Vedānta

''Vedanta'' (; sa, वेदान्त, ), also ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six (''āstika'') schools of Hindu philosophy. Literally meaning "end of the Vedas", Vedanta reflects ideas that emerged from, or were aligned with, the speculations and philosophies contained in the Upanishads, specifically, knowledge and liberation. Vedanta contains many sub-traditions, all of which are based on a common group of texts called the "Three Sources" ('' prasthānatrayī''): ''the Upanishads'', the '' Brahma Sutras'' and the '' Bhagavad Gita''.

All Vedanta traditions contain extensive discussions on ontology, soteriology and epistemology, though there is much disagreement among the various schools. The main traditions of Vedanta are: ''Advaita'' ( non-dualism), ''Bhedabheda'' (difference and non-difference), ''Suddhadvaita'' (pure non-dualism), '' Tattvavada ( Dvaita)'' (dualism), and ''Vishishtadvaita'' (qualified non-dualism). Modern developments in Vedanta include Neo-Vedanta, and the growth of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya.

Most major Vedanta schools, except Advaita Vedanta and Neo-Vedanta, are related to Vaishnavism and emphasize devotion (Bhakti yoga) to God, understood as being Vishnu, Krishna or a related manifestation. Advaita Vedanta meanwhile, emphasizes jñana (knowledge) and jñana yoga over theistic devotion. While Advaita monism has attracted considerable attention in the West due to the influence of modern Hindus like Swami Vivekananda and Ramana Maharshi, most of the other Vedanta traditions focus on Vaishnava theology.

Etymology and nomenclature

The word ''Vedanta'' is made of two words :
* Veda (वेद) - refers to the four sacred vedic texts.
* Anta (अंत) - this word means "End".

The word ''Vedanta'' literally means the ''end of the Vedas'' and originally referred to the ''Upanishads''. Vedanta is concerned with the or knowledge section of the vedas which is called the ''Upanishads''. The denotation of Vedanta subsequently widened to include the various philosophical traditions based on to the '' Prasthanatrayi''.

The ''Upanishads'' may be regarded as the end of ''Vedas'' in different senses:
# These were the last literary products of the Vedic period.
# These mark the culmination of Vedic thought.
# These were taught and debated last, in the '' Brahmacharya'' (student) stage.

Vedanta is one of the six orthodox (''āstika'') schools of Indian philosophy. It is also called ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', which means the 'latter enquiry' or 'higher enquiry'; and is often contrasted with '' Pūrva Mīmāṃsā'', the 'former enquiry' or 'primary enquiry'. ''Pūrva Mīmāṃsā'' deals with the ''karmakāṇḍa'' or ritualistic section (the '' Samhita'' and '' Brahmanas'') in the ''Vedas''.

Vedanta philosophy

Common features

Despite their differences, all schools of Vedanta share some common features:
* Vedanta is the pursuit of knowledge into the ''Brahman'' and the '' Ātman''.
* The '' Upaniṣads'', the '' Bhagavadgītā'' and the ''Brahma Sūtras'' constitute the basis of Vedanta (known as the three canonical sources).
* Scripture (Sruti Śabda) is main reliable source of knowledge ('' pramana'').
* ''Brahman'' - '' Ishvara'' (God), exists as the unchanging material cause and instrumental cause of the world. The only exception here is that Dvaita Vedanta does not hold Brahman to be the material cause, but only the efficient cause.
* The self ('' Ātman'' or ''Jiva'') is the agent of its own acts ('' karma'') and the recipient of the consequences of these actions.
* Belief in rebirth ('' samsara'') and the desirability of release from the cycle of rebirths ''( moksha)''.
* Rejection of Buddhism and Jainism and conclusions of the other Vedic schools ( Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Samkhya, Yoga, and, to some extent, the Purva Mimamsa).

Scripture

The main '' Upaniṣhads'', the '' Bhagavadgītā'' and the ''Brahma Sūtras'' are the foundational scriptures in Vedanta. All schools of Vedanta propound their philosophy by interpreting these texts, collectively called the '' Prasthānatrayī'', literally, ''three sources''.

# The '' Upaniṣads'', or ''Śruti prasthāna''; considered the '' Sruti'', the "heard" (and repeated) foundation of Vedanta.
# The ''Brahma Sūtras'', or ''Nyaya prasthana'' / ''Yukti prasthana''; considered the reason-based foundation of Vedanta.
# The '' Bhagavadgītā'', or ''Smriti prasthāna''; considered the ''Smriti'' (remembered tradition) foundation of Vedanta.

All major Vedantic teachers, including Shankara, Bhaskara, Ramanuja, Madhva, Nimbarka, and Vallabha composed commentaries on these three sources. The ''Brahma Sūtras'' of '' Badarayana'' contain a synthesis of the teachings of the ''Upaniṣads'', which contain a many diverse doctrines and teachings. Other such Vedantic syntheses may have existed, but only the ''Brahma Sūtras'' survive. The ''Bhagavadgītā'', due to its syncretism of Samkhya, Yoga, and Upanishadic thought, has also played a major role in Vedantic thought.

All Vedāntins agree that scripture (śruti) is the only means of knowing (pramāṇa) regarding spiritual matters (which are beyond perception and inference).Bartley, Christopher (2015). ''An Introduction to Indian Philosophy'' ''Hindu and Buddhist Ideas from Original Sources'', p. 176. Bloomsbury Academic.

This is explained by Rāmānuja as follows:

A theory that rests exclusively on human concepts may at some other time or place be refuted by arguments devised by cleverer people.... The conclusion is that with regard to supernatural matters, Scripture alone is the epistemic authority and that reasoning is to be used only in support of Scripture’ �rī Bhāṣya 2.1.12

For specific sub-schools of Vedanta, other texts may be equally important. For example, for Advaita Vedanta, the works of Adi Shankara are central. For the Theistic Vaishnava schools of Vedanta, the '' Bhāgavata Purāṇa'' is particularly important. The ''Bhāgavata Purāṇa'' is one of the most widely commented upon works in Vedanta. This text is so central to the Krishna centered Vedanta schools that the Vedantin theologian Vallabha added the Bhāgavata Purāṇa as a fourth text to the praṣṭhāna traya (three classic scriptures of Vedanta).

Metaphysics

Vedanta philosophies discuss three fundamental metaphysical categories and the relations between the three.
# ''Brahman'' or '' Ishvara'': the ultimate reality
# '' Ātman'' or '' Jivātman'': the individual soul, self
# '' Prakriti''/''Jagat'': the empirical world, ever-changing physical universe, body and matter

Brahman / Ishvara – Conceptions of the Supreme Reality

Shankara, in formulating Advaita, talks of two conceptions of ''Brahman'': The higher ''Brahman'' as undifferentiated Being, and a lower ''Brahman'' endowed with qualities as the creator of the universe.
* ''Parā'' or Higher ''Brahman'': The undifferentiated, absolute, infinite, transcendental, supra-relational Brahman beyond all thought and speech is defined as ''parā'' ''Brahman'', ''nirviśeṣa'' Brahman or ''nirguṇa'' Brahman and is the Absolute of metaphysics.
* ''Aparā'' or Lower ''Brahman'': The ''Brahman'' with qualities defined as ''aparā'' ''Brahman'' or ''saguṇa'' ''Brahman''. The ''saguṇa'' ''Brahman'' is endowed with attributes and represents the personal God of religion.

Ramanuja, in formulating Vishishtadvaita Vedanta, rejects ''nirguṇa'' – that the undifferentiated Absolute is inconceivable – and adopts a theistic interpretation of the ''Upanishads'', accepts ''Brahman'' as ''Ishvara'', the personal God who is the seat of all auspicious attributes, as the One reality. The God of Vishishtadvaita is accessible to the devotee, yet remains the Absolute, with differentiated attributes.

Madhva, in expounding Dvaita philosophy, maintains that ''Vishnu'' is the supreme God, thus identifying the ''Brahman'', or absolute reality, of the ''Upanishads'' with a personal god, as Ramanuja had done before him. Nimbarka, in his dvaitadvata philosophy, accepted the ''Brahman'' both as ''nirguṇa'' and as ''saguṇa''. Vallabha, in his shuddhadvaita philosophy, not only accepts the triple ontological essence of the ''Brahman'', but also His manifestation as personal God (''Ishvara''), as matter and as individual souls.

Relation between Brahman and Jiva / Atman

The schools of Vedanta differ in their conception of the relation they see between ''Ātman'' / ''Jivātman'' and ''Brahman'' / ''Ishvara'':
* According to Advaita Vedanta, ''Ātman'' is identical with ''Brahman'' and there is no difference.
* According to Vishishtadvaita, ''Jīvātman'' is different from ''Ishvara'', though eternally connected with Him as His mode. The oneness of the Supreme Reality is understood in the sense of an organic unity (''vishistaikya''). ''Brahman'' / ''Ishvara'' alone, as organically related to all ''Jīvātman'' and the material universe is the one Ultimate Reality.
* According to Dvaita, the ''Jīvātman'' is totally and always different from ''Brahman'' / ''Ishvara''.
* According to Shuddhadvaita (pure monism), the ''Jīvātman'' and ''Brahman'' are identical; both, along with the changing empirically observed universe being Krishna.

Epistemology

Pramana

''Pramāṇa'' ( Sanskrit: प्रमाण) literally means "proof", "that which is the means of valid knowledge". It refers to epistemology in Indian philosophies, and encompasses the study of reliable and valid means by which human beings gain accurate, true knowledge. The focus of Pramana is the manner in which correct knowledge can be acquired, how one knows or does not know, and to what extent knowledge pertinent about someone or something can be acquired. Ancient and medieval Indian texts identify six ''pramanas'' as correct means of accurate knowledge and truths:
# ''Pratyakṣa'' (perception)
# ''Anumāṇa'' (inference)
# '' Upamāṇa'' (comparison and analogy)
# ''Arthāpatti'' (postulation, derivation from circumstances)
# ''Anupalabdi'' (non-perception, negative/cognitive proof)
# '' Śabda'' (scriptural testimony/ verbal testimony of past or present reliable experts).
The different schools of Vedanta have historically disagreed as to which of the six are epistemologically valid. For example, while Advaita Vedanta accepts all six ''pramanas'', Vishishtadvaita and Dvaita accept only three ''pramanas'' (perception, inference and testimony).

Advaita considers ''Pratyakṣa'' (perception) as the most reliable source of knowledge, and '' Śabda'', the scriptural evidence, is considered secondary except for matters related to Brahman, where it is the only evidence. In Vishistadvaita and Dvaita, '' Śabda'', the scriptural testimony, is considered the most authentic means of knowledge instead.

Theories of cause and effect

All schools of Vedanta subscribe to the theory of ''Satkāryavāda'', which means that the effect is pre-existent in the cause. But there are two different views on the status of the "effect", that is, the world. Most schools of Vedanta, as well as Samkhya, support '' Parinamavada'', the idea that the world is a real transformation (''parinama'') of Brahman. According to , "the ''Brahma Sutras'' espouse the realist Parinamavada position, which appears to have been the view most common among early Vedantins". In contrast to Badarayana, Adi Shankara and Advaita Vedantists hold a different view, '' Vivartavada'', which says that the effect, the world, is merely an unreal (''vivarta'') transformation of its cause, Brahman.

Overview of the main schools of Vedanta

The ''Upanishads'' present an associative philosophical inquiry in the form of identifying various doctrines and then presenting arguments for or against them. They form the basic texts and Vedanta interprets them through rigorous philosophical exegesis to defend the point of view of their specific ''sampradaya''. Varying interpretations of the ''Upanishads'' and their synthesis, the '' Brahma Sutras'', led to the development of different schools of Vedanta over time.

Vinayak Sakaram Ghate of Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute has done a comparative analysis of the Brahma Sutra commentaries of Nimbarka, Ramanuja, Vallabha, Adi Shankara and Madhvacharya in detail and has written the conclusion that Nimbarka's and Ramanuja's balanced commentaries give the closest meaning of the Brahma_Sutras taking into account of both kinds of Sutras, those which speak of oneness and those which speak of difference. According to Gavin Flood, while Advaita Vedanta is the "most famous" school of Vedanta, and "often, mistakenly, taken to be the only representative of Vedantic thought," and Shankara a Saivite, "Vedanta is essentially a Vaisnava theological articulation," a discourse broadly within the parameters of Vaisnavism." Within the Vaishnava traditions four ''sampradays'' have special status, while different scholars have classified the Vedanta schools ranging from three to six as prominent ones.
# ''Bhedabheda'', as early as the 7th century CE, or even the 4th century CE. Some scholars are inclined to consider it as a "tradition" rather than a school of Vedanta.
#* '' Dvaitādvaita'' or ''Svabhavikabhedabheda'' (Vaishnava), founded by Nimbarka in the 7th century CE
#* '' Achintya Bheda Abheda'' (Vaishnava), founded by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1534 CE), propagated by Gaudiya Vaishnava
# ''Advaita'' (monistic), many scholars of which most prominent are Gaudapada (~500 CE) and Adi Shankaracharya (8th century CE)
# ''Vishishtadvaita'' (Vaishnava), prominent scholars are Nathamuni, Yāmuna and Ramanuja (1017–1137 CE)
#* '' Akshar-Purushottam Darshan'', based on the teachings of Swaminarayan (1781-1830 CE) and rooted in Ramanuja's ''Vishishtadvaita''; propagated most notably by BAPS
# '' Tattvavada ( Dvaita)'' (Vaishnava), founded by Madhvacharya (1199–1278 CE). The prominent scholars are Jayatirtha (1345-1388 CE), and Vyasatirtha (1460–1539 CE)
# ''Suddhadvaita'' (Vaishnava), founded by Vallabha (1479–1531 CE)

Bhedabheda Vedanta (difference and non-difference)

Bhedābheda means "difference and non-difference" and is more a tradition than a school of Vedanta. The schools of this tradition emphasize that the individual self (''Jīvatman'') is both different and not different from ''Brahman''. Notable figures in this school are Bhartriprapancha, Nimbārka (7th century) who founded the Dvaitadvaita school, Bhāskara (8th–9th century), Ramanuja's teacher Yādavaprakāśa, Chaitanya (1486–1534) who founded the Achintya Bheda Abheda school, and Vijñānabhikṣu (16th century).

Dvaitādvaita Vedanta

Nimbārka (7th century) sometimes identified with Bhāskara, propounded '' Dvaitādvaita''. ''Brahman'' (God), souls ''(chit)'' and matter or the universe ''(achit)'' are considered as three equally real and co-eternal realities. ''Brahman'' is the controller ''(niyanta)'', the soul is the enjoyer ''(bhokta)'', and the material universe is the object enjoyed ''(bhogya)''. The Brahman is ''Krishna'', the ultimate cause who is omniscient, omnipotent, all-pervading Being. He is the efficient cause of the universe because, as Lord of ''Karma'' and internal ruler of souls, He brings about creation so that the souls can reap the consequences of their ''karma''. God is considered to be the material cause of the universe because creation was a manifestation of His powers of soul ''(chit)'' and matter ''(achit)''; creation is a transformation ''(parinama)'' of God's powers. He can be realized only through a constant effort to merge oneself with His nature through meditation and devotion.

Achintya-Bheda-Abheda Vedanta

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486 – 1533) was the prime exponent of ''Achintya-Bheda-Abheda''. In Sanskrit ''achintya'' means 'inconceivable'. ''Achintya-Bheda-Abheda'' represents the philosophy of "inconceivable difference in non-difference", in relation to the non-dual reality of ''Brahman''-''Atman'' which it calls (''Krishna''), ''svayam bhagavan''. The notion of "inconceivability" (''acintyatva'') is used to reconcile apparently contradictory notions in Upanishadic teachings. This school asserts that ''Krishna'' is '' Bhagavan'' of the ''bhakti yogins'', the ''Brahman'' of the ''jnana yogins'', and has a divine potency that is inconceivable. He is all-pervading and thus in all parts of the universe (non-difference), yet he is inconceivably more (difference). This school is at the foundation of the '' Gaudiya Vaishnava'' religious tradition. The ISKCON or the Hare Krishnas also affiliate to this school of Vedanta Philosophy.

Advaita Vedanta (non-dualism)

Advaita Vedanta ( IAST '; Sanskrit: अद्वैत वेदान्त), propounded by Gaudapada (7th century) and Adi Shankara (8th century), espouses non-dualism and monism. ''Brahman'' is held to be the sole unchanging metaphysical reality and identical to the individual ''Atman''. The physical world, on the other hand, is always-changing empirical ''Maya''. The absolute and infinite ''Atman''-''Brahman'' is realized by a process of negating everything relative, finite, empirical and changing.

The school accepts no duality, no limited individual souls (''Atman'' / ''Jivatman''), and no separate unlimited cosmic soul. All souls and their existence across space and time are considered to be the same oneness. Spiritual liberation in ''Advaita'' is the full comprehension and realization of oneness, that one's unchanging ''Atman'' (soul) is the same as the ''Atman'' in everyone else, as well as being identical to ''Brahman''.

Vishishtadvaita Vedanta (qualified non-dualism)

''Vishishtadvaita'', propounded by Ramanuja (11–12th century), asserts that ''Jivatman'' (human souls) and ''Brahman'' (as ''Vishnu'') are different, a difference that is never transcended. With this qualification, Ramanuja also affirmed monism by saying that there is unity of all souls and that the individual soul has the potential to realize identity with the ''Brahman''. ''Vishishtadvaita'', like ''Advaita'', is a non-dualistic school of Vedanta in a qualified way, and both begin by assuming that all souls can hope for and achieve the state of blissful liberation. On the relation between the ''Brahman'' and the world of matter (''Prakriti''), ''Vishishtadvaita'' states both are two different absolutes, both metaphysically true and real, neither is false or illusive, and that ''saguna'' ''Brahman'' with attributes is also real. Ramanuja states that God, like man, has both soul and body, and the world of matter is the glory of God's body. The path to ''Brahman'' (''Vishnu''), according to Ramanuja, is devotion to godliness and constant remembrance of the beauty and love of the personal god ('' bhakti'' of ''saguna'' ''Brahman'').

Swaminarayan Darshana

The Swaminarayan Darshana, also called Akshar Purushottam Darshan by the BAPS, was propounded by Swaminarayan (1781-1830 CE) and is rooted in Ramanuja's ''Vishishtadvaita''. It asserts that Parabrahman (Purushottam, Narayana) and Aksharbrahman are two distinct eternal realities. Adherents believe that they can achieve moksha, or freedom from the cycle of birth and death, by becoming aksharrup (or brahmarup), that is, by attaining qualities similar to Akshar (or Aksharbrahman) and worshipping Purushottam (or Parabrahman; the supreme living entity; God).

Tattvavada Vedanta (Dvaita)(dualism)

Tattvavada, propounded by Madhvacharya (13th century), is based on the premise of realism or realistic point of view. The term Dvaita which means dualism was later applied to Madhvacharya's philosophy. ''Atman'' (soul) and ''Brahman'' (as ''Vishnu'') are understood as two completely different entities. ''Brahman'' is the creator of the universe, perfect in knowledge, perfect in knowing, perfect in its power, and distinct from souls, distinct from matter. In ''Dvaita'' Vedanta, an individual soul must feel attraction, love, attachment and complete devotional surrender to ''Vishnu'' for salvation, and it is only His grace that leads to redemption and salvation. Madhva believed that some souls are eternally doomed and damned, a view not found in ''Advaita'' and ''Vishishtadvaita'' Vedanta. While the ''Vishishtadvaita'' Vedanta asserted "qualitative monism and quantitative pluralism of souls", Madhva asserted both "qualitative and quantitative pluralism of souls".

Shuddhādvaita Vedanta (pure nondualism)

Shuddhadvaita (pure non-dualism), propounded by Vallabhacharya (1479–1531 CE), states that the entire universe is real and is subtly ''Brahman'' only in the form of ''Krishna''. Vallabhacharya agreed with Advaita Vedanta's ontology, but emphasized that ''prakriti'' (empirical world, body) is not separate from the ''Brahman'', but just another manifestation of the latter. Everything, everyone, everywhere – soul and body, living and non-living, ''jiva'' and matter – is the eternal ''Krishna''. The way to ''Krishna'', in this school, is '' bhakti''. Vallabha opposed renunciation of monistic ''sannyasa'' as ineffective and advocates the path of devotion (''bhakti'') rather than knowledge (''jnana''). The goal of ''bhakti'' is to turn away from ego, self-centered-ness and deception, and to turn towards the eternal ''Krishna'' in everything continually offering freedom from '' samsara''.

History

The history of Vedanta can be divided into two periods: one prior to the composition of the ''Brahma Sutras'' and the other encompassing the schools that developed after the ''Brahma Sutras'' were written. Until the 11th century, Vedanta was a peripheral school of thought.

Before the ''Brahma Sutras'' (before the 5th century)

Little is known of schools of Vedanta existing before the composition of the ''Brahma Sutras'' (400–450 CE).. "... we can take it that 400-450 is the period during which the Brahma-sūtra was compiled in its extant form." It is clear that Badarayana, the writer of ''Brahma Sutras'', was not the first person to systematize the teachings of the ''Upanishads'', as he quotes six Vedantic teachers before him – Ashmarathya, Badari, Audulomi, Kashakrtsna, Karsnajini and Atreya. References to other early Vedanta teachers – Brahmadatta, Sundara, Pandaya, Tanka and Dravidacharya – are found in secondary literature of later periods. The works of these ancient teachers have not survived, but based on the quotes attributed to them in later literature, Sharma postulates that Ashmarathya and Audulomi were Bhedabheda scholars, Kashakrtsna and Brahmadatta were Advaita scholars, while Tanka and Dravidacharya were either Advaita or Vishistadvaita scholars.

''Brahma Sutras'' (completed in the 5th century)

Badarayana summarized and interpreted teachings of the ''Upanishads'' in the '' Brahma Sutras'', also called the ''Vedanta Sutra'', possibly "written from a Bhedābheda Vedāntic viewpoint." Badarayana summarized the teachings of the classical Upanishads and refuted the rival philosophical schools in ancient India. The Brahma Sutras laid the basis for the development of Vedanta philosophy.

Though attributed to Badarayana, the Brahma Sutras were likely composed by multiple authors over the course of hundreds of years. The estimates on when the Brahma Sutras were complete vary, with Nakamura in 1989 and Nicholson in his 2013 review stating, that they were most likely compiled in the present form around 400–450 CE. Isaeva suggests they were complete and in current form by 200 CE, while Nakamura states that "the great part of the ''Sutra'' must have been in existence much earlier than that" (800 - 500 BCE).

The book is composed of four chapters, each divided into four-quarters or sections. These sutras attempt to synthesize the diverse teachings of the Upanishads. However, the cryptic nature of aphorisms of the ''Brahma Sutras'' have required exegetical commentaries. These commentaries have resulted in the formation of numerous Vedanta schools, each interpreting the texts in its own way and producing its own commentary.

Between the ''Brahma Sutras'' and Adi Shankara (5th–8th centuries)

Little with specificity is known of the period between the ''Brahma Sutras'' (5th century CE) and Adi Shankara (8th century CE). Only two writings of this period have survived: the ''Vākyapadīya'', written by Bhartṛhari (second half 5th century,) and the ''Kārikā'' written by Gaudapada (early 6th or 7th century CE).

Shankara mentions 99 different predecessors of his school in his commentaries. A number of important early Vedanta thinkers have been listed in the ''Siddhitraya'' by Yamunācārya (c. 1050), the ''Vedārthasamgraha'' by Rāmānuja (c. 1050–1157), and the ''Yatīndramatadīpikā'' by Śrīnivāsa Dāsa. At least fourteen thinkers are known to have existed between the composition of the Brahma Sutras and Shankara's lifetime.

A noted scholar of this period was Bhartriprapancha. Bhartriprapancha maintained that the Brahman is one and there is unity, but that this unity has varieties. Scholars see Bhartriprapancha as an early philosopher in the line who teach the tenet of Bhedabheda.

Gaudapada, Adi Shankara (Advaita Vedanta) (6th–9th centuries)

Influenced by Buddhism, Advaita vedanta departs from the bhedabheda-philosophy, instead postulating the identity of ''Atman'' with the Whole (''Brahman''),

Gaudapada

Gaudapada (c. 6th century CE), was the teacher or a more distant predecessor of Govindapada, the teacher of Adi Shankara. Shankara is widely considered as the apostle of Advaita Vedanta. Gaudapada's treatise, the ' – also known as the ' or the ' – is the earliest surviving complete text on Advaita Vedanta.

Gaudapada's ' relied on the Mandukya, Brihadaranyaka and Chhandogya ''Upanishads''. In the ', Advaita (non-dualism) is established on rational grounds (''upapatti'') independent of scriptural revelation; its arguments are devoid of all religious, mystical or scholastic elements. Scholars are divided on a possible influence of Buddhism on Gaudapada's philosophy. The fact that Shankara, in addition to the '' Brahma Sutras'', the principal ''Upanishads'' and the '' Bhagvad Gita'', wrote an independent commentary on the ' proves its importance in literature.

Adi Shankara

Adi Shankara (788–820), elaborated on Gaudapada's work and more ancient scholarship to write detailed commentaries on the Prasthanatrayi and the '. The Mandukya Upanishad and the ' have been described by Shankara as containing "the epitome of the substance of the import of Vedanta". It was Shankara who integrated Gaudapada work with the ancient ''Brahma Sutras'', "and give it a ''locus classicus''" alongside the realistic strain of the ''Brahma Sutras''.

A noted contemporary of Shankara was Maṇḍana Miśra, who regarded Mimamsa and Vedanta as forming a single system and advocated their combination known as ''Karma-jnana-samuchchaya-vada''. The treatise on the differences between the Vedanta school and the Mimamsa school was a contribution of Adi Shankara. Advaita Vedanta rejects rituals in favor of renunciation, for example.

Early Vaishnavism Vedanta (7th–9th centuries)

Early Vaishnava Vedanta retains the tradition of ''bhedabheda'', equating Brahman with Vishnu or Krishna.

Nimbārka and Dvaitādvaita

Nimbārka (7th century) sometimes identified with Bhāskara, propounded '' Dvaitādvaita'' or Bhedābheda.

Bhāskara and Upadhika

Bhāskara (8th–9th century) also taught Bhedabheda. In postulating ''Upadhika'', he considers both identity and difference to be equally real. As the causal principle, ''Brahman'' is considered non-dual and formless pure being and intelligence. The same ''Brahman'', manifest as events, becomes the world of plurality. ' is ''Brahman'' limited by the mind. Matter and its limitations are considered real, not a manifestation of ignorance. Bhaskara advocated ''bhakti'' as ''dhyana'' (meditation) directed toward the transcendental ''Brahman''. He refuted the idea of ''Maya'' and denied the possibility of liberation in bodily existence.

Vaishnavism Bhakti Vedanta (11th–16th centuries)

The Bhakti movement of late medieval Hinduism started in the 7th century, but rapidly expanded after the 12th century. It was supported by the Puranic literature such as the Bhagavata Purana, poetic works, as well as many scholarly bhasyas and samhitas

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases