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Shri
Vallabhacharya’s father was Lakshman Bhatt and Illamargaru was the
mother. Lakshman’s parents had performed ninty-five “Yagnas” and it
was informed to him by his “Guru” that the birth of an “Avtar” would
take place in his family after having completed hundred Yagnas. With
a view to visit the sacred places of North India, Lakshman Bhatt had
started from his village with his family members to reach Varansi.
He found the place with peace and during his stay in Varanasi, he
had performed all five Somayagnas. Here he lived for some time but
later, fearing disturbance and violence owing to Muslim ruler called
Bahulul Lodi he fled with his family by a certain route which took
him back to his native place. On his way to the South, he halted at
Champaranya, a forest area in Raipur District i.e. in Madhya Pradesh.
The terror and physical strain suffered by her resulted in the birth
of the child at Champaranya, two months prematurely. Taking the child
to be still-born for it showed no signs of life at first, the parents
sadly placed it under a tree wrapped in a piece of cloth and proceeded
to the village for rest, and at night they had a dream in which God
himself appeared and informed that he had been born as their child
which they had thought as dead. Hence they went to the spot and to
their surprise they found the divine baby enveloped by fire as its
protecting spirit.The blessed mother extended her arms into the fire
and recieved the divine baby from the fire. The child was named Vallabh.
Later he was known as Vallabhacharya.
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Great
persons are believed to have been born under extraordinary circumstances
and so was the birth of Shri Vallabhacharya. The parents stayed at
Champaranya for some days before they returned to Varanasi, when normal
condition had once more prevailed.
The face of the image
of Shrinathji, whose upraised hand had appeared years back, came to
light on Mount Goverdhan on the very day when Vallabhacharya was born,
and later Shrinathji inspired Vallabhacharya to introduce Seva into
Pushti Marg. Thus the birth of Shri Vallabacharya coincided with the
Manifestation of the Mukharvind of Shrinathji. Lakshman Bhatt and
his family had returned to Varanasi.
Lakshman Bhatt himself was a learned man and so he took keen interest
in his child’s education. He engaged the best tutors who were well
versed in their subjects. His education commenced at the age of six
with the study of vedas. Soon at the age of eleven he had surpassed
his teachers with his intensive thinking and sharp reasoning.
Shree Vallabhacharya used to meditate and talk to his followers in
a peacefull surrounding area. There are total eighty four “Baithaks”
all over India and they are still regarded with great reverence by
the Vaishnavs.
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He
undertook various pilgrimage tours to various places expanding his
teachings and perfecting his doctrines. Unfortunately, his father
passed away before long, leaving him, at the age of eleven to the
care of his mother. He spent more than fifteen years of his life in
pilgrimages. During his trip to Gokarna he was invited by the king
of Vijaynagar and he was recieved with warm welcome. Here he started
to introduce his views on Vedas, Gita, the Brahma-Sutras and the Bhagvat.
The King requested him to settle down but he wished them and proceeded
giving them the following message:-“You should all be good and religious
person – Not a God fearing man but a God loving man. Speak the truth.
Be just and honest to all. Treat all persons equally. Have faith in
Lord Krishna and surrender yourself to him. Be charitable and never
harm the hungry and the weak. Realize that service to men and animals
is service to God”.
When he was in Pandharpur, Shri Vitobha told him to adopt (Gruhastha
Dharma) i.e. to get married so that the Pushti Marg could be propagated
for generation after generation.
Shree Vallabhacharya settled down in Varanasi and accepted Mahalakshmi
the daughter of a Brahmin called Madhu Mangalam, in marriage after
consulting his mother in S.Y.1560.He had two sons. The elder was named
Shri Gopinathji born in the S.Y.1568 and the second son born in the
S.Y.1572 whose name was Shri Vithalnathji in reverence to Shri Vitobha
of Pandharpur, whose
incarnation he was believed to be. Shri Vallabhacharya being a great
scholar had written innumerable books and his commentaries on Srimad
Bhagvata Purana are considered the best.
At the age of fifty two he detached himself from the world and started
meditating and singing the songs of praise of Shri Krishna. On week
prior to his departure from this material world, he took a vow of
silence on the Hanuman Ghat in Varanasi at the bank of river Ganges.
His two sons requested him to guide them and give his last message.
As he had taken a vow of silence, he wrote a few words on sand; which
were as follows:- “Listen to my last words. I forsee a time when you
will forget God and become engrossed in worldly matters. It is likely
that you will become slaves of your passions which will turn you away
from the path of Devotion. Instead of rendering service to God which
is your primary duty, you will fritter away your time and energy in
idle pursuits. But if you follow my advice, God will not forget you.
You should believe that Krishna is our God and never slacken your
faith in him and then he will surely protect you. You should regard
him as the be-all and end-all of your life. Your ultimate good lies
in serving him, which should be done with all your heart, mind and
soul. Trust in his protection. Remember him always in all thoughts,
words and deeds”.
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As
soon as he ended, Lord Krishna manifested himself
visually on the spot and wrote in the form of a verse completing
Shri Vallabhacharya’s message and counsel thus:-
“If you have faith in me, you will be under my care and protection
and will not suffer failure of any sort. Be free from sorrows and
anxieties concerning your future, for you are safe in my hands. Only
you should love me with the love of Gopis. If you do so then you will
surely secure liberation. That is the only mean of union with Me,
by which you will regain your original divine nature. Do not give
your thoughts to worldly matters. Be devoted to me and render service
to “ME” by all the Means at your disposal”.
Soon after this Shree Vallabhacharya rose from his seat and entered
into the waters of the Ganges singing to himself the song of the Gopis
and the Yugala Gita from the Bhagvata, Concentrating his mind on God’s
form. And to a brilliant flame in the form of God arose from the water
and whisked him away in the sight of thousands of men, women and children
who had congregated there to have his last Darshan.
This aspect gives him transcendental character to prove that he was
not “Prakrutic” (natural) person like us but divine. We also call
him as Mahaprabhuji. Hence Vaishnav’s consider Shri Krishna, Shree
Yamunaji and Shree Vallabhacharya on equal footings, for this simple
reason that all the three are inherently capable of emancipating the
souls from the bondage of life and death.
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