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TILAKA

Tilakavariesindesignandcompositionaccordingtothegroupanaffiliatebelongsto,andsothevarious
VaiavaSampradyaseachhavetheirowndistinctiveTilakawhichdepictthesiddhantaoftheirparticular
lineage.

HoweverforaGauyaVaiava,thesignificanceoftilakacomesfromtheeternalsvarpahehasinNavadvpa
Dhma.GauyaVaiavasampradyasarecomingfromMahprabhusLineageandhavetwosvarpas-asa
majarinNityaVndvanaandsimultaneouslyasKioraBrhmaainNityaNavadvpa.AKioraBrhmaa
eternallywearsthesametilaka,whichonegetsfromHisSpiritualMasterinsdhakastageatthetimeof
initiation.Accordingtobonafidesampradya,adevoteebelongstolineageofrmanGaurgaMahprabhus
Associatei.e.allbonafideGauyaVaiavaParivra,devoteeshavedifferenttilakas,andallthemembersofthe
sameParivrawearsame,onekindofTilaka.

DevoteesshouldhavetranscendentalpridewearingthistilakagivenbytheirrespectiveGuru,foritisactually
our true identity. The tilaka determines who we actually are and where do we belong to. Caste, creed, colour,
materialnamesofthismaterialworldarealltemporaryandwillendwiththeendofthebody,buttheeternal
identitystaysforeternity.

Onemustunderstandthatthetilakaoneputsonbodyhere,istheeternaltilakainNavadvpa.Thistilakaisnot
justforthisworld,itiseternalandhasbeenpasseddownthroughalineageofdisciplicsuccessionstartingfrom
eternal associates of Lord Gaurga. One should put on that tilaka throughout his life which ones Gurudeva
givesatthetimeofDk.

AttainmentofEternalTilakainconditionedstate!
Receiving Initiation (with Mantras, Tilaka etc.) in a Bonafide Gauya Vaiava Parampar is a matter of the
highestfortuneforanyjva,for,onenotonlygetstheopportunitytobeconnectedtotheLord,butalsogetsthe
eternalidentification(tilaka)intheconditionedstateitself.EvenLordGaurgaMahprabhuHimselfwearsa
tilakadaily.

candana-lepita-aga,tilakasuhmamatta-gajajinimada-mantharapayn
(Ccdi5.187)
Mahprabhus body was anointed with sandalwood pulp, and He was nicely decorated with tilaka. His
movementssurpassedthoseofamaddenedelephant.

DifferentTilakasfordifferentParivras-
Asmentionedabove,thetilakaisacinha,asymbolwhichdeterminesourParivra.DifferentParivrashave
differentuniqueshapedtilaka,eacheasilydistinguishablefromtheother.Forexample,NitynandaPrabhuputs

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adifferenttilaka,AdvaitaPrabhusParivraputsdifferentTilaka.Similarly,ParivrasofGaddharaPaita,
rvsaPaita,VakrevaraPaitaandymnandaPrabhuallhavegotdifferentTilakasfromeachother.

NitynandaParivrahasasharptriangularleafintheirtilaka.

AdvaitaParivrahasaheartshapedlargebanyanleaf.

NarottamaParivrahasatulasleafwithasmallstem.

ymnandaParivraTilaka

ymnandaParivrahasanimprintofRdhsanklebellwithadotinthecentre.

SrinivasaAcaryaParivarahasasymboloftamaltreeleaf.

GadadharaParivraTilaka

VakrevaraParivraTilaka

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GoplaBhattaGosvmiParivra

JvaGosvmParivra

DevoteesbelongingtothesameParivraapply/wearthesamekindoftilaka.AllthebonafideGurusofthesame
Parivraapplythesametilaka.

AmongGauyaVaiavas,therearedifferenteternalparivras.Itisinappropriatetoputtwo(ormore)cryas
ofdifferentparivrastogether.

Question-whyitisinappropriate?
Answer-becausetheyareeternallytwodifferenteternalparivras.

VidhitoapplyTilaka-
Withoutdecorating/applyingtilakaonthebody,allsdhanisfutile.Thereisapropervidhi,aprocedure/method
in which one applies tilaka on ones body. After taking bath and before resuming his daily sdhan, Gauya
Vaiavaputson12tilakas,asmentionedinCaitanyaCaritamta..

dvdaa-tilaka-mantraeidvdaanmacamaneeinmesparitat-tat-sthna

(Madhya20.202)

Thetwelveplacesofthebodywheretilakasaretobeappliedandthemantrachantedare-

lalekeavadhyyen nryaamathodare
vaka-sthalemdhavatu govindakaha-kpake

viucadakiekukau bhaucamadhusdanam
trivikramakandharetu vmanavma-prvake

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rdharavma-bhautu hkeatukandhare
phecapadmanbhaca kaydmodaranyaset

Placeofthebody Mantra

Placeofthebody Mantra

Forehead rKeavayanama

LowerAbdomen rNryaayanama

Chest rMdhavayanama

Hollowoftheneck rGovindayanama

Rightsideofthebelly rViayanama

Rightarm rMadhusdanayanama

Rightshoulder rTrivikramayanama

Leftsideofthebelly rVmanyanama

Leftarm rrdharyanama

Leftshoulder rHkeyanama

Lowerback rPadmanbhayanama

Upperback rDmodaryanama

Theremainingtilakafrompalmshouldbesmeared/rubbedoverscalpwhilerecitingrVsudevyanama.

Deviationsfromreality-
Inthepastover100years,manydeviationsfromRealGauyaVaiavismincontexttoPhilosophy,Tradition,
Tilakaetc.havetakenplace.OnemustalwaysfollowGuru,Sdhu,straineverysphereforsuccess,especially
forknowingthebasicunderstandingaboutGauyaVaiavism.

GauyaVaiavascominginproperparampars,thefollowersofGosvmsneverapplyyellowishtilaka.One
cangoandsee/checkthisinVndvan,Rdhkua,Barsn,Navadvpa,JagannthaPrbyjustspendingfew
daysthere.InthenityasvarpaofKioraBrahmaa,theshinyandgloriousrajaofDhmaiswornasTilaka,
whichhasgotblackishhue.FromthetimeofMahprabhutillnow,tilakaofGauyaVaiavasisfromVraja-
raja-blackishincolour.Allproperlineages,fromAdvaita,Narottamaetcneverputyellowishtilakainpast,do
notputyellowishtilakainpresentandinfuturealsothegenuinefollowersofrRpaSantanawillfollowtheir
worshipableGuru-Vargaonly.

Every Parivra has its own well-defined Tilaka, which is applied in one particular manner from the time
immemorial. Tilaka cannot be manufactured nor can any institution claim to have invented one or have
exclusiverightsoveranybona-fidetilaka.

Scripturesspeak/opiniononTilaka-
Thereareseveralreferencesinvariousscripturesextollingtheeternalityandtheimportanceofapplyingtilaka
daily.

yajnodnatapohomasvdhyapitutarpaa
vyarhtambhavatitatsarvardhvapunramvinkta

Sacrifice(Yajna),Charity(dna),Austerity(tapas),homa,StudyofScriptures(Veddhyayana)andSacrificesto
forefathers(pitutarpaa)donewithoutapplyingtilaka(rdhvapunras)isabsolutelyuseless

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urdhpunddharomrtyomriyateyatrakutrachit
avapakapivimanasthommlokemahiyate

Nomatterwhereapersondieswhohasappliedtilakaonhisbodyorinwhicheverwayhedies,evenifheisdog
eatingwitch,eventhenhegoestotheabodeofLordonthespiritualplanetandisworshippedthere.

InthePadmaPuraitismentionedthatpersonswhoapplytilaka,aretobeunderstoodasthedevoteesofLord
inthisworld.Theirpresencemakestheworldpurified,andanywheretheyremain,theymakethatplaceasgood
astheSpiritualWorld.

AsimilarstatementisintheSkandaPura,whichsays,Personswhoaredecoratedwithtilakaandwhomark
theirbodiesalloverwiththeholynamesoftheLord,andonwhosenecksandbreaststherearetulasbeads,are
neverapproachedbytheYamadtas.

ThePadmaPuraalsomentions,Apersonwhosebodyisdecoratedwiththetilaka,withpaintingsoftheholy
nameoftheLord,isdeliveredfromallsinfulreactions,andafterhisdeathhegoesdirectlytoKaloka/Eternal
AbodetoliveinassociationwiththeSupremeLord.

Ontheotherhandifonefailstoapplytilakagiven/bestowedtohimbyhisGuruorhefeelsashamedindoing
so,thinkinghemightgetridiculed,thenhecommitsoffenceatthelotusfeetofhisrGuruandthereisnoone
whoismoreunfortunatethanhim.

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