Within Pushti Marg as taught by Vallabhacharya, grace—designated as pushti or prasad—stands as the very foundation of spiritual life. The path is defined by the conviction that the soul cannot attain Krishna through personal effort, austerity, or knowledge alone; liberation and true realization arise only from Krishna’s own, freely given favor. This is why Pushti Marg is contrasted with more law- or merit-based approaches: devotion here is not a reward for spiritual achievement, but the fruit of divine initiative. Grace is understood as prior to any conscious resolve of the soul, shaping a form of devotion that is fundamentally a response to what Krishna has already bestowed.

This grace is said to “nourish” the soul, giving rise to what is described as the pushti-jiva, the soul specially sustained and awakened by Krishna’s favor. Such a soul naturally develops loving devotion, and its entire spiritual journey—from first attraction to ultimate closeness—is seen as carried by grace. Even the capacity to engage in seva, loving service to Krishna, is interpreted as itself an expression of that same grace. Thus, observances, temple worship, and householder duties are not techniques to earn God, but ways of participating in what grace has already made possible.

A particularly vivid expression of this theology appears in the understanding of prasad, especially sanctified food. Offerings made to Krishna, once accepted and returned, become mahaprasad, tangible bearers of divine grace that devotees consume as a form of direct communion with him. In this view, prasad is not merely symbolic; it is the means by which Krishna continually “nourishes” or “fattens” the devotee spiritually, sustaining and deepening the relationship. The daily rhythm of offering and partaking becomes a concrete enactment of the belief that every step toward Krishna is, at root, Krishna’s own movement toward the soul.

Grace in Pushti Marg, therefore, does more than secure liberation; it draws the devotee into an intimate, affectionate relationship with Krishna, characterized by loving service and nearness. The sweetness of this relationship is regarded as the highest fruit of grace, surpassing even the bare notion of release from bondage. Spiritual life on this path is thus understood as beginning in grace, unfolding through grace, and culminating in a state where the soul’s natural, loving service to Krishna is fully realized through that same unearned, ever-flowing favor.