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Raghunatha Dasa Goswami
‘’’Raghunāthadāsa Gosvāmī’’’ was a disciple of Śrī Yadunandan Ācārya (see Vilāpa Kusumānjali, verse 4, Caitanya-Caritāmṛta Ādi chapter 12 and Antya 6) one of the apostle of the Vaishnava saint, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the principal six of whom are renowned as the Six Goswamis of Vrindavan. Together the Six Goswamis codified the philosophy and records which became the theological basis of the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition. Among them, Raghunāthadāsa was renowned for his qualities of simplicity and renunciation. Background Born as the son of a wealthy Kayastha landlord Govardhana Dāsa from Saptagram in Hooghly District of present-day West Bengal, Raghunātha Dāsa is said to have shown a particular disinterest in everyday pleasures and an interest in more religious pursuits from a relatively young age. This was much to the displeasure of his parents, who eventually took to hiring guards in order to prevent Raghunātha Dāsa from leaving the family h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified by adherence to the concept of ''dharma'', a Ṛta, cosmic order maintained by its followers through rituals and righteous living, as expounded in the Vedas. The word ''Hindu'' is an exonym, and while Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, it has also been described by the modern term ''Sanātana Dharma'' () emphasizing its eternal nature. ''Vaidika Dharma'' () and ''Arya dharma'' are historical endonyms for Hinduism. Hinduism entails diverse systems of thought, marked by a range of shared Glossary of Hinduism terms, concepts that discuss God in Hinduism, theology, Hindu mythology, mythology, among other topics in Hindu texts, textual sources. Hindu texts have been classified into Śruti () and Smṛti (). The major Hin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jagannath Temple (Puri)
The Jagannath Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Jagannath, a form of Vishnu in Hinduism. It is located in Puri in the state of Odisha, situated on the eastern coast of India. As per temple records, King Indradyumna of Avanti built the main temple of Jagannath at Puri. The present temple was rebuilt from the eleventh century onwards, on the site of the pre-existing temples in the compound, but not the main Jagannath temple, and begun by Anantavarman Chodaganga, the first king of the Eastern Ganga dynasty. Many of the temple rituals are based on Oddiyana Tantras which are the refined versions of Mahayana Tantras as well as Shabari Tantras which are evolved from Tantric Buddhism and tribal beliefs respectively. The local legends link the idols with aboriginal tribes and the daitapatis (servitors) claim to be descendants of the aboriginals. The temple is one of the 108 '' Abhimana Kshethram'' of the Vaishnavite tradition. The temple is famous for its annual Ratha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bengali Hindus
Bengali Hindus () are adherents of Hinduism who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. They make up the majority in the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Assam's Barak Valley region and make up the largest minority in Bangladesh. Comprising about one-third of the global Bengali population, they are the largest ethnic group among Hindus. Bengali Hindus speak Bengali, which belongs to the Indo-Aryan language family and adhere to Shaktism (majority, the Kalikula tradition) or Vaishnavism (minority, Gaudiya Vaishnavism and Vaishnava-Sahajiya) of their native religion Hinduism with some regional deities. There are significant numbers of Bengali-speaking Hindus in different Indian states. Around the 8th century, the Bengali language branched off from Magadhi Prakrit, a derivative of Sanskrit that was prevalent in the eastern region of the Indian Subcontinent at that time. During the Sena period (11th – 12t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Krishnology
Vaishnavism () ), also called Vishnuism, is one of the major Hindu traditions, that considers Vishnu as the sole 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 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 fusion of various regional non-Vedic religions with worship of Vishnu. It is considered a merger of several popular non-Vedic theistic traditions, particularly the Bhagavata cults of Vāsudeva-Krishna and '' Gopala-Kri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
International Society For Krishna Consciousness
The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), commonly known as the Hare Krishna movement, is a religious organization that follows the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism. It was founded on 13 July 1966 in New York City by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. The organization's spiritual and administrative headquarters is located in Mayapur, West Bengal, India, and it claims a global membership of around one million people. ISKCON teaches a form of panentheistic Hinduism rooted in the Bhagavad Gita, the ''Bhagavata Purana'', and other scriptures, interpreted through the commentaries of its founder. Although commonly regarded as monotheistic by the general public, ISKCON theology emphasizes that the Supreme Being, Krishna, manifests in multiple forms while remaining the singular, ultimate reality. The movement is described as the largest and most influential branch of the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition, which originated in India in the early 16th century an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gaudiya Math
The Gaudiya Math (, ; ) is a Gaudiya Vaishnava ''matha'' (monastic organisation) formed on 6 September 1920,Devamayī dāsi, "A Divine Life: Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Saraswatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda" in ''Prabhupada Saraswati Thakur: The Life & Precepts of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Saraswatī,'' Mandala Publishing, Eugene, Oregon: 1997, pp. 24, 26, 49. . p. 130. about 30 months after Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati took ''sannyasa'', the renounced order of life. On 7 March 1918, the same day he took ''sannyasa,'' he established the Sri Chaitanya Math in Mayapura in West Bengal, later recognised as the parent body of all the Gaudiya Math branches. Its purpose was to spread Gaudiya Vaishnavism, the philosophy of the medieval Vaisnava saint Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, through preaching and publishing. From the beginning of Chaitanya's bhakti movement in Bengal, devotees, including Haridasa Thakur and others, whether Muslim or Hindu by birth, have been participants. This openness and dis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bhakti Yoga
Bhakti yoga (), also called Bhakti marga (, literally the path of '' bhakti''), is a spiritual path or spiritual practice within Hinduism focused on loving devotion towards any personal deity.Karen Pechelis (2014), The Embodiment of Bhakti, Oxford University Press, , pages 19-24 It is one of the three classical paths in Hinduism which leads to '' moksha'', the other paths being jnana yoga and karma yoga. The tradition has ancient roots. Bhakti is mentioned in the '' Shvetashvatara Upanishad'' where it simply means participation, devotion and love for any endeavor. Bhakti yoga as one of three spiritual paths for salvation is discussed in depth by the ''Bhagavad Gita''. The personal god varies with the devotee.Bhakti Encyclopedia Britannica (2009)Karen Pechelis (2011), Bhakti Traditions, in The Conti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Radha Kund
Radha Kund (, ) is a town and ''nagar panchayat'' in Mathura district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is also one of the pilgrimage sites dedicated to Hindu goddess Radha. Legend Following the '' Upadesamrta'' (''Nectar of Instruction'') by early 16th-century saint Rupa Goswami of Vrindavan, a close associate of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, many Vaishnavas consider Radha Kund to be the supreme of all holy places. According to popular legend, when Lord Krishna slew a mighty asura (demon) in the form of a bull, his consort Radha asked Krishna to wash off his sins by taking dips in various holy rivers. Krishna laughed it off and struck the ground with his foot whereupon all the river goddesses emerged in front of them and filled the ground with their water. Krishna bathed in this ''kund'' ( temple tank) to please Radha. Later, this water reservoir is called ''Shyam kund.'' Opposite to Shyam Kunda, Radha and her friends also dug out the ground, which was filled with the holy w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sacred Lake
Sacred waters are sacred natural sites characterized by tangible topographical land formations such as rivers, lakes, springs, reservoirs, and oceans, as opposed to holy water which is water elevated with the sacramental blessing of a cleric. These organic bodies of water have attained religious significance not from the modern alteration or blessing, but were sanctified through mythological or historical figures. Sacred waters have been exploited for cleansing, healing, initiations, and death rites. Ubiquitous and perpetual fixations with water occur across religious traditions. It tends to be a central element in the creations accounts of almost every culture with mythological, cosmological, and theological myths. In this way, many groups characterize water as "living water", or the "water of life". This means that it gives life and is the fundamental element from which life arises. Each religious or cultural group that feature waters as sacred substances tends to favor certai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hare Krishna (mantra)
The Hare Krishna mantra, also referred to reverentially as the (), is a 16-word Vaishnava mantra mentioned in the Kali-Saṇṭāraṇa Upaniṣad. In the 15th century, it rose to importance in the Bhakti movement following the teachings of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. This mantra is composed of three Sanskrit names – "Krishna", "Rama", and "Hare". Since the 1960s, the mantra has been widely known outside India through A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and his movement, International Society for Krishna Consciousness (commonly known as the Hare Krishnas or the Hare Krishna movement). Mantra The Hare Krishna mantra is composed of three Sanskrit names: ''Hare'', ''Krishna'', and ''Rama''. It is a poetic stanza in meter (a quatrain of four lines () of eight syllables with certain syllable lengths for some of the syllables). The mantra as rendered in the oldest extant written source, the Kali-Saṇṭāraṇa Upaniṣad, is as follows: When followers of Chaitanya Mahapr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Krishnadasa Kaviraja
Krishnadasa (born 1496, died 1588), known by the honorific '' Kaviraja'' (; ), was the author of the ''Chaitanya Charitamrita'', a biography on the life of the mystic and saint Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1533), who is considered by the Gaudiya Vaishnava school of Hinduism to be an incarnation of Radha and Krishna combined. Biography There is scant information about the life of Krishnadasa Kaviraja. Krishnadasa was born in 1496 CE in a Bengali Baidya family in the village of Jhamatpur, within the district of Bardhaman, Bengal (modern West Bengal). His father was called Bhagiratha, and his mother was named Sunanda. He also had a younger brother. Both his parents died when he was young and he and his brother were raised by relatives. He died on October 15, 1588. His samadhi shrine exists within the Radha Damodar Temple, Vrindavan premises. Instructions Krishnadasa relates in his ''Chaitanya Charitamrita'' that once his brother argued with the prominent Vaishnava devotee Mi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chaitanya Charitamrta
The ''Chaitanya Charitamrita'' (; ), composed by Krishnadasa Kaviraja in 1557, is written in Bengali with a great number of Sanskrit verses in its devotional, poetic construction, including '' Shikshashtakam''. It is one of the primary biographies detailing the life and teachings of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the founder of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. The stories of Chaitanya's life are mixed with philosophical conversations detailing the process of Bhakti yoga, with special attention given to congregational chanting of the names of Krishna. Contents The Chaitanya Caritamrta is divided into three sections: Adi-lila (''Early pastimes''), Madhya-lila (''Middle pastimes'') and Antya-lila (''Final pastimes''). Each section refers to a particular phase in Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's life: Adi-lila The Adi-lila explains Chaitanya's unique theological identity (Krishna in the mood of Radharani—a combined avatar), his lineage, his closest childhood companions and their lineage, and his devotiona ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
