| Publication |
2011.
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| Summary/Abstract |
The Krishna-PraCSAS_A_549082_O_XML_IMAGES/CSAS_A_549082_O_ILF0001.gifamacrmi-sampradamacry is a Hindu non-caste reformist sect belonging to the bhakti and sant streams. It originated in seventeenth-century Gujarat and rejects life-cycle rituals and sacrificial rites. Its expansion over the last decades in Nepal and Northeast India has been a remarkable phenomenon. This article examines the historical propagation of the congregation. In the past, the influence of charismatic religious figures prevailed; today, teaching by young preachers and the use of new means of communication, especially through mega-ceremonies of the pamacrramacryaCSAS_A_549082_O_XML_IMAGES/CSAS_A_549082_O_ILF0009.gif type, play a major role. This development has led to internal conflicts. A dissenting minority advocates a return to the original nirgun (formless, devoid of qualities) ideas of the group.
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