Dvaita
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Dvaita(Devanagari:द्बैत, Kannada:ದ್ವೈತ) (originally called Tattvavada), a school of Vedanta (the most widespread Hindu philosophy) founded by Shri Madhvacharya, stresses a strict distinction between God (Vishnu) and the individual living beings (jivas). According to Madhva, souls are not 'created' by God but do, nonetheless depend on him for their existence. 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. He is the potter causing the clay to emerge, rather than serving as the source of the clay itself.
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[edit] Dvaita philosophy
Like Ramanuja, Madhvacharya espoused a Vaishnava theology that understands Brahman to be endowed with attributes and a personal God, Vishnu. By Brahman, he referred to Vishnu, as per his statement "brahmashabdashcha vishhnaveva" that Brahman can only refer to Vishnu. 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 nine tenets or prameyas.
[edit] Tharathamya or Hierarchy among Gods
It is in this regard which differentiates dvaita from other hindu movements.
Vishnu is accorded The Supreme status and Mahalakshmi is His eternal consort.Brahma and Vayu come the next level with both on the same level.Their wives (Saraswathi and Bharathi) occupy the next level.Garuda,Sesha,Shiva,Indra,Kama,Surya,Chandra,Varuna,Nala,Vigneshand others occupy the succeedingly lower hierarchy.
Madhwa propounds that the life in the world can be divided into two groups Kshara and Akshara.Kshara refers to life with destructible bodies while Akshara have indestructible body.Laxmi is Akshara while others from Brahma and so on are Ksharas or Jeevas. Vishnu doesnt have a body. So he is exempted from this classification.
[edit] 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 Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. 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.
[edit] Comparison to Mainstream Hinduism
Some teachings of Madhvacharya look different from mainstream Hinduism. One example is his doctrine of eternal damnation. Generally Hindus believe in the eventual salvation of every soul. Many of the doctrines in the Dvaita traditions resemble those of strict monotheism that is predominant amongst followers of Semitic religions. Dvaita provides a greater role to Bhakti than other schools of Vedanta. Followers of Dvaita believe in the supremacy of Vishnu over other deities including Shiva and do not believe in the Hindu concept of Trinity, Trimurti of Brahma-Vishnu-Shiva. Shiva is worshipped as a subordinate god (deva). Though this appears intolerant, it is because of the strong monotheistic belief in a non-Impersonal God unlike Advaita for which the identity of God does not matter as it is Nirguna. Historically, Dvaita scholars have been involved in vigorous debates against other schools of thought, especially Advaita. Whereas Adviata preaches that Atman and Brahman are one and the same,which is not evident to the atman till he comes out of a so-called illusion, Sri Madhvacharya puts forward the truth as Brahman (Vishnu) and Atman (soul) to be eternally different, with God always the most superior one. It is the same point that Madhvacharya reinforces in one of his doctrines ... "Yadi Namaparo Na bhaveth Sri Hari, khathamasya vasheth Jagathedhabhooth. Yadi Namanathasya Vashe Sakalam, Khatamevathu nithya suknham Na Bhaveth"
The translation of the above is :
"If you feel there is no God,how do you explain as to why you cannot free yourself from the limitations on Earth? If you feel YOU are the one in control of everything (as Advaita preaches that Soul and God are one and the same), then how come you don't enjoy happiness always and are also subject to sorrow and pain (as God is supposed to be an eternity of happiness)? "
[edit] Comparison of Dvaita with Christianity
Many scholars have argued the similarities between Dvaita with Christianity.Both have Prophets who are worshipped as "Son Of God" by their followers. Much little has been written about their Lives.
[edit] See also
[edit] 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.
- http://www.dvaita.org -- see especially section on Madhva at http://www.dvaita.org/madhva/ and on the nine tenets of his doctrine, at http://www.dvaita.org/shaastra/prameya.html .
- http://www.dvaita.net
- * 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 .
[edit] External links
[edit] Portals relating to Dvaita Philosophy
- http://www.dvaita.org
- http://www.madhva.net
- Dvaita Questions and Answers
- http://www.tatvavada.org
- http://www.nyayasudha.org
- http://www.vidyapeetha.net
- Hindu response against Buddhism
- Madhva's differences with Sankara and Ramanuja.
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[edit] See also
- Advaita, an opposing philosophy that rejects duality
- Category:Madhva religious figures
