- Author : Vidwan Undaru Srinivasa Acharya
- Translation: Hariprasad Nellitheertha
In the works of Sri Vadiraja Tirtharu, one can find innumerable examples of fine logic and reasoning being used to uphold the siddhanta of Sri Madhwacharya. Such sweetness with logic can only be given by Rajaru. Let us take a peek at one such instance.
Why does one put on a blanket when one is feeling extremely cold? It is to protect one’s body from the ill effects of the cold. Today’s generation resort to wearing sweaters, quilts and other similar clothes. The basic resort of all is, however, to a blanket only. If one were to dip a blanket in water, it starts to float after a while. That is its inherent nature – swabhava. One can experiment further by pulling over a blanket till one’s neck and getting into water. After a while, even the person starts to float along with the blanket. In the 16th shloka of the ‘phala sourabha’ in bhavavilasinee* , the usage of this example, to highlight the comic side of the arguments of the Advaitins, can be seen.
यस्यान्यान्योश्रयस्तं त्वां मुक्तं चापि न मुञ्चति
The defect in the argument, known as ‘anyonyashraya dosha’, or mutual dependence, is being highlighted in the above shlOka. The purport is as follows:
“Even if you die, the defect shall not be eliminated. If one were to accept that avidya is the bottleneck for the realization of brahma (brahma satshatkara) and then one were to also state that the realization of brahma provides relief from avidyA, the defect of mutual dependence cannot be overcome.”
The bhavavilasini explains this as follows:
महानदीप्रवाहे मज्जत उन्मज्जतश्च द्राविडस्य गलबद्धकम्बलवत् अपरिहार्यत्वात्
The logic of the Advaitins is as inappropriate as the fallacy of a citizen of dravida-desha who, in the midst of a great deluge – ‘mahapravaha’ – ties a blanket around his neck and tries to float in the flood, with the hope that he will reach the banks of the river soon and thus save his life. The chances of one surviving in a flood are remote. In a great deluge, the chances are next to none. In such a scenario, if one were to hope to survive by assuming that the blanket around the neck would keep him afloat and eventually he would find the resort of a river-bank somewhere, it would be a delusional assumption. The author of the bhavavilasinee, by citing this beautiful analogy, says that the logic of the Advaitins too is similarly inappropriate. The person trying to survive is dependent upon the blanket. The blanket in turn needs a river-bank to be found by the person. In a great deluge, there is no chance of finding a river-bank. Hence the dependencies are inter-locked. Similarly, the arguments of the Advaitins around removal of avidya and sakshatkara (realization) of brahma is inter-dependent and unresolvable. The example in the bhavavilasini thus illustrates the beauty of Sri Vadiraja’s logic!
* Bhavavilasinee is a commentary, on the Yukti Mallika. It is written by Sri Surotthama Tirtha, the 14th Pitadhipati of the Bhandarakere Matha lineage, and a purvashrama brother of Sri Vadiraja Tirtharu.
