Where the EB's entry on Madhva came from

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Dear All:

 

A few months ago, this list was seized of the question of the Encyclopaedia

Britannica's entry on Madhva. I have recently been sent a copy of what

appears to be the source of the EB's information, so this may interest you.

The `Hindu World' appears to be somewhat rare, but copies of it exist in

enough academic libraries in the US, and surely in Europe as well, that a

lot of misinformation has surely been caused, and will continue to be

caused, because of this. References are made to even earlier writings about

Madhva, and these will have to be checked out (I'm not sure, though, if " S "

Padmanabhacharya is actually the same as C.M. Padmanabhacharya.)

 

Entry from _Hindu World: an Encyclopedic Survey of Hinduism_, by Benjamin

Walker. London: Allen & Unwin, 1968. v.2, pp. 1-2.

 

==

 

MADHVA (1197-1280), philosopher-founder of dualism, also called

\={A}nandat\={i}rtha, was a Kanarese br\={a}hmin born in a village

near U\d{d}ipi, about sixty miles north of Mangalore. A prodigy of

learning he was said to have mastered the Vedas and Ved\={a}\.{n}gas

before the age of five. While still a boy he once disappeared from

home and was eventually found after four days in the temple teaching

both gods and men how to worship Vish\d{n}u. As he grew up he became

convinced of the error of Ved\={a}ntic monism and resolved to show up

its folly and falsity. He took leave of his parents, much to their

disappointment as he was their only child, and became a wandering

preacher.

 

Touring South India Madhva visited Trivandrum, and the stronghold of

Ved\={a}nta, \'{S}ri\.{n}geri, where \'{S}a\.{n}kara had established a

{\it ma\d{t}h} or monastery four centuries earlier. At

R\={a}me\'{s}varam he had a series of discourses with the

Ved\={a}ntists and wrote his well-known commentary on the

{\it Bhagavad-g\={i}t\={a}} and the {\it Ved\={a}nta-s\={u}tra}}.

Proceeding to the north he visited Ban\={a}ras and on the way

performed many miracles, such as multiplying loaves to meet the needs

of his followers, walking on water, and stilling the angry waves of

the stormy sea. He spoke of giving out the 'good news', and 'fishing

for men'.

 

Always a great conversationalist, he studied Persian in order to make

his argument against the Muslims more effective, and ably defend his

theses against the mullas. He finally settled down at U\d{d}ipi his

birthplace where he founded the M\={a}dhva sect. Although he wrote in

Sanskrit he inspired many Kanarese religious works. Members of the

sect still exist in large numbers in the Kanarese districts of Bombay,

in Mysore and the west coast of India.

 

Madhva was a strenuous opponent of \'{S}a\.{n}kara's advaita,

non-dualistic philosophy. In his system, referred to as {\it dvaita},

or dualism, Brahma or God is supreme, and the cause of the world, yet

is essentially different from the {\it j\={i}va}, or the human soul.

Both have a real and eternally distinct essence. This distinction

between Brahma and j\={i}va is fundamental, and it is a fallacy to

think that they are different in the world of {\it sa\.{m}s\={a}ra}

(birth-and-death) but identical when the j\={i}va is freed. Though

absolutely dependent on Brahma, the j\={i}va is an active and

responsible agent, albeit imperfect.

 

The M\={a}dhvas worship Vish\d{n}u though some do not exclude

\'{S}iva. V\={a}yu the son of Vish\d{n}u helps mankind to gain the

saving knowledge and obtain release. By his followers Madhva is

regarded as a reincarnation of V\={a}yu, born for the purpose of

destroying the pernicious doctrines of advaita. Like

R\={a}m\={a}nuja, Madhva adopted the practice of branding the shoulder

with a hot metal bearing the arms of Vish\d{n}u. He prohibited bloody

sacrifices. In the temples of the sect figures of dough are offered

instead of sheep, and the employment of temple prostitutes is not

permitted. In most respects however the sect has relapsed into the

usual forms of Hindu worship.

 

Madhva is one of the few important Hindu thinkers who believed in

eternal damnation. According to him those in hell, like those

eternally liberated, are not subject to birth and rebirth. Ordinary

men, however, continue the cycle of birth and rebirth. The doctrines

of the exclusive mediatorship of V\={a}yu, son of Vish\d{n}u, the

miracles associated with Madhva's name, and the missionary zeal of the

M\={a}dhvas strongly suggest Christian influence.

 

Books

I. Aiyar, C. N. K. {\it Sri Madhwa and Madhwaism}, Madras, 1936.

II. Bhandarkar, R. G. {\it Vaisnavism, Saivism \ & Minor Religious

Systems}, Strassburg, 1913.

III. Padmanabhacharya, S. {\it Life \ & Teachings of Sri Madhva},

Madras, 1913.

IV. Singh, Pritam. {\it Saints \ & Sages of India}, New Delhi, 1948.

 

==

 

Regards,

 

Shrisha Rao

 

 

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