VAISHNAVISM

Vaishnavism is one of the major traditions within the broader Vedic spiritual culture. Unlike some Vedic traditions, Vaishnavas believe that the ultimate reality is personal. Thus, they understand that God is the Supreme all-attractive person, or Krishna. They acknowledge that all living beings are eternal persons, and that all life’s problems are rooted in the individual soul’s forgetfulness of his or her relationship with God.

Vaishnavas teach that by chanting God’s names the soul can reawaken his original spiritual knowledge, live peacefully in this life and return to the spiritual realm, or Vaikuntha, the place of no anxiety, at the time of death.

There are four main sampradayas or Vaishnava lineages all based originally in India. Vaishnavas worship Lord Vishnu, Lord Rama, and Lord Krishna as different manifestations of the same Supreme Lord or one supreme divinity, although the styles of worship and emphasis differ.

The Vaishnava tradition has widely influenced South Asian culture through music, dance, theater and art. Vaishnavism’s heartfelt philosophy and poetic sacred texts integrate a profound theology with astute social discourse. The key Vaishnava sastras, or scriptures, are Krishna’s teachings in the Bhagavad-gita, included in the longer work, the Mahabharata), the Srimad Bhagavatam (one of the eighteen Puranas), the Ramayana, and the more recent 16th Century Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita.

GAUDIYA VAISHNAVISM

Gaudiya Vaishnavism also known as Bengali Vaishnavism, Chaitanya Vaishnavism, the Chaitanya/Gaudiya Sampradaya is a Vaishnava Hindu religious movement inspired by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1534) in India. "Gaudiya" refers to the Gaura or Gauḍa region of Bengal, with Vaishnavism meaning "the worship of Vishnu". Specifically, it is part of Krishnaism—Krishna-centric Vaishnavite traditions. Its theological basis is primarily that of the Bhagavad Gita and Bhagavata Purana (known within the tradition as the Srimad Bhagavatam), as interpreted by early followers of Chaitanya, such as Sanatana Goswami, Rupa Goswami, Jiva Goswami, Gopala Bhatta Goswami and others.

The focus of Gaudiya Vaishnavism is the devotional worship (known as bhakti yoga) of Radha and Krishna, and their many divine incarnations as the supreme forms of God, Svayam Bhagavan. Most popularly, this worship takes the form of singing Radha and Krishna's holy names, such as "Hare", "Krishna" and "Rama", most commonly in the form of the Hare Krishna (mantra), also known as kirtan and dancing along with it. The movement is sometimes referred to as the Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya Sampradaya, referring to its belief in the succession of spiritual masters (gurus) believed to originate from Brahma.

SAMPRADAYA AND PARAMPARA

A parampara ("lineage") denotes a succession of teachers and disciples within some sampradaya (school, tradition). In accordance with the tradition, Gaudiya Vaishnavism as a subschool belongs to the Brahma Sampradaya, one of the four "orthodox" Vaishnavite schools. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is said to be a disciple of Isvara Puri who was a disciple of Madhavendra Puri who was a disciple of Lakshmipati Tirtha who was a disciple of Vyasatirtha(1469–1539) of Madhvacharya's Sampradaya. The Gaudiya Vaishnavas call their tradition "Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya Sampradaya", which originates from Brahma and has Madhvacharya as the original acharya and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu as the acharya-successor.

However, this traditional point is at least the debatable. Some modern scholars and confessional authors critically assess and pair the Gaudiya Vaishnavism's affiliation with the Madhva tradition. For example, the famous American Indologist and historian of religion Guy L. Beck, with regard to the Chaitanya Sampradaya, notes the following historical events. At the first time Brahma-Madhva affiliation of Gaudiya Vaishnavism was propounded by Baladeva Vidyabhushana only in the 18th century. And to this day, there is no mention of Chaitanya in the annals of the Madhva Sampradaya. For secular scientists, this means only the originality and non-affiliation of Gaudiya Vaishnavism with any other previous branches.

The Prameya Ratnawali of the above-mentioned gaudiya-acharya Baladeva Vidyabhushana contains the following canonical list of disciplic succession: Krishna, Brahma, Narada, Vyasa, Madhva, Padmanabha, Nrihari, Madhava, Akshobhya, Jayatirtha, Gyanasindhu, Dayanidhi, Vidyanidhi, Rajendra, Jayadharma, Purushottama, Brahmanya, Vyasatirtha, Lakshmipati Tirtha, Madhavendra Puri, Isvara Puri, and Chaitanya.

One feature of the Gaudiya succession of spiritual masters should be considered. Chaitanya refused to formally initiate anyone as a disciple, only inspiring and guiding his followers. Chaitanya neither founded the community nor named a successor. That is why, from the very beginning, the sampradaya was divided into several lines of succession that were practically not connected with each other and that still exist today.