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This paper seeks to examine and reinterpret the ethical dimensions of the Bhakti movement within the context of contemporary global capitalism through a close reading of the vākhs of the Kashmiri mystic Lal Děd. The world today is infested with cut-throat competition, values over productivity, self-branding and consumerism. Consequently, burnout, stress, and anxiety are common. The paper is structured into three major parts. The first part maps the key debates surrounding the conditions and consequences of contemporary global capitalist society. The second part traces the critical landscape around the historical trajectory of the Bhakti movement. The third part proposes a framework of Bhakti ethics and values distilled from Děd’s poetry as meaningful alternatives to the dominant logics of neoliberalism in the contemporary world. This retrospective engagement is neither an attempt to idealise the past nor to diminish it. Rather, it acknowledges the cyclical movement of time and understands the act of “looking back” as a source of critical inspiration. While such inspiration may provide the conceptual fabric, the work of transformation must be undertaken in the present, tailored to the specific exigencies and challenges of the contemporary global context.
Dr. Deeksha Sharma. “Bhakti Ethics in a Globalised World: A Reading of Lal Děd’s Vākhs.” The Criterion: An International Journal in English, vol. 17, no. 4, August 2026, pp. 273-289. DOI, https://doi.org/10.66376/criterion.v17.n4.15.
Open Access · CC BY 4.0 · Crossref DOI ·
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