Q&A: Traditional Gaudiya Vaishnavism: What does the term mean, why is it used?

Q: I've seen the concept "traditional Gaudiya Vaishnavism" frequently used. What does it encompass, and why has such a term been introduced?

A: The concept "traditional Gaudiya Vaishnavism" refers to established traditions of Gaudiya Vaishnavism existing since the times of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, his companions and their direct followers. The word "tradition" indicates the handing down of doctrinal interpretations and methods of devotional practice over the generations; it speaks of the presence of a parampara, a disciplic succession, an established and well preserved heritage.

The term has been coined to distinguish the tradition we regard as orthodox from the numerous contemporary and historical movements founded by charismatic leaders, who have issued reforms, introduced novel approaches and founded movements clearly distinct from the existing heritage of the tradition.

The word "traditional" is not necessarily applicable in the sense of embracing traditional social values and so forth; of course, whenever faced with, they are treated with appropriate respect. The word emphasizes tradition in the sense of a spiritual heritage, as a heritage of teachings on the path of devotion.

Traditional Gaudiya lineages are traced back to the companions of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu via a succession of mantra diksha initiations, otherwise commonly known as the guru-pranali. It is expected that every initiated Gaudiya Vaishnava is able to present their diksha-pranali when called for.

The origins of several prominent traditions, or parivAras (lit. "family") as they are often called, are listed below.

• Sri Nityananda Prabhu, Sri Jahnava Thakurani. Virabhadra Goswami, son of Nityananda and Vasudha, and the vast Nityananda-vamsha (family dynasty). Ramachandra Goswami, the adopted son of Nityananda.
• Sri Advaita Prabhu, Sri Sita Thakurani. Their son Krishna Mishra Goswami and the Advaita-vamsha dynasty.
• Sri Gadadhara Pandit. Numerous branches including that of Achyutananda, son of Advaita. Many early mahatmas of Vrindavan were disciples of Pandit Gosai.
• Sri Gopal Bhatta Goswami and Sri Srinivas Acharya. The Gosains of Radha-ramana are among the prominent followers of Gopala Bhatta. Srinivasa's influence spread across the entire eastern India.
• Sri Lokanath Goswami and Sri Narottama Das Thakur Mahashaya. Thakur Mahashaya preached far and wide across Gauda, the waves of his influence reached as far as Manipur and Assam.
• Sri Shyamananda Pandit and Sri Rasikananda Prabhu; Shyamananda was particularly influential in Orissa.
• Sri Vakreshvar Pandit and Sri Gopal Guru Goswami. Particularly influential in Orissa.

Aside the above, there are countless other lineages descending from the companions of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Sri Nityananda Prabhu and others, often of geographically limited influence. Many such lineages have remained relatively isolated for centuries until the appearance of a prominent preacher, with whose efforts the lineage has reached across the continent.

Many of the abovementioned lineages feature so-called vaMza-paramparAs, or family dynasties, in which members of a particular branch of the family have acted in the capacity of gurus over the centuries in their respective locales. These vaMzas formed a great deal of the backbone of the early tradition in Bengal. A vaMza is not, however, a prerequisite for a paramparA as such.

There are two common usages of the word parivAra. Sometimes it is used in referring to a spiritual family traced through diksha-connections (and in the sense of "followers"), and at other times it is used as an equivalent of vaMza, or a family dynasty. The word zAkhA, a branch, is also commonly used in referring to a particular tradition. The description of the early Gaudiya tradition in the model of branches of the Chaitanya-tree is described in Chaitanya Caritamrita (Adi, ch. 10-12).

Sri Ananta Das Babaji Maharaj, when asked, would describe his lineage as "Nityananda-sakha, Dhananjaya Pandit parivar". (Dhananjaya Pandit was one of the dvAdaza-gopAlas, a disciple of Jahnava Thakurani.) Some others are in the habit of saying "Nityananda parivar" or "Jahnava parivar", though the convention appears to favor the use of "Nityananda parivar" only for lineages with a direct connection with the Nityananda-vamsha.

Most traditional Gaudiya lineages feature a distinct tilaka-svarUpa, of which they are recognized. To give a few examples, the followers of Nityananda wear a sharp, triangular neem-leaf in their tilak, the followers of Advaita a heart-shaped large banyan-leaf, and the followers of Narottama a tulasi-leaf with a small stem. The followers of Gadadhar wear a leafless tilak, and the followers of Shyamananda the imprint of Radha's anklebell with a dot in the middle.

The Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition, lacking a central authority since its very inception on account of its dynamic spread, has come to encompass a large diversity of practices and insights within the foundational framework of the Goswamis' teachings. For the most part, the distinct traditions are coming along rather well despite the plural nature of approaches. On account of such mixing, it is not uncommon to see local influences weigh on the praxis of a group of devotees just as much as the heritage of their individual branch does.

In practice, this means that a Vaisnava of Nityananda-parivara from a Bengali village and a Vaisnava of Nityananda-parivara from Radha-kunda may be like day and night, while the former may be very similar to other Vaisnavas of different parivaras around rural Bengal, and while the Kunda-vasi Nityananda-parivara Vaisnava may be very similar in his ways to the Thakur Mahasaya parivara mahatma at Govardhana.

F: Traditional Gaudiya Vaishnavism in the West

The following are reflections on the status and growth of classical Gaudiya Vaishnavism in the West, extracted from my writings at Vilasa Kunja forums.

The entirety of what we understand as traditional Gaudiya Vaisnavism in the West (WTGV) is geographically very scattered, leading to the exact problems I have noted in my blog and brought up on a number of occasions. Let me start off with an expression of concern I find weighing on my heart whenever I reflect on the global scenario of traditional Gaudiya Vaisnavism in the West in the context of my gurubhais.

Sri Ananta Das Babaji Maharaja has over 100 initiated Western disciples since 1994. Where are they? I have now been in Vraja for a total of two years since 2002. I've seen Niyama-sevas, and I've seen Gaura-purnimas, the peak travel times. Of the 100 disciples, I've seen a handful. Looking at a list of devotees initiated before me, some 80 of them, aside those living in Vraja, I've seen four or five, and I've heard news of a few more. Less than ten total. Where are the rest, what are they up to? I've been trying to ask around, but nobody seems to have a clear idea.

This, to me, speaks of a grave concern. People are unshielded, out in the open. "Fire at will," said the commandress of the material world. Even many gurubhais of mine who have received diksa and pranali are fairly scattered – sharing a wide range of interests in the diverse topics of the mundane world, interests disconnected from bhajana. Granted, in the beginning we may be scattered and that's all right, but the path is about dovetailing, refining and purifying our interests – not about cultivating them further!

Then, communities are vital. Very few will survive without community support. Only exceptionally strong individuals with deep devotional samskaras and firm practice will make it through longer periods of deprivation from Vaisnava-sanga. To think one will make it through on one's own is to be proud, and pride comes before the fall. How many tales and real life examples are there of Vaisnavas gradually getting steered off the path with the powerful and subtle allurements of daivi-maya? Has not enough been said of the importance of sadhu-sanga? Hear Thakur Mahasaya's wisdom on uncontrolled desires:

anyathA svatantra kAma, anarthAdi yAra dhAma,
bhakti pathe sadA deya bhaGga |
kibA se korite pAre, kAma krodha sAdhakere,
yadi hoy sAdhu janAra saGga? || PBC 23 ||

"Otherwise, independend desires in the abode of anarthas and the rest –
They always twist and bend the path of bhakti!
What can they do, lust and anger to the sadhakas,
If there is the company of saintly people?"

Peer pressure and so forth only work for so long. In the long run, should one keep doing sadhana as a matter of duty without a self-nourishing taste, the support of peer pressure will become a source of deep frustration that both leads one to discard the practice or substantial amounts thereof, as well as to ill feelings towards the sources of pressure. I am not alone in sharing the experience. Depending on the form and nature of peer pressure, especially if imposed from the side of people with less than pristine hearts, it may bear very adverse effects on one's sadhana in the end. The real need is for company that can infuse one with positive inspiration and, most of all, substantial taste. In the company of whom one can see and witness the reality of the path we travel. From that follow confidence, determination and the other virtues that help us carry on.

Such company can only come to fulfillment when there are mutual endeavors for the attainment of uttama-bhakti, a sincere heart's endeavor to let go of the mundane and to reach for devotional attainment as the primary task of life. For such, there must be focus, for without focus there is no power. Power, as in the other-worldly infusion that carries you through and helps you find strength and fulfillment. As the sunrays focused through a magnifying glass have the power to create fire, so does the all-pervasive and ever-available mercy of Thakur and Vaisnavas create fire when the rays of their good will are brought into sharp focus.

Then, all of that in practice:

Will we all eventually move to Vrindavan? Perhaps we will, perhaps we won't. Perhaps we'll move tomorrow, perhaps after a decade or two as our children have grown up. In the meantime, we need to be doing something meaningful! Then,

Will their ever be a "Traditional" Temple in the USA? Oh yes, I have no doubt there will be one in due course of time. As for when, that I cannot see. But yes, I feel it is desirable in the global evolution of Gaudiya Vaisnavism. The details of making that a success or a failure are something outside the scope of this post.

Is there any idea among our Guru-Jana that we should go and preach to the wider world? The principle of sharing is deeply engrained in Gaudiya Vaisnavism from the very beginning, with Sri Caitanya's descent and his munificent gift, followed by the pioneer efforts of Srinivasa, Syamananda and Narottama.

In what way and how? In a grand diversity of ways, each according to his and her own capacity and inclinations. Reaching out should be the loving sharing of a precious gift in the spirit of friendship and equanimity, taking place naturally in the life context we find ourselves in. No imposing is there, yet there is unreserved sharing where there is the interest in receiving, where there are people with open hearts.

Most people are not cut out to be "preachers", in as much as it means going out among the masses for education and infusion of divine inspiration. For success in such a task, one needs a substantial storehouse of accumulated spiritual power channeled out through mind and intelligence that are apt in catering to the needs of diverse individuals. Therefore, even many great mahatmas have not come out in the capacity of acarya figures in any larger scale – though the waves of their influence have been felt in the sampradaya.

At what point do people pick up and move their family to be closer to other Vaishnavas? When there is the desire, and when it becomes practically possible (through committed endeavors).

Where would we go? And with this, you hit the core of the problem... It seems as if there are no concentrations of our blend of Vaisnavas anywhere. Wherever you would go at this moment, you would find another Vaisnava in a situation similar to yours. Of course two are more than one, but that does not a community make. However it is a start, and when we have nothing, we have to start somewhere! Every construction begins with the joining of the first two parts.

Practically, I cannot say to where or to whose proximity one could move to. Everyone will have to see for themselves where they find Vaisnavas in whose company they feel content, with whom they find some synergy and familiarity in spirit. I have been trying to create contacts and mediums of communication to pave way for this to become a reality, yet I feel the task is a long way from success.

Physical proximity aside, one of the steps we ought to be taking forward is upping the medium of communication from written to spoken – for speech carries more effect than written content, as speech carries attitudes and emotions with more depth and clarity.

We could schedule phone conference meetings. There are instant messenger applications with phone conferencing facility widely available, and atop that many can be used free of charge. This would be one step onward towards creating deeper relationships between Vaisnavas of our flavor. And those relationships, in turn, are the foundation on which more in the way of a community will be built.