Pushti Marg seva

Domain XIII · Contemplative & religious disciplines · Vallabhacharya · 1400 · India

What it is

Pushti Marg ("path of grace"; pushti = nourishing grace) is a Krishna-devotional (bhakti) tradition founded by Vallabhacharya in the late 15th century. Its gurus are hereditary descendants of Vallabhacharya (Gosvamis), and it has no ascetic order. Its central practice is seva: devotees care for an…

Format

• Who teaches it. Gosvami acharyas (descendants of Vallabhacharya), temple staff in havelis, family elders and satsang (devotee) groups; children may learn in pathshala classes.
• There is no published clinical protocol, session count or phase model for working with Pushti Marg seva. The following working phases are:

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• dissociation, hyperarousal, shame. Working: steadier engagement or chosen distance without guilt.
• your own bias against a tradition centred on giving and image worship. Working: client makes free choices.
• confidentiality in tight-knit communities. Working: the client has religious guidance and therapy that fit together.
• the therapist taking sides; coercion of a young person or spouse; gendered burden of kitchen seva. Working: less blame, shared plan.
• competing explanations (karma, grace withdrawn, impurity) that the client holds alongside medical ones; respect both, do not argue theology.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.