Historically, Pushti Marg has developed its artistic and aesthetic sensibilities through imperial / royal contacts. During the time of Shri Vallabh, it was in touch with the VijayaNagar empire of South India. Shri Vallabh travelled all over India and incorporated some the best temple rituals and practices in his new sect. Staying in muslim administered North India, he braved continuous attacks on civil and spiritual rights of the Hindus and fought back in his own way. Excellent examples can be found in the "vartas" of the sect describing how he defeated the kazi at Mathura and converted muslims in Dehli to prove his point to the Sultan. Shri Vallabh wasn't interested in accumalating a lot of wealth. Simple, Hindu style temple on mount Govardhan reflected the early ethos of the marg. Shri Vallabh's principle residence was at Adel, near Prayag and he later renouced everything and took sanyas. Shri Vallabh's last days were passed in "Kashi, the eternal city" where he grew up and studied in the early years.
During Shri
Gausaiji’s time, the sect came in contact with the Mughal court at
During this time, court protocol was introduced, establishing strict set of discipline
temple servants must maintain whilst in the presence of the
"Lord".
Everyone had to bow and show respect to 'Thakorji' and Vallabhkul as they move in and out of divine
presence. Chadidars (mace bearers / announcers) were employed to announce the arrival of
gosawmis, important visitors and the all important “cows”. Soft
furnishings, silk curtains, khas curtains, fountains etc were introduced to make
the inner sanctum resemble a miniature palace. Very early on,
Pushti Marg adopted Drupad and Vrajbhasha as its main medium for devotional
hymns.
During Akbar’s time, Vrajbhasha was the popular medium of
poetry at court. According to our vartas,
padas written by the Astachap were often sung in the royal court. At this
time, several Hindu Royal families were in the employ of the Mughals as generals
and courtiers. They came in contact with the
sect and became its devotees. Shri Gusaiji shifted his principle
residence from Adel to Gokul. Here the holy family stayed in regal
splender with it sons, daughters and
several grandchildren. As they
were within easy commute of the Imperial cities of Agra and Sikri, many Hindu
royals visited Gokul
and Jatipura on a regular basis. This is evidenced by several incidences
in the 252 Vaishnav’s vartas.
For example - For a while, Birbal was the governor (Raja) of
Jahangir was a very different ruler from his father. Though one of his wives, Princess Jodh, also known as Jagat Gusai, was an ardent devotee of Pushti Marg, he wasn’t so inclined. (Indian film industry has wrongly associated Princess Jodha with Akber) Influenced by his Persian wife Nur-Jahan and his Persian courtiers, Jahangir distanced himself from all things Hindu. Shah-Jahan and later Aurangzeb went further and reversed the earlier pro-Hindu policies of the state, forcing most of the goswamis and their families to seek refuge else-where.
Shri Nathji and his treasures were moved from Jatipura to
various cities and towns around north
Along with the royals, the rich and wealthy of western
Nathdwara was a safe place till the early 1800s when the
Maratha army from
At the time of Aurangzeb's mis-rule of India, other Nidhi svaroops also moved around
Rajasthan,
As Gujarati merchants spread out across the sub-continent and
beyond, they invited the goswami balaks to settle amongst them in far flung
corners of the nation. Ahemdabad,
During the British Raj, even as the royals of
During the early independence movement in the 1850s, the Tilkayat had
supported their leaders. But, as the British prevailed, office of the
Tilkayat had to accommodate and modernize. In late 1862, the
entire sect was rocked by a number of embarrassing revelations about the private
lives of the goswamis. Personal sexual fetishes of men who purported to live as
gods amongst their followers became headline news and the sect suffered as a
result. Number of followers dwindled as a result of sexual scandals and fortunes of even the bigger
havelis suffered severe losses.
After independence, the sect had to face the ire of the new
socialist secular government that seemed to be shy about its Hindu roots.
Tilakayat and other goswamis have been fighting to keep the havelis in their
own hands and not let them slip to the “Trust” status where by they can be
looted by the government. Some have succeeded, most have not. Many
havelis have become “Trusts” to safeguard what little fortune they can.
However, in the process, the central ethos of the sect has been compromised in
parts and often these havelis on “Trust” do not feel like the
havelis of old.
Since mid 1900s, some of the Goswamis have visited their followers in
Africa, Middle East, Europe,
Since the 1980s, fortunes of Pushti Marg have soared with the
fortunes of India as a whole. A huge new group of followers use modern
conveniences of train and air travel to visit ShriNathji on a weekly /
fortnightly and monthly basis. Vast sums of money are expended in staying
at the new hotels and "luxury resorts" between Udaipur and Nathdwara.
Modern vaishnavs are a cosmopolitan lot. Spread
across the globe, they are involved in every sphere of trade, business
and services industry. They represent the modern world and its international
citizens. They are are no longer isolated or insular. Their tastes in
art and architecture have changed too. They are no longer interested in
some of the original styles or understand the complex symbolisms involved.
New Havelis being built across the world are eclectic in their architectural
style. These new Havelis borrow elements of Indian design, but no longer represent the mansions and palaces of
Recently, major changes are under way to alter the layout of Nathdwara and the haveli. Around the core buildings of the current Haveil will be built new halls, new courtyards, new places for pilgrims to stay. Regetably, all these change will replace much of the 18th / 19th Century character of the town with 21st Century look and layout.
Over the last five centuries, Pushti Marg has
adopted to the its environment whilst retaining its core character.
Above
all, it has evolved to become one of the most aesthetically pleasing sects of
Hinduism.
Let us work together
to make sure we preserve its core values and gracefulness in the
21st century.
Historical time line of ShriNathji
© Bhagwat
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