When they came - 1

During the 6th century BC whole of India was immersed in a worst form of ritualism. Cast system reached its most loathsome form when the priestly class dominated and the wisdom of the brahmins degenerated into obnoxious practices through misinterpretation of the Vedas. Brahmins used their dominant position in the society to establish their sway and power over everybody, including the kings. The so called inferrior castes and common men were debarred from parctising religion as per Vedas and most of the great truths were anyway outside the reach of common men as there were no documents, every teaching was based on Sruti. In this despondent situation there appeared a prince who had renounced his kingdom and his married life in search of Truth. He was lord Buddha, the enlightened one. He openly embraced everybody and debarred none. People flocked to him, for getting the taste of the eternal peace. And in the next three of four centuries, many great kings, most prominent being Ashoka, took to Budhhism and non violence. India was saved from a crisis, masses found their voice. Buddhism spread far and wide, even ferocious tribes like Kushanas and Huns who came to India to attack and plunder, became ardent Budhhists and were assimilated by Indian culture.

Towards the end of 6th century A.D Buddhism reached its nadir. The same worst form of ritualism which gave its birth, also resulted in its decline, only this time Buddhists themselves were responsible for degenerating the principles and teachings of Buddha into pointless rituals. Buddhism was deeply influenced at this stage by Tantra. When again India was going through a general despondency as neither there was a powerful ruler to hold the country together, nor a powerful religion, and when Islam, the newly created Arabic force was at its doorstep, came a person in the South, who was intensely intellectual and scholar. Sankara established the high and lofty principles of Vedanta - that all beings are gods themselves, only they are deluded by Maya and not realizing the same, that there is no personal God as the Brahman, the supreme being and the Atman, the individual souls are one and the same, that all of us are the same and by hating and killing others we are hating and killing ourselves - Mayi sarvam idam proktam sutre maniganah iva ( into Me all are tied up, like pearls in a string, as proclaimed by lord Krishna in Gita). But Sankara's dry intellect and ascetism was not understood by householders. Therefore the principle of Advaita was challenged by Madhvacharya and Ramanuj, the two great persons with large hearts. The monism and dualism helped reestablish the sanctity of Santana Dharma. The three together helped build up a mighty legacy in the Southern India which continued for the next 500 years and which indirectly influenced powerful Southern empires like Chalukyas, Cholas and later Kakotiyas and Vijayanagar.

Now the spotlight came to Bengal, a mighty kingdom which was threatened by inroads of Islamic influence and culture. Bengal was at this stage in a quandary, Brahmanas had shut themselves up to protect the religion from the foreign influence, leaving ordinary people to their fate. Learned and wise were more interested in dry intellectual discourses and scholarly fights than providing means of salvation to ordinary people. At this juncture when things were looking quite bleak there appeared a hurricane of love, "prema bhakti" which sewpt away much of Bengal, Assam and Orissa. The person at the helm was called Sri Chaitanya. Born as Nimai Thakur of Nadia, he was a fantastic scholar with unmatched erudition. Sri Chaitanya and his companion Nitayananda spread the message of love and devotion and accepted anybody and everybody in their fold, much like Buddha, without discrimination. This bhakti moevment saved Bengal and much of India from getting trapped into a viscious cycle of hate, conversion, ritualism and dogma. Nobody, who has uttered the name of Hari, is untouchable, thundered Sri Chaitanya, and therefore caste system was washed away by this flood of love and devotion. Sri Chaitanya through his Bhakti movement reffirmed the faith of ordinary Indians on the necessity of loving god selflessly. A lot of literary works were published by renouned Vaishnava saints. Ramayana and Mahabharata were tranlsated into Bengali and powerful and devoted Bengali satraps raised their heads to further promote religion, art and culture. Flood of devotion touched North India where Tulsidas wrote his Ramcharitmansas to bring lord Rama closer to every North Indian household, and Kabir spread the message of harmony and tolerance.