Indian Philosophy v2.c27.s8.6

v2.c27.s8.6

Madhva comes into conflict with many scriptural passages, which he strains to make them yield a dualism. Taking the great text, " Tat tvam asi " (" That art thou "), Madhva argues that it does not declare any identity between God and the soul. It only states that the soul has for its essence qualities similar to those of God.¹ This is also the meaning of passages which declare that the soul is a portion of the Lord.² He sometimes reads the passage in a different way. Sa ātmā tat tvam asi, is read as sa ātmā atat tvam asi. " That ātman, thou art not."³ Regarding the text, " ayam ātmā Brahma," Madhva says that it is either a simple eulogy of the jīvātman or it is a subject for meditation. It is also suggested that it is a pūrvapakṣa to be overthrown. Madhva uses the etymological meanings of Ātman and Brahman to explain away the passages which identify the individual and the universal self. The Ātman is Brahman, since it grows (vardhanaśīlaḥ) or since it penetrates everywhere (atanaśīlaḥ).