SEVA

Shri Krishna, dark as a rain-filled cloud, adorned with peacock feathers, wild flowers and a gunja bead necklace, graces the banks of the Yamuna river. When He applies His lips to the flute, melodious notes fill Vrindavan and enrapture the hearts of the love-smitten dairy-maids, the Gopi’s. This Krishna, a herder of cows, the son of Yashoda, the butter-thief and the beloved of the Gopi’s, is the object, means and reward of the Grace-Filled practice of seva, Shri Krishna’s pleasing worship.

Shri Vallabhacharya explained that to attain God you must please Him and to do so, practitioners should apply their bodies and wealth in Shri Krishna’s seva. This will help thread their minds and hearts directly into Shri Krishna. Shri Vallabhacharya received the Brahma Sambandh mantra from Shri Krishna on the 11th day of the bright fortnight of the month of Shravana (usually August). Shri Krishna instructed Shri Vallabhacharya to initiate bhaktas with the mantra. It marks their spiritual marriage and connects the soul to its divine source. The Sanskrit mantra is received from a descendant of Shri Vallabhacharya’s lineage.