Dvaita
Dvaita, a school of Vedanta (the most widespread Hindu theology), founded by Shri Madhvacharya, stresses strict distinction between God (expressed as Vishnu) and souls. 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. Hence, according to
Madhva, souls are not created by God but depend on Him to evolve or
transform.
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 that Brahman 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 , 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 prameya-s. (See references below for more information.)
Five Differences
(The following was apparently cut-and-paste from http://www.dvaita.org, see that site for more information.)
jiiveshvara bhidA chaiva jaDeshvara bhidA tathA |
jiiva-bhedo mithashchaiva jaDa-jiiva-bhidA tathA |
mithashcha jaDa-bhedo.ayam prapaJNcho bheda-pa.nchakaH ||
- paramashruti
"The difference between the jîva (soul) and Îshvara (Creator), and
the difference between jaDa (insentient) and Îshvara; and the
difference between various jîvas, and the difference between jaDa and
jîva; and the difference between various jaDas, these five differences
make up the universe." From the Paramopanishad a.k.a. Parama-shruti, as
quoted by Ananda Tîrtha in his 'VishNu-tattva-vinirNaya'
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 Bhagavad Gita, 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 by God and
classification of the souls, Madhvacharya attempts to answer the problem of evil by seeking a root cause for the variations in quality of karma, good and bad alike.
act of Dvaita Movement
- 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.
External links
Portals relating to Dvaita Philosophy
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