Advaita

Vishishtadvaita

Dvaita

VedantaMay 5th, 2011

Vedanta means Veda end or the purpose or goal of the Vedas. It was

given by Badrayana or Maharishi Vyasa, who is one of the 7 chiranjivis

and wrote "Mahabharta".

Sub-schools of Vedanta:

Contents [hide]

Advaita

Vishishtadvaita

Dvaita

Dvaitādvaita

Shuddhādvaita

Achintya Bhedābheda

Purnādvaita or Integral Advaita

Modern Vedānta

Its proponent wes Adi Sahnakara and his Guru Gaudapada. The

essence of this Vedanta is that "Brahman is the only reality, and the

world, as it appears, is illusory."

Its proponent was Rāmānuja. The basic theory is that "jīvātman is a part

of Brahman, and hence is similar, but not identical. Brahman, matter

and the individual souls are distinct but mutually inseparable entities".

Vishishtadvaita advocates Bhakti to attain God.

The proponent of the Dvaita was Madhwāchārya.

This theory is also known as Tatvavādā - The Philosophy of Reality. It

identifies God in the Brahman (Universe) and its incarnations such as

Vishnu and Krishna. It says that all individual souls (jīvātmans) and

matter as eternal are mutually separate entities.

Dvaitādvaita

Shuddhādvaita

Achintya Bhedābheda

Purnādvaita or Integral Advaita

Modern Vedānta

The theory of Dvaitādvaita was given by Nimbarka. It is based upon the

early school of Bhedābheda of Bhaskara. It says that jīvātman is at once

the same as yet different from Brahman. The jiva relation may be

regarded as dvaita from one point of view and advaita from another. This

school identifies God in Krishna.

The proponent of Shuddhādvaita was Vallabha. It says that World is

Leela of God that is Krishna and he is Sat-Chid-Aananda. It identifies

Bhakti as the only means of liberation. Vallabha was also a famous saint

of Pushti Marg. He won the famous debate of Brahmavad over Shankars.

The proponent of Achintya Bhedābheda was Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was a follower of the Dvaita vedanta of Sri

Madhwacharya. The doctrine of Achintya Bhedābheda or inconceivable

and simultaneous one-ness and difference states that the soul or energy

of God is both distinct and non-distinct from God and he can be

experienced through a process of long devotion. It identified God in

Krishna. This Philosophy is followed by ISKCON.

The proponent of Purnādvaita was Shri Arubindo. He propounded this

doctrine in his "The Life Divine". synthesized all the exant schools of

Vedanta and gave a comprehensive resolution integrating cues from the

Western metaphysics and modern science. Sri Arubindo is known to be

one, who restored the umbilical cord of the Vedantic exegesis with the

Vedas.

The proponent of Modern Vedānta was Swami Vivekananda. His

phislosophy says that the c onditions of abject poverty should be

removed; only then will people be able to turn their minds toward God.

School Name Propounders

Advaita Adi Sahnakar and his Guru Gaudapada

Vishishtadvaita Rāmānuja

Dvaita Madhwāchārya

Dvaitādvaita Nimbarka

Shuddhādvaita Vallabha

AchintyaBhedābheda

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu

Purnādvaita orIntegralAdvaita

Shri Arubindo

ModernVedānta

Swami Vivekananda