Vedānta Philosophy and its Significance in

searching the Absolute Truth

Dr. Sreepati Das

Abstract:
Vedānta is one of the most influential and philosophically advanced orthodox
(āstika) schools of Indian philosophy. The highest essence of Vedic thought is
reflected in Vedānta. It is a logical and acceptable interpretation of Indian thought
that represents the internal unity behind external diversity. Vedānta discusses in
detail the various questions of the human mind such as who I am, why and where do
we originate from, what is the cause of all these creations, what is the reason for this
world, where do we go after death, what are the relationship of our mind and inner
self with the body, why is there so much sorrow or happiness in our lives, how is it
possible to get rid of sorrow forever, etc. Eventually, the essence of Vedānta thinking
has come to answer all these questions. My aim in this piece is to sketch the outline
of Vedānta, highlight the historical evolution of Vedānta philosophy, catch out the
teachings of different Vedānta schools and clarify the nature of their mutual rapport
and differences.

Introduction:
Vedānta is the method adopted by Indian sages for the pursuit of self-
knowledge and the liberation of the Ātman. This is the philosophy that leads people
to progress divinely so that they may know their inseparability with their radiant
Absolute Being. In Vedanta, the nature of Brahman (the Absolute), jīva (Ātman), and
jagat (the world) and their interrelations are discussed which motivates a person
towards the attainment of knowledge. It strongly demonstrates the unity of the entire
humanity of this world who are by born divine and are derived from the same source
of Absolute Entity named Brahman. Vedānta is such a universal philosophy that
searches for the oneness of existence (Brahman) and embraces all the cultures and all
the people of all the countries of the world irrespective of race and caste.

Meaning of Vedānta:
The term Vedānta is a Sanskrit compound word that is formed with a
combination of two basic words: Veda and anta. The Sanskrit term ‘Veda’ is derived
from ‘vid’ which means - to know or to see directly or to have the knowledge and
‘anta’ means ‘the end of’ or ‘the goal of’ or ‘culmination’. Knowledge here means
the gen of the potential divinity of our Ātman. So, the compound term Vedānta
means ‘the quest for Self-knowledge’ or ‘the knowledge of Truth’ or ‘the knowledge
of our divine nature.’
In Hinduism, the term ‘Veda’ indicates the four ancient scriptures (śastras) viz.
Ṛg, Yajur, Sāma and Arthava. The subject matter of the whole Veda is logically
divided into two sections through which humans can achieve their ultimate goal.
They are –
i. Karma kāṇḍa (ritualistic section) or Purva (earlier) Mīmāṃsā (inquiry into
the meaning of the sacred writings) and
ii. Jñāna kāṇḍa (Knowledge section) or Uttara (the latter) Mīmāṃsā.
Purva Mīmāṃsā meaning the ‘former inquiry’ or ‘primary inquiry’ focuses on
interpreting the meaning of the Vedic duties and ritual actions of the religious people.
Jaimini is the author of the Purva Mīmāṃsā which had been written approximately
during the period from 500 B.C. to 200 BC. 1 Most of the Vedas are full of ritual and
worship through which, it is believed that the doer gets the desired fruit in this world
and will enjoy substantial happiness after his death. This Karma kāṇḍa section
comprises the Mantras or Saṃhitā and the Brāhmaṇas. The Mantras are admirations
or prayers addressed to various gods such as Indra, Varuna, Agni, Soma, Maruts,
Mitra, etc. They are chanted during the performance of sacrifices. The Brāhmaṇas are
mostly in prose and contain detailed instructions dealing with various complex ritual
and sacrificial acts performed for attaining material affluence such as wealth,
progeny, etc., and reaching heaven after death. Mīmāṃsā philosophy asserts that
Vedas are interminable and possess all knowledge and by religion, it means the
fulfillment of duties prescribed by the Vedas.
The Jñāna kāṇḍa or Uttara Mīmāṃsā part of the Vedas means the ‘latter
inquiry’ or ‘higher inquiry’ or ‘the highest rational truths’ which is often uttered with
Purva Mīmāṃsā to show the spiritual supremacy. It includes the Āraṇyaka section of
the Brāhmaṇas and the Upaniṣads. Vyāsa or Bādarāyaṇa, the Guru of Jaimini, is the
author of the Uttara Mīmāṃsā. This part of the Vedas (also known as Vedānta) is
related to knowledge through which the real secrets of this world, its creatures, God,
and their mutual relations are known. It presents the philosophy of the Absolute
Truth to populaces pursuing liberation from the cycle of birth and death. It deals with
the wisdom regarding the Ultimate Reality, the true nature of our being, and the
system to achieve perfect bliss. The source writings for all schools of Vedānta are the
triple texts or the so-called Prasthānatrayī - The Brahma Sūtras of Bādarāyaṇa, the
Upaniṣads and their commentaries and the Bhagavad-gītā. So, in this sense, Vedānta
technically refers to the final sections of the Vedas, the Prasthānatrayī - The Brahma
Sūtras, the Upaniṣads and the Bhagavad-gītā.
In fine, Vedānta is the essence and the goal of the Vedas. The theme of
Vedānta is Brahman, which is identical to the individual self. It is based on the
sublime philosophy of oneness which propounds the doctrine of Absolute Existence
and unity of consciousness. This Truth must be observed by its seekers in thought,
word, and deed. Therefore, the term ‘Vedānta’ does not merely mean the end portion
of the Vedas but it indicates the decisive conclusion or the highest philosophy of the
Vedas.

Source Texts of Vedānta:

It has been said before that Upaniṣads, Brahma Sūtras and Bhagavad-gītā - the
triad represent the three remarkable crowns of the Vedānta which are referred to as
the three pillars of Vedānta or the Prasthānatrayī. As the Upaniṣads constitute the
Jñāna kāṇḍa of the Vedas relating to a higher vision of spirituality, they are
called śruti prasthāna. The Brahma Sūtras logically establish the philosophical
ideology of the orthodox vedantic interpretation and attempt to harmonize the ample
teachings of the Upaniṣads into one dependable system. They are therefore called the
nyāya prasthāna. Bhagavad-gītā is another important text of Vedānta tradition and
probably the most well-known religious text of Indian Hindus in modern times. It is
considered as a lucid concise, practical, self-contained memorial guide for mankind
from whose the rules of Religion (dharma) are preserved and passed down. It is a
memory of truth rather than a perception explained to Arjuna by Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa and
therefore called smṛti prasthāna. Therefore, the truth of Vedānta is said to be
established on the tripartite foundation of effulgent scripture (śruti), reminisced
tradition (smṛti) and logic (nyāya).
These three cannons of Vedānta constitute a treasury of expedient means for
understanding Vedānta. Basically, the whole structure of Hinduism stands on these
three works. These three texts are the original springs of Vedānta philosophy.
Vedānta study cannot be completed without the study of these Prasthānatrayī.

Upaniṣads:
Upaniṣads are the concluding portion of the Vedas as they depict the
fundamental teachings of the Vedas and enshrine a true understanding of the
individual self and the Supreme. Each of the Vedas holds a section of collective texts
which are called the Upaniṣads. They are considered as the pramāṇa (testimony) for
śāstra-vicāra (study of the scriptures) which lay down the moral essence of the entire
earth. They are also considered as the basic springs of all the systems of Indian
Philosophy and culture. According to Torwesten, “Not only are the Upaniṣads the
foundation and starting point of Vedānta, the base, as it were, from which later
Indian thinkers took off in their lofty flights of philosophical speculation; they are,
even more so, the wellspring to which these thinkers like to return again and again to
rinse away the dust of learnedness.”2
The Upaniṣads are composed of ṛṣis (enlightened sages). They are
authoritative texts and are classified as ‘śruti’ (that which is heard). The word
‘Upaniṣad’ (Upaniṣad = upa+ni+sad) is derived by adding the prefixes ‘upa’ (near
or ‘to approach’) and ‘ni’ (certainty or steadfastness) to the verbal root ‘sad’ (‘to
destroy’ or ‘to sit down’ or ‘to go to’ or ‘to decay’). By the word, ‘Upaniṣad’ is thus
meant the knowledge attained by the pupils after sitting down at the feet of their
teacher (ṛṣis) that destroys the seeds of worldly survival. The central teachings of
the Upaniṣads are Brahman. They established the concept of one divine Brahman as
the beginning source of a manifold universe. Since the Upaniṣads were inherited
from generation to generation through śruti, the exact time of the Upaniṣads cannot
be assessed. Scholars and historians have different opinions about the date of the
Upaniṣads. Though a lot of preceptors attained the Upaniṣadic knowledge yet most
of them did not record the time of their authorship. Many researchers are of the view
that the period of the Upaniṣads could be between BC 1500 and BC 400. It is
mentioned in the Muktikopaniśad that there are 108 Upaniṣads as the most
 important. However, from the philosophical eminence, Shankara has accepted
mainly 11 Upaniṣads. These leading Upaniṣads are Īśā, Kena, Kaṭha, Praṣna,
Muṇḍaka, Māṇḍūkya, Taittirīya, Aitareya, Chāndogya, Bṛhadāraṇyaka and
Śvetāśvatara.
The fundamental teaching of the Upaniṣads is certainly absolutism. The
Absolute is known as Brahman. The dominant teaching of the Upaniṣads establishes
the concept of one divine source i.e. Brahman behind everything of the manifold
universe. Almost all Upaniṣads in unanimity declare that Brahman is the ultimate
invariable truth and that the knower of Brahman becomes Brahman. The four
mahāvākyas (The Great Sayings) like ‘Prajñānam Brahma’3 (Consciousness is
Brahman), ‘Ayam Ātmā Brahma’4 (This Ātman is Brahman), ‘Tat Tvam Asi’ 5 (You
are THAT) and ‘Aham Brahmāsmi’6(I am Brahman) are available in Upaniṣads. In
other Upaniṣads, we also find some more Vedantic Great Sayings like ‘sarvaṃ
khalvidaṃ brahma’7 (Everything verily is this Brahman), ‘so'ham’ 8 (I am that) etc.
These all demonstrate the highest ideal of the Vedānta. Some of the greatest ancient
preceptors of the Vedānta tradition found in the Upaniṣads to be worth-mentioning
are Janaka, Bhṛgu, Yājñavalkya, Gārgī, Ṣaunaka, Āsvapati, Ṃaitrēyi, Ṣatyakama,
Ūddhalaka, Āngiras, Ṇacikēta, Ūsasthi, Ṣētakētu, Pippalāda, etc. The above scholars
would always bear an unquenchable thirst for finding the truth rather than attaining
personal fame or money.

Vedānta Sūtra:
The Jñāna kāṇḍa (end or essence) of the Veda is systematized in a single work
named Vedānta Sūtras which is enriched with the highest philosophical thought of
Vedānta. It is known to us by a variety of names, such as Bādarāyaṇa-Sūtra, Śārīraka
-Sūtra, Vedānta-darsana, Brahma-Sūtra, Uttara Mīmāṃsā, Vyāsa-Sūtra, and Bhiksu-
Sūtra. The Brahma Sūtra is known as the nyāya prasthāna or the dialectical text as it
introduces Vedānta philosophy in a systematic and logical order. It is a compendium
for the great dons of the Vedantic systems. It also founds uniformity in the Upaniṣads
proving that the central theme of the diverse Upaniṣads is Brahman. Hence, the
Sūtras are called Brahma-Sūtras. The Sūtras are concise but cryptic aphorisms and
afford full freedom of analysis to the commentators. They give the essence of the
thoughts on a topic. That is why the eminent commentators of Vedānta have chosen
the Vedānta Sūtras to comment upon in their independent works on their respective
systems. Bādarāyaṇa is believed to be the author of the Brahma-Sūtra. However, he
was not the only scholar to harmonize the thought-provoking philosophy of the
various Upaniṣads. He also refers to some Vedantic teachers before him such as
Audulomi, Kāskrtsna, Badrai, and Asmarthya. But certainly, Bādarāyaṇa is the most
respected proponent of Vedānta. Tradition recognizes him with Vedavyāsa, the
compiler of the Vedas, though there is no adequate proof to support that. The
Āchāryas like Shankara, Ramanuja, Bhāskara, Yamuna, etc. referred to him as
Bādarāyaṇa and did not identify him as Vyāsa. Shankara holds him in very high
respect and reports him as Bhagavan. T. S. Narayana Sastry tries to fixes the date of
Bādarāyaṇa to be in a time before the 10th Century B.C.9 However it is suggested by
almost all scholars that Bādarāyaṇa existed at some point during 500 to 200 BCE.
The expected dates of writing the Brahma Sūtras may be assigned to the 3rd or 2nd
century BC.
The entire Vedānta text is divided into four great parts, called adhyaya or
chapter, each of which is again divided into four pādas. There are 16 pādas. Each
pāda is sub-divided into adhikāranas (topics). There are 191 adhikāranas in it. It has
in total 555 applied formulas (Sūtras) each of which comprising an ocean of
knowledge. The first chapter known as samanvaya or harmony tries to elucidate the
Brahman Who is the ultimate goal of life. The second chapter known as avirodha
(non-conflict), refuting the opposition, discusses that there is no contradiction
between the primordial, practical and spiritual entities of Brahman. The third chapter
named Sādhanā (the means of salvation) describes the process of achieving the
ultimate emancipation. The fourth chapter termed as phala (the result) discusses the
state and nature of in final salvation as a result of attaining the realization of
Brahman. The Brahma Sūtras is such a fundamental text which do not form a
separate school of Vedānta but allow various Vedantic systems to call upon it. R.N.
Dasgupta says, “The Sūtras of the Vedānta system, known as the Śārīraka-Sūtras or
Brahma-Sūtras of Bādarāyaṇa for example were of so ambiguous a nature that they
gave rise to more than half a dozen divergent interpretations, each one of which
claimed to be the only faithful one.”10 It consists of the essence of the Vedānta in
establishing its philosophy as well as creating a formidable fort against the other
philosophical tradition with pleas and pungent arguments. Some celebrated authors
of different commentaries on the Brahma Sūtras are Shankara, Bhāskara, Yādava,
Nimbarka, Ramanuja, Śrīkanṭa, Madhva, Vallabha and Baladeva.

Bhagavad-gītā:
Bhagavad-gītā is the famous poetic dialogue known as "Song of God" that
took place between Arjuna and Lord Kṛṣṇa. It is a Sanskrit text drawn from the
chapter Bhishma Parva of the Mahābhārata epic comprising 700 verses. Some
scholars have opined that the Bhagavad-gītā had been added to the Mahābhārata at a
later date. Alike Bhagavad-gītā, some more Gītās are existing to us. Some of them
are Anugītā, Avadhūta Gītā, Asṭāvakra Gītā, Iśvara Gītā, Uttara Gītā, Uddhava Gītā,
Ribhu Gītā, Ṛṣabha Gītā, Kapila Gītā, Gāyatrī Gītā, Nāradagītā, Guru Gītā, Guha
Gītā, Jīvanmukti Gītā, Devi Gītā, Brahma Gītā, Rāma Gītā, Śānti Gītā, Śruti Gītā,
Hamsa Gītā, etc. They all more or less explain the central theme of the Upaniṣads as
well as the metaphysical melody of Vedānta. Bhagavad-gītā is often considered to be
a summary of Vedānta philosophy and also as a practical code concerned with Self-
realization. It gives a clear picture of the principles of the Vedas and Upaniṣads. It is
a book that everyone can read to enjoy the path of Self Realization and the
realization of the supreme power. Vedānta declares that the real identity of the
individual self is nothing other than Brahman Himself. The teaching follows the
verse of Gītā like-
vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhā man-mayā mām upāśritāḥ
bahavo jñāna-tapasā pūtā mad-bhāvam āgatāḥ.11
 (Being freed from attachment, fear, and anger, being absorbed in Me, taking
refuge in Me, purified by the fire of knowledge, many persons have attained to My
Being.)
Or, bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate
vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ.12
(At the end of many births the wise man comes to Me, realizing that all this is
Vasudeva or the innermost Self; such a great Ātman is very hard to find.)
Mokṣa Gītā holds the highest spirit of Vedānta. Like Vedānta it deals with the
nature of the universe, Divine Illusion, mind, the mode of Vedantic Sādhanā, forms
of ignorance and wisdom, five sheaths of the self, the liberated Ātman, Self-
Knowledge and also offers a lucid philosophical explanation of Eternal Brahman. In
trying to explain the state of Supreme Brahman it expounds that It is imperishable,
unborn, undecaying, fearless, motionless, one without a second, ancient and infinite,
that thing alone exists.13

Vedānta in Vedas:
The early tradition of Vedānta begins in around the period of 1700-900 BC.
The Rishis from the pre-Upaniṣadic time tried to realize Brahman as the reality
behind their existence and of everything else in this cosmos. These enlightened sages
depicted Brahman as infinite Being (sat), infinite Consciousness (cit), and infinite
Bliss (ānanda). The word Brahman occurs more than 200 times in Rigveda. The
Rigveda says that by the desire of the Supreme God (Brahman), the initial display of
the inanimate universe came into existence from Hiranyagarbha (golden womb),
from whom this world, all creation, and deities (devas) arose. 14 We know that
Bādarāyaṇa’s Brahma Sūtra is the most leading elucidation of the Vedānta, it was not
the first scripture for Vedānta as he himself refers to the opinions of the earlier
scholars such as Jaimini, Aśmarāthya, Bādari, Parāsari, Audulomi, Kāshakrtsna,
Kārsnajini, Karmandi, Atreya, etc.

Other Source Texts of Vedānta Philosophy:

Besides Upaniṣads, Brahma Sūtras and in Gītā, we also find the ideology of
Vedānta directly or indirectly in various Purānas, Mahābhārata, Rāmāyana, the
Māṇḍukyakarikās and the Vākyapadīaya of Gaudapāda and Mandana’s
Brahmasiddhi. It is a historical conclusion that the period of Rāmāyana and
Mahābhārata could be 3000 B.C. The truth of Vedānta is elaborately explained in
these scriptures in the form of tales and romantic stories so that even a child can
understand the truth easily. While Veda and Upaniṣads teach the theory of Vedānta
the Mahābhārata, Rāmāyana and Purānas teach the practice through appropriate
illustrations. Therefore, these scriptures represent a stage of Vedantic philosophy in
the light of numerous traditional stories. The Yogavāsistha is a unique code full of
philosophical vision and Vedantic thoughts. The legendary scholars following the
Vedānta tradition in the Purānic period are Vālmikī, Vyāsa, Brahmadeva, Dattātreya,
Nārada, Śuka, Vasista, Agastya, Vidura, etc.
 School of Vedānta Philosophy:
Various commentators wrote scholarly commentaries on Prasthānatrayī, but
they also tried to present their ideology and views, mainly guided by their
understanding and the realities of their era, in the interpretation of the Vedantic texts.
Each commentator has interpreted the original book in a different way. In
interpreting the sources of the original text of Vedānta, various commentators have
gained so much freedom of diversity based on their ingrained conceptions in
different commentaries that different sub-sects have sprung up in Vedānta
philosophy centering on the differences in this interpretation. They all tried to prove
by their arguments that their doctrine was the only one as if Bādarāyaṇa had
propagated it through his formula. Based on such different interpretations of
Vedānta, six major prevalent Upaniṣad-centric doctrines have been developed,
namely,
i. Shankara's Advaitavāda (Monism or Non-dualism),
ii. Ramanuja's Viśiṣṭādvaitavāda (Qualified monism),
iii. Madhva's Dvaitavāda (Dualism),
iv. Nimbark's Dvaitādvaitavāda (Difference and non-difference),
v. Vallabha's Śuddhādvaitavāda (Pure Monism) and
vi. Chaitanya's Achintya Bhedābhedavāda (Inconceivable one-ness and
difference).
The only path based on the knowledge of Nirguna Brahman is Shankara's
Advaitism, all other views are basically based on devotion to Saguna Brahman. Each
commentator differs on the nature of Brahman, the relation of Brahman to the living
Ātman, the causal relation of Brahman to the world, the path of attaining salvation
and the nature of the Ātman in the state of salvation. In Shankara’s Vedānta, the
distinction between the Ātman of one living being (Jīva) and another one is not
accepted. Every living being here is, in reality, Brahman. On the contrary, in Dvaita
Vedānta, the distinction between one Jīva and another Jīva, as well as the distinction
between each Jīva and Brahman, is real and eternal. Again, in Ramanuja’s
Viśiṣṭādvaita, the relationship between Jīva and Ishwar is similar to the relationship
between adjectives and nouns. To him, Brahman or God is the Supreme Reality and
Chit (Ātman) and achit (inanimate world) are the two inseparable parts of Brahman.
The creation of achit (inanimate objects) is from the chit part of Brahman where
Brahman is a noun and achit is an adjective of Brahman. Neither Individual Ātman
and Brahman are completely identical, nor are they completely different. The
oneness between them is the distinctive oneness, not the extreme oneness. This is
why Ramanuja's doctrine is called Viśiṣṭādvaita (Qualified Monism). It should be
noted, however, that the other schools of Vedānta continued to develop their ideas,
although the works of most of them did not receive wide distribution and are only
known to a small circle of their followers in India. Almost all areas of modern
Hinduism, have been influenced by all these consistent interpretations and
philosophical interpretations of different scholars from different schools of Vedānta.
Although such extreme differences exist in different Vedānta sects, all the
commentators agree directly or indirectly on the following points:
1. The general essence of all the divisions of Vedānta philosophy is the
analysis of the interrelationships between Brahman, the world and Jīva (creatures).
2. Brahman is the cause of this world ‍and all her creations.
3. The basis of the world is the consciousness of the Brahman, not the inertia
of the universe.
4. The Vedas are infallible and standard in themselves.
5. The ultimate desired Salvation through self-realization is the ultimate
purpose of all beings.
6. The divine feeling of the Absolute Brahman is possible only by
understanding the meaning of the scriptures, not just by argument.
7. The realization of Brahman is said to be the only path to liberation. To
master this theology, the devotee has to think of oneness with the whole being and
nature in terms of the manifestation of Brahman.

Vedānta at the beginning:

Vedānta schools are undeniably orthodox ones that deal with the interpretation
of the existing Vedic texts, seek to interpret Vedic texts and make reference to those
texts. In the Vedic and the post-Vedic period, Karmakāṇḍa – the ritual practices of
the Brahmanic tradition were organized. Even though Brahman was considered as
the highest reality in those days, there existed some more gods and goddesses
simultaneously such as Varuna, Indra, Agni, Rudra, Uṣā, and Soma to whom the
rituals and sacrifices were dedicated. Later on, the Upaniṣads, some non- ritualistic
texts, and the best of the early human logical expressions were placed at the end of
the ritualistic sections of the Vedas. The ritualistic sacrificial frameworks of the
earlier sections of the Vedas and the dominance of related ritualists were contested
and challenged by the spiritual works composed by later sages and thinkers by which
some high scholastic people were intensely influenced. Since then, these Upaniṣads
are still providing the religious and philosophical foundations for the Vedānta
schools. It is expected that in the pre-Shankara period, there might have several
schools of the Vedānta, but there was no clear demarcation in Vedantic thought at
that time. Hence, the history of the Vedānta mainly began with the views of
Gaudapāda and Shankara characterized on Advaita. The two major aspects of Vedic
thought and practice are the Jñāna (mystical) and the bhakti (devotional) path.
Advaita principally represents the Vedic Jñāna portion especially the utmost
philosophical wisdom of the Upaniṣads.

Gaudapāda’s Advaita Vedānta Philosophy:

Gaudapāda has produced a substance and the standard reference on early
Vedānta. The Advaita view of Gaudapāda is so well known that the Vedānta is
sometimes recognized with it. As a matter of fact, the lineage of the conventional
Advaita Vedānta began with the composition of Gaudapāda. He is considered to be
the first historically known author whose work is still existing. According to the
traditional Advaita list of teachers' lineages, Gaudapāda is considered to be a disciple
of Shukadeva (son of Bādarāyaṇa) and the guru of Govinda Bhagavatpāda, who was
again in turn, the guru of Shankara. It is uncertain in history as to where Gaudapāda
came from or lived. Some propose that he lived in northern Bengal, near the
Hirāravati River, where a tribe known as the Gauḍas resided. Gaudapāda commenced
his divine journey with a deep penance at the Badrīkā Āśrama of the Himālayas.
Shankara most respectfully saluted Gaudapāda as his ‘grand teacher’ in his
commentary and it is by tradition believed that he learned the principles of the
philosophy to Gaudapāda. We learn this from the T. S. Narayana Sastry, “Shankara
was extremely delighted to see his Paramaguru who was then said to have been 120
years old, engaged in Brahmaniśṭha and simply waiting for the arrival of the young
Prasiśya who was to establish the Advaita Philosophy started by him and by his
Guru. On being introduced by Govinda Bhagavatpāda, Shankara went and prostrated
himself before the feet of his Paramaguru and Gaudapāda was most happy to
welcome him as one of his own pupils in future and offered to teach him all he knew.
Shankara studied directly under Gaudapāda for four years…” 15
Usually, it is accepted that he flourished in the sixth century. His Karikās on
Māṇḍukya Upaniṣad and Commentary on the Uttara Gītā is enriched with Advaitic
prejudice. Many scholars regard his Māṇḍukya Karikā (Āgamaśāstra) as the oldest
known systematic detail of Advaita Vedānta. He is also best known for his
commentary on the Samkhya Karikās. Some other famed works are too credited to
Gaudapāda such as commentary on the Nrsimhottaratapiny Upaniṣad, bhāsya on
Durgāsaptaśatī, etc.
Gaudapāda is respected mainly for the Advaita philosophy as its essence is
outlined in his most famous work Māṇḍukya Karikā. The Karikā consists of 215
verses arranged in four chapters such as Agama-prakaraṇa, Vaitathya-prakaraṇa,
Advaita-prakaraṇa, and Alataśānti-prakaraṇa. In the overall discussion of the first
chapter, he has arranged the nature and existence of the human Ātman in four levels
or stages which are Vaiśvānara (waking state), taijasa (dream), Prājña (deep sleep) 16,
and the Turīya or the state of non-dual Pure Consciousness-Bliss. He explains these
four stages that one would go through to achieve the state of absolute reality. In the
first stage, which is known as the Vaiśvānara, the self of Jīva (Ātman) lives within
the illusion of Māyā (illusion), unaware of its absolute nature. In this stage, the
Ātman is unconscious and attempts to experience everything it can. In the second
stage, named taijasa, indicating a dreamlike state, the Ātman notices the illusory
nature of everything. However, in this state, the Ātman begins its journey inward for
truth. In the third stage, named Prājña, meaning deep sleep, one feels an integrated
lump of consciousness and is almost saved from illusion, though not truly liberated.
Finally, the last stage, named Turiya17, refers to absolute truth or Brahman when the
main concept of Advaita emerges and Brahman is seen as the only reality, rather than
Its multiple aspects.
In the second chapter, in 38 Karikās, he has proved by lucid arguments that
this phenomenal world is unreal creation that appears like a dream and illusion due to
Māyā. His philosophy bases on the doctrine of ‘Ajathivāda’ or no-origination. In the
third chapter, in 48 Karikās he has proved that the Supreme is the non-dual
foundational Self which can be realized in immediate experience. For the first time,
he established the reality of the non-dual self in this commentary. He discussed all
the fundamental principles of the Advaita school of thought such as the concept of
Brahman, Ātman, Māyā and Jñāna as the means to Mokṣaetc. in his Māṇḍukya
Karikā. S.K. Sastry rightly says, “Gaudapāda has developed an aspect of the Advaita
doctrine which lent itself readily to being used as the basis of the Samkara form of
Advaita.”18
In the third chapter of Māṇḍukya Karikā, he explained his famous Ajativāda
school or the doctrine of non- origination of Advaita Vedānta. In the Ajativāda
school of Vedānta, Brahman is accepted as the only reality and the material world is
an illusion. Actually, the central theme of Gaudapāda philosophy is that there is
nothing apart from Brahman in this world. As Brahman is the sole reality, it has not
any attributes whatsoever. Gaudapāda rejects all the other theories of creation. From
the absolute standpoint, origination is impossible. From the absolute point of view, it
is understood that there is neither birth nor death, neither disclosure nor
disappearance, neither singularity nor plurality, neither creation nor devastation, and
neither bondage nor liberation. Māyā, an illusionary power of Brahman, causes the
world to arise. Duality is an outward manifestation and the non-dual Ātman is the
only true entity. The world is identical with the Ātman and again, Ātman is not
different from Brahman. The Absolute Brahman, being self-existent, is never created
(Aja). Unawareness of this Brahman is the cause of all suffering in the world. Duality
is the product of the intellect and when the intellect is excelled, duality disappears. In
other words, when the universal single entity of the Brahman is realized, the duality
of the doer and the object vanishes and peace also can be realized. He says that
nothing is ever born because the Self is the only reality. There is no cause for
pragmatic birth; nothing whatever is born. The notion of the pragmatic reality and
transcendent ideality or of cause and effect is due to the functioning of Illusion. The
Absolute Brahman alone is the truth, all else is illusory and non-real. As in the sea,
there is one common substratum of water behind all waves; similarly, there is one
spiritual Brahman behind all names and forms.
In the fourth chapter, he presents a thorough clarification of his views and
points out the similarities and differences between his Vedānta and Mahāyāna
Buddhism and establishes the soundness of Vedānta over Buddhism. He accepts the
ajativāda of Buddhism here saying that nothing can originate either from itself or
from other than itself; neither the real nor the unreal nor real and unreal altogether
can be originated. The real is eternal and so cannot be produced; the unreal like a
barren woman’s son cannot be produced. The combination of the real and unreal like
light and darkness is also impossible and cannot be produced. So, the world, all its
Jīvas and objects are not a real creation, but a mere phenomenon. They seem to be
born through Māyā which too in due course is false. Finally, he says that where there
is an attachment to cause and effect or to birth and death, there is the world. The state
where this attachment is driven out, no one wishes freedom and no one attains
freedom and where there is no birth and death, is the highest absolute truth.
 Shankara’s Advaita Vedānta Philosophy:
Shankara (most likely 788-820 A.D.), a great South Indian scholar,
philosopher and mystic, is the first person to explicitly systematize the principles of
Advaita Vedānta. He is the very first Vedantin who proposes a formal interpretation
as well as a thorough analysis of Vedānta at its early stage of development. He
compiled this basic philosophical thought based on the teaching of Upaniṣads and
two other harmonizing works viz. the Brahma Sūtras and the Bhagavad-gītā.
Shankar's Advaita does not match with other schools for its metaphysical profundity
and rational power. According to him, Brahman alone is real and the world is
considered as an illusion that is superimposed upon the Reality Brahman through
ignorance (avidyā). The Jīvas are also Brahman, the difference is only apparent and
is caused by ignorance. He refers to Brahman as “one without a second” or the
oneness of the Individual Ātman (Ātman) and the Whole (Brahman). He says, since
the Ātman is identical with Brahman, the experience of the Ātman is the experience
of Brahman. The supreme Reality of his school is said to be transcendent, beyond all
human natures and qualities. Advaitins seek emancipation by attaining concrete
knowledge of the identity of Ātman and Brahman that destroys Māyā which covers
the Brahman.

Nirguna Brahman and Saguna Brahman:

According to Advaita Vedānta, Brahman can be thought of from two
perspectives. From a theological point of view, Brahman is Nirguna (impersonal
Brahman without attributes) and from a practical point of view, Brahman is Saguna
(personal God with qualities). To Shankara, Brahman is mainly Nirguna which is
beyond human conceptual understanding. No anthropic characteristics or discernable
properties are available in Nirguna Brahman who can only be realized through
meditation or correct knowledge (Jñāna yoga) by some rare few aspirants. This
Brahman is Nirguna (without attributes), Nirākāra (formless), Ashīm (infinite),
Anirvacanīya (indefinable), Sanātan (eternal), Nirviśeṣa (without special
characteristics), Purnam (perfect), Akṣara (immutable), and Akartā (non-agent). He is
vast, uncontained, indeterminate, trans-empirical, non-phenomenal, unchangeable,
transcendent and primeval. This very monistic view is classically developed in the
Advaita Vedānta of Shankara. There is only one Pure Being to sustain this world and
all else is an illusion that depends upon the One. There is no language to describe
Absolute Brahman by its primary sense which is beyond time, space and causation.
Śruti says, “Words return along with the mind without reaching it” 19. He is a tranquil
limitless Reality and cannot be fully understood by wisdom alone. He cannot be any
particular thing but the underlying reality of everything. He is the imperishable,
inexhaustible supreme Chaitanya (pure consciousness) in every being. There is
neither an agent nor an object of action, nor an instrument except Him. He is all-full,
inestimable, eternal, self-existent, self- delighted, self-knowledge and self-bliss. He is
the only thing and the only source of everything in existence who is derived from
Himself and hence, inexplicable in the traditional subject-object realistic mode of
knowledge.
Saguna Brahman, in consequence, is not the contrast, antithesis, or opposite of
Nirguna Brahman. The very same Nirguna Brahman comes to light as Saguna
Brahman for the holy worship of devotees. Shankara refers to Saguna Brahman as
Īśvara and holds that prayer leads directly to the realization of Saguna Brahman. But
the realization of Saguna Brahman, in due course, leads an aspirant to the realization
of Nirguna Brahman. Thus, to Shankara, Īśvara is the theistic God who occupies a
vital position as the intermediary between the Nirguna Brahman and the empirical
world. When an aspirant tries to understand the Nirguna Brahman with his mind, the
Brahman that is manifested to him is Īśvara. Shankara does not accept God (Saguna
Brahman or Īśvara) as the ultimate reality. However, as a systematic philosopher, he
accepts him as the Supreme Lord. He looks at this Saguna Brahman, say Viṣñu or
Kṛṣṇa or Rāma, as an illusion stemming from ignorance or Brahman in relation to
Māyā. The aspirant enjoys the reflection of the same Nirguna Brahman as Īśvara
through the mirror of Māyā or the cosmic nescience. So, from the pragmatic point of
view, Īśvara is the Saguna Brahman, the effect of the assimilation of Māyā with
Brahman. Māyā cannot delude Ishwar. He always knows his union with the Brahman
and the Māyic nature of the world. He is, omnipotent, omniscient, the ruler of Māyā,
and endowed with infinite virtues.
The end of humanity according to Shankara’s school is to realize the essential
oneness of the individual Ātman and the supreme reality. His philosophy leads
people to the path of Brahman from the materialistic world. Deutsch writes, “Here is
a philosophy which insists upon Nirguna Brahman—Brahman without qualities—as
the sole reality, upon the absolute identity of man with this distinctionless Reality,
and upon the relativity, if not falsity, of all empirical experience. And this
philosophy, which is obviously meaningful to only an intellectual-spiritual elite, soon
became the dominant philosophical system in the whole of India.”20

The world in Advaita Vedānta:

In Advaita, an attempt has been made to give an acceptable and coherent
explanation of the existence and permanence of the world through a theory of
causation named Vivartavāda (apparent manifestation). ‘Vivarta’ means ‘atomic
change', a type of material modification of any objects where the original material
cause is not lost like the sea appearing as a wave without changing its own nature.
The theory explains the relation between the creator as the cause and creation as the
effect. According to the Vivartavāda, the effect or resultant (material world) is
merely an unrealistic (vivarta) transformation of its causal form Brahman. Thus, in
Vivarta, a non-object is manifested as objects by illusion or by mistake.
It says that the universe, which is originated from Brahman, is not the result of
Brahman, but the diffraction of Brahman. Though the original object (Brahman)
remains intact in every creation, we understand it otherwise by our confusion. This
otherwise instinctive feeling is diffraction like the belief of the snake in the rope. A
rope was the rope even before and will remain the same even after the knowledge of
it. All that has happened is that one understood it as the snake for some time because
of the sense defect or because of the subject defect. Such a Brahman has been
understood to be a world.
In Advaita view, the “One without a second” cannot transmute Itself into “the
many”, yet It appears through the concealing power of Māyā as “the many” without
affecting Its very nature. Brahman, the subjective Reality, Itself appears through
Māyā as name and form. Therefore, in the Advaita Vedānta view, there can be no
causal relation between Absolute Brahman and the relative space-time world. Here,
the upadāna-kārana (material cause) does not get transformed by nimitta-kārana
(efficient cause). So, in Vivartavāda, the effect is merely an apparent transformation
of its cause, like an illusion. The modification of a substance is false, but the
substance is real. The Supreme Brahman—ultimate truth is real, the phenomenal
universe—the relative space-time world is unreal. For instance, gold is the material
cause of gold ornaments, but the originality of pure gold is not lost in the ornaments
because it can be retrieved by melting the ornament and returning it to its original
state of goldness. Again, just as by knowing a lump of clay, the nature of all clay is
known. The components of all pots are the anus (atoms) of the clay; they come
into existence by the anus of clay being molded. Thus, whatever is seen to be
moving or motionless in this world is the vivarta or expanded body of the living
Ātman, without any alteration in its atomic minuteness. Just as the snake is
superimposed on the rope, this world with its varieties is superimposed on Brahman.
The rope is not transformed into a snake, like milk into curd; but it seems like a
snake to us because of our nescience (avidyā). As one sees the rope, the snake
disappears without any trace. As the sun seems like a reflection in the water, so
Brahman reflects and becomes the Jīva as well as the universe. Thus, Brahman is
both the material and efficient cause in the origin of the creation of the universe. It
is the cause of the origination, sustenance, and annihilation of the universe.
The one truth, the cause exists in the subtle form inside all manifestations. As
a spider spins a web out of its own mouth without any exertion and sports in that
web, so the Absolute ultra-consciousness creates all beings in Its own self by Its own
energy and remains unchanged Itself. Similarly, due to the same cause, the Brahman
too seems to us as this world and its vast plurality of entities. Without our senses
and mind, we cannot perceive the manifestations of the Universe. So, our mind is the
root cause of delusion through which we see the world and again through the force of
this mind, we have to find out the Truth by developing our wise thought. Shankara
says here that whatever remains eternal is true and whatever is short-lived is untrue.
Since the earth was created, everything on earth fluctuates and can be destroyed at
any time, so it is not real. What transcends space and time is true, and what is
affected by space and time is not real. As someone dreams in his sleep, when he
wakes up, he actually sees another kind of super-dream. In Advaita, the world is
compared to such a conscious dream. The world is considered to be a
superimposition of Brahman. Superimposition can never be real. The absolute unique
Brahman is shining through the senses, mind, intellect, emotions, thoughts and
objects. The world is an outward manifestation of Brahman, a projection of God, like
a mirage or a false reality. It exists because of our dual perception and disappears
when we enter the realm of pure subjectivity, which is the self-state illuminated by
the light of the Ātman. We find a lucid explanation about the Brahman and the
world in the verses 407 and 408 of Vivekachudāmani, the most famous non-
commentarial work of Shankara, as translated by Svāmī Madhavānanda, “This
apparent universe has its root in the mind and never persists after the mind is
annihilated. Therefore, dissolve the mind by concentrating it in the Supreme Self
which is thy inmost Essence. The wise one realizes in his heart, through Samadhi,
the Infinite Brahman which is something of the nature of eternal Knowledge and
absolute Bliss, which has no exemplar, which transcends all limitations, is ever free
and without activity, —which is like the limitless sky, indivisible and absolute.”21
However, Shankara accepts that the world is not absolutely unreal. It is
unrealistic when compared to Brahman. In the realist state, when we are under the
influence of Māyā, the world appears to be true. In our everyday state of
consciousness, it is real and it exists. However, the enlightened sage does not
experience it and it ceases to manifest. It is only relatively real, but the Ātman
(Brahman) in us is unconditionally real. At the same time, the world cannot be both
true and false; hence, the concept of Shankara repeatedly reminds us that the
empirical world is indescribable.
Therefore, from the viewpoint of occultism, the world is false (since it is the
inversion of Brahman) even if its practical power is accepted. In fact, there is no
world, it is the diffraction of the same Brahman. The Supreme Brahman is the basis
of this world. The world is as good as Its reflection.

Māyā as clarified by Shankara

The idea of Māyā is an important element in the A d v a i t a Vedānta as
well as in Indian religious history. Like Brahman and Ātman, Shankara highly
placed Māyā in his writings to establish his absolute non-dualism. He has described
Māyā through different words and metaphors in his works. Let us have the idea of
Māyā based on different texts of Shankara with the views of other Advaita
Vedāntins.
In t h e Sanskrit root of Māyā, ma signifies “not” and ya stand for “that.”
So, Māyā means “not that” (neti, neti). Māyā is that which isn’t. Her job is to show
something that cannot be possible. So, for Māyā, we can take the idea of ‘mystery’
or ‘power’ or ‘magic’ or ‘veil’ or ‘phantasy’ or ‘Prakriti’ or ‘Nature’ or ‘Cosmos’ or
‘transience’ or ‘illusion’, or ‘delusion’ or the idea of any similar term. Vedānta
proclaims that before creation, there was a fantastic dark-like something having an
existence of consciousness as its basis and this existence exits behind the
manifestation of all things and thoughts. Ākāsa or ether is the first manifestation of
that existence. Ākāsa does not exist before Māyā manifests it. This is that existence
that subsists before the rise of names and forms as the universe. Though it is unreal,
it seems to exist. It is Māyā that causes the projections. It is that mysterious force of
Brahman which makes us take the empirical world as real. The major three of its
many aspects are Kriyā Śakti (the power of action), Jñāna Śakti (the power of
knowledge) and Icchā Śakti (the power of desire). The power brings into view
what is not always here or there. In short, it can make the impossible possible. The
ignorance-led Māyā covers the Absolute One and projects as Many.
Each living being holds three aspects of the body – the gross, the subtle,
and the causal. The gross body is made of the five elements known as a physical
body full of unclean perishable substances. It is just like the house in which the
Ātman lives. The subtle body is made of the five senses of knowledge, the five
senses of action, the energetic air, the mind, the intellect, and the ego. It creates
desires for sense-objects by executing corresponding activities and binds the Self.
The causal body, the primordial ignorance, is known as Māyā consisting of the three
Gunas. It is the power of Brahman that covers or hides the Self and projects the
Universe to us. So, strictly speaking, So, to be honest, Māyā covers our basic self-
form and the real nature of the Ātman. The world around us is a Māyā which is aroused
by the covering power of Brahman.
According to Advaita Vedānta, the real nature of our Ātman, the Ātman, is
divine, pure, perfect, and eternally liberated. The Self does not have to become
Brahman. Our true Self is one with Brahman. However, due to the influence of
Māyā, our real existence is conditioned like a mirror imagined by time, space, and
causality. Our vision of reality is covered by that illusion. Thus, we identify
ourselves only with body, mind and ego rather than our divine Ātman. This
misperception creates a more domino effect of further ignorance and pain. By
identifying ourselves with the body, mind, and ego, we suffer from thousands of
miseries. Māyā is responsible for the appearance of our variegated universe.
Thus, Māyā tries to affect our real nature in every moment.
Followers of Advaita argue that Māyā is fundamentally mysterious. Nobody
knows why it exists and when it began. In the Brahma Sutra Bhasya, Shankara refers
to Maya and its voluminous creative activities as the natural pastime of Brahman. No
one can stop its activities. It is unreal or illusory in an absolute sense. But its impact
on the practical level is unimaginable. Just as Brahman is infinite and eternal, so is
the influence and effectiveness of the Brahma-sheltered Māyā eternal, indescribable
and varied. There is no purpose or aspiration of Brahman in the creation of the world
through Māyā or even some necessity. It cannot be proved by myths and arguments.
Just as in human society the instinct of a king or a minister is to indulge in mere play
without the need or any motive, or as the instinct to breathe, etc., is seen to be
instinctively indulged in without purpose, so the divine instinct of the Brahman or the
activities of Maya can be accomplished only without purpose or necessity.22
Māyā is a projection of Brahman that disappears when it is withdrawn. Māyā
is said to have two powers: (i) Āvarana-Śakti (veiling power), which covers Brahman
and prevents Brahman’s true nature from being known; and (ii) Vikṣepa-Śakti
(projection), which conjures up the objects of the universe. By the former, it hides its
own substratum from view and by the latter, the unmanifest Māyā is made manifest
as mind. This mind then games with its potentials that amount to projecting this
universe with numerous names and forms. It is visibly bloomed in Rāmana’s words,
“Ajñāna has two aspects: Āvarana (veiling) and Vikṣepa (multiplicity). Of these,
āvarana (veiling) denotes the veil hiding the Truth. That prevails in sleep.
Multiplicity (Vikṣepa) is activity in different times. This gives rise to diversity and
prevails in waking and dream states (jagrat and svapna). If the veil, i.e., āvarana
is lifted, the Truth is perceived.”2 3
Māyā is the limiting adjunct of Brahman that hides Reality’s spirit. The entire
nature of non-duality is fragmented up into the quality of relativity by the veiling
power of Avidyā. Time and space created by Māyā are the two focal things based
on which everything is being perceived in the world. These two are irrepressible
from the empirical level. It is a mystery that eludes all logic and deceives even
the wisest of people and has led astray even the brightest of geniuses. As knowledge
of the ultimate reality dawns, these are controlled and Māyā dissipates. The liberated
Ātman stays out of Māyā's influence. Thus, Māyā is conquered when the seeker
anticipates the ultimate reality of Brahman in whom the power of Māyā is
superimposed as a snake is superimposed on the rope. Shankara gives the example of
the rope and the snake to clearly explain the concept of Māyā. Lets a man sees a
snake when he is walking down a darkened road. At once, his heart pounds and
his pulse quicken. Upon closer inspection, the "snake" turns into a twisted piece of
rope. When the confusion is broken, the snake disappears forever. In the same way, as
soon as the true nature of the Ātman is known, the world of name and form, that is, all
the cunning existence of Māyā, ceases. So, there is no Māyā in consciousness because
It is pure.
Māyā can be compared to a dense cloud shield that prevents us from seeing
the sun remaining in the sky. Once the clouds are gone, we can easily see that the sun
has been there all the time. Shankara states this clearly in his Shatashlokī as
translated by S.N.Shāstri in this way, “A ball of jaggery is sweetness itself in every
particle of it. A slab of camphor is full of fragrance in every bit. Similarly, this wide
world, attractive with trees, mountains, towns, gardens, and temples, which has no
reality of its own, is seen as existing and sentient only because of being pervaded by
the substratum, the Self, which alone is Existence and pure Consciousness (just as
jaggery is sweetness itself and camphor fragrance). Any eatable tastes sweet only if
it contains jaggery (or sugar). Camphor gives fragrance to things coming into
contact with it. So also, it is only because of the Self (Brahman) that everything
in this world exists and all living beings acquire sentiency.”24
Thus, it is seen that the notion of Māyā constitutes one of the pillars on
which Vedānta rests. Māyā is temporary and is transcended with true knowledge.
Since only Brahman is real and yet the solid world is seen as real, Shankara
explained the anomaly by the concept of illusionary power of Māyā

Some famous Commentators on Advaita:

The Advaita Lineage of Gurus begins with Gaudapāda. The time of the mass
commentators following Shankara’s Advaita denotes the long stretch of the period
from Shankara to the modern era when almost all Vedantins tried to clarify
Shankara’s view on Advaita more firmly so that it would be more prolific for
universal welfare. The phase of Shankara’s Advaita starts with Shankara and his four
disciples say Sureśvara, Padmapāda, Hastāmalaka and Totaka and then downwards
to the current century. The major figures on Advaita Vedānta in this long period
include Vācaspati Miśrā, Prakāśaṭman, Vimuktātman, Sarvajnātamuni, Śrīharśa,
Prakaśātma, Ānaṇdagiri, Ciṭsukha, Viḍyāranyā, Maḍhusudhana Sarasvati,
Brahmānaṇda Sarasvati, Appayā Ḍikśiṭa, and many others modern scholars. All of
them made extensive influences on the literature of Advaita Vedānta in the form of
assorted commentaries, sub-commentaries and added several new ideas and
expositions into its background. All these texts were written to show the real
explanation of the Advaita doctrine. They do not show any clear demarcations in
their explanation; rather they collectively form an advanced interpretation of
Shankara’s Advaita accepting his basic doctrine. Thus, the idea of Advaita
experienced a great refinement and scholarly sophism in this period.

Post-Shankara Vedānta Philosophy

After Shankara, there emerged at least ten sub-schools of Vedānta identified as
Viśiṣṭādvaita, Dvaita, Dvaitādvaita, Śuddhādvaita, Achintya-Bheda-Abheda and
some others those appeared one after another. Almost each of these schools mainly
emphasizes in worshiping the Lord Kṛṣṇa or Viṣṇu (Personal God or Saguna
Brahman) with sincere devotion for attaining liberation. They present different types
of thought on the problem of the relation between the Absolute and the Universe and
each attempt to give its own interpretation of the principal passages of the Upaniṣads
and Bādarāyaṇa’s Vedānta Sūtras to suit its own ideas. However, the various systems
of devotional Vedānta are not contradictory because they all propagate their
philosophy by interpreting the Prasthānatraya, literally, three sources, the three
canonical texts of the Vedānta schools. They give out the same truth from different
standpoints like the photographs of the same sun taken from different distances and
angles. However, all these schools tried to refute the Advaita of Shankara. We can
quote from Dāsgupta that, “These differed largely and often vehemently attacked
Sarikara’s interpretations of the same Sūtras.” 25 So it is clear that Shankara
formulated the foundation of Vedānta and all the rest tried to modify his doctrine.
However, the later Advaitins arrived after Shankara have answered their objections
and have refuted the views of these Vedantins. We shall now take a brief look at
these systems.

Viśiṣṭādvaitavāda (Visista-Advaita) of Ramanuja:

Viśiṣṭādvaita (qualified non-dualism) is a distinct school of Vedānta
philosophy different from the view of Shankara in several ways propounded by
Ramanujāchārya based on the Vedas and the Smritis. Its literal meaning is “Advaita
with unique qualifications.” It is a non-dualism of the qualified Brahman
characterized by diversity. It is described as attributive non-dualism or qualified
monism. It postulates that though duality now prevails, the Ātmans and the world
will later merge into union with Brahman. At first, several charges have been raised
by Yamunāchārya against Advaita and later his disciple, Ramanuja has made a
forceful attack on Advaita in his work Shatadusāni (Century of Defects). Among the
Vaiṣṇavas, this division is known as Śrīsampradāya. Bodhāyana originally
expounded this school in his Vritti, written about 400 B.C. Afterward came two great
Vaiṣñava scholars named Nathāmuni and Yamunāchārya who gave a philosophical
basis to their beliefs. However, traditionally Nathāmuni is considered as the founder
of this sect in South India. Later, the twelve Alvar saints, who relied on Bhakti,
further strengthened this sect in South India. According to the Śrīsampradāya
tradition, as an eternal servant, devotion is one’s ultimate bond with the Lord
adorned with innumerable auspicious attributes like omniscience, virtues, fantastic
potency, omnipotence, sovereignty, energy, creativity, and glory which all are
diverse, amazing, eternal, sound, infinite, and holy.

Ramanuja and his works:

Ramanuja (1017–1137 CE), a prominent disciple as well as a great devotee of
Yamunāchārya, born in a Tamil family in the village of Śrīperumbudur, about
twenty-five miles west of Chennai, was the main proponent of Viśiṣṭādvaita
philosophy. The name of his father was Keśava Somāyaji and that of his mother was
Kāntimathi. His system Viśiṣṭa-Advaita is accepted as a paramount canon in Vedānta
philosophy. He argued that the Prasthānatrayī exodus should be interpreted in a way
that shows unity through diversity. Ramanuja came to Yādava Prakāśa, a very
famous teacher and considered as an authority on Advaita Vedānta philosophy in
Kancheepuram to pursue his study of the Vedas. Soon they became very intimate
with each other. Later on, a conflict is said to have arisen between Ramanuja and
Yādava Prakāśa because of the total mismatch of their philosophical outlooks. Since
Yādava Prakāśa was a determined believer of the Advaita philosophy and would
always reject the worship of a Personal God, his teachings could not please
Ramanuja for very long, as he was a darling devotee of Personal God. The traditional
belief is that one day Ramanuja challenged his preceptor Yādava Prakāśa at the time
of explaining a Upaniṣadic passage: sathyam Jñānam anantham brahma 26 as meaning,
‘Brahman is Truth, is Knowledge and is Infinity.’ Yādava explained that the
attributes of Truth, Knowledge and Infinity cannot co-exist in Nirguna Brahman.
Brahman cannot parallelly possess numerous attributes like a cow cannot have
broken horns, no horns, and be fully horned at the same time. Ramanuja protested it
saying that the passage means that Brahman is endowed with the qualities of truth,
knowledge and infinitude. These are all qualities that go together with Him, but not
He, just as ‘my limbs and senses of the body are mine and I'm not the limbs and
senses of my body.’ At one point thereafter, Ramanuja began hearing of the qualities
of the greatest Vaisnava guru Śrī Yamunāchārya in South India and ultimately
became his disciple. He traveled to all the sacred places throughout India including
Kashī, Kashmīr, and Badrināth to propagate his path of devotion. Finally, he reached
Śrīrangam of South India where he settled himself regularly and continued his
service in writing books and preaching the Viśiṣṭādvaita philosophy. It is said that he
converted lakhs of people from varied sects and faiths to the path of devotion.
The Philosophical works done by Śrī Ramanuja are: - l) Śrībhāsya, 2)
Vedārthasamgraha, 3) Gītābhāsya 4) Vedāntasara, 5) Vedāntadipa, 6) Nityārādhana-
vidhi, and 7) Gadyatrayam (three proses). In Vedārthasamgraha Ramanuja tries to
refute the doctrine of Shankara in his way of interpreting the main teachings of the
Upaniṣads. Śrībhāsya is the principal commentary work of Ramanuja on the Śārīraka
Sūtras of Bādarāyaṇa. Vedānta tattvasāra is a brief systematic explanation of the
Brahma Sūtras. Vedāntadipa is considered to be a very clear and reliable synopsis of
the Śrībhāsya.

Philosophical thoughts of Ramanuja:

According to Āchārya Ramanuja, Brahman is one, unique and omnipresent.
Although He is Nirguna, He is the source of infinite benevolent qualities. The Ātman
is not one but is many and different in every living body. Although the world and the
living Ātman are different from Brahman, they originate from Brahman. Like
Acharya Shankara, Ramanuja also accepted God or Brahman as the ultimate and
absolute being or truth. However, according to him, although Brahman or E is the
highest absolute being, he is not the only theory. There are two integral parts of
Brahman, namely, Chit (sentient beings) and Achit (insentient matter). The world is
the non-sentient part of Brahman and the jivātman (living being) is the sentient part
of Brahman. Both Chit and Achit are as true as God. But they are controlled by
Brahman and both exist to fulfill the purpose of Brahman. The relationship between
Chit, Achit and Brahman is inseparable. These three entities are bound in the same
unity. The relationship of the body with the soul of the living being is the same as
that of Chit and Achit with Brahman. Chit and Achit - both are the body of God.
Therefore everything in the world is the body of God and God is the soul of the
entire inanimate world and all living things. Just as an individual body depends on
the soul, so the inanimate world and all the living beings depend on God. So
Brahman is the whole or noun and Chit and Achit is a part or adjective of Brahman.
The whole and parts are not completely identical, nor are they completely different.
The unity between them is the prominent unity - not the extreme unity. 27 Thus,
Ramanuja's Brahman is said to be distinguished by Chit and Achit. That is why
Brahman is essentially one, but many as it exists in all created beings and in
inanimate matter.
Shankara says that Brahman is Nirguna. It is transcendent, real and the
underlying truth of all. However, he opines that Brahman can also become Saguna as
God with all-powerful attributes in an empirical sense. Like Shankara Ramanuja also
accepts that whatever is, is Brahman; but he denied Shankara’s claims that Brahman
is impersonal and without qualities. Shankara's Brahman itself is impersonal. On the
other hand, Ramanuja's Brahman is basically a Personal God, benefactor and
auspicious with omniscient qualities. To Ramanuja, the world is the sport (Leelā) of
Kṛṣṇa (the incarnation of Brahman), who is Sat-Cit-Ānanda. It contains within itself
and manifests itself through diversified creatures and objects. He has created the
world out of His own self. Thus, the world and the Brahman indicate the relation of
part to whole. According to him, Brahman lacking any attributes becomes a non-
entity. It is clearly stated in the words of Alkondaville Govindāchārya like, “And
then, if there is Brahman, It must have attributes; for an attributeless Brahman can
have no existence (truth). A thing must be some-thing, not no-thing.” 28 Ramanuja
says that the jivātman is a part of Brahman and therefore is akin to Brahman, but not
identical to him. Some comparisons given for this are the sea and wave, gold and
jewelry, clay and clay pots, the spider and his web, etc.
Both the Advaita and Viśiṣṭādvaita School accepts that the self exhibits itself
at the source of our knowledge, but they differ on its precise nature. According to the
Advaita, the self is equal to Brahman, while Viśiṣṭādvaita argues that the self is an
immortal and individual knowing subject as well as a lower form of Brahman since
the self requires something to be conscious. Once we achieve liberation this sort of
lower consciousness or the self disappears into the transcendental consciousness
(Brahman). According to the Viśiṣṭādvaita, Brahman, the Ātmans and matter
constitute an organic whole. Brahman is both an efficient and a material cause. It
brings into being not only the objects with which we are familiar but also the
material features of those objects.
The Supreme God is the only self-governing entity in truth and everything
else, even liberated Ātmans, exists in a state of ample reliance on Brahman.
Ramanuja proposes that devotion to God is the path to liberation. Māyā is seen as the
creative power of God. Let’s finish here the Ramanuja’s view thrived in the
concluding part of his commentary (Srıbhashya) on the Śārīraka Mīmāṃsā. Thibaut
translates the last Sūtra (22) of the fourth pāda of the fourth adhyaya of Srıbhashya
as, “And with equal certainty we know from Scripture that this Supreme Lord, when
pleased by the faithful worship of his Devotees–which worship consists in daily
repeated meditation on Him, assisted by the performance of all the practices
prescribed for each caste and asrama–frees them from the influence of Nescience
which consists of karman accumulated in the infinite progress of time and hence hard
to overcome; allows them to attain to that supreme bliss which consists in the direct
intuition of His own true nature and after that does not turn them back into the
miseries of Samsara.”29

Dvaitavāda:
Dvaita Vedānta doctrine is the dualistic access of the Vedas that advocates
dualism by speculating the existence of two separate realities. It emphasizes the
existence of two separate realities. It identifies Viṣñu or Brahman (the Absolute
reality) of the Upaniṣad as the personal God. In this school, it is considered that the
first reality Viṣñu is the supreme God, the absolute truth of the universe. He creates
the world and controls the world. The second reality is that the universe exists at a
lower level, separate from God, with its own separate essence. Everything of the
universe, such as individual Ātman and other materials exists with their own separate
authenticity. Thus, the doctrine emphasizes a strict distinction in three categories of
existence say God, world and individual Ātman.
Madhvāchārya (1238-1317/1199-1478), a great religious reformer, born at
Velali, a few miles from Udipi in the district of South Kānara in South India,
founded this school of Vedānta. He is regarded by his fans as an incarnation of Vāyu
(the Wind-God). At his very early time, he became a sannyasi and received training
under Shankara’s system. But the repeated run-through of Bhāgavata Purān
dominated his religious life and he left the system of Advaita before his period of
training was over there.
Like Ramanuja, Madhva is also considered as one of the distinguished
commentators reflecting the standpoint of the Vedānta. He postulates that God
(Viṣñu), Ātmans and the world will eternally remain separate and they are equally
true entities and in no way interrelated. Again, the Ātmans of individuals are not
created by God but depend on Him for their existence. Paramātmā is different from
Jīvatma. Each Jīvatma is different from the other and the duty of all Jīvatmas is to
worship God. Thus, he sets five major eternal and real differences (Pancabheda) in
his system, namely -
1. Difference between the individual Ātman (Jīvatma) and God,
2. Difference between matter (inanimate) and God,
3. Difference among individual Ātmans,
4. Difference between matter and Jīva and
5. Difference among numerous matters. 30
Both Dvaita and Viśiṣṭādvaita accept perception, inference, and verbal
evidence as to the means of human knowledge. The first two are applicable to
pragmatic problems and the latter is appropriate for deeper issues on the
interpretation of scripture. To test the validity of knowledge, Advaita appeals to the
nonexistence principle of negation, but Dvaita criticizes such an idea arguing that an
example of opposite experience may always arise, which would mean that there
could be no knowledge.
Madhvāchārya also believed the Vaiṣñava theology and his system is strongly
based on the Vaiṣñava bhakti (devotion) culture which understands God as a personal
being full of essence and qualities. J. N Farouhar writes, “The centre of the religion is
the adoration of Kṛṣṇa by bhakti, as taught in the Bhāgavata, without recognition of
Rādhā; but all the other avataras are reverenced. Siva also is worshipped and the five
Gods are recognized.”31 His Vaiṣñavism is called Sad-Vaiṣñavism to distinguish it
from the Śrī-Vaiṣñavism of Ramanuja. Different sects of Vaiṣñava bhakti movement
also strongly supported his philosophy.
To Madhvāchārya, liberation is the realization and to enjoy this, every reality
(Jīvas) is fundamentally dependent on the supreme God Viṣñu. He laid much stress on
forming a strong habit of remembering God (Smarana) to attain salvation easily at
the moment of death. So, Bhakti and direct cognizance of the Lord through
meditation lead one to the attainment of salvation. Madhva holds that released Ātman
retains his personality in Vykunta and enjoys bliss in the Divine Presence. He
established several Kṛṣṇa temples at Udupi which are the principal center of the
Madhva sect. Like Shankara and Ramanuja, Madhva also composed orthodox
commentaries on the Brahma Sūtras, the ten Upaniṣads and Bhagavad-gītā.

Dvaitādvaita:
 Nimbarka (1130–1200 AD?), a Vaiṣñava Philosopher, born in Andhra Region
propounded this school based upon Bhāskara’s Bhedābheda school. He is well-
known as a commentator of the Brahma-Sūtra. Many consider that his views were
very much like those of Ramanuja except that Ramanuja refers aksara to muktĀtman
or the released Ātman, but Nimbarka refers it to Prakrti. So, his school is considered
to be a variation of the Viśiṣṭādvaita school of Ramanuja. According to this school,
the individual Ātman or Jīva is at once the same as Brahman as yet different from
Brahman i.e. as Advaita from one point of view and Dvaita from another. Hence, the
philosophical position of Nimbarka is known as Dvaitadvaita or Bhedābheda vāda.
Nimbarka does not accept anything like Nirguna Brahman. Brahman can be
Saguna only and holds an infinite number of propitious qualities. The Brahman is
visualized here as Kṛṣṇa who is free from the imperfections of the material qualities
of Prakrti. The God (Kṛṣṇa) is both the efficient cause and the material cause for the
creation, preservation and dissolution of the world. According to him, there are three
categories of entities, specifically- Chit (Ātman or Jīva or the intelligent worlds),
Achit (jagat or the non-intelligent world) and God (the controller or the Supreme-
Spirit). Chit and Achit are different from God, as they have attributes (Guna) and
aptitudes (Svabhāva) that are different from those of God. God exists individually
and by himself, although the existence of ‘chit’ and ‘achit’ depends on him. So, at the
same time, ‘chit’ and ‘achit’ are not separate from God, because they cannot be
independent of Him. The difference here is that their existence is separate but
dependent on God, on the other hand, non-separate means the impossibility of
separate existence. Brahman demonstrates himself in the effects, but he does not
himself become the universe as if a spider rests unchanged when it textures its web
out of itself. Again, when the sun sends out its rays and collects them back, it does
not lose its nature. Bhattāchārya explains, “Nimbarka’s theory of the Bhedābheda
relation takes its stand on the analogy of the sun and its effulgence, conveying the
equal validity of unity and difference. The Jīva is both self-subsistent and dependent
on Brahman, Brahman being the nyamaka (controller) and the Jīva the niyamya
(controlled). As self-subsistent, it is abhinna, non-distinct from Brahman, but as
niyamya, it is distinct, indicating its bheda (distinction).”32
To conclude Nimbarka’s view, the individual Ātman refers here to the
individual ego which is different from every other. The relationship of individual
beings can be considered as Dvaita in one respect and Advaita in another. Nimbarka
looks upon the Ātmans or the world as the living parts or the power of the Lord. The
pundits on the Brahma-Sūtra of this group worship Kṛṣṇa escorted by Rādhā.

Shuddhadvaita:
Shuddadvaita is the ‘purely non-dual devotional doctrine preached by
Vallabhāchārya (1479-1531 AD), a Tailanga Brahmin, the founder of the Vallabha
sampradāya (community), a Hindu Vaiṣñava tradition focusing on the worship of
Kṛṣṇa. Like Ramanuja, Vallabha also believed that the world is the Leelā (Miracle
play) of Kṛṣṇa, who is Sat-Chit-Ānanda. He presents a new facet of Advaita based on
devotion. According to sectarian tradition, he was a brilliant scholar in his young age
traveled extensively visiting places of pilgrimage and delivering sermons on the
Bhāgavata-Purāna and fascinated over millions of populaces in all societies of
northern and western India. He conveys that he has written commentaries on the
Brahma-Sūtra (known as Anubhāsya), the Bhāgavata and others under the direct
command of the Lord which teaches beyond doubt the doctrine of pure Advaita.
The system strongly stresses Pusti (divine grace) as the most powerful and
unfailing means of enjoying the highest bliss of God. Hence, it is also known as
Pustimārga (The path of divine grace). About the interrelation between the world
and God, he considers that God (Brahman) is pure and non-dualistic, whose nature
is sat, cit and Ānanda; but at the same time, unlike Shankara, his Brahman has no
connection with Maya. He firmly believes that each Ātman and nature (the universe)
are not an illusion, but a real entity. According to Vallabha, Brahman or God is
puruṣottama (absolute). He is real, perfect and the only being. There is no more
reality without him. He is eternal, infinite, omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent and
the possessor of all good qualities. He is the only cause of the world and all souls.
He manifests Himself as the soul of this world and all beings out of His own will,
but this does not change His essential nature. He has revealed His honest, sincere
and joyful qualities in all living beings and objects of the world. God is one only
without a second but not at all as same in the sense of Shankara. The Jīvas and the
world are not Māyā. As parts of Brahman, they are real as Brahman and identical
with Him.33 In his view, the doctrine of Māyā makes Shankara’s Advaita impure.
All the objects on earth are the real appearances of Brahman. By accepting both
Saguna and Nirguna Braman, he claims his doctrine as Pure Advaita. In explaining
the doctrine of Vallabha, Dr. Romā Chaudhuri writes, “His is a most novel, unique,
peculiar theory—a theory that boldly goes back to Advaitism, but dares most boldly
to foist it on a purely dualistic basis without the help of Māyā, in direct opposition to
Samkara’s world-famous strict, absolute, yet unadulterated, and Māyā-based ‘One
Brahman-Theory, of ‘Kevaladvaitavāda’ or Absolute Monism.”34
The divine center of the sampradāya he founded was the Govardhan hill near
Mathura. This system also identifies Bhakti as the only means of liberation like other
Monotheistic Vedantists. Many a scholar take his doctrine as a variation of the
Viśiṣṭādvaita school of Ramanuja.

Acintya-Bheda-Abheda (inconceivable oneness and difference):

Achintya-Bheda-Abheda is a school of Vedānta philosophy that represents the
doctrine of inconceivable one-ness and difference demonstrated by the great spiritual
founder Chaitanya Mahāprabhu (1486–1534) which differentiates the Gaudiya
tradition of Bengal from the other Vaiṣñava Sampradāyas. His views can best be
understood as a fusion of the Dvaita view of Madhva and the Viśiṣṭādvaita of
Ramanuja while rejects the Advaita view of Shankara. He states that the Ātman is
both distinct and non-distinct from Brahman, whom he identified as Kṛṣṇa or
Govinda. His opinion is termed as Achintya-Veda-Abheda in Indian philosophy. This
theory combines the mystery that Brahman is qualitatively one and the same, yet
quantitatively different from His creation. Like Advaita, it acknowledges that the
individual soul and God are one and at the same time, like dualists, it argues that the
individual soul and God are eternally separate. According to this school, Brahman is
Sat (absolute existence), Cit (absolute consciousness), and Ānanda (absolute bliss)
who is infinite in every respect - infinite in magnitude and infinite in Śaktis. His
Śaktis can be described mainly into three, viz. Chit or svarupa-Śakti, Māyā-Śakti and
Jīva-Śakti35. His svarupa-Śakti is the internal and intimate power that eternally exists
in Him. By this power, he upholds His own existence and that of others, He knows
and makes others know and He enjoys and makes others enjoy bliss. It is his
Suddhasattva different from his Māyā Śakti or untouched by Māyā. Māyā-Śakti is his
external power which is inanimate and materialistic as opposed to cit-Śakti. It cannot
move without His Svarupa-Śakti. All beings are in essence His Jīva-Śakti or
intermediate power which is included in neither Māyā Śakti nor svarupa-Śakti.
As the svarupa-Śakti of Brahman is greater to others in every respect, it is
called Parā-Śakti. Jīva-Śakti also is higher than Māyā-Śakti, as the former one is
sentient and the other is insentient. He is both Saguna and Nirguna. As He possesses
no attributes from Māyā, he is Nirguna. Again, He is all-pervading, all-powerful and
all-knowing, and is beyond the effect of time, space and relativity. His Śaktis are
eternally allied with Him. He has endless, paranormal attributes derived from His
svarupa-Śakti. Hence, he is Saguna. In Saguna form, He is the embodiment of
sweetness and beauty. Due to the supreme appealing aspect of Brahman - He is
called Kṛṣṇa. Although unthinkable, he may be experienced through a process of
loving devotion. In a word, it is a Vedantic system of devotion to the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

Vedānta in the modern age:

Before the advent of British rule, the greater Indians were deep-rooted in
superstitions and other irrational ideas. During the 18th century and 19th century,
especially in British rule, India reasonably faced a radical change in almost all its
fields such as - education, racialism, beliefs, culture, politics, attitude, religion,
philosophy, mysticism, etc. In this period, surpassing other doctrines, Vedānta
acquired a topping place among scholars by demonstrating its true logical views and
mystical profundity. In the pre-Shankara and post-Shankara periods, the practice and
application of the Vedantic doctrine were largely restricted among the disciplic
succession of Hinduism. Gradually, the common people of the society found the
ultimate room of their future life in its truth and they were coming forward to adore
it. In the modern phase of Vedānta, some refined celebrated scholars, sages, and
reformers became entangled with its depth veracity. They worked for spreading
Vedantic truth throughout India and the western world in solving the mass problems.
Contributors from abroad also found out humanism and impartiality in Vedānta
philosophy and tried to bring a mass emergent in society by offering an inspired and
concrete interpretation of the customary Vedānta. To adapt the teaching of Vedānta
to the modern period, the scholars deliberated on it and wrote many articles,
commentaries, clarifications, notes, etc. based on it and thus turned it into Neo-
Vedānta. Keeping its ethical aspect integral, they brought some important
modifications for its easy understanding and thus familiarized this system to the
common people to make it more applicable to the needs of the modern world. Some
of the great freedom fighters, saints, philosophers, litterateurs, reformers, and
educationists of modern India like Rājā Rām Mohan, Dayānanda, Rāmana Maharṣi,
Svāmī Vivekānanda, Svāmī Śivānanda, Svāmī Boḍhānanda, Svāmī Ṭapovanam, KC
Bhaṭṭācāryā, TMP Mahādevan, etc. contributed a great deal in flourishing Vedānta.
Rājā Rām Mohan who was well-grounded in Advaita Vedānta would preach
monotheism and the thought of Vedānta primarily in Bengal through Brāhma Samāj.
Svāmī Dayānanda Saraswati, born in Gujarat, under the Arya Samāj preached
that the one and unique God is nameless, formless and featureless. This impersonal
self– existent divine God can be achieved over the pure heart controlled by Yogā and
meditation.
Śrī Ramakṛṣṇa Paramahamsa, a multifaceted mysterious figure professed the
extreme non-dual Vedantic views to his disciples. He believed in the theory of
illusion and the negation path of Advaita Vedānta which describes this universe and
the whole of creation as only the Māyā.
Svāmī Vivekānanda, a foremost representative for neo-Vedānta, was a major
figure in the history of the Hindu reform movements. For the first time, he introduced
Eastern Vedantic thought and uplifted his national spirituality on Western soil. K.
Dāmodaran writes, “Vivekananda's was indeed a supreme effort to join together the
springs of India's religious thought and philosophies, old and new, into a mighty
stream which could wash away the impurities of the past and the failings of the
present. His Vedānta was an exhortation to view humanity as the manifestation of
Divinity.”36
Svāmī Ramathirtha, born in Murālivala, in the Gujrānwalā District of Punjab,
Pakistan, preached the truth of Advaita in India and wanted Vedantic freedom for
India.
Chattampi Svāmīkal would sermonize on the universal oneness and universal
love. Through the lucidity of Advaita Vedānta, he awakened the people to fight
against the social vices.
Narāyan Guru struggled to reevaluate the Vedānta and significantly
contributed to its propagation when it was in danger of losing during the eleven
century. With the scientific logic of Vedānta, he bunged many self-destroying
customs and communal discrimination that prevailed in Hinduism.
Rabindranath Tagore, a far-sighted figure and a mystical front-runner in the
domain of modern thought, contributed a lot to the philosophical, ethical, and social
systems of our life. Self-realization is the core of the Vedānta that Tagore
formulated.
Gandhi, the Father of the Indian Nation, promoted new ideas in the fields of
religious, social, political, and educational philosophy. He is a man of complete
harmony in thought, word, and deed. He considers nature as the expression of God.
He says God manifests himself in innumerable forms in this universe and it is the
evidence of the all-pervasive reality.
Śrī Aurobindo promoted a new school of Vedānta that is known as Integral
Advaita. He opines to harmonize the Vedantic concept of the Absolute Brahman with
a theory of emergent evolution of spirit. He accepts both the Advaitic and the
dualistic views of Brahman as personal and impersonal Brahman. He writes, “This
Divine Being, Sachchidānanda, is at once impersonal and personal: it is an Existence
and the origin and foundation of all truths, forces, powers, existences, but it is also
the one transcendent Conscious Being and the All-Person of whom all conscious
beings are the selves and personalities; for He is their highest Self and the universal
indwelling Presence.”37
Śrī Rāmana Maharshi was an exclusive shining star on the spiritual sky of
Vedānta. He gave a brief explanation of Advaitin topics which has often caused
puzzlement and denial. According to him, the practical route to consciousness is the
search for the Self, through persistent and serious meditation on the question ‘Who
am I’. This is the process of how to extract the mind from going external objects and
diving into profound deep within one’s own Self.
Dr. Rādhākṛṣṇan, a great exponent of Indian Philosophy, was one of the most
successful presenters of neo-Hinduism in the West. He accredited the authenticity
and variety of the manifested world which is grounded in and held by the absolute
Brahman. His heterogeneous thought is based on Advaita Vedānta but he
reinterpreted it for a contemporary understanding. He presented a modernized
version of Vedantic teaching. On this point, Rinehart offered a remark, “And for
Rādhākṛṣṇan, it was precisely the genius of Vedānta to have identified the self-
validating essence of religious experience. Thus, he would go on to assert that
Vedānta taught the core of what can be found in other sacred scriptures.”38
Svāmī Sivananda, a philosopher and a synthesizer was a well-known exponent
of Vedānta. Sivananda not only influenced people through his many books but also
his many disciples. His dedicated devotees are drawn from all religions, sects, and
faiths in the world. A number of his successors are traveling now all over the world
as the most influential gurus in spreading Vedantic teachings. Svāmī Sivānanda
upholds that Brahman is Paripūrna (full) because all needs dissolve there. After
seeing Brahman there would be nothing more to be seen and after knowing Brahman
there would remain nothing to be known.
Teachers and scholars of modern epochs tried and still trying to interpret
Vedantic concepts with their persuasive lectures, satsangs (spiritual gatherings) and
articles. Nisargadatta Maharaj, a famous sage, broke away from the traditional path
and spoke directly from his experience. Shri Sai Baba of Shirdi, a guru of both Hindu
and Muslim devotees, spoke a non-dogmatic path holding strong Vedantic stimulus.
Svāmī Tapovan Mahāraj, the Guru of Chinmāyānanda, was a scholar who thought
Vedānta very well during his times. Parmahansa Yogānanda organized the Self
Realization Fellowship (SRF) in the USA and taught a universal method for attaining
the experience of the Self. Svāmī Chinmāyānanda taught the logic of spirituality and
cultural values in India and awakened the rest of the world with the wisdom of
Vedānta. Aldous Huxley, an English novelist and essayist, explored the concepts of
Mokṣaand nirvana in his writings. His perennial philosophy is essentially related to
views of Vedānta that showed a divine ground of all existence, a spiritual Godhead at
all times and in all places. Christopher Isherwood, with Svāmī Prabhavānanda,
produced a fine translation of The Bhagavad-gītā and a collection of the aphorisms of
Patanjali. His writing ‘Vedānta for the Western World’ is a lucid explanation of
Vedānta. Satya Sai Bābā, a revered spiritual teacher, uses the language of Vedānta
and its emphasis on the Self. The Transcendental Meditation (TM) of Maharishi
Mahesh Yogi followed a Vedantic view of consciousness and cosmic progression.
Kṛṣṇamāchārya of Madras followed Vedantic teachings for the higher aspects of
Yoga. Svāmī Bodhānanda Saraswati, a disciple of Swami Vivekananda, taught
ancient spiritual heritage, particularly the teaching of the Vedantic philosophy.
Ānandamayi Ma, a notable Vedantins uses the Vedantic terminology of Self-
realization in her schooling. Nityananda, a saint of the 20th century, uses a way of
bringing others to a state of awakening and deeper spiritual experiences based on
Vedānta. Neem Karoli Bābā, a recent Vedantic scholar, teaches his disciples that it is
better to see God in everything than to try to figure it out. K.C. Bhattāchārya, a
modern sage, rejected the idea of philosophy as an edifice of a worldview. He
developed a phenomenology-oriented subjective philosophy that is regarded as
freedom from the object.
There have been and still are many followers of Vedānta in India and the
West. Several Vedantic themes have emerged in the writings of recent Vedantins,
such as N.V. Banerjee, Svāmī Rama, Chandradar Sharma, Adi-Dā (Franklin Jones),
Georg Feuerstein, Ken Wilber etc. Kalidās Bhattāchārya, the son of K.C.
Bhattāchārya, Śrī H.W.L. Poonja or Papaji, Francis Lucille, Tony Parsons have made
important contributions in Vedānta. They have set up many traditional gurukula
(Vedānta schools) in India and Western countries.

Conclusion:
Vedānta is the most studied and leading school of classical Indian Philosophy.
In summary of the history and allegory of Vedānta, we can say that Vedānta is a
philosophical approach to the study of Brahman and the Ātman, so that various
thinkers have established their independent ideologies on the relationship between
the Ātman and Brahman and between Brahman and the world. All Schools of
Vedānta philosophy explain in detail the nature of Brahman and show the
relationship between the individual Ātmans with the Supreme Self. All these sub-
schools of Vedānta are of opinion that we all should have a definite goal to attain
eternal peace or Mokṣato relieve ourselves from worldly pain. All system contributes
to finding a way for us for the search of immortality or Self-realization by removing
the veil of ignorance and to merge oneself in the ocean of bliss or of Brahman.
In ancient and medieval times, Vedānta became to be the highest one of the
Indian philosophies. Shankara is the first sage to develop it into a coherent and
systematic framework. Later many others have offered outstanding positions within
it. This Vedantic tradition remains strong throughout India today. In modern times,
it has gained western interest and attention as a means of attaining spirituality. It
still remains as the most widely well-regarded doctrine due to its lucidity and logic.
 Note:

1. Kane, Pandurang Vaman. -History of the Dharma Sastra. Poona -1941, P-6.)
2. Torwesten, Hans. Vedānta - Heart of Hinduism. 1991. Page-17.
3. Aitareyopaniṣad – 3.3
4. Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad – 1.2
5. Chāndogyopaniṣad – 6.8.7
6. Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad – 1.4.10
7. Chāndogya Upaniṣad – 3.14.1
8. Īśopaniṣad – Verse 16
9. Sastry, T. S, Narayana B.A., BL. - The Age of Sankara, 1971, p-43.
10. Dasgupta - A History of Indian Philosophy 1957, Vol.- I, Ch IV, P 63.
11. Gītā – 4.10
12. Gītā – 7. 19
13. Mokṣa Gītā 2. 5
14. RV 10.12.94.
15. Sastry, T. S, Narayana B.A., BL. - The Age of Sankara, 1971, P-70.
16. Māṇḍukya Karikā- 1.1, 1.2, 1.3
17. Māṇḍukya Karikā- 1.7
18. Sastri, S. K.- Compromises in the history of Advaitic Thought. 1946. P-21.
19. Taittirīya Upaniṣad - 2.9.1
20. Deutsch, E. & Dalvi, R. - The Essential Vedānta. 2004. P-162.
21. Madhavananda, Vivekachudamani of Śrī Shankarāchārya. 1921. page-179-180.
22. Acharya, Shankara – Brahmasutrabhasya. Samata Books, 1983. Stotras (2.1.33), p-340-341.
23. Maharshi, Śrī Ramana. Talks with Śrī Ramana Maharshi. 2003. Page-524.
24. Sastri, S.N.– Shatashloki of Sankarāchārya. Chennai. 2001. Sloke 61, Page-43.
25. Dasgupta. A History of Indian Philosophy. 1957 Volume I, Ch IV, P 90.
26. Taittirīya Upaniṣad – 2.1. 1
27. Acharya, Ramanuja – Sribhasya. R. D. Karmarkar, Part II University of Poona, 1962, P-285.
28. Govindāchārya, A. - The Life of Ramanujāchārya, 1906. Ch V, P 31.
29. Thibaut, G.-Vedānta-Sūtras with the Commentary by Ramanuja. 1904. P-511.
30. Madhvacharya, Sri Anandatirtha – Visnutattvavinirnaya. Bangalore, 1991, Stotras-69, P-244.
31. Farouhar, J. N. - The religious quest of India-Oxford, 1920. Page-236.
32. Bhattāchārya, H - The Cultural Heritage of India. 1953. Vol III. Part II. P-206.
33. Acharya Shri Vallabha - Shrimadbrahasutranubhashyam. Part III, Stotras (2.3.33) Gujarat,
2015. P-332.
34. Chaudhuri, Dr. Roma. - Ten Schools of the Vedānta. 1968 P-I, Ch. VI, P-111.
35. Caitanyacaritāmṛta – 2.8.116.
36. Damodaran K. - Indian Thought - A Critical Survey. Bombay, 1967. P-360.
37. Aurobindo, Śrī- The Life Divine - Pondicherry, India, 2005. P-688.
38. Rinehart, R-Contemporary Hinduism-Ritual, Culture & Practice. USA, 2004. P-195

References and Further Reading

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