ananda
tirtha-nama sukha-
maya-dhama yatir jiyat
samsararnava-taranim yam
iha janah kirtayanti budhah
"May that great sannyasi, Srila Ananda Tirtha (Madhvacharya) be ever victorious. He is like a boat to cross the ocean of the material world, and the wise men in this world praise him."
(Prameya Ratnavali by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana)
The contents of this webpage are in response to a group of young men claiming to be the followers of Sri Madhvacharya who recently challenged the philosophy of the Gaudiya sampradaya. Many of their points simply stem from lack of knowledge of the Gaudiya siddhanta, whilst other arguments appear to be based more on the fundamental defects of conditioned souls, such as malice and envy.
Links to Related Articles:
- The Validity of the Gaudiya Parampara
- The Divinity of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu
- The Ontological Position of the Vaishnava over the Brahmana
- The Supremacy of Srimad Bhagavatam
- The Supreme Position of Sri Krshna as the Source of All Incarnations (to be added soon)
- A Word to our Madhva-Vaisnava Brethren [From The Harmonist, 1935] • NEW •
We will analyze each of these issues individually and present the conclusion according to the Gaudiya viewpoint. In each chapter the oppositions various arguments will be presented, followed by our refutation. Our sole aim in presenting this thesis is to show our own community of Vaisnavas that we indeed have valid and conclusive answers to such objections.
Although we may speak very strongly in our rebuttal, we would like to make it very clear that we find no fault with the great Vaisnava Sri Madhva Muni. We regard him as one of our sampradaya-acaryas and offer him all respects. It is the opinion of the Gaudiya Vaisnavas that the teachings of Sri Madhvacharya are a vital step in the evolution of theism which culminates in the philosophy of divine love expounded by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
We do not claim to be a great vidvan (scholar), nor do we claim to have vast knowledge in philosophy and history. We simply pray at the lotus feet of our revered gurudeva, Om Visnupada Sri Srimad Bhakti Gaurava Narasingha Maharaja and the predecessor acaryas in our guru-varga such as Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Srila B. R. Sridhara Deva Goswami Maharaja, Srila B. P. Puri Gosvami, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, and Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana to bless us with inspiration.
Praying for the mercy of Hari, Guru and Vaisnavas —
Tridandi Bikshu
Swami Bhakti Vijnana Giri