("Amazing
Experience") A regional religious group whose members are devotees
(bhakta) of the deity Vishnu and who are mostly located in Maharashtra's
central areas.
Chakradhar created the Mahanubhavs in the thirteenth
century.
Many features of "mainstream" Hindu religious
practice have been rejected by the group under his influence, including caste
differences, image worship, and brahmin religious authority.
The society is also known for adhering to an austere
lifestyle.
Despite being Vaishnavas, the Mahanubhavs believe in just
one God, whom they refer to as Parameshvar ("Great Lord") and who
they believe has had five incarnations.
The deity Krishna and the deified ascetic Dattatreya are two
of these incarnations who are well-known figures in the Hindu pantheon.
Chakradhar, Chakradhar's guru, and his guru's guru are the
other three sectarianism characters.
Pilgrimage, vows, and almsgiving are all important aspects
of their current practice.
Nonetheless, there remains a legacy of fear and mistrust of
the Mahanubhavs across Maharashtra, perhaps based in their anti-authoritarian
past.
Anne Feldhaus's The Religious System of the Mahanubhav Sect,
published in 1983, has further information.
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