माधव प्रमाण चन्द्रिका- Madhva's Pramana Candrika (Text in Sanskrit and Translation with an Introductory Outline of Madhva Philosophy in English) (An Old and Rare Book)

Madhva Philosophy is the conceptual formulation of the religious attitude of devotion or Bhakti and rests on the idea of an essential distinction between the devotee and the object of worship. The main points of Madhva Philosophy is that "The Lord is the highest reality. The world is real. Difference is real. Individual souls are the servants of the Lord. They are distinguished by superior and inferior excellences Liberation is the experience of untainted innate bliss. Bhakti or devotion. together with the Lord's grace is the means to liberation Perception, Inference and Verbal Testimony are the sources of knowledge in regard to the Lord Vedas, are the sole evidence. The Vedas areeternal and impersonal".

The accredited authority on Madhva Logic is Jayatirtha, and his celebrated work the Pramanapaddhati is the authoritative logical text of the Madhvas. The Pramana candrika is a shorter work and follows the Pramanpaddhati closely reproducing the language of Paddhati in many places and acknowledging the Paddhati as its authority at the end of every section. The Candrika, however, has the merit of being a clear presentation both of Madhva and other rival views. The present book gives a clear idea of Madhva logical theory and its points of agreement and disagreement with the theories of other schools. The introduction in English gives an outline of Madhva Philosophy.

The accredited authority on Madhva Logic is Jayatirtha, and his celebrated work, the Pramanapaddhati, is the authoritative logical text of the Madhvas. The Pramanacandrika is a shorter work and follows the Pramanapaddhati closely, reproducing the language of the Paddhati in many places and acknowledging the Paddhati as its authority at the end of every section. The Candrika however has the merit of being a clear presentation both of Madhva and other rival views. The present translation, it is hoped, will give a clear idea of Madhva logical theory and its points of agreement and disagreemen with the theories of other chools. The Intro duction which gives an outline of Madhva Phi losophy will also be of use in understanding and correctly appraising the Madhva viewpoint.

Jayatirtha is supposed to have flourised to wards the middle of the fourteenth century. According to one estimate he must be placed between 1817 A.D. and 1380 A.D Since the author of the Candrika refers throughout to Jayatirtha's Paddhati as his source-book, and always with profound respect, he may be taken to be one of Jayatirtba's younger contemporaries.

Madhva philosophy is the conceptual formula tion of the religious attitude of devotion or Bhakti and rests on the idea of an essential distinction between the devotee and the object of his worship. As the philosophie interpretation of the Vedanta teachings it is therefore not merely revolutionary but also heretical. Its dualistic metaphysics and its conception of the Lord as the efficient and not the material cause of the world are a direct negation of the monism of the Upanishadic teachings. It has thus been repu diated by Vedantists themselves as a gross cari cature of the Vedanta doctrines, particularly by the Sankarite Advaitins who reject even qualified non-dualism as inconsistent with Vedantic Absolutism. Madhvaism thus stands to orthodox Vedantism as Sufism does to Islamic Monotheism. If pantheistic Sufism is the worst heresy of Islamism, no less is Madhva Theism as an interpretation of Vedanta monism.

The central conception in the Madhva meta physics is the idea of an eternal and unsur mountable gap between the Lord and the world of inanimate objects and sentient souls. The Lord is the highest reality and has independent being. The world and the individual souls are all dependent on the Lord, but are not existent ially one with Him. The Lord thus is the efficient and not the material cause of the world (cf. Nyaya). The world depends on the Lord," but also has being outside Him. So also have the jivas or individual souls who are subservient to the Lord and are his eternal servants. Thus the distinctions between the Lord and the world and between the Lord and sentient souls are not merely essential but also eternal.

Book's Contents and Sample Pages