ABSTRACT
In Chapter 1, I made a strong claim that Madhvåcårya had successfully excluded outsiders and unauthorized readers from accessing the root texts and from obtaining oral commentaries from living experts. In Chapter 2 I examined the context within which Madhvåcårya developed his school of thought and in Chapter 3 I documented the extent to which his insider epistemology was restrictive. When the restrictions dictated by Madhvåcårya’s insider epistemology were implemented, the truth of his doctrine could neither be questioned nor refuted by outsiders. One may wonder if this claim is defensible and may think that there are ways to circumvent the restrictions, despite their severity. If so, then how should an outsider proceed if s/he wished to study Mådhva Vedånta in depth or to surmount the restrictions? Or, if the claim is warranted and the restrictions cannot be overcome, what were (and are) the limitations placed on philosophical inquiries (or any other kind of study) that could have been (or can be) conducted by outsiders? Finally, do these rules still apply to the contemporary Mådhva community or are they hopelessly outdated remnants of medieval Mådhva Vedånta? Is this question of access still relevant to the contemporary Mådhva community or is it one which is superannuated and extraneous?
