ADVAITA

(Sanskrit: non-dualism), a central philosophy of India and the most influential of the schools of Vedanta, it historically began with the seventh-century thinker Gaudapada, author of Mandukya-karika , a commentary in verse form on the Mandukya Upanishad.

The basic premise of advaita is of non-duality. There is only one reality - it does not allow for an individual self or soul ( jiva ); only the ultimate self (atman) exists. The mind, awake or dreaming, moves through illusion (maya); and only advaita is the final truth. The Advaita School believes that knowledge of man's true nature is liberation. Ignorance leads to bondage. Knowledge gained not from books but from experience roots out bondage and leads to liberation of the self.

The philosopher Shankara (c.700-750) built further on Gaudapada's foundation, principally in his commentary on the Vedanta Sutras, the Shariraka-mimamsa-bhashya (Commentary on the Study of the Embodied Self). Shankara argued that the Upanishads teach the nature of Brahman (the absolute). According to Shankara only the non-dual Brahman is ultimately real. Shankara had many -followers who continued and elaborated his work, notably the ninth-century philosopher Vachaspati Mishra. Advaita literature is extremely extensive, and it plays a major role in Hindu thought.