Pushtimargiya Philosophy

Bhakti yoga

In the present Kali Yug era, Bhakti (devotion) is the only road which can be travelled on. All the others are more difficult and not suited to the working person or the life we live today. This means that the devotee can follow a 'normal' life and still make inroads towards God.

Within the Bhakti Road you come across a number of side roads, one of these Pushtimarg.

Pushtimarg

What is Pushtimarg

Pushtimarg is the 'path of grace'. Where the goal is to attain God (Thakurji, Krishna Bhagwan) this can only be done through the 'grace' of Shree Krishna. Therefore the goal and means to attain are the same!

You may wonder what it is, where it came from, who started it etc. Well the beginning of Pushtimarg is as old as time. Pushtimarg is not that just been 'cooked up' or the creation of a 'cult'. It is the extrapolation of principles embedded in Hindu scriptures. At its heart is a core fundamental concept that each individual living being is an 'ansha' (part of God. God is like an ocean and we are droplets of that ocean) of Shree Krishna.

Thus each individual has a direct and personal relationship with Lord Krishna. The basis of the relationship is the strongest emotion. Love.

Love, the topic on which thousands of poets, writers and film makers have written about. Love is what has been experienced by millions of people. Love is very close to heart and is the most potent force know. Its powers are tremendous enough to inspire people to build monuments, start wars, create peace and extend the barriers of human achievement. This power emotion has to be felt for God as well. This is the core of Pushtimarg. This is the essence of Pushtimarg. This is Pushtimarg.

Founder

At its root are the scriptures (Vedas, Upanishads, Brahm Sutra, Gita, Shree Mad Bhagwatam) and its founder or the one who brought it into vogue is Shree Mahaprabhuji. He was a great Acharya (religious teacher) an incarnation of Krishna. Shree Vallabh Acharya appeared in the 16th century.

He took form to remove the prevalent misconceptions surrounded Hinduism resulting in the domination of Moguls and to remove the prevalent Buddhist traditions.

Shuddhadvaita philosophy

From the Map you can clearly see how Pushtimarg fist into the Hinduism umbrella. Other Acharyas i.e. Shree Shankar Acharaya, Shree Madhav Acharya, Shree Ramanuj Acharya, are in the Theistic sect of Vaishanivism. We believe in ONE God only. We are Monotheistic.

Vallabha Acharya, the rejuvenator of Pushtimarg established using the accepted 'Texts', that God who is referred to as Brahman in the Upanishads, Paramatma, Bhagwan Krishna and is the creator, preserver and destroyer of this world. He has the means to achieve the above and He achieves the above. We are a part 'ansha' of Bhagwan. Hence we originate from Him and will return to Him at the time of dissolution of the world.

God has 3 parts SAT, CHIT, ANAND. Being/existence, Consciousness or awareness and Bliss. In God we find Sat and Chit in limited amounts and Anand in a countless amount. Humans have Sat and Chit predominated whilst Anand is hidden. The hidden Anand makes us shy away from Paramatma. We become engrossed in the world.

We are unaware of the relationship that exists between us and God. This is the challenge that we face. We have to fight off the distractions of the world and direct our attention towards God.

We, the 'jiva' have to strive towards the attainment of Thakurji's krupa (grace). Thakurji's Krupa will be showered on us when we 'miss Him', our love for him is so great that we cant live without Him. These are indeed abstract ideas. How do you miss someone when you haven't met him. How do you love someone that you haven't seen?

This is a reason we do swarup seva (idol worship). It allows us to focus our attention and experience love. Love for an Idol? Hmm strange but lets face it if you love cars then the car of your dream provides you with a lot of happiness. If you love art then art is the object of your love. Paintings are the source of love. So if you can love the smile of Mona Lisa then it shouldn't be hard to love God.

Hang on a sec....why God?

To the modern mind the question arises as to why are we looking towards God. Why is moksha (removal of the soul from the cycle birth and death) so important. (Especially if we don't consciously know about birth and rebirth)

In Pushtimarg we do not seek moksha. We want more than that. We want to live and reside with Thakurji in Gaulok. Moksha is an inferior objective to us.

Why do we want these things. Clearly there is some logic in the above question. We have so many distractions or other things that we could do instead of doing seva or reciting 'paths'. Watching TV, going out, having fun, earning money etc. For an Economist this an opportunity cost.

Well, in life there has to be a balance. If you eat too much then you are likely to put on weight. If you eat too little then chances are you are likely to feel weak and tired. If you often work long hours, you become a workaholic and it will disrupt your family life causing endless arguments. If you don't work then people will view you as being lazy. If you love shopping then you end up spending too much money which causes arguments and makes you work longer hours. If you are a student and don't put the required time in your education then chances are you will not do well.

So in essence, balance is a key to life, you will agree. The Hindu life is designed to provide you the time required to fulfil all your goals/objectives.

So following the Hindu Ideal you will not' miss out on life'. And yet you will attain God.

So attaining God is a logical move considering we are the 'ansha' and have return to the 'whole'. Just as a river has to merge with the ocean similarly the jiva and Thakurji have to be unified.

Discrimination in Pushtimarg

The doors to this emporium of a religion are open all. It doesn't differentiate between caste, race, disability or sex. It is in-fact an equal opportunities religion.

This page will be updated soon!