The manner of expressing these feelings in acts of divine worship is about the same as that represented by the ceremonial of the Vallablfficharyas; but the secular worship ers are generally content with paying their homage twice a day to the idol of Keisim'a. Their chief ritual is a very simple one; it consists of constantly repeating the name of Kr'ishn'a—a practice of which one of their chiefs, Ilaridas, set them a remarkable example, as during many years, when he resided in a thicket, he repeated the name of Krishna 300,000 times daily. Their other duties are sixty-four, including many moral and many absurd observances, as suppressing anger, avarice, and lust, and singing aud dancing in honor of Keishn'a, and fasting every eleventh day. The most important of till their obligations, however, is their servile veneration of the spiritual teacher, whom they are bound to look upon as the deity himself, and even as possessed of more author ity; for they are taught that "the prayer is manifest iu the Guru, and the Guru is Vishn'u himself ;" again: "First, the Guru is to be worshiped, then I (Vishn'u) am to be worshiped ;" and, " when Vishn'u is in anger the Geru is our protector; but when the Gem is in anger, we have none." In this respect, the doctrine of the Vaishn'avas cf Bengal is similar to that of the Vallabhaeharyes, and their practice also agrees in so far as the Vaishn'avas look upon the dignity of their Gurus at., hereditary, and not depending on personal capacity or sanctity; but, as in the case of the Vallabhacharyas, this prac tice does not appear to have been enjoined by their original teachers. Liberation from terrestrial existence, most votaries of this sect do not conceive in the spirit of the Vedanta, which teaches that final deliverance is the absorption of the human soul into the divine essence; but, in their opinion, it is twofold, either perpetual residence of the soul in Swarga, or paradise, with possession of the divine attributes of power, etc.; or elevation to Vaileu t' ha , the heaven of Vishn'u, where they enjoy felicity under one or all of the four conditions, under which also the Madhwacharyas conceive such felicity to exist. Chaitanya and his two chief disciples did not leave, as it seems, written com positions; the rest of his pupils, however, wrote numerous works in SanArit and Ben gali. The Vaishmivas of this sect are distinguished by two white perpendicular streaks of sandal, or Gopichandana, down the forehead, uniting at the root of the nose, and con tinning to near the tip; by the names of Rodkii-Kr'iska'a stamped on the temples, breast, and arms; by a close necklace of Tulaslt stalk of three strings, and a rosary of 108 or sometimes 1U00 beads made of the stem of the Tulasl. The sectaries consist of every caste and order, and are governed by the descendants of their Gosains: some live in a state of celibacy; the teachers, however, are married men.
There are several divisions of this sect, arising from the various forms under which Vishn'u is worshiped; but besides them, there are three which may be looked upon as seceders from the original sect—viz., the Spasht'a Dayakas, the Barth Bhcljas and the
&Was.
The Spashr a Dtlyakas deny the divine character and authority of the Guru. and allow the association of male and female cenobites in one conventional abode, where there relation is that of brothers and sisters, and their common interest the worship of Kr'ishn'a and Chaitanya. The women act also as the spiritual teachers of the females of respectable families, and the consequence is the growing diffusion of the doctrines of this sect in Calcutta, where it is especially established. The Karla Bhojas are of very recent origin, and, as they acknowledge the absolute divinity of the Guru, there would not be much difference between them and the original body of Le Vaishnavas of Ben gal, had they not broken through the old line of hereditary teachers, and invested a new family with spiritual power—viz., that of their founder, Raw-Saran-Pal, who at the beginning of this was successful in his attempt to create this schism. Of the &Was, very little is known, their professions and practices being kept secret. These are suspected not to be of a very moral character. The chief templesof the Vaishn'avas of Bengal are at Dwaraka, Brindavan, Jagannath, Nediya, Ambika, and Agradwipa.
Besides the Vaishna'va sects, there are others of less importance, which it must here suffice merely to ennumerate by natne—viz., the sect of the Khalil& founded by Kit, the disciple of Krishn'adas, and established chiefly at Hanumangad'hi, in Oude; the Basas, founded by 3ldlick Dds about 1600, or at the end of the emperor Akbar's reign—their principal establishment is at Kara Manikpur; the Dada Panthis, founded by Dddd, a pupil of one of the Kabir teachers, about the same time, and established espe cially in Marwar and Ajmeer; the Rai Ddsas, founded Da's, a disciple of Raman anda, a sect, it is said, confined to the very lowest of the mixed Hindu castes, or the workers in hides and leather; the Sena Panthis, who derive their origin from Send, the barber, the third of Ramananda's disciples; the ltirti Bass, a subdivision of the Vallab hacharyas, established by Mira BLi/, the daughter of a petty Raja of Merta, and the wife of the Han'a, of Udayapur; the Sanabidi Sampraddgms or Nimilvats, throughout upper India, founded by an ascetic Nimbaditya; the Ilddlui Vallabhis, who consider Ila•ivam's' as their founder, a personage who lived about 300 years ago, and established a at Brindavan; the Salchi Bluivas, probably owing their origin to the last mentioned sect; the Miran' Ddsas, whose chief seat is at Delhi, founded by Moran' Dds, a merchant of the Dhfisar tribe, who resided at Delhi, in the reign of the second Alemgir; the Haris'chandis; the &Anti Panthis, founded by Sadhna, a butcher; and the .:1/ cidhavis, founded by llir &Mo.—For a fuller detail, see H. H. Wilson's Sketch of the Religious Sects of Hindus, edited by Dr. Rost in Wilson's works, vol. i. (Lond.1862); and on the Vallablifichilryas, the History of the Sect of the Malta' rajas (by Karsandfis Mulji), mentioned above (Loud. 186,5).