The Goddess in Vaishnavism

[Guest guest]

By Devi Bhakta

 

Hinduism is a very large family of related, but very different

faiths.

There are four primary denominations: Vaishnavism, Saivism, Shaktism

and Smartism.

 

Obviously, our focus in this Club is Shaktism, which worships the

Supreme Divine as Feminine -- the Goddess; Devi. Shaktism is the

oldest continuous, uninterrupted tradition of Goddess worship in the

world; archeological evidence dates it back to at least 5500 BCE.

 

Shaivism, on the other hand, worships Shiva as the Supreme Divinity.

In its philosophy and practice, it is extremely similar to Shaktism.

However, where Shaktas worship Shakti as the Supreme Being (with

Shiva

considered an equal but solely transcendent aspect of Supreme

Divinity, who is generally not worshiped), Shaivism focuses worship

on

Shiva, with Shakti taking the more auxiliary role.

 

Finally, Vaishnavism is that branch of Hinduism that worships Vishnu

as the Supreme Divinity -- typically through his most popular

avatars, Krishna and Rama. The majority of Indian Hindus are

Vaishnavites. However, this denomination gives Devi a decidedly less

powerful rolethan do Shaktism and Shaivism.

 

Whereas Shiva is conceived as an ascestic God, a Divine Sadhu; Vishnu

is the Householder God, and -- accordingly -- Devi becomes the

"Housewife Goddess". Her incarnation as Sita, the long-suffering

bride

of Rama, stresses Her role as consort -- submissive, demure,

constantly deferring to Her husband as Lord. She is a far cry from

the

wild, independent, all-powerful Shakta/Shaivite conceptions of

Goddess, such as Kali and Durga!

 

This Vaishnavite view of Devi becomes slightly more formidable in the

the lore of Krishna and Radha. In this powerful love story -- which

has spawned some of the world's most breathtakingly beautiful poetry

and art -- Radha and Krishna begin to seem more like the Tantric and

Shakta conceptions of Shiva and Shakti: Two halves of One whole,

separated and forver striving to be united again.

 

In these tales, Radha is not a queen or a princess -- but a simple

cowherdess (gopi). Moreover, she is already married; her dalliance

with Krishna is an extramarital affair, illustrating that spiritual

imperatives ultimately trump the conventions of the material world!

The literature often seems to consider Radha to be the equal of

Krishna, and sometimes even.

 

Still, it must be stressed the Vaishnavism is the branch of Hinduism

that gives the least power and recognition to Devi and Shakti. She is

consort only; She is defined by Her Lord; She is certainly not to be

conceived as independent.

 

I think that's why Vaishnavism has never really captured my

imagination. I think it also has a lot to do with the problematic

position of women in India -- a country that, paradoxically, exhalts

Goddess like no other culture on Earth, while too often treating Her

human daughters as second-class citizens or worse.

 

If I am incorrect in my understanding, I hope some of our members --

particularly Vaishnavas? -- will step forward and set me straight!

 

Aum Maatangyai Namaha