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Vaishnavism is a largest Denomination of Hinduism. Its followers worships God Vishnu (Narayana ) and his many avatars as the Supreme deity and believes him to be the ultimate reality. It considers Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam texts as important sources of theology. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the sole supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, that is, Mahavishnu or Narayana [1] This worship in different perspectives or historical traditions addresses God under the names of Narayana, Krishna, Vāsudeva or more often "Vishnu", and their associated avatars.[2][3] Its beliefs and practices, especially the concepts of Bhakti and Bhakti Yoga, are based largely on the Upanishads, and associated with the Vedas and Puranic texts such as the Bhagavad Gita, Purusha suktam, Narayana suktam, Narayana Upanishads and other sattvic Puranas.[4][5][6][7]
These followers of Vaishnavism are referred to as Vaishnavas or Vaishnavites. A large percentage of Hindus are Vaishnavas,[8] with the vast majority living in India. Awareness, recognition, and growth of the belief has significantly increased outside of India in recent years. The Gaudiya Vaishnava and Ramanandi Sampradaya branch[9] of the tradition has significantly increased the awareness of Vaishnavism internationally, since the mid-1900s, largely through the activities and geographical expansion of the Hare Krishna movement, primarily through ISKCON and more recently, through several other Vaishnava organizations conducting preaching activities in the West.[10]