Advaita Vedanta: Understanding the Philosophy of Non-Duality
Advaita Vedanta is one of the most influential schools of Hindu philosophy, known for its non-dualistic approach to understanding the nature of reality. This article explores the core concepts of Advaita Vedanta, including the meaning of non-duality, the relationship between Brahman and Atman, and the path to spiritual enlightenment.
Definition and Meaning of Advaita Vedanta
The word Advaita is a Sanskrit term. “Dvaita” means “Duality,” and the prefix “a” in Sanskrit negates the word, so Advaita means “Non-duality”. Vedanta, on the other hand, means “end of the Vedas.” The Vedas are the sacred Indian scriptures, and the end of the Vedas includes the Upanishads, from which Advaita draws most of its teachings.
The main idea of Advaita Vedanta is that life is the manifestation of one single consciousness. Advaita Vedanta differs from other philosophies born from the Vedas because it considers existence to be non-dual.
Brahman and Atman
The consciousness that constitutes the universe is called Brahman. Your individual consciousness is called Atman. However, Atman is equal to Brahman. You can think of Atman as a drop in the ocean; the drop is the ocean, and the ocean is the drop.
Adi Shankara’s Explanation of Advaita Vedanta and Non-Duality
Adi Shankara, the most important philosopher of Advaita Vedanta, explains this idea with a phrase that seems like a riddle: “Brahman is real, the universe is unreal, and the universe is Brahman.” Put simply, the only thing that exists is Brahman; the universe is unreal when we separate it into different objects because, in reality, boundaries do not exist, and the Truth is without boundaries; the universe is Brahman, you are a part of the universe, so your consciousness is nothing but Brahman.
Moksha and Spiritual Enlightenment
We all know how our desires, once materialized, do not satisfy us for long. Our life seems to be a continuous succession of actions that do not lead to real fulfillment. We behave in this way because we believe we are limited and hope that the object of our desires will complete us. However, there is only one desire that, once realized, will extinguish all other desires: recognizing yourself as Brahman. This realization is called “Moksha.”
Everything we perceive is Brahman, but we are unable to understand it because we attribute mental boundaries to reality. The universe is made up of a single entity, Brahman, which takes on infinite forms.
What is Real is Brahman
The Example of a Car
For example, the object we refer to as a car is made up of various parts which, in turn, are made up of other parts. From this point of view, a car is relatively true, not absolutely true, because it does not have an independent reality. It is transitory; sooner or later, it will be demolished and become something else, but its essence, what constitutes it, is real; it is Brahman.
The Concept of Mithya
This teaching is valid for anything you can perceive in the universe. The word “Mithya” describes everything that is not real in itself, the names we attribute to things, which do not really exist. To name is to separate, to create something that, in reality, does not exist. All this simply means that there is something fundamental and immutable that unites the entire universe, and this thing is Brahman, pure consciousness.
The Illusion of Separation
According to Advaita Vedanta, there is only one problem in our life: the inability to recognize the universe and ourselves as Brahman. We confuse what is real with the appearances of the world, believing we are limited when, in fact, we are unlimited. Our goal in life should be to free ourselves from the limitations we perceive and realize our boundless nature.
The process by which we confuse what is false, Mithya, with what is true, the non-duality of the universe, is called “Adhyasa,” which is one of the most important terms in Advaita Vedanta.
The Non-Existence of Others
It seems obvious that each of us has a consciousness separate from others, but, in reality, others do not exist. There is only one “I” that takes on infinite forms. Unlike what we commonly believe, we are not our body or our mind, but rather the consciousness that is aware of our body and thoughts, and this consciousness is the same for each of us. When you say “I am young” or “I am old,” you are expressing attributes of your body; your consciousness, the Atman, has no attributes and can only say “I am.”
The Fundamental Teaching of Advaita Vedanta: You Are That
Our body and mind are obviously destined to die, but the Atman is immortal and eternal. Every fear is, in reality, a fear of death that arises from the inability to recognize our true nature as absolute consciousness.
According to Advaita Vedanta, the universe was not created; it has always existed because there is not really a universe, but only names and forms of Brahman. The term Maya can be translated as “illusion,” “unreality,” or “magic,” and it is the name given to the “force” or “principle” that makes us perceive the world in a dual way when reality is non-dual.
One of the most well-known phrases from the Upanishads is “Tat Tvam Asi,” which means “You are That.” Who you essentially are is identical to Brahman; this is the fundamental teaching of Advaita Vedanta.
By recognizing the non-dual nature of existence and realizing our true identity as Brahman, we can transcend the limitations of the ego and experience a deep sense of unity and fulfillment. While the concepts of Advaita Vedanta may initially seem complex and abstract, they hold the potential to transform our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.