Advaita Vedānta
The school of Vedānta that teaches the non-difference of the self and Brahman.
Also called Advaita, non-dualism
A school of Vedānta
Introduction
History
- Gauḍapāda’s Kārikā on the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad
- Śaṅkara’s commentaries on the Brahma Sūtras, Upaniṣads and Gītā
- Vācaspati Miśra’s Bhāmatī
- Vidyāraṇya’s Pañcadaśī
- Madhusūdana Sarasvatī’s Advaitasiddhi answers Dvaita
- Vivekananda’s lectures on Jñāna-Yoga in London
- Ramana Maharshi’s answers recorded as Who Am I?
Major thinkers
- GauḍapādaAuthor of the Kārikā on the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad, the earliest surviving work of Advaita.
- ŚaṅkaraSystematizer of Advaita Vedānta, the non-dual reading of the Upaniṣads.
- Swami VivekanandaDisciple of Ramakrishna who presented Vedānta to Western audiences.
- Ramana MaharshiSouth Indian sage who taught self-enquiry: “Who am I?”
Key concepts
- BrahmanIn the Upaniṣads, the ultimate reality underlying all things.
- ĀtmanThe self, in the Upaniṣads and Vedānta.
- NondualityThe claim that reality is ultimately not two.
- MāyāThe power by which the one appears as many; in Advaita, the world as appearance.
- AvidyāIgnorance: not a lack of information, but a misapprehension of what one is.
- AdhyāsaSuperimposition: taking one thing for another, as a rope for a snake.
- JñānaKnowledge; in Vedānta, the liberating knowledge of the self.
- MokṣaLiberation from the cycle of birth and death; the highest human goal.
Important texts
- The Vedânta-Sûtras, with the Commentary by Sankarâkârya: Sacred Books of the East, vols. 34 and 38Thibaut’s complete translation of Śaṅkara’s commentary on the Brahma Sūtras, the foundational text of Advaita Vedānta. It opens with Śaṅkara’s analysis of superimposition (adhyāsa) and argues against Sāṃkhya, Buddhist and other rival schools. Thibaut’s introduction compares Śaṅkara’s reading with Rāmānuja’s.
- The Mândûkyopanishad, with Gaudapâda’s Kârikâs and the Bhâshya of ŚankaraAn English translation of the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad, Gauḍapāda’s verse treatise on it, and the commentary traditionally attributed to Śaṅkara. The Kārikā is the earliest surviving systematic work of Advaita, analysing waking, dream and deep sleep and arguing that nothing real is ever born.
- The Upanishads, Part I: Sacred Books of the East, vol. 1The first volume of Müller’s Sacred Books of the East, translating the Chāndogya, Talavakāra (Kena), Aitareya-āraṇyaka, Kauṣītaki-brāhmaṇa and Vājasaneyi-saṃhitā (Īśā) Upaniṣads, with an introduction. Its version of the sixth book of the Chāndogya, the teaching “that thou art”, shaped the Western reception of Vedānta.
- Jñāna-YogaVivekananda’s lectures on the path of knowledge, given mostly in London in 1896, on māyā, the real nature of man, the freedom of the soul and the unity of existence. They present Advaita as a universal philosophy addressed to a modern audience.
- Who Am I?: Nān Yār?Ramana Maharshi’s answers, given in writing around 1901–1902, to questions put by an early visitor, Sivaprakasam Pillai, later edited into a short prose text. It is the classic statement of self-enquiry, the practice of tracing the thought “I” to its source.
Convergence and divergence
Resemblance and difference, given equal room. Each note is marked with the kind of statement it makes.
Areas of convergence
The One, with Neoplatonism
Areas of divergence
God, with Christian Mysticism
Māyā, with Viśiṣṭādvaita
In Metanoia
- That Thou ArtFew sentences in any scripture have carried more philosophical weight than the teaching given to Śvetaketu by his father.
- The One and BrahmanPlotinus and Śaṅkara never read each other, yet both describe a first principle beyond ordinary predication. The resemblance is striking; so is the difference.
- What Is Unitive Knowledge?Unitive knowledge is not a doctrine that all religions are the same. It is a question about a kind of knowing that many traditions describe, and about how far their descriptions agree.
Cite this entry
“Advaita Vedānta.” Tradition. The Library, Unitive Knowledge Society. Last modified November 7, 2026. https://www.unitiveknowledge.org/library/traditions/advaita-vedanta.
“Advaita Vedānta,” tradition, The Library, Unitive Knowledge Society, last modified November 7, 2026, https://www.unitiveknowledge.org/library/traditions/advaita-vedanta.
“Advaita Vedānta.” The Library, Unitive Knowledge Society, 7 Nov. 2026, www.unitiveknowledge.org/library/traditions/advaita-vedanta.
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