Jai Shree Krishna

I am very new to pushti marg so please forgive me if I make any mistake in what I say. My question is can I do seva to Shree Thakurji? I am quite young and I have seva swaroop's of Shree Radha Krishna and also main swaroop of Shree Bal Krishna (Ladoo Gopal) and I do seva everyday to him. He is my main swaroop and I change his dress, mukut, and shringar everyday, do arati everyday, put him to sleep and wake him up, and feed him also everyday. I love him very much, and have read alot on doing seva to Shree Thakurji. I love doing seva to him but I wanted to know if it is alright to do seva to him? I know that in pushti marg you have to have brahmsambhan and a pushtivela swaroop. I have neither but I still carry on doing seva of Shree Thakurji as I love him so much. My question is is this ok? 

I am very new to pushti marg and have looked at Iskcon breifly to. But I love worshipping Shree Thakurjis deity which is what drew me to pushti marg. I do not know muc about it so I would love if you taught me some things on it. I have loved Krishna since I was a child, without anyone teaching me about him, I can remeber reading Shree Krishna Leela as soon as I could read, I have so many pictures of him and books on his leela. I have read Bhagavad Gita and also some of Srimad Bhagavatam, mainly the 10th canto on Krishna Leela. I have swaroops of Shree Radha Krishna but I have recently bought swaroop of Lalaji (Bal Krishna Ladu Gopal) as he is easier to dress and so I can do seva everyday to him. Also, I found that my bhaav is very vatsalaya, and I think of Krishna as a small child and love him as such, just like Shreenathji of seven years of ages lifting govardhan. I listen to many pushti bhajans daily, and play them esp for Shree Thakurji. Please let me know what to do about my Thakurjis seva and what is the standard I should set. I remeber reading somewhere if you cannot get brahmsambhand then you should just take Shee Mahaprabhuji (Vallabhacharya) as your guru and take his teachings. However, I feel that I do not know enough about pushti marg to be ready to take brahmsamband but I want to serve Shree Thakurji. I look forward to your responses.

Jai Shree Krishna

Jai Sri Srinathji sarkar Dasanudas,

Posanam Tadanugraha is the main point or basis of pushtimarg i.e.Something that is developed by the grace of Thakotrji Sri Srinathji. We cannot have opportunity to serve thakorji till we have his grace. In your case you are doing seva that means you have grace of thakorji and he wants you to do his seva. One more thing is that he loves your seva too that is why he has given you the thaught of learning about pushti Seva method. Before we go ahead with what you can do First it is important to know what is puhtimarg all about.

About Pushtimarg

Jagadguru Bhagwan Sri Vallabhachary ji  started of the cult of pushtimarg and Sri Damodar das ji Harsani was the first person to get inducted into pushtimarg. The philosophy is based on sudhadvait i.e. there is nothing other than Sri Krishna himself. All material and immaterial things are he himself yet he is different from all these and enjoyable of all these . In pushti sect there is no place to caste or creed once a person is graced he is of Krishna and each one of us try to establish a relation with Krishna as per our bhava by the blessings of Sri Mahaprabhuji. Guru, Vaishnav and Sri Thakorji are one and a pushtimargi should see no difference in them. In pushti marg Mahaprabhuji descendants are considered swaroop shri of Valallabha and are the authority to inculcate a person to pushti sect . Pushti means grace and pushtimarg is marg of grace sometimes people confuse it that it is path to gain grace while actually it is a path of those who are graced. In pushtimarg greatest reward or fruit for a vaishnav is thakorji’s grace and nectar of this fruit is our Sri Thakorji’s seva. Different people have different Bhava some have Vatsalya bhava as you say you are into it, some have sakha bahava , some have servant bhava and with all different bhava we enjoy doing seva of our sri thakorji with grace of gurucharan and Sri Mahaprabhu bhagwan.

Getting into Pushtimarg.

It is said Anybody can be a pushtimargi but not everyone.

Simply because only those who are graced becomes pushti sevak. The way of adorning this great way of life has two parts:- 1) Naam sri and 2) Nivedan. In pushti marg first is samarpan that is the Deeksha Guru ( Vallabh Kul Balak sri) gives you the holy asthakshar mantra and you are required to chant it always. He second stage is Nivedan or Brahmsambandh.

What is Brahmsambandh?

Brahmsambandh as the name suggest is relation with Sri Thakorji. In it we do not take sanyas but we offer our everything to sri Thakorji and use all our resources for his seva . Tannujavittaja seva i.e. seva by money and body is offered to lord Sri thakorji. When we are not in Seva than we should remember his leela’s and should do our business and job also considering the seva of Thakorji. Seva is not hard. Just offer what we have to thakorji if we are living on water only than our thakorji is happy with that and if we are having chappan bhog that too we should offer sri thakorji. But a vaishnav should not eat asamparpit food that is something that is not offered to sri sri thakorji..

What can you do?

First thing take naam deeksha from Vallabhkul balak and express your desire for brahmsambandh. The uru charan will probably not give you brahmsambandh and naam at the same time so follow his instructions take naam sri and carry on your seva as you are doing now or as Guru Charan advice. On the specified time when you are called fpr Brahmsambandh take your swaroop sri with you to Gurucharan . Guruchra wll make the swaroop pusht. That is graced and than after brahmsambandh your seva procedure in detail will start as per our guruji’s advice.

General seva procedure of pushti sect:-

Wake up early moring after snan slowly enter Shri Thakorji’s haveli and clean up Singhasan and fill jariji (water pot covered with red cloth).

Now wake up Shri Thakorji ( process as specified by gurucharan)

Morning offerings are served and in the meantime when thkorji is having it make thakorji’s bed and make sringar samagri ready.

Bath Thakorji with luke warm water except in cold winters when it should be hot. ( Gurucharan may specify cold water in some areas also like summers )

Make sringar offer offerings as specified by gurucharan or as available during this time

Show mirror to thakorji

Offer rajbhog offering (atleast for 48 mins if possible)

Have Prasad and leave for Job/earning

Around 4 pm again knock and enter haveli offer fruits etc.

Evening offer light snacks

Shayan time offer evening meal and make thakorji sleep for night

DO keep some offerings for night with thakorji along with Bettle nut and paan if available in your area.

(THIS IS JUST AN OUTLINE OF SEVA PROCEDURE FOR DETAIL PROCEDURE YOU HAVE TO TAKE INSTRUCTIONS OF SRI GURUCHARAN.)

Always remember

Bhakta jana ra ek sahara mahara e Srinathji,

Tan maan dhan sab hu se pyara mahane to Srinathji,

Our laadle laal is bemisaal he will show you a way on his own as his chhavi is madhurati madhur.

I once wrote a small poem (aarti) andsomehow I am feeling like sharing it with you:-

Aarti Kar navneetlal ki, Suchi Sunder Subh Nandbaal ki, aarti jar navneet lal ki,

Makkhan Chatur ,

Anand daatur,

Nij jan Chitth Choran ko aatur ,

Saras madhur chavhi lakh gopal ki

Aarti Kar navneet lal ki.

Anyways catch you latter someday.

Jai Sri Shrinathji sarkar

Pandit amit Pareek

Sri Gusai param dayalve namah, Jai sri SHRINATHJI sarkar,

Jai Shri Krishna,

Amit bhai, what a wonderfull post, thanks for also sharing the story of Shri Gusaiji earlier.

Back to question, follow your heart. but u will notice that Pushtimarg is similar to ISKCON or krishna bhakti. but trust me there are many finer differences as well. I have lived with one ISKCON n GAUDIYA math devotee as well, I had really good time.

but is Pushtimarg, in prabhus sukh, the vaishnavs sukh is there. thus the seva prakaar is keeping Thakurjis sukh in mind.

know Pushtimarg slowly and then take Naam Diksha if you are interested. we are all trying to know/live Shri Mahaprabhujis marg bit by bit only.

ShriVallabhkul can only give correct guidance and taking their refuge is the first step..

Manish

Jai Jai ShriGokulesh Parivaar, Baroda

Jai jai shri gokulesh

Hope this helps u all....

It is nice to know that you are interested in Thakurji's seva.You are
right in telling that most of the time vaishnavs can be seen doing
the seva of Shree Ladoo Gopalji( Balkrishnaji may be the right word
here).The reason behind it is that ShriVallabhacharyaji deliberately
gave the seva of Balkrishnaji (and not Radha-Krishna and 'Prauddh-
Krishna') because it is easy to fall in love with a 2-year-old child
than a grown-up or a 45-year-old(prauddh).He wanted us to fall in
love with Krishna so He went for Balkrishna and not Radha Krishna(as
in ISCKON) as the love for any child is pure.But vaishnavs(we can say
5%) also do seva of Radha Krishna( ''MadanMohanji''--as called in
Pushtimarga).Infact 3 out of the 7 'nidhi-swaroops' are
with 'Swaminiji'(Radhaji are called swaminiji in Pushtimarg).So
Manishbhai if you want you can do seva of Madan-Mohanji but cerain
points must be thought upon regarding the swaroop:-
--It should be of 'paashaan'(stone) or 'panch-dhaatu'(metal)
or 'kaashth'(wood)
--swaroops of aluminuim,POP,plastic, etc are not allowed
--the swaroop should not have any paint work on it.

--ISCKON -type radha krishna are not worshipped.Instead
traditional 'madanmohanji' are worshipped.You can get them in
Nathdwara or Mathura or at any Vallabhkul Acharya haveli.
Seva is very easy and is tailor-made.Each vaishnav gets a
diffirent type of seva just as we get clothes which suit our body.So
you can see a very religious and devoted vaishnav doing seva for 15
hours a day!On the other hand there are many busy vaishnavs living in
small houses who do seva for only 15 minutes a day.Both of them are
correct if we see the cicumstances in which they live.Basically
speaking the level of seva depends upon the devotion of the
vaishnav.New vaishnavs do 'mishri seva' in which only fruits,dry
fruits and milk is offered to the Thakurji.After doing such a seva
for 5-10 years their love and devotion for Thakurji increases so they
start doing 'ansankdi seva' in which sweets like mathadi,mohanthal
etc are offered.Then as their love for Thakurji increases they
eventually do 'sakhdi seva' in which dal,rice,roti,vegetable(in short
whatever we eat) are offered.
The main thing while doing seva is that the swaroop must
be 'pusht' by any Vallabhkul Acharya.The procedure of 'pusht' can be
compared to a 'Praan-Pratishtha' in any mandir.There is no point in
doing the seva of a swaroop WHICH IS NOT 'PUSHT'.So Manishbhai if
your swaroop is not 'pusht' then my advice would be that you get
them 'pusht' first if you seriously want to do seva.Only then will be
seva called seva.If possible contact any Vallabhkul Acharya and try
taking your swaroop to them so that He can have a darshan and then
decide if your swaroop is Pushtimargiya or not.
Ashirwad.

Gos.Aniruddhlalji
(Kamvan-Surat)

Shri Vallabha Charan Vina Sharan Koni Jaou.....Shri Vitthala Nam Vina Mantra Kya Thi Paou......Shri Vallabha Charan Vina Sharan Koni Jaou.....

Unnati Kadakia

Jai Shri Krishna

very nice flow, of responses

and our sadar dandvat to je je

thank you for this wonderful "vachanmrut", we feel truly graced.

Jai Shri Krishna

Jai Shri Krishna

very nice flow, of responses

and our sadar dandvat to je je

thank you for this wonderful "vachanmrut", we feel truly graced.

Jai Shri Krishna

Jai Shree Krishna

Dear Vaishnavjan,

Thank you so much for your replies, I will carry on with my seva to Shree Thakurji and look further into taking Brahmsambhand. My next question is, once you have taken Brahmsambhand what happens? You take on seva of Shree Thakurji, but what else? Is there any other observances you have to take/do, or any practices you need to do. eg, in Iskcon you have to do 16 japmala's of Hare Krsna Mahamantra everyday without fail. Is there any difference between this Mahamantra and the mantra of Pushti marg, Shree Krushna Sharanam Mama, (I do not know if this is supposed to be typed, please accept my humble apologies if it is not).

Jai Shree Krishna

jay shri krushna

as u want to know that what is brahmsambandg & what kind of practices u have to follow after taking it, i will give u some guidance as per my thinking. brahmsambandh is very essential in pustimarg without which u have to right to offer true seva to thakorji. meaning of bragmsambandh is very gudh so it is not wise to discuss in general. brahmsambandh is like merriage of jeev with thakorji. after taking it u must not leave thakorji in any of diffucult situation in life. this is the basic practice which every vaishnavs have to follow. there are also other practices one have to follow after taking it but it is wise to take advise of any vallabh kul balak.

Jai Shree Krishna

Shree Manish bhai, It all depends on what your Shree Gurudev from whom you take brhamasamband orders you to do.

Regarding the Mahamantra in pushtimarg, it is not spelled out, especially in a public forum such as this one, but is most commonly referred to as the Ashtakshar mantra. I am very sure that the mantra used by ISCKON is different, as their perception is very different from Pushtimarg.