Advaita Vedanta is a school of Hindu philosophy within the broader Vedanta tradition, which draws its doctrinal basis from the Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras, and the Bhagavad Gita - collectively known as the Prasthanatrayi (“triple canon”). The term advaita means “non-dual” in Sanskrit, and the school's central claim is that the individual self (atman) and the ultimate ground of reality (Brahman) are not two distinct entities but identical. This position distinguishes Advaita from other Vedanta schools, including Vishishtadvaita (“qualified non-dualism”) and Dvaita (“dualism”), which affirm a real or functional distinction between the self and the divine. Advaita Vedanta has exerted significant influence on Indian religious thought and, through the 19th- and 20th-century Vedanta movements, on Western philosophical and spiritual discourse.

Advaita Vedanta holds that Brahman - pure, undifferentiated consciousness - is the sole reality. The appearance of a multiplicity of selves and of the material world is explained through the concept of maya, often translated as “illusion” or “cosmic appearance,” though the precise metaphysical status of maya is itself a matter of interpretation within the tradition. The empirical world is neither straightforwardly real nor simply nonexistent; Advaita typically assigns it a status of “practical reality” (vyavaharika satya) as opposed to ultimate reality (paramarthika satya). Liberation (moksha) consists in the direct recognition that one's essential nature is already identical with Brahman - not a future attainment but a removal of ignorance (avidya).

The tradition attributes its classical systematic form to the philosopher Adi Shankaracharya, whose dates are disputed among scholars - commonly given as c. 700-750 CE, though other accounts place him c. 788-820 CE. He composed commentaries on the principal Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras, and the Bhagavad Gita, as well as original works including the Upadeshasahasri; the Vivekachudamani, frequently attributed to him, is considered by some modern scholars to be a later composition. Shankara also organized a network of monastic institutions (mathas) that have maintained the tradition to the present day. Predecessors including Gaudapada, whose Mandukya Karika anticipated key Advaita arguments, and later figures such as Vachaspati Mishra, Prakashatman, and Madhusudana Sarasvati further developed and defended the school's positions. See Advaita Vedanta - History for a full account.

Advaita Vedanta has been compared to various non-Indian philosophical and mystical traditions, including Neo-Platonism, Kantian idealism, and certain strands of Buddhist philosophy - particularly the Madhyamaka and Yogacara schools. Shankara's critics, most notably Ramanuja (founder of Vishishtadvaita), accused him of covert Buddhism (prachanna bauddha), a charge that remains contested among scholars. The degree of Buddhist influence on classical Advaita is an active area of historical and philosophical scholarship. Within Hinduism, Advaita's account of saguna Brahman (Brahman with attributes, i.e., a personal God) as a lower-level truth has generated sustained controversy among theistic Vedantins who regard devotion to a personal deity as ultimate rather than provisional.

In the 19th century, figures such as Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda, and later Ramana Maharshi presented Advaita teachings to both Indian and Western audiences, often in forms that emphasized experiential realization over textual scholarship and that engaged with Western philosophical categories. The degree to which these modern presentations accurately represent classical Advaita is itself a topic of scholarly debate.

Some contemporary writers have drawn parallels between Advaita Vedanta's non-dual ontology and findings in quantum physics, consciousness studies, and cosmology, arguing that modern science converges with or supports Advaita metaphysics. Academic philosophers of mind have engaged Advaita in debates over the nature of consciousness, including its relevance to the “hard problem” - the question of why physical processes give rise to subjective experience. Mainstream philosophy of science does not treat Advaita Vedanta as a scientific theory, but the dialogue between the tradition and empirical inquiry continues in academic and interdisciplinary contexts. See Advaita Vedanta and Science - Viewpoint for competing perspectives.

Classical Advaita Vedanta - The position as systematized by Shankara and elaborated by his commentarial tradition: Brahman alone is real, the world has practical but not ultimate existence, and liberation is achieved through knowledge (jnana) rather than devotion or ritual action alone.

Vishishtadvaita Critique - Ramanuja's school accepts non-duality at one level but holds that individual selves and the material world are real modes of Brahman rather than products of ignorance; this view preserves the ultimate significance of devotion (bhakti) and personal relationship with God.

Dvaita Critique - Madhva's school holds that the self, the world, and God are genuinely and permanently distinct; it regards Advaita's dissolution of these distinctions as philosophically and scripturally untenable.

Neo-Vedanta - The modern reformulations of Advaita associated with Vivekananda and others, which tend to emphasize universal religious experience, engagement with social ethics, and compatibility with Western thought; scholars debate whether this represents a legitimate development or a significant departure from classical Advaita.

Advaita and Consciousness Studies - The application of Advaita categories to contemporary philosophy of mind, including arguments that non-dual awareness provides a solution to the hard problem of consciousness; proponents include some academic philosophers while critics argue the comparison is conceptually imprecise.

Buddhist Parallels and Differences - Comparative analysis of Advaita and Buddhist non-self (anatman) doctrines, examining where the traditions converge and where they diverge on the nature of consciousness, reality, and liberation.

• Advaita Vedanta - History
• Advaita Vedanta - Debate
• Vedanta
• Upanishads
• Brahman
• Maya (Hindu Philosophy)
• Moksha
• Dvaita Vedanta
• Vishishtadvaita
• Adi Shankaracharya
• Kashmir Shaivism
• Consciousness - The Hard Problem
• Heliocentrism - Hindu Viewpoint

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