Sahajiya (Bengal Vaishnavism)
Sahajiya — from sahaja, “the innate, the natural” — names the esoteric lineages of Bengali Vaishnavism (and their Buddhist sahaja forebears) that sought the divine couple’s union within the body: the radial? — the rasa of Radha-Krishna realized in the practitioner’s own being.
Origins
The sahaja-Buddhist songs of the Charyapada (c. 8th–12th c.) founded the vocabulary; the Gaudiya sahajiyas (16th century onward) transposed it into Radha-Krishna practice — inner yoga of the (siddha) deity-pair in the practitioner’s own body, guided by the guru of a closely held lineage (the “svarupa? — the form-practice” traditions of Vrindavan and Bengal).
Key teachings
The body as the field of the lila; sahaja as the effortless state beyond rule; the guru’s unveiling of one’s eternal form (svarupa) in the divine play; secrecy (the practices are not taught publicly, and the tradition guards its texts).
Modern status
Sahajiya lineages persist in Bengal and Vrindavan in deliberate obscurity; scholarship (Dimock, Kapoor? — standard studies) documents them; the Bauls are their best-known popular cousins. Claims about the practices remain lineage-claims, unverified externally.
Verification notes
- The textual and historical frame (Charyapada to Gaudiya sahajiya) is standard scholarship; the practices are secret-tradition claims.
- Audited against Wikipedia (September 2026).