Vaishnavism

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.

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-Abheda, 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

Vaishnavas believe that Vishnu-Narayana is the one supreme God (Parabrahman) 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 vitti) as primary and indirect meaning () as secondary: - "The instructions of the shruti-shstra should be accepted literally, without so-called fanciful or allegorical interpretations." (Jiva Gosvami, 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

With the help of 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 Ramanuja, Surdas, Tulsidas, Tyagaraja, etc.

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

Vaishnava Upanishads

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

(AV)
(AV)
(AV)
(AV)
(SV)
(SV)
(SYV)
(AV)
(AV)
(AV)
(AV)
(AV)
() (KYV)

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Schools of Vaishnavism

The major schools

The Supreme Godhead

History of Vaishnavism

Vaishnava Upanishads

See also