Dvaita in a nutshell

DWAITA VEDANTA IN A NUTSHELL

By

Dr. P. Nagaraja Rao, M. A.. D, Litt.,

" GOKULDHAM "

Maduvan Karai, Sriperumbudur - 602 105.

Sri Madhva's philosophy is realistic, pluralistic and theistic in its Character. In the analysis of the philosophical categories he trails for the n unique path. He does not classify reality into seven categories as the Nyaya School; nor into two as the Sankhya, nor reduce all categories to one Brahma as the Advaitins. He classifies reality into categories

1. Independent real (svatantra) and

2. Dependent Real (asvatantra)

The dividing criterion, of independence is the attribute within whose confines Sri Madhva has packed, tons of wisdom, comprehending all things bind uniquely' elevating Lord Sri Narayana, as the Supreme Para-tattva.

MEANING OF SWATANTRA

Independence means, that the Lord does not derive from others His existence; His knowledge and action (svarupa, pramiti and pravritti)' The dependent reals, rely on Lord for all these three. This classification gives the honoured place, differentiating His status from all, including Lakshmi.

LAKSHMI IN MADHWA SHASTRA

Lakshmi is no doubt Nitya Mukta (ever-liberated and not tainted by sorrow). Though she is Vibhu (all pervasive like the Lord) in space and time, in respects of gunas (attributes), She is far removed from His perfection.

It is the criterion of dependence that enables Madhva to throw all else one side, and the Lord on the other. The attribute Swatantra is astoundingly comprehensive. He is the agent of creation, sustenance, destruction control, knowledge, bondage, ignorance, and release.

HOW THE LORD CONTROLS THE UNIVERSE

Independence enables the Lord to make use of the Anadi Karma and the svarupa of the souls for creation. He is not dependent on the instrument. They are in his command. They cannot function without Him. The Lord can do the impossible but he does not do so. Sri Madhva quotes a verse from the Bhagavata, testifying to the truth (II. 10-12). The dependent Reals are eternal, not in their own right. They are so because the Lord has willed them so.

THE LORD CAN DO, UNDO AND EVEN ALTER THE UNIVERSE

The attribute 'Independence' connotes that the Lord can do, undo and do things otherwise than others, by His powers. Independence makes Him the most important category to be contemplated on by the Depended Reals, for the liberation. It is His Independence that makes Him grant knowledge to the ignorant and moksha to the knowledged and bliss to the liberated (See Anuvyakhyana 1. 5. 15).

AAGAMA THE SUPREME PRAMANA

Sri Madhva relies on scriptures as the supreme authority for establishing the philosophical categories by his system. Logic and reasoning are accepted as aides to scripture-revealed truth. He eschews the use of logic, as an independent and exclusive means for establishing philosophical truths. He conforms closely to the verdict of the Sutrakara (Tarkaa - Pratishtaa - neat ...... II - 1 -12)

If it be said that not withstanding the weak foundations of reasoning things can be inferred otherwise, the Sutrakara Says, In that way too there will be inconclusiveness and the result of non release.'

"api anyathA anumEyam iti cEt, Evamapi avimOkSha prasaMgaath"

Sri Madhva describes inference as Karmacarini.......

Madhva takes entire Veda as Pramana or authority; not portions of it as others do. Vedas including the Brahamanas the Mantras (the ritual portion). He takes the Purana, Itihasas, Mula Ramayana, Mahabharata and Pancaratra also as authoritative. He established the supremacy of Lord Narayana, as the prime-import of all scriptures

SHABDA SAMANVAYA MEANS TO FOCUS PRIMARY IMPORT OF ALL SOUNDS

The Samanvaya, he effects, is marvellously comprehensive and leaves out nothing and does not show any preference to one set of texts over the others . He establishes by his knowledge of the etymology of words that the primary import of all significant words and non-sensible sounds to have for its subject the Lord. He affirms the Harivamsa statement (Parva III. 323.94).

PARAVIDYA

"vEde rAmAyaNE caiva purANe bhArate tatha, Adow ante cha madhye cha viShNuh sarvatra gIyate." He puts up the case for Brahmasutra as the great book and calls it Para Vidya. He holds that the canons of the Brahmasutra determine the meaning of entire scriptures. He looks upon Brahmasutra as the complex of three pramanas Aptamulatva; srutimulatva and yuktimulatva (AnuvyaLhyana; verses) Other Bhasyakaras disagree with the sutrakara and correct him. And yet others regard Vyasa as only a sage and downgrade the omniscience of the Lord. It redounds to the credit of Sri Madhava for according to a unique status privileged position and Aaptatamattva to the Brahmasutra.

BHARATA HAS THREE MEANINGS

SriMadhva accords a unique status to the epic Mahabharata. He holds the epic as speaking primarily about Lord Vishnu's glory. He opines that the epic has three meanings the direct meaning, the secret meaning and the expounding of others' views. He has an epitome on the work called the Mahabharata Tatparya Nirnaya.

BHAGAVATA TATPARYA

He loved the Bhagavata as the great Purana and has given an epitome of it called the 'Bhagavata Tatparya Niraaya'. During his life-time he expounded the Puranas to the admiration of scholars. He fixed the standard text. He was of opinion that those who read the Vedas and leave out the Puranas are really unlearned. The meaning of the vaidika passage is expatiated with the help of the Itihasas and purana; the Vedas themselves look down with disfavour on those who have not read the Puranas. There is nothing in Madva's philosophy to countenance the view held by the modern intellectual highbrow that the Purana and the epics are mere mythology, marking the infant stage of development.

THE CONCEPT OF VISESHA

The Brahmasutras constitute the 'Nirnayaka Sastras' and the other scriptures constitute the Nrinaya Sastra; Another important feature of Sri Madhva's philosophy is his concept of Visesha. Sri Madhva holds that the Lord and his attributes are a unity. The Sastras describe the Lord as the home of infinite suspicious attributes. In order to indicate and show the different attributes in the unitary substance-Brahma, the concept visesa is used. It does the work of difference by distinguishing the different aspects which are inseparable from the objects. Without the concept of visesa, which is self-differentiating and are many, we cannot differentiate the inseparable manifold attributes of the Lord. This concept secures the unity and the presence of the manifold distinguishable and yet inseparable attributes of Lord for us.

PANCHA BHEDA & DHARMI SWARUPA

The concept of difference is the unique relation that obtains between the Lord and souls. Lord and the universe, matter and matter, matter and soul. This is the celebrated doctrine of the Pancha Bheda, true at all times. Difference is the very nature of the object we cognise It is dharmi svarupa. To cognise an object is to know it as difference from other objects. The bheda is dharmi svarupa (the very nature of the object) is also accepted by the Prabhakara School of Mimamsa What distinguishes Madhva's concept of bheda is savisesha abheda and not bare difference. The character of subject does not annul the inseparable attributes that pertain to the object.

MAN IS EVER DUTY-BOUND

On the ethical plane Sri Madhva does not envisage at any stage wherein man can give up his karma i.e. his duties. The contention that the karmas bind us and throw us into the endless cycle of births and deaths is not true of all karmas. Karma when performed as sacrifice and dedicated to the Lord, with no desire for worldly fruits not only does not bind us to Samsara but liberates us. Sri Madhva is opposed to akarma-Vada (do nothingism) and holds that all men must do karma however great and wonderful their powers may be.

On the plane of logic Sri Madhva's conception of the instruments of knowledge and validity represents a radical realist position. He holds to the correspondence doctrine of truth. He accepts three Pramanas and subsumes all other Pramanas in them. He gives a radically realistic conception of errors, establishing Prateeti, for absolute non-existence, His khyativada (theory of error) is called Abhinava Anyathakhyati Vada. He inserts the apauruseya (Authorless) nature of the Vedas

AIKYA NEVER MEANS JIVA-BRAHMA AIKYA

He harmonizes the bheda and the abheda srutis in a perfect way. Wherever there is an expression of Aikya, it has the meaning of oneness of opinion (Eka-Abhipraya) or nearness or gathering together in a single place (Sthana-Aikya) and as belonging to one (Bhava Aikya). Under no circumstance identity of being. He does not down-grade one set of srutis at the cost of other srutis.

SAAKSHI AND JIVA SWARUPA

Sri Madhva's conception of sakshi as the perceiver of the validity of object is unique. It is sakshi that vouchsafes the validity of the three Pramanas. If we do not accept sakshi, we would end up in infinit regress. He has perplexed many a modern by his triadic classification of souls, into saattvika, raajasa and taamasa jivas. These types are the swaroopa of the soul. These are immutable. Their destiny is determined by their nature. The first attain moksa, the second dangle between earth and heaven and hell and the third are damned to eternal perdition. The doctrine of svarupa yogyata helps us to account for the inequalities in human life. Even at the very first birth souls take on to work their Sadhana.

It is no slur on God that he does not change the svarupa of the soul. To change the svarupa totally is to destroy individuality. Change has meaning only against a background of identity. Total change is destruction. There is no limit to the demand the souls make, to attain higher status. They may even demand equal status with the Lord. The classification of souls into three divisions may not be an optimistic doctrine, but it is a faithful picture of human nature without white-washing it.

BIMBA AND PRATI-RIMBA

Sri Madhava's exposition of the relation between Brahman and the individual soul is remarkable in many ways. The Lord is the prototype (Bimba) and the souls are reflections (Pratibimba). The relation is one of complete dependence. Any Movement in the bimba is manifested in the reflections. The reflection has no independent existence. Bimbapratibimbabhava means tad adhInatva i.e. dependence on Him. Reflection needs a medium ( Upadhi ),-in the present instance the medium is not external. It is the very nature of the soul (Svarupa), so it is indestructible. The reflection can become impermanent on three counts

1. The destruction of the medium (Upadhi)

2. The destruction of prototype.

3. The non-proximity of the prototype and the reflection and upadi.

There cannot be destruction for the medium (Upadhi) because it is the very nature of the eternal soul. The Bimba being all pervasive there can be no severance of the prototype from the reflection. Hence the souls are eternal reals and dependent.

KARTRITWA-AGENCY OF THE JIVA

The implications of the doctrine are that the souls are not nearly insentient objects like prakrti. They should exert themselves to work out the way to reach God. Sri Madhva, affirms Jiva-Kartriva-agency of the soul but that agency is given by God. The fruits of the exercise of the agency belong to the soul, not to God. The soul is the enjoyer of the fruits.

WORKS OF SRI MADHWA

Sri Madhva has given us a complete system of philosophy. Besides his commentaries on the Gita, Upanisads, Brahmasutra, Riksamhita, epitome of Mahabharata and Bhagavata, he has set out ten philosophical tracts called prakaranas. Each of them deals with one or other aspect of the system; its logic its ontology, its ethics, Sadacarasmrti, Karmanirnaya (Tattvasankhyana) the laws of debate, Kathalaksana, as exhaustive criticism of the advita system in four prakaranas Upadhi Khandana, Mayavada-Khandana, Nityatvanumana Khandana, Tattvoddyota.

Sri Madhva was a great worshipper and has given us an excellent manuel describing the way we should worship the Lord, install idols, in temples, consecration ceremonies and the way to learn and perform a large number of mantras. This work is called Tantrasara Sangraha.

His Sadacara Smrti gives us in clear details the routine, the religious minded man should adopt during a day.

The doctrine of Bhakti and the glory of the Lord are sung by Sri Madhva in his delightful compilation called KrishNAmriatamahArNava and his own compositions Dvadasa Stotra, set on music and dance.

In his Yatipranavakalpa he has laid down the rules for the assumption of Sanyasasrama and their function and modes of life. Sri Madhva's philosophy is a self complete system with nothing like it before or after, the reason being that Lord Himself directly approved writing and instructed him to spread His name.