Philosophy Of Advaita example essay topic

on the path to God through knowledge. The basic teaching is that God alone is the all-pervading reality; the individual soul is none other than the universal soul. Shankara was under no illusions about this world. For this reason, he is able to describe so powerfully the complete transformation of the universe that takes place before the eyes of the illumined seer, when the world indeed becomes a paradise. Models of Multiplicity (From Potter, Advaita Vedanta up to Sankara and His Pupils, pp. 81 ff.) Kinds of diversity: 1. undifferentiated nirguna Brahman vs. God = sauna Brahman 2. one supreme Self (param atman) vs. many individual selves (jivas) 3. world vs. God and world vs. jivas Models of diversity: Rope-snake (Gaudapada, Sankara, Padmapada, et al.) Pot-space (Gaudapada, Sankara, Sures vara, Bharati school, etc.) Wheel of fire (Gaudapada) Water and foam (Sankara, et al.) Sun's rays, spider's web, sparks from a fire (Sankara) Reflection analogies (Sankara, Padmapada, Viva rana school, etc.) [sun in rippling water, red flower in crystal, face in mirror] Works by Sankara Comms. on "Three Starting Points" (prasth ana-tray a) of Vedanta: 1. (sruti): Commentaries on many Upanishads (Brhadaranyaka, etc.) 2. (smriti): Commentary on the Bhagavad gita 3. (sutra): Commentary on the Brahmasutras (Vedanta sutras) Independent treatise on Vedanta: Upadesasahasri ("Thousand Teachings") [prob. not Vivekacudamani ("Crest Jewel of Discrimination"), etc.] Other works: Sub commentary on the Yoga sutra Commentary on a philosophical section in a law book [and perhaps others, including hymns] SankarAcArya is the most important teacher of the advaita school of vedAnta, and his commentaries to the upanishads, the bhagavad-gItA and the brahmasUtras define the parameters of advaita thought. However, it must be remembered that all vedAnta philosophy really goes back to the upanishads, and SankarAcArya is regarded as a pre-eminent teacher who continued the upanishadic tradition.

The name SankarAcArya has become a title for the heads of the numerous advaita institutions in India today, because of the great respect and fame associated with it. The philosophy of advaita, literally non-dualism, is the premier and oldest extant among the vedAnta schools of Indian philosophy. The upanishadic quest is to understand brahman, the source of everything, the Atman, the Self, and the relationship between brahman and Atman. The upanishads explore these issues from different angles. The advaita school teaches a complete essential identity between brahman and Atman.

In other vedAntic traditions, the essential relationship between Atman and brahman is understood in different ways. This website has been organized into four sections, as given in the index on the left. The Introduction section has three pages - one explains the transliteration scheme employed at this site and another has links to sam. skRta Sl okas, many of them attributed to Sankara. The advaita vedAnta FAQ page describes various aspects of advaita in brief, and has links to pages at this site and to related sites. The main material on advaita vedAnta has been organized into three sections, named History, Philosophers and Philosophy. The "History" section deals with SankarAcArya, the issues involved in reckoning his date, the living advaita tradition and related topics.

Pre-Sankaran vedAnta, gauDapAda, SankarAcArya, his disciples, maNDan a miSra and post-Sankaran advaitin are discussed in appropriate pages under the "Philosophers" section. The "Philosophy" section starts with a brief introduction to various schools of Indian philosophy and a page on the source texts of vedAnta, the upanishads. Philosophical issues in advaita vedAnta are examined in various other pages in this section. More pages on different aspects of advaita vedAnta and its relation to other systems are under construction. The Supreme Swan: In the background is an artistic rendering of a swan, with the Sanskrit sentence Brahma iva satyam - Brahman is the only Truth. The swan motif is seen in the seals of many advaita organizations.

The figure seen here has been adapted from the official seal of the Sringeri maTh a, an ancient and one of the most important centers of advaita vedAnta in India. The swan is a very popular motif in traditional Hindu symbolism. It can be found in oil-lamps used in temples and at shrines in people's homes. The swan has a special association with advaita vedAnta.

The swan is called hamsa in the sam. skRta language. The greatest masters in the advaita tradition are called paramahamsas - the great swans. The word hamsa is a variation of so " ham: I am He, which constitutes the highest realization. There are other equivalences between the swan and the advaitin, that make the swan a particularly apt symbol for advaita vedAnta.

The swan stays in water, but its feathers remain dry. Similarly, the advaitin lives in the world, yet strives to remain unaffected by life's ups and downs. In India, the swan is also mythically credited with the ability to separate milk from water. Similarly, the advaitin discriminates the eternal Atman from the non-eternal world. The Atman that is brahman is immanent in the world, just like milk is seemingly inseparably mixed with water, but It can never be truly realized without the nity a-anita-vastu vivek a - right discrimination between the eternal and ephemeral - that is essential for the advaitin. The swan is thus a symbol for the jIvanmukta, who is liberated while still alive in this world, by virtue of having realized Brahman.