KASHMIR IN MY HEART

Its about the plight of my kashmir...my motherland

About Me

Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India
Pandit Chaman Lal Gadoo Co-Chairman, JOINT HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE Chairman, VIDYA GAURI GADOO RESEARCH CENTRE Email: cl.gadoo@gmail.com Blog: clgadoo.blogspot.com

Monday, July 8, 2013

VAISHNAVAISM IN INDIA

VAISHNAVAISM   IN   INDIA

Religion is as old as human civilization and human civilization is as old as man’s separation from animal kingdom. Sanatana Dharma or Hinduism is the oldest religion of Hindus and is spread all over the world. India is heart land of Hindus. There are three major Samparadaya or sects in Hinduism mainly, Vaishnavas, Shavites and Shakt. If one is Vaishnava, Vishnu is his or her Saguna Brahman; if one is a Shaiva, Shiva is his or her Saguna Brahman; if a Shakta, Devi or Bhawani is his or her Saguna Brahman. In this way, the same Reality became expressed by different names, approached by different methods of worship, different rituals, and by different Puranas.     

Classification  of  Scriptures
The scriptures of the Hindu’s can be classified into Nigamas (also known as the Vedas) and Agamas (also known as the Tantras). The Nigama is divided into four Veda’s--- Rig, Yajus, Sama, and Atharva. Agama prescribes the day to-day ritualistic life and a practical course of self-discipline for its followers. It also prescribes the procedures for consecrating the idols in the temples, forms of worship to be performed in temples that follow the particular Agama, etc. The Agama has three main divisions - Shaiva (based on Shiva as the principal Deity), Shakta (based on worship of Shakti as the principal Deity), and Vaishnava (based Vishnu being the principal Deity).

 The term Agama primarily means tradition; Agama is also that which helps to understand things correctly and comprehensively. Agama Shastras are not part of the Vedas. The Agamas do not derive their authority directly from the four Vedas. They are Vedic in spirit and character and make use of Vedic mantras while performing the service. The Agama Shastras are based in the belief that the divinity can be approached in two ways. It can be viewed as Nishkala, formless – absolute; or as Sakala having specific aspects. Nishkala is all-pervasive and is neither explicit nor is it visible. It is analogues, as the Agama texts explain, to the oil in the sesame-seed, fire in the fuel, butter in milk, and scent in flower. It is in human as Antaryamin, the inner guide. It has no form and is not apprehended by sense organs, which includes mind. Sakala, on the other hand, is explicit energy like the fire that has emerged out of the fuel, oil extracted out of the seed, butter that floated to the surface after churning milk or like the fragrance that spreads and delights all. That energy can manifest itself in different forms and humans can approach those forms through appropriate means. The Agamas recognize that means as the Archa, the worship methods unique to each form of energy-manifestation or divinity. The Vedas do not discuss about venerating the icons; though the aspects of the thirty-three divinities were later condensed to three viz. Agni, the aspect of fire, energy and life on earth; Vayu, the aspect of space, movement and air in the mid-region; and Surya the universal energy and life that sustains and governs all existence, in the heavenly region, the space. This provided the basis for the evolution of the classic Indian trinity, the Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu.
Rig Veda at many places talks in terms of Saguna, the Supreme. One often hears Agama and Nigama mentioned in one breath as if one follows the other or that both are closely related. However, Nigama stands for Vedas and Agama is identified with Tantra. The two traditions- Veda and Tantra – hold divergent views on matters such as God; relationship between man and God; the ways of worship; and path to salvation etc. The Vedic concept of God is omniscient, omnipotent, a formless absolute entity manifesting itself in phenomenal world of names and forms. The Agama which is a part of Tantra regards God as a personal deity with recognizable forms and attributes.

The Agamas are theological treatises and practical manuals of divine worship. The Agamas include the Tantras, Mantras and Yantras. These are treatises explaining the external worship of God, in idols, temples, etc. All the Agamas are treat of (i) Jnana or Knowledge, (ii) Yoga or Concentration, (iii) Kriya or Esoteric Ritual and (iv) Charya or Exoteric Worship. They also give elaborate details about ontology and cosmology, liberation, devotion, meditation, philosophy of mantras, mystic diagrams, temple-building, image-making, domestic observances, festivals, social rules, etc.

Divisions of the Agamas
The Agamas are divided into three sections: the Vaishnava, the Shaiva and the Shakta. The three chief sects of Hinduism viz., Vaishnavism, Shaivism and Shaktism, base their doctrines and dogmas on their respective Agamas. There are further sub-divisions among each of the Agama’s. The two divisions in the Vaishnava Agama are the Vaikhanasa and Pancaratra. The Vaishnava Agamas or Pancharatra Agamas glorify God as Vishnu. The Shaiva Agamas glorify God as Shiva and have given rise to an important school of philosophy known as Shaiva-Siddhanta, which prevails in South India. The Shakta Agamas or Tantras glorify God as the Mother of the Universe, under one of the many names of Devi. The Agamas do not derive their authority from the Vedas, but are not antagonistic to them. They are all Vedic in spirit and character. That is the reason why they are regarded as authoritative.
Vaishnava Agamas
The Vaishnava Agamas are of four kinds: the Vaikhanasa, Pancharatra, Pratishthasara and Vijnanalalita. The Brahma, Shaiva, Kaumara, Vasishtha, Kapila, Gautamiya and the Naradiya are the seven groups of the Pancharatras. The Naradiya section of the Santi-Parva of the Mahabharata is the earliest source of information about the Pancharatras. Vishnu is the Supreme Lord in the Pancharatra Agamas. The Vaishnavas regard the Pancharatra Agamas to be the most authoritative. They believe that these Agamas were revealed by Lord Vishnu Himself. Narada-Pancharatra says: ‘Everything from Brahman to a blade of grass is Lord Krishna’. There are two hundred and fifteen of these Vaishnava texts. Isvara, Ahirbudhnya,Paushkara, Parama, Sattvata, Brihad-Brahma and Jnanamritas are Samhitas are the important ones.
Shiva Agamas
The Shaivas recognise twenty-eight Agamas, of which the chief is Kamika. The Agamas are also the basis of Kashmir Shaivism which is called the Pratyabhijna system. The latter works of Pratyabhijna system show a distinct leaning to Advaitism. The Southern Shaivism, i.e., Shaiva Siddhanta, and the Kashmir Shaivism, regard these Agamas as their, besides the Vedas. Each Agama has Upa-Agamas. Of these, only fragmentary texts of twenty are extant. Lord Shiva is the central God in the Shaiva Agamas. They are suitable to this age, Kali Yuga. They are open to all castes and both the sexes.
Shakta Agamas
There is another group of scriptures known as the Tantras. They belong to the Shakta cult. They glorify Shakti as the Mother Goddess. They dwell on the Shakti (energy) aspect of God and prescribe numerous courses of ritualistic worship of the Divine Mother in various forms. There are seventy-seven Agamas. These are very much like the Puranas in some respects. The texts are usually in the form of dialogues between Shiva and Parvati. In some of these, Shiva answers the questions put by Parvati, and in others, Parvati answers, Shiva questioning. Mahanirvana, Kularnava, Kulasara, Prapanchasara, Tantraraja, Rudra-Yamala, Brahma-Yamala, Vishnu-Yamala and Todala Tantra are the important works. The Agamas teach several occult practices some of which confer powers, while the others bestow knowledge and freedom. Shakti is the creative power of Lord Shiva. Shaktism is really a supplement to Shaivism. Among the existing books on the Agamas, the most famous are the Isvara-Samhita, Ahirbudhnya-Samhita, Sanatkumara-Samhita, Narada-Pancharatra, Spanda-Pradipika and the Mahanirvana-Tantra

Vaishnavism
Bhakti-yoga is the foundation of  Vaishnavism, or worship of Vishnu (a name of Krishna that indicates that His consciousness pervades everything).Actually, Vaishnavism has no beginning in time, for Vaishnavism is the expression of God's own nature and so exists with Him since all eternity. In the spiritual realm, far beyond the limits of material existence, every soul is by natural constitution a Vaishnava, or devotee of Krishna.

 In the philosophical portion of the Veda, called the Upanishads, Vishnu is equated with Krishna, Who appeared in this world as the son of Vasudeva.
narayana vidmahe vasudevaya dhimahi tan no vishnu pracodayate, (Taittiriya-aranyaka). And in the Bhagavad-Gita, the Lord says "I am that which is to be known through all the Vedas. Indeed, I am the compiler of Vedanta and know the Vedas." (B.g. 15.15)
The name Vishnu is derived from ‘Vish’ which literally means ‘to spread in all directions, or to pervade’. So ‘Vishnu’ is that deity whose existence is in the whole universe. He is the Pervader. He is everywhere. He is also called ‘Narayan’. It consists of two words. Nara means water and ‘ayan’ means house or the dwelling place. Thus, ‘Narayan’ literally means ‘he who has water as his dwelling place’. According to our scriptures, Lord Vishnu, is reposing on the snake coil formed over the surface of sea.  So, Vishnu is where water exists. Scienctifically, where there is water there is life and there is world. According to Padam Purana,”Sri Hari should be worshipped in ‘Salagrama’, ‘Mani’, ‘Yantra’, ‘Mandala’ or image form.”

According to Rudra-Hrdaya Upanishad, the combination of Uma and Sankara is known as Vishnu. In the universe, the males represent Maheshwar and females represent Bhagavati Uma. The apparent universe is in itself the form of Uma and non-apparent universe the form of Maheshwar. The union of apparent –Uma and non-apparent Shanker is known as Vishnu. 
 There are scholars upholding the view that Vishnu was originally a Sun god. When Surya attained a position in the pantheon of gods, it conceived and regarded only as a manifestation of Vishnu. As expounded by Gonda in ‘Aspects of Early Visnism’, Vishnu represented the processes in vegetative growth and fertility at large.

Lord  Rama
Lord Vishnu appears whenever need arises to redeem the world of its woes. Lord Krishna states in Bhagavad Gita; “Avatar (Incarnation) appears when the world passes through some moral or spiritual crises, the Avatar comes to uphold Dharma and protect the noble.” Lord Vishnu incarnated as Lord Rama in His seventh and Lord Krishna in His eighth incarnation. Both these incarnations are very potent and popular with Hindus allover. Rama displayed what a man ought to be while Krishna showed what a man really is.  Both the incarnations are complete or ‘Sampuran’ in their own way.  Lord Rama is ‘Suraj Vamsis’, hence 12 Kalas, whereas Lord Krishna is ‘Chander Vamsis ’ with 16 Kalas. Lord Rama is known, Maryada Purushottam for setting ideal human conduct, as an ideal son, ideal brother, ideal husband and ideal king. Sage Valmiki’s, Ramayan immortalized Rama’s saga of human values and has endeared the hearts of generations of people from time immemorial. Valmiki Ramayan consists of 24,000 Shlokas.
Goswami Tulsidas, wrote in simple language Ramcharitmanas, which became very popular among masses and is recited in almost every Hindu household. The doings of Lord Rama and the role of Lord Hanuman is so varied and vast that no account of Ram-Katha is complete without the reference to Hanuman. Lord Rama and Lord Hanuman are inseparable in the eyes of the lover of Ram-Katha. Lord Hanuman, a true Ram-Bakhta, is so instinct with the Lord Rama that a mere thought of Rama conjures up Hanuman’s image. He not only remains with Rama but also His presence on this earth is to guide Rama’s devotees. It is believed that by His grace Saint Tulsidas had Darshan of his chosen deity Lord Rama at Chitrakoot while uttering the following famous Doha (couplet);  “Chitrakoot ke ghat par, Bhayee Santan ki beer,
                  Tulsidas Chadan ghisen, Tilak kare Raguveer.”
Another Medieval Hindi poet of Ram-Khatha, Keshavdas, is also said to have Darshan of Lord Hanuman. Upanishads state; “Just as the whole nature of the banyan tree is contained in its tiny seed, so also the whole universe, animate or inanimates is contained in the Name of Rama.” The very word Rama, consists of three letters; Ra, A, Ma symbolizing the Supreme Trinity—Shiva, Brahma and Vishnu. Rama has not only been ideal human but also Supreme Divinity. He has become both Adarsha as well as Aradhya Divinity. The word Rama derived from Ramayati which means one who pleases everyone by his mere appearance, speech and quality.
Kamban, a Tamil poet who wrote Ramayana, in Tamil describes that those in Mithila who saw Rama’s feet continued to be attracted by His feet alone; those who saw His shoulders continued to see His shoulders and nobody could see the entire figure of Sri Rama, as they could not shift their sight from the place where their sight fell first. Such was the enthralling form of Sri Rama. Two great Saint-poets, Tyagaraja, who lived on the banks of Caurey was prime soul of classical Carnatic music and Tulsidas who lived on the banks of Ganga, were great Ram-Bhakta. They had great faith in chanting Ram- Nama, which is a great purifier of Soul and gives abundance of Ananda.

Lord  Krishna
Lord Krishna is the incarnation which showed to world how to solve problems that are inherent part of human existence. Bhagavad Gita—the Divine Song, is perfect knowledge that was taught by Krishna to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kuruksetra. Gita’s message is timeless and is focus on Indian Religion. In Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna, a Karam Yogi, is accepted as Supreme Guru. Through Gita He gives two district messages besides other teachings.  First, though the body is perishable, but the soul is not. Secondly, one should do his duty without asking for the reward. The significance of Krishna is His remarkable divine personality. The scriptures define; ”The word ‘Krishna’ is composed of the root ‘krishh’ meaning ‘bhu’, the shelter of all existence and the word ‘na’ meaning ‘nivriti’ or the form of supreme bliss. Combined, they form the word Krishna which signifies Param Brahmn, the Supreme Absolute Truth.”
Vedanta defines Lord Krishna as Ananda Bramha .He is that Rasa, Ananda or bliss. He is both the ideal and the idol and represents the immanent and transcendent aspects of the Supreme Reality. He is the Brahman. Lord Krishna is lord of love and lord of sweetness!
Adharam madhuram vadanam madhuram,
Nayanam madhuram hasitam madhuram l
Hrdayam madhuram gamanam madhuram,
Madhuradhipaterakhilam   madhuram ll
                                                                 Vallabhacharya
“His lips are sweet, His face is sweet, His heart is sweet,   His eyes are sweet, His smile is sweet, His walking is sweet, every-thing of Lord of Mathura is sweet.”

Avatars’ are of many different categories. ‘Avatar’ literally means descent in Sanskrit. Sometimes Lord Vishnu descends by His incarnation; sometimes He descends as a devotee and at times as sound vibration.  Caitanya Mahaprabhu, confirmed that in this age of ‘Kali Yuga’ Sri Krishna has descended in the form of sound vibration. It is also stated that there is no difference between ‘Krishna’ and His Holy Name;

HARE KRISHNA, HARE KRISHNA, KRISHNA KRISHNA, HARE HARE,
               HARE RAMA, HARE RAMA, RAMA RAMA, HARE HARE.

This Maha Mantra among the Mantras mentioned in Vedic scriptures ---empowered sound vibrations---is specially recommended by Sages also for our age (Kali-Yuga ).
Yogavasishta Maharamayana (Rama Gita) and Srimad Bhagavad Gita (Krishna Gita) are ancient, spiritual and philosophical two epic poems. These are gospels of Truth, Yoga and Self- knowledge. Yogavasishta and Gita are similar in their contents and purpose. The Gita discusses the Knowledge of the Self as the only means of relieving the human mind from its moral and mental problems and sufferings. Yogavasishta too exposes clearly, though in greater detail about Self-Knowledge and Brahman, the Supreme Reality of the Universe.

The magnificent dialogue of Yogavasista, is between the young prince Sri Rama, the seeker, hardly 16 years old and Sage Vasista. The original text, is called Brihat (meaning big) Yogavasishta, consists of 32000 Sanskrit verses, divided into six prakar-anaas (broad sections).Sage Valmiki, renowed as the Adi Kavi, the first poet of our land, is the great author of Valmiki Ramayana Or the Life Story of Sri Rama and of Yogavasista as well. This text records the dialogue which lasted for 18 days, beginning daily in the morning and terminating at dusk.  Subjects like; Vairagya, Prakarana, Utpatti, Sititi, Upasama Prakarana and Nirvana have come up for discussion and have been dealt by the author.

The dialogue between Arjuna and the great Yoga Teacher, Sri Krishna has perhaps taken two hours only, in Kurukshetra battlefield. This battle lasted for 18 days and was fought from dawn to dusk. This was recorded in 18 chapters of Mahabharata. The well known Bhagavad Gita of Mahabharata, the 700 verses discourse of the Lord of Yoga , is an exposition of Vedanta philosophy---the deep and sacred science of Self (Atman). The ‘Divine Song of Gita’ has 18 chapters and the main theme is Yoga----Yoga of knowledge, Yoga of Action, Yoga of Devotion   (Jnana, Karma and Bhakti).  
10thcentury saint, philosopher of Kashmir, Abhinavagupta made illuminating commentary on Bhagavad Gita known as its Kashmiri version, which has been translated by renowned Swami Laksman Joo during 1975AD. In the words of Sri RamaKrishna; “It is fried in the butter of Jnana and soaked in the syrup of Bhakti”.

The last message of Sri Krishna to His friend, beloved devotee and follower, Uddhava, is known as Uddhava Gita, appears in the concluding chapters of Srimad Bhagavatam, which was taught by Sage Vyasa to his illustrious son Sage Shuka. The Lord on the eve of His exit from the arena of the world gives His parting instructions to Uddhava. On the enquiry of Uddhava, chapter xxiv, verse 40&43,44;

 ”Salutations to thee, O great Yogi! Please instruct me, who have taken refuge in Thee, how l may acquire an undying devotion to Thy lotus feet.” “….averse to pleasures, patient under all hardships, calm and well behaved, with your senses under control and mind concentrated, possessed of knowledge and realization, reflecting on what I have taught you and what you have already considered, with your mind and speech attached to Me---practice the religion concerning Me. Thereby you will transcend the range of three Gunas and attain Me, the Supreme.”

Some western authors have the notion that Vaishnavism or Krishna worship was an outgrowth of Christianity, which is said to have reached India within the first century after Christ. However, this is not supported by historical or archeological evidence. The Greeks who settled India's northwestern provinces in the wake of Alexander's conquest have mentioned in their annals that the Indians of their time (300 B.C.) were devout worshippers of Lord Krishna. There is also other evidence in inscriptions, architecture, sculpture, coins and so forth to validate the widespread existence of Vaishnavism in India long before Christianity. Secondly, there has been no colour bias in Hindu religion as some foreign authors have painted, that Aryans were white Indians and Dravidians were black Indians, two different races. But in reality Hindus worship Sri Rama and Sri Krishna who were black. Another name for Sri Krishna is Shyam Sunder, which means He is blackish like a cloud but very beautiful. Ramayan describes Sri Rama as black. There is no barrier or bias between white and black in India.   

The three great commentators of the Vedantic school of thought in India are Sankaracharya, Ramanujacharya and Madhvacharya. All of them acknowledged the infallibility of the Upanishads, but differed in their interpretation of the same. Gaudapada preceded Sankara, and there were earlier teachers too of the school who preceded Gaudapada. But it is supposed that they did not give prominence to Mayavada as Sankara did. Ramanuja came after Sankara. His school of thought called Vishishtadvaitavada can also be traced commencing from Bodhayana, not far from the days of Vyasa, the author of the Vedanta Sutras. It owed its origin from the ancient Bhagavata school, that was in existence even some centuries before the Christian era. Pancaratra Tantra by Narada, and Bhagavadgita are the foundation of the Bhagavata school.

Vaishnavaism  in  South  India
 The seed of Vaishnavism in South India was sown by the Alwars, who were the earliest Brahmin messengers to the South. They gave prominence to the emotional side of Vaishnavism and used the language of the people in their songs and hymns. From the 9th century down to the end of the 15th century, an unbroken line of Vaishnavite reformers existed in Southern India. This cult flourished there from the early years of the Christian era under the impetus given by the Alwars, who preached bhakti and devotion to Krishna in the local Tamil, and songs composed in that language were very well understood by the mass. Vishnu with all His Avatars, and particularly the Krishna Avatar, was the object of their deep veneration. They used to adore idols of Vishnu of different forms, although the mode of worship was mainly confined to recitation of His Names and contemplation of His forms. Satagopa among the later Alwars was very famous, and Andal, daughter of a Pariah devotee, was also included in the list of Alwars.  It is evident that the earlier Alwars owed their origin to Northern Vaishnavites or Bhagavata sects. Their teachings and works were based on the Bhagavadgita and the Bhagavata. They represented the devotional and emotional side of the Vaishnava faith, unlike the Brahmin Acharyas who came after them representing the intellectual and philosophical side.
Ramanujacharya, the practical founder of the Visishtadvaita school, on whom the mantle of Yamunacharya fell, was born about the year 1017 AD. Under Yamunacharya the Visishtadvaita had greatly developed and took a strong footing in Srirangapattam and other places. But Ramanuja, by composing philosophical works and committing to writing the special views that were being developed orally by Yamunacharya and his predecessors, gave the system a solid foundation and made it more prominent. After this he wrote the Sri-bhasya on the Vedanta-Sutra, the great work on which the great school of Visishtadvaitavada stands.

Vaishnavaism  in  North  India
In Northern India, Ramananda, Vallabhacharya, Nimbaditya, Sankaradeva and Chaitanya were the Vaishnava reformers of great repute. Ramananda is said to have been the fifth in apostolic succession from Ramanuja, and he lived towards the end of the fourteenth century AD. It is generally said that there are four main sampradayas or sects of Vaishnavism, viz., Ramanuja, Vishnuswami, Madhvacharya and Nimbaditya. All other current minor sects are said to have been included in theses four main sampradayas. It is also said that Lakshmi acknowledged Ramanuja; Brahma Madhvacharya; Rudra Vishnuswami; and Sanak, Sananda, Sanatan and Sanatkumara Nimbaditya respectively. Ramanuja wrote his books in Sanskrit. Ramananda had 12 disciples from various lower classes like Ruidas , Pipa , Dhanna ,Nabhaji, Kabir and Sen. Some of these disciples founded separate sects of great celebrity; and as regards the mode of religious worship, divergence of views with the main system of Ramananda are very marked. Ramananda worshipped Rama and asserted the supreme efficacy of the chanting and meditating of Rama-Nama, and practically discarded social distinctions. The Bhaktamal, a book written by Nabhaji, a pupil of Ramananda and one of his successors, is practically the scripture of the Ramanandis. Ramananda and his followers wrote their books in the current language of the people and these books, therefore, became accessible to everyone – a fact that made easy for even the people of upper castes to aspire for the status of a guru. The famous Tulsidas who was seventh in descent from Ramananda wrote,   Ramcharitmansa, which is a religious book looked upon with veneration by millions of people in India. Minor sub-sects like Khaki, Molukdasi, Dadupanthi, also owed their origin to Ramanandis. They worshipped Rama and Sita, and the method is to contemplate and chant Rama-Nama. The chanting of religious hymns is their chief method of upasana or worship of God. There are many sub-sects belonging to Dadupanthis, and the Nagas are one of them. Ruidas, one of the 12 disciples of Ramananda, had also founded a separate sect. From Sen, the barber disciple of Ramananda, another sect came into existence.

Brahma-sampradaya is the second main Vaishnava sampradaya. Madhvacharya was the founder of this sect and the sampradaya is called Madhvi after his name. This sect is of a later date than the Sri-sampradaya of Ramanuja. Madhvacharya was born in 1121AD at Sakabda in Tulab in Deccan. Except Sannyasis and Brahmins no other people have any right to become a diksha-guru in this sampradaya.. Madhvacharis are Dvaitavadis. They acknowledge the separate entities of jiva and Brahman. They, therefore, differ from the philosophical conceptions of both Sankara and Ramanuja.
Jayadeva the renowned author of the Gita-Govinda flourished in the 12th century. Radha and Krishna were his objects of worship. His Gita-Govinda gave a great impetus to Chaitanya during his life and cult in the beginning of the 16th century.

The third main sampradaya is the Rudra-sampradaya, of which Vallabhacharya was the founder. He was born about 1749 AD in Telangana and settled at Muttra. Balagopala or the Child Krishna is the object of worship for the devotees of this sect. The sampradaya of Vallabhacharya traces its origin from Vishnuswami, the commentator of Vedas. Vishnuswami made disciples from Sannyasashramis and Brahmins only. It is said that Vallabhacharya, stepping into the shoes of the successors of Vishnuswami, devoted himself to the expounding of his cult. Barta is the name of the chief grantha or scripture of the Vallabhacharyas. Expositions in the Barta go to establish a kind of oneness of jiva and Brahman. Vallabhacharya’s teachings contain certain unique doctrines quite unusual in the Hindu religion. He says, in God’s upasana, no fasting, no tiresome methods, no tapasya are necessary. Without discarding delicacies of food, luxuries of the world such as riches and other amenities of life, worship of God is possible. This led the Vaishnavas of this sect to extreme luxury and the hankering after worldly pleasures. The Goswamis or spiritual heads of this sect are married men.  Gopala Krishna with Radha and images of his different incarnations are worshipped in their temples. The commentary which Vallabha wrote on the Bhagavata is their chief book for the conduct of their life and faith. He wrote several other books also in Sanskrit, and also one or two in the current language of the people. In several parts of India, particularly in Gujarat and Malwa,  many rich and very well-to-do people are followers of the Vallabhacharya Vaishnavism. In Muttra and Vrindavan as well as in Puri, Dvaraka and Ajmere they have got several maths or temples. A small sect of Vaishnavism originated with Mira Bai. She was married to the Rana of Udaipur. She was a staunch Vaishnava. After roaming over many places she passed the rest of her life meditating and chanting the name of her Ista Devata, Ranchhod, an image of Sri Krishna.

 The founder of the fourth main sampradaya was Nimbaditya. He lived near Vrindavana. His original name was Bhaskaracharya. He was called Nimbaditya later on, and people belonging to his sect is called Nimat. Krishan with Radha is their God of worship, and the Srimad Bhagavata is their main scripture. Nimbaditya had two distinguished disciples, named Kesava Bhatta and Harivyasa. Two separate sub-sects owe their origin from these two. There are many Nimats in Western India and particularly, in places near Muttra. In Maharashtra, there is a sect called Vithal-bhaktas. In Gujrat, Karnat and Central India also disciples of this sect are to be seen. Their another name is Vaishnava-vir. Their God of worship is Pandurang, Vithal or Vithoba. They consider him as the ninth incarnation of Vishnu, i.e, Buddhadeva and are called Bauddha-Vaishnavas. They have got a celebrated temple on the modern bank of the Bhima river in Deccan. They have got a large mass of sectarian literature such as Bhakta-vijaya, Pandurang-mahatmya, Hari-vijaya, etc. A saint called Pundalik is said to have been the founder of this sect. Probably he flourished in the fourteenth century of the Christian era. This sect gives prominence to the love between the Upasya and the Upasaka i.e, the object of worship and the worshipper. Although they do not place much stress on leading a life of seclusion or giving up the worldly life, yet there are many devotees of this sect who renounce worldly life and pleasure. According to them, Pandharpur is the chief place for pilgrimage. There is much similarity to be seen between the Jagannatha-kshetra temple and the Pandurang temple with regard to Mahaprasada or Aanna offered to the deity and taken by the devotees afterwards. This sect may be taken as an attempt at reconciliation between Buddhism and Hindu Vaishnavism. In 1976 Sambat a man called Ramcaran founded a sect of Vaishnavas called Ramsnehi after his name.                                                                                                                                          

Vaishnavaism  in  Bengal
Chaitanya is generally regarded as the founder of the samparadaya in Bengal. He was born in 1486 AD in the city of Nadia or Navadwipa on the bank of the Ganges. His father was Jagannatha Misra and his mother’s name was Sachi. Chaitanya, whose real name was Visvambhara, renounced the world and turned out a sannyasi and preacher at the age of 24. He died or disappeared in about 1533 AD at Puri or Jagannatha-kshetra. Advaitacharya and Nityananda were his chief helpers in propagating his creed. His followers not only regard him as the founder of the faith but also as an incarnation of Krishan and the main object of worship. After that he studied Nyaya under Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya. He married twice - the second one named Vishnupriya after the demise of his first wife Lakshmi. At about the age of twenty he was initiated into the Vaishnava faith by Iswarapuri a disciple of Madhavendrapuri, whose descent as a spiritual guru is traced from the great Madhvacharya. Visvambhara renounced his worldly life and took to sannyasa having been initiated under the name of Krishna-Chaitanya by one Kesava Bharati who lived in a village about 18 miles distant from Nuddea. Hunter in his Orissa says, “The adoration of Chaitanya has become a sort of family worship throughout Orissa. In Puri there is a temple specially dedicated to his name, and many little shrines are scattered over the country”. After taking sannyasa at his 24th year, Chaitanya roamed over different places in India, such as Muttra, Puri, etc and preached the doctrines of Krishna worship. The latter part of his life, i.e, for 18 years, he lived in Puri and devoted to the worship of Jagannathadeva, and preached Prema-Bhakti. The span of his life was altogether 48 years. The people of his sampradaya regard Advaita and Nityananda also as Amsa-Avatara, i.e, part-incarnation, of Vishnu. Although the Chaitanya sampradaya traces its origin to Madhvacharya, the sect of Vallabhacharya has great affinity with this sect. Both Chaitanya and Vallabha flourished about the same time. Chaitanya adopted the worship of Radha-Krishna and there can be little doubt that Jayadeva’s Gita-Govinda and the Maithili poet Vidyapat’s songs played an important part in moulding his thoughts. The attitude of the soul to God was represented in his cult by the attitude of the beloved towards her lover. The love towards the gallant was considered the highest kind that the soul could entertain towards God. Chaitanya had a few converts from among Mahomedans amongst his followers. It appears that within the pale of Hindu religion, he recognized no caste distinctions when the devotee becomes a Vaishnava or a worshipper of Krishna. As in Orissa and Vrindavana, in his native district in Nuddea and other neighbouring places, maths or temples have since been established, where Chaitanya’s image came to be actually worshipped as the image of God. Even before his death and so on after, it became the vogue to install his image in temples for worshipping him as a divinity. Sankaradeva of Assam, was a prolific writer of Assamese verses and a poet of very high order. In order to popularise his tenets he and his great disciple Madhavadeva turned out a vast religious literature in the current language of the people. Sankaradeva also wrote a Sanskrit work named Bhakti-ratnakara. Sankara translated the Bhagavata and composed a unique book called Kirtana-ghosa to be read. He built his system upon the ethics of the Gita and the Bhagavata. He evolved a creed to wipe off the prevailing social and other evils that were current in the name of religion, and at the same time to be an expression of the deepest philosophy. Krishna was the all-supreme God of adoration for him; and he rejected the feminine element of Radha cult. He composed many books in the country’s vernacular for the propagation of his creed: the Kirtana-ghosa was the chief amongst them. The Kirtana-ghosa contains the quintessence of His creed. He composed popular religious songs upon the Life and Doings of Sri Krishna. He introduced a new feature in his movement by composing dramas inculcating the cult and depicting the Life-Story of Sri Krishna, to attract people by dramatic performances, and thus popularise his teachings. No Vaisnavite reformer of his time seemed to have done this. The entire Life-story of Sri Krishna was rendered into music, poetry and drama by him, and Madhavadeva contributed his share to all these literary performances.The Nama-ghosa of Madhavadeva says: In other prevailing forms of religion, different people are entitled only to rites variously prescribed for different castes; but in reciting the Name of Hari all are equal. Therefore, this is the best of all religions.
Immediately after Sankaradeva's death, there was a cleavage between his apostolic successor, Madhavadeva and Damodaradeva, a Brahmin follower and associate of Sankaradeva. Since then the sect has been divided into two; one came to be known as Mahapurusiya and the other Damodariya. The followers of Madhavadeva are called Mahapurushiyas and of Damodaradeva Damodariyas.  
Vaishnavaism  in  Kashmir
The Nilmat Purana is a Vaishnavite text, gives an elaborate account of Vaishnava cult in Kashmir. The Nilmat Purana, upheld Vishnu as the supreme god and as such he is eulogized and assigned a higher stature than that of Brahma and even Shiva. Vishnu Purana, fully establish the popularity of Vaishnavaism and depict rituals and mode of worship connected with Vishnu as supreme god. The valley was a seat of Vishnu in the form of Cakrin, says the Visnudharmottara Purana. It was deeply impressed by the Pancharatra school of Vaishnavism. Names of lakes like Visnasar and Krsnasar, mountain-peaks and places like Visnupada, Ramardhan and Chakaradar, are enough to establish the presence of Vaishnavism in Kashmir. Many images have been discovered from various centres in Kashmir establishing the popularity of the Bhagavata cult, which also falls within the ambience of Vaishnavaism. Jayakhya Samhita, mentions that Pancharatra school of the Satvatas of Rama and Krishna, the two incarnations of Vishnu, gained considerable popularity in Kashmir and elsewhere. Kashmir has been regarded as a cradle of early Pancharatra literature dealing mainly with Vishnu and his vyuhas. Bhagavata accepted Vasudeva-Narayana as the supreme deity while Pancharatra followers worshipped four Vyuahas, namely; Vasudeva, Pradyumna, Sankarastrana, and Aniruddha. This led to the introduction of a sizeable number of Vasudeva-Narayana and Vaikuntha images in the temples in Kashmir. Another concept of Hari-Hara was familiar in early Kashmir. The Hari-Hara is a syncretic icon, half Vishnu and half Shiva, symbolizing syncretism between the Vishnu and Shiva cults. Vishnu and Shiva, as a result of fusion, were taken to do good to mankind. With the passage of time, Brahma was added to Hari-Hara cult and the triad thus formed came to be known as Hari-Hara Pithma.                                                                                                                                   

 

Hari-Hara Pithama statue of Early Kashmir        Vishnu statue of Early Kashmir

The history of the Vishnu temples goes back to the early history of Kashmir. Nilmat Purana refers to the temples built in the ancient town of Chakaradar situated at the foot of the Chakardar Udher, Karewa, situated to the west of the ancient town of Bijbehara in south Kashmir. Buhler established the presence of a Vishnu temple at Chakardara. The temple was dedicated to Adi Keshva. Laltaditya Mukhtapida built, Vishnu temples, in Kashmir. He built four Vishnu temples, namely Mukta Kesva, Parihas Kesva, Mahavarah and Govardhanadhara. In Mukta Keshva, an image of Keshva, the Vishnu, built of gold weighing 84,000 tolas, was installed. In the Parihas Kesva temple, an image of Vishnu, in the form of Parihaskeshva, made of 3,36000 tolas of silver, was installed.

Sri Rama and Sri Krishna, the incarnations of Vishnu are worshipped in Kashmir widely. While the temples dedicated to Sri Rama are scattered all over Kashmir, the temples dedicated to Sri Krishna are less common. At many places the remannents of ancient stone temples are linked with Sri Rama and Sita, like Sita Kund at Khag and Sita Haran, a few miles away from Arizal in Beerwah district. An ancient temple dedicated to Sri Krishna is situated inside the Hari Parbat fort in Srinagar. The Dogra rular, Maharaja Partap Singh, built Sri Krishna temple, better known as Shri Gadadahar temple, at Shergari palace, on the banks of river Jehlum. Two large temples dedicated to Sri  Rama, were  built in Srinagar, in recent times, one on the left side of river Jehlum, Raghunath mandir, near Habakadal and other Rama mandir, at Sathu, Barbarshah. A temple known as the Radha Krishna is located in the Lok Bhawan complex at Anantnag.                   

Kashmir has its own version of Bhagavata Purana, which stands preserved in Goetingen Museum Library in Germany. It is the oldest and authentic version whose date can be fixed as 14th century. The manuscript contains many Shlokas drawn from other earlier manuscripts. There is Kashmiri Bhagavat Gita and Ramayan as well. Many Kashmiri poets have written Krishna and Rama Leelas as a part of Kashmiri folk poetry and are sung even today.


To what the ancient seers of the Upanisads had evolved after ceaseless contemplation as an abstract conception of God, Vaisnavism gave a concrete form to be easily understood and be accessible to all and sundry, so that even the humblest of the humble could come to Him, irrespective of caste and creed. The fountain-heads of Vaisnavism, the Gita and the Bhagavata, simply worked out the abstract propositions of Vedanta-Sutra and gave them a concrete shape and made them accessible to all. Vaisnavism has opened wide the portals of the temple of God for everyone from the highest to the lowest, and binds them with the sacred tie of brotherhood. In coming to the end, there cannot be any doubt as to Vaisnavism remaining always a living religion. The ground on which it stands and all-pervading, is based on eternal truths, such as love, ahimsa, humility, and at the same time unbending rigidity in principles, with overall devotion to God Who is sat, cit and ananda.                                                  

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