Madhvacharya
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Madhvacharya (Template:IAST3; Script error: No such module "IPA".; 1199–1278 CE[1] or 1238–1317 CEScript error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".), also known as Purna Prajna (Template:IAST3) and Ānanda Tīrtha, was an Indian philosopher, theologian and the chief proponent of the Dvaita (dualism) school of Vedanta.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Madhva called his philosophy Tattvavāda meaning "arguments from a realist viewpoint".Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Madhvacharya was born at Pajaka near Udupi on the west coast of Karnataka state in 13th-century India.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". As a teenager, he became a Sanyasi (monk) joining Brahma-sampradaya guru Achyutapreksha, of the Ekadandi order.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Madhva studied the classics of Hindu philosophy, and wrote commentaries on the Principal Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita and the Brahma Sutras (Prasthanatrayi),Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". and is credited with thirty seven works in Sanskrit.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". His writing style was of extreme brevity and condensed expression. His greatest work is considered to be the Anuvyakhyana, a philosophical supplement to his bhasya on the Brahma Sutras composed with a poetic structure.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". In some of his works, he proclaimed himself to be an avatar of Vayu, the son of god Vishnu.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".[2]
Madhvacharya was a critic of Adi Shankara's Advaita Vedanta and Ramanuja's Vishishtadvaita Vedanta teachings.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". He toured India several times, visiting places such as Badrinath, Bengal, Varanasi, Dwaraka, Goa and Kanyakumari, engaging in philosophical debates and visiting Hindu centres of learning.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Madhva established the Krishna Mutt at Udupi with a murti secured from Dwarka Gujarat in 1285 CE.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Madhvacharya's teachings are built on the premise that there is a fundamental difference between Atman (individual soul, self) and the Brahman (ultimate reality, God Vishnu), these are two different unchanging realities, with individual soul dependent on Brahman, never identical.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". His school's theistic dualism teachings disagreed with the monistScript error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". teachings of the other two most influential schools of Vedanta based on Advaita's nondualism and Vishishtadvaita's qualified nondualism.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Liberation, asserted Madhva, is achievable only through the grace of God.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". The Dvaita school founded by Madhva influenced Vaishnavism, the Bhakti movement in medieval India, and has been one of the three influential Vedānta philosophies, along with Advaita Vedanta and Vishishtadvaita Vedanta.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".[3] Madhva's historical influence in Hinduism, state Kulandran and Kraemer: "has been salutary, but not extensive.“
Early life
The biography of Madhvacharya is unclear about his year of birth.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Many sources date him to 1238–1317 period,Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". but some place him about the 1199–1278 period.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Madhvācārya was born in Pajaka near Udupi, a coastal district in the present-day Indian state of Karnataka.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Traditionally it is believed that his father's name is Naduillaya (Sanskrit: Madhyageha, Madhyamandira) and the name of his mother is unclear, although many sources variously claim it as Satyavati and Vedavati.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Born in a Tulu Brahmin household, he was named Vāsudeva.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Later he became famous by the names Purnaprajna, Anandatirtha and Madhvacharya (or just Madhva).Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Pūrnaprajña was the name given to him at the time of his initiation into sannyasa (renunciation), as a teenager.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". The name conferred on him when he became the head of his monastery was "Ānanda Tīrtha".Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". All three of his later names are found in his works.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Madhvācārya or Madhva are names most commonly found in modern literature on him, or Dvaita Vedanta related literature.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Madhva began school after his Upanayana at age seven, and became a monk or Sannyasi in his teens,Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". although his father was initially opposed to this.[4] He joined an Advaita Vedanta monastery in Udupi (Karnataka),Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". accepted his guru to be Achyutrapreksha,Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". who is also referred to as Achyutraprajna in some sources.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Madhva studied the Upanishads and the Advaita literature, but was unconvinced by its nondualism philosophy of oneness of human soul and god, had frequent disagreements with his guru,Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". left the monastery, and began his own tattvavada movement based on dualism premises of Dvi – asserting that human soul and god (as Vishnu) are two different things.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Madhva never acknowledged Achyutrapreksha as his guru or his monastic lineage in his writings.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Madhva is said to have been clever in philosophy, and also to have been tall and strongly built.[5]
Career
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Reality is twofold: independent and dependent things. The Lord Vishnu is the only independent thing.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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Madhvacharya never established a matha (monastery) dedicated to Dvaita philosophy, however his lineage of students became the sanctuary for a series of Dvaita scholars such as Jayatirtha, Sripadaraja, Vyasatirtha, Vadiraja Tirtha, Raghuttama Tirtha, Raghavendra Tirtha and Satyanatha Tirtha who followed in the footsteps of Madhva.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
A number of hagiographies have been written by Madhva's disciples and followers. Of these, the most referred to and most authentic is the sixteen cantos Sanskrit biography Madhvavijaya by Narayana Panditacharya – son of Trivikrama Pandita, who himself was a disciple of Madhva.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Incarnation of Vayu, the wind god
In several of his texts, Sarma and other scholars state, "Madhvacharya proclaims himself to be the third avatar or incarnation of Vayu, wind god, the son of Vishnu".Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". He, thus, asserted himself to be Hanuman – the first avatar of Vayu, and Bhima – a Pandava in the Mahabharata and the second avatar of Vayu.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". In one of his bhasya on the Brahma Sutras, he asserts that the authority of the text is from his personal encounter with Vishnu.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Madhva, states Sarma, believed himself to be an intermediary between Vishnu and Dvaita devotees, guiding the latter in their journey towards Vishnu.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".[2]
Miracles
Madhva is said to have performed several miracles during his lifetime, including transforming tamarind seeds into gold coins, consuming 4,000 bananas and thirty big pots of milk in one sitting, fighting and winning against robbers and wild animals, crossing the Ganges without getting his clothes wet, and giving light to his students through the nails of his big toes after the lamp went out while they were interpreting a text at night.[6]
Interpretations
Madhvacharya is said to have quoted some verses from his unique revisions of scriptures. Also, he is said to have quoted many unique books like Kamatha Sruti. The interpretation of Balittha Sukta by Madhvacharya and his followers to prove that Madhvacharya was an incarnation of Vayu is considered highly unique by standard commentaries on them like Sayana and Horace Hayman Wilson.[7]
Works of Madhvacharya
Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". Thirty seven Dvaita texts are attributed to Madhvacharya.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Of these, thirteen are bhasya (review and commentary) on earliest Principal Upanishads,Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". a Madhva-bhasya on the foundational text of Vedanta school of Hinduism – Brahma Sutras,Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". another Gita-bhasya on Bhagavad Gita,Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". a commentary on forty hymns of the Rigveda, a review of the Mahabharata in poetic style, a commentary called Bhagavata-tatparya-nirnaya on Bhagavata Purana.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Apart from these, Madhva is also attributed for authoring many stotras, poems and texts on bhakti of Vishnu and his avatars.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". The Anu-Vyakhyana, a supplement to Madhvacharya's commentary on Brahma Sutras, is his masterpiece, states Sharma.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
While being a profusely productive writer, Madhvacharya restricted the access to and distribution of his works to outsiders who were not part of Dvaita school, according to Sarma.Template:Refn However, Bartley disagrees and states that this is inconsistent with the known history of extensive medieval Vedantic debates on religious ideas in India which included Dvaita school's ideas.[8]
Madhva's philosophy
Script error: No such module "Sidebar". The premises and foundations of Dvaita Vedanta, also known as Dvaitavada and Tattvavada, are credited to Madhvacharya. His philosophy championed unqualified dualism.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Madhva's work is classically placed in contrast with monistScript error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". ideas of Shankara's Advaita Vedanta and Ramanuja's Vishishtadvaita Vedanta.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Epistemology
Template:Vaishnavism Madhva calls epistemology Anu pramana.[9] It accepts three pramānas, that is three facts or three correct means of knowledge, in contrast to one of Charvaka and six of Advaita schools of Hindu philosophies:[10][11]
- Pratyaksha (प्रत्यक्ष) means perception. It is of two types in Dvaita and other Hindu schools: external and internal. External perception is described as that arising from the interaction of five senses and worldly objects, while internal perception is described as that of inner sense, the mind.[12][13]
- Anumāna (अनुमान) means inference. It is described as reaching a new conclusion and truth from one or more observations and previous truths by applying reason.[14] Observing smoke and inferring fire is an example of Anumana. This method of inference consists of three parts: pratijna (hypothesis), hetu (a reason), and drshtanta (examples).[15][16]
- Śabda (शब्द) means relying on word, testimony of past or present reliable experts.[9][17] It is also known as Agama in Madhva's Dvaita tradition, and incorporates all the Vedas. Hiriyanna explains Sabda-pramana as a concept which means reliable expert testimony. The schools of Hinduism which consider it epistemically valid suggest that a human being needs to know numerous facts, and with the limited time and energy available, he can learn only a fraction of those facts and truths directly.[18]
Madhva and his followers introduced kevala-pramaana as the "knowledge of an object as it is", separate from anu-pramana described above.[19]
Madhva's Dvaita school holds that Vishnu as a God, who is also Hari, Krishna, Vasudeva and Narayana, can only be known through the proper samanvaya (connection) and pramana of the Vedic scriptural teachings.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Vishnu, according to Madhvacharya, is not the creator of the Vedas, but the teacher of the Vedas.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Madhva's school of thought assert that knowledge is intrinsically valid, and the knower and the known are independently real.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Madhvacharya asserted that both the ritual part (karma-kanda, Mimamsa) and the knowledge part (jnana-kanda, Upanishadic Vedanta) in the Vedas, are equally valid and an interconnected whole.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". As asserted by the Mimamsa school of Hindu philosophy, Madhvacharya held that the Vedas are author-less, and that their truth is in all of its parts (i.e. the Script error: No such module "lang"., Script error: No such module "lang"., Script error: No such module "lang". and Script error: No such module "lang".)...Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Metaphysics
The metaphysical reality is plural, stated Madhvacharya.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". There are primarily two tattvas or categories of reality – Script error: No such module "lang". (independent reality) and Script error: No such module "lang". (dependent reality).Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Ishvara (as God Vishnu or Krishna) is the cause of the universe and the only independent reality, in Madhvacharya's view.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". The created universe is the dependent reality, consisting of Script error: No such module "lang". (individual souls) and Jada (matter, material things).Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Individual souls are plural, different and distinct realities. Script error: No such module "lang".s are sentient and matter is non-sentient, according to Madhvacharya.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Madhva further enumerates the difference between dependent and independent reality as a fivefold division (pancha-bheda) between God, souls and material things.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". These differences are:Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".[20] (1) Between material things; (2) Between material thing and soul; (3) Between material thing and God; (4) Between souls; and (5) Between soul and God.
This difference is neither temporary nor merely practical; it is an invariable and natural property of everything. Madhva calls it Taratamya (gradation in pluralism).Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". There is no object like another, according to Madhvacharya. There is no soul like another. All souls are unique, reflected in individual personalities. The sea is full; the tank is full; a pot is full; everything is full, yet each fullness is different, asserted Madhvacharya.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Taratamya is based on inherent differences amongst all beings. These differences determine whether souls are eligible for liberation, rebirth, or darkness.[21]
According to Madhvacharya, even in liberation (moksha), the bliss is different for each person based on each one's degree of knowledge and spiritual perfection.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". This liberation according to him, is only achievable with grace of God Vishnu.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Nature of the Brahman
Madhva conceptualised Brahman as a being who enjoys His own bliss, while the entire universe evolves through a nebulous chaos.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". He manifests, every now and then, to help the evolution process. The four primary manifestation of Him as the Brahman are, according to Madhva, Vasudeva, Pradyumna, Aniruddha and Sankarasana, which are respectively responsible for the redemptive, creative, sustaining and destructive aspects in the universe.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". His secondary manifestations are many, and all manifestations are at par with each other, it is the same infinite no matter how He manifests.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Brahman is the creator of the universe, perfect in knowledge, perfect in knowing, perfect in its power, and distinct from souls, distinct from matter.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". For liberation, mere intellectual conceptualization of Brahman as creator is not enough, the individual soul must feel attraction, love, attachment and devotional surrender to Him, and only His grace leads to redemption and liberation, according to Madhva.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
The Vishnu as Brahman concept of Madhvacharya is a concept similar to God in major world religions.[22]Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". His writings led some early colonial-era Indologists such as George Abraham Grierson to suggest the 13th-century Madhva was influenced by Christianity,[2] but later scholarship has rejected this theory.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Soteriology
Madhvacharya considered Jnana Yoga and Karma Yoga to be insufficient to the path of liberation without Bhakti.[23]Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Vishnu was the supreme God to Madhva, who can only be reached through Vayu; he further states, faith leads to the grace of God, and grace leads to the liberation of soul.[23]
The knowledge of God, for Madhvacharya, is not a matter of intellectual acceptance of the concept, but an attraction, affection, constant attachment, loving devotion and complete surrender to the grace of God.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". He rejects monist theories believing that knowledge liberates, asserting instead that it is Divine grace through Bhakti that liberates.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". To Madhva, God obscures reality by creating Maya and Prakriti, which causes bondage and suffering; and only God can be the source of soul's release.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Liberation occurs when, with the grace of God, one knows the true nature of self and the true nature of God.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Ethics
Evil and suffering in the world, according to Madhvacharya, originates in man, and not God.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Every Jiva (individual soul) is the agent of actions, not Jada (matter), and not Ishvara (God).Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". While Madhva asserts each individual self is the Kartritva (real agency), the self is not an absolutely independent agent to him.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". This is because, states Madhva, the soul is influenced by sensory organs, one's physical body and such material things which he calls as gifts of God.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Man has free will, but is influenced by his innate nature, inclinations and past karma.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Madhvacharya asserts, Yathecchasi tatha kuru, which Sharma translates and explains as "one has the right to choose between right and wrong, a choice each individual makes out of his own responsibility and his own risk".Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Madhva does not address the problem of evil, that is how can evil exist with that of a God who is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent.[24]Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". According to Sharma, "Madhva's tripartite classification of souls makes it unnecessary to answer the problem of evil".Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". According to David Buchta, this does not address the problem of evil, because the omnipotent God "could change the system, but chooses not to" and thus sustains the evil in the world.[24] This view of self's agency of Madhvacharya was, states Buchta, an outlier in Vedanta school and Indian philosophies in general.[24]
This observation from David Buchta is countered and explained by the understanding that the tripartite characteristic is intrinsic to the souls. That is to say, those specific characteristics define each soul individually, and any attempt to change these would mean changing the souls themselves and subsequently the identity of each individual. Therefore, changing these tripartite characteristics would cause that particular individual to no longer exist, and each individual exists for a particular reason. Nonetheless, an omnipotent being would be still able to prevent evil without changing the intrinsic nature of the soul since the omnipotent being is not bound by any limitations, especially those within the dependent reality. Therefore, the final explanation is that the omnipotent being is not purposefully allowing evil to occur but rather allows an independent operation of the dependent reality to encourage free will in each individual. It is therefore the individual's choice whether to seek out the omnipotent being through faith, which allows the individual guidance on how to lead a life of virtue. Thus, evil is a failure to live life with virtue and a natural consequence of free will.
Moral laws and ethics exist, according to Madhva, and are necessary for the grace of God and for liberation.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Views on other schools
Madhvacharya was a fierce critic of competing Vedanta schools,Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". and other schools of Indian philosophies such as Buddhism and Jainism.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". He wrote up arguments against twenty one ancient and medieval era Indian scholars to help establish the foundations of his own school of thought.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Madhvacharya was most ardent critic of Advaita Vedanta, accusing Shankara and the Advaitins of teaching Buddhism under the cover of Vedanta.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Advaita's nondualism asserts that Atman (soul) and Brahman are blissful and identical, unchanging transcendent Reality, there is interconnected oneness of all souls and Brahman, with no pluralities.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".[3] Madhva, in contrast asserts that Atman (soul) and Brahman are different, only Vishnu is the Lord (Brahman), individual souls are also distinct and depend on Vishnu, and there are pluralities.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".[3] Of all schools, Madhva directed his critique at Advaita most, penning four major texts, including Upadhikhandana and Tattvadyota, primarily dedicated to scrutinizing Advaita.[25]
Madhvacharya criticized Shankara's interpretation of "Tat Tvam Asi", an Upanishadic saying used by Advaita to express the unity of the individual soul (jiva) and ultimate reality (Brahman). According to B.N.K. Sharma, Madhva reinterpreted it to emphasize difference (bheda) rather than identity (abheda), understanding such statements as expressing "the special immanence of the Deity in every jot and tittle of Matter and Spirit".Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Madhvacharya disagreed with aspects of Ramanuja's Vishishtadvaita.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Vishishtadvaita school, a realist system of thought like Madhvacharya's Dvaita school, also asserts that Jiva (human souls) and Brahman (as Vishnu) are different, a difference that is never transcended.[3][26] God Vishnu alone is independent, all other gods and beings are dependent on Him, according to both Madhvacharya and Ramanuja.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". However, in contrast to Madhvacharya's views, Vishishtadvaita school asserts "qualified non-dualism",Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". that souls share the same essential nature of Brahman,Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". and that there is a universal sameness in the quality and degree of bliss possible for human souls, and every soul can reach the bliss state of God Himself.[3]Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". While the older school of Vishishtadvaita asserted "qualitative monism and quantitative pluralism of souls", states Sharma, Madhvacharya asserted both "qualitative and quantitative pluralism of souls".Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Shankara's Advaita school and Ramanuja's Vishishtadvaita school are premised on the assumption that all souls can hope for and achieve the state of blissful liberation; in contrast, Madhvacharya posited that some souls enjoy spreading chaos and irreligion, and even enjoy being eternally doomed and damned as such.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".[27]
Madhvacharya's style of criticism of other schools of Indian philosophy was part of the ancient and medieval Indian tradition. He was part of the Vedanta school, which emerged in post-Vedic period as the most influential of the six schools of Hindu philosophy, and his targeting of Advaita tradition, states Bryant, reflects it being the most influential of Vedanta schools.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Influence
Script error: No such module "Multiple image". Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". Madhvacharya extended an independent, original philosophy in the inference of Vaishnavism.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
The Madhva Sampradaya fostered Bhakti and search of Knowledge. Madhvacharya and his ascetic followers propagated the Dvaita Siddhanta through their commentaries and critical lectures. Such literature and works for critical thinking were written majorly in Sanskrit and not readily accessible to common people. An alternate avenue evolved organically by Sishyas or Bhaktas of the Madhva Philosophy who studied these core books, read philosophy, practised asceticism though living a householder's life, dedicated themselves to the service of God. This set of followers undertook the mission of carrying Madhva's teaching to the four comers of the country using Kannada or the local language as a vehicle of communication. These spirited missionaries were known as the Hari-Dasas. The HariDasas pioneered in breaking the shackles of caste, creed and regionalism – they practiced devotion in its purest form and were instrumental in delivering the marvels of Madhva Siddhantha to the common man by way of songs, suladees and Bhakti Dasa Sahitya. These Haridasas came to be known as the Dasa Section or Dasa-Kuta of the Madhva Sampradaya in contrast with the Vyaasa-Kuta who were Scholars, Pandits or teachers of literature & critical thought.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
There is no difference between the Vyasa-kuta and Dasa-Kuta in their learning, training, or approach to philosophy. While Vyasa-Kuta being scholars, Acharyas or Pandits strongly believed in acquiring Jnaana/Knowledge traditionally, the Dasa-Kuta simplified the acquired knowledge into Bhakti or devotion. The terms 'Dasaru' and 'Vyasaru' first came into vogue at the time of Purandaradasa and his religious preceptor, Vyasaraya. Over time, 'Vyasakuta' meant the branch of devotees who were well-versed in Sanskrit and who knew the philosophy in the original, and 'Dasakuta' or Dasa Dasapantha,Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". meant that branch of devotees who conveyed the meassage of Dvaita philosophy through simplified vernacular Bhakti movement.[28]
Other influential subschools of Vaishnavism competed with the ideas of Madhvacharya, such as the Chaitanya subschool, whose Jiva Gosvami asserts that only Krishna is "Svayam Bhagavan" (the supreme form of God), in contrast to Madhva who asserts that all Vishnu avatars are equal and identical, with both sharing the belief that emotional devotion to God is the means to spiritual liberation.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1496–1534) is said to be a disciple of Isvara Puri who was a disciple of Madhavendra Puri who was a disciple of Lakshmipati Tirtha who was a disciple of Vyasatirtha (1469–1539) of Madhvacharya's Sampradaya.[29] According to Sharma, the influence of Madhva's Dvaita ideas have been most prominent on the Chaitanya school of Bengal Vaishnavism,Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". and in Assam.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
A subsect of Gaudiya Vaishnavas from Orissa and West Bengal claim to be followers of Madhvacharya. Madhva established in Udupi Krishna Matha attached to a god Krishna temple. Gaudiya Vaishnavas also worship Krishna, who is in the mode of Vrindavana.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Hindu-Christian-Muslim controversies
Madhvacharya was misperceived and misrepresented by both Christian missionaries and Hindu writers during the colonial era scholarship.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". The similarities in the primacy of one God, dualism and distinction between man and God, devotion to God, the son of God as the intermediary, predestination, the role of grace in salvation, as well as the similarities in the legends of miracles in Christianity and Madhvacharya's Dvaita tradition fed these stories.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Among Christian writers, GA Grierson creatively asserted that Madhva's ideas evidently were "borrowed from Christianity, quite possibly promulgated as a rival to the central doctrine of that faith".Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Among Hindu writers, according to Sarma, SC Vasu creatively translated Madhvacharya's works to identify Madhvacharya with Christ, rather than compare their ideas.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Modern scholarship rules out the influence of Christianity on Madhvacharya,[2]Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". as there is no evidence that there ever was a Christian settlement where Madhvacharya grew up and lived, or that there was a sharing or discussion of ideas between someone with knowledge of the Bible and Christian legends, and him.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".[30]
There are also assumptions Madhva was influenced by Islam.[31] The Madhvavijaya[31] tells about Madhva meeting the Sultan of Delhi and saying to him in fluent Persian that both worship the same one God of the universe, and that he spreads the faith in God.[32]Script error: No such module "Unsubst". The sultan is said to have been so impressed by this that he wanted give half of the empire to Madhva, which he refused.[33]Script error: No such module "Unsubst". However, the indologist and religious scholar Helmuth von Glasenapp assumes that monotheism can also be derived from the Indian intellectual world,[31] and that there is no reason supporting the theory that Madhva's views on afterlife were influenced by Muslim or Christian impulses.[34]
Monasteries
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Madhvacharya established eight mathas (monasteries) in Udupi with his eight disciples as its head along with Padmanabha Tirtha Matha. The Udupi Ashta Mathas are Palimaru matha, Adamaru matha, Krishnapura matha, Puttige matha, Shirur matha, Sodhe matha, Kaniyooru matha and Pejavara matha.[35] These eight surround the Anantheswara Krishna Hindu temple.[35] The matha are laid out in a rectangle, the temples on a square grid pattern.[35] The monks in the matha are sannyasis, and the tradition of their studies and succession (Paryaya system) were established by Madhvacharya.[35] The monastery has a pontiff system, that rotates after a fixed period of time. The pontiff is called Swamiji, and he leads daily Krishna prayers according to Madhva tradition,[36] as well as annual festivals.[37] The process and Vedic mantra rituals for Krishna worship in Dvaita monasteries follow the procedure written by Madhvacharya in Tantrasara.[37] The Krishna worship neither involves bali (sacrifice) nor any fire rituals.[37] The succession ceremony in Dvaita school involves the outgoing Swamiji welcoming the incoming one, then walking together to the icon of Madhvacharya at the entrance of Krishna temple in Udupi, offering water to him, expressing reverence then handing over the same vessel with water that Madhvacharya used when he handed over the leadership of the monastery he founded.[36] The monastery include kitchens, bhojan-shala, run by monks and volunteers.[38] These serve food daily to nearly 15,000 to 20,000 monks, students and visiting pilgrims without social discrimination.[38] During succession ceremonies, over 80,000 people are served a vegetarian meal by Udupi bhojan-shalas.[38]
Madhvacharya established a matha with his disciple Padmanabha Tirtha as its head to spread Tattvavada (Dvaita) outside Tulunadu region with the instructions that his disciples Narahari Tirtha, Madhava Tirtha and Akshobhya Tirtha should, in turn, become the successors of this matha.[39][40][41][42][43] According to Surendranath Dasgupta, Uttaradi Math is the main matha of Padmanabha Tirtha and it was divided twice, and so we end up with three mathas, the other two being Vyasaraja Math and Raghavendra Math.[44] Uttaradi Math, along with Vyasaraja Math and Raghavendra Math, is considered to be the three premier apostolic institutions of Dvaita Vedanta and are jointly referred as Mathatraya.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".[44]Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". It is the pontiffs and pandits of the Mathatraya that have been the principle architects of post-Madhva Dvaita Vedanta through the centuries.[45] Among the mathas outside of Tulu Nadu region, Uttaradi Matha is the largest.[46] All the mathas outside of the Tulu region are one way or the other descended from Padmanabha Tirtha. Including mathas in Udupi, there are twenty-four Madhva mathas in India.[36] The main center of Madhva's tradition is in Karnataka.[36]
Professor Kiyokazu Okita and Indologist B. N. K. Sharma says, Sannyasis in the lineage of Dvaita school of Vedanta belongs to Ēkadaṇḍi tradition just like the Sanyasi's of Advaita of Adi Shankara.[47]
Film
A film directed by G. V. Iyer titled Madhvacharya premiered in 1986. It is entirely in the Kannada language.[48][49]
See also
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Notes
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References
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- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b c d Sabapathy Kulandran and Hendrik Kraemer (2004), Grace in Christianity and Hinduism, James Clarke, Template:ISBN, pages 177–179
- ↑ a b c d e Stafford Betty (2010), Dvaita, Advaita, and Viśiṣṭādvaita: Contrasting Views of Mokṣa, Asian Philosophy: An International Journal of the Philosophical Traditions of the East, Volume 20, Issue 2, pages 215–224
- ↑ Helmuth von Glasenapp: Madhva's Philosophie des Vishnu-Glaubens, Geistesströmungen des Ostens vol. 2, Bonn 1923, Einleitung (p. *3).
- ↑ Glasenapp: Madhva's Philosophie des Vishnu-Glaubens, Einleitung (pp. *11-12).
- ↑ Glasenapp: Madhva's Philosophie des Vishnu-Glaubens, Einleitung (pp. *6-7).
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Cite error: Script error: No such module "Namespace detect".Script error: No such module "Namespace detect".
- ↑ a b *Eliott Deutsche (2000), in Philosophy of Religion : Indian Philosophy Vol 4 (Editor: Roy Perrett), Routledge, Template:ISBN, pp. 245–248;
- John A. Grimes, A Concise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy: Sanskrit Terms Defined in English, State University of New York Press, Template:ISBN, page 238
- ↑ Karl Potter and Sibajiban Bhattacharya (1994), Epistemology, in The Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies, Volume 6, Princeton University Press, Template:ISBN, pages 53–68
- ↑ Howard Coward et al., Epistemology, in Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies, Volume 5, Motilal Banarsidass, Template:ISBN, pages 51–62
- ↑ B Matilal (1992), Perception: An Essay in Indian Theories of Knowledge, Oxford University Press, Template:ISBN
- ↑ Karl Potter (1977), "Meaning and Truth", in Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies, Volume 2, Princeton University Press, Reprinted in 1995 by Motilal Banarsidass, Template:ISBN, pages 160–168
- ↑ W Halbfass (1991), Tradition and Reflection, State University of New York Press, Template:ISBN, page 26-27
- ↑ James Lochtefeld, "Anumana" in The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 1: A-M, Rosen Publishing. Template:ISBN, page 46-47
- ↑ John A. Grimes, A Concise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy: Sanskrit Terms Defined in English, State University of New York Press, Template:ISBN, pages 41–42
- ↑ DPS Bhawuk (2011), Spirituality and Indian Psychology (Editor: Anthony J. Marsella), Springer, Template:ISBN, p. 172
- ↑ M. Hiriyanna (2000), The Essentials of Indian Philosophy, Motilal Banarsidass, Template:ISBN, page 43
- ↑ John A. Grimes, A Concise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy: Sanskrit Terms Defined in English, State University of New York Press, Template:ISBN, page 238
- ↑ James Lochtefeld (2002), Madhva, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 1: A–M, Rosen Publishing. Template:ISBN, page 396
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ Michael Myers (2000), Brahman: A Comparative Theology, Routledge, Template:ISBN, pages 124–127
- ↑ a b Sabapathy Kulandran and Hendrik Kraemer (2004), Grace in Christianity and Hinduism, James Clarke, Template:ISBN, pages 178–179
- ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ SMS Chari (1999), Advaita and Visistadvaita, Motilal Banarsidass, Template:ISBN, pages 5–7
- ↑ Edward Craig (2000), Concise Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Routledge, Template:ISBN, pages 517–518
- ↑ Śrī Vadirāja: Bhugola Varnanam
- ↑ Bruno Nettl (1992), The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, Routledge, Template:ISBN, page 262
- ↑ Connection between Gaudiya and Madhva Sampradayas Script error: No such module "webarchive".(pdf)
- ↑ A History of Indian Philosophy Vol 4, pg 93
- ↑ a b c Glasenapp: Madhva's Philosophie des Vishnu-Glaubens, Einleitung (p. *28-29).
- ↑ Jeffrey Armstrong (Kavindra Rishi): "Difference is Real!". The Life and Teachings of Sri Madhva, One of India's Greatest Spiritual Masters Script error: No such module "webarchive"., Hinduism Today, July/August/September 2008.
- ↑ Glasenapp: Madhva's Philosophie des Vishnu-Glaubens, Einleitung (p. *5-6).
- ↑ Glasenapp: Madhva's Philosophie des Vishnu-Glaubens, Einleitung (p. *34).
- ↑ a b c d V Rao (2002), Living Traditions in Contemporary Contexts: The Madhva Matha of Udupi, Orient Blackswan, Template:ISBN, pages 27–32
- ↑ a b c d V Rao (2002), Living Traditions in Contemporary Contexts: The Madhva Matha of Udupi, Orient Blackswan, Template:ISBN, pages 33–37
- ↑ a b c V Rao (2002), Living Traditions in Contemporary Contexts: The Madhva Matha of Udupi, Orient Blackswan, Template:ISBN, page 43-49
- ↑ a b c K Ray and T Srinivas (2012), Curried Cultures: Globalization, Food, and South Asia, University of California Press, Template:ISBN, pages 97–98
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Bibliography
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Further reading
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External links
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- Template:Internet Archive author
- Bibliography of Madhvacharya's works, Item 751 Script error: No such module "webarchive"., Karl Potter, University of Washington
- "Madhva" article in the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
- Madhvacharya at Encyclopædia Britannica
- A Note on the date of Madhvacharya Script error: No such module "webarchive". by S. Srikanta Sastri
- Sri Yantrodharaka Hanuman Stotram by Sri Vyasa Rajaru
- Discussion on quotations and interpretations by Madhvacharya. https://gosai.com/writings/the-divinity-of-sri-caitanya-mahaprabhu-0
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- Pages with script errors
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- Madhvacharya
- 1238 births
- Dvaita Vedanta
- Dvaitin philosophers
- Hindu philosophers and theologians
- 13th-century Indian philosophers
- 13th-century Hindu philosophers and theologians
- 13th-century Hindu religious leaders
- Indian Vaishnavites
- Indian Hindu spiritual teachers
- Indian Hindu religious leaders
- History of Karnataka
- Vaishnavism
- People from Udupi district
- Bhakti movement
- Tulu academics
- Sanskrit writers
- Vaishnava saints
- Medieval Hindu religious leaders
- Writers from Karnataka
- Hindu saints
- Scholars from Karnataka
- Year of death unknown
- Sanskrit poets