Glories of Srila Madhava Acarya ( Apearance day)

[Guest guest]

MADHVACARYA

 

 

MA's father was Madhyageha Bhatta; he prayed at the Ananteswara Temple (a

Siva temple) in Udipi for a son. Ananteswara is worshipped as the Supersoul

of Siva.

 

MA is Vayuamsa. Vayu is a great Vaisnava preacher who came as Hanuman in

the Treta-yuga and Bhima in the Dvapara-yuga.

 

There was a big festival in the Ananteswara temple. MGB went with his wife

and there they prayed. After that one man climbed up a pole in the temple

and danced on it, shouting "Mukhya Prana (Vayu) will appear and destroy the

demoniac impersonalism." Then he fell.When MA was born he had the 32 signs

of a mahapurusa. MGB wrapped up the baby and went to Pajakaksetra, fearing

some harm might come to the boy. A brahmin who was accompanying them got

possessed by a brahmana-raksasa along the way,who cried through the mouth of

the brahmin, "Let me touch Bhima's feet! I'll be delivered that way!" In

PJ, MGB took special care to hide baby from impersonalists.

 

During his early schooling, MA would correct his teachers and teach them the

lessons of one month ahead. Because this disrupted classes, the teachers

would come to the house, but finally they had to quit - "He asks questions

no-one could answer!"

 

One Puranika came to teach. Little boy (4 yrs) said "He's lying" during his

recitation. There was a big turmoil. Brahmana-raksasa haunts the boy, they

said. So the father asked the boy to explain, and he did. Father said "Yes

that's very nice, but we Vaisnavas have no Brahma-sutra commentary to

establish our viewpoints." Boy stood on a pot and showed 2 fingers - "I

will do it! The soul and God are two!"

 

One day the boy was crying, so his sister went out to get the mother. The

boy crawled into the horse gram dahl barrel and ate 40 kilos. Mother in

shock asked him, "Are you thinking there's no difference between my breast

milk and this dahl?" From inside the barrel he showed two fingers.

 

When MGB was doing puja, the boy cried "Hungry!" Father answered, "Look, I

bought a bull. I have no money to satisfy your appetite; rather, I owe

money." Soon the man who'd sold the bull came by to ask MGB to pay up. The

boy met the man and said, "I am responsible for this matter." The man said

jokingly, "Oh yes, I've heard about you, they say you are ghostly haunted."

"Just tell me what it costs." "300 gold coins." The boy picked up some

tamarind seeds and they became gold. Satisfying the man, MA then opened the

rope tying the bull, pulled on his tail and went for a ride behind the

running animal.

 

When his sister got married, MA quickly tired of the prajalpa at the

marriage party and walked out of the house. He went to a nearby Visnu

temple, where folks saw this small boy paying o's and offering prayers. He

then went to a Siva temple and did same, and preached to some people that

Visnu is superior to Siva. They were pleased with him and gave him sweets.

He went all the way to Udipi, a crowd behind him. In the Ananteswara temple

he was preaching to a spellbound crowd; at that time the parents came,

anxiously looking for him.

They found a huge crowd around their boy, crying and worshipping him. MGB

tried to break through the crowd, shouting "He's my son!" But everybody

pushed him back, saying "He's our son! We all feel the same way! Why are

you so special!" So father waved his chadar over their heads; boy saw and

cried "I'm hungry!" Father, embracing the boy, said, "As long as you are

hungry, then I can say I am your father." The boy ate a huge amount.

 

People were saying, "He should take sannyasa!" MA asked father, "What's

sannyasa?" Father answered, "A fruit." Boy said, "I want that fruit. Now

I am eating only roots, I should come to the fruit stage."

 

When MGB was giving class, he failed to explain one word in the verse:

likuchi (a tree). Boy, who was playing outside, called in "Father, you are

cheating your students by not telling them that likuchi means lemon."

Everyone was amazed, "How is it he's so smart he can even correct his

father?" "He doesn't even know the four orders of life," the boy answered.

"He thinks sannyasa is a fruit."

 

Once a snake attacked the boy, biting him 3 times. His family and friends

prayed to Durga to save him. He called out to them, "She can't save

anybody!"

Then he killed the snake himself. He declared, "Only this snake is a rope!

All the other snakes will be defeated by my bhasya!"

 

MA became student of Acyuta Preksa, who was a Bhagavata. Though coming in

mayavadi line, his guru had told him from the deathbed, "I'm not brahman,

nor were 10 gurus before me." AP was 65 years old when MA came to him. AP

was praying fervently to the Lord - "What is brahman?" MA, arriving for the

first time, announced "What is Brahman? I will tell you!"

 

MGB went to AP and pleaded, "Don't take my son." AP said, "I won't give him

sannyasa unless you give permission. AP would teach about brahman as he'd

learned it; MA would sneeze and AP would reprimand him - "That's very inaus-

picious!" MA would retort "Not as inauspicious as your explanation." Then

he would explain; AP was so happy he got fat as a result.

 

MGB and wife had another son, so at age 12 MA (then known as Vasudeva) took

sannyasa. Got the name Purna Prajna. Then he lectured for 4 days on one

Sanskrit verse. AP danced with MA on his shoulders and sat him on the

Vedanta seat, saying "You are my guru." Just then Vadisimha and

Buddhisagara, proponents of Vaisesikha and Buddhism, arrived at matha.

These dudes could argue on any subject from 18 different angles of attack.

They challenged AP and MA returned the challenge; as it was sunset, they

offered to take up the debate the next morning but MA said, "No. NOW!"

Madhva broke all their arguments into bits and pieces. BS said at midnight,

"According to Vedic principles we should stop now. We will continue

tomorrow." MA said, "Why tomorrow? What kind of men are you?" They split

that night, but left a palm leaf that said, "You should write your own

opinion on Vedanta." And AP confirmed. So MA first wrote a Gita-bhasya.

 

AP went with MA on a south Indian tour during which MA defeated many

pandits.His entourage increased until he had 1000 pandits following him. He

stayed for 4 months in Rameswaram. There he told to some pandits, "The

Vedas have 3 meanings; the Mahabharata 10 meanings and the Visnusahasranama

100 meanings.They were curious to hear how VSN could have 100 meanings. He

launched into an explanation that went on for 9 days. "Stop!" they finally

cried.

 

MA chanted Vedas perfectly; by his pronunciation alone, the meaning of the

words was clear.

 

Then he went back to Udipi; after taking permission from AP, he went on to

Badrinatha.

 

He offered a book he'd written to Badrinarayana; while reading the first

verse, the Deity objected, because MA had written "I have explained to my

capacity." Deity said, "Even I will have to think twice if you explain

something to your full capacity. Better to say, 'I've revealed a little

bit.'"

 

MA told his disciples to stay at Badrinatha while he went onward. But his

disciple Satyatirtha stuck by; he sent him to get flowers and left a leaf

that

said: "There's no truth higher than Visnu; no scripture higher than the

Veda;no explanation higher than mine; no place higher than Uttara

Badrinatha. Don't follow." ST tried to follow; got stuck among the peaks;

he was blown back to Badrinatha.

 

At UB MA saw Vyasa with big-gun rishis. V called MA closer - the rishis

were waiting to Vyasa, but MA got a special darsana. V said, "I want to

hear your Gita darsana. As MA read it V would make comments: "That's

nice...why didn't you say more here? Add this..." In the end V pronounced,

"I approve." Now write an MB commentary - give the correct commentary of the

correct text." He put his hand around MA's shoulder and brought him to see

Nara-Narayana Rishi. NN told V to give MA instruction; so V explained the

24 incarnations. NN said MA should write a commentary on SB. Getting their

blessings, MA wentback.

 

Established Vedic sacrifices without animal killing.

 

He saved a boat by waving his chadar and breathing in, sucking it to shore.

Merchant wanted to reward him; he said give me gopi chandan from the

ballast.

The six sailors could not lift it. MA picked it up with one hand and jumped

from the boat to the ocean. He put the chandan in a tank and it broke to

reveal a murti of Krsna holding churning rod ropes.

 

This was Rukmini-devi's Deity. It was originally worshipped by the gopis of

Vrndavana. After destruction of Dwaraka, Uddhava brought this Deity to the

forest, and it gradually got encased in mud.

 

Once a king named Iswara Deva was digging a big pond; he would impress every

passer-bye in that service. MA talked the king into digging; then water was

struck.

 

Madhva forded a river with disciples in tow when they couldn't get a boat

due to Hindu-Muslim tensions. The Muslim king, seeing this, shouted "Allah!"

and fainted. MA spoke with him in Persian.

 

He again went to Uttara Badrinatha and presented his Brahma-sutra

commentary. V responded with "aha-kara" again and again during the reading.

He jumped in ecstasy and gave him 12 salagram Deities; one Nrsingha salagram

is being worshipped at Subrahmanya Ksetra.

 

>From UB he went down through Bengal to Puri and into Andra. He wrote 10

Upanisad commentaries and the Visnu Tattva Nirnaya.

 

Mayavadis at the Srngeri Matha became agitated and sent Pundarika Puri and

Padmatirtha for debating MA. They ran away after meeting him. They decided

to do something nasty, so they arranged for his library to be stolen. MA

went to King Jayasimha and complained. JS went to Srngeri and demanded the

books, when they answered "We don't know where they are", he replied "In

your philosophy, knowing and not knowing are the same. So give!" Jayasimha

became the librarian. MA did Caturmasya at JS's place. Trivikrama Pandit

became his disciple.

 

Dictated 4 chapters of a book to 4 disciples simultaneously in 8 days - this

is the Anuvyakena, which contains arguments against all philosophies. He

refuted 21 commentators of BS.

 

Heard astrology at the start of every day.

 

In the Ananteswara temple he explained the BS and the devas showered

flowers. At one point in his explanation the people couldn't understand it

anymore. The flowers piled up and covered him. The explanation stopped.

When the people came forward to remove the flowers, he was gone.

 

 

COMPARISON OF MADHVA PHILOSOPHY WITH LORD CAITANYA'S EXPLANATION:

 

MADHVA LORD CAITANYA

 

Jiva is sarvata bhinna Simultaneous oneness and difference

(always different)

 

Attaining lotus feet of Visnu is the Prema Pumartho Mahan

highest goal

 

Bhakti is liberation One should follow in the footsteps

of

the residents of Vrndavana.

 

Evidence is pratyaksa, anumana, sabda SB is only evidence

 

Miscellaneous details:

 

First bhedha-abhedhi philosopher was Asmaradhya (he was rejected by

Vyasadeva

as an Advaitist.

 

MA: Sva Kapola Kalpitah Matah: Mayavadi philosophy comes from their own

Kapolas (skulls)

 

YAD ACARA TE BRAHMA - "HE WHO FOLLOWS BRAHMA" (Brahmacari)

 

 

NIMBARKACHARYA

 

Bhavisya, Skanda, Padma Puranas and Visnu Yamala give info that Nimbarka

lived much before Sankara. He wrote the Parijata Bhasya and his disciple

Srinivasa wrote the Parijata Saurava; Srinivasa was a pandit in the court of

Vajranabha, Krsna's grandson.

 

N was greatly influenced by the Alwars; he uses words from the DP; the

teachings of Nama Alwar and Godadevi are stressed; his Dasasloki follows

Nama Alwar.

 

His parents were Aruni Rsi and Jayanti devi. This Aruni Rishi had a famous

asrama. N was amsa of Sudarsana - he is known as Sudarsana Acarya.

 

He moved to the north and lived at Govardhana. He took three preaching

tours. He stayed at Simanta-dwipa in Mayapur where Lord Siva appeared in a

dream and told him to go to Bilva Paksa, a forest of Bilva trees, which have

leaves like Siva's eyes (in groups of three). Siva told him, "In that

forest you'll get the darsana of your previous acaryas." So when he went

there he saw the 4 Kumaras there. They blessed him and requested him to

start the Kumara sampradaya (or Hamsa sampradaya because in the form of

Hamsa Lord Visnu gave instruction to the 4 K's). They gave him a mantra to

chant: "Gaur-a". By chanting this he got darshana of Lord Caitanya, Who

expressed great happiness with N. He told him, "When I appear, you'll also

come and I'll cure you of the false pride that you will exhibit at that time

as part of the lila." N appeared in Caitanya lila as Keshava Kashmiri (Dig

Vijaya Pandita), who after meeting LC became the big acarya in the Nimbarka

line.

 

When N was 6 years old he was known as Nirmananda. A tridandi sannyasi came

to his house while his father was away; he'd been walking a long way and

wouldn't eat after sunset. As it was already afternoon, and as he was

hungry, he requested N's mother to quickly prepare something. She made

kichari, butthought this wasn't enough, so she made bhaja, then chutney,

then a sweet. Bythis time the sun was on the horizon. When N was bringing

out the preps forSwamiji, he was chanting his gayatri. When he finished he

said, "I'm very sorry but I don't eat after sunset." N said, "No, it's not

sunset, look through the leaves of that tree." When the swami looked

through the tree (a neem tree) he saw the arka (sun) shining - this was

actually Sudarsana-chakra.

 

That swami blessed N by throwing aksara on his head; N bowed head to receive

it and when he looked up again, he saw the swami with 4 heads (Lord Brahma),

who told him, "Teach the Veda."

 

For 12 years he lived only on neem leaves and he performed anga pradaksina

(rolling around Govardhana with whole body) each day. He went to Dwaraka,

Allahabad and Bengal (when he had darsana of 4 K's and LC).

 

As Kesava Kasmiri, he appeared in Kasmir 38 years before Lord Caitanya. He

was an extremely erudite scholar, but was a conquering pandit before he met

Lord Caitanya. Then he became the foremost exponent of the Nimbarka

siddhanta after that.

 

 

Comparison of philosophies:

 

NIMBARKA LORD CAITANYA

 

"Svabhavika bheda-abheda" "Acintya bheda-abheda"

Supreme goal is Radha-Krsna sambandha S.g. is pure love of RK

Spirit/matter = cause/effect Krsna has 3 energies

Gopal mantra Hare Krsna Mantra (GM is namatmika)

*********************************************************************

want to know more please let me know to serve the vaishnavas

Servant of the servants

madhavakantadas (AT) hotmail (DOT) com

also pamho