Biography

Vallabha was born in 1230 CE in Vallabhi, a town in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat, India. He was a member of the Brahmin caste and received a traditional education in Sanskrit and other classical subjects.

• He was deeply influenced by the Bhakti movement, which emphasized the importance of personal devotion and love for God.
• At the age of 12, Vallabha had a profound spiritual experience, which he believed marked the beginning of his spiritual journey.
• He spent the rest of his life studying, teaching, and practicing his spiritual philosophy, which emphasized the importance of personal experience and direct perception.

Philosophy

Vallabha's philosophy is based on the concept of "Shuddhadvaita," or "pure non-dualism." He believed that the ultimate reality is a unified, indivisible whole, and that the individual self is an integral part of this reality.

• He emphasized the importance of direct perception and personal experience, arguing that scriptural authority should be secondary to personal experience.
• He rejected the idea of a permanent, unchanging self, arguing that the individual self is constantly changing and evolving.
• He believed that the ultimate goal of human life is to attain union with the divine, which he described as "Saguna" or "the attribute-laden God."