The Trimūrti are the trinity of supreme divinity in Hinduism, in which the cosmic functions of creation, preservation, and destruction are personified as a triad of deities. Typically, the designations are that of Brahma the creator, Vishnu also known as Jagannath the preserver, and Shiva the destroyer. The Om symbol of Hinduism is considered to have an allusion to Trimurti, where the A, U, and M phonemes of the word are considered to indicate creation, preservation and destruction, adding up to represent Brahman. The Tridevi is the trinity of goddess consorts for the Trimurti.
Vishnu Sahasranama, is a Sanskrit hymn which contains a list of 1,000 names of Vishnu, one of the main deities in Hinduism and the supreme God in Vaishnavism. It is one of the most sacred and popular stotras in Hinduism. The Vishnu Sahasranama as found in the Anushasana Parva of the epic Mahabharata. It is the most popular version of the 1,000 names of Vishnu. Other versions exist in the Padma Purana, Skanda Purana and Garuda Purana. There is also a Sikh Version of the Vishnu Sahasranama, as found in the work Sundar Gutka.
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.
The Bhagavata tradition, also called Bhagavatism, refers to an ancient religious sect that traced its origin to the region of Mathura. After its syncretism with the Brahmanical tradition of Vishnu, Bhagavatism became a pan-Indian tradition by the second century BCE, according to R.C. Majumdar.
Historical Vishnuism as early worship of the deity Vishnu is one of the historical components, branches or origins of the contemporary and early Vaishnavism, which was subject of considerable study, and often showing that Vishnuism is a distinctive worship — a sect. The tradition was forming in the context of Puranic Vaisnavism evolving in the process of revitalizing religion of Brahmanism, of which Vishnuism is believed to be a part, through assimilating a number of orthodox, non-conformist and tribal elements; the absorption of mother goddess worship, into what now known a Vaishnava sampradayas. It is a tradition of the historical Vedic religion and is distinguished from other historic schools later forming the Vaishnavism by its primary worship of Vishnu, later identified as the source of all Avatars. A number of separate sects or traditions merged with each representing the names of god of Vaishnavism. In contemporary Vaishnavism God is also known as Narayana, Vasudeva and Krishna and behind each of those names is a divine figure with attributed supremacy in Vaishnavism, that relates to historic traditions that some scholars theorize to be separate and distinct historically. It is distinct from Krishnaism, as in the revival of Bhakti, found in the Bhagavata it is referred as Vishnuism.
Pancharatra was a religious movement in Hinduism that originated in late 3rd-century BCE around the ideas of Narayana and the various avatars of Vishnu as their central deities. The movement later merged with the ancient Bhagavata tradition and contributed to the development of Vaishnavism. The Pancharatra movement created numerous literary treatises in Sanskrit called the Pancharatra Samhitas, and these have been influential Agamic texts within the theistic Vaishnava movements.
VallabhacharyaMahaprabhu, also known as Vallabha, Mahaprabhuji and Vishnuswami, or Vallabha Acharya, is a Hindu Indian saint and philosopher who founded the Krishna-centered PushtiMarg sect of Vaishnavism in the Braj(Vraj) region of India, and the Vedanta philosophy of Shuddha Advaita.
Pushtimarg, also known as Pushtimarg sampradaya or Vallabha sampradaya, is a subtradition of the Rudra Sampradaya (Vaishnavism). It was founded in the early 16th century by Vallabhacharya (1479–1531) and is focused on Krishna. A bhakti (devotional) school, Pushtimarg was expanded by the descendants of Vallabhacharya, particularly Gusainji. Its values are derived from and its universal-love-themed devotional practices center around the legendary amorous plays of youthful Krishna, such as those found in the Bhagavata Purana and those related to Govardhana Hill. Pushtimarg sampradaya recognizes Krishna by many names and epithets, such as Sri Nathji, Sri Navanitpriyaji, Sri Madanamohanji, Sri Mathureshji, Sri Gokulnathji, Sri Vittalnathji and Sri Dwarkadhishji.
Jiva Goswami was an Indian philosopher and saint from the Gaudiya Vaishnava school of Vedanta tradition, producing a great number of philosophical works on the theology and practice of Bhakti yoga, Vaishnava Vedanta and associated disciplines. He is known as one of the Six Goswamis of Vrindavan and was the nephew of the two leading figures, Rupa Goswami and Sanatana Goswami.
The concept of God in Hinduism varies in its diverse traditions. Hinduism spans a wide range of beliefs such as henotheism, monotheism, polytheism, panentheism, pantheism, pandeism, monism, agnosticism, atheism, and nontheism.
Radha-Krishna are collectively known within Hinduism as the combined forms of feminine as well as the masculine realities of God. Krishna and Radha are the primeval forms of God and his pleasure potency, respectively, in several Vaishnavite schools of thought.
Shuddadvaita is the "purely non-dual" philosophy propounded by Vallabhacharya, the founding philosopher and guru of the Vallabhā sampradāya or Puśtimārg, a Hindu Vaishnava tradition focused on the worship of Krishna. Vallabhacharya's pure form (nondualist) philosophy is different from Advaita. The Shrinathji temple at Nathdwara, and compositions of eight poets, including Surdas, are central to the worship by the followers of the sect.
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, i.e. 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.
Krishnaism is a large group of independent Hindu traditions—sampradayas related to Vaishnavism—that center on the devotion to Krishna as Svayam Bhagavan, Ishvara, Para Brahman, the source of all reality, who is not an avatar of Vishnu. This is its difference from such Vaishnavite groupings as Sri Vaishnavism, Sadh Vaishnavism, Ramaism, Radhaism, Sitaism etc. There is also a personal Krishnaism, that is devotion to Krishna outside of any tradition and community, as in the case of the saint-poet Meera Bai. Leading scholars do not define Krishnaism as a suborder or offshoot of Vaishnavism, considering it a parallel and no less ancient current of Hinduism.
Vishnuswami was a Hindu religious leader. He is primarily known for having started the Rudra sampradaya.
The Urdhva Pundra is a tilaka worn by Vaishnavas as an indication of their affiliation with Vishnu. It is generally worn on the forehead, but may also be worn on other parts of the body such as the shoulders. The markings are made either as a daily ritual, or on special occasions, and denote the particular sampradaya, or the lineage to which the devotee belongs. The different Vaishnava sampradayas each have their own distinctive style of tilaka based on the siddhanta of their particular lineage. The general tilaka design is of two or three vertical lines resembling the letter U, which represent the feet of Vishnu.
Svayam Bhagavan refers to a Sanskrit concept in Hinduism, referring to the absolute representation of Bhagavan as the monotheistic God. The concept is most commonly associated with Gaudiya Vaishnavism, where Krishna is regarded to be Svayam Bhagavan.
Sadh Vaishnavism, , is a denomination within the Vaishnavism—Bhagavata tradition of Hinduism. Sadh Vaishnavism was founded by thirteenth century philosopher-saint Madhvacharya, who developed the Tattvavada (dvaita) Vedanta sub-school of Hindu philosophy.
Vishnu, also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism.
Hindu denominations, sampradayas, traditions, movements, and sects are traditions and sub-traditions within Hinduism centered on one or more gods or goddesses, such as Vishnu, Shiva, Shakti and so on. The term sampradaya is used for branches with a particular founder-guru with a particular philosophy.
