Madhvacharya

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**Shri Madhvacharya**
Shri Madhvacharya
Period :	1238 to 1317
Place of Birth :	Pajaka, Udupi
Guru :	Achyuta Prajnya
Names :	Vasudeva, as named by his parents Poornaprajnya (One who knows everything) - named after attaining sainthood Anandateertha (One who brings bliss through his preachings) - named after he succeeded his guru Shri Madhvacharya this name is not given to him by anyone but it comes from the vedas There is a hymn in the vedas called "baLitthaa sookta" where the term "madhva" has been used to refer to "mukhya praaNa"
Avatars:	Hanuman Bhima Madhvaachaarya declares, in his work "Vishnu-tatva-vinirNaya:", that he was the one who took the avatars of Hanuman and Bhima. Significantly,

Madhvacharya (1238-1317) was the chief proponent of Tattvavāda (True Philosophy), popularly known as Dvaita or dualistic school of Hindu philosophy. It is one of the three most influential Vedanta philosophies. Madhva was one of the important philosophers during the Bhakti movement. He was a pioneer in many ways, going against standard conventions and norms. Madhvacharya is believed by his followers to be the third incarnation of Vayu, aka MukhyaPrana, after Hanuman and Bhima.

Formative Years

Shri Madhvacharya was born as Vaasudeva to Madhyageha Bhatta (father) and Vedavati (mother) at Pajaka in Udupi, Karnataka.

Ontology

The basic tenet of Madhva philosophy is the existence of two kinds of realities, namely "Independent reality" (or svatantra tatva) and "Dependent reality" (or asvatantra tatva).

Independent reality (svatantra) - who/which we refer to as "God". 5 generic names are applicable to God (as per shreemad bhaagavata mahaapuraaN). They are "brahman", "para brahman", "aatman", "paramaatman" and "bhagavaan". It is to be noted that by "brahman", aacharya madhva does not mean "chaturmukha brahma". The word "brahman" refers to "brihat" (meaning "big") i.e., the one who/which is the biggest in this universe which, is none other than "God".

In general, aachaarya madhva's important message is that every word, every sound in this entire universe only means God. So, Vishnu, Lakshmi, Brahman, vaayu, Shiva, rudra and all our names, in their inner most sense, refers only to God.

According to Madhva, only Brahman is indepedent in every sense of the word.

Dependent reality (asvatantra) - plurality of Jivas and Prakriti or Nature. Both the Jivas and Nature are dependent on Brahman for their very "being" and "becoming". This dependence is expressed metaphorically as Bimba-pratibimba (source-reflection) relation. The reflection is in everyway dependent on the source that gets reflected.

Madhva's Credo

Madhva was motivated by his four convictions -

A determination to remain true to experience above everything.
A commitment to sound reasoning
A fervent devotion to a personal God (Vishnu) that drove all his actions
Fearless tenacity in expounding his vision in the most hostile environments.

Philosophy of Realism

Dvaita school belongs to the Realist school of Indian philosophy, in the same category as Samkhya, Nyaya, Vaisheshika and Purva mimamsa schools. They believe that the universe is a real creation of Brahman. The plurality of souls are bound by a "real" bondage due to beginning-less ignorance, and sadhana through Vishnu bhakti is the only way to be released from this bondage. Further, Madhva explains that Jnana or knowledge alone is not sufficient for the release from beginningless avidya or ignorance, since this bondage is sustained by the "Will" of Brahman and so needs Vishnu Prasadam to ultimately break the bonds of Māyā.

Five Differences

Dvaita, or Dualistic philosophy (known severally as Bheda-vâda, Tattva-vâda, and Bimba-pratibimba-vâda), asserts that the difference between the individual soul or jîva, and God,(Îshvara or Vishnu), is eternal and real. Actually, this is just one of the five differences that are so stated -- all five differences that constitute the universe are eternal.

The five are given by:

jiiveshvara bheda chaiva jadeshvara bheda tatha |
jiiva-bhedo mithashchaiva jaDa-jiiva-bheda tatha |
mithashcha jada-bhedo.ayam prapajncho bheda-panchakaH ||
- paramashruti

"The difference between the jîva (soul) and Îshvara (Creator), and the difference between jaDa (insentient) and Îshvara; and the difference between various jîvas, and the difference between jaDa and jîva; and the difference between various jaDas, these five differences make up the universe." From the Paramopanishad a.k.a. Parama-shruti, as quoted by Ananda Tîrtha in his 'VishNu-tattva-vinirNaya'.

Another way of saying this is that these five fundamental real differences are between: Selves and Brahman; matter and Brahman; one Self and another Self; matter and Selves; and, matter and matter.

Contrary to the Idealistic schools like Yogacara, Madhyamika buddhism or Advaita, Dvaita maintains that difference is in the very nature of a substance. This is the reason why some refer to the doctrine of Tattvavâda (the preferred name) as 'Dvaita'. However, 'Dvaita' is thought to be inadequately representative of the true grain of Tattvavâda.

The doctrine of Tattvavâda is considered to be eternal (in a flow-like sense, just as Creation is eternal); in historical times, it was revived by Ananda Tîrtha, who is also known as Madhvâchârya. Because of this, followers of Tattvavâda are called Mâdhvas, meaning followers of Madhva.

File:Madhvacharya avatars.jpg

Avatars(as believed) of Shri Madhvacharya. From top (in order of occurrence): Hanuman, Bhima and Shri Madhvacharya

Souls are not created by God.

Madhvacharya has established that souls are eternal, and are not created by God as in the Semitic religions. The souls are dependent, not generated by Vishnu but co-exist with Him eternally, supported by His will and entirely controlled by Him. The souls, however, are dependent on Him in their pristine nature and in all transformation that they may undergo.

Three Classes of Souls and Eternal Damnation

Additionally, Madhvacharya differed significantly from traditional Hindu beliefs in his concept of eternal damnation. For example, he divides souls into three classes, one class which qualify for liberation, Mukti-yogyas, another subject to eternal rebirth or eternally transmigrating due to samsara, Nitya-samsarins, and significantly, a class that is eventually condemned to eternal hell or Andhatamas, known as Tamo-yogyas. Madhvacharaya was the first in the recent years who revived the timeless Vaishnava tradition. There were 21 different Bashayas (commenteries) before SriMadhvacharaya. He is the first to establish the facts of tri-patriate classifcation of souls. By contrast, most Hindus believe that souls will eventually obtain moksha, even after millions of rebirths.

Madhvacharya's Theology as an Answer to the Eternal Problem of Evil

By following the concepts of souls not being created by God and classification of the souls, Madhvacharya provides a lucid answer to the problem of evil by seeking a root cause like the intrinsic nature of the soul itself. Often, evil behaviour displayed in the world might not be just the nature of the soul but also depends upon the timeless actions (Karma) of the soul itself.

Impact of Dvaita Movement

Madhva's Dualistic view, along with Shankara's Advaita or Nondualism and Ramanuja's Qualified Nondualism,or Vishishtadvaita form some core Indian beliefs on the nature of reality.

Madhva is considered to be one of the influential theologians in Hindu history. He revitalized an Hindu monotheism in light of attacks, theological and physical, by foreign invasion. Great leaders of the Vaishnava Bhakti movement, in Karnataka, for example, Purandara Dasa and Kanaka Dasa were part of the Dvaita traditions. Also, the famous Hindu saint, Raghavendra Swami, was a leading figure in the Dvaita tradition.

Madhvacharaya during his time not only established dvaita philosophy, but also displayed extraordinary strength and skills to show that he is the third avatara of Vayu, who came down to earth to help people suffering from delusional philosophies and guide them in the right path. Madhvacharaya at the age of 79, year 1317, disappeared from the eyes of humans and continue to reside in Upper Badari in his continuning service to his eternal master Sri Vedavyasa.

Narayana panditAchar captures Madhvacharaya's life in a beautiful poetic verses in his SuMadhvaVijaya which is in 32 Sarga (chapters), this book is an authentic work composed during his own time. This is a very rare work, there is no evidence of anyone composing works on any major philosopher like this before or after him from other disciplines. SuMadhvaVijaya is a composition which captures life history of MahdvAcharaya.

Religious establishments

The main icon (vigraha) in Udupi of Lord Krishna was established by Madhvacharya. The 8 monasteries (ashta mathas) of Udupi have been following his philosophy since then.

File:Udupi balakrishna.jpg

Icon of Lord Krishna in Udupi installed by Shri Madhvacharya

Comparison to Mainstream Hinduism

The teachings of Sri Madhvacharya were in many ways quite radical for his times. One example is his doctrine of eternal damnation. This idea which is prevalent in Abrahamic religions, is generally not endorsed by most schools of Hindu philosophy. Many Western scholars see this and the importance given to Mukhyaprana - as the mediator to Brahman - as Christian influence. But Dvaita scholars argue that Madhva has derived these concepts from within the Vedic framework. There are many instances in the Upanishads and Gita that support Madhva's position. They also argue that since the knowledge of whether a Jiva is Muktiyogya (liberation-worthy) or Tamoyogya (damnation-worthy) is not accessible to the Jiva himself, this philosophy does not discourage sadhana for anyone.

References

cited from Bhakti Schools of Vedanta, by Swami Tapasyananda, available at Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai. available at India web site: http://www.sriramakrishnamath.org and US site: http://www.vedanta.com and http://www.sanskrit.org/Madhva/madhvateachings.html .

External links

Biographical Articles

Portals relating to Dvaita Philosophy