
The Gaudiya Math (, ; ) is a
Gaudiya Vaishnava ''
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. '' (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
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati (; ; ; 6 February 1874 – 1 January 1937), born Bimala Prasad Datt (, ), was an Indian Gaudīya Vaisnava Hindu guru (spiritual master), ācārya (philosophy instructor), and revivalist in early twentieth-century Ind ...
took ''
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, grihast ...
'', 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
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 ...
, the philosophy of the medieval
Vaisnava saint
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 bha ...
, through preaching and
publishing
Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...
.
From the beginning of Chaitanya's
bhakti movement
The Bhakti movement was a significant religious movement in medieval Hinduism that sought to bring religious reforms to all strata of society by adopting the method of Bhakti, devotion to achieve salvation. Originating in Tamilakam during 6t ...
in Bengal, devotees, including
Haridasa Thakur and others, whether
Muslim
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
or
Hindu
Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
by birth, have been participants. This openness and disregard for the traditional caste received a boost from the "broad-minded vision" of
Bhaktivinoda Thakura, a nineteenth-century magistrate and prolific writer on ''bhakti'' topics, and was institutionalised by his son and successor Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura in the twentieth-century Gaudiya Math.
Branches

The Gaudiya Math had established 64 branches.
Most were in India, but preaching centres were maintained for a time in
British Burma
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and cultur ...
,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
and
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
.
The first European preaching center was established in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
in 1933 (London Glouster House, Cornwall Garden, W7 South Kensington) under the name Gaudiya Mission Society of London'. Lord Zetland, the English Secretary of State, was the president of this society.
The second European preaching center was opened by
Swami B.H. Bon Maharaj in
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
(W30 Eisenacherstr. 29).
History
Soon after the Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati's death (1 January 1937), a dispute began and the original Gaudiya Math mission divided by the court in 1948 into two administrative bodies which continued preaching on their own, up to the present day. In a settlement they divided the 64 Gaudiya Math centers into two groups. Sri Chaitanya Math Branch were headed by Srila Bhakti Vilasa Tirtha Maharaj.
Gaudiya Mission were headed by Ananta Vasudev Prabhu, who became known as Srila Bhakti Prasad Puri Maharaj after accepting
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, grihast ...
for short duration.
[ p. 89.]
Many of the disciples of
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati (; ; ; 6 February 1874 – 1 January 1937), born Bimala Prasad Datt (, ), was an Indian Gaudīya Vaisnava Hindu guru (spiritual master), ācārya (philosophy instructor), and revivalist in early twentieth-century Ind ...
did not agree with the spirit of these newly created two fractions, or were simply inspired to expand the mission of their guru on their own enthusiasm, started their own missions. Many of these autonomous missions are still known as Gaudiya Math. Some of the other notable new missions are:
*
Sri Gaudiya Vedanta Samiti established by
Bhakti Prajnan Keshava Maharaj and
Bhakti Rakshak Sridhar Goswami Maharaj (1940)
*
Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math established by
Bhakti Rakshak Sridhar Maharaj (1941)
* established by Srila Bhakti Dayita Madhav Goswami Maharaj (1953)
*
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 ...
established by
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (1966)
* established by Srila Bhakti Vaibhava Puri Goswami Maharaj (1966)
*
Science of Identity Foundation
The Science of Identity Foundation (SIF) is a new religious movement started in the 1970s. It was founded by Chris Butler after he broke from the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. It is based in the US state of Hawaii.
Its theolo ...
established by Siddhaswarupananda Paramahamsa (1977)
*
Sri Sri Radha Govindaji Trust established by Srila
Bhakti Hridaya Bon (1979)
* Sri Caitanya Sangha, a.k.a. Gaudiya Vaishnavite Society, established by Tripurari Swami (1985)
* established by Srila Bhakti Pramode Puri Goswami Maharaj (1989)
Some are very large missions, and some are smaller branches started by individual Vaishnavas. What they hold in common is that they are autonomous branches of the tree of the Gaudiya Math. Almost all of them have published books and periodicals and opened one or more temples.
There is little cooperation among these missions. Nevertheless, in 1994 many of them formed united the
World Vaisnava Association — Visva Vaisnava Raj Sabha (WVA–VVRS).
References and notes
{{Authority control
Gaudiya Vaishnavism
Hindu organizations
Hindu religious orders
Hindu monasteries in India
Hindu new religious movements
Hindu organisations based in India
Hinduism in Kolkata
Nadia district
Organisations based in Kolkata
Religious organizations established in 1920
1920 establishments in British India