Advaita Philosophy

Advaita Vedanta (अद्वैत वेदान्त, pronounced as "ədvaitə vé:dα:ntə") is probably the best known of all Vedanta schools of philosophy of Hinduism , the others beingDvaita and Vishishtadvaita (total six). "Advaita" literally means "not two", and is often called a monistic or non-dualistic system which essentially refers to the indivisibility of the Self ( Atman ) from the Whole ( Brahman ). The key texts from which all Vedanta (lit., end or the goal of the Vedas) texts draw are the Upanishads (twelve or thirteen in particular), which are usually at the end of the Veda s, and the Brahma Sutra s (also known as Vedanta Sutra s), which in turn discuss the essence of the Upanishad s.

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Adi Sankara: The Pillar of Advaita

The first person to consolidate the principles of Advaita was Adi Sankara (आदि शंकर, pronounced as "α:di shənkərə", 788 - 820 CE, i.e., 788-820 AD). He is also known as Śankarāchārya (शंकराचार्य, pronounced as "shənkərα:chα:ryə"). Continuing the line of thought of some of the Upanishad ic teachers, and also that of his own teacher's teacher Gaudapada , Sankara expounded the doctrine of Advaita — a nondualistic reality. According to Advaitins (followers of Advaita), Sankara exposed the relative nature of the world and established the supreme truth of the Advaita by analysing the three states of experience — being awake (vaishvanara), dreaming (swapna), and being in deep sleep (sushupti). The supreme truth of the Advaita is said to be the non-dual reality of Brahman , in which atman (the individual soul) and Brahman (the Supreme Consciousness) are identified absolutely. ( Brahman is not to be confused with Brahma , the Creator and one-third of the Trimurtialong with Shiva , the Destroyer and Vishnu , the Preserver.)