The Sahajiya Cult, which can be traced back to 10th and 11th centuries

The Sahajiya Cult, which can be traced back to 10th and 11th centuries, is usually associated with :

early Bhakti traditions
a kind of early Sufism
early Upanishadic philosophy
Buddhism
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UPSC CDS-2 – 2023
The Sahajiya cult originated from the Sahajayana, a tantric school of Buddhism that developed in Bengal and parts of eastern India around the 8th-11th centuries. It emphasized the attainment of enlightenment through ‘sahaja’ (the natural state) and esoteric practices. Elements of Sahajiya also influenced later Vaishnavism in Bengal (Sahajiya Vaishnavism), but its origins are firmly rooted in tantric Buddhism.
– Sahajayana is considered one of the later stages of Indian Buddhism, evolving from Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions.
– The Sahajiyas emphasized love, sexuality, and the human body as means to liberation, often challenging conventional social norms and religious rituals.
– The Charyapada, a collection of mystical poems composed by Mahasiddhas (great accomplished ones), is a key text of the Sahajiya tradition, dating from this period.
While Sahajiya later influenced some aspects of Bhakti traditions (particularly Vaishnavism in Bengal), its historical origin in the 10th-11th centuries is directly linked to the esoteric Buddhist practices of the time. It is distinct from early Bhakti traditions (which were diverse and geographically widespread), Sufism (an Islamic mystical tradition), and early Upanishadic philosophy (which predates it by over a thousand years).
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