Advaita Vedanta Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! === Modern Advaita === ==== Niścaldās and "Greater" Advaita ==== Michael S. Allen has written on the influence and popularity of Advaita Vedanta in early modern north India, especially on the work of the Advaita [[Dadu Dayal|Dādū-panthī]] monk [[Niścaldās]] (ca. 1791–1863), author of ''The Ocean of Inquiry'' (Hindi: Vicār-sāgar), a vernacular compendium of Advaita.{{sfn|Allen|2017}} According to Allen, the work of Niścaldās "was quite popular in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries: it was translated into over eight languages and was once referred to by Vivekananda as having 'more influence in India than any [book] that has been written in any language within the last three centuries.'"{{sfn|Allen|2017}} Allen highlights the widespread prominence in early modern India of what he calls "Greater Advaita Vedānta" which refers to popular Advaita works, including "narratives and dramas, “eclectic” works blending Vedānta with other traditions, and vernacular works such as ''The Ocean of Inquiry''."{{sfn|Allen|2017}} Allen refers to several popular late figures and texts which draw on Advaita Vedanta, such as the Maharashtrian sant [[Eknath|Eknāth]] (16th c.), the popular ''[[Adhyatma Ramayana|Adhyātma-rāmāyaṇa]]'' (ca. late 15th c.), which synthesizes Rama bhakti and advaita metaphysics and the ''[[Tripura Rahasya|Tripurā-rahasya]]'' (a tantric text that adopts an advaita metaphysics).{{sfn|Allen|2017}} Other important vernacular Advaita figures include the Hindu authors Manohardās and Māṇakdās (who wrote the Ātma-bodh). Advaita literature was also written in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi, Gujarati, Hindi, Punjabi, Bengali, and Oriya.{{sfn|Allen|2017}} ====Neo-Vedanta==== [[File:MKGandhi.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Mahatma Gandhi]] stated "I am an advaitist".<ref name=jordens116>{{cite book|author=J. Jordens|title=Gandhi's Religion: A Homespun Shawl|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ELODDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA116|year=1998|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-0-230-37389-1|page=116}}</ref><ref name=long194>{{cite book|author=Jeffrey D. Long|editor=Rita Sherma and Arvind Sharma|title=Hermeneutics and Hindu Thought: Toward a Fusion of Horizons|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x4eXRvwyvtMC&pg=PA194|year=2008|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-1-4020-8192-7|page=194|access-date=1 June 2017|archive-date=21 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230721073153/https://books.google.com/books?id=x4eXRvwyvtMC&pg=PA194|url-status=live}}</ref>]] {{Main|Neo-Vedanta|Hindu nationalism}} According to King, with the consolidation of the British imperialist rule the new rulers started to view Indians through the "colonially crafted lenses" of [[Orientalism]]. In response Hindu nationalism emerged, striving for socio-political independence and countering the influence of Christian missionaries.{{sfn|King|2002|pp=107–109}} Among the colonial era intelligentsia the monistic Advaita Vedānta has been a major ideological force for Hindu nationalism,<ref>{{cite book|author=Anshuman A Mondal|title=Nationalism and Post-Colonial Identity: Culture and Ideology in India and Egypt|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Rw2CAgAAQBAJ |year= 2004|publisher= Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-49417-0|pages=85, 256}}</ref> with Hindu intellectuals formulating a "humanistic, inclusivist" response, now called Neo-Vedānta, attempting to respond to this colonial stereotyping of "Indian culture [as] backward, superstitious and inferior to the West."{{sfn|King|2002|pp=136–138}} Due to the influence of Vidyaranya's [[Sarva-Darsana-Sangraha|''Sarvadarśanasaṅgraha'']], early Indologists regarded Advaita Vedanta as the most accurate interpretation of the Upanishads.{{sfn|Nicholson|2010|pp=160}} Vedānta came to be regarded, both by westerners as by Indian nationalists, as the essence of Hinduism, and Advaita Vedānta came to be regarded as "then paradigmatic example of the mystical nature of the Hindu religion" and umbrella of "inclusivism".{{sfn|King|2002|pp=107–109, 128}} Colonial era Indian thinkers, such as [[Vivekananda]], presented Advaita Vedānta as an inclusive universal religion, a spirituality that in part helped organize a religiously infused identity. It also aided the rise of Hindu nationalism as a counter weight to Islam-infused Muslim communitarian organizations such as the [[All-India Muslim League|Muslim League]], to Christianity-infused colonial orientalism and to religious persecution of those belonging to Indian religions.<ref>{{cite book|author=Brian Morris|title=Religion and Anthropology: A Critical Introduction|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PguGB_uEQh4C&pg=PA142|year=2006|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-85241-8|pages=112, 141–144|access-date=29 January 2017|archive-date=16 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240116180154/https://books.google.com/books?id=PguGB_uEQh4C&pg=PA142#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=gaborieau7/><ref>{{cite book|author=Thomas Blom Hansen|title=The Saffron Wave: Democracy and Hindu Nationalism in Modern India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SAqn3OIGE54C|year=1999|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-0691006710|pages=76–77, 91–92, 179–181, 44–47, 69–70|access-date=29 January 2017|archive-date=16 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240116180224/https://books.google.com/books?id=SAqn3OIGE54C|url-status=live}}</ref> Neo-Vedānta subsumed and incorporated Buddhist ideas thereby making the [[Buddha]] a part of the Vedānta tradition, all in an attempt to reposition the history of Indian culture.{{sfn|King|2002|pp=136–138, 141–142}} This view on Advaita Vedānta, according to King, "provided an opportunity for the construction of a nationalist ideology that could unite Hindus in their struggle against colonial oppression".{{sfn|King|2002|pp=132–133, 172}} Vivekananda discerned a [[Universalism|universal religion]], regarding all the apparent differences between various traditions as various manifestations of one truth.{{sfn|Rambachan|1994|pp=91–92}} Vivekananda emphasised ''nirvikalpa'' [[samadhi]] as the spiritual goal of Vedānta, he equated it to the liberation in [[Yoga]] and encouraged Yoga practice which he called ''Raja yoga''.<ref>{{cite book|author=Rabindra Kumar Dasgupta|title=Swami Vivekananda on Indian philosophy and literature|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U4LXAAAAMAAJ|year=1996|publisher=Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture|isbn=978-81-85843-81-0|pages=145–146, 284–285|access-date=29 January 2017|archive-date=16 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240116190113/https://books.google.com/books?id=U4LXAAAAMAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>{{refn|group=note|According to Comans, this approach is missing in historic Advaita texts.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Comans | first=Michael | s2cid=170870115 | title=The Question of the Importance of Samadhi in Modern and Classical Advaita Vedanta | journal=Philosophy East and West | publisher=University of Hawai'i Press | volume=43 | issue=1 | year=1993 | pages=19–38 | doi=10.2307/1399467 | jstor=1399467 }}</ref>}} With the efforts of [[Swami Vivekananda|Vivekananda]], modern formulations of Advaita Vedānta have "become a dominant force in Indian intellectual thought", though Hindu beliefs and practices are diverse.{{sfn|King|2002|p=135}} [[Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan]], first a professor at Oxford University and later a President of India, further popularized Advaita Vedānta, presenting it as the essence of Hinduism.<ref group=web name="IEP" /> According to Michael Hawley, Radhakrishnan saw other religions, as well as "what Radhakrishnan understands as lower forms of Hinduism," as interpretations of Advaita Vedānta, thereby "in a sense Hindusizing all religions".<ref group=web name="IEP" /> Radhakrishnan metaphysics was grounded in Advaita Vedānta, but he reinterpreted Advaita Vedānta for contemporary needs and context.<ref group=web name="IEP">{{Cite web |url=http://www.iep.utm.edu/radhakri/#H2 |title=Michael Hawley, ''Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1888—1975)'', Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy |access-date=9 June 2014 |archive-date=12 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190712171420/https://www.iep.utm.edu/radhakri/#H2 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{refn|group=note|name=bhedabheda|Neo-Vedanta seems to be closer to [[Bhedabheda|Bhedabheda-Vedanta]] than to Shankara's Advaita Vedanta, with the acknowledgement 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 Divine'', declares that he has moved from Sankara's "universal illusionism" to his own "universal realism" (2005: 432), defined as metaphysical realism in the European philosophical sense of the term."<ref>{{Cite journal |first =Nicholas F. |last =Gier |year=2012 |title=Overreaching to be different: A critique of Rajiv Malhotra's Being Different |journal=[[International Journal of Hindu Studies]] |volume=16 |issue=3 |pages=259–285 | doi =10.1007/s11407-012-9127-x|s2cid =144711827}}</ref>}} Mahatma Gandhi declared his allegiance to Advaita Vedānta, and was another popularizing force for its ideas.<ref>{{cite book|first=Nicholas F.|last=Gier|year=2004|title=The Virtue of Nonviolence: From Gautama to Gandhi|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tVLt99uleLwC&pg=PA40|publisher=State University of New York Press|isbn=978-0-7914-5949-2|pages=40–42|access-date=1 June 2017|archive-date=21 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230721073707/https://books.google.com/books?id=tVLt99uleLwC&pg=PA40|url-status=live}}</ref> ====Contemporary Advaita Vedānta==== Contemporary teachers are the orthodox [[Jagadguru of Sringeri Sharada Peetham]]; the more traditional teachers [[Sivananda Saraswati]] (1887–1963), [[Chinmayananda Saraswati]] (1916-1993),<ref group=web name="AV_Teachers" /> [[Dayananda Saraswati (Arsha Vidya)]] (1930-2015), Swami Paramarthananda, Swami Tattvavidananda Sarasvati, Carol Whitfield (Radha), Sri Vasudevacharya (previously Michael Comans) <ref group=web name="AV_Teachers" /> and less traditional teachers such as [[Narayana Guru]].<ref group=web name="AV_Teachers">{{Cite web |url=http://www.advaita.org.uk/teachers/teachers.htm |title=Advaita Vision, ''teachers'' |access-date=6 April 2015 |archive-date=29 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220129032833/http://www.advaita.org.uk/teachers/teachers.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> According to Sangeetha Menon, prominent names in 20th century Advaita tradition are [[Chandrashekhara Bharati III|Shri Chandrashekhara Bharati Mahaswami]], [[Chandrashekarendra Saraswati|Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Swamigal]], [[Satchidanandendra Saraswati|Sacchidānandendra Saraswati]].<ref group=web name="Menon">{{Cite web |url=http://www.iep.utm.edu/adv-veda/ |title=Sangeetha Menon (2007), ''Advaita Vedānta'', Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy |access-date=30 January 2013 |archive-date=26 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626101653/http://www.iep.utm.edu/adv-veda/ |url-status=live }}</ref> ====Influence on new religious movements==== Advaita Vedānta has gained attention in western [[spirituality]] and [[New Age]] as [[Nonduality (spirituality)|nondualism]], where [[Perennial philosophy|various traditions]] are seen as driven by the same non-dual experience.{{sfn|Katz|2007}} Nonduality points to "a primordial, natural awareness without subject or object".<ref group=web name="Undivided">{{Cite web |url=http://undividedjournal.com/about-the-journal/ |title=Undivided Journal, ''About the Journal'' |access-date=30 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180823200254/http://undividedjournal.com/about-the-journal/ |archive-date=23 August 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref> It is also used to refer to interconnectedness, "the sense that all things are interconnected and not separate, while at the same time all things retain their individuality".<ref group=web name="whatisnond">{{Cite web |url=http://nonduality.org/what-is-nonduality/ |title=Jerry Katz on Nonduality, "What is Nonduality?" |access-date=30 January 2013 |archive-date=6 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106211636/https://nonduality.org/what-is-nonduality/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Neo-Advaita]] is a [[new religious movement]] based on a popularised, western interpretation of Advaita Vedānta and the teachings of [[Ramana Maharshi]].{{sfn|Lucas|2011}} Notable neo-advaita teachers are [[H. W. L. Poonja]],{{sfn|Caplan|2009|pp=16–17}}{{sfn|Lucas|2011}} his students [[Gangaji]]{{sfn|Lucas|2011|pp=102–105}} [[Andrew Cohen (spiritual teacher)|Andrew Cohen]]{{refn|group=note|Presently Cohen has distanced himself from Poonja, and calls his teachings "Evolutionary Enlightenment".{{sfn|Gleig|2011|p=10}} ''What Is Enlightenment'', the magazine published by Choen's organisation, has been critical of neo-Advaita several times, as early as 2001. See.<ref group=web>[https://archive.today/20130414172435/http://www.enlightennext.org/magazine/j22/stacey.asp?page=1 What is Enlightenment? 1 September 2006]</ref><ref group=web>[http://www.enlightennext.org/magazine/j20/editorial.asp What is Enlightenment? 31 December 2001] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130310124030/http://www.enlightennext.org/magazine/j20/editorial.asp |date=10 March 2013}}</ref><ref group=web>[https://archive.today/20130414151819/http://www.enlightennext.org/magazine/j31/translucent.asp?page=1 What is Enlightenment? 1 December 2005]</ref>}}, and [[Eckhart Tolle]].{{sfn|Lucas|2011}} Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). 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