Madhvacharya (1238-1317) was the chief propounder of the Dvaita or dualistic school of Hindu philosophy, one of the three influential Vedanta philosophies. He was one of the important philosophers during the Bhakti movement. Madhvacharya is believed to be the third incarnation of Vayu, aka MukhyaPrana, after Hanuman and Bhima, despite conflicting ideologies with mainstream Hinduism.

Formative Years

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

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 the infinite, immanent and transcendent Utimate Reality and not the sub-caste.

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.

Five Differences

• 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.

• 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.

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: and US site: and .

Portals relating to Dvaita Philosophy

Madhwa Madhva