Vaishnavism, Shaivism and Minor Religious Systems v2.c13.36

v2.c13.36

Besides the ordinary worship detailed above, the followers of this sect hold a number of feasts and festivals, some of which are in honour of Vallabhācārya, his son and seven grandsons. The influence exercised by Vallabha and his successors over their adherents seems to have been immense, and this has come down to their descendants or existing Gurus of the sect also. This is kept up by the fact that the God cannot be worshipped independently in a public place of worship, but in the house and temple of the Guru or the Mahārāja, which therefore has to be regularly visited by the devotees with offerings. The followers of this system consist principally of the trading classes of Gujarāt, Rājputāna and further to the north about Mathurā. The principal doctrine which these latter are taught is that all their belongings should be dedicated to their Guru; and this doctrine is not seldom carried to an extreme. Among the different kinds of Bhakti mentioned above there is only one which contemplates non-attachment to worldly objects. The highest Bhakti as well as the others are generated in the heart of man by the grace of God; and the first even ripens into a haunting passion. This grace of God one may enjoy even while engaged in a worldly life. The Maryādā-Puṣṭi, which is one of the four forms and requires the restraint of passions, does not conduce to the attainment of the highest bliss, which consists in joining in the eternal sports of Hari in the Goloka. The spirit of this system, therefore, seems to be sportive enjoyments and it cannot but be expected to influence the ordinary life of its followers. Moral rigidity culminating in indifference to worldly enjoyments and self-abnegation does not appear to be a characteristic of this school. Vallabhācārya himself was a married man, and so were all his successors and so are all the Gurus of the sect, who are as much men of the world as their followers.