The Advaitist

Madhva was the founder of the Dvaita Vedanta or Dualistic System and was a firm proponent of Unqualified Dualism. His contention was that soul is a separate principle independent from the Ultimate Principle. He founded a Krishna temple at Udipi. His works are: a. anuvyAkhyAna, the commentary on Vedantasutra b. mahAbhAratatAtparyanirNaya

rAmAnuja, a famed Vaishnava leader founded the Vishistadvaita or Qualified Dualism , where he contends that there is only one Ultimate Principle but that souls or Spiritual Principle are also real although their existence is tied to the Ultimate Principle. According to him, in the end there is only the Ultimate Principle, but during the period of manifestation, the world and souls are separate in order to serve the Ultimate Principle. His life was dedicated to the study and spread of the Vaishnava cause and during his lifetime he restore many temples and converted many to Vishnavism. His important texts were: a. shrIbhAshya - commentary on Vedantasutra b. vedAntasAra c. vedArthasaMgraha d. vedAntadIpa

shaMkara founded the Advaita Vedanta (monism) where he contends that there is only one Ultimate Principle and everything else is an illusion (mAyA). His thesis was based on firm logic and not any other means like intuition. He founded four mathas/ monasteries i. Sringeri in Mysore ii. Puri in Orissa iii. Dvarka in Gujarat iv. Badrinath in the Himalayas His important texts were: a. commenaries on the prasthAnatraya b. vivekachUdAmaNi c. upadeshasahasrI d. AptavajrasUchI e. Atmabodha f. mohamudgara g. dashashloki h. aparokShAnubhUti

vedAnta was founded by bAdarAyaNa. It is an inquiry into the nature of the Ultimate Principle (Brahman). Vedanta aims to show that there is only one Ultimate Reality which presents itself to the sense as an illusion (mAyA). It shows that the universe with its various forms is only an appearance and that all things are but different manifestations of one and the same. Three related schools of thought developed from the vedAntasUtra i. advaita or non-dualism founded by shaMkara (~8th century C.E) ii. vishiShTAdvaita or qualified non-dualism founded by rAmAnuja (~11th century C.E) iii. dvaita or dualism founded by madhva (~12th century C.E) Advaita contends that there is only one Ultimate Principle and phenomenal existence is an illusion or like a projection. Vishishtadvaita contends that there is only one Ultimate Principle but in the objective world it has a dual manifestation. Dvaita beliefs in a separation of Ultimate Principle and Spiritual Principle.

Introduction to Hinduism - 01.1.1.1.1 Premise Basic premise on which nyAya is developed ( reference: Hindu Philosophy by Theos Barnard ): a. The world consists of uninterrupted flows of misapprehension, faults, activity, birth and pain b. By the cessation of the flow of this chain of consequences one shall be freed c. The way to break this chain is to obtain a fuller understanding of the true nature of things d. Once this is accomplished, likes and dislikes will no longer exist e. Thus there shall be no desire, which is the stimulus of action f. This in turn will free us from rebirth In order to attain the Supreme Knowledge, the true nature of the following 16 items must be understood. A. Logic ---------- 1. pramAna - means of right knowledge 2. prameya - object of right knowledge 3. saMsaya - doubt 4. prayojana - purpose 5. drishtAnta - illustrative example 6. siddhAnta - tenet 7. avayava - members of a syllogism 8. tarka - refute 9. nirnaya - ascertainment B....

Introduction to Hinduism - 01.1.1.1.1 Definition nyAya is a philosophical system which examines the means and methods to explore the fundamental problem of reality. It's focus is on the means of knowledge and not on the nature of knowledge. nyAya provides an analytical investigative framework to explore the objects and subjects of human knowledge. It is also known as tarkavidyA (science of reasoning) and vAdavidyA (science of discussion). Founder The founder of nyAya is gautama, who was also known as aksapAda (one whose eyes are directed towards the feet) and dIrghatapas (one who undertakes long penances) given his physical mannerisms especially during contemplations. His date of birth or when he lived is uncertain - he has been dated as early as 550 BC (by Hindu scholars) to as late as 200 AD (by Western Christian scholars). Texts 1. nyAya sUtra by gautama 1. The earliest commentary on the nyAya sUtra called vAtsyAyana bhAshya was written by vAtsyAyana. 2. udyotakara wr...

Astika (आस्तिक) and nAstika (नास्तिक) are technical terms in relation to Hindu philosophy indicating whether the philosophical schools accept the Vedas as the supreme authority or not, respectively. The six Astika schools (also known as sad darshana) are: nyAya Vaisheshika Samkhya Yoga Mimamsa Vedanta The common theme of all the schools of Hindu Philosophy is the same - to understand the Ultimate Reality - the difference lies in the depth and level of interpretation of the Ultimate Reality. Each of these schools focus on a particular aspect of the whole and answers specific questions. nyAya answers the question "What are the means by which I may gain knowledge about the Ultimate Reality?" vaisheShika (वैशॆषिक) answers the question "What are the various things to be known about the Ultimate Reality?" sAMkhya (सांख्य) is a metaphysical doctrine and tries to answer about the fundamental nature of Existence yoga (योग) links this metaphysical doctrine to t...

Introduction Hindu Philosophical thoughts have their origin in antiquity - for example, as early as the 10th book of Rk Veda,  in the Nasadiya Sukta (RV 10.129), we find the Seer contemplating on the Origin of Universe. However, by the Upanishadic age, dvelopment of various philosophical schools were in full swing. Differences in Philosophy Development Style in East and West Development of philosophical ideas in India, were quite distinct from the way it happened in the Western World. In Greece for example, a philosopher propounded his views. He himself or someone else, documented the ideas and others debated on it. The next philosopher entered the scene and did the same thing and so on. Thus a clear chronology of philosophical ideas is available to the student of history and philosophy. In India, things were different. First of all, there were different schools of philosophy as opposed to a single person, and the inter-school rivalry was intense. Secondly, the entire phil...