Philosopher
Vallabha
1479–1531
Also known as Vallabhācārya
Founder of the Puṣṭimārga devotional sect, whose 'pure non-dualism' held that Brahman and the world are equally real, against Advaita's unreal world.
Vallabha belongs to the late medieval period, when Bhedābheda ideas became closely tied to the devotional (bhakti) movements of North India. He is known more as the founder of a religious sect than as a philosopher, but his works include a commentary on the Brahma Sūtra, the Anubhāṣya, and a commentary on the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, the Subodhinī.
The Puṣṭimārga sect he founded is now based at Nathdwara in Rajasthan.
Key ideas
- Pure non-dualism
- Vallabha called his system Śuddhādvaita, pure non-dualism: there is no split whatever between Brahman as real and the world as unreal, because the world is as real as Brahman.
- Reclaiming the name of non-dualism
- The label turned Advaita’s own name against it: Advaita treats the world as ultimately unreal, while Vallabha’s non-dualism is ‘pure’ because it admits no such split.
- The path of nourishment
- He founded the Vaiṣṇava devotional sect of the Puṣṭimārga, the ‘path of nourishment’, built on Bhedābheda ideas of the relation between God and the world.
- Tradition
- Indian
- Region
- North India
- Themes
- What is ultimately real
Key works
- Anubhāṣya
- Subodhinī
Terms on this page
- bhakti
- Devotion to a personal God. Rāmānuja argued for its importance for knowledge and liberation, and Madhva held that only a real difference between soul and God gives it meaning.
Sources
- Andrew J. Nicholson, Bhedabheda Vedanta, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy