Impact of Dvaita Movement
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- Madhva's Dualistic view, along with Shankara's Advaita (Nondualism) and Ramanuja's Vishishtadvaita (Attributive Nondualism), form some of the core Indian beliefs on the nature of reality.
- Madhva is considered one of the influential theologians in Hindu history. He revitalized a Hindu monotheism despite attacks, theological and physical, by outsiders. Great leaders of the Vaishnava Bhakti movement in Karnataka, Purandara Dasa and Kanaka Dasa for example, were strong proponents of the Dvaita tradition. The famous Hindu saint, Raghavendra Swami, was a leading figure in the Dvaita tradition.
- Madhva's theology heavily influenced those of later scholars such as Nimbarka, Vallabha and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. B.N.K. Sharma notes that Nimbarka's theology is a loose réchauffé of Madhva's in its most essential aspects. Vallabha even "borrowed without acknowledgement" a verse from Madhva's sarva-shāstrārtha-sangraha. The followers of Caitanya claim a link to Madhva.
- Madhva's singular contribution was to offer a new insight and analysis of the classical Vedantic texts, the Vedas, Upanishads, Brahma Sutra, Mahabharata, Pancharatra and Puranas, and place uncompromising Dvaita thought, which had been ravaged by attacks from Advaita, on a firm footing. Before Madhva, nondualism was rejected by others, such as the Mimamsa tradition of Vedic exegesis, and by the Nyaya tradition of classical logic. However, it was only he who built a cogent, alternative system of Vedantic interpretation that could take on Advaita in full measure.
Shiva is worshipped as a subordinate god (deva) by followers of Dvaita. Though this appears intolerant, it is because of a strong monotheistic belief in a personal God, unlike Advaita, for which the identity of God does not matter as it is Nirguna or without attributes.
Historically, Dvaita scholars have been involved in vigorous debates against other schools of thought, especially Advaita. Whereas Advaita preaches that Atman and Brahman are one and the same, which is not evident to the atman till it comes out of a so-called illusion, Madhvacharya puts forth that Brahman (Vishnu/God) and Atman (soul) are eternally different, with God always the Superior one. It is the same point that Madhvacharya reinforces in one of his doctrines, "Yadi Namaparo Na bhavet Shri Hari, khathamasya vashet Jagatedabhoot. Yadi Namanatasya Vashe Sakalam, Khathamevath nitya sukham Na Bhaveth"
"If you feel there is no God, how do you explain as to why you cannot free yourself from the limitations on Earth? If you feel YOU are the one in control of everything (as Advaita preaches that Soul and God are one and the same), then how come you don't enjoy happiness always and are also subject to sorrow and pain (as God is supposed to be an eternity of happiness)? "
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