Vaishnavite Movement

Vaishnavism

The Bhakti Movement in north india developed around the worship of Ram and Krishna, two of the incarnations of the God Vishnu. Saint-poet Tulsidas was the leading light of the Ram cult. His great poem , the Ramacharitamanasa, popularly called Tulsi-krita Ramayana, is very popular among Hindu devotees till date, in which he portrays Sri Ram as all virtuous and all powerful and very embodiment of the Supreme Reality.

On the other hand, the followers of the Krishna cult founded the Radha Ballabhi sect under Hari Vamsa in 1585 CE. In the early 16th century, Vallabhacharya, a popular bhakti saint popularized the Krishna bhakti cult . He was followed by Surdas and Mirabai. Sur Das wrote Sursagar in Brajbhasha, which is full of verses on the charm of Lord Krishna and his beloved Radha. Mirabai, the daughter-in-law of Rana Sanga, was a great devotee of Krishna, and she became popular in Rajasthan for her bhajans. Later, the exponents of the Ram cult and the Krishna cult among the Vaishnavas branched off into a number of sects and creeds.

The Vaishnava Bhakti Movement in Bengal was very different from that in north and south India. The Vaishnava Bhakti tradition of the Bhagabata Purana, and the Sahajiya Buddhist and Nathpanthi traditions influenced this Bhakti movement. These traditions focused on the esoteric and emotional aspects of devotion. In the 12th century, Jayadeva, an important bhakti saint in this tradition highlighted the mystical dimension of love with reference to Krishna and Radha. Another popular bhakti saint from the region was Chaitanya who was even considered as an incarnation of Krishna.

Some Vaishnavite Movement Saints

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (c. 1486 - 1533 CE)

• 16th century saint and social reformer of Bengal, who popularized the Krishna cult in Bengal. Under his able guidance, the Bhakti Movement in Bengal developed into a reform movement as it questioned social division on the basis of caste.

• Popularized the Sankirtan/ Kirtan system (group devotional songs accompanied with ecstatic dancing). He believed that through song and dance, love and devotion, a devotee can feel the presence of God.

• He proclaimed universal brotherhood of man and emphasized on love and peace condemning all sorts of distinctions based on religion and caste thereby accepting disciples from all classes and castes. He was also highly empathetic towards the suffering of other people, especially that of the poor and the weak.

• The biography of Chaitanya was written by Krishnadas Kaviraj.

Narsingh Mehta (c. 1414 - 1481 CE)

• He was a Saint from Gujarat who wrote songs in Gujrati depicting the love of Radhakrishnan.

• Mahatma Gandhi's favourite bhajan-'Vaishnava Jan ko' written by Narsingh Mehta.

Saint Thyagaraja

• He was one of the precious jewel of Carnatic Trinity who was highly instrumental in the development of the classical devotional music tradition and considered as one of the greatest composers of Carnatic music, who had composed thousands of devotional compositions, mostly in Telugu in praise of Lord Ram.

• He did not consider music as a fine art but as the easiest path to attain salvation.

• He was a musical genius and composed the famous Pancharatna Kritis (meaning five germs) in the traditional Ghana ragas namely Natta, Gaula, Arabhi, Varali and Sriraga.