Gaudiya Vaishnavism
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
Gaudiya Vaishnavism is a sect of Hinduism, meaning Bengal Vaishnavism that was founded by Chaitanya. The Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya Sampradaya is the disciplic succession that follows this particular Vaishnavism. This sampradaya or disciplic succession worships Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Unlike all other Vaishnavite denominations and Hindu beliefs, most importantly, they consider Krishna to be God, not as an avatar of Vishnu. Hence, they reverse roles, stating that Vishnu emanates from Krishna. This, along with a strong devotional focus on Radha, are some of the main differences between Gaudiya Vaishnava Theology and other Vaishnava theologies.
Gaudiya Vaishnavas also worship Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu as the latest incarnation of Krishna to descend in this yuga/age. Also, the followers are unusual in stating that Radha is a Shakti of Krishna, rather than attributing importance to Lakshmi Devi. These beliefs are not in accordance with beliefs of most Hindus and Vaishnavites. Famously, the ISKCON/Hare Krishna organization is based on Gaudiya Vaishnavism.
External links
- http://www.gaudiya.com/ An overview of Gaudiya Vaishnavism
- http://www.iskcon.com/ ISKCON
- http://www.vaishnava.com/gaudiyafaq.htm
- http://www.dlshq.org/saints/gauranga.htm (bio of Chaitanya)
- Krishna.com (http://www.krishna.com/) All about Krishna. Info, books, MP3s, images, radio. . .
