Philosopher and founder of the Dvaita Vedanta philosophical system, who lived much of his life at Udupi, a tiny town on the Malabar coast in Karnataka.
Madhva's primary idea was that God was completely
transcendent.
This belief prompted him to establish the dualism thesis,
which asserts a qualitative distinction between God's transcendence and the
corruptions of material things.
Despite the fact that both humanity and the material
universe come from God and rely on Him for their continued existence, Madhva
believes God is fundamentally separate from both.
Madhva stood in stark contrast to the largest school,
Advaita Vedanta, which defended the philosophy of monism—the notion that all
things are essentially different manifestations of a single Ultimate Reality
(called Brahman).
Whereas Advaita combines all things into one, Madhva focuses
on keeping the distinctions.
Madhva's focus on dualism led him to describe these distinctions,
which he dubbed the "fivefold difference": the distinctions between
God and Self, God and the universe, individual Selves, Selves and matter, and
particular material objects.
Despite the fact that each Self includes a part of God,
basic differences restrict the Self's ability to live a religious life.
Because of this restricted strength, complete soul release
is only possible via the grace of God, who alone has the ability to do so.
Final emancipation was envisioned as both a way to avoid
rebirth and a way for the soul to stay in the divine presence forever.
You may also want to read more about Hinduism here.
Be sure to check out my writings on religion here.
