Early History of the Vaishnava Faith and Movement in Bengal, from Sanskrit and Bengali Sources c6.s2.65

c6.s2.65

Although a close connexion was kept up between the Master and his Bengal followers by their annual visits to Puri, his departure must have been a great loss¹ to a cause which had hardly had time yet to establish itself firmly. The later disruption of the sect, the organisation of which was left in the hands of Advaita and Nityānanda, was partly due to this lack of direct contact with the Master, whose personality was not only the strongest asset of the community but also the only powerful influence which could unify and organise it into a compact body. While the movement in Bengal fell into disorder after his death,² the influence of his personal presence for long years at Puri has made Orissa a stronghold of the Vaiṣṇava faith even up to the present day. If the legend (for legend it appears to be!) about the original migration of Caitanya's ancestors from Orissa were true, then Orissa had enough warrant for claiming Caitanya as her own, but she succeeded at least in proving her claim indirectly by a wide-spread and enduring belief in his faith.