No. "Google Profiles" is just one of the services Google offers (https://profiles.google.com). Gmail is another service (https://mail.google.com). Both fall under the umbrella of your Google account. Having Gmail does not mean you have a 'Google Profile', just like having Gmail does not mean you are signed up for Blogger, YouTube, Picasa, Music Beta, etc...
If you have previously gone to https://profiles.google.com/ and signed up for that service then it sounds like you must explicitly make your profile page public or it will be deleted. If you choose to sign up for Google Plus then your Google Profile page will be rolled into Google Plus. This has nothing to do with Gmail.
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No. "Google Profiles" is just one of the services Google offers (https://profiles.google.com). Gmail is another service (https://mail.google.com). Both fall under the umbrella of your Google account. Having Gmail does not mean you have a 'Google Profile', just like having Gmail does not mean you are signed up for Blogger, YouTube, Picasa, Music Beta, etc... If you have previously gone to https://profiles.google.com/ and signed up for that service then it sounds like you must explicitly make your profile page public or it will be deleted. If you choose to sign up for Google Plus then your Google Profile page will be rolled into Google Plus. This has nothing to do with Gmail.