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Caitanya Mahāprabhu
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (; ), born Vishvambhara Mishra () (18 February 1486 – 14 June 1534), was an Indian 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 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. Life The religious hagiogr ... [...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] |
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] |
Neem
''Azadirachta indica'', commonly known as neem, margosa, nimtree or Indian lilac, is a tree in the mahogany family Meliaceae. It is one of the two species in the genus '' Azadirachta''. It is native to the Indian subcontinent and to parts of Southeast Asia, but is naturalized and grown around the world in tropical and subtropical areas. Its fruits and seeds are the source of neem oil. ''Nim'' is a Hindustani noun derived from Sanskrit ''nimba'' (). Description Margosa is a fast-growing tree that can reach a height of , and rarely . It is evergreen, shedding many of its leaves during the dry winter months. The branches are wide and spreading. The fairly dense crown is roundish and may reach a diameter of . The opposite, pinnate leaves are long, with 20 to 30 medium to dark green leaflets about long. The terminal leaflet often is missing. The petioles are short. White and fragrant flowers are arranged in more-or-less drooping axillary panicles which are up to long. The i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gaura-purnima
Gaura Purnima is a Vaishnava festival that celebrates the birth of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1534), who founded Gaudiya Vaishnavism. It occurs on the purnima (full moon day) in the Hindu month Phalguna, usually falling in March or April. Gaura Purnima means "Golden Full Moon", a reference to Chaitanya. His followers spend this festival fasting and chanting congregationally, then at moonrise a feast is enjoyed by all. It will be celebrated on March 13 and 14, 2025. This festival is celebrated by Gaudiya Vaishnavas as part of Nabadwip-mandala Parikrama. See also *Chaitanya Mahaprabhu *ISKCON *Gaudiya Vaishnavism Gaudiya Vaishnavism (), also known as Chaitanya Vaishnavism, is a Vaishnavism, Vaishnava Hindu denominations, Hindu religious movement inspired by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1534) in India. "Gaudiya" refers to the Gaura or Gauḍa region o ... * Nabadwip * Festivals of West Bengal References External linksGaura purnima www.mayapur.com [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gauranga
Gauranga is another name for Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (or Gauranga Mahaprabhu), the 16th century founder of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. The term ''Gauranga Mahaprabhu'' references Chaitanya possessing the golden complexion of the goddess Radha as an avatar of Krishna. Nomenclature * 'Gauranga' (Bengali language, Bengali ; Sanskrit गौराङ्ग; IAST: Gaurāṅga) means 'having a white, yellowish, or golden complexion'. The term is a bahuvrihi compound from: **'Gaura' (Sanskrit गौर) which means 'fair', 'gold', 'yellow', and 'saffron' (in complexion) ** 'Anga' (or 'aGga', Sanskrit अङ्ग) which means 'limb', 'constituent', and 'component part' (of Krishna) Gaudiya Vaishnavism The term 'Gauranga' is relevant in Gaudiya Vaishnavism due to scriptural verses such as the following found in the ''Bhagavata Purana'': 'Krsna' (or 'Krishna', Sanskrit कृष्ण) means 'black'; 'Akṛṣṇam' ('a-krsna-m') means 'not black' or 'golden'. 'Gauranga' refers to the gol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Krishna
Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is widely revered among Hindu divinities. Krishna's birthday is celebrated every year by Hindus on Krishna Janmashtami according to the lunisolar calendar, lunisolar Hindu calendar, which falls in late August or early September of the Gregorian calendar. The anecdotes and narratives of Krishna's life are generally titled as ''Krishna Līlā''. He is a central figure in the ''Mahabharata'', the ''Bhagavata Purana'', the ''Brahma Vaivarta Purana,'' and the ''Bhagavad Gita'', and is mentioned in many Hindu philosophy, Hindu philosophical, Hindu theology, theological, and Hindu mythology, mythological texts. They portray him in various perspectives: as a god-child, a prankster, a model lover, a divine hero, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Radha
Radha (, ), also called Radhika, is a Hindu goddess and the chief consort of the god Krishna. She is the goddess of love, tenderness, compassion, and devotion. In scriptures, Radha is mentioned as the avatar of Lakshmi and also as the Prakṛti, Mūlaprakriti, the Supreme goddess, who is the feminine counterpart and internal potency (''hladini shakti'') of Krishna. Radha accompanies Krishna in all his incarnations. Radha's birthday is celebrated every year on the occasion of Radhashtami. In relation with Krishna, Radha has dual representation—the lover consort as well as his married consort. Traditions like Nimbarka Sampradaya worship Radha as the eternal consort and wedded wife of Krishna. In contrast, traditions like Gaudiya Vaishnavism revere her as Krishna's lover and the divine consort. In Radha Vallabha Sampradaya and Haridasi Sampradaya, only Radha is worshipped as the Brahman, Supreme being. Elsewhere, she is venerated with Krishna as his principal consort in Nim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yuga Dharma
''Yugadharma'' () is the ''dharma'' of an epoch or age in Hindu philosophy. The concept of ''yugadharma'' is prescribed to be a reflection of '' Sanatana Dharma'', the eternal ''dharma'' that transcends the passage of time. Hindu texts are categorised into ''Shruti'' (such as the ''Vedas'') regarded as timeless in character, and '' Smriti'' (such as the ''Manusmriti''), secondary texts that are less authoritative and applicable only for a given period. ''Sanatana Dharma'' is based on the Shruti texts, while ''yugadharma'' is based on the ''Smriti'' texts. Literature The ''Bhagavata Purana'' states that whatever merit was accrued from the meditation of Vishnu in the ''Satya Yuga'', performing sacrifices in the ''Treta Yuga'', worship in the temple in the ''Dvapara Yuga'', would be achieved by chanting the name of Krishna in the present age of the ''Kali Yuga''. The ''Vayu Purana'' states that whenever ''yugadharma'' is not adhered to in a given age, Vishnu incarnates on earth ... [...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] |
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] |
Bhajan
Bhajan is an Indian term for any devotional song with a religious theme or spiritual ideas, specifically among Dharmic religions, in any language. The term bhajanam (Sanskrit: भजनम्) means ''reverence'' and originates from the root word ''bhaj'' (Sanskrit: भज्), which means ''to revere'', as in 'Bhaja Govindam' (''Revere Govinda'')''. ''The term bhajana also means ''sharing''. The term bhajan is also commonly used to refer to a group event, with one or more lead singers, accompanied with music, and sometimes dancing. Normally, bhajans are accompanied by percussion instruments such as ''tabla'', dholak or a tambourine. Handheld small cymbals (''kartals'') are also commonly used to maintain the beat. A bhajan may be sung in a temple, in a home, under a tree in the open, near a river bank or a place of historic significance.Anna King, John Brockington, ''The Intimate Other: Love Divine in Indic Religions'', Orient Longman 2005, p 179. A group of bhajan performers m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bengal
Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Bengal proper is divided between the modern-day sovereign nation of Bangladesh and the States and union territories of India, Indian states of West Bengal, and Karimganj district of Assam. The ancient Vanga Kingdom is widely regarded as the namesake of the Bengal region. The Bengali calendar dates back to the reign of Shashanka in the 7th century CE. The Pala Empire was founded in Bengal during the 8th century. The Sena dynasty and Deva dynasty ruled between the 11th and 13th centuries. By the 14th century, Bengal was absorbed by Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent. An independent Bengal Sultanate was formed and became the eastern frontier of the Islamic world. During this period, Bengal's rule and influence spread to Assam, Arakan, Tri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
