With reference to the religious history of medieval India, the Sufi mystics were known to pursue which of the following practices? 1. Meditation and control of breath. 2. Severe ascetic exercises in a lonely place. 3. Recitation of holy songs to arouse a state of ecstasy in their audience. Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

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YESPYQ · Accepted Answer

Correct answer: 1, 2 and 3. Sufism is a mystic branch of Islam that puts emphasis on the search for God on a spiritual level and rejects materialism. Statement 1 and 2 are correct: Sufism focuses on love and devotion to God. Devotees used music and dance for expression of their devotion. They also practiced breath-control techniques and meditation. They also used to perform severe ascetic exercises in solitude. Statement 3 is correct: The practice of Sama is a musical performance that aims to elicit a mystical feeling of ecstasy. Murid, or disciple, must pass through countless phases while engaging in spiritual activities in a lonely setting. SUPER HINT You can try, The &quot;NOT&quot; approach for all statements, this tests the improbability of negating a statement—if de- nying its impact seems highly unlikely, the statement is plausibly true. For example: Sufi's DON'T do meditation or recitation of holy songs or they were NOT ascetics. Doesn't it sound absurd? Yes, hence all are likely true. 56

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