Pushti Marg

Religious community founded by the
philosopher Vallabhacharya (1479–1531),
whose teachings remain the sect’s primary influence. Vallabhacharya characterized his philosophical position as
“pure monism” (Shuddadvaita); his fundamental position is that the god
Krishna is the Supreme Being and the
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Pushti Marg
ultimate source of everything that exists.
The world, and human beings, thus
share in his divine nature, although only
in a limited fashion, and the human soul
is imbued with divinity as its inner light
and controller.
Since Krishna is the ultimate source
of everything and thus everything
depends ultimately on God, the school’s
primary religious emphasis is on the
importance of God’s grace. This grace is
seen as nourishing (pushti) the devotee
(bhakta) and is best attained by devotion (bhakti), which is conceived of as
the only effective religious path. This
emphasis on grace and devotion has
meant that the Pushti Marg have put little stress on asceticism or renunciation,
and the bulk of Vallabhacharya’s
followers came from affluent merchant
communities. The stress on devotion
was soon articulated in elaborately
arranged forms of image worship in the
Pushti Marg’s temples. Devotees would
visualize themselves as Krishna’s companions during his daily activities—
waking, eating, taking his cows to
graze, coming home, etc.—and thus
gain the opportunity to take part in the
divine play (lila). This emphasis on
visualization and participation was fostered through the development of vast
liturgical resources, which were composed by eight poets (the ashtachap)
who were associated with Vallabhacharya
and Vitthalnath, his son and successor.
The third leader, Vitthalnath’s son
Gokulnath, further consolidated the
developing community, whose major
sacred site is now in Nathdwara in the
state of Rajasthan. For further information see R.K. Barz, The Bhakti Sect of
Vallabhacharya, 1976.