IMPORTANCE OF VAISHNIVISM IN VEDIC RELIGION

A PRESENTATION ON VAISHNIVISM IN VEDIC RELIGION

1. JIWAJI UNIVERSITY, GWALIOR SEMINAR PRESENTATION ON IMPORTANCE OF VAISHNAVISM IN VEDIC RELIGION MA - AIHCA II SEMESTER SESSION – 2021-23 Presented to Presented by Dr. (Prof) S.D. Sisodia Abhijeet Verma MA- AIHCA (II)Semester Roll No. 211000716

2. Origin of Vaishnavism The origin of Vaishnavism can be traced back to the verbal teachings imparted by Vishnu himself to  Goddess Laxmi  and in turn to Vishvaksena , the divine angel. The earliest known origin of Vaishnavism can be traced back to the  Rig Veda , the oldest religious literature of the world. There are a number of  hymns in the Rig Ved a which are also repeated in the  Yajur Veda  and  Sama Veda , which speak of Lord Vishnu as the highest personal  God , who is the sole creator and controller of the universe and the saviour of humanity. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

3. Vaishnavism in Ancient Hindu Texts Vaishnavism is contained, discussed, elaborated and developed in a number of  ancient Hindu texts . These include the Upanishads, the Puranas, the  Agamas  and the epics of the Mahabharata and the Ramayana.

4.   Upanishads The various philosophical and religious doctrines which constitute the chief basis of Vaishnavism are found in the Upanishads in great detail. The basic themes of Ishwar (God),  chitta  (soul) and acit (matter), the nature of Ishwar as a personal God endowed with attributes, the  Bhakti  or Upasana as a  sadhana  or means of God-realization and the nature of  Moksha  as conceived in Vaishnavism are all taken from the Upanisadic teachings. The  Katha Upanishad  and the Shakta Upanishad hold Vishnu as the supreme deity. The  Taittiriya Upanishad  asserts that the Purusa who has been spoken about in the Rig Veda is the ruler of the Universe,  Narayana .

5. Agamas In the period of time following the Vedas, the various important tenets of Vaishnavism have been more elaborately expounded in the Agamas. The Vaishnava Agamas uphold the exclusive worship of Vishnu as the Supreme Deity. It emphasized on the exclusive worship of Vishnu as a means of salvation. The Agamas have evolved the concept of worshipping it in an image form. As a follow up of this form of worship, the consecration of icons, the construction of  temples  for this purpose and the observance of certain prescribed daily rituals and other  festivals  in the temples have all been formulated in the Agamas.

6. Epics Following the Agamas, the  development of Vaishnavism  has taken place in a comprehensive way in the great Indian epics of the  Mahabharata  and the  Ramayana . The Ramayana is regarded by the Vaishnavites as a text expounding the doctrine of self-surrender. In the Mahabharata, Vishnu is identified with Narayana, Vasudeva, Bhagawan and  Krishna . The importance of devoted worship to Lord Vishnu in order to attain Moksha is clearly brought out in the Mahabharata. The supremacy of Vishnu as against all other deities including  Shiva  and  Brahma  is upheld throughout the Mahabharata.

7. Puranas The contribution of the  Indian Puranas  in general and  Vishnu Purana  of Sage Parasara in particular is significant in developing the Vaishnava doctrines. The Vishnu Purana is acknowledged as the oldest and the most authoritative Purana. It presents all the basic doctrines, both philosophical and theological, of Vaishnavism. It is clearly stated at the very beginning that Lord Vishnu is the main cause of creation, sustenance and dissolution of the universe. The Vaishnava  concept of Paramapada  is also referred to in this Purana. The Sattvika Puranas are those which emphasise the greatness of Vishnu.

8. Bhakti Movement and Contribution of Vaishnava Religious Leaders Vaishnavism was greatly revived during the  Bhakti movement . The Vaishnava religion has been prevalent right from the Vedic period. During this entire period of time, a number of other philosophical and religious schools of thought had come up. Thus there was a lot of opposition to Vaishnavism especially from  Buddhism ,  Jainism  and  Shaivism . In order to uphold the teachings of Vaishnavism against other emerging religious philosophies there was felt the need to consolidate and systematise the thoughts found in different religious works.

9. Nathamuni made a significant contribution to Vaishnavism by rediscovering the 4000  hymns of the Alvars , rearranging them into four parts and introducing its recitation by the Vaishnavas as part of the worship at temples. The works of Yamunacharya have laid the foundation for the formulation of the important doctrines of Vaishnavism. The most significant contribution in the development and propagation of Vaishnavism was made by Ramanuja. He did this by means of his many written works as well as propagation through the apostles. Ramanuja presents the fundamental philosophical doctrines of  Visistadvaita Vedanta  on the basis of the interpretation of the Vedanta Sutras. This task was fulfilled to a large extent by  Ramanuja  and his forerunners,  Nathamuni  and  Yamunacharya .

10. Development of Vaishnava Schools There are four main Sampradayas within Vaishnavism. Each of these is slightly different from the other in their philosophical beliefs. Though the core of their essential beliefs is the same, each of the sampradayas has a separate understanding of the relationship between the  soul  ( jiva ) and God (Vishnu or Krishna).

11. Vaishnavism today has a large number of followers. The influence of Vaishnavism however has not just remained confined in the country but spread abroad as well. This has been made possible through the works of the Hare Krishna Movement. Thus, Vaishnavism has emerged as one of the strongest branches of  Hinduism  with the constant flow of its development right down the ages This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA