*/ A Bhakti Shorter Catechism. As a brief summary of the chief points of the Chaitanya bhakti-teaching, it may be of interest to conclude this section with a part of the famous dialogue between Chaitanya and the gifted Rāmānanda Rāy, the Vaishnava scholar-in-politics of his day. It might well serve as a catechism of the fundamentals of the faith: Question.

*/ CHAPTER 7 The Literature of the Sect Should all traces of the Chaitanyas as a sect disappear in time, their monument would remain, enshrined in the literature of Bengal. Were we to remove from that literature all that is connected with Chaitanya and inspired by him, the remainder would be a very greatly reduced and impoverished thing. The Chaitanya

*/ Biographical In producing biography the Chaitanya movement broke virgin soil in Bengal. It is one of the contributions that gave it a sure place in the literature of the country. It was the impression of a strong personality upon the hearts of his friends that gave rise to this vital addition to literature: From the clouds of mythology and

*/ Historical These historical works just mentioned are really very largely biographical in nature: They are mostly concerned with leaders in the revival of enthusiasm that marked the sect two generations after Chaitanya. The story of the three men most revered, Śrīnivāsa , Narottama and Śyāmānanda , has been told as part of the history of the sect. It was

*/ Theological and Ritual We have more than once already indicated the peculiar position of authority held by the Vrindāvan Gosvāmīs because of their scholarship and devotion. Men of great gifts, inspired and ennobled by their devotion to Chaitanya, they dedicated their intellectual energies to the service and exaltation of their faith. The most minute and laborious scholarship was blended

*/ Drama Among the voluminous works of R ūpa Gosvām ī , two dramas of note stand out from the heavy mass of theology and philosophy: They are known as the Vidagdha-Mādhava and the Lalitā-Mādhava . The skeleton of these plays was read to Chaitanya himself at Purī, and he advised quite freely as to their development, causing the author

*/ Hymnology By far the greater part of the Vaishnava literature produced in Bengal falls under the head of what we should call religious lyrics, or hymns . This poetry of the movement is enormous in extent; undoubtedly it is one of the sect's chief contributions to Bengali literature. Great claims are made for its beauty and charm. Here, manifestly,

*/ CHAPTER 8 The Sect as it is today: Its Orders It is no easy task to describe the Chaitanyas as a sect today. By the very use of the term we have laid ourselves open to misunderstanding. It implies a more or less clear assumption: the assumption of a distinct body, larger or smaller, united by common practices and

*/ A. The Gosvāmīs The Gosvāmīs are the gurus of the sect and constitute its principal class. The name, often written Gos āin , is common to all, or nearly all, the Vaishnava sects. Its original meaning was " master of the cows ”, but the term now simply designates a religious preceptor . The basis of the supremacy and