Vallabhacharya (1479–1531) formed a religious community
whose teachings have remained the sect's primary impact.
Vallabhacharya's philosophical viewpoint is known as
"pure monism" (Shuddadvaita); his fundamental belief is that the
deity Krishna is the Supreme Being and the ultimate source of everything that
exists.
As a result, the earth and humans partake in his divine
essence, although in limited ways, and the human soul is endowed with divinity
as its inner light and controller.
Because Krishna is the ultimate source of everything,
everything ultimately relies on God, the school's major religious focus is on
God's grace.
This blessing is said to nourish (pushti) the devotee
(bhakta) and is best obtained via devotion (bhakti), which is seen to be the
only successful religious method.
Because of this focus on grace and devotion, the Pushti Marg
has placed little emphasis on abstinence or sacrifice, and Vallabhacharya's
followers mostly came from prosperous merchant groups.
In the Pushti Marg's temples, the emphasis on devotion was quickly
expressed in beautifully structured forms of image worship.
Devotees would imagine themselves as Krishna's companions
throughout his everyday activities—waking, eating, bringing his cows to
pasture, returning home, and so on—and so be able to participate in the divine
drama (lila).
The emergence of large liturgical materials, composed by
eight poets (the ashtachap) affiliated with Vallabhacharya and Vitthalnath, his
son and successor, aided this focus on vision and participation.
Vitthalnath's son Gokulnath, the group's third head, further
cemented the growing community, whose main holy place is currently at
Nathdwara, Rajasthan.
R.K. Barz, The Bhakti Sect of Vallabhacharya, 1976, is a
good source of information.
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