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The lives of the Vaishnavas accounted in varta literature give us a sublime yet practical outlook. The practical side of Shri Mahaprabhu Vallabhacharya’s teachings can easily be understood by studying the lives of these Vaishnava devotees. This is the greatness of India’s Vedic culture, that it shows the Way by indivisibly encompassing man’s thinking and behavior. Within these vartas the lives and experiences of many different sections of society have been narrated, wherein, we are able to find spiritual solutions to our problems and enmities. Vartas are not stories or fables, but rather the biographic accounts of certain Vaishnavas, which provide us with a detailed survey of theoretical living. It appears clear that the author did not stress their biographies, but instead he took certain incidents from their lives in order to illustrate and shed light upon Shri Mahaprabhuji’s philosophy.
Shri Krishna’s divine lilas and His evident realization were experienced by all devotees alike, whether they were young or old, married or renounced, learned or uneducated or of a high or low class. These “vartas” are helpful in understanding how the Shri Krishna uplifts His divine souls as well as everyone in general. Whether one is a king or a peasant, a scholar or a common man, well-behaved or ill-behaved, polite or rude, Shri Mahaprabhuji’s principles are equally valid for all.
In these accounts, Shri Mahaprabhuji’s teachings and life story are simply and intelligibly described, wherein it is disclosed that man cannot properly develop his thinking and behavior by following a philosophy, which cannot be applied, practically to his style of life. In Shri Mahaprabhuji’s Way, every action should be performed so that it becomes useful in the Thakurji’s divine seva. In the Bhagavad Gita, it has been mentioned that the soul is a part and parcel of the Bhagwan’s form; therefore it is the duty of the part (soul) to worship the whole. Just as the various limbs of the body serve the same, which in turn supplies the means for liberation, similarly, every being takes birth in order to serve the Purnaprusotam. Can a purer life be obtained with any other objects? The being is not born because of his impious past deeds, but rather to perform the Shri Krishna’s divine worship. Only through His worship, love and surrender can our every undertaking become a part of His divine seva thereby allowing selfless thinking.
This entire world is the Shri Krishna’s divine play (lila) and has been created in order that an assortment of different moods can be perceived and experienced. When our outlook is problem oriented then only enmity will ensue. By considering the Shri Krishna’s different transcendental plays such hatred is removed from our lives. In this way varta literature has set a practicable example for the entire society.
The sublimity of Shri Mahaprabhuji’s teachings is that within them, man’s entire energy becomes utilized in performing the Thakurji’s seva. In this way, the essence and truth of both thinking and practice have been simultaneously considered. In this mechanical age, where man’s own toils have been discarded, if there is still some divine usage for our efforts, then it is in applying the sentiments and modes of services revealed in these vartas in our practical living.
While living naturally, if our powers of action and thought are offered in the Thakurji’s seva, through such divine channels, mankind can find a solution to many problems. To consider the purity of the material means which one uses is the main side of man’s behavior. All of the events related in the vartas provide us with such discrimination and wisdom. For instance, Damodardas of Sambhalavare was a wealthy man, but he used to fetch his Thakurji’s water. Even though Asakaran was a king, he employed his body in his Thakurji’s seva and was a shining example of Shri Krishna’s statement in the Bhagavad Gita, “Remember Me and fight.”
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