because they were intended to facilitate
its use. These six were guides to proper
articulation and pronunciation (shik-
sha), metrical forms (chandas),
Sanskritgrammar (vyakarana), etymo-
logical explanations of archaic words
(nirukta), determining astrologically
appropriate times for sacrifice
(jyotisha), and ritual and ceremonial
guides (kalpa).
Vedanta
The latest of the six schoolsin traditional
Hindu philosophy. The name Vedanta
literally means “the end of the Vedas,”
and reflects their contention that they
were revealing the ultimate meaning of
these sacred texts. Vedanta proponents
gave particular attention to the
Upanishads, which were also the latest
stratum of Vedic texts, and thus their
“end” in a different sense. These texts
have served as authoritative sources for
several major schools, with widely dif-
fering philosophical positions. The best
known and most important of these is
the Advaita Vedantaschool, propounded
by the philosopher Shankaracharya
and his followers. The Advaita school
upholds a philosophical position known
as monism, which is the belief in a single
impersonal Ultimate Reality that they
call Brahman. For Advaita proponents,
reality is thus “nondual” (advaita)—that
is, all things are nothing but the
formless, unqualified Brahman, despite
the appearance of difference and
diversity. For the Advaitins, this assump-
tion of diversity is a fundamental
misunderstanding of the ultimate
nature of things and a manifestation of
avidya. Although often translated as
“ignorance,” avidya is better understood
as the lack of genuine understanding,
which causes human beings to be
trapped in karmic bondage, reincarna-
tion (samsara), and suffering.
Whereas the Advaita school conceives
of this Ultimate Reality in abstract imper-
sonal terms, the other Vedanta schools
are theistic—that is, they conceive the
Ultimate Reality as a personal God,
namely the god Vishnu. The two other
major schools are the Vishishthadvaita
vedanta (“qualified nondualism”) pro-
pounded by Ramanujaand the Dvaita
Vedanta (“dualist”) propounded by
Madhva. The major differences between
these two schools stem from assump-
tions about connections between God,
human souls, and the world. Ramanuja
tends to see these in a continuum, with
the world and human souls sharing in
the divine nature, whereas Madhva
stresses the great gulf between God and
all other things. Another minor school is
the dvaitadvaita vedanta (“dualism and
nondualism”) of Nimbarka, which
strives to find some middle ground
between Advaita Vedanta’s monism, and
Dvaita Vedanta’s dualism. Nimbarka
stressed that the world and souls were
dependent on God, in whom they exist,
and with whom they had a subtle con-
nection. Even from their names, it is
obvious that there are significant differ-
ences between these positions.Vedanta Deshika
(13th c.) Writer and commentator in the
Vishishthadvaita Vedanta philosophi-
cal school. Vedanta Deshika was a fol-
lower of Ramanuja and interpreted
Ramanuja as teaching that there were
two sorts of liberation: a lower one in
which one was subject to no outside
forces, and a higher one in which one’s
entire being was focused on the Lord,
whom Ramanuja identified as the god
Vishnu. The human being is considered
both identical to and different from the
Lord, which means the perfect identity
is never possible; God’s transcendence
leads to the exaltation of devotion
(bhakti) and the stress on submission to
God’s grace.Vedanta Society
The oldest Hindu missionary organiza-
tion in America, established in 1897 by
Swami Vivekananda. The society stresses
the philosophical teachings of Vedanta,
which it understands as referring solelyVedanta Society