Vaishnavism is very rich in saints, temples and scriptures. Most important incarnations for worship are Lord Rama and Lord Krishna, the heroes of great epics. Vishnu followers give total importance to Vishnu and all his incarnations. Vishnu followers are generally non-ascetic and are mainly dualistic. Followers of Vishnu believe in Bhakti and Bhakti Yoga as tool for final salvation. This sect draws their influence from Upanishads, Bhagwat Gita, Padma Purana, Vishnu Purana and Bhagwad Purana. There are many other sub sects within Vaishnavism. Most ancient of all sub-sects is called. Sri Sampradaya popularized by Ramanuja Acharya.
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| Vaishnavism |
Vaishnavism worship Lord Vishnu and Laxmi in all their incarnations. Vallabhacharya, another sect has its major followings in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Central India. These followers are seen worshiping Lord Krishna as "Bal Gopala" which covers his life from infancy to the age of twelve years. Similarly, we have Chaitanyas in Odisha who worship Lord Krishna as Supreme Being. In addition we have the Madhavas and many more and still growing.
Vaishnavites apply tilak on forehead in vertical strips with shape of the strips being different for different sub sects. In modern times, this sect has had seen vast expansion on foreign soils as well with ISKCON and Hare Krishna Movement being the prime example.
Major sages known to have promoted this sect are Ramanujacharya, Madhavacharya, Nimbarkacharya, Vallabhacharya, Surdaas, Tulsidas, Eknath, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Tyagraja, etc. They draw direct lineage from Vedic Brahminism. As a result this has been most popular sect in Hinduism until Mughal Raj. Main pilgrimage for Vaishnavites are Guruvayur Temple, Sri Rangam, Vrindavan, Mathura, Ayodhya, Tirupati, Pandharpur, Puri, Mayapur, Nathdwara and Dwarka.
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