Hatha yoga Bhakti movement. It eliminated the need for "either ascetic renunciation or priestly intermediaries, ritual paraphernalia and sectarian initiations". This led to its broad historic popularity in India. Later in the 20th-century, states Mallinson, this disconnect of Hatha yoga from religious aspects and the democratic access of Hatha yoga enabled it to spread worldwide. Between the 17th and 19th-century, however, the various urban Hindu and Muslim elites and ruling classes viewed Yogis with derision. They were persecuted during the rule of Aurangzeb, who ended a long period of religious tolerance that had defined the rule of his predecessors beginning with Akbar,
Bhagavad Gita "bhakti" effort is assisted with "right knowledge" and dedication to one's "dharma". Theologian Catherine Cornille writes, "The text [of the "Gita"] offers a survey of the different possible disciplines for attaining liberation through knowledge ("Jnana"), action ("karma"), and loving devotion to God ("bhakti"), focusing on the latter as both the easiest and the highest path to salvation." According to M. R. Sampatkumaran, a "Bhagavad Gita" scholar, the "Gita" message is that mere knowledge of the scriptures cannot lead to final release, but "devotion, meditation, and worship" are essential." The "Gita" likely spawned a "powerful devotionalism" movement, states Fowler, because the