SHREE VITTHALNATHJI

From this work we do not learn much. One rule laid down in it is that a widow is to worship Krishna with Bala- Bhava, while a woman whose husband is living, is to worship Krishna with Bhartri- bhava. Though we have failed to trace this distinction to any of the writings of Vallabhacharya which are extant, we feel that there is some ground for the above rule which is based on common sense. Again, this work, though purporting to detail Sadhanas a Bhakta had to follow, it omits ay refereance to the process of Nivedana which is practiced in the Sampradaya even to this day. Beyond this, there is not much in this work elucidating any other point of Vallabhacharya’s philosophy. It seems therefore clear that Vitthales’vara had to depend on his own exertion to understand the works of his father. In this effort an unfortunate incident seems to have damaged the cause of the Sampradaya to a considerable extent, and in spite of Vittales’vara attempts, one would feel that the loss to the Sampradaya is irreparable.

It is not certain when Shri Gopinatha passed away. It seems after his death some unpleasantness was caused between Vittahles,vara and his sister-in law, and these feelings of unpleaseantness became more embittered on the part of the sister-in- law when her only son sri Sri Purushottama also passed away soon after. The result of this was original works of Vallabha-charya which were in the possession of S’ri Gopinatha as the eldest son of Vallabhacharya were consigned to oblivion by her. The greatness of Vallabhacharya’s personality was so much felt by his devotees during his life-time that none of them seems to have contributed anything to the composition of his works. In the case of S’ankaracharya and Ramanujacharya one feels that their respectiveBhashyas are written, re-written, revised and recast with the collaboration of their learned pupils. In the case of Vallabhacharya the distance felt by the devotees was so great that none has upto this day ventured to add or subtract anything from them. This being the position and the devotees being wholly engrossed in Krishna- worship as taught by Vallabhacharya, they did not try to get copies of his writings. Another reason for the loss of the original works of Vallabhacharya seems to be the great fire which destroyed almost the whole village of Adel at the time he took to Sannyasa. When the helm of the Sampradaya came into the hands of Vitthales’vara it was a problem to him as to how he should get authentic texts of his father’s works. On the side of Adel counter influences were working, and it was difficult , if not impossible, to get all the works. He seems to have secured the original copy of the Brahmasutra-Bhashya of his father upto 3-2-34. Nibandha seems to have been secured by him, and he has attempted to finish Prakas'a on Nibandha by writing commentaries on the Fourth skandha, and a portion of the Fifth of the Bhagavatartha praka-rana. From Gujarat Vaishnav Rana Vyasa he secured the Subodhini, a commentary on Shrimad Blzagavata of Vallabhacharya. We have no materials to learn whether he got Purva-mimansa Bhashya of Vallabhacharya, though there is plenty of evidence in Anu-Bhashya to show his great hold on the Sutras of J aimini, to which he refers as a master. It is possible, as Purushottamji says, that the Purva-mimansa Bhashya became utsann in his times. We may infer from this that Vitthales'vara might have been in possession of the Purva-mimansa-Bhashya of S'ri Vallabhacharya, which became lost to us during the period, so to say, of interregnum, between 1642 and 1724 Samvat. Thus it would seem that Vitthales'vara had before him almost all the works of S'ri Vallabhacharya which are now available to us. From these materials we shall presently see how he has developed the system promulgated by his father, both on the practical as also the theoretical side.

On the formation of the Sampradayika practices Vitthales'vara's influence seems to be very marked, the nucles having been supplied by his elder brother Gopinatha in his Seva-Paddhati. Vallabhacharya established the shrine of Shreenathaji on the holy mount of Govardhana and initiated a mode of worship which was extremely simple. This shrine was entrusted by him to the devotees who resided there. The initiation of Vaishnavas was a very simple formula, as he puts it somewhere in his Subodhini, viz; Krishna, I am Thine. Krishna Tawasmi. This would seem to be the ordinary mode of initiation as communicated to Vallabhacharya by Lord S'ri Krishna. But for the practical purposes of the Sampradaya, some solemn declaration was a necessity, and hence we feel it is possible that the language used in the explanation incorporated in the Gadya formula is the work of Shree Vitthaleshwara. For the Sampradaya which was expanding in all directions, some grave and solemn declaration appeared to Vitthaleshwara to be a necessity, and he without adding or subtracting anything to the sense of Krishna Tawasmi added a solemn declaration by which the sense of the Mantra became abundantly clear. The Sampradayikas do understan that the portion' of the. Gadya preceding Krishna Tawasmi is explanatory of the same. This being an explanation coming from Vitthales'vara accounts for the difference in the readings in the formula among his seven sons. This change was most essential as it added to the solemnity of the initiation ceremony. Vitthales'vara's personality was second to none in the Sampradaya after Shhri Vallabhacharya, and one feels admiration for his wisdom when he sees how he has added to the gravity without sacrificing the sense of the original.

It is rather difficult now to appreciate how much Vitthaleshwara contributed to the development of the aesthetics in the mode of worship, Seva-Prakara. All the fine arts were requisitioned in the performance of the daily worship. Vitthaleshwara was himself a master musician. . He knew both the" theory and practice of the Indian Music. Some of the most charming songs, which are sung before the deity were composed by him. The song “ Mangalam – Mangalam” is daily sung in every Pushtimargiya temple in the early morning when the ( Swaroop) is made to awake. The famous Prabodha is also daily recited. Another song “ Prekhparyakshanam” is always sung in 'Ramakali J in the morning when the ( Swaroop) is swung in the cradle (Palna). During the Vasanta season an Ashtapadi ( Vrajyuvatisatsange) is daily sung when Vasanta is being played during the Raja Bhoga Dars'ana. This Ashtapadi can best compare with the finest ones of Jayadeva in Gita-Govinda. Govindaswami, the greatest musi cian of the times, was appointed by him as the chief kirtana-kara in the temple of Nathadwara.. Nandadasa, Chaturbhujadasa, Chhituswami and Govindaswami composed some of the finest songs in the local vernacular (Vraja Bhasha) under the direct inspiration of Vitthales'vara. The songs of. Vitthales'vara are all in Sanskrita. The Ramanujiya Saint Tyagarajaswami composed beautiful songs in Sanskrit. Vitthales'vara's mother- tongue was Telagu, and his activities were confined to Gujarat, Kathiawar, and Rajputana where Telagu was least known. Hence Sanskrit was preferred by him as the medium of communication. Almost all the letters Qf Vitthales'vara which are now available are in Sanskrit.

The daily worship changed according to seasons. Everything was so arranged that if one entered a Pushtimargiya temple during winter, the moment he was within the precincts of it, he would least feel the unpleasantness of winter cold. Similarly during summer, entrance in Vitthales'vara's temple would make you forget that it was summer. The perfection was carried to such an extent that the richest dainties that were daily offered to the deity varied according to time and season. Akbar sometimes did pay visits to Vitthales'vara and the latter made an exception by allowing the former 'Darshan'. A Sampradayika Gatha records the following incident of Akbar's visit on one Sharada full-moon day (Raspurnima). Krishna is the symbol of highest Rasa S'ringara. He is described as S'yama (shyam). Accordingly everything in the Seva i. e. Pichavai, Bechat etc. was naturally (Shyam). This was changed to white silver cloth at Akbar's request, and this practice continues to this day.

Painting too was a favourite pastime with Vitthales'vara. A beautiful painting of his deity Navanita-priyaraya drawn by him is in the possession of Goswami Dwarkeshjee of Bombay. On Utsava days beautiful . Artis were drawn and filled with pearls and it was

filled with harmonious blending of colours. These Artis designed. as they were by the ladies of Vitthaleshwsra's family are still current in the Sampradaya under their respective names, such as . Arti of Rukminiji etc. Some of these Artis show a considerable amount of

Accurate drawing. During the Vasanta season beautiful prints both in dried and wet colours were utilised in the curtains etc. of the daily worship. Similarly during the Sanji days, beautiful Sanjis in the choicest colours depicting the particular sports of Krishnalila were prepared for the deity under the inspiration of Vitthaleshwara.

Choicest flowers such as rose, jasmine, Bakula, Kadam, lotus etc, were utilized in preparing the garlands to be offered daily to the deity. During summer, flower. houses (phoolmandli) were organized in such a way that flowers were knit and strung together in the most artistic way. In short, the finest arts, which were developed during the Akbar- period, were all availed of in the daily worship of Krishna.

Vitthaleshwara's field of activities lay chiefly in Gujarat and Kathiawad. The people of those countries were by instinct commercial. It would be rather difficult to make them take interest in books dealing with the subtle and abstruse problems of philosophy. It was a question to Vitthaleshwara as to how he should make them accept Krishna-Seva as their goal. For this purpose Vitthaleshwara organised bands of amateurs who would give life-like representations of the various sports of Krishna.This method proved very successful and whole communities of Gujarat accepted the Krishna Seva-creed with marvellous zeal and rapidity. In fact everything that belongs to anyone is to be dedicated to Krishna. There was no actual parting with the thing, but there was the ingrained remembrance that everything of you is not for your own self but for God; a doctrine like this which Vallabhacharya preached in Avidhya Putna Nasta Gandhmatravisheshita was translated into the daily life of Vaishnavas by turning this Aahanta and Mamata from sansar towards God. Vitthaleshwara achieved this for his devotees by this simple and sure remedy of Krishna-worship in which every member of the family could take part and all their belongings could be best utilised. Thus Vitthale. s'vara made Vaishnavism a living religion among the masses of Gujarat. The influence of Vitthaleshwara was so deep-rooted, and in course of time it went on increasing to such an extent that when one speaks of a Vaishnava in Gujarat the reference is generally understood to be to a Pushtimargiya Vaishnava. Dr. Bhandarkar's remark that Vallabha's mode of worship was more dramatic than emotional seems to be rather unfounded. All the paraphernalia of the Seva without the deity's special grace Anugraha and intense love was a thing never approved of nor preached by Vitthales'vara. Dr. Bhandarkar's remark was rather due to the learned scholar's unfamiliarity with or distant acquaintance from hearsay evidence with the Seva- Prakara followed in Pushtimargiya temples. Our own experience of the temples of Ramanujas, Madhvas, Godias, and the chief shrine of Jagannatha and Vitthala leads us to the inevitable conclusion that in the mode of Krishna-worship Vitthaleshwara's position is unique and unrivalled. This fact was whole.heartedly acknowledged by one great Vaishnava teacher Swaminarayana of Gujarat ,then he speaks of Vitthales'vara as the king of Vaishnava teachers in his siksaprati where he preaches his followers to follow the mode of worship as laid down by Vitthales'vara. The fact is that the Seva-Prak:tra was modelled to develop the finer sentiments of the human heart, and to term it dramatic would certainly do injustice to the great Acharya. Experience has proved that by following this Sevaprakara the devotees not only forgot the bonds of Sansara, but it helped them in feeling the living presence of the deity. In actual practice, flaws might be noticed, the ideal set up by Vitthales'vara might not be attained, but to term the whole Sevaprakara as dramatic is rather an abuse of language.

In the construction of temples, Vitthales'vara followed a plan of his own. He did not approve of the idea of rich and costly buildings for temples. He realised that gorgeous temple buildings were not safe under the Muslim rule. For this reason he constructed temples of an extremely simple style. Nothing could be seen from outside. From outside appearance his temple would appear to be a simple dwelling-house. But at the same time, inside the temple, great care was bestowed on its construction. Free passage of light and air was always borne in mind. The temple of Shrinathaji to this day is a building of an exceptionally simple type. Inside the temple, in the middle, there was kept a chawk surrounded by three arched-door gallaries. Behind one of such gallaries was the inner chamber called Nija-Mandira. On one side of this Nija- Mandira was kept the sleeping apartment or Shayana griha which was always constructed in the most costly and artistic fashion. On the other side was kept the Bhoga griha-dining apartment where the deity was offered Bhoga; food etc. Beyond the Bhogagfiha were situated two rooms where food to be offered to the deity was prepared. Separate rooms were kept for preparation of flower garlands, vegetables, betelleaves, and baths; known as Fula.griha, Shaka-griha, Pana-griha, Jala-griha etc. Valuable ornaments and dresses with which the deity was adorned were similarly kept in a safe place. This temple was situated in the centre and round the temple were raised dwelling places for the Maharaja and his pracharakas. The idea that the deity was the Lord and the others including the Goswami Maharaja were His servants was kept in mind in the construction of their dwelling places. Side by side with the development of the Seva- prakara, he devoted himself W'ith equal earnestness with elaborating and expounding the doctrines of his revered father. He wrote his literary works with maturity of thought and expression. The completion of the Anu Bhashya on the Vedanta-Stotras belongs to this period. His reputation as a great religious teacher was established beyond question. Rich presents from Vaishlavas of Gujarat flowed to him here. The patronage of Emperor Akbar and his famous ministers Todarmull, Birbal, Rai Purushottama and others came to him unsolicited. The learned men of his caste who stayed with him at Gadha came to him and they were all patronised by him. With these men he entered into matrimonial relations. His daughters were given in marriage to the sons of these learned men and their daughters were taken in marriage by him for his sons. These people of his caste came to be known as Bhattas. Vitthaleshwara's connection with the country of his forefathers now being no longer necessary was practically severed. He became naturalised in Gokula. Gradually the mothertongue Telugu came to be replaced by the local language. Both Vaishnavas and Bhattas began to revere Vitthaleshwara with intense devo- tion. The result was that Vitthales'vara was made conscious of his greatness to such an extent that he could with equal propriety speak of himself in plural. While explaining the Subodhini to Vaishlavas, during the evening recess, he wrote out notes on difficult passages on Subodhini. These notes were ultimately put together and given the name of virvutriprakash. The mangalacharan,Shrivithaleshwar suggests the above mentioned self-consciousness. Vallabhacharya had given several Swariupas to his devotees. When these devotees and their descendents became extinct or unable to carry on the Seva of the Swarupas, they returned the same to Vitthales'vara. Of these about seven or eight were received by him; There Swarupas were distributed by Vitthaleshwara in Dayabhaga among his seven sons in Samvat 1634. All the seven sons were given a joint right to Seva of Shrinathaji, the eldest son Giridharaji