Advaita Vedanta

Advaita Vedanta is a sub-school of the Vedanta school of Vedic or Hindu philosophy and religious practice, giving "a unifying interpretation of the whole body of Upanishads". The principal, though not the first, exponent of the Advaita Vedanta-interpretation was Shankara Bhagavadpada who systematised the works of preceding philosophers. Its teachings have influenced various sects of Hinduism.
The key source texts for all schools of Vedānta are the Prasthanatrayi, the canonical texts consisting of the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita and the Brahma Sutras, of which they give a philosophical interpretation and elucidation.
Advaita (not-two in Sanskrit) refers to the identity of the true Self, Atman, which is pure consciousness, and the highest Reality, Brahman, which is also pure consciousness.
 Followers seek liberation/release by acquiring vidyā (knowledge) of the identity of Atman and Brahman. Attaining this liberation takes a long preparation and training under the guidance of a guru. Advaita thought can also be found in non-orthodox Indian religious traditions, such as the tantric Nath tradition.
Advaita Vedanta developed in a multi-faceted religious and philosophical landscape. The tradition developed in interaction with the other traditions of India, Buddhism, Vaishnavism and Shaivism, as well as the other schools of Vedanta. 
In modern times, due to western Orientalism and Perennialism, and its influence on Indian Neo-Vedanta and Hindu nationalism, Advaita Vedanta has acquired a broad acceptance in Indian culture and beyond as the paradigmatic example of Hindu spirituality, despite the wide popularity of the Shaivite Vishishtadvaita and Dvaitadvaita bhakti traditions, and incorporating teachers such as Ramana Maharshi and Nisargadatta Maharaj despite their eclectic and tantric backgrounds.
==History of Advaita Vedanta==
Advaita Vedanta existed prior to Shankara, but found its most influential expounder in Shankara.
===Pre-Shankara Vedanta===
Of the Vedanta-school before the composition of the Brahma Sutras (400–450 CE) almost nothing is known. Very little also is known of the period between the Brahmansutras and Shankara (first half of the 8th century CE). Only two writings of this period have survived: the Vākyapadīya, written by Bhartṛhari (second half 5th century), and the Māndūkya-kārikā written by Gaudapada (7th century CE).
====Earliest Vedanta====
The Upanishads form the basic texts, of which Vedanta gives an interpretation. The Upanishads don't contain "a rigorous philosophical inquiry identifying the doctrines and formulating the supporting arguments". This philosophical inquiry was performed by the darsanas, the various philosophical schools. Deutsch and Dalvi point out that in the Indian context texts "are only part of a tradition which is preserved in its purest form in the oral transmission as it has been going on."
The Upanishads originated in the Sramana movements, renunciate ascetic traditions which gave birth to Yoga, Jainism, Buddhism, and some nāstika schools of Hinduism such as Cārvāka and Ājīvika, and also popular concepts in all major Indian religions such as saṃsāra (the cycle of birth and death) and moksha (liberation from that cycle). The various traditions interacted with each other, and cannot be seen as completely separate developments. Buddhism, favored and supported by merchants and royals, developed elaborate philosophical and pedagogical texts and systems early in its history. Early in the first millennium Madhyamaka and Yogacara developed ideas about the two levels of truth and the working of the mind to which the developing Vedanta-tradition responded, but also incorporated these systems. Buddhist influence can also be found in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, written c. 4th century CE.
====Bādarāyana's Brahma Sutras====
The Brahma Sutras of Bādarāyana, also called the Vedanta Sutra, were compiled in its present form around 400–450 CE, but "the great part of the Sutra must have been in existence much earlier than that". Estimates of the date of Bādarāyana's lifetime differ between 200 BCE and 200 CE.
The Brahma Sutra is a critical study of the teachings of the Upanishads. It was and is a guide-book for the great teachers of the Vedantic systems. Bādarāyana was not the first person to systematise the teachings of the Upanishads. He refers to seven Vedantic teachers before him:
====Between BrahmaSutras and Shankara====
According to Nakamura, "there must have been an enormous number of other writings turned out in this period, but unfortunately all of them have been scattered or lost and have not come down to us today". In his commentaries, Shankara mentions 99 different predecessors of his Sampradaya. In the beginning of his commentary on the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad Shankara salutes the teachers of the Brahmavidya Sampradaya.advaita-deanta.org, Advaita Vedanta before Sankaracarya Pre-Shankara doctrines and sayings can be traced in the works of the later schools, which does give insight into the development of early Vedanta philosophy.
The names of various important early Vedanta thinkers have been listed in the Siddhitraya by Yamunācārya (c.1050), the Vedārthasamgraha by Rāmānuja (c.1050–1157), and the Yatīndramatadīpikā by Śrīnivāsa-dāsa. Combined together, at least fourteen thinkers are known to have existed between the composition of the Brahman Sutras and Shankara's lifetime.
Although Shankara is often considered to be the founder of the Advaita Vedanta school, according to Nakamura, comparison of the known teachings of these early Vedantins and Shankara's thought shows that most of the characteristics of Shankara's thought "were advocated by someone before Śankara". Shankara "was the person who synthesized the Advaita-vāda which had previously existed before him". In this synthesis, he was the rejuvenator and defender of ancient learning. He was an unequalled commentator, due to whose efforts and contributions the Advaita Vedanta assumed a dominant position within Indian philosophy.
===Gaudapada===
Gaudapada (6th century) was the teacher of Govinda Bhagavatpada and the grandteacher of Shankara.
========
Gaudapada wrote or compiled the , also known as the and as the . The is a commentary in verse form on the Mandukya Upanishad, one of the shortest but most profound Upanishads, or mystical Vedas, consisting of just 13 prose sentences. In Shankara's time it was considered to be a Śruti, but not particularly important. In later periods it acquired a higher status, and eventually it was regarded as expressing the essence of the Upanisad philosophy.
The is the earliest extent systematic treatise on , though it is not the oldest work to present Advaita views, nor the only pre-Sankara work with the same type of teachings.
====Buddhist influences====
According to B.N.K. Sharma, the early commentators on the Brahma Sutras were all realists, or pantheist realists. During the same period, the 2nd-5th century CE, there was a great idealist revival in Buddhism, which countered the criticisms of the Hindu realists. The works of Buddhist thinkers like Nagasena, Buddhaghosa and Nagarjuna, all of them Brahmin converts to Buddhism, "created a great sensation and compelled admiration all around". Other Brahmins, faithful to Brahminism but equally impressed by these developments in Buddhist thought, looked for and found in some portions of the Upanishads "many striking approaches to the metaphysical idealism of the Buddhists". During the 5th and 6th centuries there was a further development of Buddhist thought with the development of the Yogacara school.
It was Gaudapada who further bridged Buddhism and Vedanta. He took over the Buddhist doctrines that ultimate reality is pure consciousness (vijñapti-mātra) and "that the nature of the world is the four-cornered negation". Gaudapada "wove [both doctrines] into a philosophy of the Mandukaya Upanisad, which was further developed by Shankara". At the same time, Gaudapada emphatically rejected the epistemic idealism of the Buddhists, arguing that there was a difference between objects seen in dreams and real objects in the world, although both were ultimately unreal. He also rejected the pluralism and momentariness of consciousnesses, which were core doctrines of the Vijnanavada school, and their techniques for achieving liberation.The Advaita tradition in Indian Philosophy. Candradhara Śarmā, Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 1996. p 152–154
Gaudapada also took over the Buddhist concept of "ajāta" from Nagarjuna's Madhyamaka philosophy, which uses the term "anutpāda".
"Ajātivāda", "the Doctrine of no-origination" or non-creation, is the fundamental philosophical doctrine of Gaudapada.
Richard King has noted that Ajativada has a radically different meaning in the context of respectively Vedanta and Buddhism. Buddhist writers take Ajativada to imply that there are no essences in factors, and therefore change is possible. Gaudapada made the opposite interpretation, advocating the absolutist position that origination and cessation were unreal, the only Ultimate reality (Brahman) being unoriginated and unchanging.
According to Gaudapada, the Absolute is not subject to birth, change and death. The Absolute is aja, the unborn eternal. The empirical world of appearances is considered unreal, and not absolutely existent.
====Shri Gaudapadacharya Math====
Around 740 AD Gaudapada founded Shri Gaudapadacharya Math, also known as . It is located in Kavale, Ponda, Goa,http://www.vidya-ashramvidyaorder.org/index.V.html | Under Page: Biographical Notes About Sankara And Gaudapada and is the oldest matha of the South Indian Saraswat Brahmins.http://www.shrikavalemath.org.in/
Unlike other mathas, Shri Gaudapadacharya matha is not a polemical center established to influence the faith of all Hindus, its jurisdiction is limited to only Dakshinatya Saraswat Brahmins.
===Adi Shankara===
Adi Shankara (788–820), also known as and , synthesised and rejuvenated the doctrine of Advaita. It was Shankara who succeeded in reading Gaudapada's mayavada into Badarayana's Brahma Sutras, "and give it a locus classicus", against the realistic strain of the Brahma Sutras. His interpretation, including works ascribed to him, has become the normative interpretation of Advaita Vedanta.
====Late-Classical Hinduism====
:See also Late-Classical Age and Hinduism Middle Ages
Shankara lived in the time of the so-called "Late classical Hinduism", which lasted from 650 till 1100 CE. The previous period was the "Golden Age of Hinduism" (ca. 320–650 CE), which flourished during the Gupta Empire (320 to 550 CE) until the fall of the Harsha Empire (606 to 647 CE).
Prior to this "Golden Age" the "classical synthesis" or "Hindu synthesis" emerged, which incorporated shramanic and Buddhist influences and the emerging bhakti tradition into the Brahmanical fold via the smriti literature. This synthesis emerged under the pressure of the success of Buddhism and Jainism.
During the classical period, power was centralised, along with a growth of far distance trade, standardizarion of legal procedures, and general spread of literacy. Mahayana Buddhism flourished, but the orthodox Brahmana culture began to be rejuvenated by the patronage of the Gupta Dynasty. The position of the Brahmans was reinforced, and the first Hindu temples emerged during the late Gupta age.
After the end of the Gupta Empire and the collapse of the Harsha Empire, power became decentralised in India. Several larger kingdoms emerged, with "countless vasal states". The kingdoms were ruled via a feudal system. Smaller kingdoms were dependent on the protection of the larger kingdoms. "The great king was remote, was exalted and deified", as reflected in the Tantric Mandala, which could also depict the king as the centre of the mandala.
The disintegration of central power also lead to regionalisation of religiosity, and religious rivalry. Local cults and languages were enhanced, and the influence of "Brahmanic ritualistic Hinduism" was diminished. Rural and devotional movements arose, along with Shaivism, Vaisnavism, Bhakti and Tantra, though "sectarian groupings were only at the beginning of their development". Religious movements had to compete for recognition by the local lords. Buddhism lost its position, and began to disappear in India.
Buddhism, which was supported by the ancient Indian urban civilisation lost influence to the traditional religions, which were rooted in the countryside. In Bengal, Buddhism was even prosecuted. But at the same time, Buddhism was incorporated into Hinduism, when Gaudapada used Buddhist philosophy to reinterpret the Upanishads. This also marked a shift from Atman and Brahman as a "living substance" to "maya-vada", where Atman and Brahman are seen as "pure knowledge-consciousness". According to Scheepers, it is this "maya-vada" view which has come to dominate Indian thought.
====Philosophical system====
Shankara systematised the works of preceding philosophers. His system marks a turn from realism to idealism.
Shankara's synthesis of Advaita Vedanta is summarised in this quote from the , one of his (philosophical treatises):
According to Sringeri Math, Shankara's message can be summarised even shorter:
====Writings====
Adi Shankara's main works are his commentaries on the Prasthana Trayi, which consist of the Brahma Sūtras, Bhagavad Gītā and the Upanishads. According to Nakamura, Shankara's Brahma-sūtra-bhāsya, his commentary on the Brahma Sūtra, is "the most authoritative and best known work in the Vedānta philosophy". Shankara also wrote a major independent treatise, called "Upadeśa Sāhasrī", expounding his philosophy.
The authenticity of the "Vivekachudamani", a well-known work ascribed to Shankara, is doubtful, though it is "so closely interwoven into the spiritual heritage of Shankara that any analysis of his perspective which fails to consider [this work] would be incomplete".
The authorship of Shankara of his Mandukya Upanishad Bhasya and his supplementary commentary on Gaudapada's is also disputed.
===Advaita Vedanta sub-schools===
After Shankara's death several subschools developed. Two of them still exist today, the Bhāmatī and the Vivarana.THE BHAMATI AND VIVARANA SCHOOLS Perished schools are the Pancapadika and Istasiddhi.
These schools worked out the logical implications of various Advaita doctrines. Two of the problems they encountered were the further interpretations to the concepts of māyā and avidya.
====Bhamati====
The name of the Bhamati-subschool is derived from Vachaspati Misra's commentary on Adi Shankara's Brahmasutra Bhashya.THE BHAMATI AND VIVARANA SCHOOLSRajesh Anand, Vachaspati Mishra According to legend, Misra's commentary was named after his wife to praise, since he neglected her during the writing of his commentary.
Vachaspati Misra Bhamati attempts to harmonise Sankara's thought with that of Mandana Misra. The Bhamati-school takes an ontological approach. It sees the Jiva as the source of avidya.
====Vivarana====
The name of the Vivarana-school is derived from Prakasatman's Pancapadika-Vivarana, a commentary on the Pancapadika by Padmapadacharya.
Prakasatman was the first to propound the theory of mulavidya or maya as being of "positive beginningless nature".
The Vivarana-school takes an epistemological approach. It sees Brahman as the source of avidya. Critics object that Brahman is pure consciousness, so it can't be the source of avidya. Another problem is that contradictory qualities, namely knowledge and ignorance, are attributed to Brahman.
===Later developments===
The prominent names in the later Advaita tradition are Prakāsātman (tenth century), Vimuktātman (tenth century), Sarvajñātman (tenth century), Śrī Harṣa (twelfth century), Citsukha (twelfth century), ānandagiri (thirteenth century), Amalānandā (thirteenth century), Vidyāraņya (fourteenth century), Śaṅkarānandā (fourteenth century), Sadānandā (fifteenth century), Prakāṣānanda (sixteenth century), Nṛsiṁhāśrama (sixteenth century), Madhusūdhana Sarasvati (seventeenth century), Dharmarāja Advarindra (seventeenth century), Appaya Dīkśita (seventeenth century), Sadaśiva Brahmendra (eighteenth century), Candraśekhara Bhārati (twentieth century), and Sacchidānandendra Saraswati (twentieth century).Sangeetha Menon (2007), Advaita Vedānta, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
==Influence==
===Early influence===
According to Richard E. King, 
According to King, until the 10th century Sankara was overshadowed by his older contemporary Mandana-Misra. In the centuries after Sankara it was Maṇḍana Miśra who was considered to be the most important representative of Vedanta.
Prior to Shankara, views similar to his already existed, but did not occupy a dominant position within the Vedanta. The early Vedanta scholars were from the upper classes of society, well-educated in traditional culture. They formed a social elite, "sharply distinguished from the general practitioners and theologians of Hinduism." Their teachings were "transmitted among a small number of selected intellectuals". Works of the early Vedanta schools do not contain references to Vishnu or Shiva. It was only after Shankara that "the theologians of the various sects of Hinduism utilized Vedanta philosophy to a greater or lesser degree to form the basis of their doctrines," for example the Nath-tradition, whereby "its theoretical influence upon the whole of Indian society became final and definitive." 
===Advaita Mathas===
Advaita Vedanta is, at least in the west, primarily known as a philosophical system. But it is also a tradition of renunciation. Philosophy and renunciation are closely related:
Shankara, himself considered to be an incarnation of Shiva, established the Dashanami Sampradaya, organizing a section of the Ekadandi monks under an umbrella grouping of ten names.Sankara Acarya Biography – Monastic Tradition Several other Hindu monastic and Ekadandi traditions remained outside the organisation of the Dasanāmis.Karigoudar Ishwaran, Ascetic CultureWendy Sinclair-Brull, Female AsceticsH.A. Rose, Ibbetson, Denzil Ibbetson Sir, and Maclagan, Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North West Frontier Province, page 857
Adi Sankara organised the Hindu monks of these ten sects or names under four (Sanskrit: ) (monasteries), with the headquarters at Dvārakā in the West, Jagannatha Puri in the East, Sringeri in the South and Badrikashrama in the North. Each math was headed by one of his four main disciples, who each continues the Vedanta Sampradaya.
According to Pandey, these Mathas were not established by Shankara himself, but were originally ashrams established by Vibhāņdaka and his son Ŗșyaśŗnga. Shankara inherited the ashrams at Dvārakā and Sringeri, and shifted the ashram at Śŗngaverapura to Badarikāśrama, and the ashram at Angadeśa to Jagannātha Purī.
Monks of these ten orders differ in part in their beliefs and practices, and a section of them is not considered to be restricted to specific changes made by Shankara. While the dasanāmis associated with the Sankara maths follow the procedures enumerated by Adi Śankara, some of these orders remained partly or fully independent in their belief and practices; and outside the official control of the Sankara maths.
The advaita sampradaya is not a Saiva sect, despite the historical links with Shaivism:
Nevertheless, contemporary Sankaracaryas have more influence among Saiva communities than among Vaisnava communities. The greatest influence of the gurus of the advaita tradition has been among followers of the Smartha Tradition, who integrate the domestic Vedic ritual with devotional aspects of Hinduism.
According to Nakamura, these mathas contributed to the influence of Shankara, which was "due to institutional factors". The mathas which he built exist until today, and preserve the teachings and influence of Shankara, "while the writings of other scholars before him came to be forgotten with the passage of time".
The table below gives an overview of the four Amnaya Mathas founded by Adi Shankara, and their details.
Shishya(lineage)	Direction			Veda 	
 	East 			Rig Veda 	Bhogavala
 	South 			Yajur Veda 	
 	West 			Sama Veda 	Kitavala
 	North 			Atharva Veda	Nandavala
According to the tradition in Kerala, after Sankara's samadhi at Vadakkunnathan Temple, his disciples founded four mathas in Thrissur, namely Naduvil Madhom, Thekke Madhom, Idayil Madhom and Vadakke Madhom.
===Smarta Tradition===
Traditionally, Shankara is regarded as the greatest teacher and reformer of the Smartha. According to Hinduism-guide.com:
According to Hiltebeitel, Shankara established the nondualist interpretation of the Upanishads as the touchstone of a revived smarta tradition:
The Sringeri monastery is still the centre of the Smarta sect. In recent times bhakti cults have increasingly become popular with the smartas, and Shiva is particularly favored. In modern times Smarta-views have been highly influential in both the Indian and westernHinduism-guide.com, Hinduism understanding of Hinduism via Neo-Vedanta. Vivekananda was an advocate of Smarta-views, and Radhakrishnan was himself a Smarta-Brahman. According to iskcon.org, 
===Unifying Hinduism===
With the onset of Islamic rule, hierarchical classifications of the various orthodox schools were developed to defend Hinduism against Islamic influences. According to Nicholson, already between the twelfth and the sixteenth century,
The tendency of "a blurring of philosophical distinctions" has also been noted by Burley. Lorenzen locates the origins of a distinct Hindu identity in the interaction between Muslims and Hindus, and a process of "mutual self-definition with a contrasting Muslim other", which started well before 1800. Both the Indian and the European thinkers who developed the term "Hinduism" in the 19th century were influenced by these philosophers.
Within these socalled doxologies Advaita Vedanta was given the highest position, since it was regarded to be most inclusive system. Vijnanabhiksu, a 16th-century philosopher and writer, is still an influential representant of these doxologies. He's been a prime influence on 19th century Hindu modernists like Vivekananda, who also tried to integrate various strands of Hindu thought, taking Advaita Vedanta as its most representative specimen.
===Contemporary popularization===
====Indian nationalism and Hindu Universalism====
With the onset of the British Raj, the colonialisation of India by the British, there also started a Hindu renaissance in the 19th century, which profoundly changed the understanding of Hinduism in both India and the west. Western orientalist searched for the "essence" of the Indian religions, discerning this in the Vedas, and meanwhile creating the notion of "Hinduism" as a unified body of religious praxis and the popular picture of 'mystical India'. This idea of a Vedic essence was taken over by the Hindu reformers, together with the ideas of Universalism and Perennialism, the idea that all religions share a common mystic ground. The Brahmo Samaj, who was supported for a while by the Unitarian Church, played an essential role in the introduction and spread of this new understanding of Hinduism.
Vedanta came to be regarded as the essence of Hinduism, and Advaita Vedanta came to be regarded as "then paradigmatic example of the mystical nature of the Hindu religion". These notions served well for the Hindu nationalists, who further popularised this notion of Advaita Vedanta as the pinnacle of Indian religions. It "provided an opportunity for the construction of a nationalist ideology that could unite HIndus in their struggle against colonial oppression".
====Vivekananda====
A major proponent in the popularisation of this Universalist and Perennialist interpretation of Advaita Vedanta was Vivekananda, who played a major role in the revival of Hinduism, and the spread of Advaita Vedanta to the west via the Ramakrishna Mission. His interpretation of Advaita Vedanta has been called "Neo-Vedanta". Vivekananda discerned a universal religion, regarding all the apparent differences between various traditions as various manifestations of one truth. He presented karma, bhakti, jnana and raja yoga as equal means to attain moksha, to present Vedanta as a liberal and universal religion, in contrast to the exclusivism of other religions. 
Vivekananda emphasised samadhi as a means to attain liberation. Yet this emphasis is not to be found in the Upanishads nor with Shankara. For Shankara, meditation and Nirvikalpa Samadhi are means to gain knowledge of the already existing unity of Brahman and Atman, not the highest goal itself:
He also claimed that Advaita is the only religion that is in total agreement with modern science. In a talk on "The absolute and manifestation" given in at London in 1896 Swami Vivekananda said,
Vivekenanda's modernisation has been criticised:
====Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan====
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan further popularized Advaita Vedanta, presenting it as the essence of Hinduism, but neglecting the popular bhakti-traditions. Radhakrishnan saw other religions, "including what Radhakrishnan understands as lower forms of Hinduism," as interpretations of Advaita Vedanta, thereby Hindusizing all religions. His metaphysics was grounded in Advaita Vedanta, but he reinterpreted Advaita Vedanta for a contemporary understanding.Michael Hawley, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1888—1975), Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy He acknowledged the reality and diversity of the world of experience, which he saw as grounded in and supported by the absolute or Brahman. Radhakrishnan also reinterpreted Shankara's notion of maya. According to Radhakrishnan, maya is not a strict absolute idealism, but "a subjective misperception of the world as ultimately real."
====Neo-Advaita====
Neo-Advaita is a New Religious Movement based on a popularised, western interpretation of Advaita Vedanta and the teachings of Ramana Maharshi. Neo-Advaita is being criticised for discarding the traditional prerequisites of knowledge of the scriptures and "renunciation as necessary preparation for the path of jnana-yoga". Notable neo-advaita teachers are H. W. L. Poonja, his students Gangaji Andrew Cohen, and Eckhart Tolle.
====Non-dualism====
Advaita Vedanta has gained attention in western spirituality and New Age, where various traditions are seen as driven by the same non-dual experience. Nonduality points to "a primordial, natural awareness without subject or object".Undivided Journal, About the Journal It is also used to refer to interconnectedness, "the sense that all things are interconnected and not separate, while at the same time all things retain their individuality".Jerry Katz on Nonduality, What is Nonduality?
Georg Feuerstein is quoted by nonduality-adepts as summarizing the Advaita Vedanta-realization as follows:
==Texts==
Advaita Vedanta is based on the inquiry into the sacred texts of the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita and Brahma Sutras. Adi Shankara gave a systematisation and philosophical underpinning of this inquiry in his commentaries. The subsequent Advaita-tradition has further elaborated on these sruti and commentaries.
===Textual authority===
The order of precedance regarding authority of Vedic Scriptures is as follows,
* Śruti, literally "hearing, listening", are the sacred texts comprising the central canon of Hinduism and is one of the three main sources of dharma and therefore is also influential within Hindu Law.Coburn, Thomas B. 1984. pp. 439
* Smṛti, literally "that which is remembered (or recollected)", refers to a specific body of Hindu scripture, and is a codified component of Hindu customary law. Post Vedic scriptures such as Ramayana, Mahabharata and traditions of the rules on dharma such as Manu Smriti, Yaagnyavalkya Smriti etc. Smrti also denotes tradition in the sense that it portrays the traditions of the rules on dharma, especially those of lawful virtuous persons.)
* Purāṇa, literally "of ancient times", are post-vedic scriptures notably consisting of narratives of the history of the universe from creation to destruction, genealogies of kings, heroes, sages, and demigods, and descriptions of Hindu cosmology, philosophy, and geography.
* Śiṣṭāchāra, literally "that which is followed by good (in recent times)".
* Atmatuṣṭi, literally "that which satisfies oneself (or self validation)", according to which one has to decide whether or not to do with bona fide. Initially this was not considered in the order of precedence but Manu and Yājñavalkya considered it as last one.
If anyone of them contradicts the preceding one, then it is disqualified as an authority to judge. There is a well known Indian saying that Smṛti follows Śruti. So it was considered that in order to establish any Theistic Philosophical theory (Astika Siddhanta) one ought not contradict Śruti (Vedas).
===Prasthānatrayī – Three standards===
Adi Sankara has chosen three standards, called Prasthānatrayī, literally, three points of departure (three standards). Later these were referred to as the three canonical texts of reference of Hindu philosophy by other Vedanta schools.
They are:
#The Upanishads, known as Upadesha prasthāna (injunctive texts), (part of Śruti)
#The Bhagavad Gita, known as Sādhana prasthāna (practical text), (part of Smṛti)
#The Brahma Sutras, known as Nyāya prasthāna or Yukti prasthana (part of darśana of Uttarā Mīmāṃsā)
The Upanishads consist of twelve or thirteen major texts, with many minor texts. The is part of the . The (also known as the ), systematise the doctrines taught in the Upanishads and the .
Sankara Bhagavadpāda has written Bhāshyas (commentaries) on the Prasthānatrayī. These texts are thus considered to be the basic texts of the Advaita-parampara.
=== Siddhi-granthas ===
Additionally there are four Siddhi-granthas that are taught in the Advaita-parampara, after study of the Prasthana-trayi:
# Brahmasiddhi by Mandana Mishra (750–850),
# Naishkarmasiddhi by Sureswara (8th century, disciple of Sankara),
# Ishtasiddhi by Vimuktananda (1200),
# Advaita Siddhi, written by Madhusudana Saraswati - 1565-1665.
===Introductory texts===
Introductory texts from the Advaita Vedanta tradition include:
* Ashtavakra Samhita (pre-Sankara), with traces of Advaitism.
* Tattvabodha (Shankara), an introductory text explaining the terminologies used in Advaita Vedanta.
* Atmabodha, A Treatise on the knowledge of Atma (Shankara).
* Vedantasara (of Sadananda) (Bhagavad Ramanuja, 1017 to 1137 A.D.)
* Vakyavrtti
* Laghu-Vakyavrtti
* Drg-Drsya-Viveka
* Panchikaranam
* Vedanta-Paribhasha (of Dharmaraja Adhvarindra)
* Advaita-Makaranda (of Lakshmidhara Kavi)
* Aparoksha-Anubhuti
* Dakshinamurti-Stotram
* Panchadasi (of Vidyaranya)
* Kaupina-pancakam
* Sadhana-panchakam
* Manisha-pancakam
* Dasasloki
===Modern texts===
Treatises on Advaita Vedanta are still being written. The works of Swami Vivekananda, such as his writings on Jnana yoga, have been influential in the spread of Advaita Vedanta in the west.
==Philosophy==
The philosophy of Advaita Vedanta is based on the sacred texts of the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita and Brahma Sutras. Adi Shankara gave a systematisation and philosophical underpinning of this inquiry in his commentaries, which have become central texts in the Advaita Vedanta tradition.
===Avidyā===
====Brahman====
Due to ignorance (), Brahman is visible as the material world and its objects (nama rupa vikara). The actual Brahman is attributeless and formless. Brahman, the highest truth and all (reality), does not really change; it is only our ignorance that gives the appearance of change.
The notion of avidyā and its relationship to Brahman creates a crucial philosophical issue within Advaita Vedanta thought: how can avidyā appear in Brahman, since Brahman is pure consciousness?
Sengaku Mayeda writes, in his commentary and translation of Adi Shankara's Upadesasahasri:
========
Also due to , the true identity is forgotten, and material reality, which manifests at various levels, is mistaken as the only and true reality.
=====True Self=====
Ātman (IAST: ātman, Sanskrit: आत्मन्) is a Sanskrit word that means 'self'. Ātman is the first principle,Deussen, Paul and Geden, A. S. The Philosophy of the Upanishads. Cosimo Classics (1 June 2010). P. 86. ISBN 1-61640-240-7. the true self of an individual beyond identification with phenomena, the essence of an individual.
When the reflection of Atman falls on avidya (ignorance), atman becomes jīva — a living being with a body and senses. Each jiva feels as if he has his own, unique and distinct Atman, called jivatman. The concept of jiva is true only in the pragmatic level. In the transcendental level, only the one Atman, equal to Brahman, is true.
Ātman is not a part of Brahman that ultimately dissolves into Brahman, but identical with Brahman. The characteristics of Atman are Consciousness, Reality and Bliss.
Atman, being the silent witness of all the modifications, is free and beyond sin and merit. It does not experience happiness or pain because it is beyond the triad of Experiencer, Experienced and Experiencing. It does not do any Karma because it is Aaptakaama. It is incorporeal and independent.
===Moksha – liberation through knowledge of atman===
The aim of Advaita Vedanta is liberation, by knowledge of the identity of atman and Brahman. According to Adi Śankara, knowledge of Brahman springs from inquiry into the sacred texts of the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita and Brahma Sutras. It is obtained by following the four stages of samanyasa (self-cultivation), sravana, listening to the teachings of the sages, Manana, reflection on the teachings, and Dhyana, contemplation of the truth "that art Thou".
====Puruṣārtha – Chief aims of human life====
Indian philosophy emphasises that "every acceptable philosophy should aid man in realising the Purusarthas, the chief aims of human life:
* Dharma: the right way to life, the "duties and obligations of the individual toward himself and the society as well as those of the society toward the individual";
* Artha: the means to support and sustain one's life;
* Kāma: pleasure and enjoyment;
* Mokṣa: liberation, release.
According to Puligandla:
Advaita Vedanta gives an elaborate path to attain moksha. It entails more than self-inquiry or bare insight into one's real nature. Practice, especially Jnana Yoga, is needed to "destroy one's tendencies (vAasanA-s)" before real insight can be attained.
====Identity of Atman and Brahman====
:See also Jnana, Prajna and Prajñānam Brahma
Moksha is attained by realizing the identity of Atman and Brahman. According to Potter,
"Pure consciousness" is the translation of jnanam. Although the common translation of jnanam is "consciousness", the term has a broader meaning of "knowing"; "becoming acquainted with", "knowledge about anything", "awareness", "higher knowledge".
"Brahman" too has a broader meaning than "pure consciousness". According to Paul Deussen, Brahman is:
* Satyam, "the true reality, which, however, is not the empirical one
* Jñãnam, "Knowledge which, however, is not split into the subject and the object"
* anantam, "boundless or infinite"
According to David Loy, 
The same nuance can be found in satcitananda, the qualities of Brahman, which are usually translated as "Eternal Bliss Consciousness", "Absolute Bliss Consciousness",Maharishi's Teaching, Meaning of the word "Satcitananda" (Sat Chit Ananda) or "Consisting of existence and thought and joy". Satcitananda is composed of three Sanskrit words:
* sat सत् (present participle); [Sanskrit root as, "to be"]: "Truth", "Absolute Being", "a palpable force of virtue and truth". Sat describes an essence that is pure and timeless, that never changes.
* cit चित् (noun): "consciousness", "true consciousness", "to be consciousness of",Sanskrit Dictionary, chit "to understand", "to comprehend".
* ānanda आनन्द (noun): "bliss", "true bliss", "happiness", "joy", "delight", "pleasure"Sanskrit dictionary for Spoken Sanskrit, ananda
This knowledge is intuitive knowledge, a spontaneous type of knowing, as rendered in the prefix pra of prajnanam Brahman,
====Jivanmukta – Liberation====
Advaitins believe that suffering is due to Maya (also known as Mithya or Vaitathya). Only knowledge of Brahman can destroy Maya. At the relative plane Jiva and Iswara "are regarded as different from and of a lower order of reality than the original consciousness that is the absolutely real (paaramaarthika) Brahman". When Maya is removed, the truth of "Brahma Satyam Jagan Mithya Jivo Brahmaiva Na Aparah" is realised:
Such a state of bliss when achieved while living is called Jivanmukta.
====Mahavakya – The Great Sentences====
The Mahavakya, or "the great sentences", remind us of the unity of Brahman and Atman, or "the inner immortal self and the great cosmic power are one and the same". There are many such sentences in the Vedas, however only one such sentence from each of the four Vedas is usually chosen.
Sr. No.	Vakya 	Meaning 	Upanishad 	Veda
1 	प्रज्ञानं ब्रह्म (pragñānam brahma)	Prajñānam is Brahman 	Aitareya V.3 	Rgveda
2. 	अहं ब्रह्मास्मि (aham brahmāsmi)	I am Brahman, or I am Divine	Brhadāranyaka I.4.10	Shukla Yajurveda
3. 	तत्त्वमसि (tat tvam asi) 	That thou art 	Chandogya VI.8.7 	Samaveda
4. 	अयमात्मा ब्रह्म (ayamātmā brahma)	This Atman is Brahman 	Mandukya II 	Atharvaveda
===Means to liberation===
====Necessity of a Guru====
=====Guidance of a Guru=====
According to Śankara and others, anyone seeking to follow the philosophy of Advaita Vedānta must do so under the guidance of a Guru (teacher).Chāndogya Upanishad – ācāryavān puruşo veda. Also see the first prose chapter of Śankara's Upadeśasāhasrī. It is the teacher who through exegesis of Sruti and skilful handling of words generates a hitherto unknown knowledge in the disciple. The teacher does not merely provide stimulus or suggestion.
=====Qualities of the Guru=====
The Guru must have the following qualities (see Mundaka Upanishad 1.2.12):
# — must be learned in the Vedic scriptures and Sampradaya
# — literally meaning 'established in Brahman'; must have realised the oneness of Brahman in everything, and in himself/herself.
The seeker must serve the Guru, and submit questions with all humility in order to remove all doubts (see Bhagavad Gita 4.34). By doing so, Advaita says, the seeker will attain Moksha ('liberation from the cycle of births and deaths').
====Ways to liberation====
Practice, especially Jnana Yoga, is needed to "destroy one's tendencies (vAasanA-s)" before real insight can be attained.
=====Jnana Yoga – Four stages of practice=====
Classical Advaita Vedanta emphasises the path of Jnana Yoga, a progression of study and training to attain moksha. It consists of four stages:
* Samanyasa or Sampattis,Adi Shankara, Tattva bodha (1.2) the "fourfold discipline" (sādhana-catustaya), cultivating the following four qualities:
** (नित्यानित्य वस्तु विवेकम्) — The ability (viveka) to correctly discriminate between the eternal (nitya) substance (Brahman) and the substance that is transitory existence (anitya).
** (इहाऽमुत्रार्थ फल भोगविरागम्) — The renunciation (virāga) of enjoyments of objects (artha phala bhoga) in this world (iha) and the other worlds (amutra) like heaven etc.
** (शमादि षट्क सम्पत्ति) — the sixfold qualities,
*** Śama (control of the ).
*** Dama (the control of external sense organs).
*** Uparati (the cessation of these external organs so restrained, from the pursuit of objects other than that, or it may mean the abandonment of the prescribed works according to scriptural injunctions).
*** (the tolerating of ).
*** (the faith in Guru and Vedas).
*** (the concentrating of the mind on God and Guru).
** (मुमुक्षुत्वम्) — The firm conviction that the nature of the world is misery and the intense longing for moksha (release from the cycle of births and deaths).
* Sravana, listening to the teachings of the sages on the Upanishads and Advaita Vedanta, and studying the Vedantic texts, such as the Brahma Sutras. In this stage the student learns about the reality of Brahman and the identity of atman;
* Manana, the stage of reflection on the teachings;
* Dhyana, the stage of meditation on the truth "that art Thou".
=====Bhakti Yoga and Karma Yoga=====
The paths of Bhakti Yoga and Karma Yoga are subsidiary to jnana yoga
======Bhakti Yoga======
In Bhakti Yoga, practice centres on the worship God in any way and in any form, like Krishna or Ayyappa. Adi Shankara himself was a proponent of devotional worship or Bhakti. But Adi Shankara taught that while Vedic sacrifices, puja and devotional worship can lead one in the direction of jnana (true knowledge), they cannot lead one directly to moksha. At best, they can serve as means to obtain moksha via shukla gati.
======Karma Yoga======
Karma yoga is the way of doing our duties, in disregard of personal gains or losses. According to Sri Swami Sivananda,
===Epistemology – Ways of knowing===
Epistemology () is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature and scope (limitations) of knowledge.
==== – Correct knowledge====
Pramāna, (sources of knowledge, Sanskrit प्रमाण), refers to the correct knowledge, arrived at by thorough reasoning, of any object.
=====Pramātṛ, Pramāṇa and Prameya=====
 forms one part of a (trio), namely,
# , the subject; the knower of the knowledge
# , the cause or the means of the knowledge
# Prameya, the object of knowledge
=====Six pramāṇas=====
In Advaita Vedānta, as in the Bhāṭṭa school of Mimāṃsā, the following are accepted:
# (perception), the knowledge gained by means of the senses. That which is immediately perceived to be so; This knowledge can be corrected, e.g. if one perceives a piece of rope to be a snake.
# (inference), the knowledge gained by means of inference. That which is perceived as true through previous knowledge, e.g. to knows that it is a fire because smoke can be seen in the sky (the two are related through a universal law)
# (verbal testimony), the knowledge gained by means of texts such as Vedas (also known as )
# (comparison), the knowledge gained by means of analogy or comparison. That which is perceived as true since it compares to previous, confirmed, knowledge. To know that something is something, e.g. a cat, because one has seen cats before.
# (postulation), the knowledge gained by superimposing the known knowledge on an appearing knowledge that does not concur with the known knowledge. I.e. To see someone gain weight while knowing they are fasting, imposes the knowledge that the person is secretly eating.
# (negation), the knowledge gained through the absence of the object. That which is true through a negation. Classic e.g. karatale ghato nasti – the pot is not on the palm. The pot could be elsewhere. So the place (on the palm) of its absence is also important.
Perception, inference and verbal testimony have the same meaning as in the Nyaya-school. Regarding comparison, postulation and non-cognition Advaita Vedanta views which somewhat differ from the Nyaya-school.
====Sruti and anubhava - canonical texts and personal experience====
According to a common interpretation, Shankara emphasizes the role of personal experience (anubhava) in ascertaining the validity of knowledge. Anantanand Rambachan quotes several modern interpretators in defence of this interpretation, especially Radakrishnan. Yet, according to Rambacham himself, sruti is the main source of knowledge for Shankara.
According to Swami Dayananda Saraswati, anubhava has a more specific meaning than "experience", namely "direct knowledge". Interpreting anubahva as "experience" may lead to a misunderstanding of Advaita Vedanta, and a mistaken rejection of the study of the scriptures as mere intellectual understanding. Stressing the meaning of anubhava as knowledge, Saraswati makes clear that liberation comes from knowledge, not from mere experience.Advaita Academy, Experience versus knowledge – a brief look at samAdhi (Part 2 of 2) Saraswati points out that "the experience of the self ... can never come because consciousness is ever-present, in and through each and every experience."Swami Dayananda Saraswati, Anubhava
According to Hirst, anubhava is the "non-dual realisation gained from the scriptures", which "provides the sanction and paradigm for proper reasoning", when interpreted by a self-realized Advaitin teacher. This "knowledge of Brahman, is identical with that self which is to be known as witness, not as object".
Davis translates anubhava as "direct intuitive understanding". And according to Comans, Shankara uses anubhava interchangeably with pratipatta, "understanding".
====Criterion of Sublation====
Sublation is replacement of a "truth" by a higher "truth", until no higher truth can be found. Shankara uses sublatibility as the criterion for the ontological status of any content of consciousness:
===Ontology – The nature of being===
Ontology is the philosophical study of the nature of being, existence, or reality, as well as the basic categories of being and their relations.
Advaita Vedanta is a so-called substance ontology, an ontology "which holds that underlying the seeming change, variety, and multiplicity of existence there are unchanging and permanent entities (the so-called substances)". In contrast, Buddhism is a process ontology, according to which "there exists nothing permanent and unchanging, within or without man".
====Three Levels of Reality====
Advaita took over from the Madhyamika the idea of levels of reality. Usually two levels are being mentioned, but Shankara uses sublation as the criterion to postulate an ontological hierarchy of three levels:advaita-vision.org, Discrimination
* (paramartha, absolute), the absolute level, "which is absolutely real and into which both other reality levels can be resolved". This experience can't be sublated by any other experience.
* (vyavahara), or samvriti-saya (empirical or pragmatical), "our world of experience, the phenomenal world that we handle every day when we are awake". It is the level in which both jiva (living creatures or individual souls) and Iswara are true; here, the material world is also true.
* (pratibhasika, apparent reality, unreality), "reality based on imagination alone". It is the level in which appearances are actually false, like the illusion of a snake over a rope, or a dream.
====Brahman====
=====Absolute Truth=====
Brahman is Paramarthika Satyam, "Absolute Truth". It is 
"Brahman" has a broader meaning than "pure consciousness". According to Paul Deussen, Brahman is:
* Satyam, "the true reality, which, however, is not the empirical one"
* Jñãnam, "Knowledge which, however, is not split into the subject and the object"
* anantam, "boundless or infinite"
Other than Brahman, everything else, including the universe, material objects and individuals, are maya. Brahman is absolute reality, unborn and unchanging. According to Advaita Vedanta, consciousness is not a property of Brahman but its very nature. In this respect Advaita Vedanta differs from other Vedanta schools.[Sangeetha Menon (2007), Advaita Vedānta. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy]
Brahman is the Self-existent, the Absolute and the Imperishable. Brahman is indescribable. It is at best Satchidananda, Infinite Truth, Infinite Consciousness and Infinite Bliss.
Brahman is free from any kind of differences or differentiation. It does not have any (homogeneous) differentiation because there is no second Brahman. It does not have any (heterogeneous) differentiation because there is nobody in reality existing other than Brahman. It has neither svagata (internal) differences, because Brahman is itself homogeneous.
Brahman is often described as neti neti, "not this, not this" since Brahman cannot be correctly described as this or that.
====Atman====
Due to avidya, atman is covered by sheaths, or bodies, which hide man's true nature.
=====Koshas=====
According to the Taittiriya Upanishad, the Atman is covered by five koshas, usually rendered "sheath".Himalayan Academy Publications (2002). Hinduism's Online Lexicon. (accessed: 30 March 2008) They are often visualised like the layers of an onion:
From gross to fine the five sheets are:
# Annamaya kosha, food-apparent-sheath
# Pranamaya kosha, air-apparent-sheath
# Manomaya kosha, mind-stuff-apparent-sheath
# Vijnanamaya kosha, wisdom-apparent-sheath
# Anandamaya kosha, bliss-apparent-sheath (Ananda)
According to Vedanta the wise man should discriminate between the self and the koshas, which are non-self.
=====Avasthåtraya – Three states of consciousness=====
Adi Shankara discerned three states of consciousness, based on the Mandukya Upanishad, namely waking (jågrat), dreaming (svapna), and deep
sleep (suƒupti),Arvind Sharma, Sleep as a State of Consciousness in Advaita Vedånta. State University of New York Pressadvaita.org.uk, Om' – three states and one reality (An interpretation of the Mandukya Upanishad) which correspond to the three bodies:
# The first state is the waking state, in which we are aware of our daily world. "It is described as outward-knowing (bahish-prajnya), gross (sthula) and universal (vaishvanara)". This is the gross body.
# The second state is the dreaming mind. "It is described as inward-knowing (antah-prajnya), subtle (pravivikta) and burning (taijasa)". This is the subtle body.
# The third state is the state of deep sleep. In this state the underlying ground of concsiousness is undistracted, "the Lord of all (sarv'-eshvara), the knower of all (sarva-jnya), the inner controller (antar-yami), the source of all (yonih sarvasya), the origin and dissolution of created things (prabhav'-apyayau hi bhutanam)". This is the causal body.
# A fourth state is Turiya, pure consciousness. It is the background that underlies and transcends the three common states of consciousness. In this consciousness both absolute and relative, Saguna Brahman and Nirguna Brahman, are transcended. It is the true state of experience of the infinite (ananta) and non-different (advaita/abheda), free from the dualistic experience which results from the attempts to conceptualise ( vipalka) reality. It is the state in which ajativada, non-origination, is apprehended.
====Empirical reality====
==========
According to Adi Shankara, Māyā () is the complex illusionary power of Brahman which causes the Brahman to be seen as the material world of separate forms. Its shelter is Brahman, but Brahman itself is untouched by the illusion of Māyā, just as a magician is not tricked by his own magic.
All sense data entering ones awareness via the five senses are Māyā. Māyā is neither completely real nor completely unreal, hence indescribable. Māyā is temporary and is transcended with "true knowledge", or perception of the more fundamental reality which permeates Māyā.
Māyā has two main functions:
# To "hide" Brahman from ordinary human perception,
# To present the material world in its (Brahmam) place.
Swami Vivekananda explains the concept of Māyā as follows:
=====The world is unreal and real=====
The world is both unreal and real. but something can't be both true and false at the same time; hence Adi Shankara has classified the world as indescribable.
Adi Sankara says that the world is not real (true), it is an illusion. Adi Sankara gives the following reasoning:http://www.vedanta.gr/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/SwParam_IntroVedanta-Tattvabodha_ENA4.pdf
* Whatever thing remains eternal is true, and whatever is non-eternal is untrue. Since the world is created and destroyed, it is not real (true).
* Truth is the thing which is unchanging. Since the world is changing, it is not real (false).
* Whatever is independent of space and time is real (true), and whatever has space and time in itself is not real (false).
* Just as one sees dreams in sleep, he sees a kind of super-dream when he is waking. The world is compared to this conscious dream.
* The world is believed to be a superimposition of the Brahman. Superimposition cannot be real (true).
Adi Sankara also claims that the world is not absolutely unreal (false). It appears unreal (false) only when compared to Brahman. At the empirical or pragmatic level, the world is completely real:Sinha 1993
* If the world were unreal (false), then with the liberation of the first living being, the world would have been annihilated. However, the world continues to exist even if a living being attains liberation. But, it is possible that no living being attained the ultimate knowledge (liberation) till now.
* Adi Sankara believes in karma, or good actions. This is a feature of this world. So the world cannot be unreal (false).
* The Supreme Reality Brahman is the basis of this world. The world is like its reflection. Hence the world cannot be totally unreal (false).
* False is something which is ascribed to nonexistent things, like Sky-lotus. The world is a logical thing, a fact which is perceived by our senses and exists but is not the truth.
The world being both unreal and real is explained by the following. A pen is placed in front of a mirror. One can see its reflection. To one's eyes, the image of the pen is perceived. Now, what should the image be called? It cannot be true, because it is an image. The truth is the pen. It cannot be false, because it is seen by our eyes.
==Status of ethics==
Some claim that there is no place for ethics in Advaita, "that it turns its back on all theoretical and practical considerations of morality and, if not unethical, is at least 'a-ethical' in character".
Ethics does have a firm place in this philosophy. Ethics, which implies doing good Karma, indirectly helps in attaining true knowledge. Many Advaitins consider Karma a "necessary fiction". Karma cannot be proven to exist through any of the Pramāṇas. However, to encourage students to strive towards Vidyā (spiritual knowledge) and combat Avidyā (ignorance), the idea of Karma is maintained.
Truth, non-violence, service of others, pity, are Dharma, and lies, violence, cheating, selfishness, greed, are adharma (sin). However, no authoritative definition of Dharma was ever formulated by any of the major exponents of Advaita Vedanta. Unlike ontological and epistemological claims, there is room for significant disagreement between Advaitins on ethical issues.
==Influence of Mahayana Buddhism==
Many authorities from India and elsewhere have noted that Advaita Vedanta shows signs of influence from Mahayana Buddhism. The Mahayana schools with whom Shankara's Advaita is said to share similarities are the Madhyamaka, founded by Nagarjuna,Campbell, W. L. Ed. and trans. 1919. The Tree of Wisdom: Being the Tibetan text with English translation of Nāgārjuna's gnomic verse treatise called the Prajñādanda. Calcutta University. Reprint: Sonam T. Kazi, Gangtok. 1975. and the Yogacara,Consciousness in Indian philosophy: the advaita doctrine of 'awareness only', by Sthaneshwar Timalsina, p. 125 founded by VasubandhuP. 34 Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 2001 By Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland and AsangaTsoṅ-kha-pa Blo-bzaṅ-grags-pa, Robert A. F. Thurman (Page 28) in the early centuries of the Common Era.
John Grimes writes that while Mahayana Buddhism's influence on Advaita Vedanta has been ignored for most of its history, scholars now see it as undeniable.John Grimes. Journal of the American Academy of Religion Vol. 66, No. 3 (Autumn, 1998), pp. 684–686
Eliot Deutsch and Rohit Dalvi state:
S. Mudgal noted that among some traditionalist Indian scholars, it was the accepted view that Shankara
This influence goes back at least to Gaudapada:
Michael Comans has also demonstrated how Gaudapada, an early Vedantin, utilised some arguments and reasoning from Madhyamaka Buddhist texts by quoting them almost verbatim.
However, Comans believes there is a fundamental difference between Buddhist thought and that of Gaudapada, in that Buddhism has as its philosophical basis the doctrine of Dependent Origination, while Gaudapada does not at all rely on this principle. Gaudapada's Ajativada is an outcome of reasoning applied to an unchanging nondual reality, the fundamental teaching of the Upanishads.Comans, Michael, The method of early Advaita Vedānta, Delhi 2000 p. 88–93"
===Advaita-criticisms===
In India, the similarity of Shankara's Advaita to Buddhism was brought up by his rivals from other Vedanta schools, while on the other hand, Mahayanists such as Bhavyaviveka had to defend themselves from Theravada Buddhist accusations of the Mahayana doctrine being just another form of Vedantism.p200. Early Advaita Vedānta and Buddhism: the Mahāyāna context of the Gauḍapādīya-kārikā, By Richard King. 1995.V.V Gokhale, trans. and comments. "The Vedanta philosophy described by Bhavya in his Madhyamakahrdaya" Indo-Iranian journal, VOl II, No. 3, 1958, p 179–80
Shankara defended himself against these accusations:
===Common core thesis===
Western scholars like N.V. Isaeva state that the Advaita and Buddhist philosophies, after being purified of accidental or historical accretions, can be safely regarded as different expressions of the same eternal absolute truth.N.V. Isaeva, Shankara and Indian Philosophy, SUNY Press, 1993. p14 The comparison breaks down, of course, when one realizes that Gautama the Buddha denied the existence of the Atman whereas Atman is central to Advaita Vedanta.
Ninian Smart, a historian of religion, noted that the differences between Shankara and Mahayana doctrines are largely a matter of emphasis and background, rather than essence.Ninian Smart, Doctrine and Argument in Indian Philosophy. London 1964. p.104
==Relationship with other forms of Vedanta==
The exposition and spread of Advaita by Sankara spurred debate with the two main theistic schools of Vedanta philosophy that were formalised later: Vishishtadvaita (qualified nondualism), and Dvaita (dualism).
===Vishishtadvaita===
Yamunacharya, a 10th-century AD proponent of the Vishishtadvaita philosophy that opposed Shankara's Advaita, compared Advaita to Buddhism and remarked in his Siddhitraya that for both the Buddhists and the Advaitins, the distinctions of knower, known and knowledge are unreal. The Advaita traces them to Maya, while Buddhist subjectivism traces them to buddhi.J.R.A.S, 1910, p132 Ramanujacharya, another prominent Vishishtadvaita philosopher, accused Shankara of being a Prachanna Bauddha, that is, a hidden BuddhistSee Sri Bhasya of Ramanuja, II.II.27
===Dvaita===
The Dvaita, founded by Madhvacharya (1238–1317 AD), was partisan to Vaishnavism, building on a cogent system of Vedantic interpretation that proceeded to take on Advaita in full measure. Madhvacharya's student Narayana, in his Madhvavijaya, a hagiography of Madhva, characterised Madhva and Shankara as born-enemies, and describes Shankara as a "demon born on earth".Madhvācārya as Prophetic Witness, by Deepak Sarma. JIRD issue 7 svh 08 15 11 Surendranath Dasgupta noted that some Madhva mythology went so far as to characterise the followers of Shankara as "tyrannical people who burned down monasteries, destroyed cattle and killed women and children".Dasgupta Surendranath. A History of Indian Philosophy, vol. 1. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1922.I, p. 52
==List of teachers==
Advaita Vedanta has had many teachers over the centuries in many different countries.
==See also==
* Cause and effect in Advaita Vedanta
* Shri Gaudapadacharya Math
* Kashmir Shaivism – an unrelated Hindu monistic / nondual school
* Sringeri matha
* Adhyatma Prakasha Karyalaya – a non-profit organisation dedicated to Advaita Vedanta
* Shastra Nethralaya
==Notes==
==References==
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;Introductions
* Eliot Deutsch, Advaita Vedanta: a philosophical reconstruction, East-West Center Press, Honolulu, 1969
* Kokileswar Sastri, An introduction to Adwaita philosophy: a critical and systematic exposition of the Sankara school of Vedanta, Bharatiya Publishing House, Varanasi, 1979.
* M. K. Venkatarama Aiyar, Advaita Vedanta, according to Sankara, Asia Publishing House, New York, 1965.
* Ayyar, Krishnan, Introduction to Advaita Vedanta
;Source books
* Eliot Deutsch and J. A. B. van Buitenen, A source book of Advaita Vedanta, University Press of Hawaii, Honolulu, 1971.
* A. J. Alston, A Samkara source-book, Shanti Sadan, London, 1980–1989.
;Topical studies
* Kapil N. Tiwari, Dimensions of renunciation in Advaita Vedanta, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 1977.
* Satyapal Verma, Role of Reason in Sankara Vedanta, Parimal Publication, Delhi, 1992.
* Arvind Sharma, The philosophy of religion and Advaita Vedanta: a comparative study in religion and reason, Pennsylvania State University Press, 1995.
* Sangam Lal Pandey, The Advaita view of God, Darshana Peeth, Allahabad, 1989.
* Adya Prasad Mishra, The development and place of bhakti in Sankaran Vedanta, University of Allahabad, 1967.
;Shankara
* Elayath. K. N. Neelakantan, The Ethics of Sankara, University of Calicut,1990.* Raghunath D. Karmarkar, Sankara's Advaita, Karnatak University, Dharwar, 1966.
* S. G. Mudgal, Advaita of Sankara, a reappraisal: Impact of Buddhism and Samkhya on Sankara's thought, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi,
* A. Ramamurti, Advaitic mysticism of Sankara, Visvabharati, Santiniketan, 1974.
* Natalia V. Isayeva, Shankara and Indian philosophy, SUNY, New York, 1993.
* V. Panoli, Upanishads in Sankara's own words: Isa, Kena, Katha, and Mandukya with the Karika of Gaudapada: with English translation, explanatory notes and footnotes, Mathrubhumi, Calicut, 1991–1994.
;Sringeri Sharada Peetham
* Madhava Vidyaranya, Sankara-Digvijaya, translated by Swami Tapasyananda, Sri Ramakrishna Math, 2002, ISBN 81-7120-434-1.
;Neo-Advaita
* Madhukar, The Simplest Way, Editions India, USA & India 2006, ISBN 81-89658-04-2
* Madhukar, Erwachen in Freiheit, Lüchow Verlag, German, 2.Edition, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-363-03054-1
;Indian languages
* Mishra, M., Bhāratīya Darshan (भारतीय दर्शन), Kalā Prakāshan.
* Sinha, H. P., Bharatiya Darshan ki ruparekha (Features of Indian Philosophy), 1993, Motilal Benarasidas, Delhi–Varanasi.
* Swāmi Paramānanda Bhārati, Vedānta Prabodha (in Kannada), Jnānasamvardhini Granthakusuma, 2004
;Contemporary criticism
* 
==External links==
* 
Category:Vedanta
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