Steven J Rosen. Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices. Editor: Thomas Riggs, 2nd Edition, Volume 1, Gale, 2015.
Overview
Vaishnavism is the name given to the faith and practices of those Hindus who hold Vishnu (“the all-pervasive one”) and the goddess Lakshmi as supreme deities. Devotion to Vishnu began in India, and its literary origins are traditionally traced to the Vedas, which are among the earliest Sanskrit compositions in India (c. 1500 BCE). Like other Hindus, Vaishnavas believe that the soul is caught in a cycle of life and death, or reincarnation. They differ from other Hindus, however, in their belief that it is devotion to Vishnu that will save them from endless rebirth. Vaishnavas worship Vishnu’s many incarnations, especially the cowherd lover Krishna, as well as his manifestations in iconic form in temples throughout the world. Many Vaishnavas also revere various poet-saints and theologians whom they consider to be ideal devotees. There are four central Vaishnava traditions, and a Vaishnava will generally affiliate with one of them.
Vaishnavism as it is known today first emerged in India around 500 BCE, when devotees of Vishnu began to coalesce around a shared set of beliefs and practices. The Sanskrit term Vaishnava means “follower of Vishnu.” In Northern India, where Krishna is seen as the supreme manifestation of Vishnu, Vaishnavism is also known as Krishnaism. Taking root as India was experiencing a flourishing of arts and technology, Vaishnavism quickly spread across the subcontinent. The early centuries CE were marked by a period of rapid growth that saw extensive temple building and the spread of Vaishnavism beyond the subcontinent. Over subsequent centuries, the vernacular hymns of India’s revered poet-saints made Vaishnavism accessible to a wider audience. During the 20th century, the teachings of Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (1896-1977), who founded the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in New York City in 1966, brought Vaishnavism to global attention.
Today Vaishnavism is the largest Hindu sect, with roughly 600 million practitioners, the majority of whom live in India. Because some Vaishnavas practice without affiliating with any of the central Vaishnava traditions, it is difficult to determine with certainty the number of Hindus who practice Vaishnavism. Commonly known as Hare Krishnas, devotees associated with ISKCON represent a growing percentage of the Vaishnava population globally. The Hare Krishna movement is particularly strong in eastern Europe and has helped reinvigorate the practice of Vaishnavism in India. Modern Vaishnavism is associated throughout the globe with core values—such as compassion, purity, humility, honesty, and nonviolence—that have remained largely unchanged for more than a millennium. In the 20th and 21st centuries, evolving social attitudes in India and elsewhere have brought organizational changes in Vaishnavism, particularly within ISKCON. These changes have led to greater sexual equality among Vaishnavas, the elevation of female devotees to positions of authority, and the acceptance of openly homosexual members.
History
While the deity Vishnu appears in the Vedas, the ancient Hindu scriptures, his divinity is more clearly expressed in later literature, such as the Puranas, the texts that praise the deities in the Hindu tradition. In addition, the distinctive characteristics of the Vaishnava faith, which upholds Vishnu, or Krishna, as the supreme being who alone can grant salvation, seem to have gathered force with the compositions of the epics Ramayana and the Mahabharata around 500 BCE and particularly with the Bhagavad Gita, a section of the Mahabharata that may have been composed around the second century BCE. Indeed, the teachings of Lord Krishna as found in the Bhagavad Gita might be the most important in terms of philosophy for most Vaishnavas.
Vishnu also became identified with the deities Narayana and Vasudeva sometime in the first millennium BCE. Narayana is a supreme deity eulogized in several texts, including the Mahabharata, as well as in books associated with goddess traditions that are called agamas. Archaeological evidence from the second century BCE suggests that Vasudeva was worshipped in both northwestern and central India.
The deity Mal in the Tamil-speaking lands in southern India was also first venerated in the early centuries CE. He is identified with Vishnu. Some of the stories connected with Mal, such as the churning of the mythical ocean of milk, are considered fundamental to the Vaishnava tradition. In this particular story divine beings (devas) and demonic beings (asuras) churn the ocean of milk for the elixir of immortality. When the enterprise seems to fail, Mal-Vishnu incarnates himself in several forms, including that of a tortoise, to help them.
During the reign of the Gupta dynasty (c. fourth-fifth centuries CE) in the north and the Chalukyas dynasty in the Deccan Plateau of south-central India (after the sixth century CE), royal patronage and increased temple building gave rise to the devotional fervor of Vaishnavas. It was about this time that the major Puranas were compiled in their present forms.
Perhaps the greatest stimulus to the Vaishnava tradition came through the composition of vernacular hymns, which first appeared in the seventh century CE. Tamil-speaking devotees from the south of India composed these songs in praise of Vishnu-Narayana, especially in the form in which he was enshrined in the many temples of southern India. It is believed that these devotees made pilgrimages, visiting sacred sites in various parts of India. Twelve poet-saints (men and women distinguished by their devotion to Vishnu) came to be called Alvars, or “those immersed deeply in the love of God.” It was the first time that devotional poetry was composed in a local, but classical, language, and by the 10th and 11th centuries the Vaishnava community that revered these poems, known as Sri Vaishnavas, came to regard them as equivalent in their sanctity to the Sanskrit Vedas.
The popularity of Vaishnavism can be attributed to many factors. Sanskrit texts were known all over India, beginning possibly in the early centuries BCE, and formed a common substratum for all lineages in the Vaishnava tradition. However, it was the local vernacular texts of passionate devotion that led to the rapid spread and sustenance of the many Vaishnava communities in India. While philosophical texts by the tradition’s major theologians gave it orthodoxy, hagiographical (or flattering biographical) texts entertained and educated the masses about noteworthy practitioners. Many of the texts were told and retold in local languages, and some were expressed through the performing arts. The songs of the Alvars, for instance, were sung and acted out in temples throughout the south.
In the north, great poet-saints like Vidyapati (c. 1352-c. 1448), Chandidas (b. 1408), and Jayadeva (fl. 1200) also developed the underlying theological notions of the tradition for people in general, composing dramas and vernacular poetry to make the teachings more accessible. This reached a high point in the 16th century, when religious leader Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486-1533) emphasized loving devotion (bhakti) as the surest way to reach the divine. He focused on devotional singing (kirtan), both in temples and in the streets, encouraging wild abandon and immersion in it. This practice was adopted by the members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), founded by Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in the 20th century. Chaitanya’s emphasis on devotion led to a significant softening of gender roles and roles dictated by caste; people from all castes of society could be considered Vaishnavas if they developed the requisite devotion. This allowed Westerners to take part as well. As a result, Vaishnavism has become a world religion, a separate area of academic study, and the subject of a major English-language academic periodical, The Journal of Vaishnava Studies.
Although devotion to Vishnu and Vaishnava traditions can be found in almost every part of India, Vaishnava texts and practices are not confined to the subcontinent. By the fifth century CE devotees worshipped Vishnu in Cambodia, and Vishnu temples flourished in that country. Icons of Vishnu are found from Thailand to Japan, where some of his manifestations are included in Buddhist lore. Today, largely from the efforts of Prabhupada and his ISKCON movement, the worship of Vishnu, especially in his form as Krishna, can be found throughout the world. Consequently, ISKCON now boasts over 100 centers worldwide, with tens of thousands of adherents. Thriving centers exist in every continent of the world, including in Africa and Asia. Many of its centers include restaurants, and they have farm communities and schools that are successful both on their own terms and in the secular world.
Central Doctrines
Like almost all other practitioners of Hindu thought and practice, Vaishnavas believe in the immortality of the soul and a supreme being. They also teach that the soul is caught in a cycle of life and death. Unlike other forms of Hinduism, however, Vaishnavas believe that it is devotion to Vishnu that will save them from endless rebirth. In practice this monotheism is rather elastic. Worship also includes devotion to the goddess Sri, or Lakshmi; the many incarnations of Vishnu; his manifestations in local temples in southern India; his emanations in a theological framework called vyuha; the paradigmatic celestial devotees Hanuman and Garuda; and the Alvars, the exalted human devotees. Many of these celestial and mortal beings are seen in icons that have been consecrated in temples and are part of the ritual universe of the Vaishnavas.
The schools of Vaishnavism vary in theology. All the schools describe the relationship between the human being, the created universe, and the supreme being, and all believe that it is devotion to Lakshmi and Vishnu (or their various manifestations, such as Sita and Rama, or Radha and Krishna), as well as the lord’s saving grace, that will grant followers liberation from the cycle of life and death. Each of the traditions puts a premium on chanting the holy name of the lord as the prime form of worship.
In all Vaishnava contexts the object of devotion is Vishnu, who is also known as Narayana. In the Rigveda, Vishnu-Narayana is seen as having paced the universe in giant strides. The two epics Ramayana and the Mahabharata portray Rama and Krishna, who are ultimately considered the most important manifestations of Vishnu. Eventually, various stories about Vishnu, Narayana, and Vasudeva come together into a cohesive theory of the descent (avatarana) of the supreme being to Earth in one of many incarnations. While the first Puranas composed in the early centuries CE mention as many as 24 incarnations, a later version includes 10 incarnations. Vaishnava texts say that, since God is unlimited, there are as many incarnations as there are waves in the ocean.
The Bhagavad Gita, one of the most important texts in Hindu literature, gives a clear reason for Vishnu’s multiple incarnations. Krishna, when conversing with his devotee Arjuna, says that whenever dharma (righteousness) falters on Earth, he comes down to destroy evil and protect the righteous.
While Vishnu’s many manifestations, especially those of Rama and Krishna, serve as the focal point of devotion, some Vaishnava texts known as the Pancharatra Agama, which are held as authoritative by Sri Vaishnavas, describe other manifestations, of Vishnu. In the Pancharatra Agama, as well as other Puranas, Vishnu is portrayed lying down in an ocean as a fourfold manifestation emerges from him. These four interrelated manifestations, known as vyuhas, are responsible for such important tasks as creating the universe, establishing standards of truth, and protecting the world.
The Sri Vaishnava community believes that Vishnu has five forms, all of which exist simultaneously and completely. Vishnu abides in heaven, or Vaikuntha; he appears on the ocean of milk, the locus from which the emanations as the vyuha originate to perform the cosmogonic functions; he descends to Earth periodically as the avatara, or incarnation, assuming a form appropriate for the purpose and for the time; he resides in a ritually consecrated icon in a temple; and, finally, he is the all pervasive lord who abides in every soul as the overseer—the dearest friend of the infinitesimal soul who inhabits that particular body.
Vaishnavas also venerate Lakshmi, who is considered to be inseparable from Vishnu. She has her own shrine in many southern Indian temples. In these icons she is portrayed as abiding on a lotus, a symbol of auspiciousness, and also as residing on Vishnu’s chest, as an expression of divine grace. In the north she is generally venerated as Radha, Krishna’s consort, who is seen as the Purna Shakti, the complete potency of the lord.
Devotion (bhakti) to Krishna and Vishnu is the distinguishing characteristic of Vaishnavism. This devotion can take the form of praying to Vishnu as a servant, a friend, a parent, or a lover. While all forms of devotion are considered valid in the Sri Vaishnava tradition, Chaitanya’s school also stresses devotion that is passionate, romantic, or sometimes erotic. The love of Radha—the consort, or in some Vaishnava traditions the girlfriend, of Krishna—becomes paradigmatic of the love that should be obtained between a devotee and the supreme being. The role of the cowherd girl Radha is considered especially important; some think of her as the ideal devotee, and others as a goddess-consort of Krishna. Both are correct according to the authorized texts of the tradition.
Moral Code of Conduct
Most Vaishnava schools accept the epics and the dharmasastras (texts of dharma, or righteousness) as important sources of moral conduct, but like most Hindus, Vaishnavas would usually not be familiar with the content of these texts. However, most devotees would know the main teachings of the Bhagavad Gita in some form. For example, adherents hold devotion to Krishna paramount and believe that all actions should be done in the name of Krishna/Vishnu-Narayana. The Bhagavad Gita instructs devotees to act in a detached manner without being focused on the results of one’s actions. As in other devotional movements, however, devotion trumps all textual and practiced notions of dharma. Devotion to Vishnu and the quest for liberation wins over the codes for conduct in everyday life.
Virtues associated with the Vaishnava faith and spoken of in the texts of dharma known as samanya dharma (the code of conduct applicable to all human beings) include compassion, purity, humility, honesty, and the notion of ahimsa, or nonviolence. These characteristics are also upheld in the Bhagavad Gita.
Attitudes toward caste have evolved over the centuries, and those issues continue to be reinvented within devotional Vaishnava contexts. By the 11th century CE, when the poetry of the Alvars was anthologized, it was clear that some of the most important devotees were, in fact, of the so-called lower castes and in some cases even an outcaste. While some Hindu texts have spoken of caste as a reflection of individual behavior, the practice over the millennia has overwhelmingly been to think of it as fixed by birth into a particular family and community. In the late 20th century, Prabhupada, the founder of ISKCON, often addressed the issue of caste (or more specifically of Varnashrama, as the original system was called) to the new Euro-American Vaishnava devotees he had converted. Instead of the complex caste system, which includes a multitude of subcastes (jati), Prabhupada described for his students the simpler, fourfold division originally mentioned in the Vedas.
Sacred Books
The different Vaishnava schools have their own sets of books they consider canonical. Almost all Vaishnava traditions, however, hold the Vedas sacred (as do most other Hindu communities), along with the Puranas and the two epics Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Among the Puranas, the Vishnu Purana and, in later traditions, the Bhagavata Purana are considered to be significant. In addition to these texts, every Vaishnava tradition has several genres of works both in Sanskrit and in the local vernacular. The vernacular languages, in many cases, are also classical languages. These works include philosophical treatises written by major theologians, devotional panegyrics (texts of praise), hagiographical literature, and texts and narratives transmitted through song and dance. In Bengal Vaishnavism, for example, the Chaitanya-charitamrita, a 17th-century work by Krishnadas Kaviraja Goswamin, is considered among the most important texts in the Vaishnava tradition, elucidating the most esoteric information available to practitioners, surpassing even the Vedas. The same is true for the Divya Prabandham in the south.
Sacred Symbols
Vishnu is said to hold several weapons in his hands, and among these the conch and the discus are considered to be most important. The conch is blown before a battle; the discus is hurled to slice and destroy anything evil. Many Vaishnavas etch these sacred symbols on wedding necklaces. These marks are also used during initiation into some communities. In the Sri Vaishnava community, for instance, the spiritual teacher brands these marks on the shoulders or upper arms of the devotee who seeks initiation.
Perhaps the most ubiquitous body marking in India is the tilaka, worn by men and women on their foreheads, which is both secular and sectarian. Many of the marks, especially those worn for ritual occasions, indicate the sectarian community to which a Hindu may belong. Many Vaishnavas are known by U- or Y-shaped forehead marks. These marks, made with white clay from a sacred place, usually symbolize the foot of Vishnu. The red line or red dot in the middle indicates the inseparability of the Goddess Sri from Vishnu. In some Vaishnava communities the forehead marks may indicate Rama, his wife Sita, and his brother Lakshmana; in others the marks represent the reality of a supreme being who is without qualities and simultaneously has all good attributes.
Early and Modern Leaders
There have been many important Vaishnava leaders and teachers, as well as leaders who happen to be Vaishnavas. Mohandas Karamchand (Mahatma) Gandhi (1869-1948), the revered leader who helped his India win independence from British colonialism, was born into a Vaishnava family. Vaishnava texts, such as the Bhagavad Gita, and Vaishnava codes of conduct, such as the emphasis on nonviolence, were significant in his life.
Especially important are the leaders or systematizers of the four central Vaishnava traditions discussed later, and also the six Goswamins of Vrindavan (Sanatana, Rupa, Gopal Bhatta, Das Goswami, Raghunath Bhatta, and Jiva). These were the architects of Sri Chaitanya’s Bhakti tradition, having composed complex theological works as well as beautiful poetic narratives, virtually defining the tradition.
In the 20th century Prabhupada, the founder of ISKCON, better known as the Hare Krishna movement, emerged as an important global Vaishnava leader. It was largely through his teaching and charisma that Vaishnavism came to be adopted by a number of Westerners. Following the death of Prabhupada in 1977, leadership of the movement was passed to a group of 11 disciples. Of this original group, Satsavarupa Dasa Goswami (b. 1939), Jayapataka Swami (b. 1949), and Hridayananda Dasa Goswami (b. 1948) remained influential within the movement in the 21st century. Other leaders included Radhanath Swami (b. 1950), who took a prominent role worldwide. Outside ISKCON, Vaishnavism in Vrindavan, India, is the domain of Shrivatsa Goswami, who represents the Gaudiya tradition and serves as a conduit for scholars interested in studying various aspects of Vaishnava culture.
Major Theologians and Authors
Ramanuja (c. 1017-1137) is probably one of the best-known exponents of the early Vaishnava tradition. Associated with the Ranganatha temple in southern India, Ramanuja promoted the view that the supreme being, Brahman or Vishnu, should be understood as the soul of the universe, which is seen as the body of the supreme being. Ramanuja’s commentaries and texts, especially the Sri Bhashya and the Gitabhashya, remain central works of Vaishnava philosophy. Madhvacarya (c. 1199-c. 1278) or Madhva (also called Anandatirtha or Purnaprajna), a major theologian in the Kannada-speaking area of southern India, preached a philosophy called dualism, or dvaita, in which the soul is seen as distinct from the supreme deity Vishnu.
Madhva’s followers have a philosophically and socially distinct form of Vaishnava tradition. While the Sri Vaishnava and Madhva schools of philosophical Vaishnavism flourished in southern India, the followers of Vallabhacharya (b. 1479) and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu (1486-1533) were primarily from the northern and northeastern parts of India. These theologians significantly increased the number of Vaishnava devotees through the devotional schools of philosophy and practice that they espoused. Chaitanya and his followers, who eventually came to be called Gaudiya Vaishnavas, or Vaishnavas from the land of Bengal, highlighted the supreme reality as Krishna, which is distinct from the belief of many other Hindus who think of Krishna as one of the many incarnations of Vishnu. Several traditions also came to think of Rama as the supreme being, and over the centuries those who think of Rama or Krishna as the primordial deity have come to be called Vaishnavas as well. In addition, Ghanshyam (better known as Swaminarayan; b. 1781) established one of the most influential schools of Vaishnavism in the western state of Gujarat. The Swaminarayan movement is a socially engaged form of Vaishnavism with several forms of outreach activities.
Leaders such as Prabhupada are also among the most influential modern Vaishnava authors. The ISKCON founder drew Western audiences to the movement through his English-language translations of texts such as the Srimad Bhagavatam and the Bhagavad Gita. He also founded Back to Godhead, the popular magazine of the ISKCON movement, which publishes religious articles and literature and serves as an important forum for the movement.
Organizational Structure
The many Vaishnava traditions have distinctive organizational structures. However, one can be a Vaishnava without ever belonging to an institution or to a philosophical tradition. Many of the Vaishnava singers and poets were not affiliated with specific schools of thought.
Although most Vaishnavas are lay people, leadership is frequently held by a small number of sannyasins, or renunciants. In the Swaminarayan, Sri Vaishnava, and Pushti marg (Vallabha) communities, some of the initiating teachers (acharyas) are householders who have descended from men appointed by the original founding teacher of each sect. ISKCON is organized through the Governing Body Commission (GBC) established by Prabhupada, thus facilitating the management of its many temples throughout the world.
Houses of Worship and Holy Places
India abounds with sacred places connected with the Vaishnava faith. Pilgrimage traditions have been religiously, socially, culturally, and economically significant in the last two millennia. Of the thousands of such places, a few cities and towns are of special importantance. While many of the northern Indian traditions consider places connected with Krishna—such as Vrindavan, Braja, Govardhana, Gokula, and Mathura—as the most significant, southern Indian Sri Vaishnavas may deem the many temple towns, such as Srirangam and Tirumala-Tirupati, as the most important sites. People from the state of Kerala consider the Krishna Temple at Guruvayur to be the most significant pilgrimage center for their devotees. Vaishnavas from Maharashtra make annual pilgrimages to see Vithoba in Pandaripur. Jagannath Puri, on the east coast of India in the state of Orissa, has been one of the most important pilgrimage centers for at least the last millennium. The 10th-century Prasat Kravan Temple and the 12th-century Angkor Wat Temple, both near Siem Reap in northwestern Cambodia, were built through the patronage of noble and royal Cambodian families. Angkor Wat is one of the biggest Vishnu temples in the world, and it has the largest bas-relief ever completed on any work of architecture.
The iconic manifestations of Vishnu or Krishna in all these temples are considered by most Vaishnavas to be a revelation in action. Devotees think of the enshrined icon as a continuous revelation of the supreme being, not as an idol made of material substance. Vaishnavas consider this icon to be God—on Earth as he is in heaven.
While the temple is extremely holy and significant in the Vaishnava faith, the home and the human body are also considered to be sacred. Icons and pictures of Vishnu are kept in home altars, and daily worship at such household altars signifies that the deity is treated as an honored guest. He is woken up, bathed, offered food, and made to sleep at night. One can be a good Vaishnava without ever having to set foot outside the home.
The human body is also a container of the divine. In daily rituals, when Vaishnava symbols are anointed on different parts of the devotee’s body, the various names of Vishnu are recited. Devotees are therefore directed to keep their bodies physically and mentally pure. The deity in the devotee’s heart is not considered different from or lesser than the deity in the temple or the one in heaven.
What is Sacred
Vishnu is also seen as abiding in a fossil called a salagrama, which is found in lakes in the Himalayan region. The salagrama fossil is believed to have a complete presence of Vishnu, and when a salagrama is at home, it is treated like a temple deity. Ordinarily only men handle a salagrama. Cows are also venerated in Vaishnava tradition; they are considered a type of “mother” to human society, since they freely give their milk for nourishment, and they have a place of honor as the animals to which Krishna gives special affection. There is also a species of plant known as tulasi, which all Vaishnava consider sacred; it is one of Krishna’s devotees who incarnates as a shrub.
Krishna’s (Vishnu’s) holy name is held as particularly sacred, and Vaishnavas believe it should never be desecrated by ignoring it or by chanting it inattentively. Vaishnavas believe the name must be given full attention when chanted.
Holidays and Festivals
The Vaishnava traditions share many holidays and festivals with other Hindus, and these vary by region and by community. Like most other Hindus, the Vaishnavas celebrate Deepavali, the festival of lights, on the new moon (or the day before) that comes between October 15 and November 15. The festival is celebrated for various reasons. Vaishnavas in northern India celebrate this as the day Rama returned from Lanka after defeating the demon Ravana, whereas devotees in the south believe that, during the earliest hours on that day, Krishna and his wife, Satyabhama, together defeated Narakasura, the demon of hell.
Southern Indian Vaishnavas, along with other Tamil-speaking people from Tamil-Nadu, celebrate Pongal, a festival of harvest and thanksgiving. Although celebrated in mid-January, this three-day festival marks the winter solstice in the Hindu calendar. It is called the beginning of the uttarayana punya kala, “the blessed time when the sun travels north.” The Sri Vaishnava community also celebrates the songs of the Alvars in a festival in the month of Margasirsa (mid-December to mid-January). The songs are recited and sung, and in some holy temples like Srirangam and Srivilliputtur, men from families who have the hereditary right to do so act out some of the poems.
Vaishnavas tend to celebrate the birthdays of their spiritual teachers as well as the birthdays of Rama and Krishna. The birthdays of the deities—the astrological date on which they are said to have incarnated themselves—are days of considerable celebration with the preparation and consumption of many sweets and other dishes.
Participation in these traditional holidays and festivals has remained steady, showing no major increases or decreases in participation into the 21st century.
Mode of Dress
Vaishnava garb for men and women varies depending on the region. On ritual occasions in southern India, men wear a veshti, a piece of white cotton cloth that is twirled around the legs. Also on ritual occasions both priests and men of the Brahman caste in southern India do not ordinarily wear a shirt. The sacred thread that they wear over their shoulders announces their caste as a Brahman. At one time many men in all parts of India, especially the Brahmans, tended to shave their heads except for a tuft of hair that resembled a ponytail on the top of their heads, but this custom is seldom followed now. Orthoprax (“correct practice”) Brahman women belonging to the Sri Vaishnava community wear a special, 9-yard sari on ritual occasions, especially weddings. Men and women in the north tend to cover themselves more fully. In general, women from the north tend to veil their heads or drape their saris lightly over their heads in modesty, whereas women from the south do not follow this custom. In the past only widows covered their heads in southern India.
In northern India, many male Vaishnavas tend to wear dhotis (a long, rectangular piece of cloth wrapped around and knotted at the waist), while female Vaishnavas wear saris to show their devotion to the lord. There are not, however, any strict rules governing dress. ISKCON has adopted these practices, too, but it is not considered mandatory.
Dietary Practices
The Vaishnava calendar is marked with days of feasting and fasting. Ekadashi, or the 11th day after the new moon or full moon, is ordinarily a day of fasting, though fruits and dairy products may be eaten. Grain is not consumed. There are other days of complete fasting, such as the hours just before the birthday of Krishna or during eclipses.
Vaishnavas subscribe to the Sanskrit dictum ahimsa paramo dharmah (“nonviolence is the highest virtue”) and tend to be vegetarians. Several Vaishnava theologians have written extensively on dietary regulations; this is, in fact, one of the most important aspects of premodern Vaishnavism. While many, if not most, of these regulations are not followed now, Vaishnavas once had strict rules on what, when, and with whom they ate, as well as who cooked the food. Generally the food had to be cooked by a Vaishnava of the same caste; orthoprax pilgrims still take a cook with them on their tours to be sure their diet is not compromised. Most importantly, Vaishnavas will “offer” their food to the lord in a ritual before eating. The food is then called prasadam (“the lord’s mercy”) and is considered purifying for all who partake.
Rituals
Daily, weekly, fortnightly, monthly, and annual rituals are celebrated at Vaishnava homes and temples. In temples the deities are “woken” up from their sleep with special prayers and bathed and adorned before formal worship. Every temple has its own schedule. In Nathdwara, Rajasthan, for instance, Krishna is worshipped in the form of a baby. The understanding is that a baby needs to sleep, and, therefore, the times allotted for devotee worship (darshan, literally “viewing”) are very limited. As in most Hindu temples, worship in Vaishnava temples is ordinarily not congregational, though that can be found in a few communities. Devotees take fruits and flowers, and the Brahman priest performs a puja (worship) on behalf of the worshipper to the enshrined deity. While most Vaishnava priests in India are male and belong to the Brahman caste, women in the ISKCON tradition have an active role in the bathing and adorning of the deities as well.
Domestic rituals vary by caste and gender. There is daily worship at the home altar that may be done by any member of the family and may range from simply lighting a lamp to more elaborate rituals. Singing classical and popular songs to the various manifestations of Vishnu, as well as reciting the 108 or 1,008 names of Vishnu, Lakshmi, or any one of their many manifestations, is also considered to be meritorious. Nagara-Sankirtan, or chanting in the streets, is also a common ritual of Vaishnavas, but it is especially emphasized by those of the Sri Chaitanya tradition.
Rites of Passage
Vaishnavas, like other Hindus, follow sacraments that are common all over India, as well as those that may be specific to their community or their local areas. Thus, all children go through rites of passage in which they are named and given their first solid food. In addition, first birthdays and sometimes the start of formal education are marked with rituals. Boys of the upper castes also go through the upanayana ceremony in which they are invested with a sacred thread that marks a young man’s spiritual birth.
The wedding is frequently the most important sacrament in a Vaishnava’s life. Sixtieth and eightieth birthdays are marked with religious rituals that include rites to various deities for peace in one’s life. In death the body is cremated, and the ashes immersed in a holy river. Local or community Vaishnava rites of passage may include celebration to mark the first menstrual period and rituals for pregnant women.
Some community elders also take Sannyasa (a formal order of renunciation) to spend their final years teaching others and severing their attachments to the material world.
Membership
One may be born into a Vaishnava family or become a Vaishnava by choice. Most frequently, the person who becomes a Vaishnava does so by simply accepting Vishnu as the supreme being and perhaps by following some of the dietary and ritual practices. However, those who seek a formal ritual to become Vaishnavas may get initiated into a particular Vaishnava tradition by one of the many spiritual teachers. The initiation ceremony may involve the accepting of a mantra, a name that articulates the devotee’s new status, and perhaps the marking of the upper arms with the signs of Vishnu, the conch, and the discus.
Today hundreds of Web sites cater to the Vaishnava subgroups, creating transnational communities. While some communities have had periods of active proselytizing, Vaishnava traditions in general do not focus on new recruitment; rather, Web sites and individual teachers try to encourage existing Vaishnavas to be better devotees.
Religious Tolerance
While there is no persecution against Vaishnavas today, there have been occasional historical cases of struggle between Vaishnavas, Shaivites, and Jains in southern India. In general, a sense of religious pluralism among Hindus has prevailed in most communities in India and elsewhere. Additionally, most Vaishnavas see their tradition as nonsectarian and universal, meaning that they view all religions as just alternate forms or subbranches of their own Vaishnava heritage.
ISKCON, particularly after it began to gain a broad following in the United States, has faced accusations from detractors who claim that the movement is a cult. The movement has worked to counter such attacks through educational campaigns, including the publishing of scholarly papers that explain the movement, its rituals, and its strong ties to Indian Vaishnavism. Even established scholars who are not devotees have come forward to support ISKCON in this regard, making it clear that Prabhupada’s movement is a legitimate expression of the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition.
Social Justice
Many Vaishnavas highlight the importance of faith and devotion and place more importance on these qualities than on social class or caste. Thus, there are many narratives that speak about how religious leaders befriended those of the lower castes. There have also been several Vaishnava movements designed to reach out to members of outcaste groups and to bring them into the Vaishnava community. In practice, however, those who belong to the lower castes have not had priestly roles in temples. The same is true for women, who are considered qualified for salvation but are not widely embraced as religious leaders. Views regarding the proper roles of women and members of the lower castes are slowly changing, however, especially in ISKCON, where bodily differences are seen as superficial and individual qualities or personal characteristics are considered important.
Social Life
Like other Hindus, Vaishnavas see marriage and family as important social institutions. Although the prevalence of extended families living together has declined in recent decades, the practice remains common. Children are expected to care for their parents in old age, and extended families often provide care and support to new parents. Procreation is held to be an important reason for marriage, and sexual relations outside of marriage are not condoned.
Vaishnava traditions celebrate the importance of community. Devotees frequently sing or compose poems that express their longing to live with other devotees. Such a life with other devotees is considered to be the “real” society (sat sang)—that is, the ideal society in which one should aspire to live. There is much reverence given to devotees of Vishnu, and frequently more respect is given to such devotion than to age, caste, or gender. In spite of these concepts, the caste system that exists in Hinduism is present in the Vaishnava traditions as well.
Controversial Issues
Many Vaishnava groups have internal tensions over succession issues, and after the death of a charismatic leader, these groups frequently splinter over issues of philosophical interpretation and social practices. Controversies over the authority of certain castes to have priestly functions or the authority of women to participate in certain rituals and recite certain mantras or prayers also exist. In general, Vaishnava leaders, like most Hindu leaders of other traditions, do not speak out publicly on such issues as birth control, abortion, and gay marriage.
Controversy arose in 2008 when senior ISKCON leader Hridayananda Dasa Goswami offered a blessing for a same-sex couple’s commitment ceremony in California. Reacting to criticism from some who said the blessing was an endorsement of same-sex marriage, Hridayananda Dasa Goswami later clarified his position, stating that no leader should endorse sexual relations other than those within marriage and for the purpose of procreation. Although the movement has not embraced same-sex marriage, there is a gay contingent of the movement, which publishes monographs and holds regular meetings. This is fully accepted by the organization. Women’s issues are regularly discussed, and a senior woman devotee, Malati Devi Dasi, joined the Governing Body Commission (the movement’s highest managerial authority) in 1998. Women in general are eligible to become gurus.
Cultural Impact
For centuries Vaishnava tenets have been transmitted through the performing arts rather than through books or sermons. Whether it is a simple bhajan (devotional song) or a complex dance performance, the power of the narratives is articulated through emotion. The glory of the various incarnations of Vishnu, as well as the soul’s longing for union with the divine, is frequently portrayed in classical dances. In such performances, the dancer takes on the role of a young woman pining for her lover in an allegory for the soul’s longing for union with God. Folk songs and dances, such as the ras in Gujarat, also reenact incidents from the life of Krishna.
The various hand gestures adopted by dancers are also seen in iconography. Vishnu icons abound in South and Southeast Asia, with some spectacular ones seen in southern India and in Cambodia. Vishnu can be portrayed as standing, sitting, reclining, or striding, and there are hundreds of ways in which Rama, Krishna, or the other manifestations are portrayed.
Vaishnava musical composers are particularly well known and admired in India. The compositions of the late 15th-century composers Annamacharya (1408-1503) and Purandara Dasa (1484-1564) are still sung by exponents of Carnatic music in southern India. Perhaps the best-known Vaishnava musician is Tyagaraja (1767-1847), whose compositions to Rama are honored every year in India and in the diaspora with the annual Tyagaraja festival.
Vaishnava themes, especially stories relating to the life of Krishna, have been the focus of miniature painting for the last four centuries in northern India. Some incidents depicted in the paintings are seen as expressive of particular modes of music (ragas) transformed from the aural to the visual.