The Parampara is a succession of spiritual teachers passing down unfiltered knowledge. In order for a teacher to be authentic, his line of authority must come from Lord Krishna.
There are four Vaishnava sampradayas, or authentic lines of knowledge. The first is the Brahma-sampradaya, which comes directly from Lord Brahma, the creator of the universe; the second, Rudra-sampradaya, is from Lord Shiva, the destroyer; the third is from Lakshmi, the Goddess of Fortune and wife of Lord Vishnu, who maintains the universe; and the fourth is from the four Kumara sages, who embody pure devotional knowledge. Knowledge received from any of these lines is unchanged and constitutes a reliable path to self-realization. Caution is advised, however, when considering knowledge from other sources, as self-made gurus may present fabricated ideas for personal gain.
Utahkrishnas.org presents Gaudiya Vaishnavism, which comes from the Brahma-sampradaya. The following is a comprehensive list of successive spiritual teachers from Lord Brahma down to the present day:
- Lord Sri Krishna
- Lord Brahma
- Narada Muni
- Vyasadev
- Madhvacharya
- Padmanabha
- Narahari
- Akshobhya
- Jayatirtha
- Jnanasindhu
- Dayanidhi
- Vidyanidhi
- Rajendra
- Jayadharma
- Purushottama
- Brahmanya Tirtha
- Vyasa Tirtha
- Lakshmipati
- Madhavendra Puri
- Ishvara Puri
- Lord Nityananda
- Advaita Acharya
- Lord Chaitanya
- Rupa Goswami
- Swarupa Damodara
- Sanatana Goswami
- Raghunatha Dasa Goswami
- Jiva Goswami
- Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami
- Narottama Dasa Thakura
- Vishvanatha Chakravarti Thakura
- Baladeva Vidyabhusana
- Jagannatha Dasa Babaji
- Bhaktivinoda Thakura
- Gaurakishora Dasa Babaji
- Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura
- A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada