Page 36 - GOTIL (ENG) Sample

4 Glimpses of Traditional Indian Life

and verve. Bengalis take pleasure in receiving guests,
offering obeisances to superiors, and so on. Such pleasing
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behavior, combined with genuine affection for others, is
at the heart of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism. Indeed, when this
synthesis of proper conduct and natural love is focused
on Kṛṣṇa, that is the perfection of life.

Bengal is especially significant because Śrī Caitanya
Mahāprabhu, the founder of the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement,
appeared there 500 years ago and naturally spoke
and preached in the native language and acted mostly
according to local customs. Thus Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s
branch of Vaiṣṇavism is an intrinsic part of Bengali culture,
and much of the literature of the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas is in
Bengali. Indeed practically all great Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava
ācāryas appeared in Bengal, the most recent and
prominent being the founder-ācārya of the International
Society for Kṛṣṇa Consciousness, His Divine Grace A. C.
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda.

Of course not all Bangladeshis are highly advanced
Vaiṣṇavas; most are Muslims. Yet even Muslim
culture is strongly influenced by Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism.
Although Vaiṣṇavism in Bengal is much influenced by
sahajiyā-ism and other misleading doctrines, the basic
Vaiṣṇava way of life is still intact. Therefore, although
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10. In Vaiṣṇava culture, obeisances are offered either by kneeling
and touching the head to the floor, or (indicative of even more
respect) prostrating the whole body, head down, on the floor.
11. Sahajiyā-ism refers both to a specific deviatory branch of
Vaiṣṇavism and to the many sub-cults similar to it (Sahaja —