The Teachings of Shri Vallabhacharya

The Teachings of Shri Vallabhacharya PDF

Author: Vallabhdas

Publisher:

Published: 2021-05

Total Pages: 262

ISBN-13: 9780974676814

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Shri Vallabhacharya (1479-1531) is the beloved founder and teacher (acharya) of the path of grace (pushtimarg) and proponent of the philosophy of pure non-dualism, Shuddhadvaita Vedanta. Shri Vallabhacharya's Sixteen Works (Ṣoḍaśa Granthāḥ) are presented here in Sanskrit devanagari and Roman transliteration, alongside original English translations by the American-born devotee and scholar Shyamdas. These sixteen essential doctrines provide a comprehensive study of grace-filled devotion (pushti bhakti) from deeply philosophical and intimate devotional perspectives. To read and recite these works is the most direct approach to comprehend Shri Vallabhacharya's path of grace. Shri Vallabhacharya, also affectionately referred to by his disciples as Shri Mahaprabhuji, was born in South India in 1479 CE as a Telugu Brahmin. He established a Vaishnava philosophy and lineage that is followed around the world even today by faithful devotees of Lord Krishna. Shri Mahaprabhuji not only embodies the inner beauty of the divine lovers Radha and Krishna, but he is also a perfect witness to their lilas, or loving plays. His devotional teachings continue to transmit refined empowerments. Vallabhacharya taught that devotion is perfected by offering one's body, wealth, mind and heart to the blessed lord. Shri Mahaprabhuji's pushtimarg is a purely non-dual bhakti path that embraces a positive worldview. He fashioned his teachings to fit into this world, which is Shri Krishna's perfect creation. Everything is Krishna and nothing but Krishna. All objects in the world-and the world itself-are flawless. Maya, illusion, is simply a matter of false perception. Devotees are not preoccupied with liberation or any form of yogic practice; they are obsessed with seva-loving, pleasing service offered to the beloved. Shri Krishna responds to devotion, and that is why Shri Vallabhacharya has said, "He is the lord of sweetness."

Bhakti Schools of Vedānta

Bhakti Schools of Vedānta PDF

Author: Swami Tapasyananda

Publisher: Sri Ramakrishna Math

Published: 2019-12-18

Total Pages:

ISBN-13:

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Vedanta is generally identified with the exposition of the system by Sri Sankaracharya and the followers of his tradition. This book attempts to treat in a brief compass the life and teachings of five other Vedantic Acharyas who differed from Sankara and interpreted Vedanta as essentially a system having God with infinite auspicious attributes whose grace alone can give salvation to the souls caught in the cycle of births and deaths. These Acharyas are in no way less deserving in recognition than Sri Sankara as Acharyas of Vedanta, as they all base their teachings on the three foundational texts of the system—the Upanishads, the Vedanta Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita. With Bhakti as the predominant feature, their systems are aptly categorised as the Bhakti schools of Vedanta. The author of this book, Swami Tapasyananda, was a Vice-President of the Ramakrishna Order and a great scholar-monk with vast erudition and deep thinking. He has also given a scholarly introduction to the book reconciling the differences and contradictions of different schools of Vedanta in the light of the experiences and expositions of Ramakrishna-Vivekananda.

Divine Passions

Divine Passions PDF

Author: Owen M. Lynch

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Published: 2023-07-28

Total Pages: 324

ISBN-13: 0520309758

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Naked holy men denying sexuality and feeling; elderly people basking in the warmth and security provided by devoted and attentive family members; fastidious priests concerned solely with rules of purity and the minutiae of ritual practice; puritanical moralists concealing women and sexuality behind purdah's veils—these are familiar Western stereotypes of India. The essays in Divine Passions, however, paint other, more colorful and emotionally alive pictures of India: ecstatic religious devotees rolling in temple dust; gray-haired elders worrying about neglect and mistreatment by family members; priests pursuing a lusty, carefree ideal of the good life; and jokers reviling one another with bawdy, sexual insults at marriages. Drawing on rich ethnographic data from emotion-charged scenarios, these essays question Western academic theories of emotion, particularly those that reduce emotions to physiological sensations or to an individual's private feelings. Presenting an alternative view of emotions as culturally constructed and morally evaluative concepts grounded in the bodily self, the contributors to Divine Passions help dispel some of the West's persistent misconceptions of Indian emotional experience. Moreover, the edition as a whole argues for a new and different understanding of India based on field research and an understanding of the devotional (bhakti) tradition. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1990.

Krishna

Krishna PDF

Author: Edwin F. Bryant

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2007-06-18

Total Pages: 575

ISBN-13: 019028756X

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In the West Krishna is primarily known as the speaker of the Bhagavad Gita. But it is the stories of Krishna's childhood and his later exploits that have provided some of the most important and widespread sources of religious narrative in the Hindu religious landscape. This volume brings together new translations of representative samples of Krishna religious literature from a variety of genres -- classical, popular, regional, sectarian, poetic, literary, and philosophical.

Sūradāsa

Sūradāsa PDF

Author: Sūradāsa

Publisher: Abhinav Publications

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 378

ISBN-13: 8170173698

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Suradasa, The Blind Saint-Poet, Lived In The Sixteenth Century During The Establishment Of The Mogul Empire In India By Babur And Its Consolidation By Akbar. A Vaishnava Of The Pushtimarga, He Was Spiritually Inspired By Vallabhacharya And Composed His Outstanding Work, The Surasagara ‘Ocean Of Poetry’, Closely Following The Bhagavata, Which Narrates The Deeds Of Krishna, Whose, Staunch Devotee He Was. His Numerous Padas Composed In Brajbhasha Are A Treasure House Of The Very Best Hindi Poetry On A Level With That Of Tulasidasa, The Author Of The Ramayana But Unfortunately His Poems Remain Comparatively Much Less Known To The Western World. This English Translation Of Some Of The Verses Of His Surasagara Endeavours To Provide The Reader With A Representative Selection From The Various Sections Of This Work In English Verse Along With The Transliterated Version Of The Text, And In English Prose For The Narrative Portions. The Selection Highlights Krishna As The Lord And As The Amorous Lover Of Radha And The Milkmaids Of Braj.

World Philosophies

World Philosophies PDF

Author: Ninian Smart

Publisher: Psychology Press

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 470

ISBN-13: 9780415184663

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World Philosophiesis a comprehensive survey of the world's philosophical and religious traditions by one of our foremost religious thinkers. Ninian Smart discusses notable figures such as Plato and Kierkegaard in the West, the Buddha and Mao Zedong in Asia, Tempels and Knibanga in Africa, and Rodo and Royce in America. Covering a wide range of topics including Indian ideas of testimony and evidence, Chinese notions of moral development, Buddhist concepts of cosmology and Latin American critiques of materialism, Smart sheds new light on the astonishing diversity of philosophies that have developed throughout history.