Vaishnavism in Assam
Another section in which the Chaitanya movement made itself felt was in Assam:
While the development there was in no sense as direct a propagation of the sect as in Orissa, still it may be said that the growth of Vaishnavism there had more or less connection with the spread of the Chaitanya movement.
The prevalent religion in Assam up to Chaitanya's time was the Śakta cult. It was the religion almost entirely of the rājās and the aristocracy.
Vaishnavism spread as a democratic faith. The apostle of this religion in Assam was a contemporary of Chaitanya's, by the name of Śaṅkara Deva.
He travelled through India on a pilgrimage, and was evidently drawn to the Vaishnava faith at this time.
Tradition states that he was a student for some time under Advaita at Śāntipura; it is also said that at one time he and his leading disciple visited Chaitanya at Purī.
While these things are insufficient to establish a direct relation between him and Chaitanya, yet it is altogether likely that the inspiration behind his advocacy of Vaishnavism was due to the Chaitanya revival in Bengal.
He is spoken of as belonging to the Chaitanya school:
His chief doctrines were characteristic of the Chaitanya sect, such as the adoration of Vishnu above all others, the exaltation of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, the efficacy and sufficiency of nāma kirtan, i.e. the recitation of the name of God, and the use of sankirtan as true worship.
The two main divisions of the sect, which spring from Śaṅkara Deva, are called Mahāpuruṣya and Bāmunya. Although there are minor offshoots, these continue to represent the main stream of the Vaishnavism of Assam.
Buddhist influence is evident in the character of the maṭhas, called sattras; for they have far more of a monastic rule than is found in any of the ākhrās of the Bengal Vaishnavas.
These maṭhas are extensively developed on the island of Majula, in the Upper Brahmaputra river, the headquarters of one branch of the sect containing no less than 188, the larger ones accommodating as many as 300 ascetics.
No women are allowed here - certainly a great advance over the ākhrās found in so many villages of Bengal.
One cannot but wonder whether there is not a significant relation between this higher morality of the Assamese maṭhas and the fact that the founder, Śaṅkara Deva, did not preach the fifth stage of the Chaitanya bhakti, which uses the imagery of love between man and woman to symbolize the highest devotion.
The Bāmunya division of these Assam Vaishnavas names Chaitanya among the traditional teachers of the sect, but there is today no connection of any kind with the Bengal Vaishnavas.
Indeed, the sect as a whole is remarkably provincial, some of its Mahantas and Gosāins being largely ignorant not only of Vaishnavism elsewhere, but also of the fundamental philosophy of their own faith.
However, it does not seem too much to claim that the Vaishnavism of Assam, numbering some 1’ 300 000 adherents, and occupying a place of importance in the religious life of the province, is an indirect but real result of the Chaitanya movement.