Life is a complex chain of events from birth to death, with each of us trying our best to navigate it. Happiness is seen as the most desired goal, with people seeking different paths to it. The materialistic ones are prominent in our consumerist culture of today. Yet many don’t achieve it and carry regrets instead.
Thus, philosophers have asked whether the emotions of joy and sorrow are truly separate, or in fact, two sides of the same coin. This has been extended to everything in the world and beyond as well. This principle of unified entity is referred to as the Advaita Vedanta in ancient Hindu texts.
The Confluence of Many Waters
The Advaita Vedanta is a school of Hindu philosophy that puts forth the notion that there is a non-duality aspect to reality. According to it, there is only one thing that is real, the Brahman, and that the transient world and everything else is an illusion (Maya) of the Brahman. It also says that the Atman, the true self, is not different from the Brahman.
Those that adhere to this philosophy are referred to as Advaita vedantis or Advaita vedantis. Their ultimate goal is to merge the illusionary plurality of existence into the Brahman, attaining what is known as moksha, a form of salvation. Advaitha vedantis aim to do so by understanding the Atman, knowledge of the self, and vidya, the outside world’s knowledge.
The Origins
Originally called the Purusavada and then mayavada, Advaita Vedanta has its origins in ancient Hindu texts called the Upanishads, which are the oldest ones. It is a combination of three textual sources named Prasthana Trayi and acts to unify the Upanishads, The Bhagavad Gita, and the Brahma Sutras. It belongs to the orthodox (astika) schools of Hindu philosophy. Its origins trace back to the 1st millennium BCE, but the 8th-century scholar Sri Adi Shankaracharya is considered its most prominent exponent.
Core Contents
This process of combining with the ultimate entity, the Brahman, is referred to as Moksha or Jivanmukti, and this forms the core of the philosophy. The key differentiator between this and others is that this one believes moksha is an attainable state while being alive, while the rest consider that attainment to be possible only after death.
There is an aspect of self-reliance in this case, where the general principle of Karma, or reaping what you sow in life, is mostly self-dependent. Other philosophies that mention moksha after death involve a person’s children having to perform rites to allow the Atman’s passage towards the attainment of moksha. Thus it won’t be just your Karma, but theirs too that will determine that attainment.
With the merger of such differences, the non-duality principle doesn’t find a need to have children separately perform the rites for the attainment of moksha of their parents.
Associated Contents
The principle of non-duality borrows certain terms and principles from other texts and philosophies and reinterprets them in its own context. The words like Brahman, moksha, vidya, Atman, avidya, and concepts like meditation as a means of attaining better knowledge are common between the different ancient Indian philosophies.
It also allows for the purusartha, i.e., the four goals of life that is common to other philosophies as well:
- Dharma, which refers to the inherent duties, must be performed by an individual to society and vice versa.
- Artha, which are the ways one’s life is sustained.
- Kama, which refers to the pleasures and enjoyments that one must experience in life
- Moksha, the ultimate liberation/release from the cycle of life
Due to such associations, the philosophy is still considered a crucial part of the ancient Indian philosophical structure while simultaneously being different from the rest.
Consequences and Influences
This philosophy is considered by many scholars as a form of monism, which attributes a singularity to a concept along with openness. It is thus considered not to be a religion but more of a spiritual way of life.
Its universal appeal has influenced many movements across the centuries, and in turn, got influenced as well. Most exchanges happened with other texts like Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya, with sub-schools such as Shaivism, Vaishnavism, the Agamas, the Puranas, etc. Beyond these, it influenced other religious movements like Jainism, Buddhism, and in recent times some Neo-Vedistic ones as well.
Advaita Vedanta is combining not just the inner and outer worlds but also making people ask questions whose answers will have a profound effect on their views of life and everything in it.
