Archaeological and numismatic evidence suggests that Vishnu, one of the Hindu trinity, others being Brahma, the Creator, and Shiva, the Destroyer), was worshipped in
'Bhagavat Puran', one of the earliest and foundational Vaishnava texts, is believed to have been composed in the south. The kings of the Sen dynasty introduced it in Bengal in the twelfth century. In the fifteenth, Maladhar Bosu translated it into popular Bengali. It has since then remained one of the most popular and sacred Vaishnava texts. Later, more such texts ('Aadi Puran', 'Kalki Puran', 'Narasingha Puran' and so on) appeared around this legend. Whereas 'Bhagavat Puran' propagated 'bhakti' (devotional discourses and practices that established a direct emotional connecton between Vishnu in his incarnation, and the devotee), the later texts stressed more on rituals.
It is not clear how Krishna , believed to be an incarnation of Vishnu, replaced him in Vaishnava literature. Krishna , a popular figure, was also one of the principal characters in the Mahabharata. In the Mahabharata Krishna supposedly uttered the 'Bhagavad-Gita', a discourse with superb inconsistency that would allow one to justify almost any action while shrugging off the consequences. In all probability, Krishna was a literary creation though he might have had a historical origin. Krishna was supposed to be an aspect of Vishnu, but later he had a life of his own. With his relative independence from Vishnu he acquired a life outside the Hindu scriptures when new myths grew around him and his humanisation began. His love was human and erotic. This was perhaps a result of Shakta or Tantrik Budhhist influence on Vaishanavism. It is ironic that while in the orientalist perception India
Since royalty promoted Vaishanavism the upper classes were its initial followers and it was entrenched within contemporary caste and social hierarchy. Vaishnavas observed strict rituals many of which were codified in the 'Vabishhat Puran'. This observance of rituals was perhaps one way of keeping the lower castes away from the mainstream. It was also a desperate attempt to retain and assert one's identity in a world where orthodox religion was facing threats, both internal and external.
However, with the transformation of Krishna it began to change. The colour of his skin would suggest that he was of non-Aryan (and non-Vedic) origin, perhaps a tribal chief. He gradually transcended the caste hierarchy and stepped out of the scriptures. In popular imagination he was internalized as an impish son or a playful lover. Devotion ('bhakti') here acquired new meaning. Love thy god as you would love your child or your lover. At the same time, Krishna was worshipped as the supreme personality of godhead and the purest and the absolute truth. In the Mahabharata Arjun says to Krishna , "You are the eternal, transcendental, original person, the unborn, the greatest. All the great sages such as Narada, Ashita, Devala and Vyasa confirm this truth about You..."
In popular imagination and literature there are two Krishnas . Krishna, the playful lover in Vrindavan and Mathura, and Krishna, who abandoned Radha to be the king of Dwarka, a shrewd politician and strategic advisor, as seen in the Mahabharata. The youthful Krishna used to hide the clothes of bathing young women ('gopinis') while Krishna, in his second incarnation, rescued Draupadi in the Mahabharat while she was being stripped in public.
From the eleventh century till the time of Sri Chaitanya Vaishnav texts were mainly literary. Vidyapati, Joydev and Boru Chandidas were the principal authors. In this highly erotic literature Radha was Krishna 's lover. Radha in all probability was a late literary creation. In earlier texts, for example, in 'Bhagavat Puran', she was never mentioned. The great body of bhakti lyrics glorified the illicit love between Krishna and the cowherd maidens ('gopinis') of Vridavan, of whom Radha was of paramount importance. A popular trope within devotional expression was to borrow the woman's voice and emotions. An unprecedented large and free space to the woman seemed to have been granted. The lyrics of Vidyapati describe the sensuous love story of Radha and Krishna while Joydev's 'Gita-Govinda' presents their amorous pastimes in spring. Joydev wrote within the Brahaminical and courtly tradition. In Boru Chandidas' 'Sri Krishna Kirtan', however, Krishna was a proud village boy and Radha, an innocent and coy village girl. This democratisation of the Krishna myth happened in an age when Vaishanavism came into increasing contact with other popular sects. Tantrik worship, for example, was very popular and there was obvious Tantrik influence on Vaishnavism. Such esoteric cults loosely affiliated to Vaishnavism placed a powerful emphasis on the practice of sexaul rites between a man and a woman who were not married to each other. With its growing syncretism Vaishnavism crossed social barriers. While orthodoxy remained obsessed with rituals and its manuals, a tradition of love and devotion in literature and songs became increasingly popular among all classes.
At the same time, the coming of Islam in state power in Bengal in the thirteen century also posed a threat to Brahaminical orthodoxy. With the weakening of the socio-political hegemony of Brahmins, the lower castes, especially the Sudras, asserted themselves. This was the time when Kayasthas, who were Sudras, became powerful and privileged. However, it needs to be remembered that initially Muslim Sultans neither disrupted the dominant economic continuity of the society nor actively interferred in the religious life of the Hindus. The decline of orthodoxy had begun even before the arrival of Islam.
Over the years many Hindus, mainly those belonging to the lower castes, to escape caste oppression converted to Islam which promised to be a more democratic religion. It is difficult to estimate the number of Hindus who changed religion. But it was obvious that Hindu orthodoxy was going through a serious crisis. It had begun to face increasing threats from both within and outside and the religion had lost its direction and vibrancy.
Chaitanya was born in the late fifteenth century in Nabadwip in the district of Nadia in Bengal. He was born in a Brahamin family and in his youth was trained in the Nyaya shastra which dealt with a logical and rigorous analysis of reality. The precepts of Nyaya were mostly explained through analogies drawn from an analysis of common objects. The clay pot ('ghat') was often an object of such analysis. Chaitanya was known to be an erudite and sharp Sanskrit scholar, but he soon lost interest in dry and argumentative intellectual pursuits. From a scholar he became a devotee.
He gave a resurgence to the Vaishnava tradition of 'bhakti yoga'. Bhakti Yoga is the yoga of devotion. Here the practitioneer seeks union with the divine being absorbed in his/her chosen deity or aspect of God. More than logical understanding and knowledge it is important to be able to go beyond the self and fill one's heart with genuine devotion and love. Some people believe that Chaitanya's bhakti movement betrayed influence of Islam and its Sufis. However, the tradition of bhakti was a part of Hinduism even before Islam came to India.
Chaitnya made no discrimination between castes and creed. Not only lower castes like Sudras but also those outside the caste system (the so called 'scheduled castes' of today) were welcomed. He even had Muslim disciples. Instead of Sanskrit he used the vernacular to communicate his message to his followers. The only form of worship was chanting the holy name through 'japa' (individual meditation during which the aspirant would murmur the holy name while keeping count on a rosary of 108 beads) and 'kirtan' (devotional song glorifying the holy name often with the accompaniment of clay drums and hand cymbals). Kirtans were performed collectively in temples and out on the streets in procession. While roaming on the streets and singing kirtan Chaitanya would often begin to dance and go into frenzies of joy and his followers thought that he was in the throes of divine madness. Bhakti which once had a cultural form had now become a social movement.
Bhakti thus promised direct union with god unmediated by priests, and it threw a radical challenge to Brahminical hegemony. The orthodoxy hit back. They made fun of the Gaudiya Vaishnavs, treated them with disdain. They dismissed bhakti because it lacked 'theory' that was very central to the mainstream religion. Chaitanya was disappointed and was in no mood to fight back and so he decided to renounce the world and took 'sanyas'. Leaving behind his wife and mother he went to Puri (Nilachal) in Orissa where he died in 1533 CE..
Without Chaitanya's leadership the bhakti movement began to decline in Nadia when the orthodoxy made an attempt to appropriate it. The six Goswamis of Vrindavan (five of them were Brahmins and one, Raghunath Goswami, was a Sudra) began to codify Vaishnavism. With theory came rituals. Gaudiyo Vaishnavism gradually became a part of mainstream Vaishnavism under Brahminical dominance. The centre shifted from Nabadwip to Vrindavan.
However, the bhakti tradition never died down in Bengal. Kirtan as a collective form of worship, has always remained very popular. Today, however, like everything else, bhakti has been globalised. It's gaining increasing popularity in the West. Groups of European or American Vaishnavs dancing and singing is not an uncommon sight in the parks of New York or London. The empire seems to have struck back again.
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