Veda Vyasa and Madhavacharya

[Vanguard 0]

There seems to be a big gap of timebetween Veda Vyasa and Madhavacharya in the parampara. How do I explain this to my friends who want to know more?

 

Thanking the devotees with more knowledge than me, in advance.

 

[Kulapavana 0]

Vedavyasa is still living in Badarika Asrama in the higher realm of the Himalayas. Madhvacarya was able to enter that realm by the grace of Krishna, and receive siksa directly from Vedvyasa. However, that does not mean, that there were no proper gurus here on Earth before Madhva. In fact, there were many, many qualified Vaishnava gurus that are not mentioned in the Parampara tree as presented by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta and later by Srila Prabhupada. Only most important gurus were listed.

[Vanguard 0]

Thanks prabhu /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Guest guest]

However, that does not mean, that there were no proper gurus here on Earth before Madhva. In fact, there were many, many qualified Vaishnava gurus***

 

Most of them weren't genuine and the people, as a result, were following false relgion. Krishna sent Madhva to establish Sanatan Dharma.

[Pankaja_Dasa 1]

 

 

I actually had the same question.

 

Talk about a complicated affair. Unless somebody tells you these facts. It's like seaching for a needle in a massive hazeystack. Thx for the info.

 

I think Sridhara Maharaha says, it's a twisty affair Guru-parampara. Anyway I told one devotee that knowing all this can be like Jnana-yoga which he agreed with because then you may spend too much time finding this out. Good point.

[Kulapavana 0]

However, that does not mean, that there were no proper gurus here on Earth before Madhva. In fact, there were many, many qualified Vaishnava gurus***

 

Most of them weren't genuine and the people, as a result, were following false relgion. Krishna sent Madhva to establish Sanatan Dharma.

-----------------------------

 

not only there were pure devotees and acharyas in the Madhva line prior to Sri Madhvacarya, but there were legitimate acharyas in other Vaishnava sampradayas. not everybody was following false religions. and btw. false religions are as prominent today, as they were in Madhva's times... maybe they are even more common now /images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Guest guest]

Haribol.

 

I am a little confused. I was reading and saw that it said that Madhvacharya received diksa from Garadhara Pandit, who in turn received initiation from Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Is this in reference to someone else called Madhavacarya.

 

Sorry for any offenses, but searching for some light /images/graemlins/laugh.gif .

[Kulapavana 0]

it is a different person. Madhvacarya we are talking about lived in the 12th century, so he was obviously not a contemporary to Lord Caitanya's associates.

 

Sri Madhvacarya of our thread was initiated (diksa) by Acyuta Preksa, who technically was a member of the Shankara sampradaya.

[muralidhar_das 0]

The person who is Jagat Guru, the universal teacher, is considered to be the living incarnation of Vyasa and they sit upon the throne we call the "Vyasa-asana".

 

Badarayana, who wrote the Brahma-sutra (Vedanta Sutra) and who lived around the time of Christ is considered to be an incarnation of Vyasa. Vrndavana dasa is the incarnation of Vyasa in Chaitanya Lila.

 

bhagavate krsna-lila varnila vedavyasa

caitanya-lilate vyasa--vrndavana-dasa

(CC Adi 11.55)

"Srila Vyasadeva described the pastimes of Krsna in the Srimad-Bhagavatam. The Vyasa of the pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu was Vrndavana dasa."

 

Also, Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura wrote that the souls of great thinkers who have now left this world (such as Vyasa) can visit us "in the spirit" and assist us:

 

<blockquote>

The Bhagavata teaches us that God gives us truth and He gave it to Vyasa, when we earnestly seek for it. Truth is eternal and unexchausted. The soul receives a revelation when it is anxious for it. The souls of the great thinkers of the by-gone ages, who now live spiritually, often approach our inquiring spirit and assist it in its development. Thus Vyasa was assisted by Narada and Brahma. Our sastras, or in other words, books of thought do not contain all that we could get from the infinite Father. No book is without its errors. God's revelation is absolute truth, but it is scarcely received and preserved in its natural purity. We have been advised in the 14th Chapter of 11th skandha of the Bhagavata to believe that truth when revealed is absolute, but it gets the tincture of the nature of the receiver in course of time and is converted into error by continual exchange of hands from age to age. New revelations, therefore, are continually necessary in order to keep truth in its original purity. We are thus warned to be careful in our studies of old authors, however wise they are reputed to be. Here we have full liberty to reject the wrong idea, which is not sanctioned by the peace of conscience. Vyasa was not satisfied with what he collected in the Vedas, arranged in the Puranas and composed in the Mahabharata. The peace of his conscience did not sanction his labors. It told him from inside "No, Vyasa! you can't rest contented with the erroneous picture of truth which was necessarily presented to you by the sages of by-gone days! You must yourself knock at the door of the inexhaustible store of truth from which the former ages drew their wealth. Go, go up to the Fountain-head of truth where no pilgrim meets with disappointment of any kind." Vyasa did it and obtained what he wanted. We have been all advised to do so. Liberty then is the principle, which we must consider as the most valuable gift of God. We must not allow ourselves to be led by those who lived and thought before us. We must think for ourselves and try to get further truths which are still undiscovered. In the 23rd text 21st Chapter 11th skandha of the Bh.gavata we have been advised to take the spirit of the sastras and not the words. The Bhagavata is therefore a religion of liberty, unmixed truth and absolute love. </blockquote>

 

 

 

 

 

[Kulapavana 0]

Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura:

"We are thus warned to be careful in our studies of old authors, however wise they are reputed to be."

 

would that not apply to his writings as well? if not, than why?

 

and if the old authors were supposedly inspired by the same source as the new ones, what is really the gain?

 

and if it is a mere issue of "inspiration" vs direct (physical person to person) transfer of a perfect knowledge, how is it's validity to be determined? certainly it is a matter of our own faith and realization.

 

 

many doubt the physical person to person transfer of knowledge between our current Vyasadeva (Krishna Dvaipayana) and Madhva. I do not. I know things more "mysterious" than that happen more often than people think.

 

yes, there is often a need to invent explanations to some hard to grasp problems, but we should see them only as our attempts to explain the unexplainable.

 

sometimes it seems that when the eager followers carve the message of their leader in stone, the meaning of the message gets lost or at least distorted...

[muralidhar_das 0]

 

Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura:

"We are thus warned to be careful in our studies of old authors, however wise they are reputed to be."

 

Kulapavana:

would that not apply to his writings as well? if not, than why?

 

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Yes I does. But then what Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur says is usually spoken from a realist point of view. Like for instance when he said we should not think the Bhagavatam is presenting "literal" descriptions of the geography of this planet earth but rather that it is speaking of planes of existence (hellish plane of existence, godly, varnashram-culture etc.)

 

 

[Kulapavana 0]

that's the way many of these subjects are actually presented in the Bhagavatam. Sometimes it is our interpretation that is the problem, like for example when the word "loka" is translated as "planet" - some things can be twisted easily in translation. there is no translation without some degree of interpretation.