Tatvajnaana

-Compiled by Sri A.R.Ramachandran

Tattvajnana of Sri Madhva

A Study By His Holiness Sri Sri Vishwesha Thirtha Swamiji, Sri Pejavar Mutt, Jag
adguru Sri Madhvacharya Samsthan, Udupi, S.K.

Dharmaprakash Publications, Madras 7, 1971

No Copyrights Related Details Mentioned

Foreword
By
Vidyabhushana, Shastranidhi, Dvaitavedantarasajna Dr.B.N.K.Sharma,
MA., P.hD., D.Litt, UGC Professor of Samskrit, Ruparel College,
Bombay 16.

This summary of one of the contributions of H.H. Sri Sri Vishwesha Tirtha Swamij
i of the Sri Pejavar Mutt, Udupi, published some years ago as part of the Sri Mad
hvamunivijaya in the Mincinaballi publications from Dharwar (1958) is a masterly
survey and an illuminating exposition of the place of Sri Madhvacharya and the p
art played by him in the history of Indian philosophy. It also contains a beauti
ful and very readable exposition of Sri Madhvas principal philosophical tenets.
The matter and manner of the Swamijis exposition are alike impressive. He is know
n for his cogent, reasoned and persuasive presentation of philosophical doctrine
s. The lucidity of his exposition is indeed marvelous. The work shows in a very
able and convincing manner how Sri Madhvacharyas philosophy as a whole represents
that truest and the most complete reaffirmation of the ancient philosophy of th
e Vedas and other source books of Hinduism in its pristine purity freed from the
cobwebs of subsequent misconceptions and misinterpretations of later generation
s. With a keen insight into the highways and byways through which Indias religiou
s and philosophical lore had traversed in the course of its long history from th
e Vedic to the Buddhistic and Post Buddhistic times, Sri Vishwesha Tirtha has sh
own with ease and felicity and in his most disarming way of explaining the contr
adictions and inadequacies of rival interpreters, how Sri Madhvacharya answers t
o the perennial problems of religion and philosophy such as problems of Karma, J
ivaswarupa, relation of matter and souls to God have been arrived at after the m
ost careful and dispassionate examination of all that had been said and could be
said on those problems by various other thinkers.
The method of exposition followed by Sri Vishwesha Tirtha is both generic and ph
ilosophical. It strikes a thoroughly modern and scientific note in its approach
while being uncompromising in its adherence to the advocacy of the truth; it ke
eps a thoroughly unprejudiced mind in its criticism and evaluation of views for
and against various topics examined in the course of its survey.

Every unbiased reader will feel deeply grateful to the Swamiji for his most illu
minating and animated exposition of Sri Madhvas Tattvavada, as the highest expres
sion of Indias philosophical contribution to thought viewed in its proper perspec
tive. Many of our young men and women who feel baffled by the exasperating confl
ict of theories and isms passing under the banner of Hinduism will find here a s
ober and sublime light to guide them in their quest of truth. My friend Shri K.
Raghupathi Rao deserves warmest thanks for the trouble he has taken in giving a
fine rendering in English of the Swamijis valuable writing in Kannada and bringin
g it to the notice of a wider circle of readers. I have no doubt that contents o
f this brochure will secure reverent appreciation from readers from across the s
eas as well as from many earnest men and women in our own country.
28 2 1970

Tattvajnana of Sri Madhva

By His Holiness Sri Sri Vishwesha Thirtha Swamiji, Sri Pejavar Mutt,
Jagadguru Sri Madhvacharya Samsthan, Udupi, South Kanara

Part One

India is the motherland of many religions. Many religions originated here, devel
oped and prospered. Many more coming from outside found in India a ready home. I
n other countries of the world, normally only one religion flourished. Not so in
India where followers of many different faiths live in large numbers. Even in t
he Hindu religion there are various and different concepts and these have grown
up substantially. There are many who say that this difference in approach to rel
igion is indicative of disunity among Indians. This diversion in our mutual bick
ering about religion, has led to the invasion of India by various people during
our long history, as there was no unity in India. Even in the most difficult tim
es, when national unity was of paramount importance, our religious leaders have
failed to rise to the occasion on account of their religious differences. They h
ave been therefore blamed for the subsequent slavery under various invaders. Whe
n the country itself faced foreign invasions, these religious leaders were indul
ging in their own quarrels. This is the general hue and cry raised against our r
eligious leaders and the blame for disunity amongst us is placed at the doors of
our religion.

However, unity in a nation should not be artificial. Forced unity either on the
basis of religion or any other ground indicates incivility and degradation. The
minds of people are not machines to be ordered about. None should stifle the var
ious patterns and new ideas that continuously occur in the minds of people, in t
he name of false unity. This would greatly hamper the vitality of the nation. Th
e calm prevailing in the burial ground and the unity seen in the totalitarian co
untry are not what the people desire. The presence of various religions in our c
ountry is indicative of the freedom to pursue independently the religion which a
ppeals to one most. India alone provided the forum for expressing ones views with

out fear or favour. It also provided safety for those who professed the same rel
igion to work together and live their religion. Their independence in this spher
e was upheld by the Kings. When uni-religion states in other parts of the world
were literally burning men belonging to alien religions, India alone could take
pride in having provided a home for people of all religions. Their kings built t
emples for the Hindus, vihars for Buddhists and so on. When the people belonging
to other religions were persecuted and subjected to all kinds of torture, India
alone gave protection to even those who professed no faith in God and even tota
lly denied His very existence. India guaranteed the independence of every one of
its citizens to search for the truth in his own way and subscribe to the though
t that appeals to him most, as also its propagation without, of course, infringi
ng the rights of others. Owing to this generosity and tolerant approach, hundred
s of religions have made India their home. Therefore, there is nothing that we s
hould be ashamed of in this. In fact, we should admire the broadness of outlook
of our ancestors, who have at all costs maintained the freedom for spiritual enq
uiry.

It might be said that these religious leaders did not take active part in fighti
ng for political freedom in their times. Even this will only be a partial truth.
By their devotion to religious pursuits, they have preserved the culture intact
, in spite of political slavery. They have, by their sacrifices, held intact the
wonderful cultural heritage and thus deserve our gratitude. When many civilizat
ions have lost their entire cultural heritage too with foreign invasions, as in
Egypt, even after many and persistent invasions and slavery for hundreds of year
s if our cultural heritage remains today, we owe it to these religious leaders.
This is no small effort. By their steady manifold activities in the religious fi
elds, they have preserved in the nation, the love for spiritual inquiry even at
the exclusion of material comforts and considering the times they had to face, t
heir work truly assumes great importance. The true religion of India was held in
tact through all these changing and vicious times. They have preserved the flame
of spiritual inquiry pure and glorious, through all the darkness our country ha
d to pass. The services rendered by these religious leaders in upholding the cul
tural heritage of the nation is second to none. Truly, posterity has to be etern
ally grateful to these religious leaders.

Now, we of this generation will have to consider calmly the various faiths that
have evolved and developed both in India and the world. Just because many religi
ons have sprouted, not necessarily all of them are true. We should understand an
d weigh each religion by our scientific inquiry, dedication to truth and unbiase
d approach. Even though all spiritual leaders have set out to find out the truth
and preach that truth, we cannot assume that all of them have found the truth.
If we assume that all of them have preached only the truth, then there is no pla
ce for difference at all that we see today.

Some satisfy themselves saying Truth is not absolute. It has many facets. Each on
e has taken one aspect of the gigantic form of the Truth and explained it in his
own way. That is why we see contradictions. All that every one of them has said
is Truth. But they have said about various facets of Truth. That is the reason
why we see differences in various faiths. Therefore, the inquiry as to which rel
igion one has to follow is not necessary. We will arrive at the Truth by followi
ng any of the many religions One can easily see through the fallacy of such a fal
se satisfaction.

By following such a course, we may explain many wonderful aspects of the Truth.
But we cannot reconcile contradictory statements about the basis of Truth. One m
ay have many limbs of various forms and shapes. One may have sense of varied str
ength and nature. One may describe one part and another some other part. Both ma
y be the truth to such an extent only. But if one says that a thing exists and a
nother contradicts it, both cannot be then true, at the same time. When we have
such mutually contradictory statements about the world, soul, God their nature a
nd qualities, professed by various religious leaders, if we say that all of them
are true statements, that will only be travesty of truth. If we say that the st
atements made on the various aspects of a thing are true, we can understand that
. We can also understand many wonderful aspects explained about a thing, but not
mutual contradictions. We cannot also understand the statements of two religion
s, one saying a thing exists and another other denying that very existence. We c
an, for example, accept as truth two persons eating different parts of a mango f
ruit explaining the parts tasted by them as sweet or as sour, but we cannot acce
pt as truth of the statements made by them, one saying that it is part of mango
and the other denying it to be the part of mango simultaneously.

Thus, even if we do not accept as the truth of all statements made by various re
ligious leaders, in their pursuit of truth, they certainly deserve our reverence
as seekers after truth. Similarly, even when we know that scientific discoverie
s made by earlier scientists have been proved wrong by subsequent discoveries, w
e give them the respect due for their pursuit of knowledge to uncover the myster
ies of nature. We do not for instance blindly follow all that they say. We subje
ct their findings to the touchstone of the truth as we know, weigh and then foll
ow. We reject what we have after close scrutiny consider as false. Our desire is
that every aspirant should bring in this broad outlook and desire for truth in
the field of spiritual inquiry also, so that each one could weigh for himself, s
ift the truth and then follow that truth with conviction. If we proceed on the b
asis of accepting as truth all the statements made by all the religious leaders,
we would soon find ourselves in doubts and our progress in the spiritual pursui
t will be at stand still. While we should have reverence for all the religious l
eaders as seekers of truth, we should with unbiased approach, weigh the teaching
s of all the leaders and ascertain for ourselves as to which of them are true an
d which of them false. We should see as to where the truth lies, by bringing in
our unbiased faculties to judge the interpretations offered by various leaders.
We shall accept only that which is finally passed by our scrutiny and judgment f
or our subsequent pursuit. Only this kind of scientific approach will help our p
eople to pursue the spiritual inquiry which will contribute to our spiritual evo
lution. In such an approach to spiritual inquiry, there is no place for mutual r
ancor, hatred and other anti feelings.
Our aim is the search for truth. We examine all that others have said in this ma
tter. We select for ourselves what is passed by our unbiased judgment. In the li
ght of the approach enunciated above, it is necessary now to scrutinize the tene
ts of various systems of philosophy, trying to explain to us the meaning of this
world, our life here and hereafter.

Part Two

The eternal Vedic religion flowed continuously for many years on end until the a
rrival of Buddhism in India. Buddhism sought to cut at the roots of Vedic religi
on and create doubts in the minds of its followers. To this day these doubts per

sist. Many forms of Vedic religion have absorbed tenets of various religions tha
t have subsequently come up, in their daily practice. There are many changes tha
t have taken place owing to this challenge from other religions. Hindu religion
today is not what it was prior to the influence and the subsequent impact of oth
er religions on it. Even the ritual forms have changed considerably. Thus, the i
nfluence of Buddhism on Hinduism is both considerable and far reaching. Great re
ligious leaders like Sri Kumarila Bhatta and other tried to resurrect the Vedic
religion. We can see the influence of Buddhism on him in that he too established
a godless Vedic religion. Even the religion sponsored by Sri Bhatta which accep
ts the validity of Vedas and rituals as per the Vedas, denies the existence of G
od. This clearly shows the enormous influence that Buddhism had on its founder.

Sri Sankaracharya too tried to establish Vedic religion against Buddhism. But th
e influence of Buddhism was so great that he too could not get out of its clutch
es. Sri Sankaracharyas Advaita is full of tenets of Buddhism. He was thus unable
to resurrect the Vedic religion to its pristine purity. He utilized the various
tenets of Buddhism and presented them in the garb of Vedic religion. This has be
en the complaint of many against him from his times. Even though this was a mixt
ure of Buddhism and the old Hinduism, the credit of turning the tide in favour o
f Vedic religion goes to him. Hindus again began to look to Vedas as sources of
knowledge. To this extent all followers of Vedic religion ought to be grateful t
o Sri Sankaracharya. The exemplary dialectical skill displayed by Sri Sankaracha
rya even at that early age and winning over allegiance of the Hindu masses for V
edic religion is a glorious chapter in religious renaissance. In his time there
was opposition to Buddhism from Sri Kumarila Bhattas Vedic religion without the G
odhead. Sri Sankaracharya entered the arena at this time and taking the acceptab
le tenets from Bhattas Vedic religion and from Buddhism, placed before the people
a mixed religion based on Vedas and Buddhism. He enriched this with his own sty
le of debating skill and explanatory ability. The result of this was that both B
hatta school of Vedic religion as well as Buddhism lost their placed in the hear
ts of people. This is a great achievement by any standards. Thus, Sri Sankaras Ve
dic religion came to be known as Bhattas Vedic Religion in practice. Even Vinobhaji
has pointed out the similarities of approach between Buddhism and Advaita. Thus
, Sri Sankara in the act of opposing Buddhism became its own victim, in that he
accepted its major tenets in his exposition of Vedic Religion.

The message of Buddhism as well as Advaita to the world is that the visible worl
d is only an illusion and is the representation of untruth. At the root of all t
his is only one principle which has no quality or no form. We have to now see ho
w far this represents the Vedic religion as well as how far it stands to reason
and scrutiny with respect to sacred texts. Even though the world is transitory a
nd not permanent and there are instances for illusion, the scientific world of k
nowledge of today is not prepared to accept the world as illusion in the sense p
ropounded by Buddhism or Advaita. There is established order in the various thin
gs that we see in this world. All the wonderful aspects of the world follow some
set pattern for their continuing activity and the scientific investigations con
ducted so far clearly prove that the world is no illusion, but is as real as any
thing that can be. It is not as though the activities in this world take place a
s in the fictions of the Arabian Nights.

What is not applicable in practice is well nigh useless. They cannot attract nor
hold the allegiance of reasonable people. Aims that are contrary to experience
and aims that are incapable of accomplishment can safely be assigned to the arch
ives. No well intentioned and reasonable person who pursues truth can be attract

ed to these. Advaita reveals these qualities in plenty. Its tenets are incapable
of application to the world of experience. Advaita which has for its base the V
edas, gives prominence to devotion and rituals prescribed in the Vedas and Puran
as. In the day to day world of experience, enough importance is given to worship
of the deity, devotion, rituals and other aspects of a Truth seekers life. But w
hat connection is there to the final aim of acceptance of Truth and to these day
to day practices? To say the least, the life of devotion and rituals is just a
show and the truth seeker would naturally look down upon these practices as mere
exercises in futility. If the Supreme God of auspicious qualities is a mere con
ception with no qualities and no form, what necessity is there to give Him form
and offer worship to Him in our day to day lives? Why should we again create in
ourselves artificial devotion to such a God? If we suggest to ourselves that thi
s world is an illusion , that it is like seeing silver in the shell or like seei
ng the blue colour in the sky, and then artificially ask ourselves to offer devo
tion and worship, is it not height of imposture? Can any devoted heart find fulf
illment is such an artificial approach to God? By performing acts of devotion to
which we know for certain to be illusion, we not only fool ourselves, but also
subject ourselves not to our spiritual progress but to its degradation. Thus a p
hilosophy which has no connection between its ultimate aim and actual practice c
an do no good to its followers. If out of blind belief there is a surge of rever
ence towards Advaita, a true seeker of Truth would straight away reject it as on
e with no aim, no purpose and incapable of practices in life. Therefore this phi
losophy is one which has no connection to our day to day life in this world and
to such values which we value most in our lives such as devotion to God, perform
ance of ones own allotted duty in life, faith in attaining good qualities, good c
onduct, as all these are applicable only to this illusory world of our imaginati
on. What will be the consequence of such an approach to philosophy? One does not
have to explain these things further. Suffice it to say that we are in need of
a philosophy the aim of is capable of being implemented in this world of our day
to day life and which has tenets capable of being practiced. Also where there i
s no contradiction between the aim and the practice.

Further according to Buddhism and Advaita tenets, the creation of the world is p
urposeless. Also it is incapable of explaining how the world came to be created.
If we can understand for example that a real thing of no qualities, cannot unde
rgo any change or transformation and added to it that it cannot have any influen
ce over any other thing and without the influence of any external agency cannot
create anything, we cannot certainly understand how a thing of no qualities can
create the world. How did the soul for example get the inclination for multiplic
ity originally? How is it again that this wonderful universe get superimposed on
the soul? These remain questions without answers to this day. According to Adva
ita the following example is given to explain the origin of the world. Even thou
gh there is only one lamp, if it is surrounded by hundreds of reflecting mirrors
, the lamp being reflected in these appears as many lamps. Similarly one reality
appears as many in this world. But this is not conclusive. For the lamps to app
ear as many there are hundreds of real mirrors. But in Advaita there is no secon
d principle to reflect the one real. This quality less one real has no second re
al principle to make it appear as many in this world of illusion. This is the st
umbling block which Advaita fails to answer. There are others who explain this a
s the semblance of Maya on the pure Consciousness. But there is no separate exis
tence to Maya apart from the pure consciousness. Then the question comes as to h
ow did the first impression of Maya occur to this pure Consciousness? It is not
possible to accept one reality at the exclusion of all others and then establish
the creation of the world. Thus the pure Consciousness without any quality what
soever, without any external influence whatsoever, and without any purpose whats
oever, cannot be concluded to appear as the Universe. This explanation of the or
igin of the Universe will not appeal even to a lay man. How will it then stand t
he scrutiny of the men of Science with all the knowledge of science that they ha

ve mastered today? Therefore from the concepts of Buddhism and Advaita, even an
ordinary citizen of the world cannot get satisfactory answer to the origin of th
e world. The Seeker of Truth has necessarily to look else where for the answer t
o such investigation.

Now let us turn to philosophies which accept the reality of the Universe as well
as its creator. These tell us that God Himself became the world, out of His cre
ative power. World is the transformation of God. Souls are particles of God. Sep
arated from Him by ignorance, they are yet his parts. The God Himself descends t
o imperfection and becomes the soul. Since God Himself out of His desire changed
Himself to the world, the world too is real. The particles of God which have se
parated from God and have become the souls become united again in God ultimately
. Sri Bhaskaracharya, Sri Vallabhacharya and recently Sri Arobindo Ghosh follow
this concept and have propounded their theories on this basis.

The Truth seeker cannot get satisfaction even from this explanation. If God Hims
elf transforms into the world, then what is the purpose of such creation? In Adv
aita, the world is taken an illusion covering the pure consciousness due to the
action of Maya. Since it is only an illusion, even if an explanation for the cre
ation of the world does not come forth, no great harm is done. But in this, the
complete God, out of His own free will transforms Himself into the world and at
the same time gives rise to innumerable particles of Himself, which become the s
ouls, clouded in ignorance and trying to get to Godhead? What is the necessity f
or all this? Is it the pleasure of God to descend into ignorance and suffer the
trials of the world and experience all the sorrow? Further if God had descended
to become the souls, all the souls just become actors of a drama, no more. So no
effort is called for getting liberation, not is it called for to undergo privat
ion and exclusion of all material comforts for the sake of such liberation. Thes
e worldly practices become meaningless exercise exercises in futility. The creat
ion becomes purposeless, the Gods leela becomes the experience of anguish, the ri
tuals mere stage play and no truth seeker will willingly undergo such hard ship,
for he is God Himself.

If we say that the particles divorced from God, do not find fulfillment unless t
hey again become one with God, and if this thought for fulfillment drives them t
hrough various efforts towards reaching God, then we have to give up the idea th
at God Himself descended to become the World. Further if a complete object desce
nds to become incomplete, we have to assume only that this object was never real
ly complete and so it ceases to be God! And if a change in god is to occur, then
surely there must be some other power, greater than that God. Then again God ce
ase to be Supreme. So this concept of God descending to become the world and His
particles descending to become the souls, completely destroys the supremacy of
God as well as makes Him subject to change by some other superior force. And sin
ce this school also accepts no other agency other than god, there is no other fo
rce that could bring about the necessary change of God into world or the souls.
Thus this concept of Gold becoming the world, as well as becoming particles to b
ecome souls both seem to be impossible of occurrence and there are lot of contra
diction as shown above.

Further, saying that the finite, bound, incomplete, suffering all sorrows, souls
as parts of God, is a total rejection of God as complete in all aspects.

Purnamidah purnamidam purnatpurnamaducyate

purnasya purnamadaya purnamevavasishyate

Thus, if a part of the complete is incomplete and with blemishes, then that orig
inal complete form cannot be termed as complete. We see many qualities in the wo
rld, which did not have for their origin in the God - passion, hatred, sorrow, i
gnorance and many other such qualities which we see in the souls and the materia
l objects are not accepted qualities of God. The qualities that we see in the wo
rld are different from those of God and in fact are the very opposites of those
we see in God. So how can anyone accept that this world is the transformation of
God? How did the qualities which were not in God get mixed up in the world? Why
should there be so much sorrow in this world which is the transformation of God
? There are no answers for such questions.

Similar question also arise if we examine the tenets of Christianity and Islam.
These religions too accept God as the store house of all auspicious qualities an
d that He is different from the world. But they explain the origin of the world
in the most crude and unscientific way. They do not say for example that god tra
nsformed Himself into this world. But they say that God by His will, without any
material created the world from nothing. From a scientific view this seems impo
ssible. Without a primordial matter, this world with all its wonderful things co
uld not be created as if from a magicians bag. It cannot also for example be acce
pted that there was nothing else besides God, prior to Creation. In fact the cau
se for rejection of the pursuit of spiritual knowledge in scientifically advance
d countries is the supply of such half truths incapable of standing scientific s
crutiny. Even though Christianity and Islam accept the reality of the world, the
supremacy of God and God as the storehouse of all auspicious qualities and all
other such concepts which are useful to a practical life in this world, they are
not supported by scientific examination of the concepts, nor are they scrutiniz
ed by logical challenges and so they have to give place sooner than now before t
he scientifically inquisitive world opinion. Their main support has throughout b
een from blind faith or forced faith and not conviction. They are incapable of c
onvincing the modern educated and well informed youth. Instead of saying that Go
d created this world from nothing, it may be preferable to say that this world i
s only an illusion and not real as the Advaita says. This may have greater appea
l. Whatever the final truth, that these religions have accepted that the souls a
re the servants of God and God is the master of the world is an advance over the
earlier concept that god alone exists and that every thing else is illusion. Th
ese religions have also gone a step further and have given credence to such usef
ul qualities in life such as devotion to God, devotion to duty and other qualiti
es which are useful in day today life. In these respects they are nearer to trut
h and so they demand our respect to that extent.

Still the question remains, for example what is the purpose of the creation of t
he world? Why should there be the world? Why is it this way, and not in any othe
r way? These questions still remain unanswered. Why did the supreme god suddenly
decide to create this material world as well as the souls? Why did He not remai
n in full satisfaction in His own state of completeness and supreme happiness? W
hy did He have to experience the misery of worldly existence? Why should He crea
te the souls and then ask them to pursue the life of worldly existence with all
its bondage and misery? Why should He again make arrangements for their bondage,

order, liberation and so on? Just as before creation, God could have remained a
bsolutely contented in his own existence, without the trouble of creation the ma
tter and souls and then go after them correcting them? Why should there be diffe
rence between individuals in a world created by God and where the souls are also
created by Him? Why should God take pleasure in subjecting the souls created by
Him to all sorts of misery in this world? Why did God provide this world with a
ll miseries and make it the place of residence for the souls created by him? Why
did He not create a place full of happiness for the souls created by Him? In th
e creation of the souls, why did he not make them all alike or uniform, but show
difference in the various souls? Can we accept that the God who created such a
confusing and contradicting world as all powerful, complete, full of auspicious
qualities and benevolent? This miserable world in fact goes against the acceptan
ce of the existence of God Himself? These and similar question still remain unan
swered by the religions covered so far. For these religions have taken place in
the concepts of people and have not been subjected to the tests of the seeker af
ter truth. They therefore will have to have way to greater religions.

Sri Ramanuja, the founder of Srivaishnaism has gone further than those so far en
umerated. He has accepted the reality of the world, the reality of the souls and
their independent existence apart from God. He has also given great importance
to souls devotion to God and thereby made the life of the soul meaningful and rec
ipient of good qualities. He has accepted that the primordial matter prakrti as
eternal. He has placed the primordial matter, the souls and the world as the bod
y of the god. But he was also unable to get across the cross currents of spiritu
al atmosphere of his times and so has taken the language of Advaita to cover the
concepts he has in his mind. He has not rejected outright the concepts of Bhask
ara and Sankara that God is both the material and immediate cause but has clothe
d the same concept in a different way, at the same time accepting the reality of
the world. This only shows how difficult it was for him to go beyond the concep
t of Advaita. However credit is due to him for re-establishing the Vedic religio
n on the devotional platform with the acceptance of the Supremacy of God, the re
ality of the world and soul. When we can visualize how difficult it was to swim
against the prevailing currents of the times, it is natural for us to bow our he
ads in reverence to the enormous work done by him for the resurrection of the Ve
dic religion. We can certainly say this much that Sri Ramanujas exposition of the
Vedic religion is nearest to Truth among the religions so far covered.

Still the question remains as to why God created the world this way and no other
way? According to the tenets of Vishistadvaita, even though the souls are etern
al and uncreated by God, they were alike and of same essence at the beginning. T
hen how did the difference that we see in the world come about? Beginning with t
he same faculties and essences why did not God make them all similarly happy, an
d all of good qualities only? Why did he make each one different from another? T
hese questions still remain. If in the world we find qualities endowed in the so
uls that are not originally in it, when we have to assume that these have been e
ndowed on it by god. Why should the all merciful equi-disposed, benevolent God e
ndow some souls with good qualities and some others with wicked qualities, that
too without any reason? This militates against the concept of the Supremacy and
completeness in God. To day the question asked by the materialists is also the s
ame. If there were a God, all supreme and all merciful, then why did He create a
world of difference and with varied endowments? The same question has to be ans
wered by any philosophy which has to claim that it has the truth to preach. If a
s in Advaita, we way that Karma is responsible for variation in attainments, the
n as all souls have stated from the same point, why should each soul have a diff
erent attainment? Why should there be different Karma for different souls? If, a
s Sri Ramanuja says, all souls have same attribute in essence at the start, then

why this difference? This forms the hot iron pill, which the various religions
so far covered are unable to swallow. The materialists and the Atheists put the
same question in different forms and make the believers in God answerless.

The Saiva Tattvajnana which accepts the reality of the world also accepts that t
he soul and Siva are identical. Then how and why did Siva descend to the form of
incomplete soul in this world? What is the purpose of this creation which shows
a difference between Siva and the soul? To start with as there was only Siva or
one Atma, how did the difference crop up in this world? Is it possible that the
re is some other more powerful agency which is capable of inflicting real sorrow
and bondage on even Siva? Similar questions stare in the face of the protagonis
ts of this view.

Thus when we subject each one of the religions so far enumerated with unbiased i
nquisitiveness, though we come across many favourable and impressive tenets, our
questions remain unanswered. We do not find the answers for the most glaring qu
estions of inequity that we see in this world. We do not for example also get a
balanced and convincing answer for the relationship between God and the world, t
he relation between our life in this world and our pursuit of spiritual knowledg
e and similar quest remain unexplored. To that extent these religions too remain
away from the ultimate truth. The thirst of the Seeker after Truth is not satia
ted. He is not prepared to proceed with conviction in the pursuit of spiritual k
nowledge with such doubts remaining unanswered.

As we see the many short comings in the approaches made by the religions so far
enumerated, it is reasonable to assume that Truth will not be revealed by follow
ing these paths. We want a philosophy which will not only answer all our doubt n
ot cleared by those so far referred, but such a religion should also be what is
sanctioned by authority. This religion should also be capable of being practiced
in life, useful in this world as well as capable of being interpreted scientifi
cally. This we can clearly see from a dispassionate consideration of the writing
s of the religious leaders so far referred and the writings Sri Madhvacharya. No
true student of unbiased disposition will fail to perceive the truth explained
by Sri Madhva. The Vedic religion which lost its pristine purity by the influenc
e of Buddhism, went through various changes during the years that rolled by sinc
e and found again a clear exposition only in the writings of Sri Madhva. It was
given to Sri Madhva to again establish the supremacy of Vedic Religion. He has c
learly answered every question that a true aspirant will come across in his purs
uit of spiritual knowledge for the ultimate goal of life, a life of liberation f
rom the bondage and true happiness.

Part Three
According to Sri Madhvas philosophy, Sri Narayana is supreme. He is the store hou
se of all auspicious qualities in their fullness. He is without any blemish what
soever. Prakrti or Nature, soul and material world are all real and are at all t
imes different from Him and are subject to His control. All activities take plac
e only at His instance. He is always independent. Starting from Goddess Lakshmi
and through all the gods and souls, there are different and graded souls. The gr
aduation does not melt away even in liberation.

Aseshagunapurnatvam servadosha samujjhitih

Vishnoranyacca tattantramiti samyag vinirnayah
Svatantratvam sada tasya tasya bhedasca sarvatah
Muktanamapi bhedasca
Nirdoshatva ramayasca tadanantarata tatha
Brahma saraswati vindra sesharudrasca tatstriyah
Sakra kamau tadanyeca kramat mukta vapitica
Satsiddhanta iti jneyo nirnito harina svayam

This knowledge of the right philosophy has originated from God Himself, says Sri
Madhva. In this philosophy, all the questions so far remaining unanswered are a
nswered.

According to this philosophy, God has created the world for the realization of t
he intrinsic nature of the souls by themselves. This creation of the world is a
great act of mercy on the souls by God. It is also His pleasure. The souls putti
ng forth their best efforts towards liberation find true nature of their souls a
nd are able to realize their intrinsic nature, which is their liberation and ful
fillment. God has taken upon Himself to create this world to provide the field o
f action for the souls to evolve themselves to attain the true knowledge of thei
r intrinsic worth. This is the greatest mercy that God could confer on the soul.

Jiva evatu dukhinah tesham dukhapraharanaya srutirescha pravartate

The scriptures carrying the message of the God also have come into being for the
removal of the sorrow of the souls. God, who is not subjected to any order, bin
ding or bidding, who is complete and full of happiness always, has willingly tak
en upon Himself, out of His compassion, to create the world so that the unlibera
ted souls may work up their salvation and attain to eternal bliss.

Strakshyehi cetanaganan sukhadukha Madhya smpratpaye tanubhrt svabhava sambhutaye

(Tatparya Nirnaya)

For the God, Who is Happiness incarnate, this act of creation is not tiring in t
he least. In fact, it is His pleasure and sport.

Soyam Vihara ihame Tatparya Nirnaya

Thus, creation is both purposeful and sport of the Supreme Lord. This creation b
y God is no illusion but real. Therefore, in this world, which is the field of a
ction for the soul, the soul by doing good actions and dedicating itself to such
noble qualities as truth, compassion, renunciation, helping others, non violenc
e, being free from hatred, it is able to elevate itself and at the same time sup
port goodness in the world. By performing all actions as service to God, with no
fruits of action in view, it is able to purify itself and at the same time, ele
vate itself step by step. This step leads for pure disposition, in which it is a
ble to contemplate and dedicate itself to the higher aspirations of life and liv
e a life of devotion to God. As it elevates itself, it is able to realize its tr
ue relationship with God Bimba Pratibimba bhava or eternal metaphysical dependen
ce of the soul on God. The soul is then able to realize the nature of God with r
espect to itself and by His grace attain svarupananda eternal bliss due to reali
zation of the true nature of itself and its relation to God. Thus, the ultimate
goal of the soul, the relationship between soul and God, and the practical life
of good conduct, right living in this world do not contradict each other. In as
much as the world is real, the activities that have to be undertaken in this wor
ld need not be neglected as unconnected with the ultimate aim, as in Advaita. In
this philosophy, the field of action has not been thrown into the field of igno
rance. It has been established in the field of truth and with the background of
knowledge. Action or performance of ones duty has not been relegated to the field
of ignorance or as something which need not be seriously performed. Performance
of ones duty has been prescribed as the action to be performed by an aspirant de
siring to work up for liberation. Service to society has been given a pride of p
lace in the scheme of action prescribed for those who aspire to work for liberat
ion.

Nanajanasya susrusha karmakhya karavanmiteh Gita Tatparya

Thus, the service to society and fellow beings has not been left as an option, b
ut is made conditional for the aspirant in his way towards liberation. No other
religious teacher has given so much prominence to social service as Sri Madhva h
as done. Thus, the vitality of life of the Vedic religion which was lost due to
the onslaught of Buddhism, has been restored to its pristine purity by Sri Madhv
a, by upholding as must the life of Bhakti Yoga and Karma Yoga. We are made agai
n to live and learn a practical philosophy which is useful both to this life and
the life after. Sri Madhva by establishing the difference in souls and the real
ity of the world was able to show purpose for Gods creation and its necessity, al
so giving at the same time the due importance of various sadhanas, with proper b
ackground for the souls evolution in this world.

God did not transform Himself into the world nor did He create the world without
any primordial substances, so to say from nothing. This has been conclusively e
stablished by Sri Madhva. God is the Lord of the world. Prakriti is the primordi
al matter from which this world is created. God entered the subtle form of matte
r and by His activating power, created the world which we see. There is nothing
unscientific or improbable in this creation. In even the minutest of particles s
cientists have discovered a motive force. God by His infinite power is able to e
nter into the minutest of particles of primordial matter, which is the material
out of which this world is created. This primordial matter has not been created
by God and is eternal. With the activitization by the entry of God, the primordi
al matter takes the shape of the physical world. Thus creation has been cogently

explained by Sri Madhva.

The differences that we see in this life also have been properly explained.This
philosophy does not accept that souls have been created by God as in Christianit
y and Islam. If God had created the souls, why did He not create them alike or w
ith the same attributes or intrinsic values? What is the purpose of creation of
souls? And many other similar objections arise. So, Sri Madhva accepts that soul
s are eternal and uncreated by God. They are subject to the control of God. The
nature and intrinsic essence of each soul is its own particular specialty, unsha
red with any other. They also exist in it eternally. Just as the flame and its e
ffulgence are inseparable, so also is the soul and its intrinsic essence. These
intrinsic essences and their nature are different for each soul and no two souls
have identical attributes. These form the guidelines for the lives that they li
ve in this world. By following this intrinsic nature of the souls, they experien
ce happiness and sorrow in this life. God provides the field for the development
and display of these intrinsic attributes and so is not partial to any. Each so
ul works up its way according to its nature and God provides the field and surro
undings for its fulfillment. He is indifferent to the variations in the nature o
f souls. Even though God is the moving principle behind all actions, He is not r
esponsible for the variations in the nature of souls, which are eternal. The cau
se for the differences that we see is the variation in nature of the individual
souls and their subsequent achievements in their respective progress towards the
ir self fulfillment. Sri Madhva has thus clearly shown the most knotty problem o
f philosophy and explained clearly the Vedantic explanation for the differences
in the world of action. Then the question may arise as to what is the function o
f God in this creation? If each soul works out according to its intrinsic nature
, then what necessity is there for God? This would be a natural question. The ex
planation offered is as follows: Even though the nature and intrinsic essence is
fixed, their fulfillment depends on the entry and motivation by God. If there i
s no God, all these souls will become immobile. Therefore, even though God is no
t responsible directly for the wonder of creation, it cannot go on without Him.
Therefore, here is the absolute necessity of God for the continuous work of crea
tion of the world and all its activities.
We thus see that Sri Madhvas philosophy answers all the questions encountered by
the spiritual aspirant. For all the questions remaining unanswered in other reli
gions, there are satisfying answers in Sri Madhvas philosophy. This philosophy ha
s been built upon pure logic, scientifically and with great care. But one should
not imagine that Sri Madhva has taken whatever is attractive or convenient and
has built his system with a view to make it attractive. Indeed, he has only assi
duously sifted the Vedic religion from the confusion to which it has been subjec
ted by religious leaders since the onslaught of Buddhism. He has not added one n
ew concept which is not there already in Vedic religion. He has only removed mis
interpretations and proved from the thoughts that flow through the fountain head
s of source books, the correct knowledge. He has not interpreted Vedas as he ple
ased. Wherever there was a genuine difficulty in the correct interpretation of t
he Vedas and the Upanishads, he never deviated from the source books for correct
interpretation and scrupulously avoided the coloured versions of the earlier co
mmentators, who were more or less influenced by the impact of Buddhism on the Ve
dic religion. Thus, the credit for resurrecting the Vedic religion to its pristi
ne purity should go clearly to Sri Madhva. By quoting at each step from the sacr
ed literature, Sri Madhva has completely kept himself in the background in inter
preting the sacred literature. He just made the meaning of the sacred literature
clear from the quotations culled out from the sacred literature itself, so that
personal colouring was scrupulously avoided. He was known to have carefully col
lected various copies of source books from all over the country and established
a huge moving library, which was the target of attack of his contemporaries. Sri
Appaya Dikshita has made a baseless attack on Sri Madhva with regard to the sou

rce books referred. But none during the time of Sri Madhva, not even his most cr
itical opponent Sri Trivikrama Pandita has leveled this charge against Sri Madhv
a. Time intervening between the time of Sri Madhva and that of Sri Appayya Diksh
ita could have rendered the copies of books referred to by Sri Madhva inaccessib
le. Contemporaries of Sri Madhva were satisfied with the source books referred t
o by him and it is worthy to note that none of them leveled this baseless charge
. Had Sri Madhva been unable to show the source books in his time, there would h
ave literally been a pell mell. The opposition he had to encounter was not small
and they would have not have certainly kept quiet and swallowed all that Sri M
adhva said, especially Sri Trivikrama Pandita who was the most renowned Advaita
scholar of that time. Not even did Sri Vidyaranya who wrote commentaries on the
Vedas dispute the references quoted by Sri Madhva. It is also to be noted that m
any opponents of his, had an eye on his great library and are reported to have s
tolen his books too. It was natural for the opponents to destroy his library for
without them, they could dispute his references. Suffice it is to say that none
disputed his references in his time. It will also be appropriate to say that Sr
i Madhva was the only great research philosopher who re established the Vedic re
ligion and gave nothing on his own as new philosophy. He has by his research and
uncommon insight given rational answers to the problems facing the spiritual as
pirants.
Sri
les
his
phy
hat

Madhvas system is known as Dvaitavada. He was the first to classify all princip
under two categories viz., Independent and Dependent and hence the name for
philosophy. But it has been surmised that this name was given to his philoso
in recent times and that the original name for his exposition was Tatvavada. T
this system is called by the name Dvaitavada, there is no evidence

Yovipralambha viparitamatiprabhutan vadan nirasya krtavan bhuvi tattvavadam

In this, his exposition has been referred to as Tattvavada. Again, Sri Jayatirtha,
his commentator par excellence has referred to his exposition as tattvavidovadan
ti
Pare ca tattvavade(s)smin gariyasi bharo mama

Sri Vadiraja Swamiji too has referred to it as Tattvavada. In another place, Sri V
adiraja Swamiji has written that Tattvavada is the correct name for Sri Madhvas exp
osition.

Namna catyulla samtyasit vallite yuktimallike

Sri Vadiraja Swamiji has after an unbiased consideration of the exposition of Sr

i Madhva and Sri Sankara, has accepted Sri Madhvas exposition as most satisfying.
Thus the system founded by Sri Madhva may be appropriately called as Tatvavada as
it has been known throughout, including the reference by Sri Madhusudhana Saras
wathi in his work called Advaita Siddhi.

Supremacy of Lord Sri Vishnu

Sri Madhva has established the supremacy of Lord Sri Vishnu very ably. In his ex
position Sri Vishnu is Supreme. He is full of auspicious qualities. He is withou
t blemish whatsoever. These form the cardinal principles. He proves that establi
shment of Sri Vishnu as the Supreme God as the most considered meaning of all th
e scriptures Vedas. The Vedas have for their meaning only the praise of the ausp
icious qualities of Sri Vishnu. They are also conducive to the liberation of goo
d souls. Freedom from bondage and attainment of liberation is possible only by c
onstant meditation on God and obtaining His grace. In order to meditate on Him,
it is necessary to develop reverence and deep attachment to Him. Only if we love
a object we think of it continuously. If we are to contemplate on God continuou
sly we have to develop a continuous love for Him. Only by thinking of His auspic
ious qualities that we are able to develop reverence and love for Him. Only by t
hinking of His auspicious qualities that we are able to develop reverence and lo
ve towards Him. Then we will be able to contemplate on Him continuously. The Ved
as which hold the key for the revelation of God to the soul for its liberation a
lso holds the greatness of God, so that the soul may develop reverence towards G
od. Thus, we see the purpose of the Vedas as the establishment of God as Supreme
and also to reveal to aspirant soul the greatness of God, so that the soul may
develop a constant love for God, by which it is able to think of God at all tim
es and get His grace. Therefore, Sri Madhva contends that the purpose of all sac
red literature is to establish the supremacy of God and develop a reverence for
God in the aspiring soul, so that in the fullness of time, it is able to constan
tly concentrate on Him and win His grace and thereby experience the continuous j
oy of liberation. Now the question comes as to who is this Supreme God? Whether
is Vishnu or Siva or Sakti or any other deity as established in various faiths?
We have to come to some conclusion on this point of difference too. In Puranas a
nd Vedas we find it being narrated that Vishnu is Supreme in one place and at an
other place Siva being extolled as Supreme and in some other place Hiranyagarbha
. This gives rise to seeming contradictions. If we are to take at the face value
these readings, we may have to come to the conclusion that the Vedas convey no
continuity of thought and that they are like statements of a lunatic, with no co
nnections whatsoever between the various statements. In one place it refers to S
iva as Supreme and in another place it refers to Siva as the servant of Vishnu a
nd His great devotee and yet in some other places it refers to Siva and Vishnu a
s being identical. We cannot therefore accept all these statements which are see
mingly contradictory. We must probe for the significance of such statements and
light is thrown on these in the Puranas. How can we find a cogent meaning for al
l these statements? Again in the Vedas, we find at some places Agni being extoll
ed as Supreme. Therefore, we must find that key which unravels the meaning of th
e seemingly contradictory statements such as these.

Sri Sankaracharya in his various stotras has given rise to greater confusion. Th
ere is a bundle of contradictions between the truths enunciated in his system an
d the stotras he has composed, between the nirguna aspects he has so assiduously
established and the stotras he has composed in praise of the deities as for exa
mple

Haribrahmadi na mapi nikata bhajamasulabham siva tava padambhoja bhajanam

Wherein he has extolled Siva, saying that the devotion at the feet of Siva is di
fficult of achievement even to Vishnu and Brahma.

In another place
Vedhah padatale patatyayamasau vishnurnamatyagratah sambhuh dehi hagacala

Brahma has fallen at the feet. Vishnu prostrates and Siva stands in front. Show
your mercy on him too addressing Tripurasundari.

Yet again:
Brahmendrarudra, marudarka kirita koti sanghattitanghri kamala
That the feet of Lord Vishnu is in contact with the head ornaments of Brahma, Siv
a, Indra and others while praising Sri Vishnu.

From these statements, it is not that Sri Sankara has established equality betwe
en Vishnu, Brahma, Siva and Durga but that among the many gods of saguna denomin
ations, one may consider that any among them as superior to any other depending
on ones devotion to particular deity. When Islam and Christianity can claim alleg
iance to one Supreme God, how is it that Hinduism propagates meaningless differe
nt gods? This has been the platform for ridicule against Hinduism. When we creat
e many gods, select one of them and then say that others are lower in rank to th
e deity, how can you expect allegiance or devotion to any god? In fact in this t
here is neither reality in practice nor percept. Therefore many god precepts are
not only anti Hinduism, but that it is also not the meaning of the Vedas.

Sri Madhva has enlightened us in this question also. The real meaning of Vedas a
nd all Puranas is that Sri Vishnu is the Supreme God.

Vede ramayane caiva purane bharate tatha

Adavantau ca madhye ca Vishnuh sarvatra giyate

If at different places other names like Rudra, Hiranyagarbha are referred, they
are only other names by which Sri Vishnu is referred. Sri Vishnu alone has been
referred to as Rudra, Indra and other names in the Vedas and Puranas. When Brahm
a, Rudra and others have been referred as the devotees of Vishnu, these names re
fer to the corresponding gods who are evolved souls. Thus where we have Siva and
Vishnu as one; Siva and Vishnu as Supreme and where we have Siva and Brahma as
devotees of Vishnu, we have cogently to interpret as Vishnu who is also known by
all the names when referred to as the Supreme God, and Brahma and Rudra and oth
ers who are referred to as His devotees as elevated souls in the ranks of gods w
ho worship Vishnu.

Yo devanam namadhe eka eva

Which means Vishnu alone bears the names of all other gods and that He alone is
the Supreme God worshipped by all these names. Again:
This sruti refers to :

ajasya nabhau athyekamarpitam

by which is meant, One who has lotus at the navel viz., Vishnu. Thus, Vishnu alo
ne is referred to by various names of gods. Also all names referred to in the Ve
das and Puranas have for their prime import only Vishnu as the Supreme God. This
in fact gives the Golden Key to unravel the meaning of the Vedas. Having found
this key it is now possible to cogently render all meaning for the various visib
ly conflicting statements. To this also the credit is due to Sri Madhva, who had
the uncommon insight into the correct import of the Vedas and other sacred lite
rature. Thus, in the Narayana Sukta, Vishnu has been referred to as:

sa brahmas a sivah sa harih sendrah so(s) ksharah paramah svarat

This obviously does not mean that Brahma is Vishnu, Siva is Vishnu and Indra is
Vishnu. But it only means that Vishnu has the names such as Brahma, Siva and Ind
ra, in fact, all names referring to gods. In the Brahmasutra Bhasya, Sri Madhva
conclusively proves how every epithet addressed to the gods refers in the prime
import only to Vishnu. Therefore, Vishnu alone is Supreme. He alone is full of a
uspicious qualities and without any blemish whatsoever. Thus we see that the Sup
remacy of Sri Narayana is the import of the Vedas and all other sacred literatur
e, which we term as Sanatana.

The credit for establishing One Supreme God again goes only to Sri Madhva, for h
e alone was able to sift the meaning of the Vedas clearly and establish one Supr
eme God who is Vishnu. He clearly broke through the conceptions of all gods bein
g equal and several conventions arising there from. Sri Madhva hoisted the flag
declaring the allegiance to one Supreme God Vishnu and preached the Vaishnava co
ncept of living. Even though there are many gods, who are evolved souls in their
various gradations, Supremacy is attributed to one and only God, Vishnu. In the
Bhasya for the Atharvanopanishad, Sri Madhva traces the cream of knowledge Tatv
ajnana relating to the Krtayuga or the best of times and explains clearly the or
iginal concept of One Supreme God Vishnu and how subsequently this concept got c
louded due to misinterpretations galore.

Kale krtayuge tada naiva cendradi namani vishno ranyatra kutracit

brahmarudrendra purvestu namabhih procyate harih
Devatatvena cejyah sa brahmadya manunamakah
Vaktra pitrtvena karitvenauvacadarat / iyjante devatah sarvah natu

devataya kvacit

In Krtayuga Vishnu alone was being worshipped as God by epithets such as Brahma,
Rudra and Indra. Other gods were addressed with epithets such as preceptor and
ancestor and not as God. Thus we see that the concept of God prior to Buddhism w
as of one Supreme God and the rest were only dependent gods who derived their po
wers from this One Supreme God Vishnu. Subsequent to the influence of Buddhism p
eople in their confused ideas referred to every god as God, each one claiming su
periority over the other gods. This however has no sanction in the revealed text
s or source books of Hinduism. Sri Madhva has thus answered the criticism agains
t Hinduism which is described as a religion of many Gods.
Sri Vishnu who is known by all the names of gods, has all the forms of gods and
resides in the forms of all in the subtle form. Thus, Vishnu resides in all gods
and souls in their respective forms, but in subtle form. Thus, in Sri Madhvas ex
position the Supreme God Vishnu, who is full of auspicious qualities, who is res
ponsible for the creation, who is blemishless, independent and present everywher
e, is not subject to contradiction in terms of names and forms. He can be called
by any name and worshipped in the form of any god, but with this concept that H
e is the antaryamin or the presiding deity in that god. The following
Brahmani brahmarupo(s) sau Sivarupi sivesthitah
Uddipayan devaganamsa Vishnurdevena rupena

testify that Vishnu has the forms and attributes of all the gods and all the sou
ls.

svasarirantargatavicitra bhagavadakara sadrsakaravatva matrena pratibimbatva mukt

am (Sri Vadiraja Swami)

Thus, even though Sri Hari can be worshipped in various forms and names, we shou
ld not forget that He is Supreme, full of auspicious qualities, and other essent
ial attributes of the Supreme God. This is the greatness of Sri Madhvas expositio
n.

We have so far said that the Supreme God Sri Vishnu could be called by various n
ames such as Brahma, Rudra and any other. Yet there is a specialty with respect
to two words referring only to Vishnu viz. Vishnu and Narayana as they have the
same meaning as for Om and Brahma which mean that He is complete and full of auspici
ous qualities and the above two words have the same meaning. Therefore, these tw
o words have become too common names to the Supreme God.

Gradation among the gods:

Even though the Supreme God resides in everything and is responsible for all act
ivities that are taking place, some importance is given to the lesser gods in th
e working of the day to day affairs in the world. They have been made the abhima
ni devatas or the presiding deities for the various material objects and they ca
rry out the Will of the Supreme God. Being under the control of the Supreme God,
they reside in the various material objects in the world and activate their fun
ctions. The principle of Lakshmi is most important of these god aspects. Goddess
Lakshmi is the presiding deity of the primordial matter Prakriti, and is consid
ered as the Mother of world and consort of Sri Vishnu. She is eternally free and
comes next in rank to Vishnu. After her comes the creator of the world Brahma w
ho is first among the released souls. Then comes the preceptor of the world, Sri
Vayu, the presiding deity over the wind. They are main participants in the crea
tion of the world after Vishnu and Lakshmi. Sri Madhva is none other than this V
ayu, in his third incarnation, the previous two incarnations being Sri Hanuman a
nd Sri Bhima. It is he who re-established the Vedic religion, after it was in a
confused state owing to the influence of Buddhism. Then Goddess Saraswati the pr
esiding deity over learning, Bharati the presiding deity over devotion, Rudra th
e god presiding over the mind, Sesha the god presiding over the serpent kingdom,
Garuda the god presiding over the bird kingdom, Parvati the presiding deity ove
r right inclinations and Indra the lord of heaven and other gods follow in that
order. All these gods follow in order, the control of the Supreme God Vishnu at
all times and they have individually no power other than what is vested in them
by the Supreme God. Thus, knowledge of all materials in this world and the presi
ding deities over them help the spiritual aspirant in his march towards the grac
e of God for ultimate liberation.

The Five Differences

It is now necessary to clearly understand the relationship between the Supreme G
od Vishnu, His servants and souls, who are the aspirants for liberation and the
field of action which is this world, which Sri Madhva accepts as all real. When
we analyze, we see five fold differences. They are differences between -

1. God and souls

2. God and matter
3. Souls and matter
4. Between souls themselves
5. The difference between matter itself

These have been termed as the five fold differences. Only when we correctly unde
rstand these five fold differences, we are able to understand the nature and mea
ning of this world. Only then we are able to place the Supreme God, the soul and
matter in proper perspective. Further, the soul is able to place the many trait
s of material things like the body and mind and that of the Independent God with
out getting mixed up with them thinking that those traits are its own, and there
by release itself from the influence of the ego which makes it tread the wrong p
ath. The soul is also able to realize its own relations with respect to the mate
rial things as well as that of the Supreme God and treading the correct path thr
ough this correct knowledge, will be able to attain liberation by the grace of G
od. These five fold differences have a great significance in Sri Madhvas system.

Mukti and Taratamya; Liberation and Gradation

In Sri Madhvas system liberation means that the souls by the sight of God and get
ting His grace realize and experience the true nature of themselves in their sub
tle form of knowledge, bliss and other qualities. The soul which has all along b
een considering qualities which are alien to itself as its own in its passage th
rough the mundane existence and thereby undergoing untold miseries qualities suc
h as passion, hatred, ignorance and so on. This great blunder alone is termed as
bondage
Pramadatmakatvat bandhasya Bhashya

From the sight of God, the soul realizes its true nature and thereby is freed fr
om the bondage which has pinned it down to sorrow. In liberation, the soul exper
iences its true nature of knowledge, bliss and devotion to God and being free fr
om baser qualities, which had been afflicting it in the world, enjoys uninterrup
ted happiness thereafter.

muktirhitvanyatharupam svarupena vyavastitiah

Just as the burning charcoal covered by ash, is freed from the ash by the action
of the wind burns brightly once again, the soul covered by ignorance, but freed
from it by the wind in the form of Grace of God lives brightly again in the kno
wledge of its true nature which is bliss.

Muktirnaijasukhanubhutiramala

For this liberation, Gods sight, as well as constant devotion and ultimately
Gods grace are necessary.
The bliss experienced by different released souls is not identical, but vary wit
h nature of different souls. As the souls are not all identical, and their intri
nsic essences are different and varied, it is only natural that the bliss experi
enced by them is not identical but varied. Similarly, the effort and achievemen
t of each soul in attaining liberation differs so that each soul just experience
s its true nature and this experience is different from any other soul. There is
thus a gradation in the experience of bliss, but each soul is given in full mea
sure the bliss due to its nature, so that no soul is envious of some other soul
having a different measure of bliss. There is thus a gradation even in liberatio
n and for their continuous joy they still depend on the Grace of God. But in the
released state, there is a sense of complete fulfillment and each soul experien
ces in full measure, its nature just as different persons carrying vessels to th
e sea and taking full quantity of water in the vessels taken by them, have no ca
use to envy another taking a bigger or smaller vessel. The principle is that eac

h vessel is full. Similarly each soul finds fulfillment and is not worried wheth
er some other soul has greater bliss or less. The concept of liberation in Sri M
adhvas system is thus both attractive and meaningful and at the same time stands
to reason and scientific explanation. To attain this form of bliss which is its
own, the soul has to fly purposefully with the two wings of devotion and renunci
ation, towards God with speed and that should be the constant aim of all souls.
Conclusion
Sri Madhvas system can briefly be condensed as follows; Sri Vishnu who is worshipp
ed by the Vedas and all sacred literature, is Supreme. This world which is both
the sporting ground of God and the field of action of the souls is real. The sou
ls which are dependent on and different from God work out their salvation accord
ing to their intrinsic essence of nature. By pure devotion and Grace of God, it
should be the aim of each soul to attain the true nature of itself, which contri
butes to its eternal happiness. This is capable of being understood from the rev
ealed literature, the source books, perception and logic.
We desire that this true knowledge should be studied by one and all and spread t
hroughout the length and breadth of the world, so that the aspirant souls may un
derstand the true significance of Sri Madhvas philosophy and by following the dir
ection given by him, work out their salvation and enjoy the bliss, which is of t
heir own.