Advaita Vedanta

Introduction
 Essence of the 6 darshana shastras;
o “The whole of creation is ultimately intended for the experience of the Soul (Atman)
 The nature and the body of all beings are inert
o Therefore, a power is required to drive these inert bodies
 According to Vedanta this power is “Chaitanya” or Consciousness
o This can be assimilated in physical science: Newton’s First Law of Motion
 Inert objects require an external force for change
 An indefinable something envelops the living world & inert and drives them, it is not swayed by
emotions and it defies measurement
o This indefinable something = nature of Pure Consciousness = Brahman
 Generally, 3 entities
o Jagat – world
o Jiva – individual
o Brahman
 Jagat & Jiva are a tangible experience of all of us
o Brahman is not a tangible experience for most of us
 Jagat & Jiva are not different from Brahman
o They appear to be different because of Agyana (ignorance)
 Advaita-Vedanta is a treatise on the oneness of these three entities of Jagat, Jiva & Brahman

 Maya does not have an independent existence or reality of its own

o Maya is made absolutely dependent on Brahman