Vallabhacārya

Vallabha’s philosophy is known as Śuddhādvaita. He is said to have written two commentaries on the Brahmasūtras, the Br̥hadbhāṣya and the Aṇubhāṣya, of which the former is not available now. The latter is up to the 33rd sūtra of the second pāda of the third adhyāya (3.2.33) only. The book was completed by his son Viṭṭhalanātha. Apart from the prasthānatraya, he holds the Bhāgavata in very high esteem. He also wrote a commentary on it, called Subodhinī, which too remained incomplete.

For Vallabha, God, the Absolute, is Krsna whom the Upanisads call Brahman. He is one without a second and is sat-cit-ānanda (being, awareness and bliss). He has three forms: Parabrahman, Purusottama or Krsna, Antaryāmin, the indwelling spirit of all the living beings, and Aksara-brahman which is the object of meditation and the abode of Krsna. It is this Aksara that appears as prakrti (insentient nature, the matrix of all created objects) and puruṣa (sentient soul, the jīva) but is beyond both. While Puruṣottama is the highest, Aksara is an expression of His.

This Aksara, again, appears in three more forms: kāla (time), karma (action) and svabhāva (nature). Kāla or time is suprasensible and is inferred from its effects. It is all-pervasive and the support of all beings. Karma or action is also universal. It manifests itself as different actions of different beings. Svabhāva or nature is that which produces parināma or change.

God is both saguna and nirguna (with and without attributes). He cannot be known except through His own grace. Through His māyāśakti, He can become anything at any time. He is both the material and the efficient cause of this world. He creates the world through His own nature and hence the samavāyi-kārana, the inherent cause. Though He exists everywhere in His tripartite nature as being, consciousness and bliss, the manifestation in the created universe differs. Matter reflects only the being aspect (‘sat’), the souls reflect the consciousness aspect also (‘cit’) whereas as Brahman, he manifests all the three fully. Although unmanifest and transcendent in His own nature, by creating the world through His will He becomes manifest and an object of comprehension. Since this world is a manifestation of Brahman, it is never destroyed but is only withdrawn into Him at His will.

The jīvas or individual souls come out of Akṣara-brahman like sparks from fire. They are eternal parts of Brahman and are atomic in size. They are of three classes: puṣti, maryādā and pravāha. The first are the chosen ones enjoying the grace of God, and ardently devoted to Him. The second study the scriptures, perform the rites prescribed as ordained duties and also cultivate devotion. They attain God in course of time. The last are interested only in the worldly life and hence transmigrate constantly. Some of them, due to satsaṅga or good company, may attain God later.

Vallabha considers bhakti or devotion as the only means of salvation. By that, the jīva is released from the cycle of birth and death and enjoys the bliss of God in all possible ways. Vallabha holds that the knower of Brahman is absorbed in Akṣara-brahman and not in Puruṣottama. It is only through bhakti that the latter, the highest aspect, can be attained. He advocates two forms of bhakti: maryādā-bhakti and puṣti-bhakti. The former is formal devotion to be practised as described in the scriptures and has to be cultivated by self-effort. The latter is attained by the grace of God alone, without one’s effort. ‘Puṣti’ refers, not to the physical nourishment, but to the spiritual nourishment got by the grace of God. Hence the name ‘Puṣti-bhakti’. Consequently, Vallabha’s system is also called ‘Puṣti-mārga’. Emphasis on the worship of Bālakrṣna, (child Krsna) and seva or service to Him find an important place in the mode of sādhanā taught by him.