The Gaudiya Mission (Bengali: গৌড়ীয় মিশন) is a Gaudiya Vaishnava monastic and missionary organization. The organisation has been registered since March 1940 in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) under the supervision of the then acharya, Ananta Vasudev (a.k.a. Srila Acharyadev), later known as Bhakti Prasad Puri Maharaj (25 Aug 1895—8 March 1958[note 1]).[2][3]
গৌড়ীয় মিশন | |
 Sri Gaudiya Math, Bagbazar, Kolkata | |
| Predecessor | Gaudiya Math |
|---|---|
| Established | March 1940 |
| Founded at | Calcutta, British India |
| Type | Religious organisation |
| Purpose | Educational, philanthropic, religious studies, spirituality |
| Headquarters | Kolkata, West Bengal, India |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 22°36′10.224″N 88°22′24.672″E / 22.60284000°N 88.37352000°E |
Area served | 3 countries |
Official languages | Bengali, Hindi, English |
President-Acharya | Bhakti Sundar Sanyasi Maharaj |
Main organ | Governing Body & Council Body |
| Affiliations | Gaudiya Vaishnavism |
| Website | gaudiyamission |
History
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The Gaudiya Mission is the successor organization to the Gaudiya Math, which existed from 1920 to 1937. After Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati's death, Ananta Vasudev was elected as his successor. However, Kuñjabihari Vidyabusana ("Kunja Babu"), the secretary and the president of the Gaudiya Math, did not agree with the decision and formed his own group (the Sri Chaitanya Math in Mayapur).[2] Thus, Ananta Vasudev gave up his post and established a new organization, the Gaudiya Mission (de facto the renamed Gaudiya Math). The 64 Gaudiya Math centers were divided into two groups in 1948 and the Gaudiya Mission kept the central temple, Sri Gaudiya Math, with museum at Bagbazar in Kolkata, the headquarters of the mission to the present day.[4][5]
Later Ananta Vasudev started to criticize some of the teachings of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati (particularly, he declared that proselytizing work is not true spirituality),[2] married, settled in Vrindavan, and translated into Bengali 62 papers of the six Goswamis of Vrindavana, classical Gaudiya Vaishnava works. After him, the mission was headed by Bhakti Keval Audulaumi (from 1953 to 1982), Bhakti Srirup Bhagavat (1982—1993), and Bhakti Suhrid Paribrajak (1993—2018).[5] The present acharya is Bhakti Sundar Sanyasi Maharaj.[6]
Current status
editThe main posts and organs of mission are President-Acharya, President, Governing Body and Council Body. It has 26 temples in India, the UK (London, Sri Vasudev Gaudiya Math, established 1933), and the US (New York, Sri Bhakti Srirup Bhagawat Gaudiya Math, established 2007). It has approximately 60 sannyasis. It has established medical services and dispensaries and publishes a monthly magazine, Bhakti Patra.[7]
Notes
editReferences
edit- ^ Broo 2003, p. 275.
- ^ a b c Brzezinski 2004, p. 89.
- ^ "About Gaudiya Mission". Gaudiya Mission. Archived from the original on 14 August 2018. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
- ^ Sherbow 2004, p. 131.
- ^ a b Jalakara dasa. "The Sons of the Son: The Breakup of the Gaudiya Matha". Bhaktivedanta Memorial Library. Archived from the original on 27 November 2018. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Srila Bhakti Sundar Sanyasi Maharaj The New Acharya of the Gaudiya Mission". VINA news. 7 November 2018. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
- ^ "Centers". Gaudiya Mission. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
Bibliography
edit- Broo, Måns (2003). As good as God: the guru in Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism (PDF). Åbo: Åbo Akademi University Press. ISBN 951-765-132-5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 March 2016.
- Brzezinski, Jan (2004). "Charismatic Renewal and Institutionalization in the History of Gaudiya Vashnavism and the Gaudiya Math". In Bryant, Edwin F.; Ekstrand, Maria L. (eds.). The Hare Krishna Movement: The Postcharismatic Fate of a Religious Transplant. New York: Columbia University Press. pp. 73–96. ISBN 0-231-12256-X.
- Sherbow, Paul H. (2004). "A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami's Preaching in the Context of Gaudiya Vashnavism". In Bryant, Edwin F.; Ekstrand, Maria L. (eds.). The Hare Krishna Movement: The Postcharismatic Fate of a Religious Transplant. New York: Columbia University Press. pp. 129–46. ISBN 0-231-12256-X.
External links
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