*/ C. The Vairāgīs The vairāgīs constitute the ascetic order of the sect. As we have seen in tracing the history of the sect, the origin of this order is by no means clear. Whatever may have been its beginnings, there is no system whatever about it now. It can in nowise be compared, for instance, to the mendicant orders

*/ D. The Jāt Vairāgīs The fourth class of the sect, colloquially known as Jāt Baiṣṭ ams, is composed of those who are the offspring of Vairāgīs , or who have come into the sect through being outcaste from their own community, or for any reason whatever. This phase of Vaiṣṇavism is reflected in a Bengali proverb, which can hardly

*/ CHAPTER IX The Sect As It Is Today: It’s Cult Temples and Shrines Apart from Navadvīpa the Chaitanya sect is not possessed of temples of any size or importance. There are many small ones scattered about Bengal and Orissa, particularly in places connected with Chaitanya, but it can boast no large and imposing shrine. Navadvīpa may be allowed as

*/ Temple Worship As we have already stated, the ritual for worship in the Chaitanya temples of Bengal and Orissa is mainly taken from the Haribhaktivilāsa . This is the acknowledged authority. It is to be remembered, however, that the Haribhaktivilāsa nowhere explicitly recognises the worship of Chaitanya, although it has an invocation to him at the beginning of each

*/ Ākhrā Worship Besides the daily worship in the temple in which all may join, whether lay or priest, there is the individual worship enjoined upon those who have turned from worldly pursuits and have devoted themselves to religion. It is hardly accurate to call it Ākhrā worship , for there may be devout householders who give themselves to it

*/ Domestic Worship While in many points the domestic worship is naturally parallel to that of Ākhrā and temple, still it deserves consideration by itself. The hold upon the home is the real test of any sect. Worship carried on there has a different meaning, and a greater significance, than that of temple or Ākhrā. In the ordinary household of

*/ Public Worship We have still to consider the wider uses of the most characteristic feature of the sect, namely the Sankirtan . We have seen that it forms a part of the worship in large temples, but this is by no means its natural habitat. It did not have its origin in the temple, but in the open: It

*/ Festivals The festivals of the Chaitanya sect are those of the Vaishnavas generally, with the addition of Chaitanya's birthday . As this falls on the occasion of the Dolajātrā it does not add a fresh festival. The principal festivals of the Bengal Vaishnavas are briefly as follows: The Dolajātrā is celebrated usually at full moon in the month of

*/ Melas and Mahotsavas A Mela is an Indian fair. But, unlike the village fairs of the West, which are largely agricultural, an Indian mela is almost always concerned with some religious celebration. However, it is a real fair, and serves the people of the countryside with opportunities for shopping as well as with amusement. The Mahotsava , as we