Vedanta (Vedānta, वेदान्त, pronounced as //vé: dα:n tə//) means the anta or culmination or essence of the Vedas. It is a principal branch of Hindu philosophy. As per some, it is a form of Jnana Yoga (one of the four basic yoga practices in Hinduism; the others are: Raja Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Karma Yoga), a form of yoga which involves an individual seeking "the path of intellectual analysis or the discrimination of truth and reality." As per other ...

Including:

• Vedanta - Sub-schools of Vedanta
• Vedanta - Roots of Vedanta
• Vedanta - Transition from Vedic to Vedantic religion
• Vedanta - Formalization
• Vedanta - Vedanta and science
• Vedanta - Major Vedantic Gurus

Read more here: » Vedanta: Encyclopedia - Vedanta

See also:

Vedanta, Vedanta - Sub-schools of Vedanta, Vedanta - Roots of Vedanta, Vedanta - Transition from Vedic to Vedantic religion, Vedanta - Formalization, Vedanta - Vedanta and science, Vedanta - Major Vedantic Gurus

Read more here: » Vedanta: Encyclopedia II - Vedanta - Roots of Vedanta

Vedanta

the conclusion of Vedic philosophy.

(See also: Vedanta, Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Vedanta literally means culmination of knowledge. Veda means knowledge, anta means end. You are aware of the body, mind and intellect, but not your real Self. Vedanta helps you discover the true nature of your inherent Being.

(See also: Life and Death, Life and Beyond, Death and Dying, Body Mind and Soul)

Non-dualism is the highest Vedantic truth. Only Brahman exists. The pluralistic world as we experience it is merely a figment of the imagination. An illusion.

At the highest level Vedanta does not encourage any discussion on the nature of the world and its cause. That would merely be emphasising the reality of something which does not exist. It focuses on the direct experience of Reality.

(See also: Life and Death, Life and Beyond, Death and Dying, Body Mind and Soul)

Vedanta, or the philosophy of the Upanishads, is lofty, sublime and unique. The Western philosophers have paid their tribute to the ancient seers of the Upanishads. They have been amazed at the lofty heights scaled by them. Schopenhauer studied the Upanishads and meditated on the thoughts of the Upanishads just before going to bed. He said: - The Upanishads are the solace of my life and they will be solace to me after my death also. -

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Vedanta: The Glory Of Vedanta And Yoga

An introduction to Vedanta.

From "Easy Steps to Yoga" by Sri Swami Sivananda.

Read more here: » Vedanta: Introduction to Vedanta

You must be a practical Vedantin. Mere theorising and lecturing is only intellectual gymnastics and lingual warfare. This will not suffice. If Vedanta is not practicable, no theory is of any value. You must put Vedanta in daily practice, in every action. Vedanta teaches oneness or unity of Self. You must radiate love to one and all.

From "Easy Steps to Yoga" by Sri Swami Sivananda.

Read more here: » Vedanta: Practical Vedanta

When we come to Vedanta, there is no question about Kundalini or any type of mystical and mechanical methods. It is all enquiry and philosophical speculation. According to Vedanta the only thing to be destroyed is ignorance about one�s real nature, and this ignorance cannot be destroyed either by study, or by Pranayama, or by work, or by any amount of physical twisting and torturing, but only by knowing one�s real nature, which is Sat-Chit-Ananda or Existence-Knowledge-Bliss.

Read more here: » Kundalini: Vedanta and Kundalini

Vedanta is the religion of the Upanishads. It is the property of all. It has no quarrel with any religion whatsoever. It preaches universal principles. It inculcates the idea of that universal religion which is the fountainhead of all the religions of the world. It unites all. It shows the easy means to attain the Eternal Happiness, Peace and Bliss, the goal of human existence.

From "Easy Steps to Yoga" by Sri Swami Sivananda.

Read more here: » Vedanta:Vedanta - the religion of the Upanishads

Some of the doctrines of the Nyaya, the Vaiseshika, the Sankhya and the Yoga are opposed to the teachings of the Vedas. These systems are only superficially based on the Vedas. The Nyaya and the Vaiseshika schools rely too much on human reason, though they accept the Vedas as the supreme authority. Human intellect is frail and finite. It has got its limitations. It functions within time, space and causation. Its findings cannot be infallible.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Vedanta: Vedanta - The Most Satisfactory System Of Philosophy

Uttara Mimamsa or the Vedanta philosophy of Vyasa or Badarayana is placed as the last of the six orthodox systems, but, really, it ought to stand first.

The Uttara Mimamsa conforms closely to the doctrines propounded in the Upanishads. The term Vedanta means literally the end or essence of the Veda. It contains the doctrines set forth in the closing chapters of the Vedas. The closing chapters of the Vedas are the Upanishads. The Upanishads really form the essence of the Vedas.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Vedanta Philosophy: Hindu Philosophy - Vedanta Philosophy

The Sutras or aphorisms of Vyasa are the basis of the Vedanta philosophy. These Sutras have been variously explained by different commentators. From these interpretations have arisen several schools of philosophy: Kevala Advaita philosophy of Sri Sankaracharya the philosophy of Qualified Monism or Visishtadvaita of Sri Ramanujacharya, the Dvaita philosophy of Sri Madhvacharya, the Bhedabheda philosophy of Sri Nimbarkacharya, the Suddha Advaita philosophy of Sri Vallabhacharya, the Achintya Bhedabheda philosophy of Sri Chaitanya and the Siddhanta philosophy of Sri Meykandar.

Each system of philosophy treats of three main problems: God, world and soul. The several schools of philosophy are only different attempts at discovering the Truth.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Vedanta Philosophy: The Vedanta Schools of Philosophy

The teachings of Sankara can be summed up in half a verse: Brahman (the Absolute) is alone real; this world is unreal; and the Jiva or the individual soul is non-different from Brahman.

The Advaita taught by Sri Sankara is a rigorous, absolute one. According to Sri Sankara, whatever is, is Brahman. Brahman Itself is absolutely homogeneous. All difference and plurality are illusory.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Vedanta Schools: The Advaita Philosophy Of Sri Sankara

Vedas are four in number: The Rig Veda , the Sama Veda , the Yajur Veda and the Atharva Veda . Each of these four Vedas has four parts: the Samhita, the Brahmana, the Aranyaka, and a number of Upanishads. The first three parts of all the Vedas are collectively called the Vedas , and the fourth and the last, the Upanishads, are collectively called Vedanta .

These four parts of the Vedas represent the historical order of their development over millennia. The Samhitas are the most ancient, and of them, the Rig Veda Samhita is the earliest. The Samhitas are considered the Vedas proper; the Brahmanas , the Aranyakas and the Upanishads are periodic additions, made by way of growing with the changing times.

(See also: The Vedas, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Swami Rama Tirtha rekindled the poetic vision of the Upanishads. His exposition of Vedanta through lectures and talks imparted a transcendental perspective to the ancient texts. He advocated greater brotherhood and bonding through a realisation of the true meaning of the spiritual law.

The essence of this is captured in a beautiful composition called The Faith: "What care I for caste or creed? / It is the deed; it is the deed/ what for class or clan? / It is the man, it is the man /...What for crown or crest? / It is the heart within the breast".

(See also: Swami Rama Tirtha, Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

In vedanta, the second capsule of the Brahma Sutras is the most fundamental, cardinal, sacrosanct, and is also the most famous. Janmadyasya yatah - Brahman is that from which the birth and the evolution of the universe follow.

It says Brahman is that ultimate 'world’ which we gain access to by distilling the world down to its inmost content, or the furthest stop from where we get off by travelling backwards in time-space. Astronomical observations have confirmed more or less beyond doubt that stars, galaxies and clusters of super galaxies are receding from the earth and from one another.

The clinching evidence comes from the Doppler Effect or the Red Shift. The shift in the spectral lines towards the longer wavelengths identified by the red colour in the spectrum confirms that the source of light is moving and is not at rest.

(See also: Big Bang Theory, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Ten celebrated formulae of Vedanta.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Vedantic Wisdom: Vedic Philosophy - Celebrated Vedantic Wisdom Quotes

Recent scientific discoveries seem to validate the concept of Brahman . Physicists and cosmologists are close to proving that there is one source behind the physical universe, and they call this source the unified field. In a profound sense, Brahman , the Vedantic concept and the unified field of physics appear to be synonymous.

All the physical objects and phenomena around us are not illusory or maya, but are quite real. However, what we see is only the tip of the iceberg. Underneath it is the interplay of an abstract substance called energy, which in turn is controlled by something even more abstract:

(See also: Science and Spirituality, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Vedanta: (Sanskrit) "Ultimate wisdom" or "final conclusions of the Vedas."

Vedanta is the system of thought embodied in the Upanishads (ca 1500-600 bce), which give forth the ultimate conclusions of the Vedas. Through history there developed numerous Vedanta schools, ranging from pure dualism to absolute monism.

The first and original school is Advaita Ishvaravada, "monistic theism" or panentheism, exemplified in the Vedanta-Siddhanta of Rishi Tirumular (ca 250 bce) of the Nandinatha Sampradaya in his Tirumantiram, which is a perfect summation of both the Vedas and the Agamas. This is a dipolar reconciliation of monism and dualism which, as philosopher-statesman Dr. S. Radhakrishnan (18881975) declared, best depicts the philosophy of the Upanishads.

After about 700 ce, many other schools developed, each establishing itself through written commentaries on the major Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita and the Brahma Sutras. The latter text, by Badarayana (ca 400 bce), is the earliest known systematization of Vedanta, but its extremely terse aphorisms are philosophically illusive without commentary.

During the "scholastic era" (700-1700), three main variations of the original Vedanta were developed:

7)    Advaita Vedanta, or pure nondualism, exemplified by Shankara (788-820);

8)    Vishishtadvaita Vedanta, or qualified nondualism, most fully expressed by Ramanuja (1017-1137); and

9)    Dvaita Vedanta, expounded by Madhva (1197-1278).

Panentheism is embodied in those qualified nondual Vedanta schools that accept the ultimate identity of the soul and God. Examples are the Vishishtadvaita of Bhaskara (ca 950), the Shuddha Advaita, "pure nondualism," of Vallabha (ca 1475-1530) and, to a lesser degree, the Vishishtadvaita of Ramanuja.

In summary: Madhva, the dualist, conceives Brahman to be the Personal God. In his philosophy, the universe, souls and God are all separate from one another and real. Ramanuja, the qualified nondualist, also conceives Brahman to be the Personal God. In his philosophy, God must not be considered apart from the world and souls, for the three together form a one whole. The world and souls are real as the body of God, and the individual soul feels himself to be part of God. Shankara, the strict advaitist, conceives Brahman to be the Impersonal God, the Absolute. Shankara does not deny the existence of the Personal God, known as Ishvara, but declares Ishvara to be equally as unreal as the universe and the individuality of the soul. In truth, the only Reality is the Absolute, and man is that Absolute. To Rishi Tirumular, the panentheist, there is an eternal oneness of God and man at the level of their inner Being, but a difference is acknowledged during the evolution of the soul. Ultimately even this difference merges in identity. Thus, there is perfectly beginningless oneness and a temporary difference which resolves itself in perfect identity.

Vedanta is one of the six classical philosophies (shad darshanas) along with Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Sankhya, Yoga and Mimamsa. Vedanta is also called Uttara Mimamsa, "upper or later examination," as distinguished from Purva Mimamsa, which concerned itself solely with the earlier portions of the Veda. Other important schools of Vedanta include the Dvaitadvaita, "dual-nondualism,"of Nimbarka (ca 1150), and the Achintya Bhedabheda, "unthinkable difference-nondifference," of Chaitanya (14851534).

See: acosmic pantheism, Advaita Isvaravada, dvaita-advaita, monistic theism, Madhva, panentheism, Ramanuja, Tirumantiram, Vallabha.

(See also: Vedanta, Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)