Chaitanya Mahaprabhu: Encyclopedia II - Chaitanya Mahaprabhu - Chaitanya's tradition

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu - Chaitanya's tradition

Despite having been initiated in the Shri Madhvacharya tradition, Sri Chaitanya founded a tradition of his own, having some marked differences with the practices and the theology of the followers of Madhvacharya. He is not known to have composed anything but a series of verses known as the Siksastaka, "eight verses of instruction".

He requested a select few among his followers, who later came to be known as the Six Gosvamis of Vrindavan, to systematically present the theology of bhakti he had taught in their writings. The six saints and theologians were Rupa Gosvamin, Sanatana Gosvamin, Gopala Bhatta Gosvamin, Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvamin, Raghunatha Dasa Gosvamin and Jiva Gosvamin, a nephew of brothers Rupa and Sanatana. These individuals were responsible for systematizing Gaudiya Vaishnava Theology.

Narottama_Dasa Thakur, Srinivasa Acarya and Syamananda Pandit were among the stalwarts of the second generation of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. Having studied under Jiva, they were instrumental in propagating the teachings of the Gosvamins throughout Bengal, Orissa and other regions of Eastern India. Many among their associates, such as Ramacandra Kaviraja and Ganga-narayana Cakravartin, were also eminent teachers in their own right.

The famous festival of Kheturi, presided over by Jahnava Thakurani, the wife of Nityananda Prabhu, was the first time the leaders of the various branches of Chaitanya's followers assembled together. Through such festivals, members of the loosely organized tradition became acquainted with other branches along with their respective theological and practical nuances. That notwithstanding, the tradition has maintained its plural nature, having no central authority to preside over its matters.

Around these times, the disciples and descendants of Nityananda and Advaita, headed by Virabhadra and Krishna Mishra respectively, started their family lineages (vamsa) to maintain the tradition. The vamsa descending from Nityananda through his son Virabhadra forms the most prominent branch of the modern Gaudiya tradition, though descendants of Advaita, along with the descendants of many other associates of Chaitanya, maintain their following especially in the rural areas of Bengal.

Gopala Guru Gosvamin, a young associate of Chaitanya and a follower of Vakresvara Pandit, founded another branch based in Orissa. The writings of Gopala, along with those of his disciple Dhyanacandra Gosvamin, have had a substantial influence on the methods of internal worship in the tradition.

In the 20th century the teachings of Sri Chaitanya were brought to the West by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, a representative of Saraswata (i.e. disciples of Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura) branch of Chaitanya's tradition. Also, in the 21st century this representation of Vaishnava bhakti has been studied through the academic medium of Krishnology.

Saraswata gurus and acharyas, members of the Goswami lineages and several other Hindu sects which revere Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, including devotees from the major Vaishnava holy places in Mathura District, West Bengal and Orissa, also established temples dedicated to Krishna and Sri Chaitanya outside India in the closing decades of the 20th century.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Chaitanya's tradition", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki