New Vaishnavite Movement in bengal

1. New Vaishnavite movement in
Bengal

2. • "The form of Vaishnavism which developed in
Bengal laid great emphasis on devotion and
the love relationship between the devotee
and Sri Krishna. This form of Vaishnavism is
known as Gaudiya Vaishnavism and was
initiated by Chaitanya.

3. • Chaitanya was born in the late 15th century in
a place called Navadwip, in Bengal, and as
Navadwip was a part of Gaud kingdom of
medieval Bengal, so the Vaishnavism initiated
by Chaitanya was known as Gaudiya
Vaishnavism.

4. • By initiation Chaitanya belonged to the
Madhva school, but his philosophical
teachings were distinctly different from those
of Madhva. It is suggested that before
Chaitanya, Madhavendra Puri was a religious
leader of the bhakti tradition in Bengal.

5. • Vaishnavism in Bengal owes its origin to
Madhavendra Puri, who was an emotional
Sankaritr ascetic. Iswar Puri, a disciple of
Madhavendra, turned Chaitanya towards
Vaishnavism.

6. • Chaitanya inherited mystic emotionalism from
these early mystic saints of Bengal. The
doctrine of Chaitanya is called Acintya-
bhedabhedavada, which has resemblance
with the teachings of Nimbarka.
• He rejected the doctrine of Maya (illusion) and
considered Krishna as the Supreme God and
Radha as His energy.

7. • He advocated that the transformation of
Brahman into the universe, as mentioned in
the Brahmasutra is real in the same way as
milk transforms into curd.
• Chaitanya’s ideas on bhakti are formulated on
the basis of his biographies and the writings of
the Vrindavana Goswamis like Sanatana, Rupa,
Jiva, etc.

8. • Chaitanya had advocated Krishna-bhakti as a
total form of religion and it is above all other
religious injunctions. Bhakti is explained as the
objective as well as the ultimate end. One
should completely dedicate oneself to Krishna
and become dependent on Him for His grace
to attain liberation.

9. • In Gaudiya Vaishnavism, bhakti is considered
to be the highest obligation, and the four
other obligations prescribed in the Hindu
Shastras, namely – dharma, artha, kama and
moksha are subordinates to bhakti. Krishna in
His personal form – a cowherd boy, the
beloved of Radha, is visualized as the ultimate
reality.

10. • Chaitanya urged his followers to sing the name
of Krishna as the simplest way of surrendering
oneself to the Lord.
• He described bhakti as superior to jnana and
jnana is considered as an effect and
consequence of that bhakti.

11. • The emphasis is not on the scripture to
understand the Absolute reality, but on
Sadhana-bhakti, or practice of devotional
service.
• Through devotion one can get rid of impurities
and gradually move towards the ultimate goal
of prema-bhakti.

12. • In the post-Chaitanya period, Vaishnavism in
Bengal saw the emergence of the Sahajiya
sect. In matters of theology, the Sahajiyas are
in agreement with the Goswamis but in
religious practices they adopt a different
position.

13. • A follower of Sahajiya believes in the need of a
woman other than his wife as a companion of
his sadhana. He considers his companion as
Radha and himself as Krishna, and tries to
imitate the life of Radha-Krishna.
• This practice is not allowed in the scriptures of
the orthodox sect. Unlike other Vaishnavas,
Sahajiyas are not vegetarian.

14. • In Orissa also Vaishnavism became a strong
religious tradition. Medieval Vaishnavism in
Orissa centered on the worship of Jagannatha.
Jagannatha was originally worshipped by the
Savaras, a local tribe. Later on Raja
Indradyumna started worshipping Jagannatha,
and the present Jagannatha temple was
constructed in the mid-Twelfth century A.D.

15. • It is said that Sankara visited Puri and
established his dhama there. Ramanuja also
visited Puri and thus Puri became a centre of
Vaishnava faith, and Jagannatha got identified
with Vishnu. The coming of Chaitanya to Puri
added new fervour to Vaishnavism in Puri.

16. • Chaitanya stayed in Orissa for about 18 years
and had great influence on religious life of the
people. He popularized the Radha-Krishna
worship in Orissa and visualized Lord
Jagannatha as the incarnation of Lord Krishna.

17. • In eastern India, along with Bengal and Orissa,
Assam witnessed a strong Vaishnava
movement initiated by Shankaradeva. Assam
being dominated by non-Aryan ethnic groups
having less familiarity with complex religious
rites of the brahminical religion was a suitable
ground for Vaishnava religion.

18. • The bhakti doctrine with emphasis on singing,
listening and remembering God was
considered suitable for all sections of the local
society.
• Shankaradeva spent 12 years outside Assam,
visiting holy places and studying religious
ideas. It is believed that he received spiritual
initiation from a Vaishnava saint at Puri.

19. • He was influenced by the Bhagavata Purana
and its philosophy of devotion centered
around Vishnu or Krishna. Shankaradeva
preached bhakti as a means and an end of
human existence. Bhakti is considered more
important than knowledge, and knowledge
comes automatically after reaching a certain
stage of devotion.

20. • Shankaradeva did not advocate for
renunciation of the world for the sake of
liberation. To him, the highest religion is the
religion of loving devotion to Krishna and this
can be attained through practicing the life of a
true Vaishnava. Emphasis was given to having
a spiritual guide and the Nama (singing the
name of personal God).

21. • Nama-dharma consisting of chanting the
name of God with absolute devotion is
suggested as the supreme religion.
• "Just as Madhva is the king among gods, so
the chanting of the name is the supreme
religion. Namadharma destroys sins
committed through the crores of ages. So
reiterate the name of Rama."

22. • The following song composed by Shankaradeva
towards the end of his life very well reflects the
main ideas of his Vaishnavism:
• "O mind! Thou art blind;
• Thou seest this vanity of things;
• Yet thou seest not.
• Why art thou, O mind, slumbering at ease.
• Awake and think of Govinda.
• O mind! Samkara knows it and says
• Except through Rama, there is no hope.

23. • [Rest my mind, rest in the feet of Rama;
• Sees thou not the great end approaching;
• My mind, every moment life is shortening;
• Just heed, any moment it might flee away.
• My mind, the serpent of time is swallowing;
• Knowest thou, death is creeping on by inches,
• My mind, surely this body would drop down,
• So break through illusion and resort to Rama.]"

24. • Shankaradeva believed in the doctrine of
karma and to him, the suffering and pleasure
of the human being is the result of one’s
deeds. The tradition of Vaishnavism initiated
by Shankaradeva in Assam was carried on
after him by his disciples, and most notable of
them was Madhavadeva."