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In Vallabha’s own words as given in his booklet Siddhant rahasya, it was at mid night on the eleventh day of the bright half of the month of Shravana that the command of God came to him, to give initiation to people into the new way God had revealed to him.
During the course of his tours around India he had come to realize something of the chaos that prevailed in the religious life of the country. Everywhere people practiced as type of religion, which had become altogether formal and lifeless. They followed mere forms and performed rituals and ceremonies which had lost meaning, with the consequence that there was no spiritual life left among them worth the name.

It was a special Revelation of God given to the people of Indian under the extremely difficult conditions of life that has arisen in the land owing to the advent of the Kali Yuga, the Dark Age. The presence of the Moslem power was only one more sign of the same and added to the validity of this New Dispensation.  So far as Vallabha and some of his great followers were concerned, the Way of Bhakti revealed through him was meant as much for the Hindus as for the Moslems. It transcended the bounds of caste, race, and sex. It was universal in its scope and made no distinctions between man and man. In it we see Hinduism in one of its highest and noblest forms. According to Vallabha, it was Bhakti Marga at its highest. So conscious was he of the predominant part played by the grace of God in it that he called it Pusti Marga, the Way of Grace, as distinguished from Bhakti Marga, the Way of Devotion.

It was in fact the spirit of the times, of the Kali Yuga, the dark and evil age that had manifested itself at its worst. This was the cry raised in many of the Puranas including the Bhagawata, and it was brought home to Vallabha by his personal observation. Things has become much worse since the Puranas were written, for the advent of the Moslem rule in several parts of India had made the situation more acute then ever, only an overwhelming grace of God could tide over the crisis.

The way to do this was disclosed; revealed in a special manner to Vallabha by God Himself, who wanted to bring to Himself His elect souls, souls which are Daivi, i.e. divine in character. He chose Vallabha as His mouthpiece and instrument. This new dispensation was, accordingly, one of pure grace of God's part, and all that were required on the part of man was to submit himself by this free-will to this grace of His and to the way He opened. Vallabha was given a most beautiful word to express this new relationship between man and God that was to come into being, viz., Brahmasambandha(fellowship with God), a word full of the deepest spiritual significance and almost unique in the religious phraseology of the world. Accordingly Vallabha unfurled the flag of a New Dispensation, a New Revelation of God, for the purpose of bringing his children back to Himself.
It was in his twenties that Vallabha proclaimed this New dispensation and laid the foundation of his Sampradaya or Church. It is impossible that this event could have taken place much later. That he should have taken this responsibility upon himself while he was more or less a youth, is a remarkable testimony to his spiritual greatness. Our surprise and wonder grow when we remember that he has made no man his Guru or Teacher. His was an entirely independent Sampradaya, and he based it on a special revelation of God given to him at a time when he had not entered his full manhood.

The voice of God, mentioned above, came to Vallabha at midnight while he was in Gokula, the place where Sri Krishna passed his childhood. The voice was audible as can be seen from the fact that Vallabha asked Damodardas, his constant companion, the next morning if he had heard anything at night.; To this the latter replied that he had heard some voice. But that he could not distinguish what it said. Vallabha told him what it was and asked him to take the initiation in accordance with the command of God. Damodardas than performed all his ablutions, and presented himself before Vallabha, who gave him the initiation.
This was done by means of the utterance into the ear of the disciple the mantra, formula, Sri Krishna Sharnam Mamah, Sri Krishna is my refuge. This was to be the guiding principle of his life, and in all things he had to surrender himself to Krishna who was no other than Supreme God Himself.

Damodardas was, thus, the first of the Vaishnavas of this new Sampradaya and as such he is held in reverence by the followers of this faith. As we have said before, Vallabha said to him one that the new way was established for him. No praise could be greater than this for any man, and it well shows the premium that is placed in Vallabha's Church on simplicity and humility of heart and child-like faith and trust, for Damodardas has no other gifts but these. The initiation was given in course of time to other people.
Vallabha wrote his Siddhanta Rahasya, the Secret of Doctrine, about this time as has been already said. In this little poem, consisting only of three verses and a half, he tells us how the call came to him and what the Brahmasambandha, the establishment of relationship between soul and God, means It is with him primarily redemption of te should from sin. He enumerates in the booklet five kinds of sins, viz., Sahaja, those originating in desha and in kala, in samyoga and sparsha. These are variously interpreted by his followers. Some interpret the first kind as those which are born with one: the second as those which accrue to one from his association with a particular place: the third from evil time: the fourth as produced by evil company and the last from contact with evil things such as wine, meat etc.
Others interpret them in a more subtle and spiritual manner, For example, Gokulotsava, one of the successors of Vallabha, defines them as the identification of one's spirit with various things. According to him, the first kind of sins are due to the superimposition of one's true self on Prana, the vital breath, the second to the forgetfulness of one's essential nature, the third to the superimposition of the spirit on one's body, the fourth on one's mind and the fifth on one's senses.
Whatever this be, the most important fact to take note of in this connection is that with the initiation and the new relationship with God that it brings with it, the soul becomes completely free from sin, and provided it remains faithful to the vow of surrender it has taken, it goes on growing in the grace of God

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This Brahma-sambandha implies Atmanivedana, so that what is considered to be the last step in the usual nine-fold Bhakti, is here the starting-point. Even the dasya and the sakhya bhava, servant ship and friendship, are only phases of this absolute self surrender or dedication. To make such a dedication is not considered an easy matter by the teachers of the Bhakti-Marga, wherefore it is that it is put last. Vallabha, however, thinks that it is possible to take such a step with the grace of God, and he considers it essential to do so. The grace of God can accomplish what cannot be done by the will of human beings. Vallabha teaches this in virtue of the special revelation granted to him.

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Mr. Telivala makes another statement which, if based on fact, shows how Vitthalnatha deepened the faith of his father in a most practical manner. We have already referred to the formula used while giving initiation or Brahmasambandha. This mantra was short and may mean anything from a mere conventional phrase to an absolute surrender to God. Because of this Vitthalnatha felt it necessary to bring out all its implications at the time of the ceremony so that the initiated person might know what was expected of him or her.

In regard to this Mr. Telivala says the following:

“The initiation of the Vaishnavas was a very simple formula, as Shri Vallabhacharya puts it somewhere in his Subodhini, Viz., Krishna, I am Thine.
The Sampradayikas do understand that the portion of the Gadya preceding Krishna, I am Thine, is explanatory of the same. This being an explanation coming from Vitthaleshwara accounts for the difference in the readings of the formula among his seven sons. This change was most essential as it added to the solemnity of the initiation ceremony.”

The Gadya or the prose interpretation of the initiation formula stands thus:

“Sri Krishna is my Protector. I, who have lost my original joy, owing to the troubles and miseries caused by my separation from Sri Krishna, now surrender with all my spirit and soul to Sri Krishna, the Beloved of the Gopis, my body, my senses, my life and mind and all that pertain to them, together with my wife, family and property. O Krishna, I am Thy servant.

It may well be that as the Church began to expand, it was found necessary to give a more definite meaning to the original mantra. Vitthalnatha could not go everywhere and meantime Vaishnavas were rising in numbers.

Not only were new disciples coming in but there was an addition of members by natural increase in the families of the older believers. All these people had to be given some sort of initiation if they were to be kept in the Church. Accordingly it seems they were given at first the original mantra, which signed their admission into the Church. It is quite possible that this was given even by laymen. We know for certain from the literature of the Church that Chacha Harivamsha was sent by Vitthalnatha to different parts and especially to Gujarata on a sort of missionary tour, and that he administered the vow to many people. He is said to have converted even the Bhils to the new faith and given them not only the name but even the Seva, which represents the higher stage of initiation. If he did this, others also may have been allowed or authorized to do so. Mr. Telivala says: “In the know writings of Shri Vallabhacharya it is nowhere mentioned that this initiation should take place only through him or his descendants. Shri Vallabhacharya does not seem to insist that any particular person should initiate you. Of course it goes without saying that the person who initiates and the person initiated must be spiritually exalted.”