VAISHNAVITE MOVEMENT

• A social reform movement swept across India between the 12th and 15th century A.D. It was the Bhakti (devotional) movement based on the liberal doctrine of bhakti or devotion. It initiated new ideas even as it gave birth to new faiths, which at some places of the country took the shape of a revolution.

• The context of the new trend is rooted in the societal degradation and cultural distortion that plagued many parts of India at that time. Under the corrupting influence of power and wealth and the incipient ritualism that had taken hold of the priestly and ruling classes of the Hindu society, various malpractices were committed in the name of religion, which vitiated the social structure.

• These factors impelled the Hindu thinkers and reformers of the day to evolve a simpler and liberal faith that would be acceptable to all alike. This set in motion what subsequently came to be known as the Vaishnava Bhakti movement, originally started by Alwars of South India and which thereafter spread to northern India and then to the eastern regions of India.

• The Vaishnava Bhakti movement thus encompassed the whole of India and thereby brought about a renaissance in the socio-religious life of the Indian people. By propounding in general that divine grace could be achieved through devotion, which was open to all classes and castes, the movement dispensed with the principle of birth, which hitherto determined access to salvation through knowledge and ritual.

• To that extent the movement initiated structural changes in the socio-religious sphere of the Hindu society and consequential changes in its value system and equality of relationships.

Principal beliefs

• Supreme God• The principal belief of Vishnu-centered sects is

the identification of Vishnu or Narayana as the one supreme God. This belief contrasts with the Krishna-centered traditions, such as Vallabha, Nimbaraka and Gaudiya, in which Krishna is considered to be the One and only Supreme God and the source of all avataras.

• The belief in the supremacy of Vishnu is based upon the many Avatars (incarnations) of Vishnu listed in the Puranic texts, which differs from other Hindu deities such as Ganesha, Surya or Durga. The latter are instead classified as demi-gods or devas. Vaishnavites consider Shiva, one of the Hindu Trimurti (Trinity) as subservient to Vishnu, and a Vaishnava himself.

• Lord Swaminarayan, founder of the Swaminarayan faith, differs with this view and holds that Vishnu and Shiva are different aspects of the same God.

Worship

• Vaishnava theology includes the central beliefs of Hinduism such as monotheism, reincarnation, samsara, karma, and the various Yoga systems, but with a particular emphasis on devotion (bhakti) to Vishnu through the process of Bhakti yoga, often including singing Vishnu's name's (bhajan), meditating upon his form (dharana) and performing deity worship (puja).

• The practices of deity worship are primarily based on texts such as Pañcaratra and various Samhitas. Central to vaishnavism is the value it gives to worshiping God's closest devotees, such as the ancestral acharya, or spiritual learned religious figurehead for a family, more than God itself.

• Within their worship Vaishnava devotees consider that Vishnu is within them, as the Antaryami or the God within and as the foundation of their being; which is a part of the definition of the name Narayana.

• The difference between Vaishnavism and schools of Hinduism whose goal is liberation (moksha), or union with the Supreme Brahman, is that the ultimate goal of Vaishnava practice is an eternal life of bliss (ananda) in service to Vishnu, or one of his many avatars, in the spiritual realm of 'Vaikuntha', which lies beyond the temporary world of illusion (maya).

• The three features of the Supreme as described in the Bhagavata Purana--Brahman, Paramatma and Bhagavan.Vaishnavis worship Lord Vishnu and His Incarnations.

initiation

• Vaishnavas commonly follow a process of initiation (diksha), given by a guru, under whom they are trained to understand Vaishnava practices. At the time of initiation, the disciple is traditionally given a specific mantra, which the disciple will repeat, either out loud or within the mind, as an act of worship to Vishnu or one of his avatars.

• The practice of repetitive prayer is known as japa. The system of receiving initiation and training from a guru is based on injunctions throughout the scriptures held as sacred within the Vaishnava traditions but is not mandatory:

• "Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized souls can impart knowledge unto you because they have seen the truth."(Bhagavad Gita)

• "One who is initiated into the Vaishnava mantra and who is devoted to worshiping Lord Vishnu is a Vaishnava. One who is devoid of these practices is not a Vaishnava."(Padma Purana)

• The scriptures specific to the Gaudiya Vaishnava group also state that one who performs an act of worship as simple as chanting the name of Vishnu or Krishna can be considered a Vaishnava by practice:

• "Who chants the holy name of Krishna just once may be considered a Vaishnava. Such a person is worshipable and is the topmost human being."(Chaitanya Charitamrita)

Attitude toward scriptures

• Vaishnava traditions refer to the writings of previous acharyas in their respective lineage or sampradya as authoritative interpretations of scripture.While many schools like Smartism and Advaitism encourage interpretation of scriptures philosophically and metaphorically and not too literally, Vaishnavism stresses the literal meaning (mukhya vṛitti) as primary and indirect meaning (gauṇa vṛitti) as secondary

• sākṣhād upadesas tu shrutih - "The instructions of the shruti-shāstra should be accepted literally, without fanciful or allegorical interpretations."

Vaishnava sampradayas

• Within Vaishnavism there are four main disciplic lineages (sampradayas), each exemplified by a specific Vedic personality. The four sampradayas follow subtly different philosophical systems regarding the relationship between the soul (jiva) and God (Vishnu or Krishna), although the majority of other core beliefs are identical.

• Lakshmi-sampradaya• Philosophy: Vishishtadvaita ("special-

dualism"), espoused by Ramanujacharya• Sri Vaishnavism, Vaikhanasa, Ramanandi Sect,

Swaminarayan .

• Brahma sampradaya• Philosophies: Dvaita ("dualism"), espoused by

Madhvacharya, and Achintya Bheda Abheda (literally "inconceivable difference and non-difference"), espoused by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (Gaudiya Vaishnavism).

• Rudra sampradaya• Philosophy: Shuddhadvaita ("pure

nondualism"), espoused by Vishnuswami and Vallabhacharya.

• Kumara-sampradaya• Philosophy: Dvaitadvaita ("duality in unity"),

espoused by Nimbarka.