Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, born Vishvambhar Mishra, was a 15th-century Indian Hindu saint from Bengal who was the founder of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, which considers him to be an incarnation of Krishna.
The Bhagavata Purana, also known as the Srimad Bhagavatam, Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana or simply Bhagavata (Bhāgavata), is one of Hinduism's eighteen great Puranas (Mahapuranas). Composed in Sanskrit and traditionally attributed to Veda Vyasa, it promotes bhakti (devotion) towards Krishna, an avatar of Vishnu, integrating themes from the Advaita (monism) philosophy of Adi Shankara, the Vishishtadvaita of Ramanujacharya and the Dvaita (dualism) of Madhvacharya. It is widely available in almost all Indian languages.
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.
Narottama Dasa Thakura, also known as Thakura Mahasaya, was a Gaudiya Vaishnava saint who spread Vaishnava bhakti throughout Odisha, in Bengal, and elsewhere in India. Narottama Dasa was the son of King Krishnananda Datta and Narayani Devi, who resided in Gopalpur Pargana of the modern-day Rajshahi district of Bangladesh. According to some, after the death of his father he entrusted his royal duties to the eldest son of his paternal uncle and left for Vrindavana.
Baladeva Vidyabhushana also known as Śrī Gauḍīya Vedānta-ācārya Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Prabhupāda was an Indian Gaudiya Vaishnava-Acharya.
The Chaitanya Charitamrita, composed by Krishnadasa Kaviraja in c. 1557, is written in Bengali with a great number of Sanskrit verses in its devotional, poetic construction, including Shikshashtakam. It is one of the primary biographies detailing the life and teachings of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the founder of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. The stories of Chaitanya's life are mixed with philosophical conversations detailing the process of Bhakti yoga, with special attention given to congregational chanting of the names of Krishna.
Swami Sadananda Das was born as Ernst-Georg Schulze in Germany. He met Swami Bhakti Hridaya Bon, a disciple of Hindu spiritual reformer Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. Sadananda received diksa or formal initiation into the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition through Swami Bon from Sarasvati, and later received the name Sadananda Das by Sarasvati directly after he had joined the Gaudiya Mission in Calcutta, India. He was one of the first known individuals who was not of Asian origin to embrace the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition.
Rupa Goswami was a devotional teacher (guru), poet, and philosopher of the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition. With his brother Sanatana Goswami, he is considered the most senior of the Six Goswamis of Vrindavan associated with Caitanya Mahaprabhu, a hidden avatar (incarnation) of Krishna in Kali Yuga.
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.
Goloka or Goloka Vrindavan is the celestial abode of the Hindu god Krishna and his chief consort goddess Radha. In the Bhagavata Purana, Krishna is portrayed as the highest person who resides in Goloka. Goloka is often represented as the celestial realm containing flowing streams and lovely gardens, and is inhabited by cows and enchanting maidens - Gopis.
Bhakti Hridaya Bon, also known as Swami Bon, was a disciple of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati and a guru in the Gaudiya Math following the philosophy of the Bhakti marg, specifically of Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Gaudiya Vaishnava theology. At the time of his death, he left behind thousands of Bengali disciples in India.
Svayam Bhagavan is a Sanskrit concept in Hinduism, referring to the absolute representation of Bhagavan as the Supreme God in a monotheistic framework. The concept is most commonly associated with a male deity, for instance in Hindu sub-movements like Krishnaism and Gaudiya Vaishnavism, in which Krishna is regarded as Svayam Bhagavan.
Jahnava Devi ; c. 1481 – c. 1541), also called Jahnava Mata, was the wife of Nityananda and a philosopher and saint from the Gaudiya Vaishnava school of Hindu Vedanta. She became a leading figure in Gaudiya Vaishnavism and a diksa guru and sampradaya head.
Sat Sandarbhas is a 16th-century Vaishnava Sanskrit text, authored by Gaudiya Vaishnava theologian Jiva Goswami. The six treatise are Tattva-, Bhagavat-, Paramatma-, Krishna-, Bhakti-, and Priti-sandarbha. Jiva's Krama-sandarbha commentary on the Bhagavata Purana is often described as the "seventh" of the six sandarbhas.
Gaurakisora Dasa Babaji is a well-known acharya from the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism, and is regarded as a Mahatma or saint by followers of his lineage. During his lifetime Gaurakisora Dasa Babaji became famous for his teachings on the process of Bhakti Yoga and for his unorthodox avadhuta like behaviour as a sadhu, or babaji in Vrindavan.
This is a list of works by Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati (1874-1937), a Gaudiya Vaishnava leader and religious reformer. This list includes his original works, commentaries on canonical Vaishnava texts, and articles in periodicals Sajjana-toshani and the Gaudiya.
Shri Haridas Shastri (1918-2013) was an Indian Gaudiya Vaisnava scholar and practitioner. A prolific Sanskrit scholar, he wrote more than a sixty books, including translations from the Sanskrit of several Gauḍīya books and his own commentaries on them. His original works include the highly regarded book, the Vedānta-darśanam bhāgavata bhāṣyopetam, his translation-cum-commentaries of the Sat Sandarbhas, and his transliterations of Śrī-caitanya-bhāgavata, Śrī-caitanya-caritāmṛta and Śrī-caitanya-maṅgala. Jonathan Edelmann at the University of Florida has called Śāstrī "arguably the most prolific and well-educated Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava “insider” scholar of the twentieth century" and "a voice distinct from the more well known Gaudīya-Maṭha and ISKCON". Among his disciples is the noted Gauḍīya scholar and practitioner, Dr. Satyanarayana Dasa.
Uddharan Dutta Thakur (উদ্ধারণ দত্ত ঠাকুর) 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 Dwadasha gopas,.
The Gopalas, or Twelve Gopalas, were a group of 16th-century Indian missionaries who are credited with spreading Gaudiya Vaishnavism throughout Bengal. They were major disciples of the Gaudiya-Vaishnava saint Nityananda, who is considered to be an incarnation of Krishna's brother, Balarama.
Hridayananda das(a) Goswami is an American Vaishnava leader and preacher, one of the leading spiritual leaders of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) and one of the most distinguished disciples and close friend of ISKCON founder Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who appointed him as preacher. H.D. Goswami is a guru and member of the ISKCON Governing Body Commission since 1974.
