Both Dvaita Vedanta (द्वैत, dualism) and Advaita Vedanta (अद्वैत, non-dualism) are two prominent philosophical schools within 'Hinduism' that offer contrasting views on the nature of reality, the self, god, and the ultimate truth known as 'Brahman'. Understanding these philosophies provides insight into the rich and diverse wisdom of ancient Indian philosophy and ideas—highlighting different paths we might take in our spiritual journeys.
Title: "𝘼𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙞𝙩𝙖 (अद्वैत) and 𝘿𝙫𝙖𝙞𝙩𝙖 (द्वैत)"
Subtitle:
𝙰𝚗𝚌𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠𝚕𝚎𝚍𝚐𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚔𝚎𝚢 𝚜𝚙𝚒𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚞𝚊𝚕 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚙𝚝𝚜 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏, 𝚐𝚘𝚍 & 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚞𝚗𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚎.
✶𝗔𝗱𝗺𝗶𝗻: 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘧𝘶𝘭, 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘶𝘮 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 (𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺/𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴). 𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 & 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴. "𝙎𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙨 𝙎𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜"
The following was written in response to a query we received on our Samadhan WhatsApp group in Nov 2024.
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Here is concise information on both Advaita (अद्वैत) and Dvaita (द्वैत) derived from ancient Indian scriptures and spiritual concepts.
Advaita (𝙉𝙤𝙣-𝘿𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙢)
The term Advaita means "non-dual" or "not two." Founded by 𝐀𝐝𝐢 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐲𝐚 in the 8th century CE, 𝘈𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘢 𝘝𝘦𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢 teaches that the individual 𝚜𝚘𝚞𝚕 (Atman) and the 𝚞𝚕𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚢 (Brahman) are fundamentally one and the same. The higher spiritual truth—"We Are All One" as we mentioned in many of our responses on th 'Samadhan' group.
✶𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝘀
𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐡𝐦𝐚𝐧: The ultimate, unchanging reality, pure & universal consciousness.
𝐀𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐧 (𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐟): The inner self or soul, which is identical (the same as) to Brahman.
𝐌𝐚𝐲𝐚 (𝐈𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧): The cosmic illusion that creates the appearance of a material world, drama, ego, and a sense of individuality.
✶𝗣𝗨𝗥𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗘
To realise through 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠𝚕𝚎𝚍𝚐𝚎 (ज्ञान) that one's "true self" is not separate from 𝘉𝘳𝘢𝘩𝘮𝘢𝘯 (pure, universal consciousness or GOD). It is believed that this realization leads to 𝙈𝙤𝙠𝙨𝙝𝙖 (liberation from the 'cycle of birth and death')
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Dvaita (Dualism)
Dualism (Dvaita): The term Dvaita means "dual" or "two." Propounded by Madhvacharya in the 13th century CE, Dvaita Vedanta asserts that 𝘈𝘵𝘮𝘢𝘯 (individual souls) and 𝘉𝘳𝘢𝘩𝘮𝘢𝘯 (God) are eternally separate entities/beings.
✶𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝘀
𝐅𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐄𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬: Between God and souls, God and matter, souls and matter, among individual souls, and among material things.
𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐝: God (often identified as Vishnu or Krishna) is independent, while souls and matter are dependent on God.
✶𝗣𝗨𝗥𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗘
Again, the purpose is, to attain 𝘔𝘰𝘬𝘴𝘩𝘢 through 𝘽𝙝𝙖𝙠𝙩𝙞 (𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧) 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝙋𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙞 (𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫) to God, recognizing the eternal distinction between the soul and the supreme soul.
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Comparison
Nature of Reality:
Advaita: Reality is non-dual; only 'Brahman' is ultimately real, and the world is an illusion (Maya).
Dvaita: Reality is dualistic; both God and individual souls are real and eternally distinct.
Path to Liberation:
Advaita: Achieved through self-realization and knowledge of the oneness of Atman and Brahman.
Dvaita: Achieved through devotion to God and recognizing the eternal difference between the soul and God.
View of the World:
Advaita: The world is an illusion (Maya) that must be transcended.
Dvaita: The world is real and created by God, with whom souls interact.
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Conclusion
Both Dvaita and Advaita Vedanta seek to explain the relationship between the individual soul, the universe, and the ultimate reality, but they arrive at fundamentally different conclusions.
Advaita Vedanta emphasizes non-dualism and the unity of all existence, advocating for 'self-realization' as the path to liberation.
Dvaita Vedanta, on the other hand, stresses dualism and the eternal distinction between the individual soul and the supreme soul (god), thereby promoting 'devotion' and 'surrender' as means to achieve liberation.
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Sources:
Spiritual concepts from Vedanta, my own understanding, and the internet.
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𝐵𝓁𝑒𝓈𝓈𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈...
Oᑎ ᘜOᗪᒪY SᗴᖇᐯIᑕᗴ,
𝕸𝖆𝖓𝖆𝖌𝖊𝖗, 𝕾𝖆𝖒𝖆𝖉𝖍𝖆𝖓, 𝕾𝖍𝖎𝖛 𝕭𝖆𝖇𝖆 𝕾𝖊𝖗𝖛𝖎𝖈𝖊𝖘 𝕴𝖓𝖎𝖙𝖎𝖆𝖙𝖎𝖛𝖊 (SBSI)
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