Our FAQ at http://www.advaita-vedanta.org/avhp/ad_faq.html

[Guest guest]

Namaste All,

 

As a former author, reporter, editor, and

publisher and one of the few non-Sanskrit guys

around here I have taken the liberty of re-editing

the first seven questions of the FAQ that we can

find on advaita-vedanta at "our"? website.

 

The reason I did this is because it is so well

written. I have re-edited with the sole object of

helping to make some of the Sanskrit names and

concepts more clear for people like me who are new

to this spiritual search but find some of the

language hurdles quite difficult at times.

 

I only did seven so far because I got tired. I am

a fairly old man. I'd just like to ask you all to

read what I edited and compare with what is

available on line, putting yourself as reader in

the position of not being able to understand many

of these words.

 

Also, I'd very much appreciate any corrections or

comments you would offer.

 

Maybe eventually we can also post this one as a

What is advaita Vedanta (for beginners)?

 

Min Yee

 

 

 

What is advaita vedAnta?

 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

 

http://www.advaita-vedanta.org/avhp/ad_faq.html

 

 

Transliteration Key

1. What is advaita vedAnta?

2. Who is the founder of advaita?

3. What are the basic tenets of advaita?

4. What is the relationship between advaita and

Buddhism?

Is advaita a mere copy of Buddhism?

5. Why is advaita sometimes referred to as

mAyAvAda?

6. Isn't advaita falsified by everyday experience?

7. What is the concept of scripture, according to

advaita?

8. How does worship by advaitins differ from

worship in other schools of vedAnta?

9. What is the advaita concept of liberation?

10. What is the significance of jIvanmukti?

11. Who are some of the leading scholars of

advaita?

12. What are the advaita institutions of the

present day?

13. Online resouces relating to advaita vedAnta

and its teachers

 

1. What is advaita vedAnta, [the name of a school

of Vedanta philosophy teaching non-duality, the

oneness of God, soul and universe, whose chief

exponents were Gaudapada and Sankaracharya]?

Literally, "non-dualism," advaita is the name of

the oldest extant school of vedAnta [Lit., the

conclusion of the Vedas. A system of philosophy

ascribed to Vyasa, discussed mainly in the

Upanishads, the Bhagavad-Gita and the Brahma

Sutras]. Advaita asserts that the real, essential

identity of the the individual self [jIva,], is

nothing other than Ultimate Reality Itself.

[brahman]. The teaching follows from upanishadic

statements, great sayings of Vedantic knowledge

[mahAvAkyas] like "Thou art That" ["tat tvam asi"]

and "I am Brahman" ["aham brahmAsmi"]. It is in

this cardinal doctrine that advaita differs from

all other schools of vedAnta. The main tenets of

advaita are detailed in commentaries written by

Sankara [sankarAcArya] the famous philosopher who

lived in the 7th - 8th centuries A.D. Read

http://www.advaita-vedanta.org/avhp for a website

dedicated to advaita vedAnta.

2. Who is the founder of advaita?

There is no single founder of advaita. Since the

philosophy of advaita is rooted in the Upanishads,

which are part of the eternal vedas, the advaita

tradition does not trace itself to a historical

personality. However, SankarAcArya is venerated as

the most important teacher of advaita vedAnta, as

he wrote commentaries to the basic scriptural

texts, and placed the living advaita tradition on

a firm footing. Before SankarAcArya's time, the

tradition was passed down mainly through oral

instruction. Even today, the traditional way to

learn advaita is to sit at the feet of an

accomplished guru. Mere reading of the texts is

insufficient. More details about the guru's

tradition and disciples [paramparA] of advaita are

at

http://www.advaita-vedanta.org/avhp/advaita-paramp

ara.html. There is a description of pre-Sankaran

vedAnta at

http://www.advaita-vedanta.org/avhp/pre-sankara.ht

ml.

3. What are the basic tenets of advaita?

The essential identity of the Ultimate Self (or

Ultimate Soul) [Atman] and Ultimate Reality,

[brahman] (also the Absolute; the Supreme Reality

of Non-dualistic Vedanta) is the most important

tenet of advaita. Brahman is the substratum on

which all phenomena are experienced, and also the

One Lord who dwells in all being, the

[antaryAmin]. The innermost Atman, the real Self,

is the same as this antaryAmin, and identical to

Brahman. Liberation or enlightenment [Moksha]

consists in realizing this identity, not just as a

matter of literal or intellectual understanding,

but as something that is to be grasped by the

individual in his/her own personal experience.

Yogic practices help in the road towards such

realization, because they help the seeker in

practicing control of the senses, and in directing

the mind (the 'internal organ' - consisting of the

mind, intellect, awareness and I-ness)

[antahkaraNa] inwards. The practice of

ashTAnga-yoga [This method of Yoga involves

synchronizing the breath with progressive series

of postures-a process producing intense internal

heat and a profuse, purifying sweat that

detoxifies muscles and organs. The result is

improved circulation, a light and strong body, and

a calm mind.] is recommended to seekers by

teachers of advaita. The seeker has to be equipped

with requisite qualifications - qualities such as

patience, forbearance, ability to focus one's

concentration in an intense manner, an ability to

discriminate between the Real and the non-Real,

dispassion, and a desire for liberation. However,

it is important to remember that moksha is not a

result of mere ritualistic practice. Being

identical to Brahman, moksha always exists.

Ritualistic practices help only to the extent of

achieving purity of mind [citta-Suddhi] and in

developing the above-mentioned qualities.

advaita is a non-dual teaching. When asked why

duality is perceived in this world, advaita has a

multi-pronged answer to the question. The world of

multiplicity can be explained as due to mAyA [A

term of Vedanta philosophy denoting ignorance

obscuring the vision of Reality; the cosmic

illusion on account of which the One appears as

many, the Absolute as the relative world] the

power of creation wielded by the Creator, who is

therefore also called the mAyin. From the point of

view of the individual, the perception of

duality/multiplicity is attributed to ignorance

[avidyA] due to which the unity of Brahman is not

known, and multiplicity is seen instead. This is

akin to the false perception of a snake in a rope.

When the rope is known, the snake vanishes.

Similarly, on Brahman-realization, the world of

multiplicity vanishes. This does not mean that the

individual's ignorance creates the external world.

However, the perception of multiplicity in the

world, instead of the One Brahman, is due to

avidyA, i.e. ignorance. When avidyA is removed,

the individual knows his own Self (Atman) to be

Brahman, so that there is no more world and

paradoxically, no more individual. Here, the Self

alone IS. Removal of avidyA is synonymous with

Brahman-realization, i.e. moksha.

Read for a more detailed description.

4. What is the relationship between advaita and

Buddhism? Is advaita a mere copy of Buddhism?

No, advaita is not a mere copy of Buddhism. For a

few centuries now, advaita has been criticized as

being "Buddhism in disguise" ["pracanna

bauddham"]. This criticism stems mainly from some

of the Lord Vishnu-worshipping [vaishNava] schools

of vedAnta, but it is misplaced. Firstly, there is

no one "Buddhism" and for the criticism to be

valid, it must be specified which school of

Buddhism is being referred to. SankarAcArya

expends a lot of effort criticizing many of the

philosophical positions taken by various schools

of Buddhism in his commentaries. Among modern

academic scholars, advaita vedAnta is most often

compared with the madhyamaka and yogAcAra schools

of Buddhism. This has been inspired mainly by the

fact that the Gaudapada [an important pre-Sankara

philosopher, ca. 7th century AD] Karika [A

commentary or a philosophical, grammatical work in

concise statements] to the Mandukya Upanishad

[mANDUkya kArikAs, written by gauDapAda],

Sankara's own guru's teacher [paramaguru] exhibit

a great familiarity with this school of Buddhism.

However, if it is held that advaita vedAnta is

essentially the same as the "Middle Way" School

[Madhyamaka] instituted by the first to second

century Buddhist philosopher Nagarjuna [also

madhyamaka Buddhism], it must be pointed out that

such a view stems from a misunderstanding of the

important tenets of both advaita vedAnta and

madhyamaka Buddhism. There are many key details in

which advaita differs from the madhyamaka school

of Buddhism. As for the "Meditative Practice"

School, founded by Asanga, who lived in the fourth

century [yogAcAra], the points of similarity arise

from the fact that both advaita vedAnta and

yogAcAra Buddhism have a place for yogic practice,

as do other schools of Indian philosophy. For

further details, consult

http://www.advaita-vedanta.org/avhp/gaudapada.html

..

5. Why is advaita sometimes referred to as

mAyAvAda?

The word mAyAvAda [doctrine that the world is

unreal] serves many purposes. Since advaita

upholds the identity of the individual Atman with

Brahman, a doubt naturally arises about the origin

of the variegated universe. The appearance of

difference in the universe is attributed to mAyA.

In popular parlance, mAyA means illusion, and a

magician or a juggler is called a mAyAvI. Within

advaita, mAyA has a technical significance as the

creative power Sakti [Power, generally the

Creative Power of Brahman; a name of the Divine

Mother in the Hindu religion] of Brahman, which

also serves to occlude, due to which the universe

is perceived to be full of difference, and the

unity of Brahman is not known. See fuller details

in response to Q. 3 above. Some Vishnu-worshipping

[vaishNava] schools use the word mAyAvAda in a

derogatory sense. However, this criticism

interprets mAyA solely as illusion and criticizes

advaita for dismissing the world as an illusion

that is nothing more than a dream. Such a

criticism neglects the philosophical subtlety of

the concept of mAyA in advaita.

6. Isn't advaita falsified by everyday experience?

No. In fact, advaita acknowledges that everyday

experience leads one to infer plurality, but it

maintains emphatically that the transcendental

experience of brahmAnubhava ["Ekam eva Adwithiyam"

BrahmaBrahman is One Only, without a second",

that is to say, there is nothing besides Brahman;

under all conditions, at all times, everywhere,

Brahman alone is.] primarily negates the ordinary

everyday experience that is based on perception

through one's senses. The tradition holds that it

is not correct to make one's conclusions on issues

of metaphysics based only on normal everyday

experience. All schools of vedAnta rely on

scripture, i.e. the Vedas, as a valid source of

knowledge. As advaita vedAnta is learnt only from

the Upanishads, it is not falsified by everyday

experience. On the other hand, the knowledge of

Brahman's identity primarily negates normal

perception. It is also pointed out there would be

no need for scripture if one's conclusions were

based only on everyday experience. Read more at

http://www.advaita-vedanta.org/avhp/creation.html.

An account of the post-Sankaran development in

thinking about the One Brahman vis-a-vis the

manifold universe can be found at

http://www.advaita-vedanta.org/avhp/one-many.html.

7. What is the concept of scripture, according to

advaita?

Advaita's concept of scripture is very similar to

that of the pUrva mImAm.sA [one of the earlier

Vedanta schools, as also the uttara mImAm.sA

school, but with two important exceptions. Both

pUrva and uttara mImAm.sA schools maintain that

[revealed truth or knowledge] Sruti exists only to

reveal that which cannot be known otherwise.

Moreover, Sruti cannot deny a fact that is

amenable to ordinary perception, e.g. no amount of

repetition by the vedas that fire is cold will

make fire cold. Thus, if there occurs a statement

in Sruti that goes contrary to perception, it

requires interpretation in a metaphorical or

allegorical sense. Hence, there is a place for

logical thinking based on perception and inference

in these schools.

Thus,

1. The vedas, arranged into the Rk, yajus, sAma

and atharva vedas [The most sacred scriptures of

the Hindus and the ultimate authority of the Hindu

religion and philosophy. They were arranged by

Vyasa into four books, namely, the Rig-Veda, the

Yajur-Veda, the Sama-Veda, and the Atharva-Veda.].

The vedas are considered apaurusheya

[un-authored], and eternally valid texts. They

constitute Sruti, i.e. the "heard" revelation. A

number of other texts, admittedly of human

authorship, are also given scriptural status, but

they are subordinate to the vedas in their

authority, and are valid where they do not

conflict with vedic precepts. These other texts

are called smRti, i.e. "remembered" tradition.

2. Each veda has a part that deals with rituals

and sacrifices [karmakANDa], consisting of mantras

and ritual injunctions [vidhis] and a part of the

Vedas that teaches philosophical wisdom.

[jnAnakANDa], consisting of the Upanishads and

brAhmaNas [one of the two main sections of the

Vedas].

3. The first exception that advaita takes to pUrva

mImAmsA is in the role of the jnAnakANDa. The

Upanishads are not merely [statements of praise or

explanation] arthavAda, as maintained by the pUrva

mImAmsA schools. The Upanishads teach the

knowledge of Brahman, and are not meant to

eulogize the fruits of ritual action.

4. A second, more subtle philosophical difference

with pUrva mImAm.sA is that advaita vedAnta

accepts that Brahman is the source of the veda, in

the same way as Brahman is the source of the

entire universe. This acceptance of a "source" of

the veda would not be acceptable to the true pUrva

mImAm.sakas who follow the thought of the two main

schools of Mimamsa, Sri kumArila bhaTTa [a sage

who suggested Sankara visit and debate Mandana

Mishra] or Sri Prabhakara [the pupil of Sri

Kumarila, who opined that the Vedas are

essentially prescriptive rather than fact

assertive. They cannot be used as an authoritative

source of knowledge for existence and description

of some transcendent full blown entity such as

Brahman.]

The Upanishads, which constitute the Vedas that

teaches philosophical wisdom [jnAnakANDa] are

therefore called [heard knowedge] Sruti prasthAna,

and form one of the three sources of advaita

vedAnta. The most important [remembered knowledge]

smRti prasthAna of advaita tradition is the

bhagavad-gItA, which is perhaps the best known

Indian religious text in modern times. The third

text is the collection of brahmasUtras, by the

sage bAdarAyaNa. The brahmasUtras establish the

logical principles of orthodox vedAntic

interpretation of Sruti, and are therefore called

the nyAya prasthAna [Nyaya-prasthana means

every-thing, all the sutras and codes, are there

with full reasoning.] The truth of advaita vedAnta

is therefore said to be established on the

tripartite foundation (prasthAna trayI) [also the

Triple Canon of Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita and

Brahma Sutras. of revealed scripture] (Sruti),

remembered tradition (smRti) and logic (nyAya).

[Guest guest]

Obviously, I know many of these but here was my

beginning list of what might present problems to a

new seeker:

 

advaita

vedAnta

mAyAvAda

jIvanmukti

Upanishads

brahma-sUtras

bhagavad-gItA

jIva - the individual self\

mahAvAkyas

tat tvam asi

aham brahmAsmi

SankarAcArya

Vedas

guru paramparA

Atman

Brahman

AntaryAmin

Moksha

Yogic

antahkaraNa - the internal organ, - consisting of

the mind, intellect, awareness and I-ness

ashTAnga

citta-Suddhi

mAyA

mAyin

avidyA - ignorance

pracanna bauddham - buddhism in disguise

vaishNava schools

madhyamaka school

yogAcAra school

mANDUkya kArikAs

gauDapAda - Sankara,s paramaguru

madhyamaka Buddhism

mAyAvAda

mAyA - means illusion

mAyAvI - a magician or a juggler

is called a Within advaita, mAyA has a technical

significance as the (

Sakti - creative power of Brahman

vaishNava schools

mAyAvAda - in a derogatory sense, however, this

criticism interprets mAyA solely as illusion

BrahmAnubhava

Rk

Yajus

SAma

Atharva

apaurusheya (unauthored), and eternally valid

texts. They constitute Sruti, i.e. the "heard"

revelation

smRti - remembered tradition.

KarmakANDa - mantras

vidhis - ritual injunctions

jnAnakANDa - consisting of the upanishads and

brAhmaNas.

pUrva mImAmsA

arthavAda

pUrva mImAmsA schools

pUrva mImAm.sakas

kumArila bhaTTa

prabhAkara.

JnAnakANDa

Sruti prasthAna

smRti prasthAna

bhagavad-gItA

brahmasUtras, by the sage

bAdarAyaNa - sage

nyAya prasthAna - called brahmasUtras establish

the logical principles of orthodox vedAntic

interpretation of Sruti

nyAya

smArta

pancAyatana pUjA

vishNu - worshipped as a form of saguNa brahman

Siva - worshipped as a form of saguNa brahman

Sakti - worshipped as a form of saguNa brahman

gaNapati - worshipped as a form of saguNa brahman

sUrya - worshipped as a form of saguNa brahman

saguNa brahman.

PancAyatana

shaNmata

skanda

Sri Chandrasekhara Bharati (1892 - 1954), the

accomplished jIvanmukta, "you cannot see the feet

of the Lord, why do you waste your time debating

about the nature of His face?"

"iti nArAyaNasmaraNam"

devatA

nirguNa - attribute-less

guNas - all attributes

 

 

ishTa-devatA

ishTa-devatAs worshipped by advaitins include

vishNu as kRshNa, the jagadguru, and as rAma,

Siva as dakshiNAmUrti - the guru who teaches in

silence, and as

candramaulISvara

pArvatI - the Mother Goddess

lakshmI

sarasvatI

vishNu as a sAlagrAma,

Siva as a linga, and

Sakti as the SrI-yantra.