Chaitanya (1486–1533), a Bengali saint, created a religious
society.
It gets its name from the old Bengali term Gauda, which
emphasizes the adoration of the deity Vishnu.
Chaitanya's intense devotionalism is the foundation of the
community's religious activities and beliefs.
He said that reciting Krishna's name over and over again,
frequently while singing and dancing in the streets, is the way to holy
ecstasy.
Chaitanya's religious charisma attracted a large number of
disciples, the most prominent of whom were the Goswamis—the brothers Rupa and
Sanatana, as well as their nephew Jiva.
The Goswamis moved to Brindavan, the place where Krishna is
said to have grown up, under Chaitanya's order.
The descendants of the Goswamis still reside there.
The Goswamis at Brindavan went about organizing and
systematizing Chaitanya's ecstatic experience's philosophical underpinning.
Despite their perception of themselves as Chaitanya's
slaves, they play an equal role in the community's growth.
The primary intellectual tenet of the Goswamis was
achintyabhedabheda, the belief that the Supreme Divinity (Krishna) and the
human person share a "inconceivable identity and difference" that
makes the soul both equal to and distinct from the divinity.
The Gaudiya Vaishnava group is also known for its in-depth
examination of devotion (bhakti) as a spiritual experience.
As five kinds of devotion, they identified the many ways to
feel God's love.
Sushil Kumar De, Early History of the Vaishnava Faith and
Movement in Bengal, 1961, is a good source of knowledge.
You may also want to read more about Hinduism here.
Be sure to check out my writings on religion here.
