poem aim at proving insignificance of caste system.

Women Saints:

Women saints like Mira, Janabai, Akka Mahadevi played a more brutal role in attacking the caste system. As Dr. Ambedkar propounded in his research paper titled, ‘Castes in India: Their Mechanism, Genesis and Development’, that oppression of women carried out by Sati, Widowhood and Child Marriage are the essentials to create and sustain the caste system. And by defying patriarchal norms of ‘Sati, Widowhood and Child Marriage’, women saints have shaken the entire caste system to its core, as they were at the foundation whereupon an edifice of caste system was built and sustained. An example of Mirabai fits accurately here. Mirabai was born in the year of 1498 at Merta, today’s Rajasthan, which was historically a strong seat of patriarchy, even today Rajasthan is one of the leading states in oppression of women with low female literacy rates and less representation, Parda system is still prevalent there. So one could imagine a grave state of women 500 years ago. In such hostile environment Mira writes, ‘ कोई निंदौ कोई बिंदौ, मैं तो चलूंगी चाल अपूठी ’ taking her agency in her hand and aiming at living a life on her own terms against all the laws of patriarchal society. Mira who defied rules of widowhood is fully aware of her actions and their consequences as she writes,

“ लोक लाज कुल काण जगत की दई बहाय जसपाणी॥
अपने घर का परदा कर ले मैं अबला बौराणी।”

She is aware that this misogynistic society who put women behind parda won’t be able to bear her way of life and asks it to draw curtains on houses to avoid seeing Mira, a mad woman Another woman saint one must mention in this context is Saint Janabai. Janabai born to a Shudra couple at Maharashtra’s Gangakhed village, Janabai through her words as simple as ‘डोईचा पदर आला खांद्यावर’ led a social revolution. Marriage which was and still is a defining tool to sustain caste system, Janabai equalled its pleasures to her joy of being a disciple of Saint Namdev as she wrote,

नोवरीया संगे व-हाडीया सोहेळा
मांडे पुरणपोळ्या मिळे अन्न
परीसाचेनि संगे लोहो, होय सोने
तयाची भूषणे श्रीमंतासी ॥
जनी म्हणे जोड झाली विठ्ठलांची ।
दासी नामयाची म्हणोनिया ॥

Here, very subtly she is offering an alternative source of joy and way of life especially to women who have been brought up with a thought that all her pleasures and joy lie in the hands of her husband and a way of married woman is her only way of life. Thus, one could write a long list of women poets like Rekkave, Goggavve, Mahadevi, Avvai, Gauribai, Bahinabai to name a few who in their own varied ways rejected norms of Marriage, Widowhood, Sati and shook the caste system.

Gender fluidity:

One of the famous qawwals of our time is Farid Ayaz and Abu Mohammad whose voice elevates listeners to the higher planes and holds them there for a while. There are very few fortunates who could listen to them live but Ajab Shahr project have played a tremendous role in popularising these qawwals by uploading their recordings on YouTube. One of the most famous qawwali sung by them is ‘O Kanhaiya Yaad hain hamari’, available on YouTube page of Ajab Shahar- Kabir Project. Comment section of this video is full of religious unity, among them there are some other interesting comments that make us think about the idea of gender, one comment says “This Song was written by Nawab Sadiq Ali Jung Bahadur (pioneer of Nizam) Hyderabad.. He was a Sufi soul and very influenced by Lord Krishna” which is followed by comments - “No, Its Mirabai Bhajan”
“The lyrics of a married woman, mostly Meera had composed it”
“Khaak paro logo is byahhne par, acchi mein rehti kunvari",
must be written by a female, and here Brij language used. To understand this gender ambiguity arising out of a qawwali one must read its lyrics-

ए कन्हैया, याद है कुछ भी हमारी?
कहूँ क्या, तेरे भूलने के मैं वारी!
मुझे याद है वो ज़रा ज़रा
तुम्हें याद हो के न याद हो
याद है कुछ भी हमारी?
कहूँ क्या, तेरे भूलने के मैं वारी!
ए कन्हैया…
बिनती मैं कर कर बमना से पूछी
पल पल की ख़बर तिहारी
पैय्यां पड़ी महादेव के जा कर
अरी टोना भी कर के मैं हारी!
कन्हैया…
ख़ाक परो लोगों इस ब्याहने पर
अच्छी मैं रहती कंवारी
मैंका में मैं ‘हिल्म’ रहती थी सुख से
अरे फिरती थी क्यों मारी मारी, कन्हैया!
कन्हैया…

To the audience who are conditioned by binary idea of gender these lyrics may appear to have been written by a female poet. There are several feminine verbs used in this poem like ‘पूछी’ (to ask), ‘पड़ी’ (to bow down), ‘हारी’ (defeated), ‘अच्छी मैं रहती कंवारी’ (Better if I stayed unmarried), and the last two lines - ‘मैंका में मैं ‘हिल्म’ रहती थी सुख से अरे फिरती थी क्यों मारी मारी, कन्हैया!’

But Ajab Shahar’s web page dedicated to this song confirms that the poet of this song is Nawab Sadiq Jung Bahadur ‘Hilm’. Along with that scholar Wajida Ather Naqvi who is currently doing Phd in King's College London have tweeted about this poem along with an image of original Diwan wherein specific musical instructions for this poem is mentioned. Wajida’s twit reads as- “On the eve of Ramzan and in the heart of empire- overjoyed to be able to sing Nawab Sadiq Jung Bahadur Hilm’s famous kalam ‘Kanhaiya’ holding his original diwan from late 19th century Hyderabad, Deccan which includes specific musical instructions for this poem!” Confirming that this poem was written by Nawab Sadiq Jung Bahadur Hilm. And the biggest proof to prove that this is Nawab Sadiq Jung Bahadur Hilm’s poem is, appearance of ‘Hilm’ in the second last verse of this poem, It is an old tradition in poetry to mention a poet's nickname in a poem especially at the end.

This entire effort to prove that Kanhaiya poem was written by Nawab Sadiq Jung Bahadur Hilm is being made to highlight the gender ambiguity evoked by this poem and it is not a single exception but makes up a very significant component of Bhakti and Sufi poetry, which deserves our attention.

Gender is one of the most arresting factors in Bhakti and Sufi tradition which have not been discussed as often as other factors like caste and religion. Drawing inspiration from a long tradition of gender ambiguity prescribed in Puranas and Epics (Ex. Shikhandi and Mohini), Bhakti and Sufi poetry make several direct and indirect references to the idea of Gender fluidity. One of the most prominent voices on gender, Kate Bornstein, who is also credited with coining the term "gender fluidity," defines it as: “Gender fluidity is the ability to freely and knowingly become one or many of a limitless number of genders, for any length of time, at any rate of change. Gender fluidity recognizes no borders or rules of gender.” This definition helps us to broaden our rigid understanding of gender. In light of this definition, we are examining the fluidity of gender expressions among male poets in the context of devotion. Unfortunately, there is a scarcity of sources that explore gender dynamics outside the framework of devotion.

In Bhakti poetry there are several men poets who expressed themselves as women to show their affection and yearning for their beloved God, which also speaks at great length to our today’s feminine-phobia. The best example to highlight Gender fluidity in Bhakti poetry is Kabir’s poetry. An entire transformation from being a patriarchal man to embracing femininity can be seen in Kabir’s poetry. Kabir’s poetry captures the duality of patriarchal self and natural self. At one point Kabir’s poetry is full of curses uttered for women, calling women an obstacle on a path to meet the Lord. Kabir writes, "नारी सेती नेह, बुधि बिबेक सबही हरै" and even declares, "नारी कुंड नरक का." An entire saakhi is dedicated to the criticism of women, titled "कामी नर कौ अंग." In these instances, Kabir appears as a product of a patriarchal culture, expressing not only criticism of women but a broader repudiation of womanhood itself. Nevertheless on the other hand one could list out hundreds of poems by the same Kabir where he turned himself into a bride of his Lord Rama to express an apogee of his feeling of longing and love for the lord. Following poem would be useful to understand it:

बहुत दिनन की जोवती*, बाट तुम्हारी राम
जिव तरसै तुझ मिलन को, मन नाहीं विश्राम ॥
(जोवती = देखती हूँ, प्रतीक्षा करती हूँ)

बिरहिन* ऊठै भी पड़े , दरसन कारनि राम
मूवां पीछै देहुगे, सो दरसन किही काम
(बिरहिन- विरहिणी स्त्री, जिसका पति परदेश या दूर-देश गया हो, ऐसी स्त्री)

हंसि हंसि कंत न पाइए , जिनि पाया तिनि रोइ
जो हासैं ही हरि मिलै, तो नहीं दुहागिन* कोइ
(दुहागिन- विधवा , अभागिन)

कबीर देखत दिन गया , निस भी देखत जाइ
बिरहणि पीन पावे नहीं , जियरा तलपै माइ

कै बिरहनि कूं मींच दे, कै आपा दिखलाइ
आठ पहर का दाझणां*, मोपै सह्या न जाइ
(दाझणां- जलन)

जोवती, बिरहिन, दुहागिन, दाझणां are some of the words from above poem by Kabir that connote the feminine tone of poem. Above poem is from ‘बिरह के अंग’ meaning Characteristics of Separation, wherein Kabir has turned himself into a woman suffering from pangs of separation, words that he used to describe his longing are dipped in sorrow and restlessness for sight of Lord Rama. Another thing to notice is that Kabir do not just turn himself into a woman but he sees an entire outer world as feminine which can be seen in 3rd verse where he says that a person is unfortunate if one finds God in pleasure, a words Kabir used for unfortunate is दुहागिन which is a feminine word commonly used for a woman whose husband is dead.

Why Kabir in his peak moment of sorrow of separation becomes a woman to express it? Why does his masculinity fall short in satiating his thirst of expressing yearning? What does it tell us about the nature of being? Are some of the pertinent questions which arise after reading this poem. A. K. Ramanujan with the help of gender studies undertaken by anthropologists like Margaret Mead and Nancy Chodorow have highlighted how men are not born but made into one. He writes, “Anthropologists such as Margaret Mead and Nancy Chodorow have pointed out that males have elaborate initiation rites because they have to be weaned from their mothers and given a separate masculine identity in order to enter the male world. Men have to change to become ‘themselves’ ; only after the change may they long for the earlier feminine identification with the mother-figure. Women, by contrast , may continue to identify with their mothers. The woman saint may fight the male in husband, priest, and elder; she may love a male God. But she remains feminine and in her love poetry she rejoices intensely in this identity.” And hence women saint-poet in their longings and love for Lord retain their identity, as Meera writes, "अपणां गिरधर के कारणै , वा मीरां वैरागण हो गई रे” she appears content with her femininity as she uses a word “ वैरागण ” to describe her self, a feminine word for an ascetic, unlike Kabir who writes, हरि मोर पीव , मैं राम की बहुरिया calling Lord as lover/husband and by being बहुरिया which means a newly-wedded bride.

In this Gender-shifting phenomena Kabir is neither alone nor the first one to do so, 12th Century poet Basava from Karnataka, had come out openly in his poem about gender fluidity. He writes,

Look here, dear fellow:
I wear these men’s cloths
Only for you
Sometimes I am a man
Sometimes I am a woman
O lord of the meeting rivers
I’ll make war for you
But I will be your devotees’ bride.

A Man is not born but made into one:

A K Ramanujan writes, “Of the thousand or so poems of Nammalvar, 270 of them are in female voices” and mentions that the tradition of men singing in women's voices is as old as Sangam age. The very fact that we find many male poets converting themselves into female to express their pure love for God but we don’t see any female poet turning into male to do so connotes that men in their journey of Sadhana return to their authentic self by shedding their layers of manhood which are not natural but product of a patriarchal society, as Ann Oakley writes in her work titled ‘Gender on Planet Earth’, “ Masculinity - a set of images, values, interests and activities held important to the successful achievement of male adulthood - isn't a biologically given condition.” This could simply be understood through mundane examples of daily lives, like, if a male-child cries out of some injury or pain he is quickly repudiated by saying ‘don’t cry like a girl’. We also have the great masculine hero of our times with his legendary dialogue ‘Mard ko dard nahi Hota’ (Real men do not feel pain) which is echoed in men’s behaviour during period of suffering. Through these ordinary examples one could understand how society produces a man. If one wants to dig deeper into it, one should ask a question, Why does society have to produce man? Why is there this systemic cultural intervention like man’s initiation rites throughout the cultures of the world? Hindus have an entire Varnahsarhrama vyavastha with elaborate rites specifically for high-caste men. The answer perhaps lies in, what Anthropologist Margaret Mead likes to call, Womb-envy, man’s deep seated inferiority complex drawn from the fact that ‘women, by virtue of their ability to make children, hold the secrets of life. Men’s role is uncertain, undefined and perhaps unnecessary’, Mead continues, ‘By a great effort man has hit upon a method of compensating himself for his basic inferiority’, it puts Creation myths from popular religions like Christianity and Hinduism into perspective. Bible’s Genesis 2:22-24 verse says, ‘Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man’. Rigveda mentions Purusha, a cosmic man, out of whose body beings are created. Thus, now one could safely infer that patriarchy could be a product of womb-envious man and Man, all his life, have to prove his manhood to address this inferiority complex.

This process of becoming a man appears to have been reversed in Bhakti’s process of Sadhana where man instead of earning manhood endeavours to shed it and reaches to a point where he embraces his femininity, highlighting the fluidity of gender. Along with Bhakti poems, in Sufi poems also one could find many examples of men turning into women in yearning and praise of lord. Amir Khusro stands tallest with his works like ‘Main Nizam Se Naina” and ‘Chaap tilak’ where he expresses his love and longing for his Lord / Guru Nizamuddin Auliya by turning himself into a woman.

The caste system often reinforces traditional notions of masculinity, with upper-caste men wielding significant power and control over women and lower castes. This patriarchal dominance is intricately tied to the caste hierarchy, where masculine authority becomes a means of maintaining societal control. In contrast, the fluid gender identities expressed in Bhakti poetry, particularly by male poets, serve as a challenge to these rigid norms. By embracing and celebrating gender fluidity, these poets subvert traditional gender roles, offering a powerful critique of the deeply entrenched systems of patriarchy and caste-based oppression.

Conclusion :

Bhakti poetry offers a unique and valuable perspective on our ideas of caste and gender, that are anthropologically sound and socially effective. It had made deep impact on the mind of a society and endeavoured to widen its boundaries, to make it more inclusive. Bhakti saints in their brutal attack on caste made sure that an individual wouldn’t be taken away from God, from religion, which is its one of the fundamental needs as a human being. As Dr. Radhakrishnan wrote, ‘God and not the world of history is the true environment of our souls’ and Bhakti saints ensured that the spiritual essence of religion was not overshadowed by the rigidities of the caste system or societal constraints on gender identity. In their resistance to the caste system, which had become deeply intertwined with religion, they skillfully peeled away the layers of caste imposed upon the spiritual framework. By doing so, they revealed the pure and universal essence of faith, encouraging people to embrace it in its truest form, free from prejudice and discrimination, while also celebrating the fluidity of human existence. When Saint Namdev wrote,

“टाल बिना लेके नामा राऊल में आया
पूजा करते ब्रह्मन उन्ने बाहर ढकाया
देउल के पीछे नामा अल्लख पुकारे
जिधर-जिधर नामा उधर देउल ही फीरे”

He made it sure that Brahmin’s discriminatory act wouldn’t turn him away from worshipping his God and he endeavoured to remove the middleman who stands in between him and his God. Idea of God holds tremendous importance for human beings, for it represents the source from which we all have originated. A verse from Taittiriya Upanishad where Varuna is explaining what is Brahm (Universal self) to Bhrigu says, “तं होवाच । यतो वा इमानि भूतानि जायन्ते । येन जातानि जीवन्ति । यत्प्रयन्त्यभिसंविशन्ति । तद्विजिज्ञासस्व । तद्ब्रह्मेति “ , That from which these beings are born, that in which when born they live and that into which they enter at their death, that is Brahm”. Kabir’s popular poem “खबर करो अपने तन की” can be read on similar lines wherein he says, “सब आया एक ही घाट से”, this एक घाट is nothing but the same singular source which is called Brahm. (universal self) in the Upanishad. And this world which is full of illusions takes us away from that source, feeds our ego self , strengthens duality and gives rise to conflict ergo perpetual violence. All the caste and gender conflicts seem to have been stemming from this dichotomy due to a lack of understanding about unity of existence. To end this conflict we all must embark on a journey to our common source, as French-American writer Anaïs Nin writes, “We are going to the moon that is not very far. Man has so much farther to go within himself,” and Bhakti poetry offers a path to go within, to our source, in the simplest language accessible to the masses.