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Mokùa, liberation, is the highest among all human goals.31
Though it certainly seems obvious among the followers of Vedânta that
mokùa is the most desirable aim, all sentient beings may not realize that
it is. Why must mokùa be the goal of sentients? How does mokùa rank in comparison to other goals? According to the Mânava-dharma-úâstra,
Manu’s Treatises on Law, there are three puruùârthas, human goals,
namely dharma, duty, artha, material things, and kâma, pleasure.32
Although Madhvâcârya acknowledges them, he believes that they are
impermanent and mixed with sorrow, while mokùa is not and results
in eternal happiness. Any intelligent man according to Madhvâcârya
would choose to pursue mokùa above the other two.33
The schools of Vedânta offer three methods by which one can be
granted mokùa: karma-yoga, the path to mokùa via action and ritual, jñâna-yoga, the path via knowledge, and bhakti-yoga, the path via
29 I am indebted to Professor Varakhedi for informing me about this debate. The issue, he explains, derives from a desire among scholars to account for gender in mokùa.
30 See Pensées and other writings by Blaise Pascal.
31 mokùo hi sarvapuruùârthottamaþ | VTV.
32 See Mânava-dharma-úâstra 2.13.
33 dharmârthakâmâþ sarve ‘pi na nityâ mokùa eva hi | nityas tasmât tadarthâya yateta matimânnaraþ iti bhâllaveyaúruti | anityatvât saduþkhatvânna dharmadyâþ paraü sukham | mokùa eva parânandaþ saüsâre parivartatâm iti ca bhârate | VTV.
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devotion. Each school of Vedânta holds that some combination of the
three is more efficacious than others. Which path does Madhvâcârya
prescribe? Are they equally efficacious? Or is one method preferable
over the others?
Karma-yoga , the path via action and ritual
Among the schools of Hindu philosophical theology, karma-yoga is the
path to mokùa via ritual action prescribed in the Vedas and other âgamas.
These activities include yajñas, sacrifices, of varying degrees of
complexity to devas, gods, and devis, goddesses, of the Vedic pantheon and other vidhis, obligatory duties, that are prescribed according to
varõa and âúrama, stage in life. The four âúramas are brahmacârya, celibate studentship, gçhastha, householder, vânaprastha, forest
dweller, and saünyâsa, ascetic.34 The Mîmâüsâ school of thought, the precursor to the schools of Vedânta, held that the way to svarga, heaven,
was only via karma-yoga. Their sentiment was put forth in the Mîmâüsâ
Sûtras: ‘He who desires svarga, heaven, must sacrifice.’35 Their theory was changed significantly by all of the schools of Vedânta.36 For example, in his commentary on the Bhagavad Gîtâ, Madhvâcârya
agrees with his predecessors that varõâúrama-dharma, obligatory duty
according to class and stage, must be performed.37 Lists of daily rituals that ought to be performed are also found in Madhvâcârya’s
Sadâcârasmçti.
Despite its importance, karma-yoga is still only the first step in the
path to mokùa because in some sense, acting in any way at all solidifies
one’s existence in saüsâra and in the cycle of birth and rebirth. Recall
that although jîvas are predestined, their future births are determined by
the puõya and pâpa karma that they accumulate. All action, whether it is puõya or pâpa, is fuel for the cycle of rebirth within which all are trapped. Madhvâcârya cites from a úruti explaining that jîvas are reborn precisely because of action: ‘Then, [born] in the world with the residue
[accumulated from previous actions], he performs actions and returns
34 For more on the âsrama system see Klostermaier, Olivelle’s úrama System, and the Mânava-dharma-úâstra.
35 svargakâmo yajeta | Jaimini’s Mîmâüsâ Sûtras 6.1.1 and following. Although svarga, heaven, is not identical to mokùa, both are the objectives of the respective systems.
36 Madhvâcârya’s arguments against the Mîmâüsâ view can be found in his Karma Nirõaya.
37 ato niyataü varõaúramocitaü karma kuru | BGB 3.8.
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again and again.’38 In fact, the accumulation of karma begins when one reaches fourteen years old: ‘From fourteen [onwards], he acts because
of [his Vedic] obligations but [each of these] actions [causes] ten [more]
births.’ Madhvâcârya thus concludes that karma creates karma, rather than dissipates it and that karma alone is not the means by which one is
granted mokùa.39
It would seem to follow that if one were able to find a way to avoid
accumulating both puõya and pâpa karma, then one could escape from
the cycle. One may think that inaction is an obvious alternative, but it
is impossible since the Vedas and other âgama are filled with rituals and other injunctions that must be performed. Besides, knowingly
ignoring injunctions creates pâpa, demerit! This quandary is solved in
the Bhagavad Gîtâ, a text in the Mâdhva canon. In a conversation with
the epic hero Arjuna, the god Kçùõa states that niùkâma-karma, acting
without desire for the fruits of one’s actions, is the way to act in the
world without accumulating any karma. Madhvâcârya wholeheartedly
agrees with this characterization, as is evident from his commentary:
‘[Reaching] the state of being free from bondage is [possible] by means
of a lack of desire [for the fruits of one’s actions].’40 He also cites from Mânava-dharma-úâstra: ‘[Actions performed] without desire for the
fruits [they give] are called “complete-[actions].” Practicing complete
[actions leads to] the eternality of brahman [that is, mokùa].’41 Karma-yoga must be performed with a foundation of proper jñâna for it to be efficacious for obtaining mokùa. Otherwise karma-yoga will have the opposite effect, namely helping to maintain one’s bondage in the cycle
of birth and rebirth. Enlightened action is the first step towards mokùa.
Karma-yoga is subservient to jñâna-yoga and is not, by itself, an
independent means to mokùa. To prove this point, Madhvâcârya cites
from Chândogya Upaniùad 1.1.10: ‘Whatever one does with knowledge
[and] with faith, that is more efficacious.’42
Besides knowing that actions should be performed niùkâma, without
desire for their fruits, what else comprises jñâna-yoga? If karma-yoga is
38 tato úeùeõemaü lokamâyâti punaþ karma kuuate punar gacchati puna râgachatîti úruteþ | BSB 3.1.8.
39 ... âcaturdaúamâdvarùâtkarmaõi ... karotyeyam | ataþ karmakùayânmuktiþ kuta eva bhaviùyatîtyâdismçteú ca | BSB 3.1.8.
40 abandhakatvaü tvakâmenaiva bhavati | BGB 3.4.
41 niùkâmaü jñânapûrvaü tu nivçttaü iti cocyate | nivçttaü sevamânastu brahmâbhyeti sanâtanam | BGB 3.4. This passage is taken from Mânava-dharma-
úâstra, 12.89.
42 yadeva vidyayâ karoti úraddhayopaniùadâ tadeva vîryavattaraü bhavati ti úeùatvaúruteþ | BSB 3.4.4.
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insufficient, can jñâna alone lead to the destruction of the fetters of
rebirth, to mokùa?
Jñâna-yoga , the path via knowledge
Having heard, reflected and meditated, annihilating ignorance and
misunderstanding and banishing doubt, one obtains the vision of
brahman.43
The path to aparokùa-jñâna, unmediat
ed knowledge of brahman, and
then to mokùa, requires that the jîva study the âgamas to learn about brahman. These âgamas were transmitted orally, which is why
Madhvâcârya and other scholars of Vedânta refer to studying them as
‘hearing’ rather than ‘reading.’44 As already mentioned, they are not available to all because one must have proper eligibility to access
them. There are other precursors, such as appropriate disposition and
temperament, necessary to qualify for proper jñâna besides class and
gender requirements. For example, Madhvâcârya holds that brahma-
jñâna, knowledge of brahman, must be accompanied with the condition
of tranquility and the restraint of the senses.45 When one has satisfied these requirements one must seek a guru, teacher, since the âgamas
cannot be studied without one. Madhvâcârya enjoins: ‘He, whose goal
is knowledge of Him, who holds a sacrificial stick for the sacred
fire, approaches a guru who is [both] versed in the Vedas and devoted to brahman.’46 This is a portion of the passage as it appears in Muõóaka Upaniùad 1.2.12. The passage in its entirety is informative of
the required disposition and temperament:
Let the brahmin whose goal is knowledge of Him, who holds a
sacrificial stick for the sacred fire, after having examined the
worlds which are known through [ritual] action, [who is]
indifferent to worldly objects, [realizing that] that which is not
created [ mokùa, liberation] is not obtained by [ritual] action, for the
43 úrutvâ matvâ tathâ dhyâtvâ tadajñânaviparayayau | saüúayaü ca parâõudyâ labhate brahmadarúanam | BSB 3.3.43.
44 Contemporary times has led to the near destruction of the practice of orally transmitting the texts. Even the mañhas rely on written transmissions and are now publishing them as books and on the Internet.
45 yady api jñânenaiva mokùo niyatastathâpi jñânî úamadamâdyupetaþ syât | BSB
3.4.27.
46 tadvijñânârthaü sa gurum evâbhigacchet samitpâõiþ úrotriyaü brahmaniùñþam |
BSB 1.1.1.
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sake of understanding that, approach a guru who is [both] versed in
the Vedas and devoted to brahman.47
When the eager student has found an equally eager guru, the novice
must hear, reflect and meditate on the teachings that have been imparted
if he desires to obtain mokùa.48 These activities, moreover, must be repeated and do not suddenly lead to mokùa after being performed only
once.49
The content of a student’s reflection must be brahman and its guõas.
According to Madhvâcârya, among Viùõu’s guõas, perfection is the
most important since all others follow from it.50 Aspirants can meditate on Viùõu according to their individual abilities. Târatamya, gradation,
again prevails. He is to be meditated on by men as ‘the âtman [that is,
Lord, of] being, intelligence and bliss,’ by the lord of the gods as the one
with many attributes in due order and by Brahmâ as the one who
possesses all of the attributes. Jñâna-yoga is also graded since Viùõu is
to be known by all sentient beings to the best of their abilities. The
differences in knowledge of Viùõu are in accordance with târatamya, the
gradation of jîvas.51
Thus, a proper understanding of His attributes can be obtained from
the âgamas and must be conveyed by an âpta-guru, authoritative
teacher. It is also learned via debate with scholars of rival schools. Such
jñâna, knowledge, would also include Madhvâcârya’s commentaries
on the âgamas, as well as his basic epistemology and ontology of
Mâdhva Vedânta, in addition to the úruti and smçti texts upon which Madhvâcârya’s position is supposed to be based. Though jñâna is
47 parîkùya lokân karmacitân brâhmaõo nirvedam âyân nâsty akçtaþ kçtena |
tadvijñânârthaü sa gurum evâbhigacchet samitpâõiþ úrotriyaü brahmaniùñþam |
Muõóaka Upaniùad, 1.2.12.
48 nityaúaþ úravaõaü caiva mananaü dhyânam eva ca | kartavyam eva puruùair brahmadarúanamicchubhiþ iti bçhattantre | BSB 4.1.2. Madhvâcârya quotes this passage from the Bçhat Tantra which, according to contemporary Mâdhva scholars, has been lost.
49 âtma vâ are draùñavyaþ úrotavyo mantavyo nididhyâsitavyaþ ityâdînâü nâgniùñomâdivadekavâreõaiva phalaprâptiþ | BSB 4.1.1. Part of this passage is taken from Bçhadâraõyaka Upaniùad, 4.4.5.
50 nârâyaõatantre ca | âdhivyâdhinimittena vikùiptamanaso ‘pi tu | guõânâü smaraõâúaktau viùõor brahmatvam eva tu | smartavyaü satataü tattu na
kadâcitparityajet | atra sarvaguõanaü ca matontarbhâva iùyate | BSB 4.1.6. This passage is cited from the Nârâyaõa Tantra, another lost text.
51 saccidânanda âtmeti mânuùais tu sureúvaraiþ | yathâkramaü bahuguõair brahmaõâ tvakhilair guõaiþ | AB 3.4. ... jñeyo viùõur viúeùas tu jñâne syâd uttarottaram
| AB 3.5.
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necessary, is it sufficient for obtaining aparokùa-jñâna, unmediated
knowledge, of brahman and mokùa? Is jñâna-yoga enough?
Bhakti-yoga , the path via devotion
Bhakti, devotion, comes from knowledge of the greatness [of God]
and is the strongest [in all circumstances when compared] to others.
Mokùa [is achieved] by this [ bhakti] and in no other manner.52
Madhvâcârya holds that bhakti-yoga, that path via devotion, is the only
way to achieve aparokùa-jñâna, unmediated knowledge of brahman,
and, subsequently, mokùa. Madhvâcârya’s emphasis on bhakti as the
only method for obtaining mokùa distinguishes his position from ones in
which knowledge alone is sufficient.53 Bhakti is the central component in Madhvâcârya’s soteriology. Not only is bhakti-yoga, the path via
devotion, the sole method for obtaining mokùa, but it also most
accurately characterizes the experience of mokùa. Fostering bhakti and becoming a bhakta is both the means and the ends of Mâdhva Vedânta.
Given the importance of bhakti, all other activities serve to enhance
it. For example, Madhvâcârya states that behaviors that are integral
to karma-yoga, such as giving alms, going on pilgrimages, ascetic
practices and performing Vedic rituals, are merely aids to meditation
and devotion.54 Karma-yoga is not efficacious unless it is combined with the required devotional disposition, thereby leading to enlightened
action. But how does one obtain the desired disposition? How does
one learn to become a bhakta? If jñâna, knowledge, of the ontological and epistemological components of the universe, is necessary for
karma-yoga to be efficacious, then how can one act with bhakti if one knows little or nothing about its object, namely Viùõu?
Karma-yoga requires jñâna-yoga to be complete. As already
mentioned, jñâna alone is also insufficient. In fact, jñâna without bhakti is as useless as bhakti without jñâna. Knowing the intricacies of the Mâdhva system without having devotion to Lord Viùõu does not result
in puõya and certainly does not lead to aparokùa-jñâna and mokùa.
Similarly, devotion to Lord Viùõu without an awareness of His place
in the hierarchy of the Mâdhva ontology is also empty and ineffective.
Madhvâcârya states: ‘Hari [that is, Viùõu] is the master of all for [all]
52 mâhâtmyajñânapûrvastu suddçþassavato ‘hidkaþ | sn
eho bhaktir iti proktastayâ muktir na cânyathâ | MBhTN 1.85.
53 Some argue that the Advaita school holds that knowledge alone is sufficient.
54 dânatîrthatapoyajñâpûrvâþ sarve ‘pi sarvadâ | aõgâni harisevâyâü bhaktistvekâ vimuktaye | bhaviùyatparvacanamityetadakhilaü param | MBhTN 1.98–100.
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eternity. [All] are under the control [of the] Highest [One]. This
târatamya and the supremacy of Hari are to be known.’55 Though bhakti is still more important than jñâna, proper bhakti has its roots in proper jñâna and vice versa. Bhakti must be accompanied by jñâna.56 Devotees
must possess the correct emotional state, namely an enlightened
devotion, in order to be granted mokùa.
Not surprisingly, the extent to which one is and can be devoted to
Viùõu is part of the innate character of the individual jîva. Some jîvas possess a capacity to be more devoted than others. As I explain below,
this gradation among the bhaktas, devotees, is replicated in mokùa,
which is itself a locus for gradation. Increased devotion in saüsâra leads
to increased bliss in mokùa, all the while dependent on the capacity of
the devotee.
It is easy to recognize the bhakti of those who have adhikâra,
eligibility. Not only will they be performing the daily rituals as
prescribed by Madhvâcârya in his Sadâcârasmçti and in the âgamas, but they will also act and speak in ways that indicate their awareness of their
paratantratva, dependence, on Viùõu and His supremacy. In contrast,
determining the level of bhakti for those who are not adhikâris, such as women, is not so easy. Madhvâcârya holds that beauty is the best
indicator of a woman’s bhakti and other virtuous attributes. Even the
most stupid observer, he playfully suggests, can recognize beauty!
Therefore, it is a reliable indicator of devotion.57 Still, natural beauty is misleading and must be observed along with the thirty-two
characteristics for the bearer to be a true bhakta.58 Madhvâcârya warns that there are women who have beauty but do not possess the thirty-two
characteristics. These may be asurîs, female demons, or even perfume
wearers, who can trick the unaware observer into thinking that they are
expressing bhakti for Lord Viùõu!59