Advaita

This article contains Indic text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks or boxes, misplaced vowels or missing conjuncts instead of Indic text.

Part of a series on Hindu philosophy
Schools
Samkhya · Yoga
Nyaya · Vaisheshika
Purva Mimamsa · Vedanta
Schools of Vedanta
Advaita · Vishishtadvaita
Dvaita · Shuddhadvaita
Dvaitadvaita · Achintya Bheda Abheda
Ancient figures
Kapila · Patañjali
Gotama · Kanada
Jaimini · Vyasa
Medieval figures
Adi Shankara · Ramanuja
Madhva · Madhusudana
Tukaram · Namadeva
Vedanta Desika · Jayatirtha
Vallabha · Nimbarka
Chaitanya
Modern figures
Ramakrishna · Ramana Maharshi
Vivekananda · Narayana Guru
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
N.C. Yati · Coomaraswamy
Aurobindo ·Sivananda
Satyananda · Chinmayananda

Advaita Vedanta (IAST Advaita Vedānta; Sanskrit अद्वैत वेदान्त; IPA /əd̪vait̪ə veːd̪ɑːnt̪ə/) is the most influential sub-school of the Vedānta (Sanskrit for end or the goal of the Vedas) school of Hindu philosophy; the other two major sub-schools of Vedānta are Dvaita and Viśishṭādvaita. Advaita is often called a monistic system of thought. The word "Advaita" (“A,” “no;” “Dvaita,” “Two or three”) means “non-duality.”

essentially refers to the identity of the Self (Atman) and the Whole (Brahman).

Origins

The key source texts for all philosophical schools of Vedānta are the Prasthanatrayi – the canonical texts consisting of the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita and the Brahma Sutras. The followers of Advaita hold that its main tenets are fully expressed in the Upanisads and systematized by the Vedanta-sutras. Its historical origin was the Mandukya-karika, a commentary in verse form on the late Mandukya Upanisad, by the seventh-century thinker Gaudapada. Gaudapada was the first thinker, after the Upanishadic sages, to revive the monistic tendencies of the Upanishads in a clear and systematized form. In his own writings, he makes no reference to any earlier or contemporary non-dualist works.

The medieval Indian philosopher Adi Shankara, or Sankaracarya (Master Sankara, c. 700–750), a student of Gaudapada’s disciple Govinda Bhagavatpada, further developed Gaudapada's foundation and systematized Advaita Vedanta. Though his work was highly original, he presented it as a commentary on the Vedanta-sutras, the Sari-raka-mimamsa-bhasya (“Commentary on the Study of the Self ”).

File:Sankara.jpg

Adi Shankara (centre) with the Four Disciples; Sureshwaracharya, Hastamalaka, Padmapada, and Totakacharya. Adi Shankara placed each of the disciples in charge of a matha (a monastery or religious order), one of which was located in each of the cardinal directions.

Adi Shankara's main works were commentaries on the Prasthanatrayi (Brahma Sūtras, Bhagavad Gītā and the Upanişads) and the Gaudapadiya Karikas. A number of original treatises are said to be authored by him, but only one, Upadeśa Sāhasrī, can be securely attributed to Shri Shankara himself. Shankara was also the author of hymns and poems.

Advaita

The philosophical conclusions of Advaita’s monism stem from psychological observation. Our senses may deceive us, our memory may be an illusion, the forms of the world may be an imagination. The objects of knowledge may be open to doubt, but the self cannot be doubted. The self is undifferentiated consciousness, which exists even when the body has deteriorated and the mind perishes. The self is existence, knowledge and bliss, universal and infinite. (SB p. 506-507)

According to Shankara, Ultimate Reality is Brahman or Atman, Pure Consciousness, or Consciousness of the Pure Self, devoid of all attributes (nirguna) and all categories (nirvishesa). Brahman associated with its potency, maya (shakti) appears as Ishvara, the qualified Brahman; creator, preserver and destroyer of this world which is His appearance. The individual self, jiva, is a subject-object complex, with Pure Consciousness as its subject element, called the Sāksin. Its object element is the internal organ called the antahkarana, whose source is avidya. In perception, when a sense organ comes into contact with an object, the antahkarana assumes the form of that object, taking the form of empirical knowledge. crit p. 252</ref

The empirical world is completely dependent on Brahman. It is dependent and changing, but it is not nonexistent. Changes of the empirical order do not affect the integrity of Brahman. Brahman is real and the world is unreal. Any change, duality, or plurality is an illusion. Brahman is outside time, space, and causality, which are simply forms of empirical experience.

Ignorance is born of the confusion of the transcendental subject (atman) with empiricial existence (anatman). To remove ignorance is to realize the truth, that the self is nothing but Brahman. Insight into this identity results in spiritual release. We reach the goal of self-realization (moksha) by practice of ethical virtues and by pursuit of devotion and knowledge. (moksha) –direct realization of the truth, displacement of a false outlook (avidya) with a right outlook (vidya)

In liberation, avidya is destroyed by Jnana, and the Saksin is realized as the Brhamn which it always is. Maya or avidya is not pure illusion, it is actually wrong knowledge

”Only the one who has abandoned the notion that he has realized Brahman is a knower of the Self; and no one else.”Shankara Upadesasahasri, 115.

No distinction in Brahman or from Brahman is possible.

Human perception of the unitary and infinite Brahman as the plural and infinite is due to human beings' innate habit of superimposition (adhyasa), by which a thou is ascribed to the I (I am tired; I am happy; I am perceiving). The habit stems from human ignorance (ajñana, avidya), which can be avoided only by the realization of the identity of Brahman. Nevertheless, the empirical world is not totally unreal, for it is a misapprehension of the real Brahman. A rope is mistaken for a snake; there is only a rope and no snake, but, as long as it is thought of as a snake, it is one.

Sādhana Chatuṣṭaya

Any mumukṣu (one seeking moksha) has to have the following four sampattis (qualifications), collectively called Sādhana Chatuṣṭaya Sampatti (the four-fold qualifications):

1. Nityānitya vastu viveka — The ability (viveka) to correctly discriminate between the eternal (nitya) substance (Brahman) and the substance that is transitory existence (anitya).
2. Ihāmutrārtha phala bhoga virāga — The renunciation (virāga) of enjoyments of objects (artha phala bhoga) in this world (iha) and the other worlds (amutra) like heaven etc.
3. Śamādi ṣatka sampatti — the six-fold qualities of śama (control of the antahkaraṇa), dama (the control of external sense organs), uparati (the refraining from actions; instead concentrating on meditation), titikṣa (the tolerating of tāpatraya), śraddha (the faith in Guru and Vedas), samādhāna (the concentrating of the mind on God and Guru).
4. Mumukṣutva — The firm conviction that the nature of the world is misery and the intense longing for moksha (release from the cycle of births and deaths).

Epistemology

Pramāṇas

Pramā, in Sanskrit, refers to the correct knowledge, arrived at by thorough reasoning, of any object. Pramāṇa (sources of knowledge, Sanskrit) forms one part of a tripuṭi (trio), namely,

1. Pramātṛ, the subject; the knower of the knowledge
2. Pramāṇa, the cause or the means of the knowledge
3. Prameya, the object of knowledge

In Advaita Vedānta, the following pramāṇas are accepted:

• Pratyakṣa — the knowledge gained by means of the senses
• Anumāna — the knowledge gained by means of inference
• Upamāna — the knowledge gained by means of analogy
• Arthāpatti — the knowledge gained by superimposing the known knowledge on an appearing knowledge that does not concur with the known knowledge
• Āgama — the knowledge gained by means of texts such as Vedas (also known as Āptavākya, Śabda pramāṇa)

Ontology

Kārya and kāraṇa

The kārya (effect) and kāraṇa (cause) form an important area for investigation in all the systems of Vedanta. Two kāraṇatvas (ways of being the cause) are recognised:

1. Nimitta kāraṇatva — Being the instrumental cause. For example, a potter is assigned Nimitta kāraṇatva as he acts as the maker of the pot and thus becomes the pot's instrumental cause.
2. Upādāna kāraṇatva — Being the material cause. For example, the mud is assigned Upādāna kāraṇatva as it acts as the material of the effect (the pot) and thus becomes the pot's material cause.

From statements in the Vedas, Advaita assigns Nimitta kāraṇatva to Brahman:

Sarvāṇi rūpāṇi vicitya dhīraḥ. Nāmāni kṛtvābhivadan yadāste — That Lord has created all the forms and is calling them by their names (Taitiiriya Aranyaka 3.12.7)

Sa īkṣata lokānnu sṛjā iti — He thought, “Let Me create the worlds” (Aitareya Upanishad 1.1.1)

Advaita also assigns Upādāna kāraṇatva to Brahman vide the statements from the Vedas (only two are given below):

Yathā somyaikena mṛtpinḍena sarvaṃ mṛnmayaṃ vijñātaṃ syādvācāraṃbhaṇaṃ vikāro nāmadheyaṃ mṛttiketyeva satyaṃ — Dear boy, just as through a single clod of clay all that is made of clay would become known, for all modifications is but name based upon words and the clay alone is real (Chandogya Upanishad 6.1.4)

Sokāmayata bahu syāṃ prajāyeti — (He thought) Let me be many, let me be born (Taittiriya Upanishad 2.6.4)

The Chandogya Upanishad 6.2.1 states

Ekamevādvitīyaṃ — It is One without a second

Thus, based on these and other statements found in the Vedas, Advaita concludes that Brahman is both the instrumental cause and the material cause.

Kārya-kāraṇa ananyatva

Advaita states that kārya (effect) is non-different from kāraṇa (cause). However kāraṇa is different from kārya. This principle is called Kārya-kāraṇa ananyatva (the non-difference of the effect from the cause). If the cause is destroyed, the effect will no longer exist. For example, if from the effect, cotton cloth, the cause, threads, are removed, there will be no cloth.

Ananyatve'pi kāryakāraṇayoḥ kāryasya kāraṇātmatvaṃ na tu kāraṇasya kāryātmatvaṃ — Despite the non-difference of cause and effect, the effect has its self in the cause but not the cause in the effect. The effect is of the nature of the cause and not the cause the nature of the effect. Therefore the qualities of the effect cannot touch the cause. Adi Shankara in the Brahmasūtra Bhāṣya , commentary on the Brahma sutra, . 2.1.9.

If the “effect,” cloth, is destroyed, however, the “cause,” threads will still exist. During the time of its existence, the effect does not appear different from the cause, and the difference between cause and effect is not readily understood. For example, the reflection of a gold ornament seen in the mirror has the same appearance as the ornament, but is not the ornament itself, since the reflection has no gold in it at all.

Sarvaṃ ca nāmarūpādi sadātmanaiva satyaṃ vikārajātaṃ svatastu anṛtameva — All names and forms are real when seen with the Sat (Brahman) but are false when seen independent of Brahman. Adi Shankara, Chāṃdogya Upaniṣad Bhāṣya, commentary on the Chandogya Upanishad, 6.3.2

In the context of Advaita Vedanta,

Jagat (the world) is not different from Brahman; however Brahman is different from Jagat

According to Advaita Vedanta, the truth can be known at thre levels:

• The transcendental or the Pāramārthika level in which Brahman is the only reality and nothing else;
• The pragmatic or the Vyāvahārika level in which both Jiva (living creatures or individual souls) and Ishvara are true; here, the material world is completely true, and,
• The apparent or the Prāthibhāsika level in which even material world reality is actually false, like illusion of a snake over a rope or a dream.

Brahman

According to Adi Shankara, God, the Supreme Cosmic Spirit or Brahman (pronounced as /brəh mən/; nominative singular Brahma, pronounced as /brəh mə/) is the One, the whole and the only reality. Other than Brahman, everything else, including the universe, material objects and individuals, are false. Brahman is at best described as that infinite, omnipresent, omnipotent, incorporeal, impersonal, transcendent reality that is the divine ground of all Being. Brahman is often described as neti neti meaning "not this, not this" because it cannot be correctly described as this or that. It is the origin of this and that, the origin of forces, substances, all of existence, the undefined, the basis of all, unborn, the essential truth, unchanging, eternal, the absolute. It is the basis of reality, beyond perception of the senses. It (grammatically neutral, but exceptionally treated as masculine), though not a substance, is the basis of the material world, which is its illusionary transformation. Brahman is not the effect of the world. Brahman is said to be the purest knowledge itself, and is illuminant like a source of infinite light.

Brahman is formless and without attributes, Self-existent, Absolute and Imperishable Due to ignorance (avidyā), the Brahman is visible as the material world and its objects. The actual (not generally the object of worship but rather of meditation). Brahman is actually indescribable. It is at best "Sacchidananda" (merging "Sat" + "Chit" + "Ananda," ie, Infinite Truth, Infinite Consciousness and Infinite Bliss). Also, Brahman is free from any kind of differences. It does not have any sajātīya (homogeneous) differences because there is no second Brahman. It does not have any vijātīya (heterogeneous) differences because there is nobody in reality existing other than Brahman. It has neither svagata (internal) differences, because Brahman is itself homogeneous.

Logical Proofs of Brahman

Though Brahman is self-proved, Adi Shankara also proposed some logical proofs:

• Shruti — the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita and the Brahma Sutras describe Brahman in almost exact manner as Adi Shankara. This is the testimonial proof of Brahman.
• Psychological — every person experiences his soul, or atman. According to Adi Shankara, Atman = Brahman. This argument also proves the omniscience of the Brahman.
• Teleological — the world appears very well ordered; the reason for this cannot be an unconscious principle. The reason must be due to the Brahman.
• Essential — Brahman is the basis of this created world.
• Perceptible feeling — many people, when they achieve the turīya state, claim that their soul has become one with everything else.

Status of the World

According to Adi Shankara's definition of “truth” as eternal, unchanging, and independent of space and time, the material world is not “true” because it is none of these things. On the other hand, Adi Shankara claims that the material world is not absolutely false; it appears false only when compared to Brahman. Under the influence of Maya, the world appears as completely true. The world cannot be both true and false at the same time; Adi Shankara classified the world as “indescribable.” Shankara gave several reasons why the material world could not be considered false. If the world were false, then with the liberation of the first human being, the world would have been annihilated. However, the world continued to exist even after numerous human beings attained liberation. Karma, an aspect of the material world, is true, so the world cannot be false. The world is like a reflection of Brahman; therefore it cannot be totally false. The world is a logical thing which is perceived by our senses; the term “false” is applied to things which are unable to be perceived by our physical senses.

Īshvara

Īshvara (pronounced as /iːʃvərə/, literally, the Supreme Lord) — According to Advaita Vedanta, when man tries to know the attributeless Brahman with his mind, under the influence of Maya, Brahman becomes the Ishvara. Ishvara the manifested form of Brahman on the pragmatic level; his actual form in the transcendental level is the Cosmic Spirit.

Ishvara is Saguna Brahman, or Brahman with innumerable auspicious qualities. He is all-perfect, omniscient, omnipresent, incorporeal, independent, Creator of the world, its ruler and also destroyer. He is causeless, eternal and unchangeable, and yet the material and the instrumental cause of the world. He is both immanent (like whiteness in milk) and transcendent (like a watch-maker independent of a watch). He may be even regarded to have a personality. He is the object of worship. He is the basis of morality and giver of the fruits of one's Karma. However, He himself is beyond sin and merit. He rules the world with his Maya, his divine power. This association with a "false" knowledge does not affect the perfection of Ishvara, in the same way as a magician is himself not tricked by his magic. While Ishvara is the Lord of Maya, and Maya is always under his control, the living beings (jīva) are the servants of Maya (in the form of ignorance). This ignorance is the cause of the unhappiness and sin in the mortal world. While Ishvara is Infinite Bliss, humans are miserable because of their ignorance.

Ishvara can also be visualized and worshipped in anthropomorphic form as deities such as Vishnu, Krishna or Shiva.

It is the nature of Ishvara to create, just as it is man's nature to breathe. As proof of Ishvara, Shankara cites the Shruti's references to Ishvara. Ishvara is beyond logic and thinking, but Shankara gives several logical proofs:

• The world is a work, an effect, and so must have a real cause, which must be Ishvara.
• The world has a wonderful unity, coordination and order, so its creator must have been an intelligent being.
• People do good and sinful work and receive its fruits, either in this life or after. People cannot be the givers of their own fruits, because no one would give himself the fruit of his sin. Also, this giver cannot be an unconscious object. So the giver of the fruits of Karma is Ishvara.

Ātman

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

The soul or the self (Atman) is exactly equal to Brahman. It is not a part of Brahman that ultimately dissolves into Brahman, but the whole Brahman itself. Now the arguers ask how the individual soul, which is limited and one in each body, can be the same as Brahman? Adi Shankara explains that the soul is not an individual concept. Atman is only one and unique. It is a false concept that there are several Atmans. Adi Shankara says that just as the same moon appears as several moons on its reflections on the surface of water covered with bubbles, the one Atman appears as multiple atmans in our bodies because of Maya. Atman is self-proven, however, some proofs are discussed—eg., a person says "I am blind," "I am happy," "I am fat" etc. So what is this ego here? Only that thing is the ego which is there in all the states of that person — this proves the existence of Atman, and that consciousness is its characteristic. Reality and Bliss are also its characteristics. By nature, Atman is free and beyond sin and merit. It does not experience happiness or pain. It does not do any Karma. It is incorporeal.

When the reflection of atman falls on Avidya (ignorance), atman becomes jīva — a living being with a body and senses. Each jiva feels as if he has his own, unique and distinct Atman, called jivatman. The concept of jiva is true only in the pragmatic level. In the transcendental level, only the one Atman, equal to Brahman, is true.

Adi Shankara exposed the relative nature of the world and propounded the truth of the Advaita by analysing the three states of experience of the atman — waking (vaishvanara), dreaming (swapna), and deep sleep (sushupti). This idea of a fourth state of consciousness (turīya) apart from these three states is presented in the Mandukya Upanishad.

Salvation

Human suffering is due to Maya, and only knowledge (called Jnana) of Brahman can destroy Maya. When Maya is removed, there exists ultimately no difference between the Jiva-Atman and the Brahman. When it is achieved while livingan earthly life, such a state of bliss is called Jivan mukti. While one is in the pragmatic level, one can worship God in any way and in any form, like Krishna or Ayyappa as he wishes, Adi Shankara himself was a proponent of devotional worship or Bhakti. But Adi Shankara believes that while Vedic sacrifices, puja and devotional worship can lead one in the direction of jnana, true knowledge, they cannot lead one directly to Moksha.

Theory of creation

In the relative level, Adi Shankara believes in the Creation of the world through Satkaryavada. It is like the philosophy of Samkhya, which says that the cause is always hidden into its effect—and the effect is just a transformation of the cause. However, Samkhya believes in a sub-form of Satkaryavada called Parinamavada (evolution) — whereby the cause really becomes an effect. Instead, Adi Shankara believes in a sub-form called Vivartavada. According to this, the effect is merely an apparent transformation of its cause — like illusion. eg., In darkness, a man often confuses a rope to be a snake. But this does not mean that the rope has actually transformed into a snake.

At the pragmatic level, the universe is believed to be the creation of the Supreme Lord Ishvara. Maya is the divine magic of Ishvara, with the help of which Ishvara creates the world. The serial of Creation is taken from the Upanishads. First of all, the five subtle elements (ether, air, fire, water and earth) are created from Ishvara. Ether is created by Maya. From ether, air is born. From air, fire is born. From fire, water is born. From water, earth is born. From a proportional combination of all five subtle elements, the five gross elements are created, like the gross sky, the gross fire, etc. From these gross elements, the universe and life are created. This series is exactly the opposite during destruction.

Some people have criticized that these principles are against Satkaryavada. According to Satkaryavada, the cause is hidden inside the effect. How can Ishvara, whose form is spiritual, be the effect of this material world? Adi Shankara says that just as from a conscious living human, inanimate objects like hair and nails are formed, similarly, the inanimate world is formed from the spiritual Ishvara.

Advaita Vedanta in a summary

Adi Shankara's treatises on the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita and the Brahma Sutras are his principal and almost undeniably his own works. Although he mostly adhered to traditional means of commenting on the Brahma Sutra, there are a number of original ideas and arguments. He taught that it was only through direct knowledge of nonduality that one could be enlightened.

Adi Shankara's opponents accused him of teaching Buddhism in the garb of Hinduism. However, while the Later Buddhists arrived at a changeless, deathless, absolute truth after their insightful understanding of the unreality of samsara, historically Vedantins never liked this idea. Although Advaita also proposes the theory of Maya, explaining the universe as a "trick of a magician," Adi Shankara and his followers see this as a consequence of their basic premise that Brahman is real. Their idea of Maya emerges from their belief in the reality of Brahman, rather than the other way around.

Adi Shankara was a peripatetic orthodox Hindu monk who traveled the length and breadth of India. The more enthusiastic followers of the Advaita tradition claim that he was chiefly responsible for "driving the Buddhists away." Historically the decline of Buddhism in India is known to have taken place long after Adi Shankara or even Kumarila Bhatta (who according to a legend had "driven the Buddhists away" by defeating them in debates), sometime before the Muslim invasion into Afghanistan (earlier Gandhara).

Although today's followers of Advaita believe Adi Shankara argued against Buddhists in person, a historical source, the Madhaviya Shankara Vijayam, indicates that Adi Shankara sought debates with Mimamsa, Samkhya, Nyaya, Vaisheshika and Yoga scholars as keenly as with any Buddhists. In fact his arguments against the Buddhists are quite mild in the Upanishad Bhashyas, while they border on the acrimonious in the Brahma Sutra Bhashya.

The Vishistadvaita and Dvaita schools believe in an ultimately saguna Brahman. They differ passionately with Advaita, and believe that his nirguna Brahman is essentially not different from the Buddhist Sunyata (wholeness or zeroness) — much to the dismay of the Advaita school. A careful study of the Buddhist Sunyata will show that it is in some ways metaphysically similar as Brahman. Whether Adi Shankara agrees with the Buddhists is not very clear from his commentaries on the Upanishads. His arguments against Buddhism in the Brahma Sutra Bhashyas are more a representation of Vedantic traditional debate with Buddhists than a true representation of his own individual belief.

Advaita and Mahayana Buddhism

The Amarakosha-grantha, the Sanskrit dictionary, written by Amarasimha, one of the nine gems of the Gupta court, lists many of the names and epithets by which the Buddha is traditionally known:

sarvajñas sugato buddho dharmarājas tathāgatah

samastabhadro bhagavān mārajil-lokajij-jinah

şadabhijño daśabalo ’dvayavādī vināyakah

munīndraś śrīghanaś śāstā muniś śākyamunis tu yah

“All-knowing, transcendental, awakened, king of righteousness, he who has come, beneficent, all-encompassing, lord, conqueror of the god of love-mara, victorious of three worlds, he who controls his senses, protector from the six enemies, possessor of the ten powers, speaker of non-dualism, peerless, lord of the sages, embodiment of splendor, teacher, the saint known as Śākyamuni.”

David Loy of the National Univ. of Singapore writes, "The similarities between Mahayana and Advaita Vedanta have been much noticed; they are so great that some commentators conceive of the two as different stages of the same system. Curiously, both Shankara and his predecessor Gaudapada were accused of being crypto-Buddhists, while on the other side, Theravadins criticized Mahayana for being a degeneration back into Hinduism."

There is also a great variety of modern scholarly research devoted to comparing the non-dualistic Buddhism with the classical Advaita Vedānta. The primary difference lies in the fact that unlike Mahayana Buddhism, Advaita Vedānta is rooted, by definition, in the source texts of the Vedānta. For the Advaita Vedāntin, the ultimately non-dual nature of reality is not a matter of logical inference or philosophical analysis; rather, it is a scriptural given, to be known, understood and experienced. Furthermore, this ultimate, eternal, non-dual reality is equated with one's innermost Self, whereas Buddhism fundamentally questions the eternality of the Self.

The Impact of Advaita

Advaita rejuvenated much of Hindu thought and also spurred debate with the four theistic schools of Vedanta philosophy that were formalized later: Vishishtadvaita (qualified nondualism), Dvaita (dualism), Dvaitadvaita (dualism and nondualism), Shuddhadvaita (purified monism), and Achintya Bheda Abheda (inconceivable difference and nondifference). Sankara had many followers who continued and elaborated his work, notably the 9th-century philosopher Vacaspati Misra. The Advaita literature is extremely extensive, and its influence is still felt in modern Hindu thought.

Advaita and science

According to some followers of Advaita, it may very well be a place where the scientific world intersects with the spiritual world. They point to the relationships between mass, frequency, and energy that 20th century physics has established and the Advaitic 'Unity of the Universe' as the common ground. They feel that these relationships, formalized as equations by Planck and Einstein, suggest that the whole mesh of the Universe blend into a One that exhibits itself as many (namely, mass, energy, wave etc), and that this follows Advaita's view that everything is but the manifestation of an omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent "One".^{[citation needed]}

Mahavakya

Mahavakya, or "the great sentences," state the unity of Brahman and Atman. They are four in number and their variations are found in other Upanishads.

Sr. No.	Vakya	Meaning	Upanishad	Veda
1	प्रज्नानम ब्रह्म (Prajñānam brahma)	Supreme Knowledge is Brahman	aitareya	Rig Veda
2.	अहम ब्रह्मास्मि (Aham brahmāsmi)	I am Brahman	brihadāranyaka	Yajur Veda
3.	तत्त्त्वमसि (Tattvamasi)	That thou art	chhandogya	Sama Veda
4.	अयमात्मा ब्रह्म (Ayamātmā brahmā)	This Atman is Brahman	mandukya	Atharva Veda

List of Texts

Prasthānatrayī

Advaita Vedānta, like other Vedanta schools of Hindu philosophy, recognizes the following three texts (known collectively as the Prasthānatrayī) of the Hindu tradition: Vedas- especially the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita and Brahma Sutras. These texts are considered to be the basic texts of the advaita tradition; many authors, including Adi Shankara, have written Bhashyas (commentaries) on these texts..

Other texts

Other texts include, Advaita Siddhi, written by Madhusudana Saraswati, Shankara Digvijaya — Historical record of Adi Shankara's life accepted by scholars worldwide. Among other ancient advaitic texts, two of the most prominent are Avadhuta Gita and Ashtavakra Gita.

Adi Shankara wrote Bhāṣya (commentaries) on

• Brahmasūtra
• Aitareya Upaniṣad (Rigveda)
• Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad (Śukla Yajurveda)
• Īśa Upaniṣad (Śukla Yajurveda)
• Taittirīya Upaniṣad (Kṛṣṇa Yajurveda)
• Kaṭha Upaniṣad (Kṛṣṇa Yajurveda)
• Chāndogya Upaniṣad (Samaveda)
• Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad (Atharvaveda) and Gauḍapāda Kārika
• Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad (Atharvaveda)
• Praśna Upaniṣad (Atharvaveda)
• Bhagavadgīta (Mahabhārata)
• Vishnu Sahasranama (Mahabhārata)
• Gāyatri Maṃtra

The following treatises are attributed to Adi Shankara

• Vivekacūḍāmaṇi (Crest-Jewel of Discrimination)
• Upadeśasāhasri (A thousand teachings)
• Śataśloki
• Daśaśloki
• Ekaśloki
• Pañcīkaraṇa
• Ātma bodha
• Aparokṣānubhūti
• Sādhana Pañcakaṃ
• Nirvāṇa Śatakaṃ
• Manīśa Pañcakaṃ
• Yati Pañcakaṃ
• Vākyasudha
• Tattva bodha
• Vākya vṛtti
• Siddhānta Tattva Vindu
• Nirguṇa Mānasa Pūja

The consensus among modern scholars is that only Upadeśasāhasri can be securely attributed to Shri Shankara himself.

Adi Shankara composed many hymns on Shiva, Vishnu, Devi, Ganesha and Subrahmanya[2]

• Bhaja Govindaṃ, also known as Mohamuḍgara
• Śivānandalahiri
• Saundaryalahiri
• Śrī Lakṣmīnṛsiṃha Karāvalamba Stotraṃ
• Śāradā Bhujangaṃ
• Kanakadhāra Stotraṃ
• Bhavāni Aṣṭakaṃ
• Śiva Mānasa Pūja

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Madhukar, The Simplest Way, Editions India, USA & India 2006, ISBN 81-89658-04-2
• Madhukar, Erwachen in Freiheit, Lüchow Verlag, German, 2.Edition, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-363-03054-1
• Mishra, M., Bhāratīya Darshan (भारतीय दर्शन), Kalā Prakāshan.
• Sinha, H. P., Bharatiya Darshan ki ruparekha (Features of Indian Philosophy), 1993, Motilal Benarasidas, Delhi–Varanasi.
• Swāmi Paramānanda Bhārati, Vedānta Prabodha (in Kannada), Jnānasamvardhini Granthakusuma, 2004
• Madhava Vidyaranya, Sankara-Digvijaya, translated by Swami Tapasyananda, Sri Ramakrishna Math, 2002, ISBN 81-7120-434-1. Purchase online at www.sriramakrishnamath.org
• Karl H. Potter (ed.), Advaita Vedanta up to Sankara and his Pupils: Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies, vol. 3, Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1981.
• Karl H. Potter, Austin B. Creel and Edwin Gerow, Guide to Indian philosophy, G. K. Hall, Boston, 1988.
• Eliot Deutsch and J. A. B. van Buitenen, A source book of Advaita Vedanta, University Press of Hawaii, Honolulu, 1971.
• Eliot Deutsch, Advaita Vedanta: a philosophical reconstruction, East-West Center Press, Honolulu, 1969
• Raghunath D. Karmarkar, Sankara's Advaita, Karnatak University, Dharwar, 1966.
• S. G. Mudgal, Advaita of Sankara, a reappraisal: Impact of Buddhism and Samkhya on Sankara's thought, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi,
• A. Ramamurti, Advaitic mysticism of Sankara, Visvabharati, Santiniketan, 1974.
• Kapil N. Tiwari, Dimensions of renunciation in Advaita Vedanta, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 1977.
• Kokileswar Sastri, An introduction to Adwaita philosophy : a critical and systematic exposition of the Sankara school of Vedanta, Bharatiya Publishing House, Varanasi, 1979.
• A. J. Alston, A Samkara source-book, Shanti Sadan, London, 1980-1989.
• Satyapal Verma, Role of Reason in Sankara Vedanta, Parimal Publication, Delhi, 1992.
• Arvind Sharma, The philosophy of religion and Advaita Vedanta : a comparative study in religion and reason, Pennsylvania State University Press, 1995.
• M. K. Venkatarama Aiyar, Advaita Vedanta, according to Sankara, Asia Publishing House, New York, 1965.
• Sangam Lal Pandey, The Advaita view of God, Darshana Peeth, Allahabad, 1989.
• Rewati Raman Pandey, Scientific temper and Advaita Vedanta, Sureshonmesh Prakashan, Varanasi, 1991.
• Adya Prasad Mishra, The development and place of bhakti in Sankaran Vedanta, University of Allahabad, 1967.
• Natalia V. Isaeva, Shankara and Indian philosophy, SUNY, New York, 1993.
• V. Panoli, Upanishads in Sankara's own words : Isa, Kena, Katha, and Mandukya with the Karika of Gaudapada : with English translation, explanatory notes and footnotes, Mathrubhumi, Calicut, 1991-1994.

External links

• Open Directory - Society: Religion and Spirituality: Advaita Vedanta

See also

• Dvaita, an opposing philosophy that accepts duality
• Vishishtadvaita, an opposing philosophy that propounds "qualified nonduality"
• Dvaitadvaita, an opposing philosophy that presents "duality and nonduality"
• Jnana yoga, the yoga of knowledge
• Satsang, a sort of spiritual meeting
• Nondualism

An index of articles related to Advaita Vedanta can be found at List of Advaita Vedanta-related topics

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

• Advaita_Vedanta  ^history

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

• History of "Advaita"

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.