[16][17] The focus of Gaudiya Vaishnavism is the devotional worship (known as bhakti yoga) of Radha and Krishna, and their many divine incarnations as the supreme forms of God, Svayam Bhagavan.

[23][24] Release from the process of samsara (known as moksha) is believed to be achievable through a variety of spiritual practices, and in general, is the ultimate aim in life.

[26] Jiva Gosvami calls this phrase the "paribhasha-sutra" (definitive rule) of the theology of the Gaudiya Vaishnava school and a mahavakya (governing proposition).

In practice, Gaudiya Vaishnava philosophy has much more in common with the dualistic schools especially closely following theological traditions established by Madhvacharya's Dvaita Vedanta.

The six treatises are:[27]: 376–384 The practical process of performing devotional acts in ones life is described as bhakti or bhakti-yoga, and is supported by activities of nine different types.

[41] Raganuga-bhakti, on the other hand, follows ragatmika-bhakti,[42][43] the bhakti present in Krishna's eternal associates, which is driven by raga, a natural absorption in the object of service.

[46] Within his Siksastaka prayers, Chaitanya compares the process of bhakti-yoga to that of cleansing a dirty place of dust, wherein our consciousness is the object in need of purification.

[48] Famously within the tradition, one of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's close associates, Haridasa Thakur, is reported to have chanted 300,000 holy names of God each day.

[54] Chaitanya Vaishnava traditions refer to the writings of previous acharyas in their respective lineage or sampradya as authoritative interpretations of scripture.

[60][61][62] For example, the famous American Indologist and historian of religion Guy L. Beck, with regard to the Chaitanya Sampradaya, notes the following historical events.

[63] The Prameya Ratnawali of the above-mentioned gaudiya-acharya Baladeva Vidyabhushana contains the following canonical list of disciplic succession: Krishna, Brahma, Narada, Vyasa, Madhva, Padmanabha, Nrihari, Madhava, Akshobhya, Jayatirtha, Gyanasindhu, Dayanidhi, Vidyanidhi, Rajendra, Jayadharma, Purushottama, Brahmanya, Vyasatirtha, Lakshmipati Tirtha, Madhavendra Puri, Isvara Puri, and Chaitanya.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was the proponent for the Vaishnava school of Bhakti yoga (meaning loving devotion to God), based on Bhagavata Purana and Bhagavad Gita.

[71] Over the three centuries following the disappearance of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition evolved into the form in which we largely find it today in contemporary India.

In the early years of the tradition, the followers of Nityananda Prabhu, Advaita Acharya and other companions of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu educated and initiated people, each in their own locales across Bengal.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu requested a select few among his followers, who later came to be known as the Six Gosvamis of Vrindavan, to systematically present his theology of bhakti in their writings.

The festival of Kheturi (approx 1574),[72] presided over by Jahnava Thakurani, the wife of Nityananda Rama, was the first time the leaders of the various branches of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's followers assembled together.

During the 17th–18th centuries, there was a period of general decline in the movement's strength and popularity, its "lethargic state", characterized by decreased public preaching and the rise of persons following and promoting tantric teachings and practices.

[75] In the 17th century, Vishvanath Chakravarti Thakur held great merit in clarifying core doctrinal issues over the practice of raganuga-bhakti through works such as Raga-vartma-chandrika.

Most devotee ruler and propagandist of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, under the influence of Natottama Thakura's disciples, was raja Bhagyachandra, who has visited the holy for the Chaytanyaits Nabadwip.

[82] The reform change of traditional caste Gaudiya Vaishnavism of 19th century is believed to have happened largely in India due to the efforts of a particularly adept preacher known as Bhaktivinoda Thakur, who also held the position of a deputy magistrate with the British government.

Bhaktivinoda Thakur's son grew up to be both an eminent scholar and a highly influential Vaishnava preacher, and was later known as Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati.

[84][85] Soon after Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati's death (1 January 1937), a dispute began, which divided the original Gaudiya Math mission into two administrative bodies still in existence today.

[87] In the 1960s, the one of his disciples, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada went to the West to spread Gaudiya-Vaishnavism and establish the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), "the most successful of the Gaudiya Math's offspring," an organization that continues today.

[89] Although sharing a common set of core beliefs, there are a number of philosophical differences which distinguish Gaudiya Vaishnavism from other Vaishnava schools: "O most munificent incarnation!

"[92] Although this viewpoint outside of the Gaudiya tradition was disputed, Chaitanya's followers prove it by pointing at verses throughout the Puranic literatures as evidence to support this claim.