Vaishnavism is one of the principal divisions of Hinduism. Its adherents worship Vishnu as the supreme God or one of his avatars and are principally monotheistic whilst also incorporating elements which could be described as panentheistic in nature. Bhaktas, or worshippers of Vishnu are called Vaishnavites, an English term that originated from Vaishnava in Sanskrit). The Hare Krishna movement is a modern example of a Vaishnavite organisation.

Schools of Vaishnavism

Major Vaishnava schools of thought include:

• Vishishtadvaita ("qualified nondualism"), espoused by Ramanuja; i.e., Srivaishnavism.

• Dvaita ("dualism"), espoused by Madhvacharya

• Achintya Bheda-Bheda, espoused by Sri Chaitanya adhered by Gaudiya Vaishnavism. ISKCON ("Hare Krishnas") is the most well known branch of this school.

• Shuddhaadvaita, espoused by Vallabhacharya

• Dvaitaadvaita, espoused by Nimbarka

• Ek Saran Naam Dharma, espoused by Sankardeva

The Major Schools

Vaishnavas believe that Vishnu-Narayana is the one supreme God and all other

Advaita Vashnavas believe that no soul is actually separated from God, and that every soul is ultimately one and the same. Thus each soul could be considered as equally divine. Thus Vishnu in the saguna (with attributes) form is characterized by harmony and perfection. But in nirguna (without attributes) form, He is in a state unblemished by matter and is without attributes.

Normally the term "Vaishnava" is used to refer to people of the first category alone, who represent the vast majority of Vaishnavas. But there are a small number of people in the second group, e.g., Smartas who worship Vishnu as their favourite God, or Ishta Deva. For more information about the first category, see Vaishnava Theology and Gaudiya Vaishnava Theology. For information about the second category of people, see Smartism, Advaita and Krishnology.

The Supreme Godhead

It is notable that the heroes of both the great Indian epics are believed to be incarnations of Lord Vishnu. These epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabarata, concern Rama and Krishna, respectively.

History of Vaishnavism

Thanks to Alvars, a set of

With the entry of other religions into the Indian subcontinent, Hindus united and the discriminations of Vaishnavism and Saivism became intellectual arguments rather than mutually exclusive philosophies.

Vaishnava Upanishads

Of the 108 Upanishads of the Muktika, 13 are considered Vaishnava Upanishads. They are listed with their associated Veda (SV, ŚYV, KYV, AV):

1. Nṛsiṃhatāpanī (AV)
2. Mahānārāyaṇa (AV)
3. Rāmarahasya (AV)
4. Rāmatāpaṇi (AV)
5. Vāsudeva (SV)
6. Avyakta (SV)
7. Tārasāra (SYV)
8. Gopālatāpani (AV)
9. Kṛṣṇa (AV)
10. Hayagrīva (AV)
11. Dattātreya (AV)
12. Gāruḍa (AV)
13. Kali-Saṇṭāraṇa (Kali) (KYV)

See also

• Krishna
• Rama
• Vishnu
• Shaivism
• Shaktism
• The Journal of Vaishnava Studies
• Gaudiya Vaishnavism
• International Society for Krishna Consciousness
• Bhagwan Swaminarayan

Vishnuismo Vaishnava וישנויזם Wischnuismus Vaishnavisme Wisznuizm Кришнаизм Vaishnavismta:வைணவம்