Sri Madhvacharya

In News

• Recently, the Prime Minister paid his obeisances to Sri Madhwacharya on the occasion of Madhwa Navami.

Sri Madhwacharya (CE 1199-1278 or CE 1238–1317)

• About:
  • He was born in the year 1238 A.D. on the Vijayadashami day and was named Vasudeva during the NamaKarana ceremony.
  • Madhvacharya was a third of the trinity of philosophers who influenced Indian thoughts after the ages of the Vedas and Puranas. He came after Sri Shankaracharya and Shri Ramanujacharya. 
  • He propounded the philosophy of Dwaita or Dualism.
  • Madhvacharya is traditionally considered the third prominent incarnation of Vayu after Hanuman and Bhima. 
  • He was initiated into Sanyasa by Achyutapreksha, a great teacher belonging to the Advaita School of Philosophy.
  • He was given the name Purnaprajna. It was also Achyutapreksha who gave him the title ‘Madhva’.
• Literary works: 
  • He wrote various texts that detailed his philosophy which he called Tattvavada, or as it is more popularly known, Dvaita. Some of his works were the Gita Bhashya, Brahma Sutra Bhashya, Anu Bhashya, Karma Nirnaya, and Vishnu Tattva Nirnaya.
• Dvaita school of philosophy:
  • The basic tenet of Dvaita philosophy is the refutation of the Mayavada of Sri Shankara. Dvaitha emphasizes that the world is real and not just an illusion.
  • Some of Sri Madhvacharya’s teachings fall along these lines:
    • The soul is bound to this world through ignorance
    • The way for the soul to release itself from this bondage is to seek the grace of Sri Hari
    • To reach Sri Hari, one has to practice Bhakti, there is no other way
    • To practice Bhakti, one needs to meditate
    • To meditate, one needs to clear the mind and attain detachment by studying the sacred texts
    • Understanding the sacred texts can be possible only through the grace of a Guru.

Source: PIB