Dvaita

Dvaita, an important school in Vedanta, one of the six philosophical systems (darshans) of Indian philosophy. Its founder was Madhva, also called Anandatirtha (c. 1199–1278), who came from the area of modern Karnataka state, where he still has many followers. Already during his lifetime, Madhva was regarded by his followers as an incarnation of the wind god Vayu, who was sent to earth by the god Vishnu to save the good, after the powers of evil had sent the philosopher Shankara, an important proponent of the Advaita (“Nondualist”) school, whose teaching of monism ran counter to Madhva’s.

In his expositions, Madhva shows the influence of the Nyaya philosophical school. He maintains that Vishnu is the supreme God, thus identifying the brahman, or absolute reality, of the Upanishads with a personal god, as Ramanuja (c. 1050–1137) had done before him. There are in Madhva’s system three eternal, ontological orders: that of God, that of soul, and that of inanimate nature. The existence of God is demonstrable by logical proof, though only scripture teaches his nature. He is the epitome of all perfections and possesses a nonmaterial body, which consists of saccidananda (being, spirit, and bliss). God is the efficient cause of the universe, but Madhva denies that he is the material cause, for God cannot have created the world by splitting himself nor in any other way, since that militates against the doctrine that God is unalterable; in addition, it is blasphemous to accept that a perfect God changes himself into an imperfect world.

The individual souls are countless in number and are of atomic proportions. They are a “portion” of God and exist completely by the grace of God; in their actions they are totally subject to God. It is God too that allows the soul, to a limited extent, freedom of action in a way commensurate with one’s past acts (karma).

Ignorance, which for Madhva as for many other Indian philosophers means mistaken knowledge (ajnana), can be removed or corrected by means of devotion (bhakti), the deep mutual emotional attachment between a devotee and a personal god. Devotion can be attained in various ways: by solitary study of the scriptures, by performing one’s duty without self-interest, or by practical acts. That devotion is accompanied by an intuitive insight into God’s nature, or it may be a special kind of knowledge. Bhakti may itself become a goal; the devotee’s adoration of Vishnu is more important than the release (moksha) that ensues from it.

The present-day following of Dvaita has as its centre a monastery at Udipi, in Karnataka state, which was founded by Madhva himself and has continued under an uninterrupted series of abbots.