Vaishnavism
Vaishnavism is one of the principal traditions of
Hinduism, and is distinguished from other schools by its primary worship of
Vishnu (and his associated
avatars) as the Supreme
God. It is principally
monotheistic in its philosophy, whilst also incorporating elements which could be described as being
panentheistic. Its beliefs and practices, (known as
Bhakti Yoga, or
Bhakti) are based largely on
Vedic and
Puranic texts such as
Bhagavad Gita,
Isha Upanishad, and the
Vishnu and
Bhagavata Puranas. The followers of Vaishnavism are referred to as 'Vaishnava(s)', sometimes 'Vaishnavites' in English. According to recent statistics Vaishnavas make up a majority of the total of all followers of Hinduism with the vast majority of these being in
India. The
Gaudiya Vaishnava branch of the tradition has significantly increased the awareness of Vaishnavism on an international basis over the past fifty years, largely through the activities and geographical expansion of the
Hare Krishna movement (
ISKCON).
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Vaishnava
Noun
1. worshipper of Vishnu
(hypernym) Hindu, Hindoo
(member-holonym) Vaishnavism, Vaisnavism
Vaishnava
(n.)
A worshiper of the god Vishnu in any of his incarnations.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), edited by Noah Porter.
About
Vaishnava
Vaishnava Vaisnava (Sanskrit) A follower of any sect recognizing and worshiping Vishnu as the sectarian supreme divinity. There are at present four principal Vaishnava sects: the Ramanujas founded by Ramanujacharya; the Madhvas founded by Madhva; the Vallabhas or Vallabhacharyas founded by Vallabhacharya; and a sect in Bengal founded by Chaitanya. Other minor sects are those founded by Ramananda and Kabir. All these Vaishnava sects are of relatively modern origin, though they use at least some of the ancient Hindu writings as their texts.