Jīva Goswāmī’s Commentary on the Gāyatrī: Journal of Vaishnava Studies

Abstract

The Gāyatrī is perhaps the most well-known of Vedic mantras, employed in meditation by virtually all major schools of Hinduism, either in its original Vedic form or in numerous modified forms that are used in specific sectarian traditions. For much of its history, the Gāyatrī has served as a hallmark of brāmaṇical ritual and authority, received through the mechanism of hereditary or disciplic initiation. The Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava tradition, founded in Bengal by the sixteenth century teacher, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya, offers no exception
to this ubiquitous reverence for the Gāyatrī, despite the fact that followers of Caitanya focus on chanting the names of Kṛṣṇa above all else. Caitanya was known for singing the names of Kṛṣṇa and dancing with abandon, drawing all whom he met into an ecstatic devotion for Kṛṣṇa. He gathered often with his friends and followers to perform saṁkīrtana, group singing of Kṛṣṇa’s names,
and he repeated those names privately as he went about other tasks.