AdvaitaVedanta

Advaita Vedanta is one of the six classical schools of Hindu philosophy, originating in ancient India and centered on the teachings of the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Brahma Sutras. The term *Advaita* translates to "non-dualism," reflecting its core belief that ultimate reality (*Brahman*) is one, absolute, and without distinction. This philosophy posits that the individual soul (*atman*) and the universal consciousness are fundamentally identical, and the apparent separation between them is an illusion (*maya*).

Advaita Vedanta was systematized by the 9th-century philosopher Adi Shankara, who sought to reconcile the Upanishadic insights with the dualistic concepts found in earlier Vedantic texts. Shankara emphasized *neti neti* ("not this, not this"), a method of negation to dissolve the false notions of duality and highlight the unity of existence. His teachings, preserved in commentaries on the Brahma Sutras, Bhagavad Gita, and Upanishads, remain foundational to the school.

The philosophy rejects the permanence of the material world and the ego, advocating instead that liberation (*moksha*) comes from recognizing one’s true nature as pure consciousness. Practices such as meditation, study of sacred texts, and devotion (*bhakti*) are often recommended to attain this realization. Advaita Vedanta does not deny the existence of the empirical world but considers it transient and dependent on the eternal, unchanging Brahman.

While Advaita Vedanta is non-theistic in its ultimate stance, it does not reject deities. Many followers revere personal gods (*devas*) as symbolic representations of Brahman, though the ultimate goal remains the dissolution of the ego into the absolute. The school has influenced yoga, meditation traditions, and broader Hindu thought, making it one of the most widely studied and debated philosophical systems in Indian tradition.