Genesis of the Bhakti Movement and Engagements with Islam

Bhakti that offers salvation to Sanathana Dharma followers through ardent devotion and love to God, is considered as one of the three paths of Moksha and had triggered a popular movement that may had changed the course of Hinduism paving the way for two new religions; Sikhism and Lingayatism. Our work aims to explore and rightly present the genesis of Bhakti movement and contributions of Alvars and Nayanmars, who were often neglected in Bhakti literature.Since Islam entered south India and Bhakti originated there in the same period as well, and it shows great similarity between principles of Islam and Bhakti's teachings on salvation, its methods and social structure, the work examines whether Islam had influenced or not. Therefore, the work will also contribute significantly to comprehend the genesis of Sufism and cross-religious synchronizations.