Advaita Vedanta

Advaita Vedanta

Advaita redirects here. For other uses, see Advaita (dis-ambiguation).Advaita Vedanta[note 1] is the oldest extant sub-school

Statue of Gaudapada, the grand guru of Adi Shankara and therst historical proponent of Advaita Vedanta, also believed to bethe founder of Shri Gaudapadacharya Math

of Vedanta,[note 2] an ancient Hindu tradition of scripturalexegesis[note 3] and religious practice,[web 1] and the best-known school of advaita, the nonduality of Atman andBrahman or the Absolute. It gives a unifying interpreta-tion of the whole body of Upanishads,[6] providing scrip-tural authority for the postulation of the nonduality of At-man and Brahman.Advaita (not-two in Sanskrit) refers to the recognition thatthe true Self, Atman, is the same as the highest Reality,Brahman. [note 4] [note 5] Followers seek liberation/releaseby acquiring vidy (knowledge)[8] of the identity of At-man and Brahman. Attaining this liberation takes a longpreparation and training under the guidance of a guru.Advaita thought can also be found in non-orthodox Indianreligious traditions, such as the tantric Nath tradition.The principal, though not the rst, exponent of theAdvaita Vedanta-interpretation was Shankara Bhagavad-

pada[9] in the 8th century, who systematised the works ofpreceding philosophers.[10] Its teachings have inuencedvarious sects of Hinduism.[11]

The key source texts for all schools of Vednta arethe Prasthanatrayi, the canonical texts consisting of theUpanishads, the Bhagavad Gita and the Brahma Sutras,of which they give a philosophical interpretation andelucidation.[6]

Advaita Vedanta developed in a multi-faceted religiousand philosophical landscape. The tradition developed ininteraction with the other traditions of India: Jainism,Buddhism, Vaishnavism and Shaivism, as well as theother schools of Vedanta.In modern times, due to western Orientalism andPerennialism, and its inuence on Indian Neo-Vedantaand Hindu nationalism,[12] Advaita Vedanta has acquireda broad acceptance in Indian culture and beyond as theparadigmatic example of Hindu spirituality,[12] despitethe wide popularity of the Shaivite Vishishtadvaita andDvaitadvaita bhakti traditions, and incorporating teach-ers such as Ramana Maharshi and Nisargadatta Maharajdespite their eclectic and tantric backgrounds.

1 Moksha liberation throughknowledge of Brahman

Main article: Moksha

Traditional Advaita Vedanta centers around the study andcorrect understanding of the sruti, revealed texts, espe-cially the Upanishads.[13][14] Correct understanding pro-vides knowledge of the identity of atman and Brahman,which results in liberation. The main texts to be stud-ied are the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita and Brahma Su-tras. Correct knowledge is obtained by following thefour stages of samanyasa (self-cultivation), sravana, lis-tening to the teachings of the sages, manana, reectionon the teachings, and svdhyya, contemplation of thetruth that art Thou. Practice is also needed to destroyones tendencies (vAasanA-s)" before real insight can beattained.[web 2]

1

2 1 MOKSHA LIBERATION THROUGH KNOWLEDGE OF BRAHMAN

1.1 Svdhyya and anubhava - understand-ing the texts

Sruti, revealed texts, and proper reasoning, are the mainsources of knowledge for Shankara and the subsequentAdvaita Vedanta tradition.[15][16] Correct knowledge ofBrahman can be acquired by svdhyya,[17] study of theself and of the Veda, and nididhysana, prolonged studyof and contemplation on the truths revealed in the sruti[18]and contemplation of non-duality.[19]

Nididhyasana leads to anubhava, direct cognitionor understanding, which establishes the truth of thesruti.[20] Shankara holds anubhava to be a pramana,an independent source of knowledge which is pro-vided by nididhyasana.[21] According to Comans,Shankara uses anubhava interchangeably with pratipatta,understanding.[web 3] Davis translates anubhava asdirect intuitive understanding.[22] According to Hirst,anubhava is the non-dual realisation gained from thescriptures, which provides the sanctionp and paradigmfor proper reasoning, when interpreted by a self-realizedAdvaitin teacher.[23] This knowledge of Brahman, isidentical with that self which is to be known as witness,not as object.[23]

Modern interpretators have recast anubhava as personalexperience, in line with Unitarian and Theosophicalinuences.[24] Yet, anubhava does not center aroundsome sort of mystical experience, but around the cor-rect knowledge of Brahman.[16] Anantanand Rambachanquotes several modern interpretators in defence of thisinterpretation, especially Radakrishnan,[24] but never-theless makes clear that sruti is the main source ofknowledge for Shankara.[15] Swami Dayananda notes thatanubhava has a more specic meaning than its conven-tional meaning of experience, namely direct knowl-edge. Dayananda explains that interpreting anubahvaas experience may lead to a misunderstanding of Ad-vaita Vedanta, and a mistaken rejection of the study ofthe scriptures as mere intellectual understanding. Stress-ing the meaning of anubhava as knowledge, Saraswatiargues that liberation comes from knowledge, not frommere experience.[web 3] Saraswati points out that the ex-perience of the self ... can never come because con-sciousness is ever-present, in and through each and everyexperience.[web 4] And Swami Nikhalananda notes that(knowledge of) Atman and Brahman can only be reachedby buddhi, reason,[25] stating that mysticism is a kind ofintuitive knowledge, while buddhi is the highest means ofattaining knowledge.[26]

1.2 Moksha - liberation

Correct knowledge of Brahman results in liberation,[note 6]by knowledge of the identity of atman and Brahman.knowledge of Brahman destroys Maya, the illusory ap-preances which cover the Real, Brahman. When Maya is

removed, the truth of Brahma Satyam JaganMithya JivoBrahmaiva Na Aparah is realised:[web 5]

Brahman (the Absolute) is alone real; thisworld is unreal; the Jiva or the individual soulis non-dierent from Brahman.[web 5]

Liberation can be achieved while living, and is calledJivanmukta.[29]

1.3 Identity of Atman and BrahmanSee also Jnana, Prajna and PrajnamBrahma

Moksha is attained by realizing the identity of Atman andBrahman. According to Potter,

8. The true Self is itself just that pureconsciousness, without which nothing can beknown in any way.

9. And that same true Self, pure conscious-ness, is not dierent from the ultimate worldPrinciple, Brahman ...11. ... Brahman (=the true Self, pure con-sciousness) is the only Reality (sat), since Itis untinged by dierence, the mark of igno-rance, and since It is the one thing that is notsublimatable.[30]

Pure consciousness is the translation of jnanam.[31]Although the common translation of jnanam[31] isconsciousness, the term has a broader meaning ofknowing"; becoming acquainted with,[web 6] knowl-edge about anything,[web 6] awareness,[web 6] higherknowledge.[web 6]

Brahman too has a broader meaning than pure con-sciousness. According to Paul Deussen,[7] Brahman is:

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

Jnam, Knowledge which, however, is not splitinto the subject and the object

anantam, boundless or innite

According to David Loy,

The knowledge of Brahman ... is not intu-ition of Brahman but itself is Brahman.[32]

The same nuance can be found in satcitananda, thequalities of Brahman, which are usually translatedas Eternal Bliss Consciousness,[33] Absolute BlissConsciousness,[web 7] or Consisting of existence andthought and joy.[web 8] Satcitananda is composed of threeSanskrit words:

1.5 Stages and practices 3

sat (present participle); [Sanskrit root as, "tobe"]: Truth,[note 7] Absolute Being,[web 7] a pal-pable force of virtue and truth.[34] Sat describesan essence that is pure and timeless, that neverchanges.[web 7]

cit (noun): consciousness,[web 7] true con-sciousness, to be consciousness of,[35] tounderstand,[35] to comprehend.[35]

nanda (noun): bliss,[web 7] true bliss,happiness,[web 9] joy,[web 9] delight,[web 9]pleasure[web 9]

This knowledge is intuitive knowledge, a spontaneoustype of knowing[36][note 8], as rendered in the prex praof prajnanam Brahman.

1.4 Mahavakya The Great Sentences

Main article: Mahvkyas

The Mahavakya, or the great sentences, remind us ofthe unity of Brahman and Atman, or the inner immortalself and the great cosmic power are one and the same.[37]There are many such sentences in the Vedas, howeveronly one such sentence from each of the four Vedas isusually chosen.

1.5 Stages and practices

Advaita Vedanta gives an elaborate path to attain mok-sha. It entails more than self-inquiry or bare insight intoones real nature. Practice, especially Jnana Yoga, is alsoneeded to destroy ones tendencies (vAasanA-s)" beforereal insight can be attained.[web 2][note 11]

1.5.1 Jnana Yoga Four stages of practice

Main article: Jnana Yoga

Classical Advaita Vedanta emphasises the path of JnanaYoga, a progression of study and training to attainmoksha. It consists of four stages:[43][web 15]

Samanyasa or Sampattis,[44] the fourfold disci-pline (sdhana-catustaya), cultivating the follow-ing four qualities:[43][web 15]

Nitynitya vastu viveka ( ) The ability (viveka) to correctlydiscriminate between the eternal (nitya) sub-stance (Brahman) and the substance that istransitory existence (anitya).

Ihmutrrtha phala bhoga virga( ) Therenunciation (virga) of enjoyments of ob-jects (artha phala bhoga) in this world (iha)and the other worlds (amutra) like heaven etc.

amdi atka sampatti ( ) the sixfold qualities, ama (control of the antahkaraa).[web 16] Dama (the control of external sense or-gans).

Uparati (the cessation of these externalorgans so restrained, from the pursuit ofobjects other than that, or it maymean theabandonment of the prescribed works ac-cording to scriptural injunctions).[note 12]

Titika (the tolerating of tpatraya). raddh (the faith in Guru and Vedas). Samdhna (the concentrating of themind on God and Guru).

Mumukutva () The rm con-viction that the nature of the world is miseryand the intense longing for moksha (releasefrom the cycle of births and deaths).

Sravana, listening to the teachings of the sages onthe Upanishads and Advaita Vedanta, and study-ing the Vedantic texts, such as the Brahma Sutras.In this stage the student learns about the reality ofBrahman and the identity of atman;

Manana, the stage of reection on the teachings; Nididhysana, the stage of meditation on the truththat art Thou.[web 15][web 17]

1.5.2 Samadhi

While Shankara emphasized sravana (hearing), manana(reection) and nididhyasana (repeated meditation),later texts like the Dg-Dya-Viveka (14th century)and Vedantasara (of Sadananda) (15th century) addedsamadhi as a means to liberation, a theme that was alsoemphasized by Swami Vivekananda.

1.5.3 Bhakti Yoga and Karma Yoga

Main articles: Bhakti and Karma yoga

Bhakti Yoga and Karma Yoga can be employed as sub-sidiary practices to the understanding of the sruti. InBhakti Yoga, practice centres on the worship God in anyway and in any form, like Krishna or Ayyappa. AdiShankara himself was a proponent of devotional worshipor Bhakti. But Adi Shankara taught that while Vedic sac-rices, puja and devotional worship can lead one in thedirection of jnana (true knowledge), they cannot lead one

4 2 TEXTS

directly to moksha. At best, they can serve as means toobtain moksha via shukla gati. Karma yoga is the wayof doing our duties, in disregard of personal gains orlosses.[note 13]

1.6 Necessity of a GuruSee also: Guru-shishya tradition

According to ankara and others, anyone seeking to at-tain moksha must do so under the guidance of a Guru(teacher).[note 14] It is the teacher who through exegesis ofSruti and skilful handling of words generates a hithertounknown knowledge in the disciple. The teacher doesnot merely provide stimulus or suggestion.[45]

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

1. rotriya must be learned in the Vedic scripturesand Sampradaya

2. Brahmanih literally meaning 'established inBrahman'; must have realised the oneness of Brah-man in everything, and in himself/herself.

The seeker must serve the Guru, and submit questionswith all humility in order to remove all doubts (seeBhagavad Gita 4.34). By doing so, Advaita says, theseeker will attain Moksha ('liberation from the cycle ofbirths and deaths).

2 TextsSee also: Works of Adi Shankara

Advaita Vedanta is based on the inquiry into the sacredtexts of the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita and Brahma Su-tras. Adi Shankara gave a systematisation and philosoph-ical underpinning of this inquiry in his commentaries.The subsequent Advaita-tradition has further elaboratedon these sruti and commentaries.

2.1 Prasthnatray Three standardsMain article: Prasthanatrayi

Adi Sankara has chosen three standards, called Prasth-natray, literally, three points of departure (three stan-dards). Later these were referred to as the three canonicaltexts of reference of Hindu philosophy by other Vedantaschools.They are:

1. The Upanishads, known as Upadesha prasthna(injunctive texts), (part of ruti)

2. The Bhagavad Gita, known as Sdhana prasthna(practical text), (part of Smti)

3. The Brahma Sutras, known as Nyya prasthnaor Yukti prasthana (part of darana of UttarMms)

The Upanishads consist of twelve or thirteen major texts,with many minor texts. The Bhagavad Gt is part ofthe Mahabhrata. The Brahma Stras (also known as theVednta Stras), systematise the doctrines taught in theUpanishads and the Gt.Sankara Bhagavadpda has written Bhshyas (commen-taries) on the Prasthnatray. These texts are thus consid-ered to be the basic texts of the Advaita-parampara.

2.2 Textual authorityThe order of precedance regarding authority of VedicScriptures is as follows,

ruti, literally hearing, listening, are the sacredtexts comprising the central canon of Hinduism andis one of the three main sources of dharma andtherefore is also inuential within Hindu Law.[46]

Smti, literally that which is remembered (orrecollected)", refers to a specic body of Hinduscripture, and is a codied component of Hinducustomary law. Post Vedic scriptures such asRamayana, Mahabharata and traditions of the ruleson dharma such as Manu Smriti, YaagnyavalkyaSmriti etc. Smrti also denotes tradition in the sensethat it portrays the traditions of the rules on dharma,especially those of lawful virtuous persons.)

Pura, literally of ancient times, are post-vedicscriptures notably consisting of narratives of the his-tory of the universe from creation to destruction, ge-nealogies of kings, heroes, sages, and demigods, anddescriptions of Hindu cosmology, philosophy, andgeography.[web 19]

ichra, literally that which is followed by good(in recent times)".

Atmatui, literally that which satises oneself (orself validation)", according to which one has to de-cide whether or not to do with bona de. Initiallythis was not considered in the order of precedencebut Manu and Yjavalkya considered it as last one.

If anyone of them contradicts the preceding one, then itis disqualied as an authority to judge. There is a wellknown Indian saying that Smti follows ruti. So it wasconsidered that in order to establish any Theistic Philo-sophical theory (Astika Siddhanta) one ought not contra-dict ruti (Vedas).

52.3 Siddhi-granthas

Additionally there are four Siddhi-granthas that are taughtin the Advaita-parampara, after study of the Prasthana-trayi:

1. Brahmasiddhi by Mandana Mishra (750850),

2. Naishkarmasiddhi by Sureswara (8th century, disci-ple of Sankara),

3. Ishtasiddhi by Vimuktananda (1200),

4. Advaita Siddhi,[web 20] written by MadhusudanaSaraswati - 1565-1665.

2.4 Introductory texts

Introductory texts from the Advaita Vedanta tradition in-clude:

Ashtavakra Samhita (pre-Sankara), with traces ofAdvaitism.[note 16]

Tattvabodha (Shankara), an introductory textexplaining the terminologies used in AdvaitaVedanta.[note 17]

Atma bodha, A Treatise on the knowledge of Atma(Shankara).[note 18]

Vedantasara (of Sadananda) (Bhagavad Ramanuja,1017 to 1137 A.D.[web 27])[note 19]

Vakyavrtti Laghu-Vakyavrtti Dg-Dya-Viveka Panchikaranam Vedanta-Paribhasha (of Dharmaraja Adhvarindra) Advaita-Makaranda (of Lakshmidhara Kavi) Aparoksha-Anubhuti Dakshinamurthy Stotram Panchadasi (of Vidyaranya) Kaupina-pancakam Sadhana-panchakam Manisha-pancakam Dasasloki Advaita Bodha Deepika

3 PhilosophyMain article: Hindu philosophy

The Advaita Vedanta gives an explanation and interpreta-tion of the sacred texts of the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gitaand Brahma Sutras. Adi Shankara's commentaries havebecome central texts in the Advaita Vedanta tradition, butare not the only interpretations available or accepted inthis tradition.

3.1 Ontology The nature of being

See also: Substance ontology, Substance theory andsubstance ontology

Ontology is the philosophical study of the nature of being,existence, or reality, as well as the basic categories of be-ing and their relations.Advaita Vedanta is a so-called substance ontology, an on-tology which holds that underlying the seeming change,variety, and multiplicity of existence there are unchang-ing and permanent entities (the so-called substances)".[47]In contrast, Buddhism is a process ontology, according towhich there exists nothing permanent and unchanging,within or without man.[48][note 20]

3.1.1 Three Levels of Reality

See also: Two truths doctrine

Advaita took over from theMadhyamika the idea of levelsof reality.[50] Usually two levels are being mentioned,[51]but Shankara uses sublation as the criterion to postulatean ontological hierarchy of three levels:[52][web 32]

Pramrthika (paramartha, absolute), the absolutelevel, which is absolutely real and into whichboth other reality levels can be resolved.[web 32]This experience can't be sublated by any otherexperience.[52]

Vyvahrika (vyavahara), or samvriti-saya[51] (em-pirical or pragmatical), our world of experience,the phenomenal world that we handle every daywhen we are awake.[web 32] It is the level in whichboth jiva (living creatures or individual souls) andIswara are true; here, the material world is also true.

Prthibhsika (pratibhasika, apparent reality, unre-ality), reality based on imagination alone.[web 32] Itis the level in which appearances are actually false,like the illusion of a snake over a rope, or a dream.

6 3 PHILOSOPHY

3.1.2 Absolute Reality

Brahman Main articles: Brahman and Nirguna Brah-man

Brahman is Paramarthika Satyam, Absolute Truth.[53]It is

the true Self, pure consciousness ... theonly Reality (sat), since It is untinged by dif-ference, the mark of ignorance, and since It isthe one thing that is not sublatable.[30]

Brahman has a broader meaning than pure conscious-ness. According to Paul Deussen,[7] Brahman is:



anantam, boundless or innite

Other than Brahman, everything else, including the uni-verse, material objects and individuals, are maya. Brah-man is absolute reality, unborn and unchanging. Accord-ing to Advaita Vedanta, consciousness is not a propertyof Brahman but its very nature. In this respect AdvaitaVedanta diers from other Vedanta schools.[web 33]

Brahman is the Self-existent, the Absolute and the Im-perishable. Brahman is indescribable. It is at best Satchi-dananda, Innite Truth, Innite Consciousness and In-nite Bliss.Brahman is free from any kind of dierences or dier-entiation. It does not have any sajtya (homogeneous)dierentiation because there is no second Brahman. Itdoes not have any vijtya (heterogeneous) dierentia-tion because there is nobody in reality existing other thanBrahman. It has neither svagata (internal) dierences,because Brahman is itself homogeneous.Brahman is often described as neti neti, not this, not thissince Brahman cannot be correctly described as this orthat.

Atman Main article: tman (Hinduism)

tman (IAST: tman, Sanskrit: ) is a Sanskritword that means 'self'. tman is the rst principle,[54]the true self of an individual beyond identication withphenomena, the essence of an individual."tman (Atma, , ) is a Sanskrit wordwhichmeans essence, breath, soul. It is related to Proto-Indo-European *etmen, a root found in Sanskrit and Ger-man and which means breath, and in Ancient Greek, atms vapor, like in atmosphere.[55][note 21]

3.1.3 Empirical reality

My Main article: My

According to Adi Shankara,My (/mj/) is the com-plex illusionary power of Brahman which causes theBrahman to be seen as the material world of separateforms. Its shelter is Brahman, but Brahman itself is un-touched by the illusion ofMy, just as a magician is nottricked by his own magic.All sense data entering ones awareness via the ve sensesareMy. My is neither completely real nor completelyunreal, hence indescribable. My is temporary and istranscended with true knowledge, or perception of themore fundamental reality which permeates My.My has two main functions:

1. To hide Brahman from ordinary human percep-tion,

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

The world is unreal and real The world is both unrealand real. but something can't be both true and false at thesame time; hence Adi Shankara has classied the worldas indescribable. Adi Sankara says that the world is notreal (true), it is an illusion.[web 34][note 22] Adi Sankara alsoclaims that the world is not absolutely unreal (false). It ap-pears unreal (false) only when compared to Brahman. Atthe empirical or pragmatic level, the world is completelyreal.[56][note 23]

The world being both unreal and real is explained by thefollowing. A pen is placed in front of a mirror. One cansee its reection. To ones eyes, the image of the penis perceived. Now, what should the image be called? Itcannot be true, because it is an image. The truth is thepen. It cannot be false, because it is seen by our eyes.

3.1.4 Avidy

Ignorance Due to ignorance (avidy), Brahman is per-ceived as the material world and its objects (nama rupavikara). According to Shankara, Brahman is in realityattributeless and formless. Brahman, the highest truthand all (reality), does not really change; it is only our ig-norance that gives the appearance of change. Also due toavidy, the true identity is forgotten, and material reality,which manifests at various levels, is mistaken as the onlyand true reality.The notion of avidy and its relationship to Brahman cre-ates a crucial philosophical issue within Advaita Vedantathought: how can avidy appear in Brahman, since Brah-man is pure consciousness?[57]

3.2 Epistemology Ways of knowing 7

The swan is an important motif in Advaita. It symbolises twothings: rst, the swan is called hamsah in Sanskrit (which be-comes hamso if the rst letter in the next word is /h/). Uponrepeating this hamso indenitely, it becomes so-aham, meaning,I am That. Second, just as a swan lives in water but its feathersare not soiled by water, similarly a liberated Advaitin lives in thisworld full of maya but is untouched by its illusion.

Sengaku Mayeda writes, in his commentary and transla-tion of Adi Shankara's Upadesasahasri:

Certainly the most crucial problem whichSankara left for his followers is that of avidy.If the concept is logically analysed, it wouldlead the Vedanta philosophy toward dual-ism or nihilism and uproot its fundamentalposition.[58]

Subsequent Advaitins gave somewhat various explana-tions, from which various Advaita schools arose.

Koshas See also: Kosha

Due to avidya, atman is covered by sheaths, or bodies,which hide mans true nature. According to the TaittiriyaUpanishad, the Atman is covered by ve koshas, usuallyrendered sheath.[web 35] They are often visualised likethe layers of an onion.[59] From gross to ne the ve sheetsare:

1. Annamaya kosha, food-apparent-sheath

2. Pranamaya kosha, air-apparent-sheath

3. Manomaya kosha, mind-stu-apparent-sheath

4. Vijnanamaya kosha, wisdom-apparent-sheath

5. Anandamaya kosha, bliss-apparent-sheath(Ananda)

According to Vedanta the wise man should discriminatebetween the self and the koshas, which are non-self.

Avasthtraya Three states of consciousness Seealso: Sarira (Vedanta)

Adi Shankara discerned three states of conscious-ness, based on the Mandukya Upanishad, namelywaking (jgrat), dreaming (svapna), and deep sleep(suupti),[web 36][web 37] which correspond to the threebodies,[60] another formulation of the ve koshas:

1. The rst state is the waking state, in which weare aware of our daily world. It is describedas outward-knowing (bahish-prajnya), gross (sthula)and universal (vaishvanara)".[web 37] This is the grossbody.

2. The second state is the dreaming mind. It is de-scribed as inward-knowing (antah-prajnya), subtle(pravivikta) and burning (taijasa)".[web 37] This is thesubtle body.

3. The third state is the state of deep sleep. In this statethe underlying ground of concsiousness is undis-tracted, the Lord of all (sarv'-eshvara), the knowerof all (sarva-jnya), the inner controller (antar-yami),the source of all (yonih sarvasya), the origin anddissolution of created things (prabhav'-apyayau hibhutanam)".[web 37] This is the causal body.

Turiya, pure consciousness is the background that un-derlies and transcends the three common states ofconsciousness.[web 38][web 39] In this consciousness bothabsolute and relative, Saguna Brahman and NirgunaBrahman, are transcended.[61] It is the true state ofexperience of the innite (ananta) and non-dierent(advaita/abheda), free from the dualistic experiencewhich results from the attempts to conceptualise (vipalka) reality.[62] It is the state in which ajativada, non-origination, is apprehended.[62]

3.2 Epistemology Ways of knowingSee also: Epistemology

Epistemology (from Greek (epistm), mean-ing knowledge, understanding, and (logos),meaning study of) is the branch of philosophy con-cerned with the nature and scope (limitations) ofknowledge.

3.2.1 Pramas Correct knowledge

Main article: Pramana

Pramna, (sources of knowledge, Sanskrit ), refersto the correct knowledge, arrived at by thorough reason-ing, of any object.

8 4 HISTORY OF ADVAITA VEDANTA

Pramt, Prama and Prameya Prama formsone part of a tripui (trio), namely,

1. Pramt, the subject; the knower of the knowledge

2. Prama, the cause or the means of the knowledge

3. Prameya, the object of knowledge

Six pramas In Advaita Vednta,[63] as in the Bhaschool of Mims, the following pramas are ac-cepted:

1. Pratyaka (perception), the knowledge gained bymeans of the senses. That which is immediately per-ceived to be so; This knowledge can be corrected,e.g., if one perceives a piece of rope to be a snake.

2. Anumna (inference), the knowledge gained bymeans of inference. That which is perceived as truethrough previous knowledge, e.g., to knows that it isa re because smoke can be seen in the sky (the twoare related through a universal law)

3. abda (verbal testimony), the knowledge gained bymeans of texts such as Vedas (also known as p-tavkya, abda prama)

4. Upamna (comparison), the knowledge gained bymeans of analogy or comparison. That which is per-ceived as true since it compares to previous, con-rmed, knowledge. To know that something issomething, e.g., a cat, because one has seen cats be-fore.

5. Arthpatti (postulation), the knowledge gained bysuperimposing the known knowledge on an appear-ing knowledge that does not concur with the knownknowledge. i.e., To see someone gain weight whileknowing they are fasting, imposes the knowledgethat the person is secretly eating.

6. Anupaladbhi (negation), the knowledge gainedthrough the absence of the object. That which istrue through a negation. Classic e.g., karatale ghatonasti the pot is not on the palm. The pot could beelsewhere. So the place (on the palm) of its absenceis also important.

Perception, inference and verbal testimony have the samemeaning as in the Nyaya-school. Regarding comparison,postulation and non-cognition Advaita Vedanta viewswhich somewhat dier from the Nyaya-school.[63]

3.2.2 Criterion of sublation

See also: Aufheben

Sublation is replacement of a truth by a higher truth,until no higher truth can be found. Shankara uses sub-latibility as the criterion for the ontological status of anycontent of consciousness:[64]

Sublition is essentially the mental processof correcting and rectifying errors of judge-ment. Thus one is said to sublate a previousheld judgment when, in the light of a new expe-rience which contradicts it, one either regardsthe judgment as false or disvalues it in somesignicant sense ... Not only judgment but alsoconcepts, objects, relations, and in general anycontent of consciousness can be sublated.[65]

4 History of Advaita Vedanta

Adi Shankara with Disciples, by Raja Ravi Varma (1904)

Advaita Vedanta existed prior to Shankara, but found itsmost inuential expounder in Shankara.[66]

4.1 Pre-Shankara Vedanta

Of the Vedanta-school before the composition of theBrahma Sutras (400450 CE[67]) almost nothing isknown.[67] Very little also is known of the period betweenthe Brahmansutras and Shankara (rst half of the 8th cen-tury CE).[67] Only two writings of this period have sur-vived: the Vkyapadya, written by Bharthari (second

4.2 Gaudapada 9

half 5th century[68]), and the Mndkya-krik writtenby Gaudapada (7th century CE).[67]

4.1.1 Earliest Vedanta

See also: Vedas, Upanishads and Darsanas

The Upanishads form the basic texts, of whichVedanta gives an interpretation.[69] The Upanishadsdon't contain a rigorous philosophical inquiry iden-tifying the doctrines and formulating the supportingarguments.[70][note 24] This philosophical inquiry wasperformed by the darsanas, the various philosophicalschools.[72] Deutsch and Dalvi point out that in the In-dian context texts are only part of a tradition which ispreserved in its purest form in the oral transmission as ithas been going on.[73]

The Upanishads originated in the Sramana movements,renunciate ascetic traditions which gave birth to Yoga,[74]Jainism, Buddhism,[75] and some nstika schools of Hin-duism such as Crvka and jvika, and also popularconcepts in all major Indian religions such as sasra(the cycle of birth and death) and moksha (liberationfrom that cycle).[76][note 25] The various traditions inter-acted with each other, and cannot be seen as completelyseparate developments.[77] Buddhism, favored and sup-ported by merchants and royals,[78] developed elaboratephilosophical and pedagogical texts and systems early inits history. Early in the rst millenniumMadhyamaka andYogacara developed ideas about the two levels of truthand the working of the mind[79] to which the develop-ing Vedanta-tradition responded, but also incorporatedthese systems.[3] Buddhist inuence can also be foundin the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, written c. 4th centuryCE.[80][81]

4.1.2 Bdaryanas Brahma Sutras

Main article: Brahma Sutras

The Brahma Sutras of Bdaryana, also called theVedanta Sutra,[82] were compiled in its present formaround 400450 CE,[83] but the great part of the Sutramust have been in existence much earlier than that.[83]Estimates of the date of Bdaryanas lifetime dier be-tween 200 BCE and 200 CE.[84]

The Brahma Sutra is a critical study of the teachingsof the Upanishads. It was and is a guide-book for thegreat teachers of the Vedantic systems.[82] Bdaryanawas not the rst person to systematise the teachings ofthe Upanishads.[85] He refers to seven Vedantic teachersbefore him:[85]

From the way in which Bdaryana citesthe views of others it is obvious that the teach-

ings of the Upanishads must have been ana-lyzed and interpreted by quite a few before himand that his systematization of them in 555 su-tras arranged in four chapters must have beenthe last attempt, most probably the best.[85]

4.1.3 Between BrahmaSutras and Shankara

According to Nakamura, there must have been an enor-mous number of other writings turned out in this period,but unfortunately all of them have been scattered or lostand have not come down to us today.[67] In his com-mentaries, Shankara mentions 99 dierent predecessorsof his Sampradaya.[4] In the beginning of his commen-tary on the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad Shankara salutesthe teachers of the Brahmavidya Sampradaya.[web 40] Pre-Shankara doctrines and sayings can be traced in the worksof the later schools, which does give insight into the de-velopment of early Vedanta philosophy.[67]

The names of various important early Vedanta thinkershave been listed in the Siddhitraya by Yamuncrya(c.1050), the Vedrthasamgraha by Rmnuja (c.10501157), and the Yatndramatadpik by rnivsa-dsa.[67]Combined together,[67] at least fourteen thinkers areknown to have existed between the composition of theBrahman Sutras and Shankaras lifetime.[67][note 26]

Although Shankara is often considered to be the founderof the Advaita Vedanta school, according to Naka-mura, comparison of the known teachings of these earlyVedantins and Shankaras thought shows that most of thecharacteristics of Shankaras thought were advocated bysomeone before ankara.[86] Shankara was the personwho synthesized the Advaita-vda which had previouslyexisted before him.[86] In this synthesis, he was the re-juvenator and defender of ancient learning.[87] He wasan unequalled commentator,[87] due to whose eorts andcontributions the Advaita Vedanta assumed a dominantposition within Indian philosophy.[87]

4.2 GaudapadaMain article: Gaudapada

Gaudapada (6th century)[88] was the teacher of GovindaBhagavatpada and the grandteacher of Shankara.

4.2.1 Mukya Krik

Gaudapada wrote or compiled[89] the Mukya Krik,also known as the Gauapda Krik and as the gamastra.[note 27] The Mukya Krik is a commentary inverse form on theMandukyaUpanishad, one of the short-est but most profound Upanishads, or mystical Vedas,consisting of just 13 prose sentences. In Shankarastime it was considered to be a ruti, but not particularly


important.[90] In later periods it acquired a higher status,and eventually it was regarded as expressing the essenceof the Upanisad philosophy.[90]

The Mukya Krik is the earliest extent systematictreatise on Advaita Vednta,[91] though it is not the old-est work to present Advaita views,[9] nor the only pre-Sankara work with the same type of teachings.[9]

4.2.2 Buddhist inuences

According to B.N.K. Sharma, the early commenta-tors on the Brahma Sutras were all realists,[92] orpantheist realists.[93] During the same period, the 2nd-5th century CE, there was a great idealist revivalin Buddhism, which countered the criticisms of theHindu realists.[94] The works of Buddhist thinkers likeNagasena, Buddhaghosa and Nagarjuna, all of themBrahmin converts to Buddhism,[94] created a great sen-sation and compelled admiration all around.[94] OtherBrahmins, faithful to Brahminism but equally impressedby these developments in Buddhist thought, looked forand found in some portions of the Upanishads manystriking approaches to the metaphysical idealism of theBuddhists.[94] During the 5th and 6th centuries there wasa further development of Buddhist thought with the de-velopment of the Yogacara school.[95]

It was Gaudapada who further bridged Buddhismand Vedanta.[95] He took over the Buddhist doctrinesthat ultimate reality is pure consciousness (vijapti-mtra)[88][note 28] and that the nature of the worldis the four-cornered negation.[88][note 29] Gaudapadawove [both doctrines] into a philosophy of the Man-dukaya Upanisad, which was further developed byShankara.[99][note 30] At the same time, Gaudapada em-phatically rejected the epistemic idealism of the Bud-dhists, arguing that there was a dierence between ob-jects seen in dreams and real objects in the world, al-though both were ultimately unreal. He also rejected thepluralism and momentariness of consciousnesses, whichwere core doctrines of the Vijnanavada school, and theirtechniques for achieving liberation.[101]

Gaudapada also took over the Buddhist concept of ajtafrom Nagarjunas Madhyamaka philosophy,[102][103]which uses the term anutpda.[104] [note 31] Ajtivda,the Doctrine of no-origination[109][note 32] or non-creation, is the fundamental philosophical doctrine ofGaudapada.[109]

Richard King has noted that Ajativada has a radicallydierent meaning in the context of respectively Vedantaand Buddhism. Buddhist writers take Ajativada to im-ply that there are no essences in factors, and thereforechange is possible. Gaudapada made the opposite inter-pretation, advocating the absolutist position that origina-tion and cessation were unreal, the only Ultimate reality(Brahman) being unoriginated and unchanging.[110]

According to Gaudapada, the Absolute is not subject tobirth, change and death. The Absolute is aja, the unborneternal.[109] The empirical world of appearances is con-sidered unreal, and not absolutely existent.[109]

4.2.3 Shri Gaudapadacharya Math

Main article: Shri Gaudapadacharya Math

Around 740 AD Gaudapada founded Shri Gauda-padacharya Math[note 33], also known as Kava maha. Itis located in Kavale, Ponda, Goa,[web 44] and is the oldestmatha of the South Indian Saraswat Brahmins.[111][web 45]

Unlike other mathas, Shri Gaudapadacharya matha is nota polemical center established to inuence the faith ofall Hindus, its jurisdiction is limited to only DakshinatyaSaraswat Brahmins.

4.3 Adi ShankaraMain article: Adi Shankara

Adi Shankara (788820), also known as akaraBhagavatpdcrya and di akarcrya, synthe-sised and rejuvenated the doctrine of Advaita.[87] Itwas Shankara who succeeded in reading Gaudapadasmayavada[112][note 34] into Badarayanas Brahma Sutras,and give it a locus classicus",[112] against the realisticstrain of the Brahma Sutras.[112][note 35][note 36] His inter-pretation, including works ascribed to him, has becomethe normative interpretation of Advaita Vedanta.[114][112]

4.3.1 Historical context

See also Late-Classical Age and Hinduism Mid-dle Ages

Shankara lived in the time of the so-called Late clas-sical Hinduism,[115] which lasted from 650 till 1100CE.[115][note 37] After the end of the Gupta Empire andthe collapse of the Harsha Empire, power became de-centralised in India. Rural and devotional movementsarose, along with Shaivism, Vaisnavism, Bhakti andTantra.[125] Buddhism, which was supported by the an-cient Indian urban civilisation lost inuence to the tra-ditional religions,[125] but at the same time, was incor-porated into Hinduism, when Gaudapada used Buddhistphilosophy to reinterpret the Upanishads.[126]

4.3.2 Philosophical system

This also marked a shift from Atman and Brahman asa living substance[127] to maya-vada[note 34], whereAtman and Brahman are seen as pure knowledge-consciousness.[128] Shankara systematised the works of

4.4 Surevara and Maana Mira 11

preceding philosophers,[10] marking this turn from re-alism to idealism.[112][127] Shankaras synthesis of Ad-vaita Vedanta is summarised in this quote from theVivekacmai, one of his Prakaraa grathas (philo-sophical treatises):[note 38]

In half a couplet I state, what has beenstated by scores of texts;

that is Brahman alone is real, the world ismithy (not independently existent),and the individual self is nondierent fromBrahman.[129][note 39]

According to Sringeri Math, Shankaras message can besummarised even shorter:

The eternal, impersonal, consciousnessAbsolute is the Brahman, the one without asecond.[web 50]

4.3.3 Writings

Main article: Adi Shankara bibliography

Adi Shankaras main works are his commentaries on thePrasthana Trayi, which consist of the Brahma Stras,Bhagavad Gt and the Upanishads. According to Naka-mura, Shankaras Brahma-stra-bhsya, his commentaryon the Brahma Stra, is the most authoritative and bestknown work in the Vednta philosophy.[130] Shankaraalso wrote a major independent treatise, called "UpadeaShasr", expounding his philosophy.The authenticity of the "Vivekachudamani",a well-known work ascribed to Shankara, isdoubtful,[131][132][133] though it is so closely inter-woven into the spiritual heritage of Shankara that anyanalysis of his perspective which fails to consider [thiswork] would be incomplete.[131][note 40]

The authorship of Shankara of his Mandukya UpanishadBhasya and his supplementary commentary on Gauda-padas Mukya Krik is also disputed.[134][note 41]

4.3.4 Inuence of Shankara

Shankara has an unparallelled status in the tradition ofAdvaita Vedanta. He provided an orthodox hermeneu-tical basis for heterodox Buddhist phenomology,[139][112]and has been called the "St. Thomas Aquinas of Indianthought[140] and the most brilliant personality in the his-tory of Indian thought.[141]

His teachings and tradition form the basis of Smartismand have inuenced SantMat lineages.[142] He introducedthe Pacyatana form of worship, the simultaneous wor-ship of ve deities - Ganesha, Surya, Vishnu, Shiva and

Devi. Shankara explained that all deities were but dif-ferent forms of the one Brahman, the invisible SupremeBeing.[143]

Yet, according to Richard E. King,

Although it is common to nd Westernscholars and Hindus arguing that Sankaracaryawas the most inuential and important gure inthe history of Hindu intellectual thought, thisdoes not seem to be justied by the historicalevidence.[144]

According to King and Roodurnum, until the 10th cen-tury Sankara was overshadowed by his older contempo-rary Mandana-Misra. In the centuries after Sankara itwas Maana Mira who was considered to be the mostimportant representative of Vedanta,[145][146] and in thelater medieaval period his teachings were overshadowedby Visista-Advaita.[147]

Prior to Shankara, views similar to his already ex-isted, but did not occupy a dominant position within theVedanta,[148] being restricted to a select elite. The earlyVedanta scholars were from the upper classes of society,well-educated in traditional culture. They formed a so-cial elite, sharply distinguished from the general prac-titioners and theologians of Hinduism.[149] Their teach-ings were transmitted among a small number of selectedintellectuals.[149] Works of the early Vedanta schools donot contain references to Vishnu or Shiva.[150] It was onlyafter Shankara that the theologians of the various sectsof Hinduism utilized Vedanta philosophy to a greater orlesser degree to form the basis of their doctrines,[11] forexample the Nath-tradition,[151] whereby its theoreticalinuence upon the whole of Indian society became naland denitive. [149]

4.4 Surevara and Maana MiraMain articles: Surevara and Maana Mira

Surevara (. 800-900 CE)[152] and Maana Mirawere contemporaries of Shankara, Surevara often (in-correctly) being identied with Maana Mira.[153]Both explained Sankara on the basis of their per-sonal convictions.[153] Surevara has also been cred-ited as the founder of a pre-Shankara branch of AdvaitaVedanta.[152]

Maana Mira was a Mimamsa scholar and a followerof Kumarila, but who also wrote a work on Advaita,the Brahma-siddhi.[154] According to tradition, MaanaMira and his wife were defeated by Shankara in a debate,where-after he became a follower of Shankara.[154] Yet,his attitude toward Shankara is that of a self-condentrival teacher of Advaita,[155] and his inuence was such,that some regard this work to have set forth a non-Sankaran brand of Advaita.[154] The theory of error


set forth in the Brahma-siddhi became the normativeAdvaita Vedanta theory of error.[156] It was VachaspatiMisras commentary on this work which linked it up withShankaras teaching.[157]

Hiriyanna and Kuppuswami Sastra have pointed out thatSurevara andMaanaMira had dierent views on var-ious doctrinal points:[158]

The locus of avidya:[158] according to MaanaMira, the individual jiva is the locus of avidya,whereas Suresvara contents that avidya regardingBrahman is located in Brahman.[158] These two dif-ferent stances are also reected in the opposingpositions of the Bhamati school and the Vivaranaschool.[158]

Liberation: according to Maana Mira, theknowledge which arises from the Mahavakya is in-sucient for liberation. Only the direct realiza-tion of Brahma is liberating, which can only be at-tained by meditation.[159] According to Suresvara,this knowledge is directly liberating, while medita-tion is at best a useful aid.[155][note 42]

4.5 Advaita Vedanta sub-schoolsAfter Shankaras death several subschools developed.Two of them still exist today, the Bhmat and theVivarana.[web 51][4] Perished schools are the Pancapadikaand Istasiddhi, which were replaced by PrakasatmansVivarana-school.[161]

These schools worked out the logical implications of vari-ous Advaita doctrines. Two of the problems they encoun-tered were the further interpretations to the concepts ofmy and avidya.[web 51]

4.5.1 Padmapada - Pancapadika school

Padmapada (c. 800 CE)[162] was a direct disciple ofShankara, who wrote the Pancapadika, a commentaryon the Sankara-bhaya.[162] Padmapada diverted fromShankara in his description of avidya, designating prakrtias avidya or ajnana.[163]

4.5.2 Vachaspati Misra - Bhamati school

Main articles: Bhamati and Vcaspati Mira

Vachaspati Misra (c.800-900 CE)[164] wrote theBrahmatattva-samiksa, a commentary on MaanaMiras Brahma-siddhi, which provides the link be-tween Mandana Misra and Shankara,[157] attemptingto harmonise Sankaras thought with that of MandanaMisra.[web 51] According to Advaita tradition, Shankarareincarnated as Vachaspati Misra to popularise the

Advaita System through his Bhamati.[164] Only twoworks are known of Vachaspati Misra, the Brahmatattva-samiksa on Maana Miras Brahma-siddhi, and hisBhamati on the Sankara-bhasya, Shankaras commentaryon the Brahma-sutras.[157] The name of the Bhamati-subschool is derived from this Bhamati.[web 51][web 52]According to legend, Misras commentary was namedafter his wife to praise her, since he neglected her duringthe writing of his commentary.[web 52]

The Bhamati-school takes an ontological approach. Itsees the Jiva as the source of avidya.[web 51] It sees medi-tation as the main factor in the acquirement of liberation,while the study of the Vedas and reection are additionalfactors.[165]

4.5.3 Prakasatman - Vivarana school

Main article: Vivarana

Prakasatman (c.1200-1300)[161] wrote the Pancapadika-Vivarana, a commentary on the Pancapadika byPadmapadacharya.[161] The Vivarana lends its name tothe subsequent school. According to Roodurmum, hisline of thought [...] became the leitmotif of all sub-sequent developments in the evolution of the Advaitatradition.[161]

The Vivarana-school takes an epistemological approach.Prakasatman was the rst to propound the theory ofmulavidya or maya as being of positive beginninglessnature,[166] and sees Brahman as the source of avidya.Critics object that Brahman is pure consciousness, so itcan't be the source of avidya. Another problem is thatcontradictory qualities, namely knowledge and ignorance,are attributed to Brahman.[web 51]

4.5.4 Vimuktatman - Ista-Siddhi

Vimuktatman (c.1200 CE)[167] wrote the Ista-siddhi.[167]It is one of the four traditional siddhi, togetherwithMandanas Brahma-siddhi, SuresvarasNaiskarmya-siddhi, and Madusudanas Advaita-siddhi.[168] Accord-ing to Vimuktatman, absolute reality is pure intuitiveconsciousness.[169] His school of thought was eventuallyreplaced by Prakasatmans Vivarana school.[161]

4.6 later Advaita Vedanta traditionSee also: Dashanami Sampradaya and List of teachersof Advaita Vedanta

According to Sangeetha Menon, prominent names in thelater Advaita tradition are:[web 53]

Prakstman, Vimukttman, Sarvajtman (tenthcentury),

5.2 Smarta Tradition 13

r Hara, Citsukha (twelfth century),

nandagiri, Amalnand (thirteenth century),

Vidyraya, akarnand (fourteenth century),

Sadnand (fteenth century),

Praknanda, Nsihrama (sixteenth century),

Madhusdhana Sarasvati, Dharmarja Advarindra,Appaya Dkita (seventeenth century),

Sadaiva Brahmendra (eighteenth century),

Candraekhara Bhrati (twentieth century),Sacchidnandendra Saraswati (twentieth century).

Contemporary teachers are the orthodox Jagadguru ofSringeri Sharada Peetham; the more traditional teachersSivananda Saraswati (18871963), ChinmayanandaSaraswati,[web 54] and Dayananda Saraswati (ArshaVidya);[web 54] and less traditional teachers like NarayanaGuru.[web 54]

5 Sampradaya

5.1 Advaita Mathas

See also: Dashanami SampradayaAdvaita Vedanta is, at least in the west, primarily known

(Vidyashankara temple) at Sringeri Sharada Peetham, Shringeri

as a philosophical system. But it is also a tradition ofrenunciation. Philosophy and renunciation are closelyrelated:[web 1]

Most of the notable authors in the advaitatradition were members of the sannyasa tradi-tion, and both sides of the tradition share thesame values, attitudes and metaphysics.[web 1]

Shankara, himself considered to be an incarnation ofShiva,[web 1] established the Dashanami Sampradaya, or-ganizing a section of the Ekadandi monks under an um-brella grouping of ten names.[web 1] Several other Hindumonastic and Ekadandi traditions remained outside theorganisation of the Dasanmis.[170][171][172]

Adi Sankara is said to have organised the Hindu monksof these ten sects or names under four Mahas (Sanskrit:) (monasteries), with the headquarters at Dvrak inthe West, Jagannatha Puri in the East, Sringeri in theSouth and Badrikashrama in the North.[web 1] Each mathwas headed by one of his four main disciples, who eachcontinues the Vedanta Sampradaya.[note 43]

Monks of these ten orders dier in part in their beliefsand practices, and a section of them is not consideredto be restricted to specic changes made by Shankara.While the dasanmis associated with the Sankara mathsfollow the procedures enumerated by Adi ankara, someof these orders remained partly or fully independent intheir belief and practices; and outside the ocial controlof the Sankara maths.The advaita sampradaya is not a Saiva sect,[web 1][175] de-spite the historical links with Shaivism.[note 44] Never-theless, contemporary Sankaracaryas have more inu-ence among Saiva communities than among Vaisnavacommunities.[web 1] The greatest inuence of the gurusof the advaita tradition has been among followers of theSmartha Tradition, who integrate the domestic Vedic rit-ual with devotional aspects of Hinduism.[web 1]

According to Nakamura, these mathas contributed to theinuence of Shankara, which was due to institutionalfactors.[10] The mathas which he built exist until today,and preserve the teachings and inuence of Shankara,while the writings of other scholars before him came tobe forgotten with the passage of time.[176]

The table below gives an overview of the four AmnayaMathas founded byAdi Shankara, and their details.[web 55]

According to the tradition in Kerala, after Sankarassamadhi at Vadakkunnathan Temple, his disciplesfounded four mathas in Thrissur, namely Naduvil Mad-hom, Thekke Madhom, Idayil Madhom and VadakkeMadhom.

5.2 Smarta TraditionMain article: Smarta Tradition

Traditionally, Shankara is regarded as the greatestteacher[177][178] and reformer of the Smartha.[179][178] Ac-cording to Alf Hiltebeitel, Shankara established the non-dualist interpretation of the Upanishads as the touchstoneof a revived smarta tradition:

Practically, Shankara fostered a rapproche-ment between Advaita and smarta orthodoxy,

14 6 INFLUENCE ON MODERN HINDUISM

which by his time had not only continued todefend the varnasramadharma theory as den-ing the path of karman, but had developed thepractice of pancayatanapuja (ve-shrine wor-ship) as a solution to varied and conictingdevotional practices. Thus one could worshipany one of ve deities (Vishnu, Siva, Durga,Surya, Ganesa) as ones istadevata (deity ofchoice).[180]

The Sringeri monastery is still the centre of the Smartasect.[177][178] In recent times bhakti cults have increas-ingly become popular with the smartas,[181] and Shiva isparticularly favored.[177] In modern times Smarta-viewshave been highly inuential in both the Indian[web 56]and western[web 57] understanding of Hinduism via Neo-Vedanta. Vivekananda was an advocate of Smarta-views,[web 57] and Radhakrishnan was himself a Smarta-Brahman.[182][183][note 45]

6 Inuence on modern Hinduism

6.1 Unifying HinduismMain article: Unifying Hinduism

Advaita Vedanta came to occupy a central position in theclassication of various Hindu traditions. With the on-set of Islamic rule, hierarchical classications of the vari-ous orthodox schools were developed to defend Hinduismagainst Islamic inuences.[184] According to Nicholson,already between the twelfth and the sixteenth century,

... certain thinkers began to treat as asingle whole the diverse philosophical teach-ings of the Upanishads, epics, Puranas, andthe schools known retrospectively as the sixsystems (saddarsana) of mainstream Hinduphilosophy.[185]

The tendency of a blurring of philosophical distinc-tions has also been noted by Burley.[186] Lorenzen lo-cates the origins of a distinct Hindu identity in the in-teraction between Muslims and Hindus,[187] and a pro-cess of mutual self-denition with a contrasting Muslimother,[188] which started well before 1800.[189] Both theIndian and the European thinkers who developed the termHinduism in the 19th century were inuenced by thesephilosophers.[185]

Within these socalled doxologies Advaita Vedanta wasgiven the highest position, since it was regarded to bemost inclusive system.[184] Vijnanabhiksu, a 16th-centuryphilosopher and writer, is still an inuential representantof these doxologies. Hes been a prime inuence on 19thcentury Hindu modernists like Vivekananda, who also

tried to integrate various strands of Hindu thought, takingAdvaita Vedanta as its most representative specimen.[184]

6.2 Contemporary popularization

6.2.1 Indian nationalism and Hindu Universalism

Main articles: Hindu nationalism and Hindu reformmovements

With the onset of the British Raj, the colonialisation ofIndia by the British, there also started a Hindu renaissancein the 19th century, which profoundly changed the under-standing ofHinduism in both India and the west.[12] West-ern orientalist searched for the essence of the Indian re-ligions, discerning this in the Vedas,[190] and meanwhilecreating the notion of Hinduism as a unied body ofreligious praxis[191] and the popular picture of 'mysti-cal India'.[191][12] This idea of a Vedic essence was takenover by the Hindu reformers, together with the ideasof Universalism and Perennialism, the idea that all reli-gions share a common mystic ground.[192] The BrahmoSamaj, who was supported for a while by the UnitarianChurch,[193] played an essential role in the introductionand spread of this new understanding of Hinduism.[194]

Vedanta came to be regarded as the essence of Hin-duism, and Advaita Vedanta came to be regarded as thenparadigmatic example of the mystical nature of the Hindureligion.[195] These notions served well for the Hindu na-tionalists, who further popularised this notion of AdvaitaVedanta as the pinnacle of Indian religions.[196] It pro-vided an opportunity for the construction of a nationalistideology that could unite HIndus in their struggle againstcolonial oppression.[197]

6.2.2 Vivekananda

Main articles: Neo-Vedanta, Swami Vivekananda andRamakrishna Mission

A major proponent in the popularisation of this Univer-salist and Perennialist interpretation of Advaita Vedantawas Vivekananda,[198] who played a major role in therevival of Hinduism,[199] and the spread of AdvaitaVedanta to the west via the Ramakrishna Mission. Hisinterpretation of Advaita Vedanta has been called Neo-Vedanta.[200] Vivekananda discerned a universal reli-gion, regarding all the apparent dierences between var-ious traditions as various manifestations of one truth.[201]He presented karma, bhakti, jnana and raja yoga as equalmeans to attain moksha,[202] to present Vedanta as a lib-eral and universal religion, in contrast to the exclusivismof other religions.[202]

Vivekananda emphasised samadhi as a means to attainliberation.[203] Yet this emphasis is not to be found in

15

the Upanishads nor with Shankara.[204] For Shankara,meditation and Nirvikalpa Samadhi are means to gainknowledge of the already existing unity of Brahman andAtman,[203] not the highest goal itself:

[Y]oga is a meditative exercise of with-drawal from the particular and identicationwith the universal, leading to contemplationof oneself as the most universal, namely,Consciousness. This approach is dierentfrom the classical Yoga of complete thoughtsuppression.[203]

He also claimed that Advaita is the only religion that is intotal agreement with modern science. In a talk on Theabsolute and manifestation given in at London in 1896Swami Vivekananda said,

I may make bold to say that the only reli-gion which agrees with, and even goes a littlefurther than modern researchers, both on phys-ical and moral lines is the Advaita, and that iswhy it appeals to modern scientists so much.They nd that the old dualistic theories are notenough for them, do not satisfy their necessi-ties. A man must have not only faith, but intel-lectual faith too.[web 58]

Vivekenandas modernisation has been criticised:

Without calling into question the right ofany philosopher to interpret Advaita accordingto his own understanding of it, ... the processofWesternization has obscured the core of thisschool of thought. The basic correlation of re-nunciation and Bliss has been lost sight of inthe attempts to underscore the cognitive struc-ture and the realistic structure which accordingto Samkaracarya should both belong to, and in-deed constitute the realm of my.[200]

6.2.3 Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan

Main article: Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan further popularized AdvaitaVedanta, presenting it as the essence of Hinduism,[web 59]but neglecting the popular bhakti-traditions.[205] Rad-hakrishnan saw other religions, including what Radhakr-ishnan understands as lower forms of Hinduism,[web 59]as interpretations of Advaita Vedanta, thereby Hindusiz-ing all religions.[web 59] His metaphysics was grounded inAdvaita Vedanta, but he reinterpreted Advaita Vedantafor a contemporary understanding.[web 59] He acknowl-edged the reality and diversity of the world of experience,

which he saw as grounded in and supported by the abso-lute or Brahman.[web 59][note 46] Radhakrishnan also rein-terpreted Shankaras notion of maya. According to Rad-hakrishnan, maya is not a strict absolute idealism, buta subjective misperception of the world as ultimatelyreal.[web 59]

6.2.4 Neo-Advaita

Main article: Neo-Advaita

Neo-Advaita is a New Religious Movement based on apopularised, western interpretation of Advaita Vedantaand the teachings of Ramana Maharshi.[207] Neo-Advaitais being criticised[208][note 47][210][note 48][note 49] for dis-carding the traditional prerequisites of knowledge of thescriptures[211] and renunciation as necessary prepara-tion for the path of jnana-yoga".[211][212] Notable neo-advaita teachers are H. W. L. Poonja,[213][207] his stu-dents Gangaji[214] Andrew Cohen[note 50], and EckhartTolle.[207]

6.2.5 Non-dualism

Main article: Nondualism

Advaita Vedanta has gained attention in westernspirituality and New Age, where various traditions areseen as driven by the same non-dual experience.[216]Nonduality points to a primordial, natural awarenesswithout subject or object.[web 64] It is also used to referto interconnectedness, the sense that all things areinterconnected and not separate, while at the same timeall things retain their individuality.[web 65]

Georg Feuerstein is quoted by nonduality-adepts[note 51] assummarizing the Advaita Vedanta-realization as follows:

The manifold universe is, in truth, a Sin-gle Reality. There is only one Great Being,which the sages call Brahman, in which allthe countless forms of existence reside. ThatGreat Being is utter Consciousness, and Itis the very Essence, or Self (Atman) of allbeings.[web 67][note 52]

7 Relationship with other forms ofVedanta

The exposition and spread of Advaita by Sankara spurreddebate with the two main theistic schools of Vedanta phi-losophy that were formalised later: Vishishtadvaita (qual-ied nondualism), and Dvaita (dualism).

16 8 RELATIONSHIP WITH MAHAYANA BUDDHISM

7.1 Vishishtadvaita

Main article: Vishishtadvaita

Yamunacharya, a 10th-century AD proponent of theVishishtadvaita philosophy that opposed Shankaras Ad-vaita, compared Advaita to Buddhism and remarked inhis Siddhitraya that for both the Buddhists and the Ad-vaitins, the distinctions of knower, known and knowl-edge are unreal. The Advaita traces them to Maya,while Buddhist subjectivism traces them to buddhi.[217]Ramanujacharya, another prominent Vishishtadvaitaphilosopher, accused Shankara of being a PrachannaBauddha, that is, a hidden Buddhist[218]

7.2 Dvaita

Main article: Dvaita

TheDvaita, founded byMadhvacharya (12381317AD),was partisan to Vaishnavism, building on a cogent systemof Vedantic interpretation that proceeded to take on Ad-vaita in full measure. Madhvacharyas student Narayana,in his Madhvavijaya, a hagiography of Madhva, charac-terised Madhva and Shankara as born-enemies, and de-scribes Shankara as a demon born on earth.[219] Suren-dranath Dasgupta noted that some Madhva mythologywent so far as to characterise the followers of Shankaraas tyrannical people who burned down monasteries, de-stroyed cattle and killed women and children.[220]

8 Relationship with MahayanaBuddhism

8.1 Inuence of Mahayana Buddhism

Many authorities from India and elsewhere have notedthat Advaita Vedanta shows signs of inuence fromMahayana Buddhism. The Mahayana schools withwhom Shankaras Advaita is said to share similari-ties are the Madhyamaka, founded by Nagarjuna,[221]and the Yogacara,[222] founded by Vasubandhu[223] andAsanga[224] in the early centuries of the Common Era.John Grimes writes that while Mahayana Buddhisms in-uence on Advaita Vedanta has been ignored for most ofits history, scholars now see it as undeniable.[225]

Eliot Deutsch and Rohit Dalvi state:

In any event a close relationship betweenthe Mahayana schools and Vedanta did existwith the latter borrowing some of the dialec-tical techniques, if not the specic doctrines,of the former.[226]

S. Mudgal noted that among some traditionalist Indianscholars, it was the accepted view that Shankara

Adopted practically all ... dialectic (ofthe Buddhists), their methodology, their ar-guments and analysis, their concepts, theirterminologies and even their philosophy ofthe Absolute, gave all of them a Vedan-tic appearance, and demolished Buddhism ...Sankara embraced Buddhism, but it was a fa-tal embrace.[227]

This inuence goes back at least to Gaudapada:

Gaudapada rather clearly draws from Bud-dhist philosophical sources for many of hisarguments and distinctions and even for theforms and imagery in which these argumentsare cast.[226]

Michael Comans has also demonstrated how Gaudapada,an early Vedantin, utilised some arguments and reason-ing from Madhyamaka Buddhist texts by quoting themalmost verbatim.However, Comans believes there is a fundamental dier-ence between Buddhist thought and that of Gaudapada, inthat Buddhism has as its philosophical basis the doctrineof Dependent Origination, while Gaudapada does not atall rely on this principle. Gaudapadas Ajativada is anoutcome of reasoning applied to an unchanging nondualreality, the fundamental teaching of the Upanishads.[228]

8.2 CriticismsIn India, the similarity of Shankaras Advaita to Bud-dhism was brought up by his rivals from other Vedantaschools, while on the other hand, Mahayanists such asBhavyaviveka had to defend themselves from TheravadaBuddhist accusations of theMahayana doctrine being justanother form of Vedantism.[229][note 53][230]

Shankara defended himself against these accusations:

Shankaras criticisms of Buddhism are nev-ertheless powerful and they exhibit clearlyat least how Shankara saw the dierencebetween Buddhism and his own Vedanticphilosophy.[226]

8.3 Common core thesisSee also: Perennial philosophy

Western scholars like N.V. Isaeva state that the Advaitaand Buddhist philosophies, after being puried of ac-cidental or historical accretions, can be safely regarded

17

as dierent expressions of the same eternal absolutetruth.[231][note 54]

Ninian Smart, a historian of religion, noted that the dif-ferences between Shankara and Mahayana doctrines arelargely a matter of emphasis and background, rather thanessence.[232][note 55]

9 Status of ethicsSome claim that there is no place for ethics in Advaita,that it turns its back on all theoretical and practical con-siderations of morality and, if not unethical, is at least'a-ethical' in character.[233]

Ethics does have a rm place in this philosophy. Ethics,which implies doing good Karma, indirectly helps inattaining true knowledge.[234] Many Advaitins considerKarma a necessary ction. Karma cannot be provento exist through any of the Pramas.[note 56] However,to encourage students to strive towards Vidy (spiritualknowledge) and combat Avidy (ignorance), the idea ofKarma is maintained.Truth, non-violence, service of others, pity, are Dharma,and lies, violence, cheating, selshness, greed, are ad-harma (sin). However, no authoritative denition ofDharma was ever formulated by any of the major expo-nents of Advaita Vedanta. Unlike ontological and episte-mological claims, there is room for signicant disagree-ment between Advaitins on ethical issues.

10 See also Cause and eect in Advaita Vedanta Kashmir Shaivism Panpsychism

11 Notes[1] IAST Advaita Vednta; Sanskrit: [dait

ednt], literally, not-two

[2] Literally: end or the goal of the Vedas.

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

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



anantam, boundless or inniteSee also satcitananda.

[5] Brahman is not to be confused with Brahma, the Cre-ator and one third of the Trimurti along with Shiva, theDestroyer and Vishnu, the Preserver.

[6] Indian philosophy emphasises that every acceptable phi-losophy should aid man in realising the Purusarthas, thechief aims of human life:[27]

Dharma: the right way to life, the duties and obli-gations of the individual toward himself and thesociety as well as those of the society toward theindividual";[28]

Artha: the means to support and sustain ones life; Kma: pleasure and enjoyment; Moka: liberation, release.

[7] "Sat is absolute non changing truth. Maharishi MaheshYogi[web 7]

[8] Compare Radhakrishnans notion of intuition. See[web 10][web 11][web 12]

[9] Consciousness,[38][web 13] intelligence,[39][40]wisdom[web 14]

[10] the Absolute,[38][web 13] innite,[web 13] the Highesttruth[web 13]

[11] Puligandla: Any philosophy worthy of its title should notbe a mere intellectual exercise but should have practicalapplication in enabling man to live an enlightened life. Aphilosophy which makes no dierence to the quality andstyle of our life is no philosophy, but an empty intellectualconstruction.[42]

[12] nivartitnmete tadvyatiriktaviayebhya upara-maamuparatirathav vihitn karma vidhinparityga[Vedntasra, 21]

[13] Sri Swami Sivananda: Karma Yoga is consecration ofall actions and their fruits unto the Lord. Karma Yogais performance of actions dwelling in union with the Di-vine, removing attachment and remaining balanced ever insuccess and failure. Karma Yoga is seless service untohumanity. Karma Yoga is the Yoga of action which pu-ries the heart and prepares the Antahkarana (the heartand the mind) for the reception of Divine Light or attain-ment if Knowledge of the Self. The important point is thatyou will have to serve humanity without any attachment oregoism.[web 18]

[14] ChndogyaUpanishad cryavn puruo veda. Also seethe rst prose chapter of ankaras Upadeashasr.

[15] See Mundaka Upanishad 1.2.12

[16] See also [web 21]

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

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

[19] See also [web 28][web 29][web 30][web 31][web 27]

[20] Kalupahana describes how in Buddhism there is also a cur-rent which favours substance ontology. Kalupahanan seesMadhyamaka and Yogacara as reactions against develop-ments toward substance ontology in Buddhism.[49]

18 11 NOTES

[21] Cognates: Dutch adem, Old High German atum breath,Old English eian.[55]

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

Whatever thing remains eternal is true, and what-ever is non-eternal is untrue. Since the world is cre-ated and destroyed, it is not real (true).

Truth is the thing which is unchanging. Since theworld is changing, it is not real (false).

Whatever is independent of space and time is real(true), and whatever has space and time in itself isnot real (false).

Just as one sees dreams in sleep, he sees a kind ofsuper-dream when he is waking. The world is com-pared to this conscious dream.

The world is believed to be a superimposition of theBrahman. Superimposition cannot be real (true).

[23] Shankara gives the following reasoning:[56]

If the world were unreal (false), then with the liber-ation of the rst living being, the world would havebeen annihilated. However, the world continues toexist even if a living being attains liberation. But, itis possible that no living being attained the ultimateknowledge (liberation) till now.

Adi Sankara believes in karma, or good actions.This is a feature of this world. So the world can-not be unreal (false).

The Supreme Reality Brahman is the basis of thisworld. The world is like its reection. Hence theworld cannot be totally unreal (false).

False is something which is ascribed to nonexistentthings, like Sky-lotus. The world is a logical thing,a fact which is perceived by our senses and existsbut is not the truth.

[24] Nevertheless, Balasubramanian argues that since the basicideas of the Vedanta systems are derived from the Vedas,the Vedantic philosophy is as old as the Vedas.[71]

[25] Flood & Olivelle: The second half of the rst millen-nium BCE was the period that created many of the ide-ological and institutional elements that characterize laterIndian religions. The renouncer tradition played a cen-tral role during this formative period of Indian religioushistory....Some of the fundamental values and beliefs thatwe generally associate with Indian religions in generaland Hinduism in particular were in part the creation ofthe renouncer tradition. These include the two pillars ofIndian theologies: samsara - the belief that life in thisworld is one of suering and subject to repeated deathsand births (rebirth); moksa/nirvana - the goal of humanexistence.....[76]

[26] Bharthari (c.450500), Upavarsa (c.450500), Bod-hyana (c.500), Tanka (Brahmnandin) (c.500550),Dravida (c.550), Bhartprapaca (c.550), abarasvmin(c.550), Bhartmitra (c.550600), rivatsnka (c.600),Sundarapndya (c.600), Brahmadatta (c.600700),Gaudapada (c.640690), Govinda (c.670720), Man-danamira (c.670750).[67]

[27] Nakamura notes that there are contradictions in doctrinebetween the four chapters.[89]

[28] It is often used interchangeably with the term citta-mtra,but they have dierent meanings. The standard transla-tion of both terms is consciousness-only or mind-only.Several modern researchers object this translation, andthe accompanying label of absolute idealism or ideal-istic monism.[96] A better translation for vijapti-mtra isrepresentation-only.[97]

[29] 1. Something is. 2. It is not. 3. It both is and is not. 4. Itneither is nor is not.[web 41][98]

[30] The inuence of Mahayana Buddhism on other religionsand philosophies was not limited to Vedanta. Kalupahananotes that the Visuddhimagga contains some metaphys-ical speculations, such as those of the Sarvastivadins, theSautrantikas, and even the Yogacarins".[100]

[31] An means not, or non"; utpda means genesis,coming forth, birth[web 42] Taken together anutpdameans having no origin, not coming into existence,not taking eect, non-production.[web 43] The Buddhisttradition usually uses the term anutpda for the absenceof an origin[102][104] or sunyata.[105] The term is also usedin the Lankavatara Sutra.[106] According to D.T Suzuki,anutpada is not the opposite of utpada, but transcendsopposites. It is the seeing into the true nature of exis-tence,[107] the seeing that all objects are without self-substance.[108]

[32] A means not, or non as in Ahimsa, non-harm;jti means creation or origination;[109] vda meansdoctrine[109]

[33] Sanskrit: , r Sansthna Gaua-padcrya Maha

[34] The term mayavada is still being used, in a critical way,by the Hare Krshnas. See [web 46] [web 47] [web 48] [web 49]

[35] Nicholson: The Brahmasutras themselves espouse the re-alist Parinamavada position, which appears to have beenthe view most common among early Vedantins.[113]

[36] B.N.K. Sharma: "[H]ow dicult he himself found thetask of making the Sutras yield a Monism of his concep-tion, is proved by the articiality and parenthetical irrele-vance of his comments in many places, where he seeks togo against the spirit and letter of the Sutras and their natu-ral drift of arguments and dialectic ... he was ghting withall his might and ingenuity against a long line of realisticcommentaries.[112]

[37] The previous period was the Golden Age ofHinduism[116] (ca. 320650 CE[116]), which ourishedduring the Gupta Empire[117] (320 to 550 CE) until thefall of the Harsha Empire[117] (606 to 647 CE). Prior tothis Golden Age the classical synthesis[118] or Hindusynthesis[119][120] emerged, between 500[119]200[120]BCE and ca. 300 CE,[119] at the beginning of the Epicand Puranic c.q. Preclassical period. This classicalsynthesis incorporated shramanic[120][121] and Buddhistinuences[120][122] and the emerging bhakti tradition intothe Brahmanical fold via the smriti literature.[119][120] This

19

synthesis emerged under the pressure of the success ofBuddhism and Jainism.[123] During the classical period,power was centralised, along with a growth of far distancetrade, standardizarion of legal procedures, and generalspread of literacy.[117] Mahayana Buddhism ourished,but the orthodox Brahmana culture began to be rejuve-nated by the patronage of the Gupta Dynasty.[124] Theposition of the Brahmans was reinforced,[117] and the rstHindu temples emerged during the late Gupta age.[117]

[38] The authorship of this work is disputed. Most 20th-century academic scholars feel it was not authored bySankara, and Swami Sacchidanandendra Saraswathi ofHolenarsipur concurs.

[39] slokrdhena pravaksmi yadukta granthakotibhih,brahma satya jagat mithy, jvo brahmaiva nparah

[40] Pande comes to the same conclusion: Vivekachudamani,whether actually authored by Shankara or not, is tradition-ally held to voice his views authentically.[133]

[41] Nakamura concludes that Shankara was not the author,for several reasons.[135] Shankara understood Buddhistthought, while the author of the commentary shows mis-understandings of Buddhist thought.[135] The commen-tary uses the terms vijnapti and vjnaptimatra, which isa uniquely Buddhist usage,[136] and does not appear inShankaras commentary on the Brahma-sutras.[137] Thetwo commentaries also quote dierent Upanishads.[138]Nevertheless, Nakamura also concludes: Although thecommentary to theMadukya is not actually by sankara, itmay be assumed that there is nothing drastically wrongin using it as a source when discussing early Vedantaphilosophy.[135]

[42] According to both Roodurum and Isaeva, Surevara statedthat mere knowledge of the identity of Jiva and Brahmanis nor enough for liberation, which requires also prolongedmeditation on this identity.[152][160]

[43] According to Pandey, these Mathas were not establishedby Shankara himself, but were originally ashramsestablished by Vibhdaka and his son yanga.[173]Shankara inherited the ashrams at Dvrak andSringeri, and shifted the ashram at ngaverapurato Badarikrama, and the ashram at Angadea toJaganntha Pur.[174]

[44] Sanskrit.org: Advaitins are non-sectarian, and they ad-vocate worship of Siva and Visnu equally with that ofthe other deities of Hinduism, like Sakti, Ganapati andothers.[web 1]

[45] According to iskcon.org, Many Hindus may not strictlyidentify themselves as Smartas but, by adhering to AdvaitaVedanta as a foundation for non-sectarianism, are indirectfollowers.[web 56]

[46] Neo-Vedanta seems to be closer to Bhedabheda-Vedantathan to Shankaras Advaita Vedanta, with the acknowl-edgement of the reality of the world. Nicholas F.Gier: Ramakrsna, Svami Vivekananda, and Aurobindo(I also include M.K. Gandhi) have been labeled neo-Vedantists, a philosophy that rejects the Advaitins claim

that the world is illusory. Aurobindo, in his The Life Di-vine, declares that he has moved from Sankaras universalillusionism to his own universal realism (2005: 432),dened as metaphysical realism in the European philo-sophical sense of the term.[206]

[47] Marek: Wobei der Begri Neo-Advaita darauf hinweist,dass sich die traditionelle Advaita von dieser Strmungzunehmend distanziert, da sie die Bedeutung der ben-den Vorbereitung nach wie vor als unumgnglich ansieht.(The term Neo-Advaita indicating that the traditional Ad-vaita increasingly distances itself from this movement, asthey regard preparational practicing still as inevitable)[209]

[48] Alan Jacobs: Many rm devotees of Sri Ramana Ma-harshi now rightly term this western phenomenon as 'Neo-Advaita'. The term is carefully selected because 'neo'means 'a new or revived form'. And this new form isnot the Classical Advaita which we understand to havebeen taught by both of the Great Self Realised Sages, AdiShankara and Ramana Maharshi. It can even be termed'pseudo' because, by presenting the teaching in a highlyattenuated form, it might be described as purporting to beAdvaita, but not in eect actually being so, in the fullestsense of the word. In this watering down of the essen-tial truths in a palatable style made acceptable and attrac-tive to the contemporary western mind, their teaching ismisleading.[210]

[49] See for other examples Conway [web 60] and Swartz [web 2]

[50] Presently cohen has distnced himself from Poonja, andcalls his teachings Evolutionary Enlightenment.[215]What Is Enlightenment, the magazine published byChoens organisation, has been critical of neo-Advaitaseveral times, as early as 2001. See.[web 61][web 62][web 63]

[51] Feuersteins summary, as given here, is not necessarilyrepresentative for Feuersteins thought on Advaita. It isquoted on nonduality-websites,[web 66] which is informedby the Perennial philosophy and New Age thinking. It isalso discerneable inNeo-Advaita. The quote seems to givea subtle reinterpretation, in which the distinction betweenReal and maya is replaced by a notion of interconnected-ness or pantheism. The original quote is from Feuersteinsbook The Deeper Dimension of Yoga: Theory and Prac-tice, p. 257258. It is preceded by the sentence Theesoteric teaching of nonduality Vedantic Yoga or JnanaYoga can be summarized as follows.

[52] Compare Shankaras own words, from his commentary onthe Brahman Sutras: " It is obvious that the subject and theobject that is, the Self (Atman) and the Not-Self, whichare as dierent as darkness and light are cannot beidentied with each other. It is a mistake to superimposeupon the subject or Self (that is, the I, whose nature isconsciousness) the characteristics of the object or Not-"I(which is non-intelligent), and to superimpose the subjectand its attributes on the object. Nonetheless, man has anatural tendency, rooted in ignorance (avidya), not to dis-tinguish clearly between subject and object, although theyare in fact absolutely distinct, but rather to superimposeupon each the characteristic nature and attributes of theother. This leads to a confusion of the Real (the Self) andthe Unreal (the Not-Self) and causes us to say such [silly]things as I am that, That is mine, and so on ...[web 68]

20 12 REFERENCES

[53] King: In chapter four of his Madhyamakahrdyakarika(on the sravaka-yana), Bhavaviveka puts forward aSravaka objection to the Mahayana on the grounds thatit is a form of crypto-Vedantism

[54] The comparison may or may not stand depending on onesstance towards the anatman doctrine laid out in the Bud-dhist Pali Canon. Some claim that the Pali Canon showsthat Gautama the Buddha denied the existence of the At-man. However, no single passage in the entire Canon canbe found to this eect. Gautama only ever identied con-stituents (the ve aggregates) and declared them as not-self, that is, this is not my self. Depending on howAtman is dened and how it is treated in respect to ar-mation and denial in philosophical discourse and contem-plative practice, the fact that Atman is central to AdvaitaVedanta may or may not be compatible with the Buddhistanatman (not-self) analysis.

[55] Ninian Smart is a proponent of the so-called commoncore thesis, which states that all forms of mysticism sharea common core. See also [web 69] and [web 70]

[56] With the exception of gama, though this is contradicted,subtrated, by the Pramas such as Anumna, Upamna,or Arthpatti

12 References[1] Kochumuttom 1999.

[2] Nakamura.

[3] Raju 1992.

[4] Roodurmum 2002.

[5] Deutsch 1988.

[6] Nakamura 1990, p. 112.

[7] Deussen 1980, p. 232.

[8] kanamura 2004.

[9] Nakamura 2004, p. 211.

[10] Nakamura 2004, p. 680.

[11] Nakamura 2004, p. 691.

[12] King 2002.

[13] Isaeva 1993, p. 237.

[14] Dalal 2009, p. 16, 26-27.

[15] Rambachan 1984.

[16] Dalal & 2009 p22.

[17] Sivananda 1977, p. viii.

[18] Dalal 2009, p. 16.

[19] Dalal 2014.

[20] Rambachan 1991, p. 5.

[21] Rambachan 1991, p. 14.

[22] Davis 2010, p. 40.

[23] Hirst 2005, p. 68.

[24] Rambachan 1991, p. 1-14.

[25] Nikhalananda 1931, p. viii.

[26] Nikhalananda 1931, p. viii-ix.

[27] Puligandla 1997, p. 8-9.

[28] Puligandla 1997, p. 8.

[29] Lochtefeld 2002, p. 320.

[30] Potter 2008, p. 6-7.

[31] Raganthnanda 1991, p. 109.

[32] Loy 1997, p. 62.

[33] Werner 1994.

[34] Sugirtharajah 2003, p. 115.

[35] Sanskrit Dictionary, chit

[36] Loy 1997, p. 136.

[37] Braue 1984, p. 81.

[38] Grimes 1996, p. 234.

[39] Sivaraman 1973, p. 146.

[40] Braue 1984, p. 80.

[41] Baue 1984, p. 80.

[42] Puligandla 1997, p. 11.

[43] Puligandla 1997, p. 251-254.

[44] Adi Shankara, Tattva bodha (1.2)

[45] Rambachan 1994, p. 124-125.

[46] Coburn, Thomas B. 1984. pp. 439

[47] Puligandla 1997, p. 49-50.

[48] Puligandla 1997, p. 40-50.

[49] Kalupahanan 1994.

[50] Renard 2010, p. 130.

[51] Renard 2010, p. 131.

[52] Puligandla 1997, p. 232.

[53] Venkatramaiah 2000, p. xxxii.

[54] Deussen, Paul and Geden, A. S. The Philosophy of theUpanishads. Cosimo Classics (1 June 2010). P. 86. ISBN1-61640-240-7.

[55] Atman Etymology Dictionary, Douglas Harper

[56] Sinha 1993.

21

[57] Kaplan, Stephen (April 2007). Vidy and Avidy: Si-multaneous and Coterminous?: A Holographic Model toIlluminate the Advaita Debate. Philosophy East and west.2 57: 178203. doi:10.1353/pew.2007.0019. JSTOR4488090.

[58] Mayeda, Sengaku (1992). A Thousand Teachings: TheUpadesasahasri of Sankara. Albany: State University ofNew York Press. p. 82.

[59] Belling, Noa (2006). Yoga for ideal weight and shape.Sydney, Australia: New Holland Publishers (Australia)P/L. ISBN 978-1-74110-298-7.

[60] Wilber 2000, p. 132.

[61] Sarma 1996, p. 137.

[62] King 1995, p. 300 note 140.

[63] Puligandla 1997, p. 228.

[64] Puligandla 1997, p. 231-232.

[65] Puligandla 1997, p. 231.

[66] Grimes 1990, p. 7.

[67] Nakamura 2004, p. 3.

[68] Nakamura 2004, p. 426.

[69] Deutsch 2004, p. 95-96.

[70] Balasubramanian 2000, p. xxx.

[71] Balasubramanian 2000, p. xxix.

[72] Balasubramanian 2000, p. xxxxxxi.

[73] Deutsch 2004, p. 95.

[74] Samuel 2010, p. 8.

[75] Svarghese 2008, p. 259-60.

[76] Flood & Olivelle 2003, p. 273-274.

[77] Samuel 2010.

[78] Samuel 2008.

[79] Kalupahanna 1994.

[80] Werner 1994, p. 27.

[81] Thurman 1984, p. 34.

[82] Balasubramanian 2000, p. xxxii.

[83] Nakamura 1990, p. 436.

[84] Pandey 2000, p. 4.

[85] Balasubramanian 2000, p. xxxiii.

[86] Nakamura 2004, p. 678.

[87] Nakamura 2004, p. 679.

[88] Raju 1992, p. 177.

[89] Nakamura 2004, p. 308.

[90] Nakamura 2004, p. 280.

[91] Sharma 1997, p. 239.

[92] Sharma 2000, p. 60.

[93] Sharma 2000, p. 61.

[94] Sharma 2000, p. 62.

[95] Sharma 2000, p. 63.

[96] Kochumuttom 1999, p. 1.

[97] Kochumuttom 1999, p. 5.

[98] Gareld 2003.

[99] Raju 1992, p. 177-178.

[100] Kalupahana 1994, p. 206.

[101] Sarma 1996, p. 152154.

[102] Renard 2010, p. 157.

[103] Comans 2000, p. 35-36.

[104] Bhattacharya 1943, p. 49.

[105] Renard 2010, p. 160.

[106] Suzuki 1999.

[107] Suzuki 1999, p. 123-124.

[108] Suzuki 1999, p. 168.

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22 12 REFERENCES

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