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Madhva was the first proponent of the philosophical school of Dvaita or the dualistic school of Vedanta.
He was born in Karnataka to brahmana parents and after his education took the formal vows of renunciation at the age of twelve.
Throughout his life he travelled throughout the length and breadth of India engaging in various debates with other philosophical schools of thought, especially the school of Advaita Vedanta. Madhva also wrote a number of works expounding Dvaita-Vedanta such as his commentary on the Vedanta-sutras, Rg-bhasya (a commentary on some of the verses of Rg Veda), Visnu-tattva-vinirnaya (an exposition on the supremecy of Visnu), Mayavada-khandana (a work exposing the faults in the Advaita philosophy), Bhagavata-tatparya (a commentary on Srimad Bhagavatam) and Mahabharata-tatparya-nirnaya (a commentary on Mahabharata).
Madhva’s Dvaita philosophy can be summed up thus: there exists two kinds of realities, namely "Independent reality" (svatantra-tattva) or Isvara, and "Dependent reality" (asvatantra-tattva).
In general, Madhva claims that every sound in this entire universe refers only to Isvara and according to him, only Isvara is indepedent in every sense of the word.
Both the Jivas and material nature (prakrti) 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 every way dependent on the source that gets reflected.
Madhva was motivated by his four convictions -
1. A determination to remain true to experience above everything
2. A commitment to sound reasoning
3. A fervent devotion to a personal God that drove all his actions
4. Fearless tenacity in expounding his vision in the most hostile environments.
The Dvaita school belongs to the Realist school of Indian philosophy, in the same category as Sankhya, Nyaya, Vaisesika 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. Further, Madhva explains that jnana or knowledge alone is not sufficient for the release from beginningless avidya (ignorance), since this bondage is sustained by the will of Brahman. Emancipation is only possible by the grace of Isvara.
Dvaita asserts that the difference between the jiva, and Isvara 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 as follows:
- The difference between the jiva and Isvara
- The difference between insentient matter and Isvara
- The difference between various jivas
- The difference between insentient matter and jiva
- The difference between various types of insentient matter
Unlike the Buddhist schools of Yogacara, Madhyamika or the Advaita philosophy of Sankara, Madhva considers that difference is in the very nature of a substance. Hence the name ‘Dvaita’ (duality).
In the philosophy of Madhva all souls are eternal, and are not created by God as in the Semitic religions of the west. The souls are dependent, not generated by Isvara 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. Additionally, Madhva differed significantly from other Vedic schools of philosophy in his concept of eternal damnation. For example, he divides souls into three classes:
- Mukti-yogyas (those that qualify for liberation)
- Nitya-samsarins (thosesubject to eternal rebirth)
- Tamo-yogyas (those condemned to eternal hell)
Since Madhva dictates that souls are not created by Isvara and he propogates the tripartite classification of souls, he 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.
SOURCES:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madhvacharya
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dvaita
http://www.dvaita.org
