why are Gaudiya Vaishnavas so intolerant?

June 10, 2003

Why are they?

In Hinduism it is common to regard one's Ishtadevata as supreme and all other

deities as aspects or manifestations of him/her.

For instance, the Shaivas regard Shiva as Parabrahman and respect Vishnu,

Krishna, Brahma, etc. as aspects or manifestations of Shiva and the goddesses

such as Lakshmi, Radha, Sarasvati, etc. as aspects or manifestations of

Shakti-Devi.

The Shaktas also respect the other deities.

But the Gaudiya Vaishnavas seem to hold the view that only Krishna is god, all

other deities are mere demi-gods.

Why? Did Sri Chaitanya preach that?

Is this view shared by all Vaishnava sects, or are there branches of the

Vaishnava tradition that follow the classical Hindu tradition?

On which scriptures do they base their view, and on whose interpretation of

these scriptures?

June 12, 2003

It is wrong to hold that gauriyas ONLY worship Krishna, The strict

nonvagirarianism of Gauriyas is much influenced by Jaina releigion,

than on Vaishnavas. There are at least a dozen cults in Vaishnavas.

Kindly dont mix religion with philosophy. The word "Dharma" conveys

much more than a religion or cult.

Love to all

Satish

June 13, 2003

Hi Satish,

I think the question being asked is why are many members of the

Gaudiya tradition intolerant of all devas/devis other than Krishna.

To them Krishna is "God" and all others are somehow "less". I know of

several Shaivites and Vashnavites also fighting over the superiority

of each others ishtadevas, each quoting texts of their own for

evidence, and I personally attribute it to ignorant ego activity, an

effort at identity development through a sense of perceived

superiority.

I have experienced this attitude with several members (NOT ALL) of

the tradition and it is similar to the other faiths and their claims

of superiority. Dialogues on our board and others in private have

resulted in them leaving angrily because others opined that they

couldn't accept the exclusivity of their approach. In fact I have

come across writings on web sites where they claim they are

not "Hindus". (I use the term "Hindus" as a Dharma not religion in

the western sense.) However we have many very responsible and

respectable members from the tradition and I request them to respond

to this query.

For me, the answer lies in the concept of love and its participants

since the path of devotion exemplies the relationship between a lover

and his/her beloved. When "in love" the lover tends to see nothing

else, and no one else; as if viewing the world through rose-colored

glasses. They see their "beloved" in all, see them as pefect without

any failings and even attribute exceptional qualities to them. While

this blind devotion can become a problem in human love, in the case

where the beloved is one's ishta devata this devotion becomes an

important glue and anchor to move forward and grow. Unless of course

it is used as a source of ego centric identification and source of

division instead of unity and can happen with any form of Devotion,

even to specifc Gurus.

I remain curious about the question by Alexandra Kafka, as to whether

this is something that was said by the original guru.. Sri Chaitanya

or was it just a product of an overwhelming devotion and adoration by

his followers that made it an exclusive "us vs them" school.

Members do share your views with us here.

_/\_ Tat twam asi

Uma

, safar_x <no_reply> wrote:

> It is wrong to hold that gauriyas ONLY worship Krishna,

June 14, 2003

I think it is also a question of survival for these cults. The close shop

environment helps to keep the flock together. I have seen the similar attitude

with some Christian faiths, they go round distributing their books and

literature but when you offer them a copy of the Gita in return, their answer is

no no, "we are not allowed to read any other book".

Blind faith in God, the all knowing, all powerful and all pervasive Being,

certainly helps the devotee to transcend his mind and attain peace in life. It

is more so if you call That all knowing Being 'KRISHNA' because His past time

are so beautifully described in the Bhagvatam that they can be used for

effortless meditation on Him. As long as you don't affront others, there is

nothing wrong in considering your Ishtadevata the highest. In fact that is the

right thing to do.

Hari Om, Hare Krishna

radhakutir

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