Shuddhadwaitavada Acharya Sri Vishnuswami (Lord Siva)
“In this Rudradvipa, the eleven Rudras reside. Headed by Nīla-lohita Siva, the Rudras chant Gaurānga’s glories and constantly dance in bliss. As the demigods watch their dancing, they become happy and shower flowers from the sky.
“One time, Visnusvāmi came here during the course of his tour to defeat opposing philosophies. He stayed the night with his followers here in Rudradvipa. The disciples began dancing and singing, Hari bol!’ while Viṣṇusvāmī recited prayers from the śruti. Pleased by the discussion of bhakti, Nīla-lohita mercifully appeared there. Upon Siva’s arrival in the assembly, Viṣṇusvāmī became startled. He folded his hands in prayer and recited appropriate praises. Siva spoke to him, ‘All of you Vaisnavas are dear to me. Your discussion on devotional service has pleased me. Ask a boon, and I will grant it. There is nothing I will not give to the Vaisnavas.’
“Viṣṇusvami offered his dandavats and, filled with ecstatic love, he said, ‘Give us this one gift; that henceforth we will perfect a sampradaya teaching devotional service.’
“In great bliss, Rudra consented and named the sampradaya after himself. Thus Viṣṇusvami’s sampradaya is called the Rudra-sampradaya. With the mercy of Rudra, Visnusvāmi stayed here and worshiped Gauracandra with a desire to attain love of God.
“Gauranga appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘By Rudra’s mercy you have become My devotee. You are fortunate to attain the treasure of bhakti in Navadvipa. Now go out and preach the philosophy of suddhadvaita (purified monism). The time of My appearance on earth will soon come. At that time you will appear in the form of Sri Vallabha Bhatta. You will meet Me in Puri, and you will perfect your sampradaya when you go to Mahāvana.’
(Sri Navadvipa-Dhama-Mahatmya, Chapter 15)
“Later, when I begin the sankirtana movement, I Myself will preach the essence of the four Vaisnava philosophies. From Madhva I will receive two essential items: his complete defeat of the Māyāvāda philosophy, and his service to the Deity of Kṛṣṇa, accepting the Deity as an eternal spiritual being. From Rāmānuja I will accept two great teachings: the concept of bhakti unpolluted by karma and jñāna, and service to the devotees. From Visņusvāmī’s teachings I will accept two main elements: the sentiment of exclusive dependence on Krsna, and the path of rāga-bhakti. And from you I will receive two excellent principles: the necessity of taking shelter of Rādhā, and the high esteem for the gopis’ love of Krsna.”
“When Gauracandra disappeared, Nimbārka wept out of love. After worshiping the feet of his gurus, he left for preaching kṛṣṇa-bhakti.”
(Sri Navadvipa-Dhama-Mahatmya, Chapter 16)
Among the four Vaiṣṇava ācāryas, who are all accepted by the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas, Śrī Rāmānuja Ācārya appeared in the southern part of Andhra Pradesh at Mahābhūtapurī, Śrī Madhva Ācārya appeared at Pājakam (near Vimānagiri) in the district of Mangalore, Śrī Viṣṇu Svāmī appeared at Pāṇḍya, and Śrī Nimbārka appeared at Muṅgera-patana, in the extreme south.
(CC Adi 1.19 purport)
There are four lines of disciplic succession: one from Lord Brahmā, one from Lord Śiva, one from Lakṣmī, the goddess of fortune, and one from the Kumāras. The disciplic succession from Lord Brahmā is called the Brahma-sampradāya, the succession from Lord Śiva (Śambhu) is called the Rudra-sampradāya, the one from the goddess of fortune, Lakṣmījī, is called the Śrī-sampradāya, and the one from the Kumāras is called the Kumāra-sampradāya. One must take shelter of one of these four sampradāyas in order to understand the most confidential religious system. In the Padma Purāṇa it is said, sampradāya-vihīnā ye mantras te niṣphalā matāḥ: if one does not follow the four recognized disciplic successions, his mantra, or initiation, is useless.
At present there are many apasampradāyas, or un-bona fide sampradāyas, which have no link to authorities like Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva, the Kumāras, or Lakṣmī. People are misguided by such sampradāyas. The śāstras say that being initiated into such a sampradāya is a waste of time, for it will never enable one to understand real religious principles and surrender to Kṛṣṇa.
(A Second Chance, Chapter 21 – Confidential Knowledge)