Vallabhācārya (1479–1531)

A pivotal figure in the history of Indian philosophy and religion, Vallabhācārya was the last of the classical Vedānta philosophers, as well as the originator of a religious community which called for the worship of Kṛṣṇa through acts of devotion, in return for grace and deliverance from rebirth. He proposed a modification to Śaṅkara’s philosophy of nondualism, claiming his ‘pure nondualism’ better explained the relationship between the Supreme Being and the soul. For the laity, he offered a practical religious regimen called the ‘path of fulfilment’, through which the devotee is initiated into an individual relationship with Kṛṣṇa before proceeding to fulfil the relationship through specific personal acts of devotional worship.