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Advaita Vedanta is a Hindu sādhanā, a path of spiritual discipline and experience, and the oldest extant tradition of the orthodox Hindu school Vedānta. The term Advaita refers to the idea that Brahman alone is ultimately real, while the transient phenomenal world is an illusory appearance (maya) of Brahman. In this view, jivatman, the experiencing self, is ultimately non-different from Ātman-Brahman, the highest Self or Reality. The jivatman or individual self is a mere reflection or limitation of singular Ātman in a multitude of apparent individual bodies.
Vishishtadvaita, is a highly regarded school of Hindu philosophy belonging to the Vedanta tradition. Vedanta refers to the profound interpretation of the Vedas based on Prasthanatrayi. Vishishta Advaita, meaning "non-duality with distinctions", is a non-dualistic philosophy that recognizes Brahman as the supreme reality while also acknowledging its multiplicity. This philosophy can be characterized as a form of qualified monism, attributive monism, or qualified non-dualism. It upholds the belief that all diversity ultimately stems from a fundamental underlying unity.
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The Brahma Sūtras are a Sanskrit text, attributed to the sages Bādarāyaṇa and Vyāsa, estimated to have been completed in its surviving form in approx. 400–450 CE, while the original version might be ancient and composed between 600 BCE and 200 BCE. The text systematizes and summarizes the philosophical and spiritual ideas in the Upanishads. The scholar Adi Shankara's interpretation of the Brahmasutra attempted to synthesize diverse and sometimes apparently conflicting teachings of the Upanishads by arguing, as John Koller states: "that Brahman and Atman are, in some respects, different, but, at the deepest level, non-different (advaita), being identical." This view of Vedanta, however, was not universal in Indic thought, and other commentators later held differing views. It is one of the foundational texts of the Vedānta school of Hindu philosophy.
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Pariṇāmavāda, known in English as Transformation theory, is a Hindu philosophical theory which pre-supposes the cause to be continually transforming itself into its effects, and it has three variations – the Satkarya-vada of the Samkhyas, the Prakrti Parinama-vada of the Saiva Siddhanta and the Brahma-Parinama-vada of the Vishishtadvaita Vedanta School of Thought.
Abhasavada is the term derived from the word Abhasa meaning mere or fallacious appearance, reflection, looking like, light, semblance of reason, intention. In Hindu philosophy this term refers to the Theory of Appearance, both of the Shaivite school and the Advaita Vedanta, though with differing connotations.
The Samkhya school of philosophy, which follows Prakṛti Parinama-vada, describes the origination and evolution of universe through its theory of Satkāryavāda which is the theory of causation. According to this theory, the manifested effect is pre-existent in the cause; and the original material cause of everything that is perceived is Prakriti. When Prakriti is not in proximity with immutable Purusha, the conscious ability (chiti-shakti), the three modes of prakriti are in equipoise and prakriti is an unmanifest potential. When the conscious ability and the objective ability interact the three modes of the objective nature become disturbed and enter a state of flux giving rise to diverse manifest appearance.
Advaita Vedanta and Mahayana Buddhism share significant similarities. Those similarities have attracted Indian and Western scholars attention, and have also been criticised by concurring schools. The similarities have been interpreted as Buddhist influences on Advaita Vedanta, though some deny such influences, or see them as expressions of the same eternal truth.
Advaita Vedānta is the oldest extant tradition of Vedānta, and one of the six orthodox (āstika) Hindu philosophies. Its history may be traced back to the start of the Common Era, but takes clear shape in the 6th-7th century CE, with the seminal works of Gaudapada, Maṇḍana Miśra, and Shankara, who is considered by tradition and Orientalist Indologists to be the most prominent exponent of the Advaita Vedānta, though the historical fame and cultural influence of Shankara grew only centuries later, particularly during the era of the Muslim invasions and consequent reign of the Indian subcontinent. The living Advaita Vedānta tradition in medieval times was influenced by, and incorporated elements from, the yogic tradition and texts like the Yoga Vasistha and the Bhagavata Purana. In the 19th century, due to the interplay between western views and Indian nationalism, Advaita came to be regarded as the paradigmatic example of Hindu spirituality, despite the numerical dominance of theistic Bkakti-oriented religiosity. In modern times, its views appear in various Neo-Vedānta movements.
References
- ↑ King 1999, p. 221.
- ↑ King 1999, p. 220.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Nicholson 2010, p. 27.
- 1 2 Mayeda 2006, pp. 25–27.
- ↑ Hugh Nicholson 2011, pp. 266 note 20, 167–170.
- ↑ Hugh Nicholson 2011, p. 266 note 21.
- ↑ Andrew J. Nicholson. Unifying Hinduism: Philosophy and Identity in Indian Intellectual History . Columbia University Press. p. 48.
- ↑ Krishan Lal Kala (1985). The Literary Heritage of Kashmir. Mittal Publications. p. 278.
- ↑ Chen-chi Chang (1991). A Treasury of Mahayana Sutras. Motilal Banarsidass publishers. p. 246. ISBN 9788120809369.
- ↑ Devarshi Ramanath Shastri, “Shuddhadvaita Darshan (Vol.2)”, Published by Mota Mandir, Bhoiwada, Mumbai, India, 1917.
- ↑ “Brahmavād Saṅgraha”, Pub. Vaishnava Mitra Mandal Sarvajanik Nyasa, Indore, India, 2014.