Who is he? He is Acharya Madhwa : a distinguished saint of Bharat
who preached to the world that God will hear in whichever language or name He is
addressed. He left a great message for subsequent generations:
"Do not make a fuss about how should address god. You can you address him in any
language and by any name. Know that there is no word in the world without His name. Apart
from the language we speak, the entire nature extols Him. The sounds of the sea, the wind
that blows, the chirping of the birds, the hooting of animals - all these are nothing but
homage to God. Learn to recognise His existence in all the voices and everywhere. Live
with godliness."
The Acharya went a step further in his commentary on the Bhagavad-Gita: "The caste
system relates more to ones nature than to ones body. It is not important to
which caste one belongs at birth. His nature decides his caste. Basically, the caste
system in only a division based on mans nature. A chandala (untouchable)
who treads the spiritual path is a better being than a brahmin who is ignorant of that
path and puts on an artificial appearance."
In Bharat, during the thirteenth century, people were stubbornly practising the caste
system. It is amazing that the Acharya propagated such progressive views at such a time.