Advaita Vedanta

Advaita redirects here. For other uses, see Advaita (dis- pada[9] in the 8th century, who systematised the works of
ambiguation).
preceding philosophers.[10] Its teachings have inuenced
[note 1]
Advaita Vedanta
is the oldest extant sub-school various sects of Hinduism.[11]
The key source texts for all schools of Vednta are
the Prasthanatrayi, the canonical texts consisting of the
Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita and the Brahma Sutras,
of which they give a philosophical interpretation and
elucidation.[6]
Advaita Vedanta developed in a multi-faceted religious
and philosophical landscape. The tradition developed in
interaction with the other traditions of India: Jainism,
Buddhism, Vaishnavism and Shaivism, as well as the
other schools of Vedanta.
In modern times, due to western Orientalism and
Perennialism, and its inuence on Indian Neo-Vedanta
and Hindu nationalism,[12] Advaita Vedanta has acquired
a broad acceptance in Indian culture and beyond as the
paradigmatic example of Hindu spirituality,[12] despite
the wide popularity of the Shaivite Vishishtadvaita and
Dvaitadvaita bhakti traditions, and incorporating teachers such as Ramana Maharshi and Nisargadatta Maharaj
despite their eclectic and tantric backgrounds.

Statue of Gaudapada, the grand guru of Adi Shankara and the

rst historical proponent of Advaita Vedanta, also believed to be
the founder of Shri Gaudapadacharya Math

1 Moksha liberation through

knowledge of Brahman

of Vedanta,[note 2] an ancient Hindu tradition of scriptural

exegesis[note 3] and religious practice,[web 1] and the bestknown school of advaita, the nonduality of Atman and
Main article: Moksha
Brahman or the Absolute. It gives a unifying interpretation of the whole body of Upanishads,[6] providing scriptural authority for the postulation of the nonduality of At- Traditional Advaita Vedanta centers around the study and
correct understanding of the sruti, revealed texts, espeman and Brahman.
cially the Upanishads.[13][14] Correct understanding proAdvaita (not-two in Sanskrit) refers to the recognition that vides knowledge of the identity of atman and Brahman,
the true Self, Atman, is the same as the highest Reality, which results in liberation. The main texts to be studBrahman. [note 4] [note 5] Followers seek liberation/release ied are the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita and Brahma Suby acquiring vidy (knowledge)[8] of the identity of At- tras. Correct knowledge is obtained by following the
man and Brahman. Attaining this liberation takes a long four stages of samanyasa (self-cultivation), sravana, lispreparation and training under the guidance of a guru. tening to the teachings of the sages, manana, reection
Advaita thought can also be found in non-orthodox Indian on the teachings, and svdhyya, contemplation of the
religious traditions, such as the tantric Nath tradition.
truth that art Thou. Practice is also needed to destroy
The principal, though not the rst, exponent of the ones tendencies (vAasanA-s)" before real insight can be
Advaita Vedanta-interpretation was Shankara Bhagavad- attained.[web 2]
1

1.1

MOKSHA LIBERATION THROUGH KNOWLEDGE OF BRAHMAN

Svdhyya and anubhava - understand- removed, the truth of Brahma Satyam Jagan Mithya Jivo
Brahmaiva Na Aparah is realised:[web 5]
ing the texts

Brahman (the Absolute) is alone real; this

Sruti, revealed texts, and proper reasoning, are the main
world
is unreal; the Jiva or the individual soul
sources of knowledge for Shankara and the subsequent
[15][16]
is
non-dierent
from Brahman.[web 5]
Advaita Vedanta tradition.
Correct knowledge of
Brahman can be acquired by svdhyya,[17] study of the
self and of the Veda, and nididhysana, prolonged study Liberation can be achieved while living, and is called
[29]
of and contemplation on the truths revealed in the sruti[18] Jivanmukta.
and contemplation of non-duality.[19]
Nididhyasana leads to anubhava, direct cognition 1.3 Identity of Atman and Brahman
or understanding, which establishes the truth of the
sruti.[20] Shankara holds anubhava to be a pramana,
See also Jnana, Prajna and Prajnam Brahma
an independent source of knowledge which is provided by nididhyasana.[21] According to Comans, Moksha is attained by realizing the identity of Atman and
Shankara uses anubhava interchangeably with pratipatta, Brahman. According to Potter,
understanding.[web 3] Davis translates anubhava as
direct intuitive understanding.[22] According to Hirst,
8. The true Self is itself just that pure
anubhava is the non-dual realisation gained from the
consciousness, without which nothing can be
scriptures, which provides the sanctionp and paradigm
known in any way.
for proper reasoning, when interpreted by a self-realized
Advaitin teacher.[23] This knowledge of Brahman, is
9. And that same true Self, pure consciousidentical with that self which is to be known as witness,
ness, is not dierent from the ultimate world
not as object.[23]
Principle, Brahman ...
11. ... Brahman (=the true Self, pure conModern interpretators have recast anubhava as personal
sciousness) is the only Reality (sat), since It
experience, in line with Unitarian and Theosophical
is untinged by dierence, the mark of igno[24]
inuences.
Yet, anubhava does not center around
rance, and since It is the one thing that is not
some sort of mystical experience, but around the corsublimatable.[30]
[16]
rect knowledge of Brahman. Anantanand Rambachan
quotes several modern interpretators in defence of this
interpretation, especially Radakrishnan,[24] but nevertheless makes clear that sruti is the main source of
knowledge for Shankara.[15] Swami Dayananda notes that
anubhava has a more specic meaning than its conventional meaning of experience, namely direct knowledge. Dayananda explains that interpreting anubahva
as experience may lead to a misunderstanding of Advaita Vedanta, and a mistaken rejection of the study of
the scriptures as mere intellectual understanding. Stressing the meaning of anubhava as knowledge, Saraswati
argues that liberation comes from knowledge, not from
mere experience.[web 3] Saraswati points out that the experience of the self ... can never come because consciousness is ever-present, in and through each and every
experience.[web 4] And Swami Nikhalananda notes that
(knowledge of) Atman and Brahman can only be reached
by buddhi, reason,[25] stating that mysticism is a kind of
intuitive knowledge, while buddhi is the highest means of
attaining knowledge.[26]

1.2

Moksha - liberation

Pure consciousness is the translation of jnanam.[31]

Although the common translation of jnanam[31] is
consciousness, the term has a broader meaning of
knowing"; becoming acquainted with,[web 6] knowledge about anything,[web 6] awareness,[web 6] higher
knowledge.[web 6]
Brahman too has a broader meaning than pure consciousness. According to Paul Deussen,[7] Brahman is:
Satyam, the true reality, which, however, is not the
empirical one
Jnam, Knowledge which, however, is not split
into the subject and the object
anantam, boundless or innite
According to David Loy,
The knowledge of Brahman ... is not intuition of Brahman but itself is Brahman.[32]

The same nuance can be found in satcitananda, the

qualities of Brahman, which are usually translated
Correct knowledge of Brahman results in liberation,[note 6] as Eternal Bliss Consciousness,[33] Absolute Bliss
by knowledge of the identity of atman and Brahman. Consciousness,[web 7] or Consisting of existence and
knowledge of Brahman destroys Maya, the illusory ap- thought and joy.[web 8] Satcitananda is composed of three
preances which cover the Real, Brahman. When Maya is Sanskrit words:

1.5

Stages and practices

sat (present participle); [Sanskrit root as, "to

be"]: Truth,[note 7] Absolute Being,[web 7] a palpable force of virtue and truth.[34] Sat describes
an essence that is pure and timeless, that never
changes.[web 7]
cit (noun): consciousness,[web 7] true consciousness, to be consciousness of,[35] to
understand,[35] to comprehend.[35]
nanda (noun): bliss,[web 7] true bliss,
happiness,[web 9] joy,[web 9] delight,[web 9]
pleasure[web 9]
This knowledge is intuitive knowledge, a spontaneous
type of knowing[36][note 8] , as rendered in the prex pra
of prajnanam Brahman.

1.4

Mahavakya The Great Sentences

Main article: Mahvkyas

The Mahavakya, or the great sentences, remind us of
the unity of Brahman and Atman, or the inner immortal
self and the great cosmic power are one and the same.[37]
There are many such sentences in the Vedas, however
only one such sentence from each of the four Vedas is
usually chosen.

1.5

Stages and practices

3
Ihmutrrtha
phala
bhoga
virga
( ) The
renunciation (virga) of enjoyments of objects (artha phala bhoga) in this world (iha)
and the other worlds (amutra) like heaven etc.
amdi atka sampatti (
) the sixfold qualities,

ama (control of the antahkaraa).[web 16]

Dama (the control of external sense organs).
Uparati (the cessation of these external
organs so restrained, from the pursuit of
objects other than that, or it may mean the
abandonment of the prescribed works according to scriptural injunctions).[note 12]
Titika (the tolerating of tpatraya).
raddh (the faith in Guru and Vedas).
Samdhna (the concentrating of the
mind on God and Guru).
Mumukutva () The rm conviction that the nature of the world is misery
and the intense longing for moksha (release
from the cycle of births and deaths).
Sravana, listening to the teachings of the sages on
the Upanishads and Advaita Vedanta, and studying the Vedantic texts, such as the Brahma Sutras.
In this stage the student learns about the reality of
Brahman and the identity of atman;
Manana, the stage of reection on the teachings;

Nididhysana, the stage of meditation on the truth

Advaita Vedanta gives an elaborate path to attain mokthat art Thou.[web 15][web 17]
sha. It entails more than self-inquiry or bare insight into
ones real nature. Practice, especially Jnana Yoga, is also
needed to destroy ones tendencies (vAasanA-s)" before 1.5.2 Samadhi
real insight can be attained.[web 2][note 11]
While Shankara emphasized sravana (hearing), manana
(reection) and nididhyasana (repeated meditation),
later texts like the Dg-Dya-Viveka (14th century)
1.5.1 Jnana Yoga Four stages of practice
and Vedantasara (of Sadananda) (15th century) added
samadhi as a means to liberation, a theme that was also
Main article: Jnana Yoga
emphasized by Swami Vivekananda.
Classical Advaita Vedanta emphasises the path of Jnana
Yoga, a progression of study and training to attain 1.5.3 Bhakti Yoga and Karma Yoga
moksha. It consists of four stages:[43][web 15]
Main articles: Bhakti and Karma yoga
Samanyasa or Sampattis,[44] the fourfold discipline (sdhana-catustaya), cultivating the follow- Bhakti Yoga and Karma Yoga can be employed as subsidiary practices to the understanding of the sruti. In
ing four qualities:[43][web 15]
Bhakti Yoga, practice centres on the worship God in any
Nitynitya vastu viveka ( way and in any form, like Krishna or Ayyappa. Adi
) The ability (viveka) to correctly Shankara himself was a proponent of devotional worship
discriminate between the eternal (nitya) sub- or Bhakti. But Adi Shankara taught that while Vedic sacstance (Brahman) and the substance that is rices, puja and devotional worship can lead one in the
transitory existence (anitya).
direction of jnana (true knowledge), they cannot lead one

directly to moksha. At best, they can serve as means to

obtain moksha via shukla gati. Karma yoga is the way
of doing our duties, in disregard of personal gains or
losses.[note 13]

1.6

TEXTS

2. The Bhagavad Gita, known as Sdhana prasthna

(practical text), (part of Smti)
3. The Brahma Sutras, known as Nyya prasthna
or Yukti prasthana (part of darana of Uttar
Mms)

Necessity of a Guru

The Upanishads consist of twelve or thirteen major texts,

with many minor texts. The Bhagavad Gt is part of
the Mahabhrata. The Brahma Stras (also known as the
According to ankara and others, anyone seeking to at- Vednta Stras), systematise the doctrines taught in the
tain moksha must do so under the guidance of a Guru Upanishads and the Gt.
(teacher).[note 14] It is the teacher who through exegesis of Sankara Bhagavadpda has written Bhshyas (commenSruti and skilful handling of words generates a hitherto taries) on the Prasthnatray. These texts are thus considunknown knowledge in the disciple. The teacher does ered to be the basic texts of the Advaita-parampara.
not merely provide stimulus or suggestion.[45]
See also: Guru-shishya tradition

The Guru must have the following qualities:[note 15]

2.2 Textual authority

1. rotriya must be learned in the Vedic scriptures

The order of precedance regarding authority of Vedic
and Sampradaya
Scriptures is as follows,
2. Brahmanih literally meaning 'established in
Brahman'; must have realised the oneness of Brah ruti, literally hearing, listening, are the sacred
man in everything, and in himself/herself.
texts comprising the central canon of Hinduism and
The seeker must serve the Guru, and submit questions
with all humility in order to remove all doubts (see
Bhagavad Gita 4.34). By doing so, Advaita says, the
seeker will attain Moksha ('liberation from the cycle of
births and deaths).

Texts

See also: Works of Adi Shankara

is one of the three main sources of dharma and

therefore is also inuential within Hindu Law.[46]
Smti, literally that which is remembered (or
recollected)", refers to a specic body of Hindu
scripture, and is a codied component of Hindu
customary law. Post Vedic scriptures such as
Ramayana, Mahabharata and traditions of the rules
on dharma such as Manu Smriti, Yaagnyavalkya
Smriti etc. Smrti also denotes tradition in the sense
that it portrays the traditions of the rules on dharma,
especially those of lawful virtuous persons.)

Advaita Vedanta is based on the inquiry into the sacred

texts of the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita and Brahma Sutras. Adi Shankara gave a systematisation and philosophical underpinning of this inquiry in his commentaries.
The subsequent Advaita-tradition has further elaborated
on these sruti and commentaries.

Pura, literally of ancient times, are post-vedic

scriptures notably consisting of narratives of the history of the universe from creation to destruction, genealogies of kings, heroes, sages, and demigods, and
descriptions of Hindu cosmology, philosophy, and
geography.[web 19]

2.1

ichra, literally that which is followed by good

(in recent times)".

Prasthnatray Three standards

Main article: Prasthanatrayi

Atmatui, literally that which satises oneself (or

self validation)", according to which one has to decide whether or not to do with bona de. Initially
this was not considered in the order of precedence
but Manu and Yjavalkya considered it as last one.

Adi Sankara has chosen three standards, called Prasthnatray, literally, three points of departure (three standards). Later these were referred to as the three canonical
texts of reference of Hindu philosophy by other Vedanta If anyone of them contradicts the preceding one, then it
schools.
is disqualied as an authority to judge. There is a well
known Indian saying that Smti follows ruti. So it was
They are:
considered that in order to establish any Theistic Philo1. The Upanishads, known as Upadesha prasthna sophical theory (Astika Siddhanta) one ought not contra(injunctive texts), (part of ruti)
dict ruti (Vedas).

2.3

Siddhi-granthas

3 Philosophy

Additionally there are four Siddhi-granthas that are taught Main article: Hindu philosophy
in the Advaita-parampara, after study of the Prasthanatrayi:
The Advaita Vedanta gives an explanation and interpretation of the sacred texts of the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita
1. Brahmasiddhi by Mandana Mishra (750850),
and Brahma Sutras. Adi Shankara's commentaries have
2. Naishkarmasiddhi by Sureswara (8th century, disci- become central texts in the Advaita Vedanta tradition, but
are not the only interpretations available or accepted in
ple of Sankara),
this tradition.
3. Ishtasiddhi by Vimuktananda (1200),
4. Advaita Siddhi,[web 20] written by Madhusudana 3.1
Saraswati - 1565-1665.

2.4

Introductory texts

Ontology The nature of being

See also: Substance ontology, Substance theory and

substance ontology

Introductory texts from the Advaita Vedanta tradition in- Ontology is the philosophical study of the nature of being,
existence, or reality, as well as the basic categories of beclude:
ing and their relations.
Ashtavakra Samhita (pre-Sankara), with traces of Advaita Vedanta is a so-called substance ontology, an onAdvaitism.[note 16]
tology which holds that underlying the seeming change,
variety, and multiplicity of existence there are unchang Tattvabodha (Shankara), an introductory text ing and permanent entities (the so-called substances)".[47]
explaining the terminologies used in Advaita In contrast, Buddhism is a process ontology, according to
Vedanta.[note 17]
which there exists nothing permanent and unchanging,
within or without man.[48][note 20]
Atma bodha, A Treatise on the knowledge of Atma
(Shankara).[note 18]
Vedantasara (of Sadananda) (Bhagavad Ramanuja, 3.1.1 Three Levels of Reality
1017 to 1137 A.D.[web 27] )[note 19]
See also: Two truths doctrine
Vakyavrtti
Laghu-Vakyavrtti
Dg-Dya-Viveka
Panchikaranam
Vedanta-Paribhasha (of Dharmaraja Adhvarindra)
Advaita-Makaranda (of Lakshmidhara Kavi)
Aparoksha-Anubhuti
Dakshinamurthy Stotram
Panchadasi (of Vidyaranya)
Kaupina-pancakam
Sadhana-panchakam
Manisha-pancakam
Dasasloki
Advaita Bodha Deepika

Advaita took over from the Madhyamika the idea of levels

of reality.[50] Usually two levels are being mentioned,[51]
but Shankara uses sublation as the criterion to postulate
an ontological hierarchy of three levels:[52][web 32]
Pramrthika (paramartha, absolute), the absolute
level, which is absolutely real and into which
both other reality levels can be resolved.[web 32]
This experience can't be sublated by any other
experience.[52]
Vyvahrika (vyavahara), or samvriti-saya[51] (empirical or pragmatical), our world of experience,
the phenomenal world that we handle every day
when we are awake.[web 32] It is the level in which
both jiva (living creatures or individual souls) and
Iswara are true; here, the material world is also true.
Prthibhsika (pratibhasika, apparent reality, unreality), reality based on imagination alone.[web 32] It
is the level in which appearances are actually false,
like the illusion of a snake over a rope, or a dream.

3.1.2

Absolute Reality

PHILOSOPHY

3.1.3 Empirical reality

Brahman Main articles: Brahman and Nirguna Brah- My Main article: My

man
Brahman is Paramarthika Satyam, Absolute Truth.[53]
It is
the true Self, pure consciousness ... the
only Reality (sat), since It is untinged by difference, the mark of ignorance, and since It is
the one thing that is not sublatable.[30]

According to Adi Shankara, My (/mj/) is the complex illusionary power of Brahman which causes the
Brahman to be seen as the material world of separate
forms. Its shelter is Brahman, but Brahman itself is untouched by the illusion of My, just as a magician is not
tricked by his own magic.

All sense data entering ones awareness via the ve senses

are My. My is neither completely real nor completely
unreal, hence indescribable. My is temporary and is
Brahman has a broader meaning than pure conscious- transcended with true knowledge, or perception of the
ness. According to Paul Deussen,[7] Brahman is:
more fundamental reality which permeates My.
Satyam, the true reality, which, however, is not the My has two main functions:
empirical one
1. To hide Brahman from ordinary human percep Jnam, Knowledge which, however, is not split
tion,
into the subject and the object
anantam, boundless or innite

2. To present the material world in its (Brahmam)

place.

Other than Brahman, everything else, including the universe, material objects and individuals, are maya. Brahman is absolute reality, unborn and unchanging. According to Advaita Vedanta, consciousness is not a property
of Brahman but its very nature. In this respect Advaita
Vedanta diers from other Vedanta schools.[web 33]

The world is unreal and real The world is both unreal

and real. but something can't be both true and false at the
same time; hence Adi Shankara has classied the world
as indescribable. Adi Sankara says that the world is not
real (true), it is an illusion.[web 34][note 22] Adi Sankara also
Brahman is the Self-existent, the Absolute and the Imclaims that the world is not absolutely unreal (false). It apperishable. Brahman is indescribable. It is at best Satchipears unreal (false) only when compared to Brahman. At
dananda, Innite Truth, Innite Consciousness and Inthe empirical or pragmatic level, the world is completely
nite Bliss.
real.[56][note 23]
Brahman is free from any kind of dierences or dierThe world being both unreal and real is explained by the
entiation. It does not have any sajtya (homogeneous)
following. A pen is placed in front of a mirror. One can
dierentiation because there is no second Brahman. It
see its reection. To ones eyes, the image of the pen
does not have any vijtya (heterogeneous) dierentiais perceived. Now, what should the image be called? It
tion because there is nobody in reality existing other than
cannot be true, because it is an image. The truth is the
Brahman. It has neither svagata (internal) dierences,
pen. It cannot be false, because it is seen by our eyes.
because Brahman is itself homogeneous.
Brahman is often described as neti neti, not this, not this
since Brahman cannot be correctly described as this or 3.1.4 Avidy
that.
Ignorance Due to ignorance (avidy), Brahman is perceived as the material world and its objects (nama rupa
Atman Main article: tman (Hinduism)
vikara). According to Shankara, Brahman is in reality
attributeless and formless. Brahman, the highest truth
tman (IAST: tman, Sanskrit: ) is a Sanskrit and all (reality), does not really change; it is only our igword that means 'self'. tman is the rst principle,[54] norance that gives the appearance of change. Also due to
the true self of an individual beyond identication with avidy, the true identity is forgotten, and material reality,
phenomena, the essence of an individual.
which manifests at various levels, is mistaken as the only
"tman (Atma, , ) is a Sanskrit word and true reality.
which means essence, breath, soul. It is related to ProtoIndo-European *etmen, a root found in Sanskrit and German and which means breath, and in Ancient Greek
, atms vapor, like in atmosphere.[55][note 21]

The notion of avidy and its relationship to Brahman creates a crucial philosophical issue within Advaita Vedanta
thought: how can avidy appear in Brahman, since Brahman is pure consciousness?[57]

3.2

Epistemology Ways of knowing

7
Avasthtraya Three states of consciousness See
also: Sarira (Vedanta)
Adi Shankara discerned three states of consciousness, based on the Mandukya Upanishad, namely
waking (jgrat), dreaming (svapna), and deep sleep
(suupti),[web 36][web 37] which correspond to the three
bodies,[60] another formulation of the ve koshas:

The swan is an important motif in Advaita. It symbolises two

things: rst, the swan is called hamsah in Sanskrit (which becomes hamso if the rst letter in the next word is /h/). Upon
repeating this hamso indenitely, it becomes so-aham, meaning,
I am That. Second, just as a swan lives in water but its feathers
are not soiled by water, similarly a liberated Advaitin lives in this
world full of maya but is untouched by its illusion.

Sengaku Mayeda writes, in his commentary and translation of Adi Shankara's Upadesasahasri:
Certainly the most crucial problem which
Sankara left for his followers is that of avidy.
If the concept is logically analysed, it would
lead the Vedanta philosophy toward dualism or nihilism and uproot its fundamental
position.[58]

1. The rst state is the waking state, in which we

are aware of our daily world. It is described
as outward-knowing (bahish-prajnya), gross (sthula)
and universal (vaishvanara)".[web 37] This is the gross
body.
2. The second state is the dreaming mind. It is described as inward-knowing (antah-prajnya), subtle
(pravivikta) and burning (taijasa)".[web 37] This is the
subtle body.
3. The third state is the state of deep sleep. In this state
the underlying ground of concsiousness is undistracted, the Lord of all (sarv'-eshvara), the knower
of all (sarva-jnya), the inner controller (antar-yami),
the source of all (yonih sarvasya), the origin and
dissolution of created things (prabhav'-apyayau hi
bhutanam)".[web 37] This is the causal body.

Turiya, pure consciousness is the background that underlies and transcends the three common states of
consciousness.[web 38][web 39] In this consciousness both
absolute and relative, Saguna Brahman and Nirguna
Brahman, are transcended.[61] It is the true state of
Subsequent Advaitins gave somewhat various explana- experience of the innite (ananta) and non-dierent
tions, from which various Advaita schools arose.
(advaita/abheda), free from the dualistic experience
which results from the attempts to conceptualise (
vipalka) reality.[62] It is the state in which ajativada, nonKoshas See also: Kosha
origination, is apprehended.[62]
Due to avidya, atman is covered by sheaths, or bodies,
which hide mans true nature. According to the Taittiriya 3.2 Epistemology Ways of knowing
Upanishad, the Atman is covered by ve koshas, usually
rendered sheath.[web 35] They are often visualised like See also: Epistemology
the layers of an onion.[59] From gross to ne the ve sheets
are:
Epistemology (from Greek (epistm), meaning knowledge, understanding, and (logos),
1. Annamaya kosha, food-apparent-sheath
meaning study of) is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature and scope (limitations) of
2. Pranamaya kosha, air-apparent-sheath
knowledge.
3. Manomaya kosha, mind-stu-apparent-sheath
4. Vijnanamaya kosha, wisdom-apparent-sheath
5. Anandamaya
(Ananda)

kosha,

3.2.1 Pramas Correct knowledge

bliss-apparent-sheath Main article: Pramana

Pramna, (sources of knowledge, Sanskrit ), refers

According to Vedanta the wise man should discriminate to the correct knowledge, arrived at by thorough reasonbetween the self and the koshas, which are non-self.
ing, of any object.

HISTORY OF ADVAITA VEDANTA

Pramt, Prama and Prameya Prama forms Sublation is replacement of a truth by a higher truth,
one part of a tripui (trio), namely,
until no higher truth can be found. Shankara uses sublatibility as the criterion for the ontological status of any
[64]
1. Pramt, the subject; the knower of the knowledge content of consciousness:
2. Prama, the cause or the means of the knowledge
3. Prameya, the object of knowledge
Six pramas In Advaita Vednta,[63] as in the Bha
school of Mims, the following pramas are accepted:
1. Pratyaka (perception), the knowledge gained by
means of the senses. That which is immediately perceived to be so; This knowledge can be corrected,
e.g., if one perceives a piece of rope to be a snake.

Sublition is essentially the mental process

of correcting and rectifying errors of judgement. Thus one is said to sublate a previous
held judgment when, in the light of a new experience which contradicts it, one either regards
the judgment as false or disvalues it in some
signicant sense ... Not only judgment but also
concepts, objects, relations, and in general any
content of consciousness can be sublated.[65]

4 History of Advaita Vedanta

2. Anumna (inference), the knowledge gained by

means of inference. That which is perceived as true
through previous knowledge, e.g., to knows that it is
a re because smoke can be seen in the sky (the two
are related through a universal law)
3. abda (verbal testimony), the knowledge gained by
means of texts such as Vedas (also known as ptavkya, abda prama)
4. Upamna (comparison), the knowledge gained by
means of analogy or comparison. That which is perceived as true since it compares to previous, conrmed, knowledge. To know that something is
something, e.g., a cat, because one has seen cats before.
5. Arthpatti (postulation), the knowledge gained by
superimposing the known knowledge on an appearing knowledge that does not concur with the known
knowledge. i.e., To see someone gain weight while
knowing they are fasting, imposes the knowledge
that the person is secretly eating.
6. Anupaladbhi (negation), the knowledge gained
through the absence of the object. That which is
true through a negation. Classic e.g., karatale ghato
nasti the pot is not on the palm. The pot could be Adi Shankara with Disciples, by Raja Ravi Varma (1904)
elsewhere. So the place (on the palm) of its absence
is also important.
Advaita Vedanta existed prior to Shankara, but found its
most inuential expounder in Shankara.[66]
Perception, inference and verbal testimony have the same
meaning as in the Nyaya-school. Regarding comparison,
postulation and non-cognition Advaita Vedanta views 4.1 Pre-Shankara Vedanta
which somewhat dier from the Nyaya-school.[63]
Of the Vedanta-school before the composition of the
Brahma Sutras (400450 CE[67] ) almost nothing is
known.[67] Very little also is known of the period between
3.2.2 Criterion of sublation
the Brahmansutras and Shankara (rst half of the 8th cenSee also: Aufheben
tury CE).[67] Only two writings of this period have survived: the Vkyapadya, written by Bharthari (second

4.2

Gaudapada

half 5th century[68] ), and the Mndkya-krik written

by Gaudapada (7th century CE).[67]
4.1.1

Earliest Vedanta

9
ings of the Upanishads must have been analyzed and interpreted by quite a few before him
and that his systematization of them in 555 sutras arranged in four chapters must have been
the last attempt, most probably the best.[85]

See also: Vedas, Upanishads and Darsanas

4.1.3 Between BrahmaSutras and Shankara
The Upanishads form the basic texts, of which
Vedanta gives an interpretation.[69] The Upanishads
don't contain a rigorous philosophical inquiry identifying the doctrines and formulating the supporting
arguments.[70][note 24] This philosophical inquiry was
performed by the darsanas, the various philosophical
schools.[72] Deutsch and Dalvi point out that in the Indian context texts are only part of a tradition which is
preserved in its purest form in the oral transmission as it
has been going on.[73]

According to Nakamura, there must have been an enormous number of other writings turned out in this period,
but unfortunately all of them have been scattered or lost
and have not come down to us today.[67] In his commentaries, Shankara mentions 99 dierent predecessors
of his Sampradaya.[4] In the beginning of his commentary on the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad Shankara salutes
the teachers of the Brahmavidya Sampradaya.[web 40] PreShankara doctrines and sayings can be traced in the works
of the later schools, which does give insight into the deThe Upanishads originated in the Sramana movements, velopment of early Vedanta philosophy.[67]
renunciate ascetic traditions which gave birth to Yoga,[74]
The names of various important early Vedanta thinkers
Jainism, Buddhism,[75] and some nstika schools of Hinhave been listed in the Siddhitraya by Yamuncrya
duism such as Crvka and jvika, and also popular
(c.1050), the Vedrthasamgraha by Rmnuja (c.1050
concepts in all major Indian religions such as sasra
1157), and the Yatndramatadpik by rnivsa-dsa.[67]
(the cycle of birth and death) and moksha (liberation
Combined together,[67] at least fourteen thinkers are
from that cycle).[76][note 25] The various traditions interknown to have existed between the composition of the
acted with each other, and cannot be seen as completely
Brahman Sutras and Shankaras lifetime.[67][note 26]
separate developments.[77] Buddhism, favored and supported by merchants and royals,[78] developed elaborate Although Shankara is often considered to be the founder
philosophical and pedagogical texts and systems early in of the Advaita Vedanta school, according to Nakaits history. Early in the rst millennium Madhyamaka and mura, comparison of the known teachings of these early
Yogacara developed ideas about the two levels of truth Vedantins and Shankaras thought shows that most of the
and the working of the mind[79] to which the develop- characteristics of Shankaras thought were advocated by
ing Vedanta-tradition responded, but also incorporated someone before ankara.[86] Shankara was the person
these systems.[3] Buddhist inuence can also be found who synthesized the Advaita-vda which had previously
in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, written c. 4th century existed before him.[86] In this synthesis, he was the rejuvenator and defender of ancient learning.[87] He was
CE.[80][81]
an unequalled commentator,[87] due to whose eorts and
contributions the Advaita Vedanta assumed a dominant
4.1.2 Bdaryanas Brahma Sutras
position within Indian philosophy.[87]
Main article: Brahma Sutras

4.2 Gaudapada
The Brahma Sutras of Bdaryana, also called the
Vedanta Sutra,[82] were compiled in its present form Main article: Gaudapada
around 400450 CE,[83] but the great part of the Sutra
must have been in existence much earlier than that.[83] Gaudapada (6th century)[88] was the teacher of Govinda
Estimates of the date of Bdaryanas lifetime dier be- Bhagavatpada and the grandteacher of Shankara.
tween 200 BCE and 200 CE.[84]
The Brahma Sutra is a critical study of the teachings
of the Upanishads. It was and is a guide-book for the
great teachers of the Vedantic systems.[82] Bdaryana
was not the rst person to systematise the teachings of
the Upanishads.[85] He refers to seven Vedantic teachers
before him:[85]
From the way in which Bdaryana cites
the views of others it is obvious that the teach-

4.2.1 Mukya Krik

Gaudapada wrote or compiled[89] the Mukya Krik,
also known as the Gauapda Krik and as the gama
stra.[note 27] The Mukya Krik is a commentary in
verse form on the Mandukya Upanishad, one of the shortest but most profound Upanishads, or mystical Vedas,
consisting of just 13 prose sentences. In Shankaras
time it was considered to be a ruti, but not particularly

10

HISTORY OF ADVAITA VEDANTA

important.[90] In later periods it acquired a higher status, According to Gaudapada, the Absolute is not subject to
and eventually it was regarded as expressing the essence birth, change and death. The Absolute is aja, the unborn
of the Upanisad philosophy.[90]
eternal.[109] The empirical world of appearances is con[109]
The Mukya Krik is the earliest extent systematic sidered unreal, and not absolutely existent.
treatise on Advaita Vednta,[91] though it is not the oldest work to present Advaita views,[9] nor the only pre- 4.2.3 Shri Gaudapadacharya Math
Sankara work with the same type of teachings.[9]
Main article: Shri Gaudapadacharya Math
Around 740 AD Gaudapada founded Shri Gaudapadacharya Math[note 33] , also known as Kava maha. It
[web 44]
and is the oldest
According to B.N.K. Sharma, the early commenta- is located in Kavale, Ponda, Goa,
[111][web 45]
matha
of
the
South
Indian
Saraswat
Brahmins.
[92]
tors on the Brahma Sutras were all realists,
or
pantheist realists.[93] During the same period, the 2nd- Unlike other mathas, Shri Gaudapadacharya matha is not
5th century CE, there was a great idealist revival a polemical center established to inuence the faith of
in Buddhism, which countered the criticisms of the all Hindus, its jurisdiction is limited to only Dakshinatya
Hindu realists.[94] The works of Buddhist thinkers like Saraswat Brahmins.
Nagasena, Buddhaghosa and Nagarjuna, all of them
Brahmin converts to Buddhism,[94] created a great sensation and compelled admiration all around.[94] Other 4.3 Adi Shankara
Brahmins, faithful to Brahminism but equally impressed
by these developments in Buddhist thought, looked for Main article: Adi Shankara
and found in some portions of the Upanishads many
striking approaches to the metaphysical idealism of the Adi Shankara (788820), also known as akara
Buddhists.[94] During the 5th and 6th centuries there was Bhagavatpdcrya and di akarcrya, synthea further development of Buddhist thought with the de- sised and rejuvenated the doctrine of Advaita.[87] It
velopment of the Yogacara school.[95]
was Shankara who succeeded in reading Gaudapadas
4.2.2

Buddhist inuences

It was Gaudapada who further bridged Buddhism

and Vedanta.[95] He took over the Buddhist doctrines
that ultimate reality is pure consciousness (vijaptimtra)[88][note 28] and that the nature of the world
is the four-cornered negation.[88][note 29] Gaudapada
wove [both doctrines] into a philosophy of the Mandukaya Upanisad, which was further developed by
Shankara.[99][note 30] At the same time, Gaudapada emphatically rejected the epistemic idealism of the Buddhists, arguing that there was a dierence between objects seen in dreams and real objects in the world, although both were ultimately unreal. He also rejected the
pluralism and momentariness of consciousnesses, which
were core doctrines of the Vijnanavada school, and their
techniques for achieving liberation.[101]
Gaudapada also took over the Buddhist concept of ajta
from Nagarjunas Madhyamaka philosophy,[102][103]
which uses the term anutpda.[104] [note 31] Ajtivda,
the Doctrine of no-origination[109][note 32] or noncreation, is the fundamental philosophical doctrine of
Gaudapada.[109]
Richard King has noted that Ajativada has a radically
dierent meaning in the context of respectively Vedanta
and Buddhism. Buddhist writers take Ajativada to imply that there are no essences in factors, and therefore
change is possible. Gaudapada made the opposite interpretation, advocating the absolutist position that origination and cessation were unreal, the only Ultimate reality
(Brahman) being unoriginated and unchanging.[110]

mayavada[112][note 34] into Badarayanas Brahma Sutras,

and give it a locus classicus",[112] against the realistic
strain of the Brahma Sutras.[112][note 35][note 36] His interpretation, including works ascribed to him, has become
the normative interpretation of Advaita Vedanta.[114][112]
4.3.1 Historical context
See also Late-Classical Age and Hinduism Middle Ages
Shankara lived in the time of the so-called Late classical Hinduism,[115] which lasted from 650 till 1100
CE.[115][note 37] After the end of the Gupta Empire and
the collapse of the Harsha Empire, power became decentralised in India. Rural and devotional movements
arose, along with Shaivism, Vaisnavism, Bhakti and
Tantra.[125] Buddhism, which was supported by the ancient Indian urban civilisation lost inuence to the traditional religions,[125] but at the same time, was incorporated into Hinduism, when Gaudapada used Buddhist
philosophy to reinterpret the Upanishads.[126]
4.3.2 Philosophical system
This also marked a shift from Atman and Brahman as
a living substance[127] to maya-vada[note 34] , where
Atman and Brahman are seen as pure knowledgeconsciousness.[128] Shankara systematised the works of

4.4

Surevara and Maana Mira

preceding philosophers,[10] marking this turn from realism to idealism.[112][127] Shankaras synthesis of Advaita Vedanta is summarised in this quote from the
Vivekacmai, one of his Prakaraa grathas (philosophical treatises):[note 38]
In half a couplet I state, what has been
stated by scores of texts;
that is Brahman alone is real, the world is
mithy (not independently existent),
and the individual self is nondierent from
Brahman.[129][note 39]

11
Devi. Shankara explained that all deities were but different forms of the one Brahman, the invisible Supreme
Being.[143]
Yet, according to Richard E. King,
Although it is common to nd Western
scholars and Hindus arguing that Sankaracarya
was the most inuential and important gure in
the history of Hindu intellectual thought, this
does not seem to be justied by the historical
evidence.[144]

According to King and Roodurnum, until the 10th century Sankara was overshadowed by his older contempoAccording to Sringeri Math, Shankaras message can be rary Mandana-Misra. In the centuries after Sankara it
summarised even shorter:
was Maana Mira who was considered to be the most
important representative of Vedanta,[145][146] and in the
later medieaval period his teachings were overshadowed
The eternal, impersonal, consciousness
by Visista-Advaita.[147]
Absolute is the Brahman, the one without a
[web 50]
second.
Prior to Shankara, views similar to his already ex4.3.3

Writings

Main article: Adi Shankara bibliography

Adi Shankaras main works are his commentaries on the
Prasthana Trayi, which consist of the Brahma Stras,
Bhagavad Gt and the Upanishads. According to Nakamura, Shankaras Brahma-stra-bhsya, his commentary
on the Brahma Stra, is the most authoritative and best
known work in the Vednta philosophy.[130] Shankara
also wrote a major independent treatise, called "Upadea
Shasr", expounding his philosophy.

isted, but did not occupy a dominant position within the

Vedanta,[148] being restricted to a select elite. The early
Vedanta scholars were from the upper classes of society,
well-educated in traditional culture. They formed a social elite, sharply distinguished from the general practitioners and theologians of Hinduism.[149] Their teachings were transmitted among a small number of selected
intellectuals.[149] Works of the early Vedanta schools do
not contain references to Vishnu or Shiva.[150] It was only
after Shankara that the theologians of the various sects
of Hinduism utilized Vedanta philosophy to a greater or
lesser degree to form the basis of their doctrines,[11] for
example the Nath-tradition,[151] whereby its theoretical
inuence upon the whole of Indian society became nal
and denitive. [149]

The authenticity of the "Vivekachudamani",

a well-known work ascribed to Shankara, is
doubtful,[131][132][133] though it is so closely interwoven into the spiritual heritage of Shankara that any 4.4 Surevara and Maana Mira
analysis of his perspective which fails to consider [this
Main articles: Surevara and Maana Mira
work] would be incomplete.[131][note 40]

The authorship of Shankara of his Mandukya Upanishad

[152]
and Maana Mira
Bhasya and his supplementary commentary on Gauda- Surevara (. 800-900 CE)
were
contemporaries
of
Shankara,
Surevara often (in[134][note 41]
padas Mukya Krik is also disputed.
correctly) being identied with Maana Mira.[153]
Both explained Sankara on the basis of their personal convictions.[153] Surevara has also been cred4.3.4 Inuence of Shankara
ited as the founder of a pre-Shankara branch of Advaita
Shankara has an unparallelled status in the tradition of Vedanta.[152]
Advaita Vedanta. He provided an orthodox hermeneu- Maana Mira was a Mimamsa scholar and a follower
tical basis for heterodox Buddhist phenomology,[139][112] of Kumarila, but who also wrote a work on Advaita,
and has been called the "St. Thomas Aquinas of Indian the Brahma-siddhi.[154] According to tradition, Maana
thought[140] and the most brilliant personality in the his- Mira and his wife were defeated by Shankara in a debate,
tory of Indian thought.[141]
where-after he became a follower of Shankara.[154] Yet,
His teachings and tradition form the basis of Smartism
and have inuenced Sant Mat lineages.[142] He introduced
the Pacyatana form of worship, the simultaneous worship of ve deities - Ganesha, Surya, Vishnu, Shiva and

his attitude toward Shankara is that of a self-condent

rival teacher of Advaita,[155] and his inuence was such,
that some regard this work to have set forth a nonSankaran brand of Advaita.[154] The theory of error

12

HISTORY OF ADVAITA VEDANTA

Advaita System through his Bhamati.[164] Only two

works are known of Vachaspati Misra, the Brahmatattvasamiksa on Maana Miras Brahma-siddhi, and his
Bhamati on the Sankara-bhasya, Shankaras commentary
[157]
The name of the BhamatiHiriyanna and Kuppuswami Sastra have pointed out that on the Brahma-sutras.
subschool
is
derived
from
this Bhamati.[web 51][web 52]
Surevara and Maana Mira had dierent views on varAccording to legend, Misras commentary was named
ious doctrinal points:[158]
after his wife to praise her, since he neglected her during
the writing of his commentary.[web 52]
The locus of avidya:[158] according to Maana
approach. It
Mira, the individual jiva is the locus of avidya, The Bhamati-school takes an ontological
[web 51]
sees
the
Jiva
as
the
source
of
avidya.
It sees mediwhereas Suresvara contents that avidya regarding
[158]
tation
as
the
main
factor
in
the
acquirement
of
liberation,
Brahman is located in Brahman.
These two difwhile
the
study
of
the
Vedas
and
reection
are
additional
ferent stances are also reected in the opposing
[165]
factors.
positions of the Bhamati school and the Vivarana
school.[158]
set forth in the Brahma-siddhi became the normative
Advaita Vedanta theory of error.[156] It was Vachaspati
Misras commentary on this work which linked it up with
Shankaras teaching.[157]

Liberation: according to Maana Mira, the

knowledge which arises from the Mahavakya is insucient for liberation. Only the direct realization of Brahma is liberating, which can only be attained by meditation.[159] According to Suresvara,
this knowledge is directly liberating, while meditation is at best a useful aid.[155][note 42]

4.5

Advaita Vedanta sub-schools

4.5.3 Prakasatman - Vivarana school

Main article: Vivarana
Prakasatman (c.1200-1300)[161] wrote the PancapadikaVivarana, a commentary on the Pancapadika by
Padmapadacharya.[161] The Vivarana lends its name to
the subsequent school. According to Roodurmum, his
line of thought [...] became the leitmotif of all subsequent developments in the evolution of the Advaita
tradition.[161]

After Shankaras death several subschools developed.

Two of them still exist today, the Bhmat and the
Vivarana.[web 51][4] Perished schools are the Pancapadika
and Istasiddhi, which were replaced by Prakasatmans
Vivarana-school.[161]

The Vivarana-school takes an epistemological approach.

Prakasatman was the rst to propound the theory of
mulavidya or maya as being of positive beginningless
nature,[166] and sees Brahman as the source of avidya.
Critics object that Brahman is pure consciousness, so it
These schools worked out the logical implications of vari- can't be the source of avidya. Another problem is that
ous Advaita doctrines. Two of the problems they encoun- contradictory qualities, namely knowledge and ignorance,
tered were the further interpretations to the concepts of are attributed to Brahman.[web 51]
my and avidya.[web 51]
4.5.4 Vimuktatman - Ista-Siddhi
4.5.1

Padmapada - Pancapadika school

[162]

Padmapada (c. 800 CE)

was a direct disciple of
Shankara, who wrote the Pancapadika, a commentary
on the Sankara-bhaya.[162] Padmapada diverted from
Shankara in his description of avidya, designating prakrti
as avidya or ajnana.[163]
4.5.2

Vimuktatman (c.1200 CE)[167] wrote the Ista-siddhi.[167]

It is one of the four traditional siddhi, together
with Mandanas Brahma-siddhi, Suresvaras Naiskarmyasiddhi, and Madusudanas Advaita-siddhi.[168] According to Vimuktatman, absolute reality is pure intuitive
consciousness.[169] His school of thought was eventually
replaced by Prakasatmans Vivarana school.[161]

Vachaspati Misra - Bhamati school

4.6 later Advaita Vedanta tradition

Main articles: Bhamati and Vcaspati Mira
See also: Dashanami Sampradaya and List of teachers
Vachaspati Misra (c.800-900 CE)
wrote the of Advaita Vedanta
Brahmatattva-samiksa, a commentary on Maana
Miras Brahma-siddhi, which provides the link be- According to Sangeetha Menon, prominent names in the
tween Mandana Misra and Shankara,[157] attempting later Advaita tradition are:[web 53]
to harmonise Sankaras thought with that of Mandana
Prakstman, Vimukttman, Sarvajtman (tenth
Misra.[web 51] According to Advaita tradition, Shankara
reincarnated as Vachaspati Misra to popularise the
century),
[164]

5.2

Smarta Tradition

r Hara, Citsukha (twelfth century),

nandagiri, Amalnand (thirteenth century),
Vidyraya, akarnand (fourteenth century),
Sadnand (fteenth century),

13
Shankara, himself considered to be an incarnation of
Shiva,[web 1] established the Dashanami Sampradaya, organizing a section of the Ekadandi monks under an umbrella grouping of ten names.[web 1] Several other Hindu
monastic and Ekadandi traditions remained outside the
organisation of the Dasanmis.[170][171][172]

Adi Sankara is said to have organised the Hindu monks

of these ten sects or names under four Mahas (Sanskrit:
Praknanda, Nsihrama (sixteenth century),
) (monasteries), with the headquarters at Dvrak in
Madhusdhana Sarasvati, Dharmarja Advarindra, the West, Jagannatha Puri in the East, Sringeri in the
South and Badrikashrama in the North.[web 1] Each math
Appaya Dkita (seventeenth century),
was headed by one of his four main disciples, who each
continues the Vedanta Sampradaya.[note 43]
Sadaiva Brahmendra (eighteenth century),
Monks of these ten orders dier in part in their beliefs
Candraekhara Bhrati (twentieth century), and practices, and a section of them is not considered
Sacchidnandendra Saraswati (twentieth century).
to be restricted to specic changes made by Shankara.
While the dasanmis associated with the Sankara maths
Contemporary teachers are the orthodox Jagadguru of follow the procedures enumerated by Adi ankara, some
Sringeri Sharada Peetham; the more traditional teachers of these orders remained partly or fully independent in
Sivananda Saraswati (18871963), Chinmayananda their belief and practices; and outside the ocial control
Saraswati,[web 54] and Dayananda Saraswati (Arsha of the Sankara maths.
Vidya);[web 54] and less traditional teachers like Narayana The advaita sampradaya is not a Saiva sect,[web 1][175] deGuru.[web 54]
spite the historical links with Shaivism.[note 44] Never-

5
5.1

Sampradaya
Advaita Mathas

theless, contemporary Sankaracaryas have more inuence among Saiva communities than among Vaisnava
communities.[web 1] The greatest inuence of the gurus
of the advaita tradition has been among followers of the
Smartha Tradition, who integrate the domestic Vedic ritual with devotional aspects of Hinduism.[web 1]

According to Nakamura, these mathas contributed to the

See also: Dashanami Sampradaya
of Shankara, which was due to institutional
Advaita Vedanta is, at least in the west, primarily known inuence[10]
factors.
The mathas which he built exist until today,
and preserve the teachings and inuence of Shankara,
while the writings of other scholars before him came to
be forgotten with the passage of time.[176]
The table below gives an overview of the four Amnaya
Mathas founded by Adi Shankara, and their details.[web 55]
According to the tradition in Kerala, after Sankaras
samadhi at Vadakkunnathan Temple, his disciples
founded four mathas in Thrissur, namely Naduvil Madhom, Thekke Madhom, Idayil Madhom and Vadakke
Madhom.

5.2 Smarta Tradition

(Vidyashankara temple) at Sringeri Sharada Peetham, Shringeri

Main article: Smarta Tradition

as a philosophical system. But it is also a tradition of

Shankara is regarded as the greatest
renunciation. Philosophy and renunciation are closely Traditionally,
[177][178]
teacher
and reformer of the Smartha.[179][178] Acrelated:[web 1]
cording to Alf Hiltebeitel, Shankara established the nondualist interpretation of the Upanishads as the touchstone
Most of the notable authors in the advaita
of a revived smarta tradition:
tradition were members of the sannyasa tradiPractically, Shankara fostered a rapprochetion, and both sides of the tradition share the
ment between Advaita and smarta orthodoxy,
same values, attitudes and metaphysics.[web 1]

14

6 INFLUENCE ON MODERN HINDUISM

which by his time had not only continued to
defend the varnasramadharma theory as dening the path of karman, but had developed the
practice of pancayatanapuja (ve-shrine worship) as a solution to varied and conicting
devotional practices. Thus one could worship
any one of ve deities (Vishnu, Siva, Durga,
Surya, Ganesa) as ones istadevata (deity of
choice).[180]

The Sringeri monastery is still the centre of the Smarta

sect.[177][178] In recent times bhakti cults have increasingly become popular with the smartas,[181] and Shiva is
particularly favored.[177] In modern times Smarta-views
have been highly inuential in both the Indian[web 56]
and western[web 57] understanding of Hinduism via NeoVedanta. Vivekananda was an advocate of Smartaviews,[web 57] and Radhakrishnan was himself a SmartaBrahman.[182][183][note 45]

6
6.1

Inuence on modern Hinduism

Unifying Hinduism

Main article: Unifying Hinduism

Advaita Vedanta came to occupy a central position in the
classication of various Hindu traditions. With the onset of Islamic rule, hierarchical classications of the various orthodox schools were developed to defend Hinduism
against Islamic inuences.[184] According to Nicholson,
already between the twelfth and the sixteenth century,
... certain thinkers began to treat as a
single whole the diverse philosophical teachings of the Upanishads, epics, Puranas, and
the schools known retrospectively as the six
systems (saddarsana) of mainstream Hindu
philosophy.[185]
The tendency of a blurring of philosophical distinctions has also been noted by Burley.[186] Lorenzen locates the origins of a distinct Hindu identity in the interaction between Muslims and Hindus,[187] and a process of mutual self-denition with a contrasting Muslim
other,[188] which started well before 1800.[189] Both the
Indian and the European thinkers who developed the term
Hinduism in the 19th century were inuenced by these
philosophers.[185]

tried to integrate various strands of Hindu thought, taking

Advaita Vedanta as its most representative specimen.[184]

6.2 Contemporary popularization

6.2.1 Indian nationalism and Hindu Universalism
Main articles: Hindu nationalism and Hindu reform
movements
With the onset of the British Raj, the colonialisation of
India by the British, there also started a Hindu renaissance
in the 19th century, which profoundly changed the understanding of Hinduism in both India and the west.[12] Western orientalist searched for the essence of the Indian religions, discerning this in the Vedas,[190] and meanwhile
creating the notion of Hinduism as a unied body of
religious praxis[191] and the popular picture of 'mystical India'.[191][12] This idea of a Vedic essence was taken
over by the Hindu reformers, together with the ideas
of Universalism and Perennialism, the idea that all religions share a common mystic ground.[192] The Brahmo
Samaj, who was supported for a while by the Unitarian
Church,[193] played an essential role in the introduction
and spread of this new understanding of Hinduism.[194]
Vedanta came to be regarded as the essence of Hinduism, and Advaita Vedanta came to be regarded as then
paradigmatic example of the mystical nature of the Hindu
religion.[195] These notions served well for the Hindu nationalists, who further popularised this notion of Advaita
Vedanta as the pinnacle of Indian religions.[196] It provided an opportunity for the construction of a nationalist
ideology that could unite HIndus in their struggle against
colonial oppression.[197]
6.2.2 Vivekananda
Main articles: Neo-Vedanta, Swami Vivekananda and
Ramakrishna Mission
A major proponent in the popularisation of this Universalist and Perennialist interpretation of Advaita Vedanta
was Vivekananda,[198] who played a major role in the
revival of Hinduism,[199] and the spread of Advaita
Vedanta to the west via the Ramakrishna Mission. His
interpretation of Advaita Vedanta has been called NeoVedanta.[200] Vivekananda discerned a universal religion, regarding all the apparent dierences between various traditions as various manifestations of one truth.[201]
He presented karma, bhakti, jnana and raja yoga as equal
means to attain moksha,[202] to present Vedanta as a liberal and universal religion, in contrast to the exclusivism
of other religions.[202]

Within these socalled doxologies Advaita Vedanta was

given the highest position, since it was regarded to be
most inclusive system.[184] Vijnanabhiksu, a 16th-century
philosopher and writer, is still an inuential representant
of these doxologies. Hes been a prime inuence on 19th Vivekananda emphasised samadhi as a means to attain
century Hindu modernists like Vivekananda, who also liberation.[203] Yet this emphasis is not to be found in

15
the Upanishads nor with Shankara.[204] For Shankara,
meditation and Nirvikalpa Samadhi are means to gain
knowledge of the already existing unity of Brahman and
Atman,[203] not the highest goal itself:
[Y]oga is a meditative exercise of withdrawal from the particular and identication
with the universal, leading to contemplation
of oneself as the most universal, namely,
Consciousness. This approach is dierent
from the classical Yoga of complete thought
suppression.[203]

which he saw as grounded in and supported by the absolute or Brahman.[web 59][note 46] Radhakrishnan also reinterpreted Shankaras notion of maya. According to Radhakrishnan, maya is not a strict absolute idealism, but
a subjective misperception of the world as ultimately
real.[web 59]

6.2.4 Neo-Advaita
Main article: Neo-Advaita

Neo-Advaita is a New Religious Movement based on a

Advaita Vedanta
He also claimed that Advaita is the only religion that is in popularised, western interpretation of [207]
and
the
teachings
of
Ramana
Maharshi.
Neo-Advaita
total agreement with modern science. In a talk on The
[208][note 47][210][note 48][note 49]
is
being
criticised
for disabsolute and manifestation given in at London in 1896
carding
the
traditional
prerequisites
of
knowledge
of the
Swami Vivekananda said,
scriptures[211] and renunciation as necessary preparation for the path of jnana-yoga".[211][212] Notable neoI may make bold to say that the only reliadvaita teachers are H. W. L. Poonja,[213][207] his stugion which agrees with, and even goes a little
dents Gangaji[214] Andrew Cohen[note 50] , and Eckhart
further than modern researchers, both on physTolle.[207]
ical and moral lines is the Advaita, and that is
why it appeals to modern scientists so much.
They nd that the old dualistic theories are not
6.2.5 Non-dualism
enough for them, do not satisfy their necessities. A man must have not only faith, but intelMain article: Nondualism
lectual faith too.[web 58]
Vivekenandas modernisation has been criticised:
Without calling into question the right of
any philosopher to interpret Advaita according
to his own understanding of it, ... the process
of Westernization has obscured the core of this
school of thought. The basic correlation of renunciation and Bliss has been lost sight of in
the attempts to underscore the cognitive structure and the realistic structure which according
to Samkaracarya should both belong to, and indeed constitute the realm of my.[200]
6.2.3

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan

Main article: Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan further popularized Advaita
Vedanta, presenting it as the essence of Hinduism,[web 59]
but neglecting the popular bhakti-traditions.[205] Radhakrishnan saw other religions, including what Radhakrishnan understands as lower forms of Hinduism,[web 59]
as interpretations of Advaita Vedanta, thereby Hindusizing all religions.[web 59] His metaphysics was grounded in
Advaita Vedanta, but he reinterpreted Advaita Vedanta
for a contemporary understanding.[web 59] He acknowledged the reality and diversity of the world of experience,

Advaita Vedanta has gained attention in western

spirituality and New Age, where various traditions are
seen as driven by the same non-dual experience.[216]
Nonduality points to a primordial, natural awareness
without subject or object.[web 64] It is also used to refer
to interconnectedness, the sense that all things are
interconnected and not separate, while at the same time
all things retain their individuality.[web 65]
Georg Feuerstein is quoted by nonduality-adepts[note 51] as
summarizing the Advaita Vedanta-realization as follows:
The manifold universe is, in truth, a Single Reality. There is only one Great Being,
which the sages call Brahman, in which all
the countless forms of existence reside. That
Great Being is utter Consciousness, and It
is the very Essence, or Self (Atman) of all
beings.[web 67][note 52]

7 Relationship with other forms of

Vedanta
The exposition and spread of Advaita by Sankara spurred
debate with the two main theistic schools of Vedanta philosophy that were formalised later: Vishishtadvaita (qualied nondualism), and Dvaita (dualism).

16

7.1

Vishishtadvaita

RELATIONSHIP WITH MAHAYANA BUDDHISM

S. Mudgal noted that among some traditionalist Indian

scholars, it was the accepted view that Shankara

Main article: Vishishtadvaita

Adopted practically all ... dialectic (of
the Buddhists), their methodology, their arYamunacharya, a 10th-century AD proponent of the
guments and analysis, their concepts, their
Vishishtadvaita philosophy that opposed Shankaras Adterminologies and even their philosophy of
vaita, compared Advaita to Buddhism and remarked in
the Absolute, gave all of them a Vedanhis Siddhitraya that for both the Buddhists and the Adtic appearance, and demolished Buddhism ...
vaitins, the distinctions of knower, known and knowlSankara embraced Buddhism, but it was a faedge are unreal. The Advaita traces them to Maya,
tal embrace.[227]
while Buddhist subjectivism traces them to buddhi.[217]
Ramanujacharya, another prominent Vishishtadvaita
philosopher, accused Shankara of being a Prachanna This inuence goes back at least to Gaudapada:
Bauddha, that is, a hidden Buddhist[218]

7.2

Gaudapada rather clearly draws from Buddhist philosophical sources for many of his
arguments and distinctions and even for the
forms and imagery in which these arguments
are cast.[226]

Dvaita

Main article: Dvaita

The Dvaita, founded by Madhvacharya (12381317 AD),
was partisan to Vaishnavism, building on a cogent system
of Vedantic interpretation that proceeded to take on Advaita in full measure. Madhvacharyas student Narayana,
in his Madhvavijaya, a hagiography of Madhva, characterised Madhva and Shankara as born-enemies, and describes Shankara as a demon born on earth.[219] Surendranath Dasgupta noted that some Madhva mythology
went so far as to characterise the followers of Shankara
as tyrannical people who burned down monasteries, destroyed cattle and killed women and children.[220]

Relationship
Buddhism

with

Michael Comans has also demonstrated how Gaudapada,

an early Vedantin, utilised some arguments and reasoning from Madhyamaka Buddhist texts by quoting them
almost verbatim.
However, Comans believes there is a fundamental dierence between Buddhist thought and that of Gaudapada, in
that Buddhism has as its philosophical basis the doctrine
of Dependent Origination, while Gaudapada does not at
all rely on this principle. Gaudapadas Ajativada is an
outcome of reasoning applied to an unchanging nondual
reality, the fundamental teaching of the Upanishads.[228]

Mahayana 8.2 Criticisms

In India, the similarity of Shankaras Advaita to Buddhism was brought up by his rivals from other Vedanta
schools, while on the other hand, Mahayanists such as
8.1 Inuence of Mahayana Buddhism
Bhavyaviveka had to defend themselves from Theravada
Buddhist accusations of the Mahayana doctrine being just
Many authorities from India and elsewhere have noted another form of Vedantism.[229][note 53][230]
that Advaita Vedanta shows signs of inuence from
Mahayana Buddhism. The Mahayana schools with Shankara defended himself against these accusations:
whom Shankaras Advaita is said to share similarities are the Madhyamaka, founded by Nagarjuna,[221]
Shankaras criticisms of Buddhism are nevand the Yogacara,[222] founded by Vasubandhu[223] and
ertheless powerful and they exhibit clearly
Asanga[224] in the early centuries of the Common Era.
at least how Shankara saw the dierence
between Buddhism and his own Vedantic
John Grimes writes that while Mahayana Buddhisms inphilosophy.[226]
uence on Advaita Vedanta has been ignored for most of
its history, scholars now see it as undeniable.[225]
Eliot Deutsch and Rohit Dalvi state:
In any event a close relationship between
the Mahayana schools and Vedanta did exist
with the latter borrowing some of the dialectical techniques, if not the specic doctrines,
of the former.[226]

8.3 Common core thesis

See also: Perennial philosophy
Western scholars like N.V. Isaeva state that the Advaita
and Buddhist philosophies, after being puried of accidental or historical accretions, can be safely regarded

17
as dierent expressions of the same eternal absolute
truth.[231][note 54]
Ninian Smart, a historian of religion, noted that the differences between Shankara and Mahayana doctrines are
largely a matter of emphasis and background, rather than
essence.[232][note 55]

[5] Brahman is not to be confused with Brahma, the Creator and one third of the Trimurti along with Shiva, the
Destroyer and Vishnu, the Preserver.
[6] Indian philosophy emphasises that every acceptable philosophy should aid man in realising the Purusarthas, the
chief aims of human life:[27]
Dharma: the right way to life, the duties and obligations of the individual toward himself and the
society as well as those of the society toward the
individual";[28]

Status of ethics

Some claim that there is no place for ethics in Advaita,

that it turns its back on all theoretical and practical considerations of morality and, if not unethical, is at least
'a-ethical' in character.[233]

Artha: the means to support and sustain ones life;

Kma: pleasure and enjoyment;
Moka: liberation, release.
[7] "Sat is absolute non changing truth. Maharishi Mahesh
Yogi[web 7]

Ethics does have a rm place in this philosophy. Ethics,

which implies doing good Karma, indirectly helps in
attaining true knowledge.[234] Many Advaitins consider [8]
Karma a necessary ction. Karma cannot be proven
to exist through any of the Pramas.[note 56] However, [9]
to encourage students to strive towards Vidy (spiritual
knowledge) and combat Avidy (ignorance), the idea of
[10]
Karma is maintained.

Compare Radhakrishnans notion of intuition.

See

[web 10][web 11][web 12]

Consciousness,[38][web 13]
wisdom[web 14]

intelligence,[39][40]

the Absolute,[38][web 13] innite,[web 13] the Highest

truth[web 13]

Truth, non-violence, service of others, pity, are Dharma,

and lies, violence, cheating, selshness, greed, are ad- [11] Puligandla: Any philosophy worthy of its title should not
be a mere intellectual exercise but should have practical
harma (sin). However, no authoritative denition of
application in enabling man to live an enlightened life. A
Dharma was ever formulated by any of the major expophilosophy which makes no dierence to the quality and
nents of Advaita Vedanta. Unlike ontological and epistestyle of our life is no philosophy, but an empty intellectual
mological claims, there is room for signicant disagreeconstruction.[42]
ment between Advaitins on ethical issues.

10

See also

Cause and eect in Advaita Vedanta

Kashmir Shaivism
Panpsychism

11

Notes

[1] IAST Advaita Vednta; Sanskrit: [d ait

ed nt], literally, not-two
[2] Literally: end or the goal of the Vedas.

[12] nivartitnmete
tadvyatiriktaviayebhya
uparamaamuparatirathav vihitn karma vidhin
parityga[Vedntasra, 21]
[13] Sri Swami Sivananda: Karma Yoga is consecration of
all actions and their fruits unto the Lord. Karma Yoga
is performance of actions dwelling in union with the Divine, removing attachment and remaining balanced ever in
success and failure. Karma Yoga is seless service unto
humanity. Karma Yoga is the Yoga of action which puries the heart and prepares the Antahkarana (the heart
and the mind) for the reception of Divine Light or attainment if Knowledge of the Self. The important point is that
you will have to serve humanity without any attachment or
egoism.[web 18]
[14] Chndogya Upanishad cryavn puruo veda. Also see
the rst prose chapter of ankaras Upadeashasr.
[15] See Mundaka Upanishad 1.2.12

[3] C.q. Vedic[1][2][3][4] or Hindu philosophy[5]

[16] See also [web 21]

[4] According to Paul Deussen,[7] Brahman is:

[17] See also [web 22][web 23]

Satyam, the true reality, which, however, is not the

empirical one
Jnam, Knowledge which, however, is not split
into the subject and the object
anantam, boundless or innite
See also satcitananda.

[18] See also [web 24][web 25][web 26]

[19] See also [web 28][web 29][web 30][web 31][web 27]
[20] Kalupahana describes how in Buddhism there is also a current which favours substance ontology. Kalupahanan sees
Madhyamaka and Yogacara as reactions against developments toward substance ontology in Buddhism.[49]

18

11 NOTES

[21] Cognates: Dutch adem, Old High German atum breath,

Old English eian.[55]

[27] Nakamura notes that there are contradictions in doctrine

between the four chapters.[89]

[22] Adi Sankara gives the following reasoning:[web 34]

[28] It is often used interchangeably with the term citta-mtra,

but they have dierent meanings. The standard translation of both terms is consciousness-only or mind-only.
Several modern researchers object this translation, and
the accompanying label of absolute idealism or idealistic monism.[96] A better translation for vijapti-mtra is
representation-only.[97]

Whatever thing remains eternal is true, and whatever is non-eternal is untrue. Since the world is created and destroyed, it is not real (true).
Truth is the thing which is unchanging. Since the
world is changing, it is not real (false).
Whatever is independent of space and time is real
(true), and whatever has space and time in itself is
not real (false).
Just as one sees dreams in sleep, he sees a kind of
super-dream when he is waking. The world is compared to this conscious dream.
The world is believed to be a superimposition of the
Brahman. Superimposition cannot be real (true).
[23] Shankara gives the following reasoning:[56]
If the world were unreal (false), then with the liberation of the rst living being, the world would have
been annihilated. However, the world continues to
exist even if a living being attains liberation. But, it
is possible that no living being attained the ultimate
knowledge (liberation) till now.
Adi Sankara believes in karma, or good actions.
This is a feature of this world. So the world cannot be unreal (false).

[29] 1. Something is. 2. It is not. 3. It both is and is not. 4. It

neither is nor is not.[web 41][98]
[30] The inuence of Mahayana Buddhism on other religions
and philosophies was not limited to Vedanta. Kalupahana
notes that the Visuddhimagga contains some metaphysical speculations, such as those of the Sarvastivadins, the
Sautrantikas, and even the Yogacarins".[100]
[31] An means not, or non"; utpda means genesis,
coming forth, birth[web 42] Taken together anutpda
means having no origin, not coming into existence,
not taking eect, non-production.[web 43] The Buddhist
tradition usually uses the term anutpda for the absence
of an origin[102][104] or sunyata.[105] The term is also used
in the Lankavatara Sutra.[106] According to D.T Suzuki,
anutpada is not the opposite of utpada, but transcends
opposites. It is the seeing into the true nature of existence,[107] the seeing that all objects are without selfsubstance.[108]

The Supreme Reality Brahman is the basis of this

world. The world is like its reection. Hence the
world cannot be totally unreal (false).

[32] A means not, or non as in Ahimsa, non-harm;

jti means creation or origination;[109] vda means
doctrine[109]

False is something which is ascribed to nonexistent

things, like Sky-lotus. The world is a logical thing,
a fact which is perceived by our senses and exists
but is not the truth.

[33] Sanskrit: , r Sansthna Gauapadcrya Maha

[24] Nevertheless, Balasubramanian argues that since the basic

ideas of the Vedanta systems are derived from the Vedas,
the Vedantic philosophy is as old as the Vedas.[71]
[25] Flood & Olivelle: The second half of the rst millennium BCE was the period that created many of the ideological and institutional elements that characterize later
Indian religions. The renouncer tradition played a central role during this formative period of Indian religious
history....Some of the fundamental values and beliefs that
we generally associate with Indian religions in general
and Hinduism in particular were in part the creation of
the renouncer tradition. These include the two pillars of
Indian theologies: samsara - the belief that life in this
world is one of suering and subject to repeated deaths
and births (rebirth); moksa/nirvana - the goal of human
existence.....[76]
[26] Bharthari (c.450500), Upavarsa (c.450500), Bodhyana (c.500), Tanka (Brahmnandin) (c.500550),
Dravida (c.550), Bhartprapaca (c.550), abarasvmin
(c.550), Bhartmitra (c.550600), rivatsnka (c.600),
Sundarapndya (c.600), Brahmadatta (c.600700),
Gaudapada (c.640690), Govinda (c.670720), Mandanamira (c.670750).[67]

[34] The term mayavada is still being used, in a critical way,

by the Hare Krshnas. See [web 46] [web 47] [web 48] [web 49]
[35] Nicholson: The Brahmasutras themselves espouse the realist Parinamavada position, which appears to have been
the view most common among early Vedantins.[113]
[36] B.N.K. Sharma: "[H]ow dicult he himself found the
task of making the Sutras yield a Monism of his conception, is proved by the articiality and parenthetical irrelevance of his comments in many places, where he seeks to
go against the spirit and letter of the Sutras and their natural drift of arguments and dialectic ... he was ghting with
all his might and ingenuity against a long line of realistic
commentaries.[112]
[37] The previous period was the Golden Age of
Hinduism[116] (ca. 320650 CE[116] ), which ourished
during the Gupta Empire[117] (320 to 550 CE) until the
fall of the Harsha Empire[117] (606 to 647 CE). Prior to
this Golden Age the classical synthesis[118] or Hindu
synthesis[119][120] emerged, between 500[119] 200[120]
BCE and ca. 300 CE,[119] at the beginning of the Epic
and Puranic c.q. Preclassical period. This classical
synthesis incorporated shramanic[120][121] and Buddhist
inuences[120][122] and the emerging bhakti tradition into
the Brahmanical fold via the smriti literature.[119][120] This

19

synthesis emerged under the pressure of the success of

Buddhism and Jainism.[123] During the classical period,
power was centralised, along with a growth of far distance
trade, standardizarion of legal procedures, and general
spread of literacy.[117] Mahayana Buddhism ourished,
but the orthodox Brahmana culture began to be rejuvenated by the patronage of the Gupta Dynasty.[124] The
position of the Brahmans was reinforced,[117] and the rst
Hindu temples emerged during the late Gupta age.[117]
[38] The authorship of this work is disputed. Most 20thcentury academic scholars feel it was not authored by
Sankara, and Swami Sacchidanandendra Saraswathi of
Holenarsipur concurs.
[39] slokrdhena pravaksmi yadukta granthakotibhih,
brahma satya jagat mithy, jvo brahmaiva nparah
[40] Pande comes to the same conclusion: Vivekachudamani,
whether actually authored by Shankara or not, is traditionally held to voice his views authentically.[133]
[41] Nakamura concludes that Shankara was not the author,
for several reasons.[135] Shankara understood Buddhist
thought, while the author of the commentary shows misunderstandings of Buddhist thought.[135] The commentary uses the terms vijnapti and vjnaptimatra, which is
a uniquely Buddhist usage,[136] and does not appear in
Shankaras commentary on the Brahma-sutras.[137] The
two commentaries also quote dierent Upanishads.[138]
Nevertheless, Nakamura also concludes: Although the
commentary to the Madukya is not actually by sankara, it
may be assumed that there is nothing drastically wrong
in using it as a source when discussing early Vedanta
philosophy.[135]
[42] According to both Roodurum and Isaeva, Surevara stated
that mere knowledge of the identity of Jiva and Brahman
is nor enough for liberation, which requires also prolonged
meditation on this identity.[152][160]
[43] According to Pandey, these Mathas were not established
by Shankara himself, but were originally ashrams
established by Vibhdaka and his son yanga.[173]
Shankara inherited the ashrams at Dvrak and
Sringeri, and shifted the ashram at ngaverapura
to Badarikrama, and the ashram at Angadea to
Jaganntha Pur.[174]
[44] Sanskrit.org: Advaitins are non-sectarian, and they advocate worship of Siva and Visnu equally with that of
the other deities of Hinduism, like Sakti, Ganapati and
others.[web 1]
[45] According to iskcon.org, Many Hindus may not strictly
identify themselves as Smartas but, by adhering to Advaita
Vedanta as a foundation for non-sectarianism, are indirect
followers.[web 56]
[46] Neo-Vedanta seems to be closer to Bhedabheda-Vedanta
than to Shankaras Advaita Vedanta, with the acknowledgement of the reality of the world. Nicholas F.
Gier: Ramakrsna, Svami Vivekananda, and Aurobindo
(I also include M.K. Gandhi) have been labeled neoVedantists, a philosophy that rejects the Advaitins claim

that the world is illusory. Aurobindo, in his The Life Divine, declares that he has moved from Sankaras universal
illusionism to his own universal realism (2005: 432),
dened as metaphysical realism in the European philosophical sense of the term.[206]
[47] Marek: Wobei der Begri Neo-Advaita darauf hinweist,
dass sich die traditionelle Advaita von dieser Strmung
zunehmend distanziert, da sie die Bedeutung der benden Vorbereitung nach wie vor als unumgnglich ansieht.
(The term Neo-Advaita indicating that the traditional Advaita increasingly distances itself from this movement, as
they regard preparational practicing still as inevitable)[209]
[48] Alan Jacobs: Many rm devotees of Sri Ramana Maharshi now rightly term this western phenomenon as 'NeoAdvaita'. The term is carefully selected because 'neo'
means 'a new or revived form'. And this new form is
not the Classical Advaita which we understand to have
been taught by both of the Great Self Realised Sages, Adi
Shankara and Ramana Maharshi. It can even be termed
'pseudo' because, by presenting the teaching in a highly
attenuated form, it might be described as purporting to be
Advaita, but not in eect actually being so, in the fullest
sense of the word. In this watering down of the essential truths in a palatable style made acceptable and attractive to the contemporary western mind, their teaching is
misleading.[210]
[49] See for other examples Conway [web 60] and Swartz [web 2]
[50] Presently cohen has distnced himself from Poonja, and
calls his teachings Evolutionary Enlightenment.[215]
What Is Enlightenment, the magazine published by
Choens organisation, has been critical of neo-Advaita
several times, as early as 2001. See.[web 61][web 62][web 63]
[51] Feuersteins summary, as given here, is not necessarily
representative for Feuersteins thought on Advaita. It is
quoted on nonduality-websites,[web 66] which is informed
by the Perennial philosophy and New Age thinking. It is
also discerneable in Neo-Advaita. The quote seems to give
a subtle reinterpretation, in which the distinction between
Real and maya is replaced by a notion of interconnectedness or pantheism. The original quote is from Feuersteins
book The Deeper Dimension of Yoga: Theory and Practice, p. 257258. It is preceded by the sentence The
esoteric teaching of nonduality Vedantic Yoga or Jnana
Yoga can be summarized as follows.
[52] Compare Shankaras own words, from his commentary on
the Brahman Sutras: " It is obvious that the subject and the
object that is, the Self (Atman) and the Not-Self, which
are as dierent as darkness and light are cannot be
identied with each other. It is a mistake to superimpose
upon the subject or Self (that is, the I, whose nature is
consciousness) the characteristics of the object or Not-"I
(which is non-intelligent), and to superimpose the subject
and its attributes on the object. Nonetheless, man has a
natural tendency, rooted in ignorance (avidya), not to distinguish clearly between subject and object, although they
are in fact absolutely distinct, but rather to superimpose
upon each the characteristic nature and attributes of the
other. This leads to a confusion of the Real (the Self) and
the Unreal (the Not-Self) and causes us to say such [silly]
things as I am that, That is mine, and so on ...[web 68]

20

12

[53] King: In chapter four of his Madhyamakahrdyakarika

(on the sravaka-yana), Bhavaviveka puts forward a
Sravaka objection to the Mahayana on the grounds that
it is a form of crypto-Vedantism
[54] The comparison may or may not stand depending on ones
stance towards the anatman doctrine laid out in the Buddhist Pali Canon. Some claim that the Pali Canon shows
that Gautama the Buddha denied the existence of the Atman. However, no single passage in the entire Canon can
be found to this eect. Gautama only ever identied constituents (the ve aggregates) and declared them as notself, that is, this is not my self. Depending on how
Atman is dened and how it is treated in respect to armation and denial in philosophical discourse and contemplative practice, the fact that Atman is central to Advaita
Vedanta may or may not be compatible with the Buddhist
anatman (not-self) analysis.
[55] Ninian Smart is a proponent of the so-called common
core thesis, which states that all forms of mysticism share
a common core. See also [web 69] and [web 70]
[56] With the exception of gama, though this is contradicted,
subtrated, by the Pramas such as Anumna, Upamna,
or Arthpatti

REFERENCES

[21] Rambachan 1991, p. 14.

[22] Davis 2010, p. 40.
[23] Hirst 2005, p. 68.
[24] Rambachan 1991, p. 1-14.
[25] Nikhalananda 1931, p. viii.
[26] Nikhalananda 1931, p. viii-ix.
[27] Puligandla 1997, p. 8-9.
[28] Puligandla 1997, p. 8.
[29] Lochtefeld 2002, p. 320.
[30] Potter 2008, p. 6-7.
[31] Raganthnanda 1991, p. 109.
[32] Loy 1997, p. 62.
[33] Werner 1994.
[34] Sugirtharajah 2003, p. 115.
[35] Sanskrit Dictionary, chit
[36] Loy 1997, p. 136.

12

References

[1] Kochumuttom 1999.

[2] Nakamura.
[3] Raju 1992.
[4] Roodurmum 2002.
[5] Deutsch 1988.
[6] Nakamura 1990, p. 112.
[7] Deussen 1980, p. 232.

[37] Braue 1984, p. 81.

[38] Grimes 1996, p. 234.
[39] Sivaraman 1973, p. 146.
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[38] Ramana Maharshi. States of Consciousness.

[68] Shankara, Commentary on the Vedanta Sutras

(Brahmasutra-Bhashya)

[39] Sri Chinmoy. Summits of God-Life.

[40] advaita-deanta.org, Advaita Vedanta before Sankaracarya
[41] Anthony Peter Iannini (2001), Ngrjunas Emptiness and
Pyrrhos Skepticism
[42] Sanskrit Dictionary for Spoken Sanskrit, Utpda
[43] Sanskrit Dictionary for Spoken Sanskrit, Anutpda
[44] Asram Vidya Order, Biographical Notes About Sankara
And Gaudapada
[45] Shri Kavale Math
[46] Swami B.V. Giri, Gaudya Touchstone, Mayavada and
Buddhism Are They One and the Same?
[47] harekrishnatemple.com, Mayavada Philosophy
[48] harekrsna.com, The Mayavada School
[49] Gaura Gopala Dasa, The Self-Defeating Philosophy of
Mayavada
[50] Sringeri Math, Sri Adi Shankaracharya
[51] THE BHAMATI AND VIVARANA SCHOOLS
[52] Rajesh Anand, Vachaspati Mishra
[53] Sangeetha Menon (2007), Advaita Vednta, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
[54] Advaita Vision, teachers
[55] Adi Shankaras four Amnaya Peethams. Archived from
the original on 26 June 2006. Retrieved 2006-08-20.
[56] iskcon.org, Heart of Hinduism: The Smarta Tradition

Nondual-

[69] Stanford Encyclopedia of Mysticism, Mysticism

[70] Richard King (1999), Orientalism and Religion: Postcolonial Theory, India, and 'The Mystic East.

14 Further reading
History
Nakamura, Hajime (1990), A History of Early
Vedanta Philosophy. Part One, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited
Nakamura, Hajime (2004), A History of Early
Vedanta Philosophy. Part Two, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited
Potter, Karl H. (1981), Encyclopedia of Indian
Philosophies, vol. 3: Advaita Vedanta up to Sankara
and his Pupils, Princeton: Princeton University
Press
Potter, Karl H. (2006), Encyclopedia of Indian
Philosophies vol. 11: Advaita Vednta from 800 to
1200, Motilal Banarsidass Publishers
King, Richard (1995), Early Advaita Vedanta
and Buddhism: The Mahayana Context of the
Gaudapadiya-Karika, SUNY Press
Isaeva, N.V. (1995), From Early Vedanta to Kashmir Shaivism: Gaudapada, Bhartrhari, and Abhinavagupta, SUNY Press

[57] Hinduism-guide.com, Hinduism

[58] The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda/Volume
2/Jnana-Yoga/The Absolute and Manifestation Wikisource. En.wikisource.org. 5 April 2008. Archived
from the original on 28 June 2011. Retrieved 2011-0610.

Introductions
Eliot Deutsch, Advaita Vedanta: a philosophical
reconstruction, East-West Center Press, Honolulu,
1969

28
Kokileswar Sastri, An introduction to Adwaita philosophy: a critical and systematic exposition of the
Sankara school of Vedanta, Bharatiya Publishing
House, Varanasi, 1979.
M. K. Venkatarama Aiyar, Advaita Vedanta, according to Sankara, Asia Publishing House, New
York, 1965.
Ayyar, Krishnan, Introduction to Advaita Vedanta
Source books
Charles Johnston (2014), The Mukhya Upanishads:
Books of Hidden Wisdom, Kshetra Books.
V. Panoli (19911994), Upanishads in Sankaras
own words: Isa, Kena, Katha, and Mandukya with
the Karika of Gaudapada: with English translation, explanatory notes and footnotes, Mathrubhumi,
Calicut.
A. J. Alston (19801989), A Samkara source-book,
Shanti Sadan, London.

14 FURTHER READING
Kapil N. Tiwari (1977), Dimensions of renunciation
in Advaita Vedanta, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi
S. G. Mudgal (1975), Advaita of Sankara, a reappraisal: Impact of Buddhism and Samkhya on
Sankaras thought, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi
Adya Prasad Mishra (1967), The development and
place of bhakti in Sankaran Vedanta, University of
Allahabad
Shankara
Charles Johnston (2014), The Vedanta Philosophy
of Sankaracharya, Kshetra Books
Natalia V. Isayeva (1993), Shankara and Indian philosophy, SUNY, New York
Elayath. K. N. Neelakantan (1990), The Ethics of
Sankara, University of Calicut
A. Ramamurti (1974), Advaitic mysticism of
Sankara, Visvabharati, Santiniketan
Raghunath D. Karmarkar (1966), Sankaras Advaita, Karnatak University, Dharwar

Eliot Deutsch and J. A. B. van Buitenen (1971), A

source book of Advaita Vedanta, University Press of
Sringeri Sharada Peetham
Hawaii, Honolulu.
Practice

Madhava Vidyaranya, Sankara-Digvijaya, translated

by Swami Tapasyananda, Sri Ramakrishna Math,
2002, ISBN 81-7120-434-1.

Comans, Michael (2000), The Method of Early Advaita Vednta: A Study of Gauapda, akara,
Surevara, and Padmapda, Delhi: Motilal Banar- Neo-Advaita
sidass
Madhukar, The Simplest Way, Editions India, USA
Dalal, Neil (2009), Contemplative Practice and
& India 2006, ISBN 81-89658-04-2
Textual Agency in Advaita Vedanta", Method and
Madhukar, Erwachen in Freiheit, Lchow Verlag,
Theory in the Study of Religion 21 (2009) 15-27
German, 2.Edition, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-36303054-1
Dalal, Neil (2014), Contemplative Grammars:
akaras Distinction of Upsana and Nididhysana, Journal of Indian Philosophy
Indian languages
Dubois, Jol Andr-Michel (2014), The Hidden
Lives of Brahman: Sankaras Vedanta through His
Upanisad Commentaries, in Light of Contemporary
Practice, SUNY
Topical studies
Arvind Sharma (1995), The philosophy of religion
and Advaita Vedanta: a comparative study in religion
and reason, Pennsylvania State University Press

Mishra, M., Bhratya Darshan ( ),

Kal Prakshan.
Sinha, H. P., Bharatiya Darshan ki ruparekha (Features of Indian Philosophy), 1993, Motilal Benarasidas, DelhiVaranasi.
Swmi Paramnanda Bhrati, Vednta Prabodha
(in Kannada), Jnnasamvardhini Granthakusuma,
2004

Satyapal Verma (1992), Role of Reason in Sankara Contemporary criticism

Vedanta, Parimal Publication, Delhi
Rao, Srinivasa (2011), Advaita: A Contemporary
Sangam Lal Pandey (1989), The Advaita view of
Critique, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19God, Darshana Peeth, Allahabad
807981-1

29

15

External links

Advaita Vedanta at DMOZ

30

16

16
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