Advaita Vedanta

The Indian mystical philosophies and religions are concerned not so much with the manifest reality we see about us, but with the unmanifest Absolute Transcendent.  What matters is simply the practical attainment of a state of this universal, transcendent, transpersonal existence.  In that state, there is no difference between individual Self (Jiva) and God (Ishwara); there is only the qualityless Absolute (Nirguna Brahman)[1]. In short, they are not a mental or analytical philosophy as we understand the term in the West, but rather a conceptual system for guiding yogic practice, with the goal being the complete transcendence of embodied existence.

Perhaps the most important school of Indian spiritual philosophy, Advaita Vedanta originates from the writings of Gaudapada and Sankaracharya, who in turn were commentators on earlier scriptures such as the Brahma Sutra, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Upanishads.  As with all Indian systems of thought, Advaita Vedanta is at the same time a school of philosophy, a religion, a theology and a doctrine of salvation

It's basic premise is all that all that ultimately exists is the Absolute Reality, Nirguna Brahman ("Brahman without qualities").  The phenomenal world has empirical validity.  But it has no absolute reality.  It is ultimately maya - a magical show - and mithya - false (neither real nor unreal).  All that exists is nothing but Brahman. One's individual self is  ultimately no different from Brahman, hence the importance given to the Upanishadic sayings "I am Brahman" and "that thou art".  It is only a sort of metaphysical ignorance (avidya) that prevents us from realising our true nature as one with the Absolute - as in fact The Absolute Itself.  Once avidya is removed there arise the experience of the Atman's identity with Brahman.  One becomes jivanmukti - liberated while in the body - and after death attains Moksha, identity with the Absolute.

There has been a lot of misunderstanding regarding the status the phenomenal world in Advaita, even by some of it's modern proponents.  According to this false interpretation which the universe is considered nothing but illusion.  Many people therefore reject Advaita as "illusionism".  But in fact Shankara was a staunch empiricist and fully acknowledged the phenomenal reality of the world, God (Ishwara) etc.  He was actually very critical of the Yogachara Buddhist position that the world is a subjective product of the mind).  When Shankara discusses the reality or otherwise of the world of duality, he is talking from the point of view of his attainment of Enlightenment, according to which the world-process really did appear unreal or false.  But as far as the ordinary consciousness goes, Advaita propounds pragmatic realism, including worship of deities separate from oneself, etc.

Advaitin Metaphysics integrates the late Mandukya Upanishad, Samkhya, and miscellaneous ideas around at the time.  The following is a tabulation of the Advaitin partitions of being.

see The Mandukyopanishad with Gaudapada's Karika and Shankara's Commentary (Sri Ramakrishna Ashram, Mysore, 1974)

The Advaitin idea of enlightenment or liberation is based on a very profound insight.  Not "merging with God" (as is commonly misunderstood), but becoming that Absolute.  By becoming the Absolute you transcend the cosmic order; you are no longer a finite being, but instead - or perhaps I should say but also - the Absolute Reality, Atman-Brahman.  The boundaries of the self disappear, and the being becomes infinite.

Links

The Advaita Vedânta Home Page

Advaita Vedanta Library

Advaita Vedanta - quotations from Sivananda and others, explanations of key aspects of Advaita, articles by a number of authors

Realization.org: Advaita Vedanta - brief but good intro

Advaita Vedanta - wikipedia

[1] Shankara, Vivekacudamuni, vv 141-144. (Transl by Swami Madhavananda, Advaita Ashram, Calcutta)]