গৌড়ীয় মঠ | |
 | |
| Successor | Gaudiya Mission and Sri Chaitanya Math |
|---|---|
| Established | 16 September 1920 (105 years ago) (1920-09-16) |
| Founder | Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati |
| Founded at | Calcutta,British India |
| Dissolved | 1937; 88 years ago (1937) |
| Type | Religious organization |
| Purpose | Educational,Philanthropic,Religious studies,Spirituality |
| Headquarters | Calcutta, British India |
| Location |
|
Region served | British India British Burma London,UK Berlin,Germany |
Official languages | Bengali,English |
| Affiliations | Gaudiya Vaishnavism |
TheGaudiya Math (/mʌt/,/mɑːt/;Gauḍīya Maṭha) is aGaudiya Vaishnavamatha (monastic organisation) formed on 6 September 1920,[2][1] about 30 months afterBhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati tooksannyasa, the renounced order of life. On 7 March 1918,[2] the same day he tooksannyasa, he established the Sri Chaitanya Math inMayapura in West Bengal, later recognised as the parent body of all the Gaudiya Math branches.[2] Its purpose was to spreadGaudiya Vaishnavism, the philosophy of the medievalVaisnava saintChaitanya Mahaprabhu, through preaching andpublishing.
From the beginning of Chaitanya'sbhakti movement in Bengal, devotees, includingHaridasa Thakur and others, whetherMuslim orHindu by birth, have been participants. This openness and disregard for the traditional caste received a boost from the "broad-minded vision" ofBhaktivinoda Thakura,[3] a nineteenth-century magistrate and prolific writer onbhakti topics, and was institutionalised by his son and successor Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura in the twentieth-century Gaudiya Math.[3]
The Gaudiya Math had established 64 branches.[2] Most were in India, but preaching centres were maintained for a time inBritish Burma,England andGermany.[1][4] The first European preaching center was established inLondon in 1933 (London Glouster House, Cornwall Garden, W7 South Kensington) under the name Gaudiya Mission Society of London'. Lord Zetland, the English Secretary of State, was the president of this society.[4][5]The second European preaching center was opened bySwami B.H. Bon Maharaj inBerlin (W30 Eisenacherstr. 29).
Soon after the Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati's death (1 January 1937), a dispute began and the original Gaudiya Math mission divided by the court in 1948 into two administrative bodies which continued preaching on their own, up to the present day. In a settlement they divided the 64 Gaudiya Math centers into two groups.[6] Sri Chaitanya Math Branch were headed by Srila Bhakti Vilasa Tirtha Maharaj.Gaudiya Mission[7] were headed by Ananta Vasudev Prabhu, who became known as Srila Bhakti Prasad Puri Maharaj after acceptingsannyasa for short duration.[8]
Many of the disciples ofBhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati did not agree with the spirit of these newly created two fractions, or were simply inspired to expand the mission of their guru on their own enthusiasm, started their own missions. Many of these autonomous missions are still known as Gaudiya Math. Some of the other notable new missions are:[5]
Some are very large missions, and some are smaller branches started by individual Vaishnavas. What they hold in common is that they are autonomous branches of the tree of the Gaudiya Math. Almost all of them have published books and periodicals and opened one or more temples.[5] There is little cooperation among these missions.[17] Nevertheless, in 1994 many of them formed united theWorld Vaisnava Association — Visva Vaisnava Raj Sabha (WVA–VVRS).[17][18]
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