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Re: ARTICLE : Who decided that all vaishnavs are not hindus
Roy Raja <rajaroy@ecf.toronto.edu> wrote:
> Are you implying that vaishnavs are not hindus at all? We can discuss
> that, but what is your logic in claiming that some vaishnavs are hindus,
> and some are not. Logically, either all vaishnavs are hindus, or none
> of vaishnavs are hindus. Can you tell what is your view before we
> proceed?
Maha Raja: I think this semantic problem arises because the word 'Hindu'
is given two meanings in most dictionaries: one is religious, the other
is cultural.
As soon as we involve the word 'Vaishnava', the religious connotation of
the word 'Hindu' becomes meaningless, since 'Hindu' is really a variety
of preferred views of God, one of which is the Vaishnava perception. To
me, Hinduism means Krsna and the Bhagavad-gita - - - how could it be
anything else? But it is so very varied. It may well be argued that the
various ideologies within the blanket of 'Hinduism' could all be
compatible, just differing levels/aspects of realization of Krsna's ultimate
position; like arithmetic, geometry, algebra, calculus, and fractal
geometry can all be considered as aspects of mathematics.
I think when someone says that not all Vaishnavas are Hindus, they are
using the cultural definition of 'Hindu' - - - like myself, who sees
God in His eternal form of Syamasundara, Krsna my Lord - - - but my body
was born in Canada and would clearly stand out in a crowd in Calcutta.
Ghari
--
THE RADMAN . . . . . . . . Gary Stevason ..... www.geocities.com/Athens/2108
Caitanya@torfree.net
"Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall
deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear." -- God, Bhagavad-gita
