Gaudiya Vaishnavism
Encyclopedia
Vaishnavism
Vaishnavism is a tradition of Hinduism, distinguished from other schools by its worship of Vishnu, or his associated Avatars such as Rama and Krishna, as the original and supreme God....
religious movement founded by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was a Vaishnava saint and social reformer in eastern India in the 16th century, believed by followers of Gaudiya Vaishnavism to be the full incarnation of Lord Krishna...
(1486–1534) in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
in the 16th century. "Gaudiya" refers to the Gauḍa region
Gauḍa region
Gauda , was a territory located in Bengal in ancient and mediaeval times.-Location and extent:The Arthashastra of Chanakya refers to it along with Vanga, Pundra and Kamarupa. This geographical idea continues with some of the ancient texts...
(present day Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
/Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
) with Vaishnavism meaning "the worship of Vishnu
Vishnu
Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....
". Its philosophical basis is primarily that of the Bhagavad Gita
Bhagavad Gita
The ' , also more simply known as Gita, is a 700-verse Hindu scripture that is part of the ancient Sanskrit epic, the Mahabharata, but is frequently treated as a freestanding text, and in particular, as an Upanishad in its own right, one of the several books that constitute general Vedic tradition...
and Bhagavata Purana
Bhagavata purana
The Bhāgavata Purāṇa is one of the "Maha" Puranic texts of Hindu literature, with its primary focus on bhakti to the incarnations of Vishnu, particularly Krishna...
, as well as other Puranic scriptures and Upanishads such as the Isha Upanishad
Isha Upanishad
The Isha Upanishad is one of the shortest of the Upanishads, consisting of 17 or 18 verses in total; like other core texts of the vedanta, it is considered revealed scripture by diverse traditions within Hinduism...
, Gopala Tapani Upanishad
Gopala Tapani Upanishad
Upanishad is an Upanishad, associated with the Atharvaveda. It figures in the Muktika canon of 108 Upanishads .-Origins:As with most of the late Upanishads, the Gopāla-tāpanī is said to be attached to the Atharva-veda....
, and Kali Santarana Upanishad.
The focus of Gaudiya Vaishnavism is the devotional worship (bhakti
Bhakti
In Hinduism Bhakti is religious devotion in the form of active involvement of a devotee in worship of the divine.Within monotheistic Hinduism, it is the love felt by the worshipper towards the personal God, a concept expressed in Hindu theology as Svayam Bhagavan.Bhakti can be used of either...
) of Radha
Radha
Radha , also called Radhika, Radharani and Radhikarani, is the childhood friend and lover of Krishna in the Bhagavata Purana, and the Gita Govinda of the Vaisnava traditions of Hinduism...
and Krishna
Krishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...
, and their many divine incarnations
Avatar
In Hinduism, an avatar is a deliberate descent of a deity to earth, or a descent of the Supreme Being and is mostly translated into English as "incarnation," but more accurately as "appearance" or "manifestation"....
as the supreme forms of God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
, Svayam Bhagavan
Svayam Bhagavan
Svayam Bhagavan , "The Lord" or Lord Himself, is a Sanskrit theological term. The term refers to the concept of absolute representation of the monotheistic God as Bhagavan within Hinduism....
. Most popularly, this worship takes the form of singing Radha and Krishna's holy names, such as "Hare
Hara
The word Hara can refer to:* Hara , a Romanian pop-band* Hara , a Biblical name* Hara , a Japanese sake company* Hara , a forthcoming Indian 3D computer animated historical drama film...
", "Krishna
Krishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...
" and "Rama
Rama (disambiguation)
-Within the scriptures of India:*Rāma, the legendary Indian king regarded as an incarnation of Vishnu.*Paraśurāma, 'Rama with the axe', a partial incarnation of Vishnu.*Balarāma, 'the strong Rama', brother of Krishna.* Ramā, another name of Lakshmi...
", most commonly in the form of the Hare Krishna (mantra), also known as kirtan
Kirtan
Kirtan or Kirtana is call-and-response chanting or "responsory" performed in India's devotional traditions. A person performing kirtan is known as a kirtankar. Kirtan practice involves chanting hymns or mantras to the accompaniment of instruments such as the harmonium, tablas, the two-headed...
. The movement is sometimes referred to as the Brahma
Brahma
Brahma is the Hindu god of creation and one of the Trimurti, the others being Vishnu and Shiva. According to the Brahma Purana, he is the father of Mānu, and from Mānu all human beings are descended. In the Ramayana and the...
-Madhva
Madhwas
The Madhwa are one community of Brahmins of India, whose members follow the doctrine of Dvaita or Dualism as codified by Madhwa Acharya ....
-Gaudiya sampradaya
Sampradaya
In Hinduism, a sampradaya can be translated as ‘tradition’ or a ‘religious system’, although the word commands much more respect and power in the Indian context than its translations in English does...
, referring to its traditional origins in the succession of spiritual masters (guru
Guru
A guru is one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom, and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others . Other forms of manifestation of this principle can include parents, school teachers, non-human objects and even one's own intellectual discipline, if the...
s) believed to originate from Brahma
Brahma
Brahma is the Hindu god of creation and one of the Trimurti, the others being Vishnu and Shiva. According to the Brahma Purana, he is the father of Mānu, and from Mānu all human beings are descended. In the Ramayana and the...
. It classifies itself as a monotheistic tradition, seeing the many forms of Vishnu
Vishnu
Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....
as expansions or incarnations of the one Supreme God, adipurusha.
Living beings
According to Gaudiya Vaishnava philosophy, consciousnessConsciousness
Consciousness is a term that refers to the relationship between the mind and the world with which it interacts. It has been defined as: subjectivity, awareness, the ability to experience or to feel, wakefulness, having a sense of selfhood, and the executive control system of the mind...
is not a product of matter
Prakrti
Prakrti or Prakriti or Prakruti means "nature". It is, according to Hindus, the basic nature of intelligence by which the Universe exists and functions. It is described in Bhagavad Gita as the "primal motive force". It is the essential constituent of the universe and is at the basis of all the...
, but is instead a symptom of the soul
Soul
A soul in certain spiritual, philosophical, and psychological traditions is the incorporeal essence of a person or living thing or object. Many philosophical and spiritual systems teach that humans have souls, and others teach that all living things and even inanimate objects have souls. The...
. All living beings (jiva
Jiva
In Hinduism and Jainism, a jiva is a living being, or more specifically, the immortal essence of a living organism which survives physical death. It has a very similar usage to atma, but whereas atma refers to "the cosmic self", jiva is used to denote an individual 'living entity' or 'living...
s), are distinct from their current body - the nature of the soul being eternal
Eternity
While in the popular mind, eternity often simply means existence for a limitless amount of time, many have used it to refer to a timeless existence altogether outside time. By contrast, infinite temporal existence is then called sempiternity. Something eternal exists outside time; by contrast,...
, immutable and indestructible without any particular beginning or end. Souls which are captivated by the illusory nature of the world (Maya
Maya (illusion)
Maya , in Indian religions, has multiple meanings, usually quoted as "illusion", centered on the fact that we do not experience the environment itself but rather a projection of it, created by us. Maya is the principal deity that manifests, perpetuates and governs the illusion and dream of duality...
) are repeatedly reborn
Reincarnation
Reincarnation best describes the concept where the soul or spirit, after the death of the body, is believed to return to live in a new human body, or, in some traditions, either as a human being, animal or plant...
among the various species of life on this planet and on other worlds in accordance to the laws of karma
Karma
Karma in Indian religions is the concept of "action" or "deed", understood as that which causes the entire cycle of cause and effect originating in ancient India and treated in Hindu, Jain, Buddhist and Sikh philosophies....
and individual desire. This is consistent with the concept of samsara
Samsara
thumb|right|200px|Traditional Tibetan painting or [[Thanka]] showing the [[wheel of life]] and realms of saṃsāraSaṅsāra or Saṃsāra , , literally meaning "continuous flow", is the cycle of birth, life, death, rebirth or reincarnation within Hinduism, Buddhism, Bön, Jainism, Sikhism, and other...
found throughout Hindu
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
belief.
Release from the process of samsara (known as moksha
Moksha
Within Indian religions, moksha or mukti , literally "release" , is the liberation from samsara and the concomitant suffering involved in being subject to the cycle of repeated death and reincarnation or rebirth.-Origins:It is highly probable that the concept of moksha was first developed in...
) is believed to be achievable through a variety of yoga
Yoga
Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on Supersoul...
processes. However, within Gaudiya Vaishnavism it is bhakti
Bhakti
In Hinduism Bhakti is religious devotion in the form of active involvement of a devotee in worship of the divine.Within monotheistic Hinduism, it is the love felt by the worshipper towards the personal God, a concept expressed in Hindu theology as Svayam Bhagavan.Bhakti can be used of either...
in its purest state (or "pure love of God") which is given as the ultimate aim, rather than liberation from the cycle of rebirth.
Supreme Person (God)
Gaudiya Vaishnavas believe that God has many forms and names, but that the name "Krishna" is the 'fullest' description because it means "He who is all-attractive", covering all of God's aspects, such as being all-powerful, supremely merciful and all-loving. God is worshiped as the eternal, all-knowing, omnipresent, all-powerful and all-attractive Supreme Person. Names of GodNames of God
Names of God, or Holy Names, describe a form of addressing God present in liturgy or prayer of various world religions. Prayer involving the Holy Name or the Name of God has become established as common spiritual practice in both Western and Eastern spiritual practices...
from other religious traditions, such as Allah
Allah
Allah is a word for God used in the context of Islam. In Arabic, the word means simply "God". It is used primarily by Muslims and Bahá'ís, and often, albeit not exclusively, used by Arabic-speaking Eastern Catholic Christians, Maltese Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Mizrahi Jews and...
and Jehovah
Jehovah
Jehovah is an anglicized representation of Hebrew , a vocalization of the Tetragrammaton , the proper name of the God of Israel in the Hebrew Bible....
, are also accepted as bonafide titles of the same Supreme Person.
One of the defining aspects of Gaudiya Vaishnavism is that Krishna is worshiped specifically as the source of all Avatar
Avatar
In Hinduism, an avatar is a deliberate descent of a deity to earth, or a descent of the Supreme Being and is mostly translated into English as "incarnation," but more accurately as "appearance" or "manifestation"....
ic incarnations of God. This is based on quotations from the Bhagavata Purana
Bhagavata purana
The Bhāgavata Purāṇa is one of the "Maha" Puranic texts of Hindu literature, with its primary focus on bhakti to the incarnations of Vishnu, particularly Krishna...
, such as "krsnas tu bhagavan svayam", translated as "Krishna is the original Personality of Godhead" and from the Bhagavad Gita where Arjuna
Arjuna
Arjuna in Indian mythology is the greatest warrior on earth and is one of the Pandavas, the heroes of the Hindu epic Mahābhārata. Arjuna, whose name means 'bright', 'shining', 'white' or 'silver' Arjuna (Devanagari: अर्जुन, Thai: อรชุน, Orachun, Tamil: Arjunan, Indonesian and Javanese: Harjuna,...
, when speaking to Krishna, states:
"You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the ultimate abode, the purest, the Absolute Truth. You are the eternal, transcendental, original person, the unborn, the greatest. All the great sages such as Narada, Asita, Devala and Vyasa confirm this truth about You, and now You Yourself are declaring it to me."
Krishna is described elsewhere as the "seed-giving father of all living beings" and is worshiped within the Gaudiya tradition literally, as such - Krishna being the "sustaining energy of the universe".
Inconceivable oneness and difference
A particularly distinct part of the Gaudiya Vaishnava philosophy espoused by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is the concept of Achintya Bheda AbhedaAchintya Bheda Abheda
Achintya-Bheda-Abheda is a school of Vedanta representing the philosophy of inconceivable one-ness and difference, in relation to the power creation and creator, , svayam bhagavan. and also between God and his energies within the Gaudiya Vaishnava religious tradition...
, which translates to "inconceivable oneness and difference" in the context of the soul's relationship with Krishna, and also Krishna's relationship with his other energies (i.e. the material world).
In quality, the soul (jiva) is described as being identical to God, but in terms of quantity individual jivas are said to be infinitesimal
Infinitesimal
Infinitesimals have been used to express the idea of objects so small that there is no way to see them or to measure them. The word infinitesimal comes from a 17th century Modern Latin coinage infinitesimus, which originally referred to the "infinite-th" item in a series.In common speech, an...
in comparison to the unlimited Supreme Being. The exact nature of this relationship (being simultaneously one and different with Krishna) is inconceivable to the human mind, but can be experienced through the process of Bhakti yoga
Bhakti yoga
Bhakti yoga is one of the types of yoga mentioned in Hindu philosophies which denotes the spiritual practice of fostering loving devotion to a personal form of God....
.
This philosophy serves as a meeting of two opposing schools of Hindu philosophy
Hindu philosophy
Hindu philosophy is divided into six schools of thought, or , which accept the Vedas as supreme revealed scriptures. Three other schools do not accept the Vedas as authoritative...
, pure monism (God and the soul as one entity) and pure dualism
Dualism
Dualism denotes a state of two parts. The term 'dualism' was originally coined to denote co-eternal binary opposition, a meaning that is preserved in metaphysical and philosophical duality discourse but has been diluted in general or common usages. Dualism can refer to moral dualism, Dualism (from...
(God and the soul as absolutely separate). In practice Gaudiya Vaishnava philosophy has much more in common with the dualistic schools, as Krishna is worshiped as a Supreme person.
Bhakti Yoga
The practical process of devotional life is described as bhakti or bhakti-yoga. The two main elements of the bhakti-yoga process are vaidhi bhakti, which is devotional service through practice of rules and regulations (sadhanaSadhana
Sādhanā literally "a means of accomplishing something" is ego-transcending spiritual practice. It includes a variety of disciplines in Hindu, Sikh , Buddhist and Muslim traditions that are followed in order to achieve various spiritual or ritual objectives.The historian N...
) and raganuga bhakti, which is taken as a higher stage of more spontaneous devotional service based on a selfless desire to please one's chosen Ishta-deva
Ishta-deva
Within Hinduism, an Ishta-deva or Ishta devata is a term denoting a worshipper's favourite deity.It is especially significant to both the Smarta and Bhakti schools wherein practitioners choose to worship the form of God...
of Krishna or his associated expansions and avatars. Practicing vaidhi-bhakti with a view to cultivate prema creates eligibility for raganuga-sadhana. Both vaidhi and raganuga bhakti are based on the chanting or singing of Krishna's names. Attainment of the raganuga stage means that rules of lifestyle are no longer important and that emotions or any material activities for Krishna should not be repressed, including sexuality. Vaidhi-bhakti's purpose is to elevate the devotee to raganuga; something which generally takes a long time.
Within his Siksastaka
Siksastaka
The Siksastaka is a Gaudiya Vaishnava Hindu prayer of eight verses composed in the Sanskrit language. They are believed to be the only verses left personally written by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, with the majority of his philosophy being codyfied by his primary disciples, known as the Six Goswamis of...
prayers, Chaitanya compares the process of bhakti-yoga to that of cleansing a dirty place of dust, wherein our consciousness is the object in need of purification. This purification takes place largely through the chanting
Japa
Japa is a spiritual discipline involving the meditative repetition of a mantra or name of a divine power. The mantra or name may be spoken softly, enough for the practitioner to hear it, or it may be spoken purely within the recitor's mind...
and singing
Bhajan
A Bhajan is any type of Indian devotional song. It has no fixed form: it may be as simple as a mantra or kirtan or as sophisticated as the dhrupad or kriti with music based on classical ragas and talas. It is normally lyrical, expressing love for the Divine...
of Radha and Krishna's names. Specifically the Hare Krishna (mantra) is chanted and sung by practitioners on a daily basis, sometimes for many hours each day. Famously within the tradition, one of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's close associates, Haridasa Thakur
Haridasa Thakur
Haridasa Thakur was a prominent Muslim-Vaishnava saint, instrumental in the early appearance and spread of Hare Krishna movement. He is considered to be the most famous convert of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, apart from Rupa Goswami and Sanatana Goswami themselves, and the story of his heroism in the...
, is reported to have chanted 300,000 holy names of God each day.
Diet and lifestyle
Gaudiya Vaishnavas follow a Lacto vegetarianLacto vegetarianism
A lacto vegetarian diet is a vegetarian diet that includes dairy products such as milk, cheese, yogurt, butter, cream, and kefir, but excludes eggs. Lacto-vegetarians also abstain from cheeses that include animal rennet and yogurts that contain gelatin...
diet, abstaining from all types of animal flesh, including fish and eggs. Onions and garlic are also avoided as they are believed to promote a more tamas
Tamas (philosophy)
In the Samkhya school of philosophy, tamas is one of the three gunas , the other two being rajas and sattva or purity). Tamas is the template for inertia or resistance to action...
ic form of consciousness in the eater when taken in large quantities.
All types of food are first offered to Krishna, and then the remnants are eaten as prasadam. This is based on a number of instructions by Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita that:
- "If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it." (9.26)
- "The devotees of the Lord are released from all kinds of sins because they eat food which is offered first for sacrifice. Others, who prepare food for personal sense enjoyment, verily eat only sin." (3.13)
Lifestyle habits vary among practitioners, but orthodox Vaishnavas will avoid taking any recreational drugs or intoxicants and engage in sexual relations only within marriage, often for the sole purpose of procreation. Many Gaudiya Vaishnavas will live for at least some time in their life as monks (brahmacharya
Brahmacharya
Brahmacharya is one of the four stages of life in an age-based social system as laid out in the Manu Smrti and later Classical Sanskrit texts in Hinduism. It refers to an educational period of 14–20 years which starts before the age of puberty. During this time the traditional vedic sciences are...
), and the majority of senior guru
Guru
A guru is one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom, and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others . Other forms of manifestation of this principle can include parents, school teachers, non-human objects and even one's own intellectual discipline, if the...
s live as renunciates (sannyasa
Sannyasa
Sannyasa is the order of life of the renouncer within the Hindu scheme of āśramas, or life stages. It is considered the topmost and final stage of the ashram systems and is traditionally taken by men or women at or beyond the age of fifty years old or by young monks who wish to renounce worldly...
) after the age of 50 years.
History since Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
Nityananda
Image:Panca-tattva Altar.jpg|thumb|This is interactive image-map. Click! on lotus feet. Sri Krishna Chaitanya , Sri Nityananda Prabhu , Sri Advaita Acharya , Sri Gadadhara Pandit , Sri Srivas Pandit...
Prabhu, Advaita Acharya
Advaita Acharya
Advaita Acharya , born Kamalaksha Bhattacharya, was a notable disciple and companion of the founder of the Gaudiya Vaishnava sect, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and guru of Haridasa Thakur...
and other companions of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu educated and initiated people, each in their own locales across Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
.
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu requested a select few among his followers, who later came to be known as the Six Gosvamis of Vrindavan, to systematically present his theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
of bhakti in their writings. This theology emphasized the devotee's relationship to the Divine Couple, Radha and Krishna, and looked to Caitanya as the embodiment of both Radha and Krishna. The six were Rupa Goswami
Rupa Goswami
Rupa Goswami was an Indian devotional teacher , poet, and philosopher from the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism. Alongside his brother Sanatana Goswami, he was considered the leader of the Six Goswamis of Vrindavan associated with Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the Hindu saint believed to be the...
, Sanatana Goswami
Sanatana Goswami
Sanatana Goswami was a principal disciple of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Sanatana wrote a number of important works in the bhakti tradition of Gaudiya Vaishnavism and was the seniormost of the influential Six Goswamis of Vrindavan, among whom was his brother Rupa Goswami.-Birth and early years:Sanatana,...
, Gopala Bhatta Goswami
Gopala Bhatta Goswami
Gopala Bhatta Goswami is one of the foremost disciples of the Vaishnava saint, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and a leading historical figure in the Gaudiya Vaishnava school of Hinduism...
, Raghunatha Bhatta Goswami
Raghunatha Bhatta Goswami
Raghunatha Bhatta Goswami was a disciple of the Vaishnava saint Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and member of the influential Gaudiya Vaishnava group collectiveley known as the Six Goswamis of Vrindavan...
, Raghunatha dasa Goswami
Raghunatha dasa Goswami
Raghunatha dasa Goswami, also known as Dasa Goswami, was one of the principal disciples of the Vaishnava saint, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the primary six of which were collectively known as the Six Goswamis of Vrindavan. Together the Six Goswamis established the philosophical writings and records which...
and Jiva Goswami
Jiva Goswami
Jiva Goswami is one of the most prolific and important philosopher and saint from the Gaudiya Vaishnava school of Vedanta tradition, producing a great number of philosophical works on the theology and practice of Bhakti yoga, Vaishnava Vedanta and associated disciplines...
. In the second generation of the tradition, Narottama, Srinivasa and Shyamananda, three students of Jiva Goswami
Jiva Goswami
Jiva Goswami is one of the most prolific and important philosopher and saint from the Gaudiya Vaishnava school of Vedanta tradition, producing a great number of philosophical works on the theology and practice of Bhakti yoga, Vaishnava Vedanta and associated disciplines...
, the youngest among the six Goswamis, were instrumental in spreading the theology across Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
and Orissa
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
.
The festival of Kheturi (approx 1574), presided over by Jahnava Thakurani, the wife of Nityananda Rama
Nityananda
Image:Panca-tattva Altar.jpg|thumb|This is interactive image-map. Click! on lotus feet. Sri Krishna Chaitanya , Sri Nityananda Prabhu , Sri Advaita Acharya , Sri Gadadhara Pandit , Sri Srivas Pandit...
, was the first time the leaders of the various branches of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's followers assembled together. Through such festivals, members of the loosely organized tradition became acquainted with other branches along with their respective theological and practical nuances. That notwithstanding, the tradition has maintained its plural nature, having no central authority to preside over its matters. The festival of Kheturi allowed for the systemization of Gaudiya Vaishnava theology as a distinct branch of Vaishnava theology.
In the 17th century, Vishvanath Chakravarti Thakur held great merit in clarifying core doctrinal issues over the practice of raganuga-bhakti through works such as Raga-vartma-chandrika. His student Baladeva Vidyabhushan wrote a famous commentary on the Vedanta-sutra
Brahma Sutras
The Brahma sūtras , also known as Vedānta Sūtras , are one of the three canonical texts of the Vedānta school of Hindu philosophy. A thorough study of Vedānta requires a close examination of these three texts, known in Sanskrit as the Prasthanatrayi, or the three starting points...
called Govinda Bhashya
Govinda Bhashya
Govinda Bhashya is a Gaudiya Vaishnava commentary on Vedanta Sutra. It was written in 1718 CE at Galta near the present city of Jaipur, Rajasthan, by Baladeva Vidyabhushana to defend Gaudiya Vaishnava Theology....
.
The 18th century saw a number of luminaries headed by Siddha Jayakrishna Das Babaji of Kamyavan and Siddha Krishnadas Babaji of Govardhan
Govardhan hill
Govardhan is a hill located near the town of Vrindavan, in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, India. It considered as sacred by a number of traditions within Hinduism....
. The latter, a widely renowned teacher of the mode of internal worship (raga-bhajan) practiced in the tradition, is largely responsible for the current form of devotional practice embraced by some of the traditions based in Vraja.
From the very beginning of Chaitanya's bhakti movement in Bengal, Haridasa Thakur
Haridasa Thakur
Haridasa Thakur was a prominent Muslim-Vaishnava saint, instrumental in the early appearance and spread of Hare Krishna movement. He is considered to be the most famous convert of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, apart from Rupa Goswami and Sanatana Goswami themselves, and the story of his heroism in the...
and others Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
by birth were the participants. This openness received a boost from Bhaktivinoda Thakur
Bhaktivinoda Thakur
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur , a prominent figure among the Gaudiya Vaishnavas of Bengal, was born Kedarnath Datta in the town of Birnagar, Bengal, India. He was the son of Raja Krsnananda Datta and Jagat Mohini Devi...
's broad-minded vision in the late 19th century and was institutionalized by Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur in his Gaudiya Matha in the 20th century.
The Gaudiya Matha
Bhaktivinoda Thakur
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur , a prominent figure among the Gaudiya Vaishnavas of Bengal, was born Kedarnath Datta in the town of Birnagar, Bengal, India. He was the son of Raja Krsnananda Datta and Jagat Mohini Devi...
, who also held the position of a deputy magistrate with the British government. Bhaktivinoda Thakur's son grew up to be both an eminent scholar and highly influential Vaishnava preacher, known in his later life as Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur Prabhupada,, was a preacher of Gaudiya Vaishnavism throughout India in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. He was born as Bimal Prasad Dutta in the seaside pilgrimage town of Jagannath Puri, Orissa, India...
. In total, Bhaktisidhanta Sarasvati Thakur founded sixty-four Gaudiya Matha monasteries in India, Burma and Europe.
Gaudiya and other Vaishnava schools
Although sharing a common set of core beliefs, there are a number of philosophical differences which distinguish Gaudiya Vaishnavism from other Vaishnava schools:- In Gaudiya Vaishnavism, KrishnaKrishnaKrishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...
is seen as the original form of God, i.e. the source of Vishnu and not as His avatar. This is based primarily on verse 1.3.28 of the Bhagavata PuranaBhagavata puranaThe Bhāgavata Purāṇa is one of the "Maha" Puranic texts of Hindu literature, with its primary focus on bhakti to the incarnations of Vishnu, particularly Krishna...
(krsnas tu bhagavan svayam) and other scriptures. This belief is shared by the NimbarkaNimbarkaNimbarka , is known for propagating the Vaishnava Theology of Dvaitadvaita, duality in unity. According to scholars headed by Prof. Roma Bose, he lived in the 13th Century, on the assumption that Śrī Nimbārkācārya was the author of the work Madhvamukhamardana...
and Vallabha sampradayaSampradayaIn Hinduism, a sampradaya can be translated as ‘tradition’ or a ‘religious system’, although the word commands much more respect and power in the Indian context than its translations in English does...
s, but not by the RamanujaRamanujaRamanuja ; traditionally 1017–1137, also known as Ramanujacharya, Ethirajar , Emperumannar, Lakshmana Muni, was a theologian, philosopher, and scriptural exegete...
and MadhvaMadhwasThe Madhwa are one community of Brahmins of India, whose members follow the doctrine of Dvaita or Dualism as codified by Madhwa Acharya ....
schools, who view Krishna as an avatar of VishnuVishnuVishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....
. - As Krishna's consortMarriageMarriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
, RadhaRadhaRadha , also called Radhika, Radharani and Radhikarani, is the childhood friend and lover of Krishna in the Bhagavata Purana, and the Gita Govinda of the Vaisnava traditions of Hinduism...
is similarly viewed as the source of all other ShaktiShaktiShakti from Sanskrit shak - "to be able," meaning sacred force or empowerment, is the primordial cosmic energy and represents the dynamic forces that are thought to move through the entire universe in Hinduism. Shakti is the concept, or personification, of divine feminine creative power, sometimes...
s, including LakshmiLakshmiLakshmi or Lakumi is the Hindu goddess of wealth, prosperity , light, wisdom, fortune, fertility, generosity and courage; and the embodiment of beauty, grace and charm. Representations of Lakshmi are also found in Jain monuments...
and SitaSITASITA is a multinational information technology company specialising in providing IT and telecommunication services to the air transport industry...
. - Chaitanya MahaprabhuChaitanya MahaprabhuChaitanya Mahaprabhu was a Vaishnava saint and social reformer in eastern India in the 16th century, believed by followers of Gaudiya Vaishnavism to be the full incarnation of Lord Krishna...
is worshiped as the most recent AvatarAvatarIn Hinduism, an avatar is a deliberate descent of a deity to earth, or a descent of the Supreme Being and is mostly translated into English as "incarnation," but more accurately as "appearance" or "manifestation"....
of Krishna to descend in the current yugaYugaYuga in Hindu philosophy is the name of an 'epoch' or 'era' within a cycle of four ages. These are the Satya Yuga, the Treta Yuga, the Dvapara Yuga, and finally the Kali Yuga. According to Hindu cosmology, life in the universe is created, destroyed once every 4.1 to 8.2 billion years, which is...
, or age. Other sampradayas view Chaitanya as a devotee of Krishna only, and not Krishna himself or a form of avatar. According to his biographies, Chaitanya did not display himself as Krishna in public, and would in fact avoid being addressed as such. In this regard A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami states, "[When] addressed as Lord Krishna, He denied it. Indeed, He sometimes placed His hands over His ears, protesting that one should not be addressed as the Supreme Lord". However at times Chaitanya would exhibit a different mood and would welcome worship of himself as the Supreme Lord, and at a few occasions exhibited his Universal form. Rupa GoswamiRupa GoswamiRupa Goswami was an Indian devotional teacher , poet, and philosopher from the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism. Alongside his brother Sanatana Goswami, he was considered the leader of the Six Goswamis of Vrindavan associated with Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the Hindu saint believed to be the...
, when first meeting with Chaitanya, composed the following verse showing his belief in Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's divinity:
"O most munificent incarnation! You are Krishna Himself appearing as Sri Krishna Caitanya Mahaprabhu. You have assumed the golden color of Srimati Radharani, and You are widely distributing pure love of Krishna. We offer our respectful obeisances unto You."
Although not a widely accepted viewpoint outside of the Gaudiya tradition, Chaitanya's followers point at verses throughout the Puranic literatures as evidence to support this claim.
Theological sources
Gaudiya Vaishnava theology is prominently expounded by Jiva GoswamiJiva Goswami
Jiva Goswami is one of the most prolific and important philosopher and saint from the Gaudiya Vaishnava school of Vedanta tradition, producing a great number of philosophical works on the theology and practice of Bhakti yoga, Vaishnava Vedanta and associated disciplines...
in his Sat-sandarbhas, six elaborate treatises on various aspects of God. Other prominent Gaudiya Vaishnava theologians are his uncles, Rupa Gosvami author of Sri Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu and Sanatana Gosvami, author of Hari-bhakti-vilasa, Visvanatha Chakravarti
Visvanatha Chakravarti
Visvanatha Chakravarti Thakura was a Gaudiya Vaishnava acharya born in the village of Devagram within Nadia district, West Bengal, India. His parents were Radhi Sreni brahmanas. He also had two brothers named Rambhadra and Raghunatha....
author of Sri Camatkara-candrika and Baladeva Vidyabhushana
Baladeva Vidyabhushana
Baladeva Vidyabhushana was a prominent Gaudiya Vaishnava acharya . He never mentioned his birth place or anything about his family background...
, author of Govinda Bhashya
Govinda Bhashya
Govinda Bhashya is a Gaudiya Vaishnava commentary on Vedanta Sutra. It was written in 1718 CE at Galta near the present city of Jaipur, Rajasthan, by Baladeva Vidyabhushana to defend Gaudiya Vaishnava Theology....
, a famous commentary on Vedanta Sutra.
Gaudiya Vaishnava organizations
- International Society for Krishna ConsciousnessInternational Society for Krishna ConsciousnessThe International Society for Krishna Consciousness , known colloquially as the Hare Krishna movement, is a Gaudiya Vaishnava religious organization. It was founded in 1966 in New York City by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada...
- Gaudiya MathGaudiya MathThe Gaudiya Math was formed on 6 September 1920, about 30 months after Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura took sannyasa, the renounced order of life. On 7 March 1918, the same day he took sannyasa, he established the Sri Chaitanya Math in Mayapura, later recognised as the parent body of all...
See also
- 108 names of Krishna
- BhagavataBhagavataBhagavata signifies in the context of Hinduism. In this context bhakti has the primary meaning of 'adoration', while Bhagavat means 'the Adorable One', and Bhagavata is a worshiper of the Adorable One...
- Cataphatic theologyCataphatic theologyCataphatic theology is the expressing of God or the divine through positive terminology. This is in contrast to defining God or the divine in what God is not, which is referred to as negative or apophatic theology.-Terminology:...
External links
- An overview of Gaudiya Vaishnavism - (gaudiya.com)
- The International Society For Krishna Consciousness (iskcon.com)
- World Vaishnava Association - An Umbrella Organisation of the Vaishnava faith
- Gaudiya Vedanta Samiti - Mission of Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja