By Parampara dasa
Vedic Knowledge descends from the Supreme Personality of Godhead through the four Vaisnava Sampradayas, each sampradaya headed by their respective Sampradaya Acarya:
As Srila Prabhupada writes, purport, Sb 4.17.5:
âThere are four Vaisnava sampradayas (systems) of disciplic succession. One sampradaya comes from Lord Brahma, one from the Goddess of Fortune, one from the Kumaras, headed by Sanat-kumara, and one from Lord Siva. These four systems of disciplic succession are still going on. As King Prthu has illustrated, one who is serious about receiving transcendental Vedic knowledge must accept a guru, or spiritual master, in one of these four disciplic successions. It is said that unless one accepts a mantra from one of these sampradayas, the so-called mantra will not act in Kali-yuga.â
In the purport of Sb 2.22.24, Srila Prabhupada emphasizes the importance of this understanding:
âTherefore, according to our Vaisnava philosophy, we have to follow the great acaryas of the four sampradayas, or disciplic successions.â
Srila Prabhupada in the purport of Cc Antya 2.295 reveals the names of these four sampradaya acaryas:
“A Vaisnava should study the commentaries on the Vedanta-sutra written by the four sampradaya-acaryas, namely Sri Ramanujacarya, Madhvacarya, Visnu Svami and Nimbarka.â
And again in a lecture in Bombay, 9.30.1973:
âThere are four sampradayas, parampara: the Ramanuja Sampradaya, Madhvacarya Sampradaya, Visnu Svami Sampradaya, Nimbarka Sampradaya. So we belong to the Madhvacarya Sampradaya.â
Srila Prabhupada, lecture June 6, 1974:
âOur Indian spiritual life is guided by the acaryas, sampradaya acarya, the Ramanujacarya, Madhvacarya, Visnu Svami and Nimbarka.â
Four Sampradaya Acaryas
In this way Srila Prabhupada teaches us that there are four Vaisnava Sampradayas, each with a respective Sampradaya Acarya, who has commented on the Vedanta Sutra:
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The Sri Brahma Sampradaya whose Sampradaya Acarya is Sri Madhvacarya.
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The Sri Laksmi Sampradaya whose Sampradaya Acarya is Sri Ramanujacarya.
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The Sri Kumara Sampradaya whose Sampradaya Acarya is Sri Nimbarkacarya.
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The Sri Rudra (Siva) Sampradaya whose Sampradaya Acarya is Sri Visnu Swami.
Therefore there are four âSampradaya Acaryasâ, one for each Vaisnava Sampradya.
As Srila Prabhupada writes:
ââŠcommentaries on the Vedanta-sutra written by the four sampradaya-acaryas, namely Sri Ramanujacarya, Madhvacarya, Visnu Svami and Nimbarka.â
Acaryas of the Sampradaya
One should distinquish between the terms Sampradaya Acarya and Acarya of the Sampradaya. As Srila Prabhupada instructs us there are only four Samapradaya Acaryas and this august appellation can therefore only be correctly attached to that exclusive four: Sri Ramanujacarya, Madhvacarya, Visnu Svami and Nimbarka.
However, the term, Acarya of the Sampradaya, may be applied to all qualified devotees initiated into a particular sampradaya.
Definition of Acarya
In Cc Adi Lila, 1.46, Srila Prabhupada defines acarya:
âIn the Vayu Purana, an acarya is defined as one who knows the import of all Vedic literature, explains the purpose of the Vedas, abides by their rules and regulations, and teaches his disciples to act in the same way.â
Name of Sampradaya
A sampradaya may be designated by the first link of a sampradaya as well as the Sampradaya Acarya. Thus Srila Prabhupada appeared in the Sri Brahma Sampradaya, which can also be designated the Madhvacarya Sampradaya.
For example, Srila Prabhupada, purport, Sb 1.9.6:
âHe[Narada] initiated even Vyasadeva, the author of the Vedic literatures, and from Vyasadeva, Madhvacarya was initiated, and thus the Madhva-sampradaya, in which the Gaudiya-sampradaya is also included, has spread all over the universe. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu belonged to this Madhva-sampradaya; therefore, Brahmaji, Narada, Vyasa, down to Madhva, Caitanya and the Gosvamis all belonged to the same line of disciplic succession.â
However it would be an errant concoction to rename a sampradaya after any acarya of that sampradaya, even if that acarya were the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore it would be erroneous to expound the âSri Caitanya Sampradayaâ. Certainly we in ISKCON would be in contravention to propound that we are in the âSrila Prabhupada Sampradayaâ, asserting that Srila Prabhupada is our âsampradaya acaryaâ. Using the full title, ISKCON is in the Sri Brahma Madhva Gaudiya Sampradaya. Interesting, this branch of the Brahma Sampradaya under Sri Caitanya does not use the name of Sri Caitanya. The addition of âGaudiyaâ is sufficient.
Conclusion
The important point is that the appellation Sampradaya Acarya is exclusive to the four personalities: Sri Ramanujacarya, Madhvacarya, Visnu Svami and Nimbarka. This is Srila Prabhupadaâs plain statement as quoted above and well-established in Vaisnava lore. Of course, Srila Prabhupada is an acarya of the Sri Brahma Sampradaya, but it would be erroneous to then mistakenly designate Srila Prabhupada as the âSampradaya Acaryaâ. That would be tantamount to saying that Srila Prabhupada has started a fifth Vaisnava sampradaya, which would be a serious and unsupportable concoction. There are only four Vaisnava Sampradayas, as quoted above.
Therefore to designate Srila Prabhupada as a great acarya of the Sri Brahma Madhva Gaudiya Sampradaya is perfectly correct. And of course he is exclusively the Founder Acarya of ISKCON. Yet, to designate Srila Prabhupada as âSampradya Acaryaâ is mistaken, even if done so with misinformed enthusiasm. Problems arise in disciplic sucession when the careful message of the great acayas is disregarded. Misusing or redefining standard terminology is a philosophical digression to be avoided.
THANK YOU! Nice article. Good common sense points. Srila Prabhupada often said that his only qualification was that he didn’t change anything. No matter how noble our intention is, why should we concoct a new name and position for Srila Prabhupada? If we do, we may end up making some offense.
Srila Gour Govinda Maharaja stated that the four sampradaya merged in the Person of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
caudda-bhuvanera guru caitanya gosa-i
ta-‘ra guru anya, ei kona sastre nai
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the jagad-guru, the spiritual master of the fourteen worlds. No other guru can compare with Him. (Caitanya Caritamrta-Adi 12.16)
ei mata caitanya-krishna purna bhagavan
yuga-dharma-pravartana nahe ta-‘ra kama
kona karane yabe haila avatare mana
yugadharma kala haila se kale milana
dui hetu avatari’ laina bhaktagana
apane asvade prema-nama-sankirtana
sei dvare acandale kirtana-sa-care
ei mata bhakta-bhava kari’ angikara
apani acari’ bhakti karila pracara
[Just as Sri krishna really appeared in order to manifest His Vrndavana pastimes whereas his supression of demons was incidental,] in the same way, for Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, promulgating the dharma for the age is an incidental reason for his appearance. When the Lord desired to appear for another reason, the time for promulgating the religion of the age also arose. Thus with two intentions, the Lord appeared with His devotees and tasted the nectar of prema with the congregational chanting of the holy name. Thus he spread kirtana even among untouchables. He wove a wreath of the holy name and prema with which he garlanded the entire world. In this way, assuming the sentiment of a devotee, he preached devotional service while practicing it Himself. (Caitanya Caritamrta-Adi 4.37 â 41)
anarpitacarim cirat karunayavatirnam kalau
samarpayitum-unnatojjvala-rasam sva-bhakti-sriyam
harim purata-sundara-dyuti-kadamba-sandipitam
sada hrdaya-kandare sphuratu vam sacinandanam
May that Lord who is known as the son of Srimati Sacidevi be transcendentally situated in the inner-most chambers of your heart. Resplendent with the radiance of molten gold, he has appeared in the age of Kali by His causeless mercy to bestow what no incarnation ever offered before: the most sublime and radiant spiritual knowledge of the mellow taste of his service. (Caitanya Caritamrta-Adi 1.4, Vidagdha-Madhava 1.2)
sei radha-bhava laina caitanya-avatara
yuga-dharma nama-prema kaila paracara
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu appeared with the sentiments of Sri Radha. He preached the dharma of this age, the chanting of the holy name of Sri krishna, and pure love of Godhead (krishna-prema). (Caitanya Caritamrta-Adi 4.220)
adyapiha caitanya ei saba lila kare
ya’ra bhagye thake se dekhaye nirantare
As yet, no one can completely see the opulences of all the pastimes performed by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, because they are without limit in time and space. They are unlimited and eternal. (Caitanya Bhagavata Madhya 23.513)
purve yena jarasandha adi rajagana
veda-dharma kari’ kare visnura pujana
krishna nahi mane ta’te daitya kari’ mani
caitanya na manile taiche daitya ta’re jani
hena krpamaya caitanya na bhaje yei jana
sarvottama haile ta’re asure ganana
Formerly, even kings like Jarasandha strictly followed the Vedic rituals, thus worshiping Lord Visnu. One who does not accept krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead is certainly a demon. Similarly, one who does not accept Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu as Krishna, the same Supreme Lord, is also to be considered a demon. One who does not show respect unto this merciful Lord, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu or does not worship Him should be considered a demon, even if that person is very “exalted” in human society. (Caitanya Caritamrta-Adi 8.8,9,12)
Caitanya Siksamrita by Bhaktivinode Thakur
âThose who become attracted in their hearts as soon as they think of the Lord are worshipping the Lord according to raga. It is imperative that the people of a specific country give proper respect to their native saints but no one although they may hold a particular belief for their spiritual progress should go to other places and preach that what their teachers have taught is superior to all other teachings.”
BG 4.11: As all surrender unto Me, I reward them accordingly. Everyone follows My path in all respects, O son of PrthÄ.
PART #1
In this article, Parampara Prabhu writes: âTherefore to designate Srila Prabhupada as a great acarya of the Sri Brahma Madhva Gaudiya Sampradaya is perfectly correct. And of course he is exclusively the Founder Acarya of ISKCON. Yet, to designate Srila Prabhupada as âSampradya Acaryaâ is mistaken, even if done so with misinformed enthusiasmâ.
We have a description of Srila Prabhupada as a great âacaryaâ with no capital A. This is followed with an acknowledgement that Srila Prabhpada is Founder Acarya of ISKCON. The concluding line mentions a unique position within our Sampradaya that is not approachable by Srila Prabhupada. Basically we have a conclusion with Srila Prabupadaâs unique position sandwiched between two ways his position is not unique. I would like to reemphasize ways in which we can glorify Srila Prabhupadaâs unique contribution to the Sampradaya without displaying any misinformed enthusiasm.
Yes, Srila Prabhupadaâs special designation, based on his activities and his self designation, is that of Founder Acharya of ISKCON, not Sampradaya Acarya; however, Founder is one of those words we think we know the meaning of although we do not look deeply into it. The concept of founder focuses on a personâs objective activities; it is not a sentimental or esoteric religious doctrine. There are founders in numerous spheres; within business the concept is described-âThe origin of the word is that a founder originally meant a person who forges steel; similarly, the founder of a company is forging the new entity (businessdictionary.com).
PART #2
Letâs take a look at a mundane Founder as crude comparison. If you google âfounder of experimental psychologyâ you will see this is essentially given to Wilhelm Wundt (Leipzig University, Germany).If you click on, wilhelmwundt.com, you will find he is credited with supervising 186 Doctoral dissertations, and,- â Reading all of his work has been estimated to take two and a half years if one was to read 60 pages a dayâ. We also read-âWundt did not discover psychology, as that distinction does not go to one person but belongs to the individual efforts of many. What Wundt is credited with doing is founding psychology, or in other words he made psychology a true scienceâ. âThrough the making of an experimental psychology laboratory, a journal in which to publish laboratory results and rigorous training of his students who in turn went on to open new laboratories, Wundt founded psychologyâ
Gustav Fechner(Leipzig Professor the generation before Wundt) is credited with being the father of âpsychophysicsâ. This psychophysics could just as well be called experimental psychology. And Wundtâs works were an expansion of it. Wundt did not invent the idea. But Wundt created an entity, so Fechnerâs term, psychophysics is not used, it is experimental psychology and the founder is Wundt.
My point is, it is simply common decency to acknowledge the special contribution of a Founder. Srila Prabhuda founded âKrishna Consciousnessâ and he founded the âInternational Societyâ. It may be possible for those in the Gaudiya Math, other Sampradayaâs, and other Monotheistic traditions to also found an entity, while staying true to the original teachings- the more the better. We can certainly give them due respect. But within ISKCON the highest respect goes to Srila Prabhupada, his translations and purports are the highest authority. And the greatest gratitude is to the one that founded the movement that saved its members. This is not dogma; it is simply a matter of being human enough to feel most grateful to our own Spiritual father or grandfather.
I have a question which I hope is not an impertinent one. The designation “Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya” is used to refer to the sampradaya of Lord Caitanya, but “Gaudiya” seems to be a geographic designation.
As far as my limited understanding goes, “Gaudiya” refers either generally to the ancient five Gauda regions (roughly modern North India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, or perhaps a little larger), or more specifically to the region of an old Bengali kingdom that included modern West Bengal, Bangladesh, part of Orissa, and perhaps a little larger area).
And yet we use “Gaudiya” to refer to all those who worship and follow Lord Caitanya. As Srila Prabhupada proved, the devotees of Lord Caitanya are found all over the world (even all over the universe), and are not limited to any specific geographical region.
So why do we persist in using a geographical designation for our sampradaya? Is it to connect the history of our sampradaya to some historical geo-political context from 1,000 or more years ago?
Gopal Bhatta Goswami was the son of Venkata Bhattacarya, of Srirangam. Why should he be designated a “Gaudiya”, if he was actually from a Dravidian region?
Of course it is mistaken to consider any pure Vaisnava to be a member of any material nationality, caste or family, but at the same time we do designate ourselves as “Gaudiya Vaisnavas”, which we think of as meaning “Lord Caitanya’s Vaisnavas”, buty which literally means something analogous to “North Indian Vaisnavas” or “Bengali Vaisnavas”. Why is that?
I remember reading once that Srila Prabhupada approved of having his American disciples known as “American Krishnians” (or something like that).
Anyway, I am just curious as to the significance of the term “Gaudiya” and how it appears to be pregnant with geographical and historical meaning that goes beyond the obvious fact that Lord Caitanya’s devotees historically hailed primarily from Bengal (East and West), Orissa, Assam and Manipura, whereas the Madhvacarya sect is primarily headquartered in the Karnatika region, and all of the four Vaisnava Sampradaya Acaryas (as well as Sripad Sankaracarya) hailed from the southern part of India historically known as the five Dravidian kingdoms.
Can anyone help shed light on this?
Also, where is a good source of information about the medieval Indian history explaining these terms “Panca Gauda” and “Panca Dravida”, aside from what information is there in Caitanya Caritamrta?
I did find this reference on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pancha-Gauda
I find it interesting that Srila Prabhupada named at least two of his disciples “Panca Gauda Das” and “Panca Dravida Das”.
I do not know whether it is particularly significant, but it makes me curious as to the significance of these two groups of ancient kingdoms or groups of brahmana communities, and what that has to do, if anything, with the designation of followers of Lord Caitanya as “Gaudiya” Vaisnavas, even though they may be from South India or even from England, France, Africa, Australia or anywhere.
In the Caitanya Caritamrta, Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami describes the “tree” of followers of Lord Caitanya, with its innumerable branches, headed by different devotees.
Srila Prabhupada writes in one Purport that ISKCON is one of the branches on that tree. I do not think anyone would object to the notion that ISKCON is the “Srila Prabhupada branch” of the Caitanya tree (there might yet be some controversy over whether the Srila Prabhupada branch is large enough to include some who do not work within the confines of institutional ISKCON).
I see no point in arguing that Srila Prabhupada should be awarded the title “Sampradaya Acarya.” The original article accurately explains there are only four “sampradaya acaryas,” and in our sampradaya that post is already occupied by Sri Madhvacarya. It does not detract from our absolute honor and respect for Srila Prabhupada that we follow these traditional conventions and understandings.
In fact, it would be disrespectful and displeasing to Srila Prabhupada if we tried to portray him as one who surpassed previous acaryas. His glory is that he was a perfect surrendered Vaisnava and never tried to surpass previous acaryas. He repeatedly explained that this was, in fact, the qualification of any bona fide spiritual master: to present exactly what has been learned through disciplic succession without adding or subtracting anything.
Srila Prabhupada was a peerless exponent of Krishna consciousness in the English language, and coined many phrases (including perhaps the phrase “Krishna consciousness”) We should honor his achievement in explaining the eternal truths of Bhakti as revealed by Sri Krishna Caitanya and His followers in language that westerners and modern people everywhere could understand and accept. Yet, it does not diminish from his glory and honor — but rather enhances it — to acknowledge that he served as an ambassador for Lord Caitanya and for many (unlimited) liberated devotees who already and eternally reside in perfect Krishna consciousness. That is how he always presented himself: not as an innovator or inventor, but as an honest messenger who could present the pure message because he was fully surrendered to his authorities.
We cannot afford to cut the ISKCON branch of the Caitanya tree off from the rest of the tree. Kaviraj Goswami warns us not to think one branch more important than another. Nevertheless, we should be very happy to be situated in Srila Prabhupada’s branch.
what is the relation ship of athman with sri krishna,according to you iskcon people?
Is the realation is same as krishna as said by adi shankara?
or the difference is absolute as said by madhvacharya?