Gaudiya Vaishnavism

[ganesh_guy]

Namaste all,

 

I hope you can all please forgive my ignorance. Is Gaudiya Vaishnavism a part of Hinduism, or not? I have been told it is, and I have been told it isn't. Thanks for any help!

 

Regards,

 

ganesh_guy

[RadheyRadhey108]

Gaudiya Vaishnavism is a sect of Vaishnavism which is a sect of Hinduism. So, yes, it does fall under the large umbrella that is Hinduism... and that's coming from a Gaudiya Vaishnava

[ganesh_guy]

Namaste Sri RadheyRadhey,

 

Thank you for answering my question. How come I got answers that it is not part of Hinduism? The person I asked was also a Gaudiya.

 

Can one become a Gaudiya Vaishnava if he has no access to other Gaudiya's (such as guru, temple etc.)?

 

I am just a Hindu. I don't ascribe to any specific sect. But I am interested in Gaudiya Vaishnavism.

 

Thanks again,

 

Regards,

 

ganesh_guy

[matarisvan]

 

Namaste Sri RadheyRadhey,

Thank you for answering my question. How come I got answers that it is not part of Hinduism? The person I asked was also a Gaudiya.

You must have talked to a foreign born Gaudiya Vaishnava. As they are mostly born into Christian families, they would have a hard time converting to a Hindu sect. Therefore they were told that Gaudiya Vaishnavism is not Hinduism. There are several Gaudiya Vaishnavas on this forum who have all but admitted that they would not have converted otherwise.

[shvu]

 

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You must have talked to a foreign born Gaudiya Vaishnava. As they are mostly born into Christian families, they would have a hard time converting to a Hindu sect. Therefore they were told that Gaudiya Vaishnavism is not Hinduism. There are several Gaudiya Vaishnavas on this forum who have all but admitted that they would not have converted otherwise.

 

There are also some Hindus who would make such a statement, but they are mainly people who lack clarity on the topic and are usually just repeating what they heard from uninformed sources.

 

Standard dictionaries and textbooks are clear without ambiguity that Vaishnavism is a branch of Hinduism. If people are willing to disagree with these dictionaries and textbooks based on personal preferences and/or the words of some x,y or z, then that is a different topic altogether.

 

Cheers

[RadheyRadhey108]

 

Namaste Sri RadheyRadhey,

 

Thank you for answering my question. How come I got answers that it is not part of Hinduism? The person I asked was also a Gaudiya.

 

Can one become a Gaudiya Vaishnava if he has no access to other Gaudiya's (such as guru, temple etc.)?

 

I am just a Hindu. I don't ascribe to any specific sect. But I am interested in Gaudiya Vaishnavism.

 

Thanks again,

 

Regards,

 

ganesh_guy

Namaste Sri Ganesh-guy Prabhu

I think he was most likely from ISKCON. Some people in the ISKCON math think that since Krishna is beyond any concepts held by any religion (since He is the only one who truly knows Himself), that His worship is not Hindu as well (or something along those lines... I don't fall under that belief, so I don't really know much about their reasoning).

I, currently, have no way of attending temple or having a guru or even interacting with devotees (as my state has never been graced by such a presence), and I consider myself a Gaudiya Vaishnava, as I believe in Lord Chaitanya's philosphy. I mean, I'm not initiated or anything, but I chant rounds of the Maha Mantra and I read the scriptures, so I don't see how I'm not a Gaudiya Vaishnava. I think the Lord is more concerned with the temple of the heart than whether you are able to practice external worship in the temple. Also, you can turn your home into your own personal temple if you wish (that's what I've tried to do, with deities of Radha-Krishna and Nitai-Gaura). Not that it's bad to attend temple or anything (it's obviously very good), but if you're not able to (as I'm not able to), then I think the Lord is fine with your service at home and in your heart just the same.