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Vedanta

Vedanta (/vdnt/; Hindustani pronunciation: [ed nt , Devanagari: , Vednta) or


Utt r Mms is one of the six orthodox schools of Hindu philosophy. The term veda means
"knowledge" and anta means "end", and originally referred to the Upanishads, a collection of
foundational texts in Hinduism [1] (considered the last appendix or final layer of the Vedic
canon). By the 8th century,[citation needed] it came to mean all philosophical traditions concerned with
interpreting the three basic texts of Hinduist philosophy, namely the Upanishads, the Brahma
Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita,[1] and was eventually recognized as distinct from the other five
astika schools. Vedanta is the most prominent and philosophically advanced of the orthodox
schools and the term Vedanta may also be used to refer to Indian philosophy more generally.
There are at least ten schools of Vedanta,[2] of which Advaita
Vedanta, Vishishtadvaita, Achintya-Bheda-Abheda and Dvaita are the best known.[3]

Etymology[edit]
The name is a morphophonological form of Veda-anta = "Veda-end" = "the appendix to the
Vedic hymns". It is lso s id th t "Vednt " me ns "the purpose or go l [end of the Ved s".[note
1]

Vedanta can also be used as a noun to describe one who has mastered all four of the original

Vedas.
In earlier writings, Sanskrit 'Vednt ' simply referred to the Upanishads, the most important
and philosophical of the Vedic texts. However, in the medieval period of Hinduism, the word
Vednt c me to me n the school of philosophy that interpreted the Upanishads.
Vednt is lso c lled Uttar Mms, or the 'latter enquiry' or 'higher enquiry', and is often
p ired with Purv Mms, the 'former enquiry' or 'prim ry enquiry'. Prv Mim ms , usu lly
simply called Mimamsa, deals with explanations of the fire-sacrifices of the Vedic mantras (in
the Samhita portion of the Vedas) and Brahmanas, while Vedanta explicates the esoteric
teachings of the r y k s (the "forest scriptures"), and the Upanishads, composed from the
9th century BCE until modern times.

Three basic texts[edit]


All sub-schools of the vedanta propound their philosophy by interpreting the Prasthanatrayi,
literally, three sources, the three canonical texts of Hindu philosophy, especially of the Vedanta
schools. It consists of:[4]
1. The Upanishads, known as Upadesha prasthana (injunctive texts), and the ruti
prasthna (the starting point of revelation)
2. The Brahma Sutras, known as Nyaya prasthana or Yukti prasthana (logical text)
3. The Bhagavad Gita, known as Sadhana prasthana (practical text), and the Smriti
prasthna (the starting point of remembered tradition)

The Upanishads consist of twelve or thirteen major texts, with total 108 texts. The Bhagavad
Gt is part of the M h bhr t . The Br hm Str s (also known as the Vednta Stras),
systematise the doctrines taught in the Upanishads and the Gt.
All major Vedantic teachers, like Shankara, Rmnuj , and Mdhvchry , have composed
often extensive commentaries not only on the Upanishads and Brahma Sutras, but also on the
Gita. While it is not typically thought of as a purely Vedantic text, with its syncretism
of Samkhya, Yoga, and Upanishadic thought, the Bhagavad Gita has played a strong role in
Vedantic thought.[5]

History[edit]
Advaita Vedanta existed prior to Shankara, but found its most influential expounder in
Shankara.[6] Of the Vedanta-school before the composition of the Brahma Sutras (400450
CE[7]) almost nothing is known.[7] Very little also is known of the period between the
Brahmansutras and Shankara (first half of the 8th century CE).[7] Only two writings of this
period have survived: the Vkyapadya, written by Bh rth ri (second half 5th century[8]), and
the Mndkya-krik written by Gaudapada (7th century CE).[7]

Earliest Vedanta[edit]
See also: Vedas, Upanishads and Darsanas
According to Balasubramanian, the Vedantic philosophy is as old as the Vedas, since the basic
ideas of the Vedanta systems are derived from the Vedas.[9] During the Vedic period (1500
600 BCE[9]) the Rishis formulated their religio-philosophical and poetical visions, which are
further explored in the Upanishads,[10] the jnna-knda of the Vedas.[11] The Upanishads don't
contain "a rigorous philosophical inquiry identifying the doctrines and formulating the
supporting arguments".[12] This philosophical inquiry was performed by the darsanas, the
various philosophical schools.[13]
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."[14] The
Upanishads form the basic texts, of which Vedanta gives an interpretation.[15]

Bhed bhed

nd Bd ry n 's Br hm Sutr s[edit]

Main article: Brahma Sutras


The Br hm Sutr s of Bd ry n , lso c lled the Vedanta Sutra,[11][note 2] are traditionally
scribed to Bd ry n ,[note 4] but "are best understood as a group of sutras composed by
multiple authors over the course of hundreds of years".[19] They were most likely compiled in its
present form around 400450 CE,[20][19] but "the great part of the Sutra must have been in
existence much earlier than that".[20]

The earliest stratum of sutras in the Brahmasutras is concerned with the interpretation of the
Upanishads, especially the differences between the Chandogya Upanishad, the Brhadanyaka
Upanisgad, and the Taittiriya Upanishad.[19] Later additions were concerned with the refutation
of rival philosophical schools, especially Samkhya.[19] According to Nakamura and Dasgupta,
the Brahmasutras reflect a Bhedabheda point of view,[19] the most influential school of Vedanta
before Shankara.[19][note 5]
Bd ry n w s not the first person to system tise the te chings of the Up nish ds.[21] He
refers to seven Vedantic teachers before him:[21]
From the w y in which Bd ry n cites the views of others it is obvious th t the te chings 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.[21]
The cryptic aphorisms of the Vedanta Sutras are open to a variety of interpretations, resulting
in the formation of numerous Vedanta schools, each interpreting the texts in its own way and
producing its own sub-commentaries.[22]

Between BrahmaSutras and Shankara[edit]


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".[7] In his commentaries, Shankara mentions 99 different predecessors of his
Sampradaya.[23] In the beginning of his commentary on the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad
Shankara salutes the teachers of the Brahmavidya Sampradaya.[web 1] Pre-Shankara doctrines
and sayings can be traced in the works of the later schools, which does give insight into the
development of early Vedanta philosophy.[7]
The names of various important early Vedanta thinkers have been listed in the Siddhitraya by
Y muncry (c. 1050), the Vedrthasamgraha by Rmnuj (c. 10501157), and
the Yatndramatadpik by rnivs -ds .[7] Combined together,[7] at least fourteen thinkers are
known to have existed between the composition of the Brahman Sutras and Shankara's
lifetime.[7][note 6]

Gaudapada and Shankara[edit]


Main article: Advaita Vedanta
Gaudapada wrote or compiled[24] the Muky Krik, also known as the G u pd
Krik and as the g m str .[note 7] Gaudapda took over the Buddhist doctrines that ultimate
reality is pure consciousness (vijapti-mtra)[2] Gaudapada "wove [both doctrines] into a
philosophy of the Mandukaya Upanisad, which was further developed by Shankara".[25]

Adi Shankara (788820), elaborated on Gaudapada's work, and is considered to be the


founder of Advaita Vedanta.[2] It was Shankara who succeeded in reading
Gaudapada's mayavada[26][note 8] into Badarayana's Brahma Sutras, "and give it a locus
classicus",[26]against the realistic strain of the Brahma Sutras.[26][note 9][note 10] His interpretation,
including works ascribed to him, has become the normative interpretation of Advaita
Vedanta.[28][26]
Although Shankara is often considered to be the founder of the Advaita Vedanta school,
according to Nakamura, comparison of the known teachings of these early Vedantins and
Shankara's thought shows that most of the characteristics of Shankara's thought "were
dvoc ted by someone before nk r ".[29] Shankara "was the person who synthesized
the Advaita-vda which had previously existed before him".[29] In this synthesis, he was the
rejuvenator and defender of ancient learning.[30] He was an unequalled commentator,[30] due to
whose efforts and contributions the Advaita Vedanta assumed a dominant position within
Indian philosophy.[30]

Bhakti[edit]
Main articles: Bhakti and Bhakti movement
Bhedabheda Vedanta schools played an important role in the rise of bhakti, such
as Suddhadvaita, founded by Vallabha[31] (14791531 CE), Achintya Bheda Abheda, founded
by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (14861534)[32] and Vishishtadvaita founded by Shri
Ramanuja (10171137 CE).

Integration of various schools[edit]


According to Nicholson, already between the 12th and the 16th century,
... certain thinkers began to treat as a single whole the diverse philosophival teachings of the
Upanishads, epics, Puranas, and the schools known retrospectively as the "six systems"
(saddarsana) of mainstream Hindu philosophy.[33][note 11]
Both the Indian and the European thinkers who developed the term "Hinduism" in the 19th
century were influenced by these philosophers[33] especially Vijnanabhiksu,
a Bhedabheda Vedantin.[38] Neo-Vedanta too was inspired by these thinkers.[38]

Vedanta philosophy[edit]

Basic questions[edit]
The schools of Vednt seek to nswer questions bout the rel tion between atman and
Brahman, and the relation between Brahman and the world.[1]
The schools of Vedanta are named after the relation they see between atman and Brahman:[2]

According to Advaita Vedanta, there is no difference.[2]

According to Dv it the jvtm n is tot lly different from Br hm n. Even though he is


similar to brahman, he is not identical.

According to Vishisht dv it , the jvtm n is

p rt of Br hm n, nd hence is simil r, but

not identical.
Sivananda gives the following explanation:
Madhva said: "Man is the servant of God," and established his Dvaita philosophy. Ramanuja
said: "Man is a ray or spark of God," and established his Visishtadvaita philosophy. Sankara
said: "Man is identical with Brahman or the Eternal Soul," and established his Kevala Advaita
philosophy.[39]
All schools of Vedanta subscribe to the theory of Satkryavda,[web 6] which means that the
effect is pre-existent in the cause. But there are two different views on the status of the "effect",
that is, the world. Most schools of Vedanta,[27][web 6] as well as Samkhya,[web
6]

support Parinamavada, the idea that the world is a real transformation (parinama) of

Brahman.[27] According to Nicholson, "the Brahma Sutras also espouse the realist
Parinamavada position, which appears to have been the view most common among early
Vedantins".[27] In contrast to Badarayana, Adi Shankara and Advaita Vedantists hold a different
view, Vivartavada, which says that the effect, the world, is merely an unreal (vivarta)
transformation of its cause, Brahman:
[A]lthough Brahman seems to undergo a transformation, in fact no real change takes place.
The myriad of beings are essentially unreal, as the only real being is Brahman, that ultimate
reality which is unborn, unchanging, and entirely without parts.[27]

Common features[edit]
Even though there are many sub-schools of vedantic philosophy, all these schools share some
common features, that can be called the vedantic core:[40]

Brahman is the supreme cause of the entire universe and is all pervading and eternal, as
found in the PrasthanatrayiThe Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita.

Actions are subordinate to knowledge or devotion. Actions are useful only for preparing the
mind for knowledge or devotion; and once this is achieved, selfish actions and their
rewards must be renounced.

Bondage is subjection to Sasr , the cycle of death and rebirth.

Liberation is deliverance from this cycle.

Tr dition l Vednt considers scriptur l evidence, or sh bd pr mn , as the most authentic


means of knowledge, while perception, or pratyaksa, and logical inference, or anumana, are
considered to be subordinate (but valid).[41][42]
Vedanta rejects ritual in favor of renunciation, which makes Vedanta irreconcileable
with Mimamsa.[43]

Schools of Vedanta[edit]
Subschools of Vedanta

Vedanta

Dvaita
(Madhava
13th century)

Advaita

Savisesa/
Bhedabheda[
a]

4th century

Upadhika
(Bhaskara)
9th century

Nirvisesa/
Abheda
(Sankara)
8th
century

Vishishtadvait
a
(Ramanuja)
11th century

Neo-Vedanta[b]
(Vivekananda &Radhakrishna
n)
19th century

Dvaitdvait
a
(Nimbarka)
13th
century

Shuddhadvaita
(Vallabha)
16th century

Achintya
(Chaitanya& Jiv
a)
16th century

A basic classification of the Vedanta theologies.[44][42][45][46]

The contents of the Upanishads are often couched in enigmatic language, which has left them
open to various interpretations. Over a period of time, various schools of Vedanta, with

different interpretations of the Upanishads and the Brahma Sutras arose. There are
three,[3] four,[47] five[31] or six[48][note 12] which are prominent:

Bhedabheda, as early as the 7th century CE,[49] or even the 4th century[19]
Svabhavikabhedabheda or Dv itdv it , founded by Nimbarka[31] in the 13th century
Suddhadvaita, founded by Vallabha[31] (14791531 CE)
Achintya Bheda Abheda, founded by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (14861534)[32]

Advaita Vedanta, founded by Gaudapada and Shri Adi Shankara around 700 CE

Vishishtadvaita, also a subschool of bhedabheda, founded by Shri Ramanuja (10171137


CE)

Dvaita, founded by Shri Madhvacharya (11991278 CE)

Proponents of other Vedantic schools continue to write and develop their ideas as well,
although their works are not widely known outside of smaller circles of followers in India.

Bhedabheda[edit]
Bhedabheda (bheda-abheda), which means "difference and non-difference",[49] existed as early
as the 7th century CE,[49] but Bd ry s Br hm Str (c. 4th century CE) m y lso h ve
been written from

Bhedbhed Vedntic viewpoint.[49] According to the Bhedbhed Vednt

schools the individu l self (jvtm n) is both different nd not different from
Brahman.[49] Bhakti found a place in later proponents of this school.[49] Major names of this
school are Bhsk r (8th-9th century),[49] Rmnuj s te cher
Yd v pr k ,[49] Nimbrk (13th century) who founded
the Dvaitadvaita school,[49] Vallabha (14791531)[49] who
founded Shuddhadvaita,[31] Caitanya(14861534) who founded the Achintya Bheda
Abheda school,[49][50] and Vijn bhiku (16th century).[49]
Dvaitdvaita[edit]
Dv itdv it was propounded by Nimbrk (13th century), based upon Bhedbhed , which
was taught by Bhsk r . According to this school, the jvtman is at once the same and yet
different from Brahman. The jiva relation may be regarded as dvaita from one point of view and
advaita from another. In this school, God is visualized as Krishna.[51]
Shuddhdvaita[edit]

Vallabhacharya

Shuddhadvaita was propounded by Vallabha (14791531 CE). This system also identifies
Bhakti as the only means of liberation, 'to go to Goloka' (lit., the world of cows; the Sankrit word
'go', 'cow', also means 'star'). The world is said to be the sport (ll) of Krishna, who is Sat-ChitAnanda or, "eternal bliss mind".[51]

Achintya-Bheda-Abheda[edit]
Founded by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu[50] (14861534). Achintya-Bheda-Abheda represents the
philosophy of inconceivable one-ness and difference,[52] in relation to the power creation and
creator, (Krishna), svayam bhagavan.[53] and also between God and his energies[54] within
the Gaudiya Vaishnava religious tradition. In Sanskrit achintya means
'inconceivable',[52] bheda translates as 'difference', and abheda translates as 'one-ness'. It can
be best understood as integration of strict dualist (Dvaita) view of Madhvacharya and qualified
monism Vishishtadvaita of Ramanujacharya while rejecting absolute monism Advaita of Adi
Sankara.

Adv it Vednt [edit]


Shankaracharya

Advaita Vedanta (IAST Advaita Vednta; Sanskrit:

[d it ednt ) was

propounded by Adi Shankara (early 8th century CE) and his grand-guru Gaudapada, who
described Ajativada. It is the[55][56][57] sub-school of the Vednt (literally, end or the goal of
the Vedas, Sanskrit) school of Hindu philosophy.[58] In the school of Vednt , Br hm n is the
only reality, and the world, as it appears, is illusory. As Brahman is the sole reality, it cannot be
said to possess any attributes whatsoever. An illusory power of Brahman called My causes
the world to arise. Ignorance of this reality is the cause of all suffering in the world and only
upon true knowledge of Brahman can liberation be attained. When a person tries to know
Br hm n through his mind, due to the influence of My, Br hm n ppe rs s God (Ishvara),
separate from the world and from the individual. In reality, there is no difference between the
individual soul jvtman (see Atman) and Brahman. Liberation lies in knowing the reality of
this non-difference (i.e. a-dvaita, "non-duality"). Thus, the path to liberation is finally only
through knowledge (jna).[51]

Vishishtadvaita[edit]
Vishishtadvaita was propounded by Rmnuj (10171137 CE) and says that the jvtman is a
part of Brahman, and hence is similar, but not identical. The main difference from Advaita is
that in Visishtadvaita, the Brahman is asserted to have attributes (Saguna brahman), including
the individual conscious souls and matter. Brahman, matter and the individual souls are distinct
but mutually inseparable entities. This school propounds Bhakti or devotion to God visualized
as Vishnu to be the path to liberation. My is seen as the creative power of God.[51][note 13]

Dvaita[edit]
Dvaita was propounded by M dhwchry (11991278 CE). It is lso referred to s t tv vd
- The Philosophy of Reality. It identifies God with Brahman completely, and in turn

with Vishnu or his various incarnations like Krishna,Narasimha, Srinivs etc. In that sense it is
also known as sat-vaishnava philosophy to differentiate from the Vishishtadvaita school known
by sri-vaishnavism. It regards Brahman, all individual souls (jvtmans) and matter as eternal
and mutually separate entities. This school also advocates Bhakti as the route to sattvic
liberation whereas hatred (Dvesha)-literally 'twoness') and indifference towards the Lord will
lead to eternal hell and eternal bondage respectively. Liberation is the state of attaining
m ximum joy or sorrow, which is w rded to individu l souls ( t the end of their sdh n ),
based on the souls' inherent and natural disposition towards good or evil. The achintyaadbhuta shakti (the immeasurable power) of Lord Vishnu is seen as the efficient cause of the
universe and the primordial matter or prakrti is the material cause. Dvaita also propounds that
all action is performed by the Lord energizing every soul from within, awarding the results to
the soul but Himself not affected in the least by the results.[51]

Neo-Vedanta[edit]
Main articles: Neo-Vedanta, Hindu nationalism and Hindu reform movements
Neo-Vedanta is a modern interpretation of Vedanta, with a liberal attitude toward the
Vedas.[60] It reconciles dualism and non-dualism,[61] and rejects the "universal illusionism"[62] of
Shankara, despite its reference for classical Advaita Vedanta:
Ramakrsna, Svami Vivekananda, and Aurobindo (I also include M.K. Gandhi) have been
labeled "neo-Vedantists," a philosophy that rejects the Advaitins' claim that the world is illusory.
Aurobindo, in his The Life Divine, declares that he has moved from Sankara's "universal
illusionism" to his own "universal realism" (2005: 432), defined as metaphysical realism in the
European philosophical sense of the term.[62]
Gandhi endorsed the Jain concept of Anekantavada,[63] the notion that truth and reality are
perceived differently from diverse points of view, and that no single point of view is the
complete truth.[64][65] This concept embraces the perspectives of both Vednt which, ccording
to Jainism, "recognizes substances but not process", and Buddhism, which
"recognizes process but not substance". Jainism, on the other hand, pays equal attention to
both substance (dravya) and process (paryaya).[66]
Neo-Vedanta developed in the 19th century, in interaction with and response to
colonialism.[60] 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.[67] Western orientalist searched for the
"essence" of the Indian religions, discerning this in the Vedas,[68] and meanwhile creating the
notion of "Hinduism" as a unified body of religious praxis[69] and the popular picture of 'mystical
India'.[69][67]

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.[70] The Brahmo Samaj, who was supported for a while by the Unitarian
Church,[71] played an essential role in the introduction and spread of this new understanding of
Hinduism.[72] 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".[73]
A major proponent in the popularisation of this Universalist and Perennialist interpretation of
Advaita Vedanta was Vivekananda,[74] who played a major role in the revival of Hinduism,[75] and
the spread of Advaita Vedanta to the west via the Ramakrishna Mission. His interpretation of
Advaita Vedanta has been called "Neo-Vedanta".[76] The popular understanding of Hinduism
has been dominated by this neo-Vedanta,[69][note 14] in which mysticism,[69] Aryan origins and the
unity of Hinduism[77] have been emphasised.[78][79][80][69]
These notions also served well for the Hindu nationalists, who further popularised this notion of
Advaita Vedanta as the pinnacle of Indian religions.[81] It "provided an opportunity for the
construction of a nationalist ideology that could unite Hindus in their struggle against colonial
oppression".[82]

Comparison to Western philosophies[edit]


Similarities between Vedanta and Western philosophical traditions have been discussed by
many authorities. Due to the colonisation of Asia by the western world, since the late 18th
century an exchange of ideas has been taking place between the western world and Asia,
which also influenced western religiosity.[83] In 1785 appeared the first western translation of a
Sanskrit-text.[84] It marked the growing interest in the Indian culture and languages.[85] The first
translation of Upanishads appeared in in two parts in 1801 and 1802,[85] which influenced Arthur
Schopenhauer, who called them "the consolation of my life".[86][note 15] Schopenhauer drew explicit
parallels between his philosophy, as set out in 'The World as Will and Representation',[87] and
that of the Vedanta philosophy ascribed to Vasya in the work of Sir William Jones.[88] Early
translations also appeared in other European languages.[89]
In the 20th century comparisons between Advaita and western philosophy and science took a
high flight. Brian David Josephson, Welsh physicist, and Nobel Prize laureate says:[90]
The Vedanta and the Sankhya hold the key to the laws of the mind and thought process which
are co-related to the Quantum Field, i.e. the operation and distribution of particles at atomic
and molecular levels.

Spinoza[edit]
Max Mller, in his lectures, noted the striking similarities between Vedanta and the system
of Spinoza, saying
[T]he Brahman, as conceived in the Upanishads and defined by Sankara, is clearly the same
as Spinoza's 'Substantia'."[91]
Helena Blavatsky, a founder of the Theosophical Society also compared Spinoza's religious
thought to Vedanta, writing in an unfinished essay
As to Spinoz s Deitynatura naturansconceived in his attributes simply and alone; and the
same Deityas natura naturata or as conceived in the endless series of modifications or
correlations, the direct outflowing results from the properties of these attributes, it is the
Vedantic Deity pure and simple.[92]
The 19th-century German Sanskritist Theodore Goldstcker was one of the early figures to
notice the similarities between the religious conceptions of the Vedanta and those of the Dutch
Jewish philosopher Baruch Spinoza, writing that Spinoza's thought was
... so exact a representation of the ideas of the Vedanta, that we might have suspected its
founder to have borrowed the fundamental principles of his system from the Hindus, did his
biography not satisfy us that he was wholly unacquainted with their doctrines [...] comparing
the fundamental ideas of both we should have no difficulty in proving that, had Spinoza been a
Hindu, his system would in all probability mark a last phase of the Vedanta philosophy.[93][94]

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