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Gosains
Gosains (गोसाईं), who are also known as Gossain, Gosine, Gossai, Gosyne, Gosein, Gosavi, and as Goswamis, are Brahmins, Hinduism, Hindu ascetics and religious functionaries of India. Found chiefly in North India, northern, Central India, central and Western India, western India, they have different histories by place and time. Even the name Goswami has been variously interpreted as 'master of cows', 'master of mind or intellect', 'master of senses or emotions' and 'master of passion'. The members of Daśanāmi Sampradaya, Dashnami Sect, believed to be the first brahmanical order of ascetics founded by Adi Shankara, Adi Shankaracharya, use the surname Goswami, Gosain or Gosavi which means a man who has attained complete control over sense organs. Many of the married Gosains officiate as priests and religious teachers. By the end of eighteenth century, the Gosains of this particular sect became a politically powerful group in northern India and also held and enjoyed Jagir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sannyasa
''Sannyasa'' (), sometimes spelled ''sanyasa'', is the fourth stage within the Hinduism, Hindu system of four life stages known as ''ashrama (stage), ashramas'', the first three being ''brahmacharya'' (celibate student), ''Gṛhastha, grihastha'' (householder) and ''Vānaprastha, vanaprastha'' (forest dweller, retired). ''Sannyasa'' is traditionally conceptualized for men or women in the last years of their life, but young ''brahmachari''s have the choice to skip the householder and retirement stages, renounce worldly and materialistic pursuits and dedicate their lives to spiritual pursuits. ''Sannyasa'', a form of asceticism marked by renunciation of material desires and prejudices, is characterized by a state of disinterest in and detachment from material life, with the purpose of spending one's life in peaceful, spiritual pursuits. An individual in Sanyasa is known as a ''sannyasi'' (male) or ''sannyasini'' (female) in Hinduism. Sannyasa shares similarities with the Sadhu a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Goswami
Goswami is an Indian surname and honorific title used by Brahmins and Hindu Asceticism, ascetics. It is also pronounced as, Gosains, Gosine, Gossain, Gosain, Gossai, and Gosavi. Notables Notable people with the surname or title Goswami include: *Six Goswamis of Vrindavana *Abhishek Goswami, Indian cricketer *Abir Goswami, Indian actor *Alpana Goswami, Indian actress *Anay Goswamy, cinematographer * Amar Goswami (1945–2012), Indian journalist and Hindi fiction writer * Anil Goswami, Union Home Secretary of India *Anjali Goswami, Honorary Professor of paleobiology at University College London *Arup Kumar Goswami, Indian judge, chief justice of Andhra Pradesh High Court * Arnab Goswami, Indian television journalist *Ashokpuri Goswami, Gujarati poet and writer *B. N. Goswamy, Indian art critic, art historian * Bhairavi Goswami, model * Bindiya Goswami, actress * Brindaban Goswami, Indian politician *Bhakti Prajnana Kesava Goswami, founder of the religious organization Sri Gaudiya ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (; ), born Vishvambhara Mishra () (18 February 1486 – 14 June 1534), was an Indian Hindus, Hindu saint from Bengal and the founder of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's mode of worshipping Krishna with bhajan-kirtan and dance had a profound effect on Vaishnavism in Bengal. He is considered the chief proponent of the Vedantic philosophy of Achintya Bheda Abheda. However, the concept of inconceivable difference in non-difference, known as achintya-bhedabheda, was developed later by Jiva Gosvami in his book Bhagavat Sandharbha. Mahaprabhu founded Gaudiya Vaishnavism. He expounded Bhakti yoga and popularised the chanting of the Hare Krishna (mantra), Hare Krishna Maha-mantra. He composed the ''Shikshashtakam'' (eight devotional prayers). Chaitanya is sometimes called Gauranga () or Gaura due to his molten gold–like complexion. His birthday is celebrated as Gaura-purnima. He is also called Nimai because he was born underneath a Neem tree. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Braj
Braj, also known as Vraj, Vraja, Brij or Brijbhumi, is a region in India on both sides of the Yamuna river with its centre at Mathura-Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh state encompassing the area which also includes Palwal, Ballabhgarh and Nuh in Haryana state, Deeg, Bharatpur, Karauli, and Dholpur in Rajasthan state and Morena District in Madhya Pradesh.Janet Cochrane, 2008Asian Tourism: Growth and Change page 249. Within Uttar Pradesh, it is very well demarcated culturally, the area stretches from the Mathura, Aligarh, Agra, Hathras and districts up to the Etah district. Braj region is associated with Radha and Krishna who according to scriptures were born in Barsana and Mathura respectively. It is the main centre of Krishna circuit of Hindu pilgrimage. It is located 150 km south of Delhi and 50 km northwest of Agra. Ecologically, the character of Braj has drastically changed in the last 200 years, with a heavy decline in the number of wild animals along with def ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matha
A ''matha'' (; , ), also written as ''math'', ''muth'', ''mutth'', ''mutt'', or ''mut'', is a Sanskrit word that means 'institute or college', and it also refers to a monastery in Hinduism.Matha Encyclopædia Britannica Online 2009 An alternative term for such a monastery is ''adheenam''. The earliest epigraphical evidence for ''mathas'' related to Hindu-temples comes from the 7th to 10th century CE. The most famous Advaita Vedanta ''mathas'' or ''peethams'', which came to be affiliated with the Advaita tradition in the 14th century, are Govardhanmaṭha Pīṭhaṃ at |
Vaishnavism
Vaishnavism () ), also called Vishnuism, is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, that considers Vishnu as the sole Para Brahman, supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, that is, ''Mahavishnu''. It is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. Its followers are called Vaishnavites or ''Vaishnava''s (), and it includes sub-sects like Krishnaism and Ramanandi Sampradaya, Ramaism, which consider Krishna and Rama as the supreme beings respectively. According to a 2020 estimate by The World Religion Database (WRD), hosted at Boston University’s Institute on Culture, Religion and World Affairs (CURA), Vaishnavism is the largest Hindu sect, constituting about 399 million Hindus. The ancient emergence of Vaishnavism is unclear, and broadly hypothesized as a History of Hinduism, fusion of various regional non-Vedic religions with worship of Vishnu. It is considered a merger of several popular non-Vedic theistic traditio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shaivism
Shaivism (, , ) is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Para Brahman, supreme being. It is the Hinduism#Demographics, second-largest Hindu sect after Vaishnavism, constituting about 385 million Hindus, found widely across South Asia (predominantly in South India, Southern India), Sri Lanka, and Nepal.Keay, p.xxvii. The followers of Shaivism are called Shaivas or Shaivites. According to Chakravarti, Shaivism developed as an amalgam of pre-Aryan religions and traditions, Vedic Rudra, and post-Vedic traditions, accommodating local traditions and Yoga, puja and bhakti. According to Bisschop, early shaivism is rooted in the worship of vedic deity Rudra. The earliest evidence for sectarian Rudra-Shiva worship appears with the Pasupata (early CE), possibly owing to the Origins of Hinduism, Hindu synthesis, when many local traditions were aligned with the Brahmanism, Vedic-Brahmanical fold. The Pāśupata movement rapidly expanded through ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Francis Buchanan-Hamilton
Francis Buchanan (15 February 1762 – 15 June 1829), later known as Francis Hamilton but often referred to as Francis Buchanan-Hamilton, was a Scottish surgeon, surveyor and botanist who made significant contributions as a geographer and zoologist while living in India. He did not assume the name of Hamilton until three years after his retirement from India. The standard botanical author abbreviation Buch.-Ham. is applied to plants and animals he described, though today the form "Hamilton, 1822" is more usually seen in ichthyology and is preferred by Fishbase. Early life Francis Buchanan was born at Bardowie, Callander, Perthshire where Elizabeth, his mother, lived on the estate of Branziet; his father Thomas, a physician, came in Stirling, Spittal and claimed the chiefdom of the name of Clan Buchanan, Buchanan and owned the Leny estate. Francis Buchanan matriculated in 1774 and received an MA in 1779. As he had three older brothers, he had to earn a living from a profession, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bairagi Brahmin (caste)
Bairagi Brahmin or Vaishnav Bairagi or Vaishnav Brahmin is a Hindu caste. They are Hindu priests. They are sedentary rasik (temple dwelling or temple priest) Brahmin members of the Vaishnava sampradayas, especially the Ramanandi Sampradaya. According to K.S. Singh, the community uses different surnames/ titles in different states and union territories of India; these are: Swami, Bairagi, Mahanta, Maharaj, Vaishnav, Bawa, Pandit, Purohit, Goswami, Sharma, Das, Brahmachari. They are Vaishnav, and wear the sacred thread. A majority of Bairagi Brahmin is found in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Assam, and Odisha. Vaishnavas are considered as part of the 'upper castes' of India. Vaishnav Sect and Vaishnav Brahmin Caste Vaishnav Sect Members of vaishnava sampradayas are called Bairagi or Vairagi. And these members are divided into three categories – renunciant (Virakt), warrior (Naga) and temple-dwelling (temple priest) ascetics. The most of renuncia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ramanandi Sampradaya
The Ramanandi (), also known as Ramavats (), is one of the largest sects of Vaishnavas. Out of 52 sub-branches of Vaishnavism, divided into four Vaishnava '' sampradayas'', 36 are held by the Ramanandi. The sect mainly emphasizes the worship of Rama, Sita, Hanuman, and the avatars of Vishnu. They consider Rama and Sita as the Supreme Absolute who are not different from each other. It is considered to have been founded by Ramananda, a 14th-century Vaishnava saint.Schomer and McLeod (1987), The Sants: Studies in a Devotional Tradition of India, Motilal Banarsidass, , pages 4-6Selva Raj and William Harman (2007), Dealing with Deities: The Ritual Vow in South Asia, State University of New York Press, , pages 165-166James G Lochtefeld (2002), The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: N-Z, Rosen Publishing, , pages 553-554 History The Ramanandi Sampradaya originates from Rama, who initiated Sita with his six-letter mantra. Sita later initiated her beloved disciple Hanuman wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Satra (Ekasarana Dharma)
''Satra'' are institutional centers associated with the ''Ekasarana'' tradition of Vaishnavism, largely found in the Indian state of Assam and neighboring regions. Numbering in the hundreds, these centers are generally independent of each other and under the control of individual ''adhikara'' (or ''satradhikar''), though they can be grouped into four different ''Sanghati'' (orders). These centers, in the minimum, maintain a prayer house ('' Namghar'', or '' Kirtan-ghar''), initiate lay people into the ''Ekasarana'' tradition and include them as disciples of the ''satra'' from whom taxes and other religious duties are extracted. The Vaishnavite satra culture started in the 16th century. They grew rapidly in the 17th century and patronage extended to them by first the Koch kingdom and later the Ahom kingdom was crucial in the spread of the Ekasarana religion. Many of the larger Satras house hundreds of celibate and non-celibate ''bhakat'' (monks), hold vast lands and are repos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sankardev
Srimanta Sankardev (, ; 1449–1568) was a 15th–16th century Assamese polymath; a saint-scholar, poet, playwright, dancer, actor, musician, artist social-religious reformer and a figure of importance in the cultural and religious history of the Bhakti movement in Assam. He is credited with building on past cultural relics and devising new forms of music ( Borgeet), theatrical performance ( Ankia Naat, Bhaona), dance ( Sattriya), literary language ( Brajavali). Besides, he has left a literary oeuvre of trans-created scriptures ( Bhagavat of Sankardev), poetry and theological works written in Sanskrit, Assamese and Brajavali. The Bhagavatic religious movement he started, Ekasarana Dharma and also called Neo-Vaishnavite movement, influenced two medieval kingdoms – Koch and the Ahom kingdom – and the assembly of devotees he initiated evolved over time into monastic centers called Sattras, which continue to be important socio-religious institutions in Assam and to a le ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
