Advaita Vedānta

Advaita Vedānta is a comprehensive multi-author study of the historical development, philosophical structure, cultural transmission, and modern reception of the non-dualistic Vedānta tradition. Edited by R. Balasubramanian, the volume situates Advaita within the broader intellectual history of Indian civilization and examines both its classical foundations and its continuing influence across regional and contemporary contexts. The first section surveys classical Advaita, beginning with pre-Śaṅkara sources and non-dualistic tendencies in the epics and Purāṇas. It then provides an extensive treatment of Śaṅkara’s philosophy, including his interpretation of Brahman, the self, the world, ignorance, liberation, and scriptural authority. Separate studies analyze Śaṅkara’s relationship with other philosophical systems and examine the contributions of Maṇḍana Miśra and Sureśvara as complementary figures in the development of Advaita. The section also traces the post-Śaṅkara traditions associated with the Vivaraṇa and Bhāmatī schools and addresses the Advaitic doctrine of the world’s illusoriness. The second section considers the impact of Advaita on modern Indian philosophy from the nineteenth century onward. It explores how non-dualistic ideas were reinterpreted in response to colonial modernity, comparative philosophy, nationalism, religious reform, and new forms of spiritual discourse. The final section documents the transmission of Advaita through major Indian vernacular traditions, including Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi, Gujarati, Hindi, Punjabi, Bengali, and Oriya. These studies demonstrate how Advaita was adapted through regional literature, commentary, devotional movements, and philosophical writing. Overall, the volume presents Advaita as both a rigorous philosophical system and a living intellectual tradition with metaphysical, epistemological, soteriological, linguistic, and cultural dimensions.