Is Hare Krishna part of real Hinduism? Do most Indians accept it as Hinduism?
In the eyes of a true Vedantin, any worship pattern or belief pattern laid by Saints / Prophets / etc are acceptable and true, as all these lead to the same goal, through different highways. When Jesus says, “I am the Truth” or “I am the way”, a vedantin would construe it to mean that “I” is the Divine he represents and not the momentary body of Jesus he had taken for our sake to convey the message. Even so, when Krishna says, “I am the Lord of all Creation” (bhootha maheswaram – BG 9:11), the vedantin would take it to mean that the Divinity (Brahman or God) he represents is the Lord and not just the from of Krishna it had taken for the purpose at that time! So a Saivite worshipping Lord Siva as the ultimate Brahman (God) is as much right as the one worshipping Krishna or Jesus, in essence. But each would claim that the particular form chosen by him for worship and adoration is the only supreme Godhead. Krishna himself says in his Bhagavad Geetha, “whoever approaches me in whatever way
