Gossain

Gossain or Gosain or or Gussain is a Standard Hindi word derived from Sanskrit: गोस्वामी gōsvāmī "lord of senses". It is used as a title in various Indian religious traditions.

These include:

• Gossains, a Hindu social group dealing with Vedas
• A title given to members of the Shaiva sannyasin order of the Dashanami Sampradaya established by Shankaracharya.
• A title given to leaders of the Vaishnava order of the Vallabha.
• A Dasnami sanyas title given to a disciple by one's guru after getting initiated into sanyasa tradition (e.g. Gosain or Gusain or Goswami Tulsidas).

See also

• Gaudiya Vaishnavism

References

• New Illustrated Columbia Encyclopedia Vol 23, 1979. New York: Columbia University Press