Name the poet saints who belonged to the Nirgun Bhakti tradition.

A. Mirabai
B. Kabir
C. Guru Nanak
D. Surdas
E. Ravidas

B, C and E only

The correct answer is Option 2 - B, C and E only

A. Mirabai
B. Kabir
C. Guru Nanak
D. Surdas
E. Ravidas

Kabir, Guru Nanak and Ravidas belonged to the Nirgun Bhakti tradition.

• Kabir’s poems have survived in several languages and dialects; and some are composed in the special language of nirguna poets, the sant bhasha.
• The message of Baba Guru Nanak is spelt out in his hymns and teachings. These suggest that he advocated a form of nirguna bhakti.
• Ravidas was a popular figure in the Nirguna tradition.

Historians of religion often classify bhakti traditions into two broad categories: saguna (with attributes) and nirguna (without attributes). The former included traditions that focused on the worship of specific deities such as Shiva, Vishnu and his avatars (incarnations) and forms of the goddess or Devi, all often conceptualised in anthropomorphic forms. Nirguna bhakti on the other hand was worship of an abstract form of god.

Mirabai and Surdas belonged to the saguna Bhakti tradition.