Vallabhacharya Jayanti 2022

The Path of Grace (Pushti)

“Heartiest felicitations on the Jayanti of a great Ācārya (Master) of Sanātana Dharma; Founder of ‘Puṣṭimārga’ which is the Path of dependence upon the Lord’s Grace; proponent of the ‘śuddhādvaita’ school of philosophy, Mahāprabhu Vallabhācārya!” #Saprem_Harismaran @PPBhaishri

Incarnation of Agni

◻️ Mahāprabhu Vallabhācārya was believed to be an incarnation of Agni (fire), or the divine face of the cosmic Lord, in his metaphysical form. In his spiritual essence he is the fire of loving separation (viprayoga) of śrījī. In his physical gross form, he was the founder of the ‘Path of Grace’ and leading proponent of śuddhādvaita philosophy (the school of pure non-dualism) that states Brahman is equated ‘in essence’ to Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is the absolute and supreme reality, Puruṣottama. There is no separation between the embodied soul (jīva), the manifested world (jagata) and the Supreme Lord (jagdīśa) – who are all the trinity of existence-consciousness-bliss (saccidānanda) in essence. The living being realises his true position through formal initiation or ‘brahma sambandha’ in which the Lord Himself has vowed to accept any being that is placed in his refuge through this path. His philosophy, based on one-pointed (ananya) refuge (āśraya) upon the Lord’s grace is summarised as: 

ekaṃ śāstraṃ devakī-putra-gītam
eko devo devakī-putra eva
eko mantras tasya nāmāni yāni
karmāpyekaṃ tasya devasya sevā

“There is only one Śāstra (Scripture), the Gītā of the son of Devakī (Śrī Kṛṣṇa) 
There is only one God, The son of Devakī
There is only one Mantra, His divine name
There is only one action, verily to serve Him”

Founder of the Pushtimarg Philosophy

◻️ He was the one who came when called after the Lord manifested himself fully from the upward raised hand that had first emerged at Goverdhana mountain. Vallabhācāryaji worshipped the mūrti of Śrī Kṛṣṇa in the form of Śrīnāthaji hidden in the Govardhana Hill as his child. It is said that Śrī Kṛṣṇa commanded him to propagate the correct way of worshipping his forms and thus gain the grace of God through the path of Puṣṭimarga. This was to be accomplished through the process of brahma-sambandha (which was first received on the banks of River Yamunā in Gokula from the Lord Himself). It is an initiation into having a relationship with the Lord. 

◻️ Considering each home to be a ‘Nandālaya’ in which the Lord can be worshipped by either observing strict decorum (maryādā) or with one pointed loving parental affection (puṣṭi). Service (Sevā) can be offered by offering all that one has, including oneself, to the Lord. These can be financial, physical or mental forms of service, known as vittajā, tanujā, mānasī. The first two are means (sādhan) whilst the third is the topmost goal. 

◻️ Mahāprabhuji travelled extensively on foot throughout Bhārata, leaving his first Yātrā incomplete when called by Śrījī Bāwā to immediately come to Goverdhana (upon his complete manifestation from the cave). After establishing the temple and initiating the suitable practice of Sevā, he then continued his tours. In total he travelled the length and breadth of India three times and on each yātrās wherever he stayed and read or spoke upon the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, the place became known as a ‘baithak’. There are 84 such ‘baithaks’ today which are an important place of pilgrimage for those on the Path of Grace. These travels are known as ‘pṛthvī parikramā’,

◻️  Mahāprabhuji devoted himself to the worship of the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam as non-different from the Lord Himself and depicted the twelve cantos of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam Mahapurāṇa as the twelve limbs of Śrī Kṛṣṇa in various combinations. One such sequence is famously outlined as in the diagram below:

Pushti Literature

◻️ According to the Puṣṭi literature, at the age of fifty-two, he immersed himself into the river Gaṅgā from Hanumāna-ghat whilst reciting the gopi-gīta verses from the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam Mahapurāṇa. 

◻️ According to Puṣṭi Mārgīya Vaiṣṇavaism, while Vallabhācārya appreciated the vast corpus of Vedic literature (including the prasthānatrayī, he derived the majority of his philosophy from the Śrīmad Bhāgavata (as cited above). He authored sixteen texts (śodaśa grantha) associated with the Bhāgavata. 

Did-You-Know?

Jagadguru Vallabhācārya Mahāprabhu, an ardent Śrī Kṛṣna devotee, mentions three types of contributions one can make in the service of society:

Can you name the three ‘contributions’ one can render to serve society as stated by Jagadguru Vallabhācārya Mahāprabhu?

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The sacred octet ‘Madhurāṣṭakam’ was authored by Mahāprabhu Vallabhācārya.

Madhurāṣṭakam

adharaṃ madhuraṃ vadanaṃ madhuraṃ
nayanaṃ madhuraṃ hasitaṃ madhuram ।
hṛdayaṃ madhuraṃ gamanaṃ madhuraṃ
madhurādhipaterakhilaṃ madhuram ॥ 1 ॥

vacanaṃ madhuraṃ caritaṃ madhuraṃ
vasanaṃ madhuraṃ valitaṃ madhuram ।
calitaṃ madhuraṃ bhramitaṃ madhuraṃ
madhurādhipaterakhilaṃ madhuram ॥ 2 ॥

veṇurmadhuro reṇurmadhuraḥ
pāṇirmadhuraḥ pādau madhurau ।
nṛtyaṃ madhuraṃ sakhyaṃ madhuraṃ
madhurādhipaterakhilaṃ madhuram ॥ 3 ॥

gītaṃ madhuraṃ pītaṃ madhuraṃ
bhuktaṃ madhuraṃ suptaṃ madhuram ।
rūpaṃ madhuraṃ tilakaṃ madhuraṃ
madhurādhipaterakhilaṃ madhuram ॥ 4 ॥

karaṇaṃ madhuraṃ taraṇaṃ madhuraṃ
haraṇaṃ madhuraṃ ramaṇaṃ madhuram ।
vamitaṃ madhuraṃ śamitaṃ madhuraṃ
madhurādhipaterakhilaṃ madhuram ॥ 5 ॥

guñjā madhurā mālā madhurā
yamunā madhurā vīcī madhurā ।
salilaṃ madhuraṃ kamalaṃ madhuraṃ
madhurādhipaterakhilaṃ madhuram ॥ 6 ॥

gopī madhurā līlā madhurā
yuktaṃ madhuraṃ muktaṃ madhuram ।
dṛṣṭaṃ madhuraṃ śiṣṭaṃ madhuraṃ
madhurādhipaterakhilaṃ madhuram ॥ 7 ॥

gopā madhurā gāvo madhurā
yaṣṭirmadhurā sṛṣṭirmadhurā ।
dalitaṃ madhuraṃ phalitaṃ madhuraṃ
madhurādhipaterakhilaṃ madhuram ॥ 8 ॥

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