Who among the following Bhakti saints did not belong to Nirguna School of Bhakti?
- A.Kabir
- B.Nanak
- C.Dadu
- D.Chaitanya
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is D, Chaitanya. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu worshipped God in a personal form, as Krishna, so he belonged to the Saguna school of Bhakti, not the Nirguna school.
The Nirguna saints worshipped a formless God without attributes and rejected idols, rituals and caste. The Saguna saints worshipped God with form and qualities, usually as Rama or Krishna. Chaitanya (1486–1534) of Bengal popularised Krishna bhakti through sankirtan, the group singing of God's name, and inspired the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition that spread to Odisha and Vrindavan.
A is wrong because Kabir, the weaver-saint of Varanasi, is the best-known Nirguna poet and rejected idol worship. B is wrong because Guru Nanak taught devotion to one formless God, Ik Onkar. C is wrong because Dadu Dayal of Rajasthan, a follower of the Kabir tradition, founded the Dadu Panth and preached a formless God.
Exam tip: Nirguna = Kabir, Nanak, Dadu, Raidas; Saguna = Chaitanya, Tulsidas, Surdas, Mirabai.
Practice Questions
View allWhich of the following statements about Bodhisattas is/are correct? 1. They were perceived as deeply compassionate beings who accumulated merit through their efforts. 2. They made attempt to attain Nibbana. Select the correct answer using the code given below.
- A.1 only
- B.2 only
- C.Both 1 and 2
- D.Neither 1 nor 2
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Bodhisattas were seen as deeply compassionate beings who gathered merit by their efforts, but they used that merit to help others rather than to attain nibbana for themselves.
Read the full explanation →Tamilakam was the name of the ancient Tamil country that included
- A.present-day Tamil Nadu as well as parts of Sri Lanka
- B.land between present day Tirupati hills and the southernmost tip of peninsula
- C.present-day Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra
- D.present day Kerala, Telangana and Karnataka
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Sangam literature describes Tamilakam as the land stretching from the Venkatam hills, around Tirupati, in the north to Kumari, the southern tip of the peninsula.
Read the full explanation →Who among the following was Buddha's foster mother?
- A.Purna
- B.Gajalakshmi
- C.Maya
- D.Mahapajapati Gotami
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Siddhartha's mother, Queen Maya, died a few days after his birth, and her younger sister Mahapajapati Gotami brought him up as her own son.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following pairs of organization and their founders is NOT correctly matched ?
- A.National Liberation Federation : Tej Bahadur Sapru and M. R. Jayakar
- B.Jamiat-ul-Ulama-i-Hind : Maulana Mahmud-al Hasan Shaikh-ul-Hind
- C.Congress Democratic Party : B. G. Tilak
- D.Congress Socialist Party : M. N. Roy
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The Congress Socialist Party was formed in 1934 by Jayaprakash Narayan, Acharya Narendra Dev and Minoo Masani, not by M. N. Roy.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following statements is/are correct? 1. Parmahansa Mandali was founded in Bengal by Swami Vivekananda 2. Prarthana Samaj was started in Maharashtra with the aim of reforming Hindu religious thought and practice Select the correct answer using the code given below :
- A.1 only
- B.2 only
- C.Both 1 and 2
- D.Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer
The Paramahansa Mandali was a Maharashtra body, founded in Bombay, not in Bengal by Swami Vivekananda, while the Prarthana Samaj was indeed a Maharashtra reform movement.
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