Monism

=====Modern Hinduism=====
{{Main|Hindu reform movements}}
The colonisation of India by the British had a major impact on Hindu society.{{sfn|Michaels|2004}} In response, leading Hindu intellectuals started to study western culture and philosophy, integrating several western notions into Hinduism.{{sfn|Michaels|2004}} This modernised Hinduism, at its turn, has gained popularity in the west.{{sfn|Rambachan|1994}}

A major role was played in the 19th century by [[Swami Vivekananda]] in the [[Hindu reform movements|revival of Hinduism]],{{sfn|Dense|1999|p=191}} and the spread of Advaita Vedanta to the west via the [[Ramakrishna Mission]]. His interpretation of Advaita Vedanta has been called [[Neo-Vedanta]].{{sfn|Mukerji|1983}} In Advaita, Shankara suggests meditation and [[Nirvikalpa|Nirvikalpa Samadhi]] are means to gain knowledge of the already existing unity of ''Brahman'' and ''[[Ātman (Hinduism)|Atman]]'',{{sfn|Comans|1993}} not the highest goal itself:
{{blockquote|[Y]oga is a meditative exercise of withdrawal from the particular and identification with the universal, leading to contemplation of oneself as the most universal, namely, Consciousness. This approach is different from the classical Yoga of complete thought suppression.{{sfn|Comans|1993}}}}

Vivekananda, according to [[Gavin Flood]], was "a figure of great importance in the development of a modern Hindu self-understanding and in formulating the West's view of Hinduism."{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=257}} Central to his philosophy is the idea that the divine exists in all beings, that all human beings can achieve union with this "innate divinity",{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=258}} and that seeing this divine as the essence of others will further love and social harmony.{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=258}} According to Vivekananda, there is an essential unity to Hinduism, which underlies the diversity of its many forms.{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=258}} According to Flood, Vivekananda's view of Hinduism is the most common among Hindus today.{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=259}} This monism, according to Flood, is at the foundation of earlier Upanishads, to theosophy in the later Vedanta tradition and in modern Neo-Hinduism.{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=85}}