Vedanta

In another context, someone just asked me the meaning of advaita.

This is what I answered:

As I'm sure you are ware, much of Yoga philosophy is based upon the Upanishads. The Upanishads are a loose collection of writings from the Indian subcontinent. They date from around 1000 years old, to just a couple of hundred years old. There is no official collection, as such, and there are some Upanishads that are not always included in collections.

There are a few 'classics', though, such as Brihadaranyak, Mandukya, Chandogya, and Isa.

Upanishad means 'to sit near', and the implication is that it is the student sitting near to the teacher. Many Upanisads are written as a student asking questions of a teacher, and the teacher answering. The questions are profound, such as: What is the true nature of reality; What is the real significance of OM; etc.

As these books are old, they have been read by many people, and some of those people were remarkably bright. Some of these people commented on the Upanishads, and over time, 'schools of thought' grew up around these commentaries.

There are three main schools of thought:

Dvaita (dualistic): The true nature of reality is that there is a divine spirit which is separate from human consciousness. We can strive to approach the divine spirit, and find its grace and favour, but we can never become one with the divine spirit.

Advaita (non-dualistic): The true nature of reality is non-dual. We and the divine spirit are identical. What you are right now is the divine. What you see right now is the divine. Everything that is, is the divine, right here, right now, in its pure, perfect undiluted form. All we need to do is realise our present true nature, and we are one with the divine.

Vishist-advaita (qualified non-dualism): The true nature of reality is one divine spirit, but presently we are separate from that spirit. We can become one with the divine, but we have to strive to achieve this. It's not just a case of modifying our understanding (as in pure advaita), but of modifying our nature.

It's worth pointing out that, although in the past there have been fierce discussion (I mean, hundreds of years ago), most people now accept that each of these is really just a different way of approaching the same thing. Some people feel more comfortable thinking about things one way or the other. In the end, it matters little, as the Upanishads always say the same, whatever spectacles you look at them through!