ANANDATIRTHA - A CD-ROM PROJECT ON SRI MADHVACHARYA PHILOSOPHY OF SRI MADHVACHARYA BY MAHAMAHOPADHYAYA DR. B N K SHARMA The permission of the author Dr. B N K Sharma has been expressly obtained for this reproduction. PHILOSOPHY OF SRI MADHVACHARYA PHILOSOPHY OF SRI MADHVACHARYA BY MAHAMAHOPADHYAYA DR. B N K SHARMA (First published in 1962) Revised Edition in 1986 Dedicated to SRI MADHVACHARYA (Anandatirtha Bhagavatpada) who showed how philosophy can fulfil its purpose and attain its goal by enabling man to realise the eternal and indissoluble bond of Bimba- Pratibimba-bhava that exists between the Infinite and the finite. COPIED FROM Revised Edition Delhi – 1986 MOTILAL BANARSIDASS Bungalow Road, Jawahar Nagar, Delhi 110 007 The permission of the author Dr. B N K Sharma has been expressly obtained for this reproduction 1 PHILOSOPHY OF SRI MADHVACHARYA ABBREVIATIONS AA Aitareya Aranyaka Ait Up Aitareya Upanisad AB Aitareya Brahmana ABMM Akhila Bharata madhva Mahamandala(Udupi) adhi adhikarana AV Anu-Vyakhyana Bhag Bhagavata Purana BORI Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune Brh Up Brhadaranyaka Upanisad BS Brahmasutras BSB Brahmasuthra Bhasya BSPC Brahmasutras and Their principle commentaries BT Bhagavata-Tatparya Chan.Up Chandogya Upanisad Cri.Sur.I.Phil Critical Survey of Indian Philosophy DMS Daivi Mimamsa Sutras Epil Epilogue fn footnote GB Gita Bhasya GBt Gita Bhashya Tika 2 PHILOSOPHY OF SRI MADHVACHARYA GK Gaudapada Karikas GOS Gaekwad Oriental Series GT Gita Tatparya GTt Gita Tatparya Tika HDSV History of Dvaita school of Vedanta and its Literature. I.Phil. Indian Philosophy KN Karma Nirnaya KNt Karma Nirnaya Tika MBSB Madhva:Brahmasutrabhasya MGB Madhva:Gita Bhasya MahNUp Mahanarayana Upanisad MS Manuscript MSS Madhvasiddhantasara Mbh Mahabharata MbhTN Mahabharata Tatparya Nirnaya MVij Madhva Vijaya Man Up Mandukya Upanisad Mith.Kht Mithyathvanumanakhandanatika Mund Up Mundaka Upanisad Nym Nyayamruta 3 PHILOSOPHY OF SRI MADHVACHARYA NS Nyaya Sudha N. S. Press Nirnayasagara Press (Bombay) NV Nyaya Vivarana OL Oriental Library Pan Panini (Sutras) PL Pramana Lakshana PLt Pramana Lakshana Tika PMS Purva Mimamsa Sutras PP Pramana Paddhati RGB Ramanuja: Gita Bhasya RV Rg Veda SBSB Sankara: Brahmasutrabhasya SNR Sannyayaratnavali Svet Up Svetasvatara Upanisad TA Taittiriya Aranyaka TB Taittiriya Brahmana TC Tatparya Candrika TD Tatvapradipa Tg Tarangini Tdy Tattvodyota Tdyt Tattvodyota Tika 4 PHILOSOPHY OF SRI MADHVACHARYA TP Tatvaprakashika Taitt Up Taittiriya Upanisad Tr Translation TS Tatva Sankhyana TSt Tatvasankhyana Tika TT Tarka Tandava TV Tatva Viveka TVt Tatvaviveka Tika Up Upanisad UpKh Upadhi Khandana UpKht Upadhi Khandana Tika VTN Visnu Tattva Nirnaya VTNt Visnutattvanirnaya Tika VS Vaisesikasutras 5 PHILOSOPHY OF SRI MADHVACHARYA contents Pages Abbreviations 2 I. GENERAL INTRODUCTION Chapters I. The Function and Goal of Philosophy 10 II. Madhva's Thought in relation to earlier and 19 Contemporary Schools. III. Madhva's Samanvyaya of Upanisadic Philosophy 32 IV. Madhva's Contribution to Indian Thought 50 II. ONTOLOGY V. Madhva's Ontological Theory 58 VI. Madhva's Ontological Scheme 78 VII. The Concept of Visesas 82 VIII. Madhva's Doctrine of Difference 103 IX. Some Other Categories: Visista, Amsi and sakti 114 X. Sadrsya Vs the Universal 119 XI. Space and Time 124 XII. Causation 132 XIII. Negation 135 III. EPISTEMOLOGY XIV. Theory of Pramanas 139 XV. Perception, Inference and Verbal Testimony 143 6 PHILOSOPHY OF SRI MADHVACHARYA XVI. Status of Memory 152 XVII. Doctrine of Validity 161 XVIII. Doctrine of saksi 171 XIX. Saksi as the Ultimate Criterion of Truth 180 XX. Theories of Error in Indian Thought 189 XXI. Madhva's Theory of Error : Abhinavanya- 206 thakhyati IV. THE WORLD OF EXPERIENCE XXII. Reality of World experience 216 XXIII. Objections to the Reality of the World Answered 224 XXIV. Textual Evidence in Support of the Reality 231 of the World. XXV. The Meaning and Nature of Creation 234 XXVI. Doctrine of "Eternal Creation" Thro 238 "Paradhinavisesapti" XXVII. Madhva's Theory of the Evolution of the World. 250 XXVIII. Critique of Brahma-Parinama and 254 VivartaVadas V. DOCTRINE OF ATMAN XXIX. Essence of Selfhood 271 XXX. Metaphysical Dependence of Souls 277 XXXI. Self-luminosity of Souls 283 XXXII. Madhva's Theory of Bondage: Svabhava- 287 jnanavada 7 PHILOSOPHY OF SRI MADHVACHARYA XXXIII. Plurality of Selves and their 301 Svarupabheda XXXIV. Rational Basis of Intrinsic Gradation 309 Among Souls and Their Tripartite Classification XXXV. Textual Evidence of Intrinsic Gradation of Souls 320 XXXVI. The Souls' Relation to Brahman. 326 VI. DOCTRINE OF BRAHMAN XXXVII. Independence of Brahman 344 XXXVIII. Attributes of Brahman 350 XXXIX. Knowability of Brahman 362 XL. Brahman as a Savisesa Personality 365 XLI. Cosmic Activities of Brahman 372 XLII. Manifestations of Brahman 376 VII. SADHANA-VICARA XLIII. Freedom and Freewill in Madhva's Philosophy 380 XLIV. Problem of Evil in Relation to Ethical Advancement 391 XLV. Classification of Adhikarins 395 XLVI. General Scheme of Sadhanas 397 XLVII. Karma-Yoga and Jnana-Yoga 404 XLVIII. Conception of Bhakti, Its 411 Orders and Kinds XLIX. Dhyana and Its Place 431 L. Pratikopasana 434 8 PHILOSOPHY OF SRI MADHVACHARYA LI. Bimbopasana 439 LII. Place of Grace in Redemption 441 LIII. Aparokshajnana or God-Realisation 450 VIII. DOCTRINE OF MUKTI LIV. Nature of the Released State and Its Stages 458 LV. Critique of the Conception of Moksa in 468 Other schools LVI. Madhva's View of Mukti 473 LVII. Rationale of Ananda-Taratamya in Moksa 481 LVIII. Conclusion 499 Select Bibilography 501 9 PHILOSOPHY OF SRI MADHVACHARYA CHAPTER 1 THE FUNCTION AND GOAL OF PHILOSOPHY THERE are no people who could be impervious to the demands of this world for an explanation of its apparent chaos and contradictions. Only an all-embracing explanation of life, consistent with experience, would satisfy the requirements of reason, man's highest instrument for regulation of life. For this reason, philosophy cannot be a mere exercise of the intellect or a pursuit for sheer aesthetic interest or curiosity. It must have a spiritual raison d'etre and must satisfy man's spiritual need. It must deal with problems which force themselves on our thought and press for a solution viz., what man is, why he is conditioned as he is, what his goal is and how he is to attain it. The question is not, therefore, merely one of philosophy or no philosophy; but one of a good philosophy or a bad one. Every rational being, then, has a philosophy of his own, whether he knows it or not. It is the business of an earnest aspirant to go through the entire process of thought under proper spiritual guidance and find a solution of the problems which vex him. The Sastras are there to guide him on right lines. "From time immemorial, various schools of thought have been flourishing in the world. There can be no total extinction of any system. All the same, Badarayana-Vyasa has taken the trouble in his Brahma-sutras, of refuting the various defective systems, so that the good souls, eligible for Divine grace, may have their doubts cleared, their ignorance destroyed and their knowledge improved by sound reasonings based on the Sruti and attain enlightenment.1" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Cf. ÈE"{<l÷Ò{e|"{i ˙"Dy"{# C"ß"Î"{ <∫ Â"‡˙"{∫|"# $ E" ≤"{i≤™i>l{i&<C|" ÷ÒCÎ"{<Â" C"ß"Î"CÎ"i|Î"|"{i <˙"„"·# $$ 10 PHILOSOPHY OF SRI MADHVACHARYA Philosophy asks for a conceivable unity in place of the confusing multiplicity. But neither a pure abstraction of being nor a mere totality or aggregate of beings can give us a true unity. Some community or reciprocity there must be. "The question is how little would suffice. It seems clear that either each must be connected with all, in at least one way; or that all must be connected with some one. There must be a universal principle directly relating all; or a Supreme Individual to which all are related. The latter would imply the former, insofar as through their common relation to the Supreme One, all would be related though only indirectly, to each other.2" Madhva finds such a principle of unity in the unity of government, sustenance and control of the universe by Brahman. He finds this idea tellingly expressed in the Sruti text: <˙"X"ß"i˙"ilw Â"·Pk"# |"<üX"ß"·Â"¬"”˙"<|" $3 - MahNUp xi.2) "The Supreme Purusa is verily the Universe (all this); for it depends upon Him for its sustenance". The Supreme and Independent Brahman is not so much the cause in time of the dependent realities as the logical and metaphysical explanation of all else that is. Hence the definition of the one independent principle in Madhva's system: C˙"¡ÒÂ"Â"‡<ß"<|"Â"‡˙"D<y"eA"Ó"C"y"{‰" <˙"‹Î"i Â"ª{E"Â"iA"ß"Ø $ (Jayatirtha's Tst) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |"¨"{<Â" U"·’µ"·’”E"{ß"”U"{E"·ˆ"‡∫Î"{i<ˆ"E"{ß"Ø $ C"·Î"·Í|"Î"C|"ß"{i ∫EÎ"·ª{ˆ"ß"{E"·ˆ"|"{# C"l{ $ —<|" <˙"ù{Â"<|"# C"ßÎ"÷ØÒ C"ß"Î"{E"{w <E"ª{÷DÒ<|"ß"Ø $ ≤"÷Ò{ª <E"¬"„"Í|"{E"{w µ"·<’U"{Ó"|˙"<C"’Î"i $$ (Madhva, AV ii.2.1) 2. James Ward : Pluralism and Theism, p.42. An identical view has been propounded by Jayatiratha in his commentary in Madhva's TS. See fn 7 .3. Madhva paraphrases this special reference to the purport of the 'Tat tvam asi' text as |"y"E‰"|˙"{l |"l{|ßÎ"ß"Ø. 11 PHILOSOPHY OF SRI MADHVACHARYA “The independent principle is that which does not depend on any other for its own nature and existence, self-awareness or for becoming an object of knowledge to the selves and for the free and unfettered exercise of its own powers." As Cook Wilson says, "There are certain facts of immediate certainty which can not be doubted or called into question, such as the reality of the external world, the principle of causality, the existence of other minds and of our own selves and God.