based on past karma; and that gaining
true knowledge is the basis of liberation.
The first and greatest Advaita thinker
was the philosopher Shankaracharya;
other significant figures were his two dis-
ciples, Sureshvaraand Padmapada, as
well as Mandana Mishraand Vachaspati
Mishra. For further information see Karl
H. Potter (ed.), Advaita Vedanta up to
Samkara and His Pupils, 1981; and
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and Charles
A. Moore (eds.), A Sourcebook in Indian
Philosophy, 1957.
Advani, Lal Krishna
(b. 1927) Modern Indian politician as well
as past president and leader of the
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a party
often considered the political wing of the
Rashtriya Svayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
Advani joined the RSSas a young man and
was encouraged by the RSSto become
active in politics, first in the Jana Sangh
and later in the BJP. In the fall of 1990,
Advani embarked on a tour of northern
India to raise public support for building
a Ramatemple in Ayodhya, on a site
which at the time was occupied by a
Muslim mosque. The public response to
this rath yatra(“chariot journey”) was
positive and brought great political bene-
fits to the BJP; the BJPhas since run the
state governments in some of India’s
most important states and has become
the largest opposition party in
Parliament. During the 1990s the BJP’s
influence waxed and waned, but for
much of this time, Advani has been one of
the leading figures in the party. In the
spring of 1996, however, he was one of
many Indian political figures whose name
was connected with a major bribery scan-
dal. He immediately resigned his seat in
Parliament and promised that he would
not seek office until his name had been
cleared. The allegation was found to be
completely baseless, and Advani was
reelected to Parliament in March, 1998.
During the thirteen months of BJPgovern-
ment rule in 1998–99, Advani served as
Home Minister (the Cabinet officer
responsible for all domestic affairs) and
has continued in this position during the
BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.Aerial Cars
One of the standard images in Hindu
mythology. The most famous of the
cars is the Pushpak Viman, which is
originally owned by Kubera, a minor
deityassociated with mountains and
their mineral wealth. The Pushpak Viman
is commandeered and stolen by Ravana,
the demon-king of Lanka. In modern
times, mythological references to
such aerial cars are often cited as
evidence that ancient Indians possessed
the technology for flying machines,
an assertion for which there is no
historical evidence.Aesthetics
See Rasa.Agama
In its most general meaning, this refers
to any authoritative text. In a philo-
sophical context, this word designates
one of the pramanas, the means by
which human beings can gain true and
accurate knowledge. As a pramana, the
agama denotes testimony from a reli-
able source, particularly from scrip-
tures such as the Veda. Within specific
sectarian communities, such as the
devotees (bhakta) of the gods Shiva
(Shaivas) and Vishnu(Vaishnavas), the
word also commonly designates the
particular texts deemed most authori-
tative by that community.Agastya
In Hindu mythology, Agastya is one of
the rishis(sages) of ancient India and
is attributed with various supernormal
powers. As with many of the rishis,
Agastya is marked as different even by
his birth, which is far outside the nor-
mal manner. According to the story,
Agastya is conceived when the semen
of the deities Mitra and Varuna is
placed in a pot and develops there intoAgastya