What exactly do the terms bhajanandi and gosthianandi refer to?
What is the sastric origin of the term?
How is the gosthianandi superior to the bhajanandi?
Are bhajanandis spiritually selfish?
If a devotee doesn't want to go out and preach is he or she a bhajanandi?
To say that a bhajanandi is less than gosthanandi is not right. They are engaged in the service of the Lord in their own way but for us sadhakas it is so nice to have gosthanandis who move us out of ignorance. From absolute standpoint there is no difference between the two.
This is from Srila Sridhar Maharaj's Sri Guru and his Grace in the section called "Babajis and Preachers"
"Gaura Kisora Das Babaji Maharaja did not preach, but his disciple, our spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura Prabhupada, preached with great magnitude. Srila Lokanatha Goswami did not preach at all, but we find that the preaching of his only disciple, Srila Narottama Dasa Thakura, was most extensive. So, a Vaisnava should not be judged only by the amount of work that he shows outwardly. His success is at the disposal of the divine will. Krsna awards service to a particular person according to His own choice, and enables that person to carry out that service. There are many examples of this.
Srila Nityananda Prabhu preached throughout the length and breadth of Bengal with great force, but Srila Gadadhara Pandita, although apparently not doing any tangible service in the lila of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, is said to be Radharani's bhava, transcendental sentiments, incarnate. And Gadadhara Pandita's affinity for Mahaprabhu exceeds that of all others.
So, we should not judge the position of a Vaisnava by the magnitude of his external activities alone. Of course, we cannot ignore the service rendered by a devotee. That is a noble thing, that is a great thing, but ultimately the key is in the hand of the Lord (ekala isvara krsna ara saba bhrtya).
From Follow the angles:
"In Caitanya-siksamrta, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura clarified that there are two types of devotees in the stage just prior to attaining the highest plane of Paramahamsa or uttama-adhikari. The devotees who cross the middle stage (madhyama-adhikari) and reach towards the highest position are called devotees in the stage of premaruruksu. They are classified in two divisions: gosthyanandi and viviktanandi (or bhajananandi). The first are always engaged in preaching, and the latter take to smarana or nirjana-bhajana, a solitary life of worship, without mixing with the environment.
One is not superior to the other. The viviktanandis generally like secluded life and practice smarana. Those who are of the gosthyanandi type perform kirtana, preaching, and attain the highest position without the need to practice exclusive smaraëa. Those who have attained the highest plane are known as premarudha."
Jai. Thanks for the replies.