The Philosophy of Acharya Madhwa: Perception and Realisation of Thy’self - Part 2

The Philosophical Hypothesis (Foundation):

Faith is the stepping stone for any foundation and the choice of any noble hypothesis. In any hypothesis, there are no proofs….there are only agreements. The only relevant test to validate any hypothesis is comparison of prediction with experience filled with a fine capacity of discrimination.

It is absolutely essential that one should be neutral and not fall in love with the hypothesis as it does not pretend to be able to prove that there exists God and it equally cannot prove that God is fictional.

It is not easy to convey, unless one has experienced that dramatic feeling of sudden enlightenment that floods the mind when the right idea finally clicks into place through intuition.

Moving ahead, I would say, to pin your hopes upon the future is to consign those hopes to a hypothesis until you find the right one, as you can't prove or disprove any hypothesis, you can only improve upon it.

There are two possible outcomes: if the result confirms the hypothesis, then you've gained a measure of fulfilment. If the result is contrary, then you've made a discovery!

The working hypothesis conceptualised by Acharya Madhwa is in line with Brihadaranyaka Upanishad and is as follows:

“आत्मा वा इदं एकैव अग्र आसीत पुरुष: - विदः”

(Before the material world was manifested, the Supreme Being existed)

There exists an eternal self-dependent immaterial reality termed as ‘Creator’ (God)

(Creator is the creative faculty, the energy source a hypocenter & the driving force behind universe)

      

Creator (PuruSha) eternally exists with his creation (Prakruti) which is also eternal

(Cannot detach the creation from the creator as they are inseparable & exist together)

Creator is the ‘Truth’ himself, full of infinite attributes and void of all defects

(Creator is the everlasting, unchanging – universal constant)

Creator is the blissful embodiment of “Knowledge, Happiness & Light” manifested

(It is the ultimate form to be realised)

God is not a hypothesis derived from logical arguments, but he is faith himself, realised through unbiased penance in the quest for ‘Absolute Truth’ described through insights by many experienced & realised as self-evident as light. He is not something to be sought in the darkness with the light of reason. “He is the only Light”

The Philosophical Postulates (Pillars):

Once the main foundation of working hypothesis is agreed upon and established, it’s time to conceptualise the body and construct the structural pillars of postulates. Testing the hypothesis on the reinforcement of postulates under complex conditions, is always essential, considering that uncertainty in the quest for truth, is a dangerous proposition!

Postulates are often the basic truth of a much larger theory or law, that make sense and is agreed to by everyone to be correct thus useful for creating proofs in the path of Philosophy and are as described below:

There cannot exist two Self-Dependent entities (Swatantra tattva’s) at any given place & time throughout eternity…!!

Only one self-dependent entity exists eternally from indefinite space & time to infinite space & time. Rest all others are just dependent on the first. So, what I mean by the above statement is that for any action either psychological or physical to be executed, it requires a force and such force to perform every action can originate only from an entity that is self-dependent (Swatantra), a dependent entity can neither generate nor regulate the required force to enact any action...which makes sense and is in line with the law of nature. Hence, the cause for every action (psychological or physical) that we experience in this universal existence is sourced from the self-dependent entity that is God (PuruSha – The Source of all Energy) rest others are his eternal dependents....

All entities existing in and out of this universe are ‘Real & Unique’ in nature…..!!

 Variability is the law of life, the fundamental principle to be experienced, and is as follows:

- No two entities existing in this universe are alike

- No two things / particles are ever constructed or manufactured alike

- No two behaviour / Patterns / Sound are alike

- No two situations / conditions / activities are alike.

Everything happens for a reason, nothing happens by chance or by mistake or by itself...!!

The cause & effect behind every single event, mechanism, process in this very existence is mathematically driven, calculated, accurate, well-planned and executed, in sync with a specific pattern perfectly designed and set consciously.

‘To err……is human & to excel is divine!’

The Philosophical Theory (Roof):

To theorize is to develop the required body of knowledge that provides "goals, norms, and standards,” isn’t ‘Truth’ the body of knowledge?

Acharya Madhwa Emphasizes:

'To seek truth means to surrender and to surrender means to seek truth.'

The theory propounded by Acharya Madhwa is the ‘Theory of Disambiguation' (Theory of Dharma)

The psychological intention behind every physical action is the measure of ambiguity.

To disambiguate means to ‘Walk the Talk and Talk the Walk’ i.e. remove ambiguities in action and its perception! (ನುಡಿದಂತೆ ನಡೆ...ನಡೆದಂತೆ ನುಡಿ).

                                                     

The Theory States:

If the psychological Intention behind every physical action is positive & aligns one towards truth its ‘Dharma’ and the same psychological intention when negative and aligns one away from truth is ‘Adharma’

Acharya Madhwa Cautions:

One could be untruthful to this world but never to himself. So, beware!! It’s not a cake walk to walk the path of truth but it’s a walk on the sharp edge of the sword.

Eventually one needs to be selfless, to be unbiased, to be attached but detached at the same time and be sensitive towards the real values of life (Ethics).

In a truth-walk following falsehood is nothing but getting divorced from this very existence, experience and reality its nonetheless lying to one own-self having finally paid for landing and lost in eternity.

Essence of Spiritual Physics:

Falsehood has an infinite combinations hiding for a chance to malign the truth but truth has only one mode of being and it breaths its heart in the Dharma (Roof).

In the journey of Philosophy it is very important to fulfil the objective of life that is attain contentment and it flows by following dharma (Theory of disambiguation). To follow dharma means to be ethical.

The pillars of postulates need to be structured, engineered, reinforced and strongly deep rooted inside the 'Foundation of Hypothesis'. Once pillars are deep-rooted means postulates are understood in-depth visualised in line with spirit of working hypothesis.

Hypothesis is termed as creator (God) - foundation himself, upon whom the entire philosophical castle of Truth and Reality is trusted and erected.

If the conceptualisation of hypothesis about God goes right, it will lead one to truth secured with safety but if the same conceptualisation about God goes wrong, it leads one to falsehood lost in deep danger.

And it is God who is the energy source behind all actions in this universe enabling every existence (living & non-living) into motion through space & time.

Note: If the conceptualisation of any working hypothesis goes wrong, the entire structure of any philosophical castle collapses and comes down in a terrifying crash. Such is the significance, importance and responsibility one needs to have in deriving the right workable hypothesis (Foundation) underscores Acharya Madhwa.

(To be continued)

(Contributed by Shri Guru Prasad)