The Baithakjis of Shri Vallabhkul are a salient feature of Pushtimarg; Spread across the whole of India in the most diverse of places and the most distinct of locations, they stand as proud landmarks of the journeys of Shri Vallabh, Shri Gusainji and subsequent Acharyas as they undertook limitless parishram to bring the lost jeevs back to the feet of Shri Thakurji. Some Baithaks are on river banks, some on kunds, in deserts & forests, on the hills and on islands – each and every one a reservoir of infinite spiritual energy; One that has to be experienced by oneself to understand.

It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words and a picture with some words – would only increase the measure. In 2006 and then again in 2007, Prabhu Kripa se we along with 250-300 vaishnavs undertook two yatras – one to the South and one North, to places such as Charnat, Naimisharanya, Adel then onto Rameshwar, Vishnukanchi etc. Here I am posting the pictures of some of them along with a short caption to highlight the significance of the divine places.

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In Pushtimarg, the days of Holi Khel which begin from Basant Panchami and culminate on Dol-Utsav are organized in a definite sequence to systematically guide the bhakta in achieving Sakha-bhav. It’s a deliberate process and must not be misunderstood as a casual arrangement of days.

Bhav means an intense emotion. Since emotions fall into intangible territory it is natural for a lay appreciator of Bhagvad Seva to suppose that even the “process of conceiving bhav – Seva”, must be quite vague too. Bhav and the subsequent ‘Ras’ may be spontaneous; but for the Vaishnav Vrajbhaktas however, the distinct pranalika of seva followed to achieve the bhav – that is certainly not of the hit or miss variety.

To stress the precise nature of Bhagvad seva, Shri Hariraiji Mahaprabhu has beautifully explained the bhav behind the forty one days of khel according to the principles of ‘Ras’. He begins by telling us that out of the forty days, the first ten are for the Udipan vibhav and the rest are for the Alamban vibhav. (I can just hear everybody saying, wow! That went clear over our heads.) So let us first tackle the theory part.

‘Ras or Rasa’ (pronunciation: rhymes with fuss!) is an oft repeated word in Pushtimarg which has been utilized in multiple ways. A simple explanation of the word would be ‘that which gives Anand’. Additional details can be found by reading about the Natya-Shastra, but here we shall discuss only those parts that are relevant to our understanding.

Each Ras has a Sthayi bhav. For example the full development of the bhav of Rati (Love) concludes in Shringar Ras. So Shringar is the Ras and Rati (Love) is the Sthayi bhav.

Further, each Sthayi bhav has Vibhavs. Vibhav means the cause of the bhav. These vibhavs are classified into Udipan vibhav and Alamban vibhav. Udipan basically means the factors due to which the bhav is generated; e.g. beautiful surroundings, season, physical features, attire etc. Alamban is what the factors of Udipan affect; e.g. the persons involved.

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