Bairagi (caste)


Bairagi is a caste of Hindus and is known by names like Vaishnav Brahmin, Swamiji or Swami, Babaji, Bawa, Dixit and Pujari at different places in India. They follow one of four orders: the Visishtadvaita belief system of Ramanuja ; the Dvaitadvaita philosophy propagated by Nimbarkacharya; the Shuddhadvaita philosophy propagated by Vishnuswami ; or the Dvaita philosophy propagated by Madhvacharya.
According to these philosophies, people are divided into four main sampradaya :
Mostly members of the Bairagi community perform priesthood practices in temples. These people are known as:
Now Bairagi community people usually work in agriculture or as landlords.

Origin

The name Bairagi is derived from the Sanskrit word vairagya, which means, "one who is free from worldly affairs".

Identification of Bairagi

A Bairagi is one whose principal deity is Vishnu or either of his great incarnations: Rama or Krishna. The caste spread throughout India, but they are more concentrated in the northwestern states of the country. Bairagis can be identified by their necklaces of Tulsi beads and their tilak,. The Bairagi are vegetarian but avoid masur dal, onion, and garlic.
There are 52 gotras and 52 dwaras of Vaishnavas. They follow the dual gotra system: Vaishnava Acharya gotra and Rishi gotra, i.e. Kiladevacharya and Kaushik gotra are gotras of the same clan. There are also some non-Brahmin Bairagis who joined the community during the Bhakti movement.

Bairagi dynasties and states

The first ruler Mahant Ghasi Das, was recognized as a feudal chief by the British government in 1865 and was granted a sanad of adoption. Later the British conferred the title of raja on the ruling mahant.

Bairagi or Vairagi akharas

There are three prominent Bairagi akharas: