CHAITANYA, Indian mystic, was born in 1486 at Navidvip, Bengal (died c. He was educated at the pathsala, or pri mary school of Navidvip and at eight years of age entered the Sanskrit tol. At an early age he became proficient in Sanskrit grammar and rhetoric. He initiated a popular religious movement within the Vaishnava faith (a cult of Vishnu). Chaitanya empha sized the path of bhakti (of devotion and direct relation to God) in contrast to the priestcraft and religious convention of the day. The Chaitanya Vaishnavas are a distinct religious sect in India to-day and the sankirton (chorus singing accompanied by drums and symbols), emphasized and developed by Chaitanya, still forms the centre of its religious rites.