DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.636#0152
140 Vaishnavism. Caitanya Sect.
By thus proclaiming social equality he secured popularity.
In this respect he wisely imitated the method of Buddhists and
Saktas. The doctrine of the latter, who abounded everywhere
in Bengal, was that magical powers might be acquired by the
worship of the female principle or generative faculty (sakti)
in nature, personified as Siva's wife. They believed that the
male principle, personified as the male god Siva, the great
Reproducer, was helpless in the work of Reproduction with-
out the energizing action of the female principle. Hence the
union of the sexes was thought by some to be typical of a
great cosmical mystery. This will be more fully explained
in the chapter on Saktism.
Caitanya professed to oppose these Sakta doctrines, both as
tending to licentious practices, and as ignoring the supremacy
of the god Vishnu .over Siva. Yet his system, like that of
Vallabha, had a tendency in the same direction. He taught
that the devotion of the soul to Vishnu was to be symbolized
under the figure of human love. '"Thou art dear to my
heart, thou art part of my soul," said a young man to his
loved one ; " I love thee, but why, I know not." So ought
the worshipper to love Krishna, and worship him for his
sake only. Let him offer all to God, and expect no
remuneration. He acts like a trader who asks for a return/
Such are the words of a modern exponent of the Vaishnava
system.
I have already pointed out that the idea of faith (bhakti) as
a means of salvation, which was formally taught by the
authors of the Bhagavad-gita, Bhagavata-purana and Sandilya-
sutra, was scarcely known in early times. The leading doc-
trine of the Vedic hymns and Brahmanas is that works
(karma), especially as represented by the performance of
sacrifices (yajna), constitute the shortest pathway to beati-
tude, while the Upanishads insist mainly on abstract medita-
tion and divine knowledge (jnana) as the true method.
Caitanya affirmed that faith and devotion—displayed by
By thus proclaiming social equality he secured popularity.
In this respect he wisely imitated the method of Buddhists and
Saktas. The doctrine of the latter, who abounded everywhere
in Bengal, was that magical powers might be acquired by the
worship of the female principle or generative faculty (sakti)
in nature, personified as Siva's wife. They believed that the
male principle, personified as the male god Siva, the great
Reproducer, was helpless in the work of Reproduction with-
out the energizing action of the female principle. Hence the
union of the sexes was thought by some to be typical of a
great cosmical mystery. This will be more fully explained
in the chapter on Saktism.
Caitanya professed to oppose these Sakta doctrines, both as
tending to licentious practices, and as ignoring the supremacy
of the god Vishnu .over Siva. Yet his system, like that of
Vallabha, had a tendency in the same direction. He taught
that the devotion of the soul to Vishnu was to be symbolized
under the figure of human love. '"Thou art dear to my
heart, thou art part of my soul," said a young man to his
loved one ; " I love thee, but why, I know not." So ought
the worshipper to love Krishna, and worship him for his
sake only. Let him offer all to God, and expect no
remuneration. He acts like a trader who asks for a return/
Such are the words of a modern exponent of the Vaishnava
system.
I have already pointed out that the idea of faith (bhakti) as
a means of salvation, which was formally taught by the
authors of the Bhagavad-gita, Bhagavata-purana and Sandilya-
sutra, was scarcely known in early times. The leading doc-
trine of the Vedic hymns and Brahmanas is that works
(karma), especially as represented by the performance of
sacrifices (yajna), constitute the shortest pathway to beati-
tude, while the Upanishads insist mainly on abstract medita-
tion and divine knowledge (jnana) as the true method.
Caitanya affirmed that faith and devotion—displayed by