Madhwa Brahmins

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Madhwa Brahmins
ಮಾಧ್ವ ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮಣರು
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Religion
Hinduism - Dvaita Vedanta

Some Common Surnames

* Rao * Deshpande * Kulkarni * Bharadwaja * Kaushik * Bhat * Hegde * Joshi * Sharma * Vyas * Kashyap * Desai
Related ethnic groups

Madhwa Brahmins or Madhwa or Deshastha Madhwa Brahmin ( Deshastha Brahmins who follow Madhvacharyas philosophy) is caste of Hindu Brahmin community in India. The Madhwas generally follow the Dvaita school of Vedanta philosophy as espoused by Sripada Madhvacharya , later followers, according to the Tattvavada spiritual path.[1]

Ceremonies and Rituals

Upon birth, a child is initiated into the family ritually according to the Rig Veda for the Madhwa Brahmins. The naming ceremony of the child may happen many weeks or even months later, and it is called the barsala. In many Hindu communities around India, the naming is almost often done by consulting the child's horoscope, in which are suggested various names depending on the child's Lunar sign (called Rashi). However, in Madhwa families, the name that the child inevitably uses in secular functioning is the one decided by his parents. If a name is chosen on the basis of the horoscope, then that is kept a secret to ward off casting of a spell on the child during his or her life. During the naming ceremony, the child's paternal aunt has the honour of naming the infant. When the child is 11 months old, he or she gets their first hair-cut.[2]

Madhwa males undergo the Upanayana when they turn seven years old to initiate them into Vedic studies.[3] It is also known as Brahmopadesham. The key ritual during the Upanayana is that of putting a sacred thread consisting of three cotton strands across the left shoulder of the boy. The initiate is called a dvija "twice-born" and is expected to perform the sandhyavandanam at least twice daily. Dvija has a special knot in it which is called as "Brahma Gant". Madhwas also undergo the Upakarma, where the sacred thread is changed and mudradharana is done. Mudradharana is a ritual where Vaishnavite symbols like the conch or the wheel are etched on bodies as a ritual of purification...[4] Currently, the prevalent practice is to paint the symbols using gopichandana paste. In old vedas it is mentioned that after upanayana he enters the stage of Brahmacharya ashram, leading a celibate and austere life of a student in his teacher’s home, eating from handouts given by the generous neighbors. It is equivalent to say he will undergo studies excluding all other aspects in modern days. When he has accomplished his studies of the Vedas, he enters the Grahastha ashram, a married man becoming head of his household. This dvija also called as "Janivara" is replaced with six cotton strands during the wedding.

Madhwa Brahmins dispose their dead by cremation.[5] The dead person's son carries the corpse to the cremation ground atop a bier. The eldest son lights the fire to the corpse at the head for males and at the feet for females. The ashes are gathered in an earthen pitcher and immersed in a river on the third day after the death. This is a 13-day ritual with the pinda being offered to the dead soul on the 11th and a Śrāddha ceremony followed by a funeral feast on the 13th. Cremation is performed according to vedic rites, usually within a day of the individual's death. Like all other Hindus, the preference is for the ashes to be immersed in the Ganges river or Godavari river. Śrāddha becomes an annual ritual in which all forefathers of the family who have passed on are remembered. These rituals are expected to be performed only by male descendants, preferably the eldest son of the deceased.[5]

Teachings

Teachings of Shri Guru Madhvacharya

File:Madhwa.png
Madhvacharya is a Prominent philosopher of Dvaita Vedanta.He was born in Karnataka State.

Reality is twofold: independent and dependent things. The Lord Vishnu is the only independent thing.[6]

Madhvācārya's teachings are built on the premise that there is a fundamental difference between Atman (individual soul, self) and the Brahman (ultimate reality, God Vishnu), these are two different unchanging realities, with individual soul dependent on Brahman, never identical.[7]The Dvaita school founded by Madhva influenced Vaishnavism, the Bhakti movement in medieval India, and has been one of the three influential Vedānta philosophies, along with Advaita Vedanta and Vishishtadvaita Vedanta.[8][9][10]

Teachings of Shri Guru Raghavendra Swami

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  • Always Show and Have Respect to Your Mother, Father, Guru, Elders.
  • Shastras have all the answers to day-to-day life’s difficulties and challenges.
  • Shastraic way of life is the royal road to peace, prosperity and happiness.
  • Without right living, right thinking will never happen.
  • In short our life itself is worship.
  • Every action is a puja.
  • This life is precious.
  • Not even a second that has gone will come back.
  • Listening to the right shastras and always remembering Him is the highest duty, without which, life becomes meaningless.
  • Have devotion to the Lord.
  • Accepting the Lord's supremacy wholeheartedly is true devotion.
  • Live with peace and harmony.
  • Be kind and courteous to others feelings and ideas.
  • Do not hurt the feelings of others.
  • Don’t be proud, be away from egoism.
  • Think about others, act softly, be selfless, polite and kind.
  • Repentance feeling one should have whenever one does some mistakes.
  • We are all the servants of Sri Hari.
  • Always speak the truth.
  • Universal Affection and Love for Fellow Creatures one should have in his life.
  • Respect and regard the elders Stottamaru and Swaottamaru.
  • Though I will not be with you in person my presence will be in my works and in my brindavan.
  • You can serve me best by listening to, studying, preserving and propagating my works.
  • Now I take leave of you.
  • My blessings to you."
  • "Raghavendra Gururayarasevisiro…Sowkyathijeevisiro" [11]

Gotras

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Madhwas, like all other Brahmins, trace their paternal ancestry to one of the Seven or eight sages, the saptarshi.[12][13] Accordingly, they are classified into eight gotras based on the rishi they have descended from. A maiden in the family belongs to gotra of her father, but upon marriage takes the gotra of her husband.All members of a particular gotra are believed to possess certain common characteristics by way of nature or profession.The gotras are Gautama Maharishi, Bharadwaja, Vishvamitra, Jamadagni, Vashista, Kashyapa, Atri, Agastya These eight sages are called gotrakarins, from whom all 49 gotras have evolved.

Religious Customs

A typical DaivaMandapa or shrine in a Madhwa household. Madhwas have a shrine in their house with idols, symbols, and pictures of various deities. Ritual reading of religious texts is also popular.

Madhwas recite the Rig Veda at religious ceremonies, prayers and other occasions.[14] These ceremonies include birth, wedding, initiation ceremonies, as well as death rituals. Other ceremonies for different occasions in Hindu life include Vastushanti which is performed before a family formally establishes residence in a new house, Satyanarayana Puja, is a ceremony performed before commencing any new endeavour or for no particular reason. Invoking the name of the family's gotra and the kula deiva are important aspects of these ceremonies. Every Madhwa family has their own family patron deity or the kuladevata.[15] This deity is common to a lineage or a clan of several families who are connected to each other through a common ancestor.[15][16]

Traditions

Madhwas are generally vegetarians. Some abjure onion and garlic on the grounds that they activate certain base senses.[17] By tradition, like other Brahmin communities of South India, Madhwa Brahmins are lacto vegetarian.[2]They were required to avoid alcohol and tobacco.[18]

Surnames and families

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A large number of Deshastha surnames are derived by adding the suffix kar to the village from which the family originally hailed.[19] For example, Bidkar came from town of Bid, Nagpurkar comes from the city Nagpur, Dharwadkar from the town of Dharwad in Karnataka, and the Marathi poet V. V. Shirwadkar, colloquially knows as Kusumagraj, came from the town of Shirwad. The names Kulkarni,Rao, Deshpande, and Joshi are very common amongst Deshastha Brahmins and Madhwa Brahmins, and denote their professions.[20] For example, Kulkarni means revenue collector and Joshi means astrologer.[20] Some surnames simply describe physical and mental characteristics such as Hirve which means green or Buddhisagar which literally translates to ocean of intellect or "Dharmik" which means "very religious.

Festivals

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Madhwas follow the saka calender. Madhwas celebrate almost all Hindu festivals. These include Rama Navami , Hanuman Jayanti ,Krishna Janmashtami, Ganesh Chaturthi, Diwali and Holi.

of these the most important festivals are Krishna Janmashtami and Hanuman Jayanti.[21] however, Diwali, the most popular festival of Hindus throughout India,[22] is equally popular in Madhwas household.

The religious amongst the Deshastha Madhwas / Madhwas fast on the days prescribed for fasting according to Hindu calendar.[23] Typical days for fasting are Ekadashi, Chaturthi, and Krishna Janmashtami .[24] Some people fast during the week in honour of a particular god, for example Saturday for Hanuman and the planet Saturn, Shani.[24]

Notable People

  • B. Vittalacharya - Film Director
  • N. R. Narayana Murthy [25] - Founder of Infosys
  • K K Hebbar 1911-1996 famous Artist known for his contemporary paintings and line drawings.
  • Diwan Purnaiah 1746-1812 who was Diwan of mysore kingdom under 3 rulers Hyder Ali, Tippu Sultan and Wodeyar.

See also

References

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  2. 2.0 2.1 Ghosal 2004, pp. 478–480.
  3. "Upanayana Ceremony".
  4. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. 5.0 5.1 Ghosal 2004, p. 479.
  6. Sfn|Bryant|2007|p=361
  7. Stoker 2011.
  8. Bryant 2007, pp. 12-13, 359-361.
  9. Sharma 1962, pp. xv-xvii.
  10. Stafford Betty (2010) , Dvaita, Advaita, and Viśiṣṭādvaita: Contrasting Views of Mokṣa, Asian Philosophy: An International Journal of the Philosophical Traditions of the East, Volume 20, Issue 2, pages 215-224
  11. raghavendra Swami
  12. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. Ghosal 2004, p. 478.
  15. 15.0 15.1 Hassan 1920, pp. 110–111.
  16. Walunjkar, pp. 285–287.
  17. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. Chopra 1982, p. 52.
  20. 20.0 20.1 Karve 1968, p. 161.
  21. Thapan 1997, p. 226.
  22. Council of Social and Cultural Research, p. 28.
  23. Sharma & Gupta 2006.
  24. 24.0 24.1 http://ahmednagar.nic.in/gazetteer/people_feast.html
  25. http://www.notablebrahmins.com/

Bibliography

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External links