Editing Bhakti movement (section)

== Theology ==
The Bhakti movement of Hinduism saw two ways of imaging the nature of the divine ([[Brahman]]): ''Nirguna'' and ''Saguna''.{{sfnp|Pechilis Prentiss|2014|page=21}} ''Nirguna'' Brahman was the concept of the ultimate reality as formless and without attributes or quality.{{sfnp|Fowler|2012|pages= xxvii-xxxiv}} ''Saguna'' Brahman, in contrast, was envisioned and developed as with form, attributes and quality.{{sfnp|Fowler|2012|pages= xxvii-xxxiv}} 

Both views had parallels in the ancient pantheistic formless and theistic traditions, respectively, and are traceable to a dialogue in the ''[[Bhagavad Gita]]''.{{sfnp|Pechilis Prentiss|2014|page=21}}{{sfnp|Fowler|2012|pages= 207-211}} These two may be considered to be the same Brahman, as viewed from two perspectives: a formless mode focused on wisdom (''jñana'') and a form mode, focused on love.{{sfnp|Fowler|2012|pages= 207-211}} ''Nirguna'' Bhakti poetry is more focused on ''jñana'', and ''Saguna'' bhakti poetry focuses on love (''prema'').{{sfnp|Pechilis Prentiss|2014|page=21}} In Bhakti, the emphasis is reciprocal love and devotion in which the devotee loves God, and God loves the devotee.{{sfnp|Fowler|2012|pages= 207-211}}

The concepts of ''Nirguna'' and ''Saguna Brahman'', which is at the root of Bhakti theology, underwent more profound developments with the ideas of the [[Vedanta]] schools, particularly those of [[Adi Shankara]]'s 8th-century ''[[Advaita Vedanta]]'' (absolute [[nondualism]] / [[monism]]), [[Ramanuja]]'s 12th-century [[Vishishtadvaita]] Vedanta (a qualified nondualism that posits unity and diversity), and [[Madhvacharya]]'s (c. 12th-13th century) [[Dvaita Vedanta]] (which posits a true dualism between God and the [[Ātman (Hinduism)|Ātman]]).{{sfnp|Fowler|2012|pages= xxvii-xxxiv}} 

According to David Lorenzen, the idea of bhakti for a ''Nirguna'' Brahman has been a baffling one to scholars since it offers "heart-felt devotion to a God without attributes, without even any definable personality".<ref name="davidlorenzenns" /> However, given the "mountains of ''Nirguni'' bhakti literature", Bhakti for ''Nirguna Brahman'' has been a part of the reality of the Hindu tradition along with the Bhakti for ''Saguna Brahman''.<ref name="davidlorenzenns">David Lorenzen (1996), ''Praises to a Formless God: Nirguni Texts from North India'', State University of New York Press, {{ISBN|978-0791428054}}, page 2</ref> Thus, these were two alternate ways of imagining God even in the Bhakti movement.{{sfnp|Pechilis Prentiss|2014|page=21}}

The Nirguna and Saguna forms of Bhakti may be found in two 12th-century treatises on bhakti: the ''Sandilya Bhakti Sutra'' and ''Narada Bhakti Sutra''. ''Sandilya'' leans towards Nirguna Bhakti, and ''Narada'' leans towards Saguna Bhakti.<ref name=":1">Jessica Frazier and Gavin Flood (2011), ''The Continuum Companion to Hindu Studies'', Bloomsbury Academic, {{ISBN|978-0826499660}}, pages 113-115</ref>

=== Salvation ===
According to J. L. Brockington, the Sri Vaishnavas had split into two subsects in the 14th century:<blockquote>the dispute was over the question of human effort versus divine grace in achieving salvation, a controversy often and not unreasonably compared to the Arminian and Calvinist standpoints within Protestantism. The Northern school held that the worshipper had to make some effort to win the grace of the Lord and emphasised the performance of karma, a position commonly summed up as being ‘on the analogy of the monkey and its young’, for as the monkey carries her young which cling to her body so Visnu saves the worship per who himself makes an effort. The Southern school held that the Lord’s grace itself conferred salvation, a position ‘on the analogy of the cat and its kittens’, for just as the cat picks up her kittens in her mouth and carries them off willy-nilly, so Visnu saves whom he wills, without effort on their part.<ref>Brockington, J. L. (1996). ''The Sacred Thread: Hinduism in Its Continuity and Diversity'', p. 139. Edinburgh University Press.</ref> </blockquote>