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! ==Notes== {{reflist|group=note|2|refs= <!-- B --> <!-- Brahman --> {{refn|group=note|name=Brahman|Highest self: * Shankara, ''Upadesasahasri'' I.18.3: "I am ever-free, the existent" (''[[Sat (Sanskrit)|Sat]]''). I.18.6: "The two [contradictory] notions "I am the Existent-''Brahman''" and "I act," have ''Atman'' as their witness. It is considered more reasonable to give up only [that one] of the two [notions] which arises from ignorance. I.18.7: "The notion, "I am the Existent," arises from right means of knowledge [while] the other notion has its origin in fallacious means of knowledge." ({{harvnb|Mayeda|1992|p=172}}) * ''Brahmajnanavalimala'' Verse 20: "Brahman is real, the universe is mithya (it cannot be categorized as either real or unreal). The jiva is Brahman itself and not different." Translation by S. N. Sastri [https://sanskritdocuments.org/sites/snsastri/brahmajnaanaavalimaalaa.pdf] * {{harvnb|Sivananda|1993|p=219}}: "Brahman (the Absolute) is alone real; this world is unreal; and the Jiva or individual soul is non-different from Brahman." * {{harvnb|Menon|2012}}: "The experiencing self (jīva) and the transcendental self of the Universe (ātman) are in reality identical (both are Brahman), though the individual self seems different as space within a container seems different from space as such. These cardinal doctrines are represented in the anonymous verse "brahma satyam jagan mithya; jīvo brahmaiva na aparah" (Brahman is alone True, and this world of plurality is an error; the individual self is not different from Brahman)." * {{harvnb|Deutsch|1973|p=54}}: "[the] essential status [of the individual human person] is that of unqualified reality, of identity with the Absolute [...] the self (''jiva'') is only misperceived: the self is really Brahman." * {{harvnb|Koller|2013|pp=100–101}}: "Atman, which is identical to Brahman, is ultimately the only reality and [...] the appearance of plurality is entirely the work of ignorance [...] the self is ultimately of the nature of Atman/Brahman [...] Brahman alone is ultimately real." * {{harvnb|Bowker|2000a|loc="Advaita Vedanta"}}: "There is only Brahman, which is necessarily undifferentiated. It follows that there cannot even be a difference, or duality, between the human subject, or self, and Brahman, for Brahman must be that very self (since Brahman is the reality underlying all appearance). The goal of human life and wisdom must, therefore, be the realization that the self (ātman) is Brahman." * {{harvtxt|Hacker|1995|p=88}} notes that Shankara uses two groups of words to denote 'atman': "One group - principally ''jiva'', ''vijnanatman'', and ''sarira'' - expresses the illusory aspect of the soul [...] But in addition there are the two expressions ''atman'' and ''pratyagatman''. These also designate the individual soul, but in its real aspect." {{Harvtxt|Mayeda|1992|pp=11, 14}} uses the word ''pratyagatman''; {{harvtxt|Sivananda1993|p=219}}, {{harvtxt|Deutsch|1973|p=54}}, and {{harvtxt|Menon|2012}} use the term ''jiva'' when referring to the identity of ''atman'' and ''Brahman''.}} <!-- Brahman_definitions --> {{refn|group=note|name=Brahman_definitions|Brahman is also defined as: * The unchanging, [[Infinity|infinite]], [[Immanence|immanent]], and [[transcendence (religion)|transcendent]] [[reality]] which is all [[matter]], [[energy]], [[time]], [[space]], [[being]], and everything beyond in this [[Universe]]; that is the one supreme, universal spirit without a second.({{harvtxt|Brodd|2003}}; {{harvtxt|Vachatimanont|2005|pp=47–48}}) * {{harvnb|Bowker|2003|loc="Brahman"}}: "(Skt., literally, 'growth' or 'expansion'). The one supreme, all pervading Spirit that is the origin and support of the [[Phenomenon|phenomenal]] universe." * {{harvnb|Puligandla|1997|p=222}} The supreme self. Puligandla states it as "the unchanging reality amidst and beyond the world." * The Self-existent, the Absolute and the Imperishable. Brahman is indescribable.{{harvnb|Fowler|2005|p=30}}: "''Upanisadic'' thought is anything but consistent; nevertheless, there is a common focus on the acceptance of a totally transcendent Absolute, a trend which arose in the ''Vedic'' period. This indescribable Absolute is called Brahman [...]."}} <!-- Brahman_immortal --> {{refn|group=note|name=Brahman_immortal|{{harvtxt|Potter|2008|p=136}}; see [[Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]] 2.51-14; [[Chandogya Upanishad]] 8.3.4.}} <!-- C --> <!-- Consciousness --> {{refn|group=note|name=Consciousness|For pure Consciousness, also included in the phrase [[sat-cit-ananda]], see {{harvnb|Mayeda|1992|p=103 (verse 1), p.105 (note 1); p.126, verse 7}}; {{harvnb|Deutsch|1973|pp=48–51}}; {{harvnb|Davis|2010|pp=34–35}}; {{harvnb|Rambachan|2006|pp=7, 99–103}}; {{harvnb|Menon|2012}}; {{harvnb|Fasching|2021}}; {{harvnb|Sinha|2016|p=42}}. * Shankara, Upadeśasāhasrī I.1.1, translated in {{harvnb|Mayeda|1992|p=103}}: "Salutation to the all-knowing Pure Consciousness [note 1] which pervades all, is all, abides in the hearts of all beings, and is beyond all objects [of knowledge]. [Note 1 by Mayeda: "The Sanskrit term caitanya translated here as "Pure Consciousness" is used as a synonym for Brahman-Atman, indicating the nature of It."] * Shankara, Upadeśasāhasrī I.11.7, translated in {{harvnb|Mayeda|1992|p=126}}: "Being different from name, form, and action and by nature constantly free, I am ''Atman'', ie. the highest ''Brahman''; I am Pure Consciousness only and always non-dual." * {{harvnb|Deutsch|1973|p=48}}: "Atman (or ''paramatman'', the highest Self), for Advaita vedanta, is that pure, undifferentiated, self-shining consciousness, timeless, spaceless, and unthinkable, that is non-different from Brahman and that underlies and supports the individual human person." * {{harvnb|Menon|2012}}: "For classical Advaita Vedānta, Brahman is the fundamental reality underlying all objects and experiences. Brahman is explained as [[Satcitananda|pure existence, pure consciousness and pure bliss]]. All forms of existence presuppose a knowing self. Brahman or pure consciousness underlies the knowing self. Consciousness according to the Advaita School, unlike the positions held by other Vedānta schools, is not a property of Brahman but its very nature. Brahman is also one without a second, all-pervading and the immediate awareness." * {{harvnb|Fasching|2021}}: "According to Advaita Vedānta, the absolute is pure, qualityless and unchanging consciousness. Our consciousness (the consciousness of individual conscious entities) is not distinct from it, but is nothing other than this absolute itself, (seemingly) modified by the mental states of respective individual minds." * {{harvnb|Sinha|2016|p=42}}: "According to the Advaita Vedānta, the Atman is pure, eternal, undifferenced consciousness, while the jīva is the pure consciousness limited or determined by the internal organ (antahkarana)."}} <!-- D --> <!-- spiritual experience --> {{refn|group=note|name=spiritual experience|Philosophy and spiritual experience: * {{harvnb|Deutsch|1988|p=4}}: "Advaita Vedanta is more than a philosophical system, as we understand these terms in the West today; it is also a practical guide to spiritual experience and is intimately bound up with spiritual experience." * {{harvnb|Puligandla|1997|p=11}}: "Any philosophy worthy of its title should not be a mere intellectual exercise but should have practical application in enabling man to live an enlightened life. A philosophy which makes no difference to the quality and style of our life is no philosophy, but an empty intellectual construction."}} <!-- F --> <!-- "Fowler2002_monism" --> {{refn|group=note|name="Fowler2002_monism"|{{harvnb|Fowler|2002|pp=30–31, 260–264}}: "As a philosophical and metaphysical term it [monism] refers to the acceptance of one single, ultimate, principle as the basis of the cosmos, the unity and oneness of all reality (...) [monism] has a model par excellence in that put forward by the eighth-century Indian philosopher Shankara, who is associated with the school of thought of Advaita Vedanta. (p. 263) – "In Shankara's words: 'the notions oneself and one's own are indeed falsely constructed (upon Atman) through nescience. When there is (the knowledge of) the oneness of Atman, these notions certainly do not exist. If the seed does not exist, whence shall the fruit arise?".}} <!-- I --> <!-- Influence --> {{refn|group=note|name=Influence|Scholars are divided on the historical influence of Advaita Vedānta. Some Indologists state that it is one of the most studied Hindu philosophy and the most influential schools of classical Indian thought: * {{harvnb|Indich|2000|pp=57–60}} * {{harvnb|Brannigan|2009|p=19}}: "''Advaita Vedanta'' is the most influential philosophical system in Hindu thought." * {{harvnb|Deutsch|1969|p=3}}: "[Advaita Vedānta] has been and continues to be the most widely accepted system of thought among philosophers in India, and it is, we believe, one of the greatest philosophical achievements to be found in the East or the West."}} <!-- "Influence_of_Shankara" --> {{refn|group=note|name="Influence_of_Shankara"|{{harvnb|King|2002|p=128}}: "Although it is common to find Western scholars and Hindus arguing that Sankaracarya was the most influential and important figure in the history of Hindu intellectual thought, this does not seem to be justified by the historical evidence."<br>Critical scholarship has identified a number of key concepts used in contemporary Advaita Vedānta which differ from Shankara's views, revealing a discrepancy between the nominal adherence to Shankara and the actual alliance with his views.({{harvnb|Suthren Hirst|2005|p=4}}, {{harvnb|Potter|2006|p=6-7}})<br>Some modern Advaitins, specifically [[Satchidanandendra Sarasvati]], argue that most of post-Shankara Advaita Vedanta actually deviates from Shankara, an argument deemed correct by Potter.({{harvnb|Potter|2006|p=6-7}}, {{harvnb|Roodurmun|2002|pp=33–34}})<br>{{harvtxt|Potter|2006|pp=6–7}}: "...these modern interpreters are implying that most Advaitins after Samkara's time are confused and basically mistaken, and that 99% of the extant classical interpretive literature on Samkara's philosophy is off the mark. This is clearly a remarkably radical conclusion. Yet, there is good reason to think that it may well be true."<br>{{harvnb|Satchidanandendra Sarasvati|1997|p=6}}: "almost all the later Advaitins were influenced by Mandana Misra and [[Bhāskara (Bhedabheda Vedanta)|Bhaskara]]."}} <!-- M --> <!-- Madaio2017_umbrella --> {{refn|group=note|name=Madaio2017_umbrella|Many of these traditions, which were influential among Neo-Vedantins, did not derive from Vedantic lineages, i.e., the "Advaita Vedanta" of [[Adi Shankara|Shankara]]. As {{harvtxt|Madaio|2017|p=4}} points out "...it is possible to speak of sanskritic and vernacular advaitic texts (which are either explicitly non-dualistic or permit a non-dualistic reading) and 'Advaita Vedanta' texts which originate within sampradayas that claim an Advaita Vedantic lineage. This, then, avoids the obfuscating tendency to subsume advaitic but non-vedantic works under a 'Vedanta' or 'Advaita Vedanta' umbrella."}} <!-- Monism --> {{refn|group=note|name=Monism|Form of monism: * {{harvnb|Malkovsky|2000|p=71}}: "The interpretation of advaita that is the most common equates non-duality with monism and acosmic illusionism. Only the Absolute, or the paraa brahma, is said to exist; everything else is but an illusory appearance." * {{harvnb|Menon|2012}}: "The essential philosophy of Advaita is an idealist monism, and is considered to be presented first in the Upaniṣads and consolidated in the Brahma Sūtra by this tradition." * {{harvnb|King|1995|p=65}}: "The prevailing monism of the Upanishads was developed by the Advaita Vedanta to its ultimate extreme." * {{harvnb|Mohanty|1980|p=205}}: "Nyaya-Vaiseshika is realistic; Advaita Vedanta is idealistic. The former is pluralistic, the latter monistic."}} <!-- P --> <!-- "Payne2005p200" --> {{refn|group=note|name="Payne2005p200"|{{harvnb|Payne|2005|pp=199–200 with p. 215 notes 5, 6}}: "A fourth metaphor is the monistic equation of the true or absolute self (atman) with absolute being (Brahman). In general, then, the conception of the self that emerges is one in which the self is in some way permanent, eternal, absolute or unchanging. It is also simultaneously universal and individual. The view is that there is an essence and that it can be known."}} <!-- S --> <!-- self-evident --> {{refn|group=note|name=self-evident|According to Shankara, in ''Adhyasa-bhasya'' (pre-amble to ''Brahma Sutra Bhashya'' I.1.1), it is self-evident that ''[[Ātman (Hinduism)|Ātman]]'', pure awareness or the [[Sakshi (Witness)|witness-consciousness]], is completely different from non-Atman, the thinking and acting self and the material world.}} <!-- self-luminous --> <ref group=note name=self-luminous>Self-luminosity; see {{harvnb|Deutsch|1973|p=48}}; {{harvnb|Dasgupta|1975|pp=148–149}}; {{harvnb|Indich|2000|pp=24, 28}}; {{harvnb|Menon|2012}}; {{harvnb|Ganeri|2019|p=103}}; {{harvnb|Murti|1983|p=339}}; {{harvnb|Isaeva|1993|p=102}}.<br/>For the translation and meaning of ''svayam prakāśa'': * ''svayam'': "himself, autonomous, in person" (Sanskrit Dictionary for Spoken Sanskrit, [https://www.learnsanskrit.cc/index.php?mode=3&direct=au&script=hk&tran_input=svayam svayam] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211207215520/https://www.learnsanskrit.cc/index.php?mode=3&direct=au&script=hk&tran_input=svayam |date=7 December 2021 }}) * ''[[prakāśa]]'': "manifestation," literally "light" or "illumination"; "the capacity to disclose, present, or make manifest" ({{harvnb|Fasching|2021}} note 1, referring to "MacKenzie 2017, 335; cf. also Ram-Prasad 2007, 53") ''Svayam prakāśa'' can be translated as: * "self-luminous" ({{harvnb|Ganeri|2019}}; {{harvnb|Menon|2012}}) * "self-revealing" {{harv|Dasgupta|1975}}) * "self-manifesting" ({{harvnb|Chatterjea|2003|p=1}}) * "Self-aware" {{harv|Wood|1992|p=102}} * "Immediate" {{harv|Murti|1983|p=339}} On the meaning of ''svayam prakāśa'': * {{harvnb|Menezes|2017|p=198}}: "Self-luminosity (svayam prakāśa) means self is pure awareness by nature"; idem {{harvnb|Ganeri|2019}}: "self is pure awareness by nature." * {{harvnb|Murti|1983|p=339}}: "a foundational consciousness [...] to which everything is presented, but is itself no presentation, that which knows all, but is itself no object." For a detailed treatment, see {{harvnb|Mackenzie|2012}}; {{harvnb|Fasching|2011}}.</ref> <!-- "Soul" --> {{refn|group=note|name="Soul"|Soul: * [https://web.archive.org/web/20141230210157/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/atman Atman], Oxford Dictionaries, Oxford University Press (2012), '''Quote''': "1. real self of the individual; 2. a person's soul" * David Lorenzen (2004), The Hindu World (Editors: Sushil Mittal and Gene Thursby), Routledge, {{ISBN|0-415215277}}, pp. 208–209, '''Quote''': "Advaita and nirguni movements, on the other hand, stress an interior mysticism in which the devotee seeks to discover the identity of individual soul (atman) with the universal ground of being (brahman) or to find god within himself"; * Richard King (1995), Early Advaita Vedanta and Buddhism, State University of New York Press, {{ISBN|978-0791425138}}, p. 64, '''Quote:''' "Atman as the innermost essence or soul of man, and Brahman as the innermost essence and support of the universe. (...) Thus we can see in the Upanishads, a tendency towards a convergence of microcosm and macrocosm, culminating in the equating of atman with Brahman". * Chad Meister (2010), The Oxford Handbook of Religious Diversity, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0195340136}}, p. 63; '''Quote''': "Even though Buddhism explicitly rejected the Hindu ideas of ''Atman'' (soul) and Brahman, Hinduism treats Sakyamuni Buddha as one of the ten avatars of Vishnu."}} <!-- "Sringeri_14th_c" --> {{refn|group=note|name="Sringeri_14th_c"|Sringeri matha received patronage from the kings of the [[Vijayanagara Empire]],({{harvnb|Goodding|2013|p=89}}) competing with Srivaisnava ''Visistadvaita'' groups for royal patronage and converts.({{harvnb|Stoker|2016|p=55-56}}) The works of the influential Advaitin [[Vidyaranya]] (Madhava, 14th cent.), ''jagadguru'' of Sringeri ''matha'' from ca. 1374–1380 to 1386, presented Advaita teachings as the summit of the Indian ''[[Darśana#In Hinduism|darśanam]]'',({{harvnb|Hacker|1995|pp=29–30}}, {{harvnb|Blake Michael|1992|pp=60–62 with notes 6, 7, and 8}}, {{harvnb|King|2002|p=128}}, {{harvnb|Roodurmun|2002|pp=33–34}}) while the subsequent [[Shankara Digvijayam]] genre [[Deification|deified]] him as a [[Chakravarti (Sanskrit term)|ruler]]-[[Sannyasin|renunciate]] who conquered the four quarters.({{harvnb|Nowicka|2016|p=147}}, {{harvnb|Bader|2001|p=vii}}) Shankara's prominence was further established in the 19th and 20th century, gaining worldwide fame, in a "confluence of interests" of Western Christian missionaries, the [[British Raj]], and [[Indian nationalism|Indian nationalists]].({{harvnb|King|2002|pp=129-135}})}} <!-- Subitism --> {{refn|group=note|name=subitism|Compare, in Buddhism: [[Subitism]], [[Hongaku]] ("original enlightenment"), [[Post-satori practice]]. See also Nisargadatta Maharaj on 'the bird's way and the ant's way'.}} <!-- T --> <!-- transformation --> {{refn|group=note|name=transformation|Jivanmukti is a state that transforms the nature, attributes and behaviors of an individual.After this transformation, the liberated individual shows attributes such as:{{harv|Aiyar|1914|pp=140–147}};{{harv|Nikhilananda|1958|pp=53–79}}; {{harv|Fort|1998}} * he is not bothered by disrespect and endures cruel words, treats others with respect regardless of how others treat him; * when confronted by an angry person he does not return anger, instead replies with soft and kind words; * even if tortured, he speaks and trusts the truth; * he does not crave for blessings or expect praise from others; * he never injures or harms any life or being (ahimsa), he is intent in the welfare of all beings; * he is as comfortable being alone as in the presence of others; * he is as comfortable with a bowl, at the foot of a tree in tattered robe without help, as when he is in a mithuna (union of mendicants), grama (village) and nagara (city); * he does not care about or wear sikha (tuft of hair on the back of head for religious reasons), nor the holy thread across his body. To him, knowledge is sikha, knowledge is the holy thread, knowledge alone is supreme. Outer appearances and rituals do not matter to him, only knowledge matters; * for him there is no invocation nor dismissal of deities, no mantra nor non-mantra, no prostrations nor worship of gods, goddess or ancestors, nothing other than knowledge of Self; * he is humble, high spirited, of clear and steady mind, straightforward, compassionate, patient, indifferent, courageous, speaks firmly and with sweet words.}} <!-- V --> <!-- "Vedanta_meaning" --> {{refn|group=note|name="Vedanta_meaning"|Literally: ''end or the goal of the [[Vedas]]'', referring to the [[Upanishads]] and their interpretation; it is a tradition of interpretation of the [[Upanishads]],({{harvnb|Nakamura|1990|p=112}}) the [[Brahma Sutras]], and the [[Bhagavad Gita|Bhagavad Gitā]].({{harvnb|Grimes|1990|pp=6–7}}, {{harvnb|Menon|2012}})}} }} Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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