Hinduism and Buddhism, An Historical Sketch, Vol. 2Eliot, Charles
Religion
Hinduism and Buddhism, An Historical Sketch, Vol. 2
Eliot, Charles
Asia -- Religion; Buddhism; Hinduism
It was only natural that Râmânuja's advocacy of qualified non-duality
should lead some more uncompromising spirit to affirm the doctrine of
Dvaita or duality. This step was taken by Madhva Âcârya, a Kanarese
Brahman who was probably born in 1199 A.D.[595] In the previous year
the great temple of Jagannatha at Puri had been completed and the
Vishnuite movement was at its height. Madhva though educated as a
Śaiva became a Vaishṇava. He denied absolutely the identity of the
Supreme Being with the individual soul and held that the world is not
a modification of the Lord but that he is like a father who begets a
son. Yet in practice, rigid monotheism is not more prevalent among
Madhva's followers than in other sects. They are said to tolerate the
worship of Śivaite deities and of the lingam in their temples[596] and
their ascetics dress like Śaivas.
Madhva travelled in both northern and southern India and had a
somewhat troubled life, for his doctrine, being the flat contradiction
of the Advaita, involved him in continual conflicts with the followers
of Śaṅkara who are said to have even stolen his library. At any rate
they anathematized his teaching with a violence unusual in Indian
theology.[597] In spite of such lively controversy he found time to
write thirty-seven works, including commentaries on the Upanishads,
Bhagavad-gîtâ and Vedânta Sûtras. The obvious meaning of these texts
is not that required by his system, but they are recognized by all
Vaishṇavas as the three Prasthânas or starting-points of philosophy
and he had to show that they supported his views. Hence his
interpretation often seems forced and perverse. The most extraordinary
instance of this is his explanation of the celebrated phrase in the
Chândogya Upanishad Sa âtmâ tat tvam asi. He reads Sa âtmâ atat tvam
asi and considers that it means "You are not that God. Why be so
conceited as to suppose that you are?"[598] Monotheistic texts have
often received a mystical and pantheistic interpretation. The Old
Testament and the Koran have been so treated by Kabbalists and Sufis.
But in Madhva's commentaries we see the opposite and probably rarer
method. Pantheistic texts are twisted until they are made to express
uncompromising monotheism.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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