Brahma Sampraday

One of the four branches of the Bairagi
Naga class of ascetics. The Bairagi Nagas
are devotees (bhakta) of the god
Vishnu, organized in military fashion
into different anis, or “armies.” Until the
beginning of the nineteenth century,
their primary occupation was as mercenary soldiers, although they also had
substantial trading interests; both of
these occupations have largely disappeared in contemporary times. The
Brahma Sampraday traces its immediate spiritual lineage through the
Gaudiya Vaishnava sect, founded by the
Bengali devotee Chaitanya, but claims
ultimate descent from the southern
Indian philosopher Madhva. This latter
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Brahma Sampraday
claim seems highly suspect, in part
because the guardian deities of the two
sects are different; Chaitanya and his
followers worship the gods Krishna and
Radha, whereas Madhva and his followers worship Lakshmi-Narayan. There
are also differences in their observances.
Although the Madhva ascetics have a
long history in southern India, they have
virtually no presence in the north, where
the Chaitanyite ascetics are well represented. Ghurye speculates that this
claim is based on the desire of the
Gaudiya Vaishnavas to establish ties to
an ancient lineage; this would give them
an unassailable identity and thus a place
in the bathing (snana) procession at
religious festival Kumbha Mela. See
G. S. Ghurye, Indian Sadhus, 1964.