Claim: Vedanta refers to many Hindu sub-traditions.

Vedanta -LRB- IAST , , Sanskrit : वेदांत -RRB- or Uttara Mīmāṃsā is one of the six orthodox -LRB- āstika -RRB- schools of Hindu philosophy . Vedanta literally means `` end of the Vedas '' , reflecting ideas that emerged from the speculations and philosophies contained in the Upanishads . It does not stand for one comprehensive or unifying doctrine . Rather it is an umbrella term for many sub-traditions , ranging from dualism to non-dualism , all of which developed on the basis of a common textual connection called the Prasthanatrayi . The Prasthanatrayi is a collective term for the Principal Upanishads , the Brahma Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita .   All Vedanta schools , in their deliberations , concern themselves with the following three categories but differ in their views regarding the concept and the relations between them : Brahman -- the ultimate metaphysical reality , Ātman / Jivātman -- the individual soul or self , and Prakriti -- the empirical world , ever-changing physical universe , body and matter .   Some of the better known sub-traditions of Vedanta include Advaita -LRB- non-dualism -RRB- , Vishishtadvaita -LRB- qualified non-dualism -RRB- , and Dvaita -LRB- dualism -RRB- . Most other Vedantic sub-traditions are subsumed under the term Bhedabheda -LRB- difference and non-difference -RRB- . Over time , Vedanta adopted ideas from other orthodox -LRB- āstika -RRB- schools like Yoga and Nyaya , and , through this syncretism , became the most prominent school of Hinduism . Many extant forms of Vaishnavism , Shaivism and Shaktism have been significantly shaped and influenced by the doctrines of different schools of Vedanta . The Vedanta school has had a historic and central influence on Hinduism .