The ontology and history of the movement of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has filled many volumes. There are biographies of him written by Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī, Vṛndāvana Dāsa Ṭhākura, and Locana Dāsa Ṭhākura. There are also biographical works by Śrī Kavi Karṇapūra, Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī, Narahari Sarakāra, Raghunandana Gosvāmī and many others. Throughout the history of his Sampradāya, further books on his life and teachings have been written and published in many languages.
Here we would like to point out one interesting feature: How Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu established “Unity in Diversity” in our Sampradāya. How, for example, he sent many Vaiṣṇavas to establish branches of his family in different locations. These Vaiṣṇavas, in their various moods, brought a range of followers to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Among them are: Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu, Jāhnavā Devī, Śrī Advaita Prabhu, Svarūpa Dāmodara, Rāya Rāmānanda, as well as Gadādhara Paṇḍita in Navadvīpa; Vakreśvar Paṇḍita and Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī in South India and Vṛndāvana; the Six Gosvāmīs in Vṛndāvana; Śyāmānanda Paṇḍita in Orissa; Narottama Dāsa Ṭhākura in Maṇipūra and many other places; Śrīnivāsa Ācārya in Bihar and other areas. All these associates of the Lord had some relationship with the Viśva Vaiṣṇava Rāja Sabhā of Śrīla Sanātana, Rūpa and Jīva Gosvāmīs, and today we worship all of them, even if we generally do not maintain much connection with their respective preceptorial lines.
Tolerance and respect for all Vaiṣṇavas and their different moods was the nature of Śrī Caitanya’s teachings. While most of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s associates had the mood of the followers of Śrīmatī Rādhikā, some had the mood of sakhya-bhāva and others had the bhāva or love for Śrī Rāma. Due to the development of prākṛta-sahajiyism of many kinds, it later became difficult to distinguish the quality of each group. The scriptures, however, give us many guidelines to understand the adhikāra and the integrity of a Vaiṣṇava. As a matter of fact, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura was a great savior of the dignity of the Vaiṣṇava contributions to the world. Today Vaiṣṇavism is a major force of religious enthusiasm, spread all over the world in the shape of many missions and individual Vaiṣṇava preachers who all adhere to the strict principles of Sanātana Dharma. As devotees of a personal Supreme God, the Vaiṣṇavas give a non-sectarian and loving contribution to the world of theism. The continuation of this section has been adopted from Śrī Prabandhāvalī, Gauḍīya Vedānta Publications.
“Śrīla Prabhupāda Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura said, ‘We accept in our line those who are fully perfected souls, who know the correct siddhānta, and who are rasika, wherever they are.’ In this way all of the various lines were represented in our paramparā in one place or another. There are so many lines of disciplic succession, but Śrīla Prabhupāda Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura said that we will recognize the guru-paramparā, not the disciplic succession.
The guru-paramparā is composed solely of those who were bhāgavat-gurus, even if they made no disciples and therefore there is no direct disciplic line coming from them. Some of them may not have initiated any disciples at all, but still they are jagat-gurus. In this way, with all pervading vision he collected all the mahājanas and made what is known as the bhāgavat-paramparā or the guru-paramparā.
After the departure of Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, so many familial disciplic lines arose, but Śrīla Prabhupāda Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura ignored them and gave recognition to Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa, and then a Jagannātha dāsa Bābājī. He accepted only those in whom he detected the real spiritual siddhānta. Simply receiving the mantra in one’s ear and wearing a dhoti or other cloth given by the guru does not qualify one as the guru’s successor. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura did not receive any mantra from Jagannātha dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja, so how was he his disciple? He was a disciple of his conception: his feelings towards Kṛṣṇa, his conception of rasa and his conception of tattva. This is a disciple. Most people can’t understand this, but being able to see with such insight, Śrīla Prabhupāda Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura declared this to be our line.
Śrīla Gaurakiśora dāsa Bābāji Mahārāja was also not an initiated disciple of Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, but he embraced all of Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura’s sentiments and conceptions, and due to this his name appears next in the succession. At this point, some of the babajis said, Whose disciple is Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī? Who gave him sannyās? Why doesn’t he wear the same cloth as Sanātana Gosvāmī did? In our sampradāya, after Nityānanda Prabhu and Svarūpa Dāmodara, everyone wore white cloth, but we see that he wears saffron cloth and accepted a daṇḍa. How can he do this?” But what relation does wearing either orange or white cloth have with bhakti? Is there any relation?
kibā vipra, kibā nyāsī, śūdra kene naya
yei kṛṣṇa-tattva-vettā, sei ‘guru’ haya
“Whether one is a brāhmaṇa, a sannyāsī or a śūdra — regardless of what he is — he can become a spiritual master if he knows the science of Kṛṣṇa.” (CC Madhya 8.128), so what to speak of being a Vaiṣṇava? Śrīla Prabhupāda Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura was thinking, We are not qualified to accept the dress which was worn by such great personalities as Rūpa, Sanātana, Jīva, and Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja. We will remain in the ordinary dress of sannyāsīs, and will not accept the dress of paramahaṁsa-bābājis. Remaining within the varṇāśrama system as brahmacārīs and sannyāsīs we will keep the ideal of that paramahaṁsa dress above our heads. Otherwise, if we accept that dress and commit sinful activities, it will be aparadha at the feet of Rūpa and Sanātana.”
Some bābājis wear paramahaṁsa dress and give the elevated gopī-mantra to anyone and everyone who may come, yet Śrīla Prabhupāda Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura was only training brahmacārīs and giving them instructions on how to control the senses, so which is correct? First Śrīla Prabhupāda Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura wanted us to understand what is siddhānta: jīva-tattva, māyā-tattva, bhāgavat-tattva, how to avoid māyā in the forms of kanaka, kāminī, and pratiṣṭhā – these are the beginning instructions.
Gopī-bhāva is very elevated; first we must understand that I am Kṛṣṇa-dāsa and begin taking Harināma. But some bābājis immediately give their conception of gopī-bhāva to whoever approaches them; then they all chant I am a gopī, I am a gopī,” and in this way create a disturbance in society.
Our Sampradāya
The Sampradāya, as given to us by our spiritual masters, goes back to Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Thus a great amount of spiritual masters throughout history have represented the Supreme Lord in this world. In this way they have shaped the evolution of the Vaiṣṇava school. Śrīla Madhvācārya gave special glory to the school known as Brahmā Sampradāya, and the appearance of Śrīla Mādhavendra Purī further enhanced the teachings. Then the Brahmā-Madhva Sampradāya was blessed without limit by the appearance of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He accepted the Sampradāya and was initiated by the disciple of Śrīla Mādhavendra Purī, Śrīla Īśvara Purī. Through him the transcendental school is now known as the Brahmā-Madhva Gauḍīya Sampradāya.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the Supreme Lord Himself. He appeared to save the fallen souls in the age of Kali with his Saṅkīrtana Movement, the congregational chanting of the Holy Names of the Lord. Another great gift of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the rediscovery of Śrī Vṛndāvana Dhāma. He predicted that the Gauḍīya Sampradāya would reach every corner of the world. His principal disciples, the Six Gosvāmīs of Vṛndāvana, blessed us with a flood of writings to give detailed guidance to the Vaiṣṇavas of the present age. Every spiritual master in this line, as well as their activities, deserve to be studied. Still, the detailed history of our Sampradāya remains limited to the availability of information. In order to understand the formation of the different branches of our Sampradāya we have given many details here. Due to the world wide preaching of Śrīla A. C. Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja, there is now great demand for Vaiṣṇava association. All this helps to form different branches of the Sampradāya which embrace the world in a tide of Vaiṣṇava mission networks.
It is noteworthy that the importance of the individual spiritual masters is the lifeline of the spreading of the Sampradāya, never to overshadow the supreme importance of the Supreme Lord or the Gauḍīya Vedānta Siddhānta. Thus, over the years many masters have come and gone, but Śrī Kṛṣṇa, his beloved Śrīmatī Rādhārānī, and their combined incarnation of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, are deities who are universally worshipped by many Vaiṣṇavas.
Taking into consideration the history of the Sampradāya, we see how the individual spiritual masters are not given the same importance as the different disciples must give to their different individual gurus. Overall importance is given to their teachings and contributions to the world. Their explanation of the Vedānta, their literary contribution, the deities they installed, the places of pilgrimage they established, their contribution to the expansion of the Caitanya tree, and their relationships with other Vaiṣṇavas are all considered when estimating the importance of someone’s contributions to the Vaiṣṇavas school of thought.
Therefore, it is also said that the ācāryas are self-effulgent. They shine in the light of their service to all. Even those ācāryas who do not stand out in history, carry the same importance for their disciples as the famous ācāryas do. Except in the case of a person who is an impostor and does not care for the real Vaiṣṇava life, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu confirmed in the Caitanya Caritamṛta:
yāre dekha, tāre kaha ‘kṛṣṇa’-upadeśa
āmāra ājñāya guru hañā tāra’ ei deśa
“Instruct everyone to follow the orders of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa as they are given in the Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. In this way become a spiritual master and try to liberate everyone in this land.” [CC Madhya 7.128]
kabhu nā bādhibe tomāra viṣaya-taraṅga
punarapi ei ṭhāñi pābe mora saṅga”
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu further advised the brāhmaṇa Kūrma, “If you follow this instruction, your materialistic life at home will not obstruct your spiritual advancement. Indeed, if you follow these regulative principles, we will again meet here, or, rather, you will never lose My company.” [CC Madhya 7.129]
Narottam’s Kirtan: Narottama Dāsa a Ṭhākura employed the most sophisticated rhythms (tāla), melodic formats (rāga), gestures of emotional expression (abhinaya), and developed dance techniques (nṛtya) in his kīrtana at Kheturī. This is elaborately described in Bhakti-ratnākara. Śrī Gaurāṅga Dāsa, Śrī Gokula Dāsa, and Śrī Vallabha Dāsa were at his side with a large number of musicians led by Devī Dāsa, an expert mṛdaṅga player. After the musicians had reached a crescendo, Narottama appeared on the stage and began to sing. Everyone followed along by playing instruments, singing and dancing, and all wept when they heard the recondite voice of Narottama Ṭhākura, leading them through the chanting of the beautiful mantras. It is described that Narottama and the countless waves of devotees looked like the full moon and the numberless stars in the sky.
Also significant is the fact that Narottama was inaugurating what came to be known as Padāvalī kīrtan, a dramatic singing technique that begins with Gaura-candrikā, or glorification of Mahāprabhu, and then gradually evolves to Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa kīrtan in a very beautiful way, often connected through thematic references and melodic consistency. It is said that this method was originally inspired, at least in seed-like form, by the melodious voice of Svarūpa Dāmodara, the Lord’s intimate associate, but was not systematized at that time. It was developed further by the three Ghoṣa brothers — Mādhava, one of the greatest mṛdaṅga-players of all time, Govinda, known as a preeminent pūjārī, and Vāsudeva, who was a fabulous singer and wrote many Gaura-candrikās — but now it was brought to new heights by Narottama at the Kheturī festival.