- The first learning was that, the Bhagavadgeetha is a much later text than the Vedas and was composed in its present state during fourth or third century BC.
- There is a dispute over Shankaracharya's time among scholars. While most scholars agree he lived during 788-820AD, Sringeri mutt, one of the main pilgrimage sites established by Shankaracharya, claims he lived around 44 BC!
- Shankara's time was marked by the accent of Buddhism which was perceived as a threat to the Vedic religion. This might have influenced his thought process.
- Upanishads are literally the end segments of the Vedas and hence called Vedantas.
- Shakara's major contributions are his commentaries on Bhagavadgeetha, Bhagavad Sutras and Upanishads called the Prasthanatrayi.
Main principles of Advaitha:
- Self and Brahman(The Supreme Being) are one and the same
- Brahman can be realized from Nishkama Karma (action without the expectation of gain), Jnana Yoga (the path of knowledge) and Bhakti Yoga(the path of devotion). Yoga here means useful deed and meditation.
- While Vedas uphold Karma Marga(the path of action), Upanishads say they need not necessarily lead to the final liberation. However Shankara says Karma Marga is also important.
- Brahman, as the inner self, Aatman, is neither enjoyer nor agent of the actions performed by the body. It is the witness, Sakshi, for the experiences and actions of the body.
- The Self, and thus Brahman is beyond the chain of causality. The chain of cause and effect is infinite as each cause could be the effect of another cause. Hence freeing oneself from the perception of causality leads to Brahman.
- Brahman, in true form, is attribute-less(nirguna), formless(nirakara) etc. The only way to describe the true Brahman is "not this, not this" - "neti, neti"
- Saguna Brahman (Brahman with attributes) exists for practical purposes, Vyavaharika Satya. It has attributes - it is omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient. Saguna Brahma exists for those who pray and expect happiness, but not liberation, Moksha and knowledge. People who pray to Saguna Brahma attain happiness and after death reach heaven, but are not freed from the cycles of birth, death and rebirth.
- Shankara says Jnana Marga is superior to Karma Marga and grades worship like this: the first stage is image worship; the next consists of Japa and prayer; the highest is the form "I am He"
- However lower stages of knowledge is neither to be despised nor regarded as a concession to the ignorant man. As long as a man lives in this world, he uses any tool, which comes to his hand for his own Moksha.
To quote from the book "Life and Teachings of Sri Shankaracharya" by P. George Victor, "according to Advaitha Vedanta, Moksha is not something to be achieved, but it is the very nature of the self. It is not something that follows after death, and it is not to be understood in the sense of endless existence in some distant and unknown world. It is the attainment of highest state of consciousness through identifying the Self (Aatma) as Brahman. It is to be attained here and now while one is still in one's bodily existence. in other words, it is the realization of non-difference of the individual self from the Absolute self. Moksha is called 'experiencing non-duality' (advaitha-anubhava). A man who attains such consciousness is called 'the living-free', jivanmukta.
While the above summary helps enhance my understanding of the key principles of Advaitha Vedanta, it raises more questions in my mind than answers them. Only time and further study can help them be answered.
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