FOUR BONAFIDE VAISHNAVA SAMPRADHAYAS!

FOUR BONAFIDE VAISHNAVA SAMPRADHAYAS!

(1) BRAHMA SAMPRADAYA - By disciplic succession from Brahma

(2) LAKSMI (SRI) SAMPRADAYA - By disciplic succession from lAKSHMI

(3) RUDRA SAMPRADAYA - By disciplic succession from Siva

(4) KUMARA SAMPRADAYA:  By disciplic succession from Sanaka Kumara.

Srila Prabhupada, the founder of ISKCON about four sampradhayas!

Garga Samhita (10:61:23-26):

"Vamana, Brahma, Ananta Sesha and Sanaka Kumara will appear as brahmanas by the order of Visnu, for the preservation of eternal righteousness in kali yuga. Visnuswami, Madhvacarya, Ramanuja and Nimbaditya will appear respectively as a portion of Vamana, Brahma, Ananta Sesha and Sanaka Kumara. These four saviours will be the establishers of the four authorised and empowered spiritual channels of disciplic succession in the period calculated from the reign of King Vikrama in 54 B.C. subsequently through the 432,000 year cycle of kali yuga. These four authorised and empowered spiritual channels of disciplic succession are to be fully accepted by all beings; as any word, combination of words or formulation of sound frequencies, invoked or addressed, audible or inaudible, secret or revealed, ancient or contemporary outside their auspices prove to have absolutely no efficacy."

Letter to Upendra, 13-02.1968, Boston:

"There are four Sampradayas from the beginning of the creation. One is called Brahma Sampradaya, and is coming down by disciplic succession from Brahma; another Sampradaya is coming down from Laksmi, called Sri Sampradaya; another is coming down from the Kumaras, they are known as Nimbarka Sampradaya; another Sampradaya is coming from Lord Siva, Rudra Sampradaya or Visnu Swami. These are four bona fide Sampradayas that are accepted by the bona fide spiritualists. The Impersonalist Sampradaya is not original, neither the Impersonalist Sampradaya or party can help us. At the present moment there are so many Sampradayas, but we have to test them about their method of disciplic understanding. Anyway, all the four Sampradayas above mentioned, they are after worshipping the Supreme Lord Visnu, in His different Expansions, and some of them are in favor of worshipping Radha Krishna."