Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, born Bimala Prasad Datt, was an Indian Gaudīya Vaisnava Hindu guru, ācārya, and revivalist in early twentieth-century India. To his followers, he was known as Srila Prabhupāda.
Ramdas, also known as SamarthRamdas or Ramdas Swami, was an Indian Hindu saint, philosopher, poet, writer and spiritual master. He was a devotee of the Hindu deities Rama and Hanuman.
Gaudiya Vaishnavism, also known as Chaitanya Vaishnavism, is a Vaishnava Hindu religious movement inspired by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1534) in India. "Gaudiya" refers to the Gaura or Gauḍa region of Bengal, with Vaishnavism meaning "the worship of Vishnu". Specifically, it is part of Krishnaism—Krishna-centric Vaishnavite traditions.
Dattatreya, Dattā or Dattaguru, is a paradigmatic Sannyasi (monk) and one of the lords of yoga, venerated as a Hindu god. He is considered to be an avatar and combined form of the three Hindu gods Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, who are also collectively known as the Trimurti, and as the manifestation of Parabrahma, the supreme being, in texts such as the Bhagavata Purana, the Markandeya Purana, and the Brahmanda Purana, though stories about his birth and origin vary from text to text. Several Upanishads are dedicated to him, as are texts of the Vedanta-Yoga tradition in Hinduism. One of the most important texts of Hinduism, namely Avadhuta Gita is attributed to Dattatreya. Over time, Dattatreya has inspired many monastic movements in Shaivism, Vaishnavism, and Shaktism, particularly in the Deccan region of India, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Himalayan regions where Shaivism is prevalent. His pursuit of simple life, kindness to all, sharing of his knowledge and the meaning of life during his travels is reverentially mentioned in the poems by Tukaram, a saint-poet of the Bhakti movement.
Mahanubhava refers to Krishnaite Hindu denomination in India that was founded by Sarvadnya Shri Chakradhar Swami, an ascetic and philosopher who is considered as a reincarnation of Krishna by his devotees Some sources list the founders as Chakrapani and Govinda Prabhu with Shree Chakradhara Swami as the first "apostle" and propagator of Mahanubhava Pantha. Mahanubhava Sampradaya was formally formed in modern-day Varhad region of Maharashtra in 1267 CE. It has different names such as Jai Krishni Pantha in Punjab and Achyuta Pantha in Gujarat. Mahanubhava Pantha was also known as Paramarga by its followers in 13th century. Nagadevacharya, also known as Bhatobas, became the head of Sampradaya after Chakradhara.
Baladeva Vidyabhushana was an Indian Gaudiya Vaishnava acharya.
Swaminarayan, also known as Sahajanand Swami, was a yogi and ascetic believed by followers to be a manifestation of Krishna or the highest manifestation of Purushottama, around whom the Swaminarayan Sampradaya developed.
The Ramanandi, also known as Ramavats, is one of the largest sects of Vaishnavas. Out of 52 sub-branches of Vaishnavism, divided into four Vaishnava sampradayas, 36 are held by the Ramanandi. The sect mainly emphasizes the worship of Rama, Sita, Hanuman, and the avatars of Vishnu. They consider Rama and Sita as the Supreme Absolute who are not different from each other. It is considered to have been founded by Ramananda, a 14th-century Vaishnava saint.
The Shri Guru Charitra is a book based on the life of Shri Nrusimha Saraswati, written by the 15th-16th century poet Shri Saraswati Gangadhar.
The Vachanamrut is a sacred text consisting of 273 religious discourses delivered by Swaminarayan from 1819 to 1829 CE and is considered the principal theological text within the Swaminarayan Sampradaya of Hinduism. Compiled by five of his senior disciples, Swaminarayan edited and approved the scripture. As followers believe Swaminarayan to be Parabrahman, or God, the Vachanamrut is considered a direct revelation from God and thus the most precise interpretation of the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, and other important Hindu scripture.
Bhagat Pipa was a Rajput ruler of Gagaraungarh who abdicated the throne to become a Hindu mystic poet and saint of the Bhakti movement. He was born in the Malwa region of North India in approximately AD 1425.
Vaishnavism is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the sole supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, that is, Mahavishnu. Its followers are called Vaishnavites or Vaishnavas, and it includes sub-sects like Krishnaism and Ramaism, which consider Krishna and Rama as the supreme beings respectively. According to a 2010 estimate by Johnson and Grim, Vaishnavism is the largest Hindu sect, constituting about 641 million or 67.6% of Hindus.
The Swaminarayan Sampradaya, also known as Swaminarayan Hinduism and Swaminarayan movement, is a Hindu Vaishnava sampradaya rooted in Ramanuja's Vishishtadvaita, characterized by the worship of its charismatic founder Sahajanand Swami, better known as Swaminarayan (1781–1830), as an avatar of Krishna or as the highest manifestation of Purushottam, the supreme God. According to the tradition's lore, both the religious group and Sahajanand Swami became known as Swaminarayan after the Swaminarayan mantra, which is a compound of two Sanskrit words, swami and Narayan.
Bhakti Prajnan Keshava, addressed by the honorific Mahārāja, was a Gaudiya Vaishnava guru, disciple of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati and the founder-acharya of the religious organisation "Sri Gaudiya Vedanta Samiti", formed in Calcutta in 1940, and its headquarters, monastery Sri Devananda Gaudiya Math in Nabadwip.
Vishnu Bhikaji Kolte (1908–1998), popularly called Bhausaheb Kolte was a Marathi writer and researcher of old Marathi literature. He hailed from Maharashtra, India. He served as Vice chancellor in Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University.
Muktabai or Mukta was a saint in the Varkari Movement. She was born in a Deshastha Brahmin family and was the younger sister of Dnyaneshwar, the first Varkari saint. She wrote forty-one abhangs throughout her life.
Shri Gaudapadacharya Math, also known as Kavaḷē maṭha, located in Kavale, Ponda, Goa, is the oldest matha of the Smarthan Saraswat Brahman Samaj. It was founded by Gauḍapāda around 740 AD, whose student was Govinda Bhagavatpada, the guru of Adi Shankara, a highly influential figure in Hinduism. There is also a belief that Gauḍapāda himself established the Shri Gaudapadacharya matha when he lived in Gomantak (Goa). Thus, the matha came to be known as Shri Saunstan Gaudapadacharya matha. Unlike other mathas, Shri Gaudapadacharya matha is not a polemical center established to influence the faith of all Hindus, its jurisdiction is limited to only Dakshinatya Saraswat Brahmins. The Peetadhipathi "head monk" is Śrī Gauḍapadācārya. Smartist Goud Saraswat Brahman Samaj and Rajapur Saraswat Brahmin are its main disciples.
The Advaita Guru-Paramparā is the traditional lineage (parampara) of divine, Vedic and historical teachers of Advaita Vedanta. It begins with the Daiva-paramparā, the gods; followed by the Ṛṣi-paramparā, the Vedic seers; and then the Mānava-paramparā, with the historical teachers Gaudapada and Adi Shankara, and four of Shankara's pupils. Of the five contemporary acharyas, the heads of the five Advaita mathas, four acharyas trace their lineage to those four pupils and one to Adi Shankara himself.
Mhaimbhat was one of the earliest followers of Chakradhar Swami and the Mahanubhava sect, and author of Leela Charitra, the first biography written in the Marathi language.
Pant Maharaj, born Dattatreya Ramchandra Kulkarni, was a Hindu yogi and guru in the Belgavi region of India and is regarded by his devotees as a saint and an incarnation of Dattatreya.
