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INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR KRISHNA CONSCIOUSNESS The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) belongs to the Gaudiya Vaishnava smapradaya, a monotheistic tradition within Vedic or Hindu culture. It is based on the Bhagavad Gita, the spiritual teachings spoken by Lord Krishna. ISKCON traces its spiritual lineage directly to the speaker of the sacred book, Lord Krishna, who is revered as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In the 15th century, a saint named Chaitanya Mahaprabhu revitalized the bhakti-yoga tradition by introducing an expansive spiritual movement that swept India. Central to this renaissance was Chaitanya’s emphasis on the chanting of Krishna’s name. The ISKCON logo is made up of  a lotus, holding a tilak of this sect, the acronym ISKCON supported by two horizontal bars and the registration symbol.

GOPALA BHATTA PARIVARA TILAK Shri Gopala Bhatta Goswami was the son of Vyenkatta Bhatta, a brahmana resident of Shri Rangam, who was initiated in the Shri Sampradaya. Vyenkatta Bhatta was a member in a branch of the Ramanuja Sampradaya known as Vadagalai. Lord Chaitanya once stayed four months in his home and converted the family to Gaudiya Vaisnavism. The son of Vyenkatta Bhatta was later known in the Gaudiya Sampradaya as Gopala Bhatta Goswami and he established the Radha-ramana temple in Vrindavana. In corroboration with Sri Sanatana Gosvami he compiled the book, Hari-bhakti-vilasa explaining the ritual and devotional practices of the Gaudiya Vaisnavasampradaya. He also wrote Sat-kriya-dipika and the outline for Sri Jiva Gosvami's Sat Sandarbhas. The followers of his sampradaya use the ‘V’ shaped  white line with a stroke of ‘Srichurnam’ in middle.

GOPALA GURU PARIVARA TILAK Sri Gopala Guru Goswami was a disciple of Sri Vakreshwara Pandit. He was a brahmana from Utkala. From early childhood, he stayed with Vakreshwara Pandit under his care and guidance. Under the authority of Sri Svarupa Damodara and Raghunatha Dasa Goswami, he was instructed in the system of rasa and attained expertise in the rasik principles. At the place where Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu stayed at the house of Kashi Mishra, Vakreshwara Pandita later stayed. After Sri Vakreshwara Pandit passed away, Gopal Guru Goswami stayed at that place, where he installed the deities Sri Sri Radhakanta. He founded the tradition of Vakreshwara Pandita and Gopala Guru Parivara. The tilaka of this sect is has a ‘U’ shape mark applied with sandalwood paste.

GANGAMATA PARIVARA TILAKA Gangamata Parivara is one of the ten main Gaudiya Vaishnava parivars and the originator is Gangamata Thakurani. The line of Gopala Bhatta is also a vamsa-parampara descending from the brother of Gopinatha Pujari, one of the original sevaites of Radha-ramana. Saci Devi was the only daughter of King Naresanarayana of Puntiya in the district of Rajsahi. Saci Devi was a disciple of Haridasa Pandita. She was initiated in Radha Krsna mantra from Haridasa on the thirteenth day of the bright fortnight in the month of Chaitra and thereafter devoted herself fully to the service of guru and Govinda. Lord Jagannath  brought the Ganges, under His feet, in order to enable Saci to take a bath in the Ganges as she desired. Since the bath she has been called as Gangamata Thakurani. The tilaka of this sect is a ‘U’ shape supported by a single short stroke at its bottom in sandalwood paste.

NAROTTAMA THAKURA PARIVARA TILAK Narottama Dasa Thakura (1466), also known as Thakura Mahasaya is a Gaudiya Vaishnava saint who was responsible for spreading Vaishnava bhakti throughout Orissa in and outside of Bengal in India. Narottama dasa was the son of King Krishnananda Datta and Narayani Devi who resided in Gopalpur Pargana of the Rajsahi district of Bangladesh. Fifty years after the disappearance of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Narottama organized annual festivals in Bengal, which served to keep the Gaudiya philosophy unified. Narottama Thakura parivara members sport a tilaka similar to Gaudiyas and in place of tulasi they have leaf of neem tree.

ADVAITACHARYA PARIVARA TILAK Advaita Acharya (1434–1539), born Kamalaksha Bhattacharya, was a notable disciple and companion of the founder of the Gaudiya Vaishnava sect, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and guru of Haridasa Thakur. He was born at Navagrama-Laur village in the present-day Sylhet District of Bangladesh in 1434, some fifty years before Chaitanya. He spent most of his adult life in the town of Shantipur with his wife and family (Advaita Acharya had six sons, Acyutananda, Krsna Misra, Gopala dasa, Balarama, Svarupa, and Jagadisa) teaching the philosophy of Bhagavad Gita and Bhagavata Purana and promoting Bhakti Yoga. Followers of Advaita Acharya – Advaitacarya parivara sport a tilka similar to Gaudiyas and in place of tulasi they have leaf of banyan tree.

NITYANANDA PARIVARA TILAK The Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition, lacking a central authority since its very inception on account of its dynamic spread, has come to encompass a large diversity of practices and insights within the foundational framework of the Goswami's teachings. Traditional Gaudiya lineages are traced back to the companions of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu via a succession of mantra diksha initiations, otherwise commonly known as the guru-pranali. Nityananda (b 1474 CE), was a Vaishnava saint, famous as a primary religious figure within the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition of Bengal, is presumed to be an avatar of Balarama. Nityananda was Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's friend and disciple. They are often mentioned together as Gaura-Nitai (Gaura, ‘golden one’, referring to Chaitanya, Nitai being a shortened form of Nityananda) or Nimai-Nitai.   The followers of Nityananda are called the Nityananda Parivara and their tilaka sports the Gaudiya tilaka with a dot.