Vaishnavism

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Vaishnavism is one of the principal divisions of Hinduism. Its adherents worship Vishnu as the supreme God or one of his avatars and are principally monotheistic whilst also incorporating elements which could be described as panentheistic in nature. Bhaktas, or worshipers of Vishnu are called Vaishnavites, an English term that originated from Vaishnava in Sanskrit, which is the Vriddhi form of Vishnu). The Hare Krishna movement is a modern example of a Vaishnavite organisation.

Contents 1 Schools of Vaishnavism 2 The major schools 3 The Supreme Godhead 4 History of Vaishnavism 5 Vaishnava Upanishads 6 See also

Schools of Vaishnavism

Major Vaishnava schools of thought include:

• Vishishtadvaita ("qualified nondualism"), espoused by Ramanuja; i.e., Srivaishnavism.

• Dvaita ("dualism"), espoused by Madhvacharya

• Achintya Bheda-Bheda, espoused by Sri Chaitanya adhered by Gaudiya Vaishnavism. ISKCON ("Hare Krishnas") is the most well known branch of this school.

• Shuddhaadvaita, espoused by Vallabhacharya

• Dvaitaadvaita, espoused by Nimbarka

• Ek Saran Naam Dharma, espoused by Sankardeva

The major schools

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Vaishnavas believe that Vishnu-Narayana is the one supreme God and all other gods and creatures are subservient to Him. While many schools like Smartism and Advaitism encourage people to interpret the Vedas philosophically and metaphorically and not too literally, Vaishnavism stresses the literal meaning (mukhya vṛitti) as primary and indirect meaning (gauṇa vṛitti) as secondary: sākṣhād upadesas tu shrutih - "The instructions of the shruti-shāstra should be accepted literally, without so-called fanciful or allegorical interpretations." (Jiva Gosvami, Kṛiṣhna Sandarbha 29.26-27).

The Supreme Godhead

The heroes of both the great Indian epics are believed to be incarnations of Lord Vishnu. These epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, concern Rama and Krishna, respectively. Rama with His [Shakti] named Sita, brother Lakshmana and devotee Hanuman are central characters of Ramayana. Rama and Lakshman are always shown to be ready for battle (with bow and arrow) as it is their Kshatriya dharma to fight.

History of Vaishnavism

Thanks to Alvars, a set of twelve people who with their devotional hymns spread the sect to the common people, Vaishnavism flourished in south India. Some of the prominent azhvars are Poigaiyazhvar, Peyazhvar, Periyazhvar, Nammazhvar and Andal. Vaishnavism grew in later years due to the influence of sages like Ramanujar, Surdas, Tulsidas, Tyagaraja, etc.

With the entry of other religions into the Indian subcontinent, Hindus united and the discriminations of Vaishnavism and Saivism became intellectual arguments rather than mutually exclusive philosophies. Template:Hinduism small

Vaishnava Upanishads

Of the 108 Upanishads of the Muktika, 13 are considered Vaishnava Upanishads. They are listed with their associated Veda (SV, ŚYV, KYV, AV):

1. Template:IAST (AV)
2. Template:IAST (AV)
3. Template:IAST (AV)
4. Template:IAST (AV)
5. Template:IAST (SV)
6. Template:IAST (SV)
7. Template:IAST (SYV)
8. Template:IAST (AV)
9. Template:IAST (AV)
10. Template:IAST (AV)
11. Template:IAST (AV)
12. Template:IAST (AV)
13. [[Kali-Santarana Upanishad|Template:IAST]] (Template:IAST) (KYV)

See also

• Krishna
• Rama
• Vishnu
• Shaivism
• Shaktism
• Gaudiya Vaishnava Theology
• Gaudiya Vaishnavism
• International Society for Krishna Consciousness
• Krishnology
• Vaishnava Theology
• The Journal of Vaishnava Studies
• Bhagwan Swaminarayan

de:Vishnuismus

es:Vishnuismo fr:Vaishnava it:Vaishnavismo he:וישנויזם lb:Wischnuismus nl:Vaishnavisme pl:Wisznuizm ru:Кришнаизм fi:Vaishnavismi sv:Vaishnavism ta:வைணவம்