Shuddhadvaita

Shuddadvaita (Sanskrit: "pure non-dualism") is the "purely non-dual" philosophy propounded by Vallabhacharya (1479-1531 CE), the founding philosopher and guru of the ("tradition of Vallabh") or ("The path of grace"), a Hindu Vaishnava tradition focused on the worship of Krishna. Vallabhacharya's pure form (nondualist) philosophy is different from Advaita. The Shrinathji temple at Nathdwara, and compositions of eight poets (), including Surdas, are central to the worship by the followers of the sect. The tradition is founded by Vishnu swamy in Southern India. He is known as the early founder of the Rudra sampradaya, one of the four main traditions of Vaishnavaites. Vallabha Acharya founded the Krishna-centered Pushti-Marga sect of Vaishnavism in the Braj(Vraj) region of India. In modern times followers of Shuddadvaita are concentrated in the states of Rajasthan and Gujarat. In the ancient Vedic tradition of knowledge and comprehension of reality, the central theme would be experiencing the Supreme Entity or Brahman. Vedas primarily contain references to the adwait nature of Brahm. However, depending on how a scholar perceives those verses, he might see duality— dwait aspect as well. This ambiguity has led to several philosophical traditions in the Indian history, such as: Advaita vāda of Adi Shankaracharya Vishistadvaita vāda of Ramanujacharya Dvaita vāda or Bhedavāda of Madhvacharya Dvaitadvaita vāda of Nimbarkacharya Shuddhadvaita vāda of Vallabhacharya Achintya Bhedābheda vāda of Krishna Chaitanya Vallabhacharya Vallabhacharya was a devotional philosopher, who founded the Pushti sect in India. He won the title of acharya by traveling and debating advaita scholars from a young age. In 1493-94 Vallabhacharya is said to have identified an image of Krishna at the Govardhan hill at Braj. This image, now called Shrinathji and located at Nathdwara, Rajasthan, is central to the worship by Vallabha followers. According to Vallabha tradition, one night in 1494, Vallabhacharya received the Brahmasambandha mantra (the mantra that binds one with Brahman, or Krishna) from Krishna himself (hence the name, ) at Gokula.