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As I discuss in this question, by far the most popular school of Hindu philosophy is the Vedanta school, which bases its tenets on the doctrines laid out in the Brahma Sutras, a work by the sage Vyasa that summarizes and systematizes the philosophical teachings of the Upanishads. You can read the Brahma Sutras here.

In any case, in Adhyaya 2 Pada 2 of the Brahma Sutras, Vyasa discusses various rival schools to Vedanta. In particular, he says this:

Topic-8: Bhagavata View Refuted
42. (The Bhagavata view that Samkarsana and others originate successively from Vasudeva and others is wrong), since any origin (for the soul) is impossible.
43. And (this view is wrong because) an implement cannot originate from its agent (who wields it).
44. Alternatively even if (it be assumed that Vasudeva and others are) possessed of knowledge, (majesty etc.,), still the defect cannot be remedied.
45. Besides, (in this scripture) many contradictions are met with and it runs counter to the Vedas.

This translation is biased towards Advaita, but nevertheless most commentators on the Brahma Sutras agree that Vyasa is talking about the Pancharatra texts, the foundational texts of Vaishnavism which I discuss in my answer here. Now Adi Shankaracharya's Advaita commentary argues that Vyasa is criticizing Pancharatra, whereas Ramanujacharya's commentary argues that Vyasa is defending Pancharatra from a potential crticism, but both agree that Pancharatra is the subject being discussed.

But as with many things, the Dvaita philosopher Madhvacharya has a very different intepretation of these Sutras. He thinks that when Vyasa is criticizing the notion that the soul comes from Brahman, he is not criticizing the Pancharatra texts, but rather the Shakta Agamas, i.e. the texts followed by those who think the goddess Shakti is supreme. Here is how Madhvacharya interprets Sutra 42 in his commentary on the Brahma Sutras:

  1. On account of the impossibility of origination, (Shakti, a Goddess, cannot be the cause).

For the bringing forth of anything has not been observed on the part of the female without the favour of the male.

Baladeva Vidyabhushana, the Gaudiya Vaishnava commentator on the Brahma Sutras, gives the same interpretation as Madhvacharya:

The followers of Śakti have imagined Her to be the sole cause of the world by reasoning alone, unsupported by Vedic authority. Since they base their theory on reason, they must be refuted by such reason as would appeal to the common sense of mankind. It is not possible that Śakti alone could be the mother of the whole universe, because by Herself, She has no power of origination. We do not find immaculate conception in this world, nor do females give birth without connection with males.

My question is, what is the logic of Madvacharya's argument that Shakti cannot create souls? Just because human females require a man to bear children, why does that imply that the supreme goddess Shakti (as Shaktas view her) would require the help of a man to create souls? Surely if Shakti were engaging in the activity of creation, she wouldn't need to use human means of reproduction to do it!

Are there any followers of Madhvacharya or Baladeva Vidyabhushana who have elaborated on their reasoning here? The reasoning seems ridiculous to me. Then again, some of the reasoning of Adi Shankaracharya and Ramanujacharya doesn't make sense to me at times, so perhaps I'm missing something here.

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Keshav Srinivasan
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    From an advatic standpoint, Shakti is Saguna Brahman, Brahman seen from within the veil of Maya. There is no creation, there is only projection of Brahman. There is no creation of individual souls in advaita, but there is in the dvaita of Madhava. The problem with Madhava's argument is he implies dualistic concepts into advaita which do not exist in the advaita. He's trying to compare apples and oranges. For his arguments to make sense you have to first accept his dualistic concepts as being a part of advaita - which they are not. – Swami Vishwananda Nov 14 '15 at 06:10
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    @SwamiVishwananda First of all, this has nothing to do with Advaita vs. Dvaita, all the Vedantic schools, including Madhvacharya, believe that individual souls can never be created. Both Adi Shankaracharya and Madhvacharya agree that in Sutra 42, Vyasa is criticizing the notion that individual souls can be created, it's just that Adi Shankaracharya attributes this notion to Pancharatra whereas Madhvacharya attributes this notion to the Shaktas. – Keshav Srinivasan Nov 14 '15 at 14:56
  • @SwamiVishwananda But either way, both Adi Shankaracharya and Madhvacharya have the same goal here, which is to criticize the system that Vyasa is discussing in Sutras 42-45. They just disagree on what that system is, and they use different arguments to criticize that system. – Keshav Srinivasan Nov 14 '15 at 14:58
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    "doctrines laid out in the Brahma Sutras, a work by the sage Vyasa", since when Vyasa became the author of Brahma sutras? The author was Badarayana. – Pinakin Nov 24 '15 at 14:11
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    @ChinmaySarupria Badarayana is just another name for Vyasa. – Keshav Srinivasan Nov 24 '15 at 14:17
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    No, they were 2 completely different persons. Many people make the mistake of thinking them as one. See this: http://trivenijournalindia.com/isvyasathesameasbadarayanaapr96.htm – Pinakin Nov 24 '15 at 14:21
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    @ChinmaySarupria I just have a difference of opinion with Shastri. Ramanujacharya said it's Vyasa: http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/sbe48/sbe48003.htm Madhvacharya says the same thing. – Keshav Srinivasan Nov 24 '15 at 14:24
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    "Vyasa was conflated with Badarayana by Vaishnavas with the reason that the island on which Vyasa was born is said to have been covered by Badara (Indian jujube/Ber/Ziziphus mauritiana) trees" Wikipedia has a good explanation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badarayana – Pinakin Nov 24 '15 at 14:43
  • In any case, P.V Shastri analysis should be trusted. He has put forward all the facts that say Badarayana was a different person. – Pinakin Nov 24 '15 at 14:47
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    @ChinmaySarupria Well, I don't think Wikipedia is right. He is called Badarayana because of the Badari tree, it's not a conflation at all. And I completely disagree with Shastri's argument. Like he baselessly suggests that Badarayana is the grandson of the Mimamsaka Badari. And he says that Adi Shankaracharya wouldn't cite other works by the same author, but that's not true at all. In any case, numerous Acharyas have said that the Brahma Sutras were authored by Vyasa. – Keshav Srinivasan Nov 24 '15 at 17:13
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    And all those numerous Acharyas are Vaishnavas, right? – Pinakin Nov 26 '15 at 10:55
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    @ChinmaySarupria No, it's not only Vaishnavas that make the identification; the Purva Mimamsa Acharya Kumarila Bhatta also makes the identification. And there are works by Advaitins like Vachaspati Mishra and Sayana that say the same thing. – Keshav Srinivasan Nov 26 '15 at 13:16
  • Vidyabhushana's argument is weak. For example, "We do not find immaculate conception in this world." Immaculate conception means a person concieved & born entirely without sin—which has nothing to do with the argument. Perhaps the translator meant "divine conception" which is belied by Kuntī's several divinely conceived sons, the first of which left her with her virginity. Moreover, energetic force/power is in all things, including the semen of men. Note: none of this is a criticism of your post, but a criticism of Vidyabhushana's claim. – Rubellite Yakṣī Apr 28 '18 at 19:08
  • @RubelliteFae I think that's just a translation issue; the translator was trying to say "without intercourse", not "without sin". – Keshav Srinivasan Apr 28 '18 at 22:00
  • @KeshavSrinivasan To which I refer back to Karna's virgin birth from Kunti. – Rubellite Yakṣī Apr 28 '18 at 22:10
  • @RubelliteFae But even Karna's birth involved participation (in some form of another) of a male, namely Surya. – Keshav Srinivasan Apr 28 '18 at 22:12
  • @KeshavSrinivasan Yes, and Surya left her with her "maidenhood" in tact. – Rubellite Yakṣī Apr 28 '18 at 22:13
  • @RubelliteFae Yeah, he gave her that blessing. – Keshav Srinivasan Apr 28 '18 at 22:14

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