Gaudiya Vaishnavism

Gaudiya Vaishnavism, (/ɡoʊdiːə vaɪʃnəvɪzm/) also Chaitanya Vaishnavaism, is a religious tradition centred on the devotional worship (bhakti) of Krishna and his consort Radharani as the supreme forms of the personal, monotheistic God (Svayam Bhagavan). It was founded in 16th-century India by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, a Bengali Vaishnava saint and social reformer believed by Gaudiya devotees to be Krishna incarnate.

Western members of Prabhupada's International Society for Krishna Consciousness – usually known colloquially as the 'Hare Krishna movement', after the sacred 16-word mantra believed by Chaitanya Vaishnavas to awaken living entities' dormant spiritual nature – were the first exposure to Gaudiya devotional culture for most of the world outside India.