Dvaita, a school of Vedanta (the most widespread Hindu theology), founded by Shri Madhvacharya, stresses strict distinction between God (expressed as Vishnu) and souls. Hence, according to Madhva, souls are not created by God but depend on Him to evolve or transform. Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami explains dualism in his book, Dancing with Siva, by stating that in dualism, God is seen as the efficient cause of the universe and not as the material cause in that He is the potter causing the clay (souls) to emerge, rather than serving as the material or instrumental cause (the source of the clay) itself. More details about this are available from B.N.K. Sharma's `The Philosophy of Madhvacharya' (Motilal, 1986).

Dvaita Philosophy

Shri Madhvacharya, like Ramanuja espoused a Vaishnava Theology that understands Brahman as endowed with attributes and as a personal God, Vishnu. By Brahman, he referred to Vishnu, as per his statement thatBrahman can only refer to Vishnu -- brahmashabdashcha vishhNAveva. Madhva states that Vishnu is not just any other deity, but is rather the singular, all-important and supreme one. Vishnu is always the primary object of worship, and all others are regarded as subordinate to Him. The deities and other sentient beings are graded among themselves, with Vayu, the god of Life, being the highest, and Vishnu is eternally above them.

Dvaita, or Dualistic philosophy, also known as Bheda-vâda, Tattva-vâda, and Bimba-pratibimba-vâda, is the doctrine propounded by Ananda Tîrtha (also known as Madhvacharya) that 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 Dvaita doctrine was summarized by Vyasa Tirtha as comprising or prameya-s. (See references below for more information.)

Five Differences

(The following was apparently cut-and-paste from -- see that site for more information.)

• The five are given by:

jiiveshvara bhidA chaiva jaDeshvara bhidA tathA |
jiiva-bhedo mithashchaiva jaDa-jiiva-bhidA tathA |
mithashcha jaDa-bhedo.ayam prapaJNcho bheda-pa.nchakaH ||
- paramashruti

"The difference

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

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.

Souls are not generated from God

In Madhvacharya's beliefs, souls are eternal but 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.

Madhva followers cite authorities such as Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 17, verses 2 et seq. "'There are three types of inclination, which are the self-same natures of the souls, these being satvika, rajasa, and tamasa," Chapter 16, verses 19-20, "These cruel haters, worst among men in the world, I hurl these evil-doers into the wombs of demons only. Entering into demoniacal wombs and deluded, birth after birth, not attaining me, they thus fall, Oh Arjuna, into a condition still lower than that," for their concept of eternal damnation.

By contrast, most Hindus believe that souls will eventually obtain moksha, even after millions of rebirths. Though these views are regarded as uncommon, B.N.K. Sharma notes that others besides Madhva have in the past espoused similar views.

Madhvacharya's theology as an answer to the eternal problem of evil

By following the concepts of souls not being created

Moksha

According to the Dvaitins, liberation from the cycle of births and deaths (Moksha) can only be obtained by Bhakti, or selfless devotional worship to Lord Vishnu, through his grace. Side by side, one's Karma (actions) assigned to him by his varna (caste) should always be followed.

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 strong proponents of the Dvaita tradition. Also, the famous Hindu saint, Raghavendra Swami, was a leading figure in the Dvaita tradition.

• Madhva's theology heavily influenced those of later scholars such as Nimbarka, Vallabha, and Caitanya. B.N.K. Sharma notes that Nimbarka's theology is a loose re-write of Madhva's in its most essential aspects. Vallabha even "borrowed without acknowledgement" a verse from Madhva's `sarva-shAstrArtha-sangraha'. The followers of Caitanya claim a link to Madhva, though such a link is not historically tenable or theologically plausible.

• Madhva's singular contribution was to offer a new insight and analysis of the classical Vedantic texts -- the Vedas, Upanishads, Brahma Sutra, Mahabharata, Pancharatra, and Puranas -- and place uncompromising duality, which had been ravaged by attacks from Advaita, on a firm footing. Before Madhva, Nondualism was rejected by others such as the Mimamsa tradition of Vedic exegesis, and by the Nyaya tradition of classical logic. However, it was only he who could build a cogent alternative system of Vedanta that could take on Advaita in full measure.

Comparison to Mainstream Hinduism

The teachings of Sri Madhvacharya are often contradictory to mainstream belief amongst Hindus. One example is his doctrine of eternal damnation. Generally Hindus believe in the eventual salvation of every soul. As the dates of his life suggest, Madhvacharya was living in an era where India was under the ravages of Islamic Supremacy. Many of the doctrines in the Dvaita traditions resemble those of strict monotheism that is predominant amongst follower of Islam, Christianity and Judaism. It would not seem surprising if his philosophy was heavily influenced by Islam. Some may question whether some of Madhvacharya's teachings can even be considered Hindu due to his criticism of other philosophies within Hinduism and his teachings concerning the worship of Lord Shiva and the supremacy of Lord Vishnu over other deities.

References

• Deepak Sarma, "An Introduction to Madhva Vedanta," Ashgate, 2003.
• B.N.K. Sharma, `The History of the Dvaita School of Vedanta and Its Literature', 3rd ed., Motilal Banarsidass, 2000.
• B.N.K. Sharma, `The Philosophy of Madhvacharya', Motilal Banarsidass, 1986.
• B.N.K. Sharma, `The Brahma Sutras and Their Principal Commentaries', 3 vols., Munshiram Manoharlal, 1986.
• -- see especially section on Madhva at and on the nine tenets of his doctrine, at .
• * Bhakti Schools of Vedanta, by Swami Tapasyananda, available at Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai. available at India web site: and US site: and .

See also

• Advaita, an opposing philosophy that rejects duality
• Category:Madhva religious figures

External links

Dvaita