Gaudiya Vaishnavism

In Clothing as Devotion in Contemporary Hinduism, Urmila Mohan explores the materiality and visuality of cloth and clothing as devotional media in contemporary Hinduism. Drawing upon ethnographic research into the global missionizing group “International Society for Krishna Consciousness” (ISKCON), she studies translocal spaces of worship, service, education, and daily life in the group’s headquarters in Mayapur and other parts of India. Focusing on the actions and values of deity dressmaking, devotee clothing and paraphernalia, Mohan shows how activities, such as embroidery and chanting, can be understood as techniques of spirituality, reverence, allegiance—and she proposes the new term “efficacious intimacy” to help understand these complex processes. The monograph brings theoretical advances in Anglo- European material culture and material religion studies into a conversation with South Asian anthropology, sociology, art history, and religion. Ultimately, it demonstrates how embodied interactions as well as representations shape ISKCON’s practitioners as devout subjects, while connecting them with the divine and the wider community.

This series of essays will explore two main trends in the Gaudiya Vedanta tradition in relation to bhakti´s connection to the soul, as inherent or inherited. For this, I will analyze the main statements found in the bhakti-sastras on the topic, as well as more contemporary presentations which seem to differ from the original scriptural conclusions.

This special issue of the Journal of Hindu Studies explores Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava engagement with key facets of colonial modernity and its role in shaping modern Hindu discourse. The issue's publication, it is hoped, will serve to both nurture the growing sub-field of Modern Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava Studies and, more broadly, encourage greater attention to the important contributions of other such sampradāyic Hindu currents to the texture and dynamics of modern Hinduism.

Cikkem egy angol nyelvű dolgozatom magyar fordítása. (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/349253561_The_Teaching_of_the_Isopanisad) A feladatom az volt, hogy bemutassam az Īśopaniṣad általam legfontosabbnak vélt vallási tanítását. Mindezt úgy tettem meg, hogy közben indirekt módon megpróbáltam megválaszolni néhány olyan kérdést is, amely az upaniṣad olvasóiban rendszeresen felmerül (Pl.: Ki az upaniṣadban imádott istenség? Miért nem elég csak a lelki tudományt megismerni az üdvözüléshez, miért kell ismerni a tudatlanságot is? Hogyan jelenik meg a szövegben a bhakti, és mennyire hangsúlyos a szerepe?). A végkövetkeztetés levonása előtt bemutatom az upaniṣad felépítésének logikai vázát. Kijelentéseim alátámasztásához más írásokat is segítségül hívok, leginkább a Bhagavad-gītāt.

Bringing together scholars from across the disciplines of social and intellectual history, philology, theology, and anthropology to systematically investigate Vaiṣṇavism in colonial Bengal, the book highlights the significant roles—religious, social, and cultural—that a prominent Hindu devotional current played in the lives of wide and diverse sections of colonial Bengali society.

A summary of the interpretive approach of and influences upon Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa's (18th century) commentary on the Bhagavadgītā, titled Gītābhūṣaṇa. The paper includes a translation of the verses which open and close each chapter of the commentary.

This article explores the manner in which bhakti emerges as a politi-cotheological concept in the period of rising nationalism in colonial Bengal. It examines Śrī Amiya Nimāī Carita, a multivolume sacred biography of Kr ˙ s ˙ n ˙ a-Cai-tanya (1486–1533) authored by Sisir Kumar Ghosh (1840–1911) between 1885 and 1910. Ghosh was a journalist and a publisher with a reputation for anticolonialism and Hindu revivalism. Ghosh's autobiographical and didactic prefaces attached to this sacred biography allow us to parse out a complex narrative of filial bonds and belonging that is integrally connected to an ambrosial (amiya) Nima ¯ı ¯ (Caitanya's nickname) and the devotional collective dedicated to him. Furthermore, these sacred biographies draw correspondences between the figure of Nima ¯ı ¯ himself and the idea of Bengal—its history, culture, people, and society. This article systematically examines the evidence provided in this sacred biography of such overlaps between the figure of Caitanya and love for Bengal to argue that in the years leading up to the Swadeshi movement (1905–8), Vais ˙ n ˙ ava bhakti, with its emphasis on love, loss, and femininity, arises as the idiom of comprehending and reifying ideas of intimacy and belonging to one's homeland. In this fashion, they intellectually prepare the ground for the emergence of the powerful notion of deś-bhakti in its modern form—as patriotic nationalism based upon love and devotion for homeland. Keywords Bhakti · anticolonial nationalism · Bengal · Vais

This series of essays will explore two main trends in the Gaudiya Vedanta tradition in relation to bhakti´s connection to the soul, as inherent or inherited. For this, I will analyze the main statements found in the bhakti-sastras on the topic, as well as more contemporary presentations which seem to differ from the original scriptural conclusions.

“The colonial-era Bengal of Sri Ramakrishna’s childhood was deeply influenced by the theology and praxis of Śaktism, Vaiṣṇava bhakti , and Caitanya Gauḍiya Vaiṣṇavism. These various influences informed the early religious life of Sri Ramakrishna. Ultimately, however, the bedrock of Ramakrishna’s life and faith turned out to be Śakta bhakti, a theological blend that included the ontology of Śakta Tantra, and certain principles of Ādvaita Vedānta, practiced in the mood of loving surrender to a vision of Supreme Reality properly understood and experienced as the Divine Mother of the Cosmos, deeply immanent and pervasive. The nature of the Divine that such an experience engendered was integrative of care and compassion, of love and liberation—amply exemplified by Sri Ramakrishna’s attitude towards both humans and other sentient beings. Such a perspective, in its final consummation, became the guiding principle for the Ramakrishna Order and its pioneering model of service as socially-engaged spiritual practice.”
--Rita D. Sherma

The Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava tradition emerged within the context of Muslim political dominance in Bengal. As such, perceptions of Muslims embedded within Gauḍīya literature are part and parcel of their worldview. Muslims, however, have to construct perceptions of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas from the ground up, utilizing scriptural references emerging in a distinctively different milieu and putting them into conversation with scholarly methodologies for cross-cultural engagement. This paper articulates a contemporary method for Muslim engagement with Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas that is rooted in a decolonial solidarity of respect for the internal logics of religious traditions.

Madhavendra Puri, who was the parama-guru of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, remains an enigma. Though he has been mentioned as the seedling of prema-bhakti that was central to the Chaitanya sampradaya, very little is known about him. This essay tries to explore the Vaishnava accounts, especially the Chaitanyacharitamrita, in order to establish Madhavendra Puri as the predecessor of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu from the perspective of the Kirtana - as an aesthetic and as a movement.

This project examines issues of text and tradition in two religious revivalist movements that have had little to no historical contact with one another: Hasidism (an 18th century Eastern European Jewish movement) and Gaudiya Vaishnavism (a 16th century Hindu movement beginning in Bengal). Centered on the phenomenon of “revival,” this project explores how these movements demonstrate not only the expected conservativity of looking to the past, but also a radicalism that challenges and sometimes outright subverts tradition and orthodoxy.

The project explores the complex dynamics of tradition and innovation that revivalist movements demonstrate, looking at 1) how the respective central devotional ethic of each movement (devekut in Hasidism, bhakti in Vaishnavism) continues and departs from its traditional antecedents; 2) how their foundational hagiographies utilize allusion and narrative convention to situate their subjects in pre-existent “models” of authority, all the while dramatizing the new movement’s “trump” over its parent tradition; and 3) how the act of storytelling is used in both traditions as a religious / magical practice that helps to reactualize a bygone or forgotten sacred reality. This project also explores questions of the comparative compatibility of these two movements -- which have, prior to this project, have (for the most part) not been explored in tandem.

The importance of philosophy in the religious traditions of Hinduism; Sampradayas and their significance in Vaishnavism; The emergence of Gaudiya Vaishnavism; Philosophical Directions of Vaishnava Thought; Peculiarities of Gaudiya Vaishnava philosophy; Formation of Bengali Vaishnavism as the Fifth Sampradaya.
Presentation abstracts for the XXIX meeting of the Seminar of Oriental Philosophers. Kyiv, February 23, 2021.

The three gunas refers to the three modes or qualities of the material world. And they are sattva or goodness, rajas or passion, and tamas or ignorance. Guna also means rope [1]. Every embodied soul is inherently imbued with these qualities in different permutations; and at any given time we are being acted upon by these gunas. These gunas are always vying for supremacy.

This is part of a larger work in progress, intended for translation into Chinese to introduce the Bhagavad-gītā to Chinese readers. As noted in the article, this is highly exploratory, and while admittedly exposing my ignorance of Chinese Buddhist traditions, its aim is to facilitate discussion on potential spheres of theological comparison between Vaiṣṇava Hindu and Buddhist thought and practice.

Fair warning: Spirituality is tedious business. One has to read boring books whose contents will all too often help or force you to go to sleep. Spirituality most times will sedate you, not excite you. But for those of us who live life in raptures and ecstasies – the words of God, Saints, Sages, Hermits, Bauls and other ‘mad women and men’ dissolves us into exciting, uncontrollable crying sighing raptures all in Love, in Prem, Ishq in dissolving into our beings and telling the world – life goes on! 

Love of God is the strongest addiction known to mankind. Interestingly in these times of ‘digital addiction’ when overuse and misuse of our millennium devices such as phones, laptops, applications – even TV, near perfectly clones the disruptions to our brains – that otherwise can only happen among heavy heroin or cocaine abusers and zombies, Love&God is yet the strongest drugs going around in the planet and thankfully more powerful than the Hate&Kill drug – or am I mistaken again?

The Hindu theologian Jīva Gosvāmin (c. 1517-1608 ce) argued that God is always a single, conscious being, yet this God could be talked about in real and in meaningful ways using three specific-terms. This is God's inherent nature. Jīva argues for this view by saying that there is a "general definition" of God as a singular nondual awareness. This God is spoken of and it can manifest in accord with three "specific definitions": bhagavān, paramātmā, and brahma. This entry explains these terms; they are essential to Jīva's philosophy of religion. Jīva was an early Gaud .ī ya or Caitanya-Vais. n. ava theologian in the Hindu tradition who lived a large portion of his life in north-central India (modern-day Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh). He was inspired by Caitanya (b. 1486), a saint, mystic, and divinity. Jīva was the brilliant student of Sanātana and Rūpa, his uncles, who taught him and who wrote prolifically, although Jīva also received a classical education in Benares. Caitanya was from Gaud. a, or Bengal, and thus his followers are called Gaud .ī ya or Bengali-Vais. n. avas; the name distinguishes them from other Vais. n. ava traditions, like theŚrī-Vais. n. avas, Pus. t. i-Vais. n. avas, and others. Vais. n. avas are a branch of Hinduism focused on devotion (see BHAKTI) to Vis. n. u and Kr. s. n. a. Jīva is a theologian because his primary intellectual method is the justification and articulation of his views in a systematic manner by interpreting a revealed and eternally perfect scripture (Edelmann 2015; see revelation in hindu religion). This scripture is the Bhāgavatapurān. a (Tagare 1976) and related texts. My discussion here is based on a selection of Jīva's theological writings (Dasa 2005, 2014, 2015, 2016), and all translations are my own. Here Jīva provides philosophers and theologians with a linguistic system by which they can discuss God's nature: God is defined in a general manner with the definition of nondual awareness. This God is further inspected by means of specific definitions. (Dasa 2014, 5-9; Bhagavatsandarbha 1) In Jīva's theology, then, at the very least we can talk about God in "general terms" and "specific terms." Whether one should clarify the meaning of "general" and "specific" using, for example, the new logic (Navya-Nyāya) of Gaṅgeśa and Ragunāthá Siroman. i, or that of Vedāntins like Madhva, scholars whose work Jīva had read, is not explored here. I accept a general definition as something like a category with three aspects. Near to the passage quoted above Jīva further elaborates two of his essential teachings:

(Essay has been updated)
An account of the Vaisnava Gosvami community of Baghnapara and especially of Vipinavihari (1850-1919), the guru of Bhaktivinoda Thakur.  The works of Vipinivihari are summarised.  The paper relies heavily on the work of Kananavihari Gosvami (Baghnapara-sampradaya o Baishnab Sahitya) and other supporting works.

The beginnings of a translation of the songs of Govinda Dasa Kaviraja, one of the great Vaisnava poets of the Caitanya tradition.  Contains the commentary of B.B. Majumdar when available.  The text is in transliteration.  The conversion program on this site seems to mess up the Bengali script.

This essay attempts to bring out an important insight, i.e. the devotional dimension in the Advaitic fold of Madhusūdana Sarasvatī (ca. 1540-1647 CE), one of the greatest Advaitins of post-Śaṃkara era in Bengal. Advaita or non-dualism as propounded by Śaṃkarācārya recognized knowledge (jñāna) as the key means to liberation (mokṣa) in the main. The main means of liberation in Hindu thought have always been devotion to a personal God (bhakti), knowledge (jñāna), ritual or action (karma) and meditation (yoga). Śaṃkara in his works was always been very clear to delineate the importance of jñāna in liberation. However, in a major departure from the monk, Madhusūdana also interpreted the Bhagavadgītā to include the means of bhakti in liberation, at the same time maintaining that Kṛṣṇa, his preferred deity was nirguṇa-brahman or the highest essence. The same tone is also echoed in his other works like the Bhaktirasāyana etc.

The path of prapatti or loving self-surrender traces its roots to Vedic texts, and was revealed again in the devotional oupourings of the twelve Alwars in the Tamil Divya-prabandhams. Their successors, Yamuna and Ramanuja gave concise and cryptic definitions of prapatti in writings such as the Stotra-ratna and the Sharanagati-gadya, which laid the foundations of more elaborate and structured commentaries by preceptors such as Vedanta Desika. The aspirant who follows the path of prapatti, known as a prapanna cultivates significant qualities of dependence on God, confessional feelings of helplessness, and a firm conviction that God alone will provide salvation and protection. This in turn affects the ways by which he or she behaves individually or engages with society to share the grace and benevolence of God.

Scan of a chapter from Tantra in Practice, edited by David Gordon White, Princeton Readings in Religion, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2000, pp. 308-325.  Translated portions of a 17th-century Vaisnava Sahajiya Hindu Tantric manual on the subtle body,visualization sequences,  ritual sexual intercourse, and cosmology.  With commentary by the author.

This open access book provides both a broad perspective and a focused examination of cow care as a subject of widespread ethical concern in India, and increasingly in other parts of the world. In the face of what has persisted as a highly charged political issue over cow protection in India, intellectual space must be made to bring the wealth of Indian traditional ethical discourse to bear on the realities of current human-animal relationships, particularly those of humans with cows. Dharma, yoga, and bhakti paradigms serve as starting points for bringing Hindu—particularly Vaishnava Hindu—animal ethics into conversation with contemporary Western animal ethics. The author argues that a culture of bhakti—the inclusive, empathetic practice of spirituality centered in Krishna as the beloved cowherd of Vraja—can complement recently developed ethics-of-care thinking to create a solid basis for sustaining all kinds of cow care communities.

This chapter provides an outline of both Vaiṣṇavism in the region of Bengal and the present state of the field of Bengali Vaiṣṇava studies. It then proceeds to highlight the value of a focused examination of the Bengali Vaiṣṇava tradition in its manifold forms during the period of British colonialism. It argues that such an undertaking promises to not only enrich our understanding of the history and development of Bengali Vaiṣṇavism, but also to shed valuable new light on the texture and dynamics of colonial Hinduism beyond the discursive and social-historical parameters of an entrenched Hindu “Renaissance” paradigm.