Shankara and Indian PhilosophyAccording to Advaita-Vedanta, God or Brahman is identical with the inner self (the Atman) of each person, while the rest of the world is nothing but objective illusion (maya). Shankara maintains that there are two primary levels of existence and knowledge: the higher knowledge that is Brahman itself, and the relative, limited knowledge, regarded as the very texture of the universe. Consequently, the task of a human being is to reach the absolute unity and the reality of Brahman--in other words, to reach the innermost self within his or her own being, discarding on the way all temporary characteristics and attributes. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
The Beginning of Vedanta A Historical Sketch | 19 |
2 Predecessors of Sankara | 30 |
Biography of Śańkara and His Main Works | 69 |
Reliability of Attribution and Compositional Peculiarities | 91 |
Pure Brahman as Consciousness Apophatic Theology and the Problem of Contradiction | 105 |
2 Advaita and Jainism | 130 |
Brahman as Being Cataphatic Theology and the Boldness of Heretics | 145 |
2 Sankara and Mahayana Buddhist Schools | 172 |
Brahman in Language and Ritual Freedom and Moral Duties | 199 |
Advaita and its Closest Counterparts | 218 |
Conclusion | 236 |
2 Vedanta after Sankara | 240 |
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Common terms and phrases
according adept Advaitist ākāśa arguments ātman attributes avidyā Bādarāyaņa Bhagavadgītā Bhartṛhari Brah Brahman Buddhist causality century cognition Commentary on Brahmasūtra Commentary on Brhadāraṇyakopaniṣad concept Dasgupta devoid doctrine entity essence essentially eternal existence foundation Gaudapāda Hacker hagiographies heretical higher Brahman higher reality ideas identical Indian Philosophy injunctions inner interpretation Iśvara Jainas Jainism jīva Kārikā karma Kumārila later liberation logical Lokāyata Lokāyatikas Madras Mahāyāna Mandanamiśra Māņdūkya-kārikā manifested māyā means Mimāmsā Nāgārjuna nature notion object ontological opinion opponents orthodox Padmapāda perception phenomenal polemics prakrti pramāņas problem pure consciousness Pūrva-Mīmāmsā Rāmānuja regarded religious and philosophical ritual sacred scripture sacred texts Samkhya samsāra Śańkara Śankara's Advaita Sankara's Commentary Sarva-darśana-siddhānta-sangraha Sarvāstivāda scholars schools sense similar Śiva skandhas soul śruti śruti sayings standpoint Śūnyavāda Sureśvara sūtra T.M.P. Mahadevan teacher teaching tenets tion tradition treatise ultimate Upadeśasāhasri Upaniṣads Vedanta Vedantin Vedas Vedic Vide vijñāna Vijñānavāda Viśişța-Advaita words