Brief overview of Sri Vallabhacarya's life

Sri Vallabhacarya was born in the sacred forest of Camparanya in 
Madhya Pradesh, Central India. Born into a very learned family of 
brahmanas from South India, he spent much of his early life in North 
India, in the holy city of Varanasi. Born with great innate abilities, 
Vallabhacarya mastered all the Vedas, Puranas and Agamas by the tender 
age. By the age eleven he was already preaching and winning debates on 
principles which were later consolidated as Brahmavada.

Following in the footsteps of the great sages before him, he decided 
to circumambulate the motherland and visit all the sacred sites in 
India. In his lifetime, Sri Vallabhacarya completed three and a half 
such journeys around India.

Impressing learned pundits and scholars around India, Vallabhacarya 
came to the South Indian empire of King Krsnadev Rai. The court at 
Vidyanagar was debating the merits of various Vedic philosophies. The 
heated debate seemed at a dead-lock and no one seemed to have answers 
that would satisfy the king. Sri Vallabhacarya came into the debate at 
this point and within seven days won the arguments for his philosophy 
of visuddhadvaita.

Immensely impressed by the young man's intelligence and clarity of 
thought, the assembled pundits and the Krsnadev Rai announced him as 
an "Acarya" and offered him 7,000 gold coins as a gift. Ever mindful 
of the dangers of hoarding wealth, Sri Vallabhacarya gave away a bulk 
of the wealth to the assembled brahmanas. A portion was sent to his 
uncle to settle the debts incurred by his father, a small portion was 
set aside to care for his aging mother and out of the seven thousand 
gold coins, he only kept seven coins for making jewelry for the icons 
in his shrine.

Later, when in central India, Vallabhacarya had a vision of the Lord 
requesting him to come over towards the Vraj in Western India. 
Vallabhacarya arrived in Vraj during the holy month of Sravana. The 
Lord revealed Himself to him on the 11th day of the bright fortnight 
of Sravana.

In accordance with the Lord's wishes, he set up a small shrine for the 
Lord and requested his old teacher, Sri Madhavendra Yati, to carry out 
the worship of the Lord whilst he carried on with his pilgrimage. 
Later Sri Vitthal-Nathji of Pandharpur in Maharastra commanded 
Vallabhacarya to marry. Vallabhacarya married Srimati MahaLaksmi and 
sired two sons.

After his marriage Vallabhacarya set up his household at Adel, near 
the holy confluence of Ganges, Jamuna and the Sarasvati rivers. This 
was an ideal place, as it was halfway between Varanasi and Vraj, the 
two most important places in Vallabhacarya's life.

Vallabhacarya taught his disciples to develop a very intensely 
personal relationship with God. Be this in the form of parent - child, 
friends, lovers, etc. These relationships should not be tainted by any 
selfish motives. Not even the motive to "see" what the God looks like 
in all His glory! The Lord will do as He sees fit. If he wants to show 
Himself, He will. Who are we to demand such a boon? The main idea is 
that one should not ask anything of the Lord.

Just before the birth of his elder son he had a vision of Balarama and 
Krsna (as toddlers) coming to play with him on the banks of the river 
Yamuna. From then he regarded Balarama and Krsna as his children and 
worshiped them accordingly. Though housed at Adel, the increasing 
duties of the dynamic acarya required him to keep a household at 
Varanasi and Vraj in addition to the house at Adel. Sri Mahaprabhu 
recited the Srimad Bhagavata Purana at 84 sacred sites around India 
spread out from the heights of the Himalaya, at Kedar Nath, to the 
Southern-most tip of India at Ramesvara. Of all the sacred sites he 
visited, Sri Vallabha was also a regular visitor to Jagannath Puri, 
Dvaraka and Dakor.

The fame and respect for Sri Vallabhacarya grew with years. When his 
sons were old enough to manage the affair of the house and the 
sampradaya, acarya renounced the world. Soon after, he immersed his 
earthly body in the holy waters of the Ganges.

Sri Vallabhacharya's political acumen and oratory won him admirers 
from far and wide. He had excellent connections at the Mogul court of 
Emperor Akbar. Akbar's chief wife, Queen Jodha, was a disciple of Sri 
Vallabhacarya. The emperor was also a guest of the Vallabhacarya on 
several occasions. Many imperial proclamations and decrees were made 
to honor the house of Sri Vallabhacarya. Several members of the 
imperial court were members of his sampradaya. The farsighted leader 
growing group reciprocated by visiting the imperial court on 
occasions. One of his seven sons  became a permanent member of the 
imperial retinue and the cordial relations between the sampradaya and 
the court carried over into the reign of Emperor Jahangir.

