BHAKTI: The Philosophy of Sri Chaitanya

Seeks to bring into bold relief the distinctive objectives of the Concept of Bhakti in Vaisnavism. Sri Chaitanya’s bhakti movement brought about a glorious literary renaissance which is a very well-known fact. The principle of individuality implied by bhakti was quite dynamic. Emotion was necessary for the people downtrodden for many centuries. And without creativity, the wonderful literary and architectural renaissance would not have occurred at all.
The bhakti movement of Sri Chaitanya emphasized the theory of surrender of the self to God or to the guru. The Gaudiya Vaisnava devotee was advised to absolve God of the responsibility for his own misery, because God cannot have experience of it. When God tries to satisfy the desires of his devotee, he is not actuated by an experience of suffering, but by an experience of the devotion existing in the devotee. Thus, no trust is placed in the Bhakta’s individual capacity to affect either material or spiritual improvement. Only his bhakti is active. All other things are passive. This doctrine could not bring about any social or economic revolution. Bhakti is regarded by an interpreter of Hinduism as an accurate reflection of the chronic helplessness of the Indian masses.