Dvaita

Dvaita-
Madhvacharya propounded this philosophy. It considers Brahman and Atman as two

different entities, and Bhakti as the route to eternal salvation. According to
Dvaita, Jivatma are many and Paramatma is one. Concerning the soul Madhvacharya says
that no two souls are alike. They each have different characteristics, different states of
happiness/sorrow...the soul becomes similar to God in some respects when it is liberated,
yet even in these respects it is much inferior to God.
Advaita-
Adi Shankaracharya is considered the propagator of this philosophy. This is the oldest school
of Vedanta, and it states that Brahman is the only reality and the world is illusory (Maya).
Ignorance of the reality is what causes suffering, and liberation can be obtained only by true
knowledge of Brahman. It states that both the individual self (Atman) and Brahman are the
same, and knowing this difference causes liberation. The quintessence of Shankara’s
philosophy is “Brahma satya jagat mithya, jivo Brahmaiva na aparah“. meaning Brahman
(the absolute) alone is real; this world is unreal, and the jiva or the individual soul is non-
different from Brahman. The Jiva or the individual soul identifies itself with the body-mind
complex due to Avidya (ignorance). Its individuality lasts only as long as it identifies itself
with its limiting adjuncts. The moment the Jivatma understands its infinite power
by jnana (knowledge), it loses its individuality and realizes its Satchitananda nature (infinite
nature).
Vishishtadvaita-
This philosophy was pioneered by Ramanujacharya during the 11th
century. Vishishtadvaita literally means the Unique Advaita, that is, Advaita with some
amendments. While it accepts Brahman as the unified whole, it states He is characterized by
multiple forms. According to Ramanujacharya, souls are intrinsically the same and all souls
are alike in their quality. God stands for the whole universe and matter and souls form His
body, He being THEIR soul. God is viewed as the cause and also as the effect. Ramanuja's
philosophy is a fusion of the Vedas and the Bhagavata Purana. He was enormously
influenced by the Tamil Bhakti Saints called Alvars. Vishishtadvaita is qualified monism,
where God alone exists, but it admits plurality of souls. It is midway between Advaita and
Dvaita philosophies. God and the individual souls are inseparable, just like the fire and
spark. In liberation, the Jivatma understands Paramatma, but do not merge in Paramatma.
In the final analysis, the above three philosophies are the different stages of spiritual
evolution. No philosophy is inferior to the other. Majority of Hindus follow the Dvaita
philosophy. They feel that God is the controller of their life, God is different from them.
Advaita philosophy exactly conveys the meaning of the Upanishads, Brahma Sutra and
Bhagavad Gita. However, it is still popular among the highly spiritually evolved
people. During my 36 years of spiritual broadcasts I have found that many people are not
aware of these three philosophies, but they worship God, in the manner they prefer.
Dualism (dvaita) is of course quite clear. The three eternal entities that co-exist forever
are Ishvara (the Supreme Soul paramAtman who in this case is strictly Vishnu), jIva (the
individual souls) and jagat (the material universe or mAyA).
Although these three are eternal, Ishvara is called svatantra (independent) and
both jIva and jagat are called paratantra (dependent on the para, i.e. higher one, Ishvara).
However, there is no ultimate similarity between any two of them, nor between any two
individual souls (jIvas). So the goal of spiritual practice or worship according to dvaita
siddhAnta is to reach one’s own highest potential. My highest achievement may not be the
same as your highest achievement, but apparently there is no one standard. Since there is
no common standard, there is no common salvation for all souls. Some of them are
eternally damned to non-stop cycle of rebirth, as well as “lower” births. Such souls cannot
attain mokSha or liberation because that is their individual inherent capacity.
It is quite hard to find direct and explicit support for this doctrine in Vedas & Upanishads.
Qualified non-dualism (vishiShTAdvaita) is a bit complicated. The three eternal

entities Ishvara, jIva and jagat are not completely different, but with caveats. There are 4
key terms used to describe their relationship that is unique to vishiShTAdvaita siddhAnta:
amsha — amshin : part — whole: The jIvas and jagat are incomplete parts, and Ishvara is the
one that brings them together as an integral whole.
sheSha — sheShin : remnant — original: This is somewhat similar to the first relationship.
sharIra — sharIrin : body — owner of body: The jIvas and jagat form the body of Ishvara,
who is the owner.
antaryAmya — antaryAmin : controlled from within — inner controller:
The jIvas and jagat being the body, Ishvara is the Atman controlling them.
The last two of these relationships do find support in the Upanishads, for example in
the antaryAmi brAhmaNam of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 3.7
Of course, as is well-known, this system also fortified the concept of complete spiritual
surrender to the highest deity, called sharaNAgati or prapatti. This idea does not really find
support in the Vedas and Upanishads, where the individual is really considered to be of the
same substance as the deity, and it is only a matter of realizing that. However, scholars do
quote the verse from Katha and Mundaka Upanishad in support of the surrender idea:
“नायमात्मा प्रवचनेन लभ्यो न मेधया न बहुना श्रुतेन।
यमेवैष वृणुते तेन लभ्यस्तस्यैष आत्मा विवृणुते तनूं स्वाम् ॥”
“This Atman is not achieved by listening to lectures, nor by intellectual activity, nor by too
much Vedic learning. Only he who is selected by the Atman can achieve it, as
the Atman reveals himself.”
This “selection by Atman” is interpreted as evidence that if an individual completely
surrenders himself to the deity, then the deity has no choice but to select and approve the
individual for mokSha (liberation). The deity in this system is Vishnu or Narayana.
The Bhagavad Gita clearly has Arjuna surrendering his intellect to Krishna for guidance — as
he says in the very beginning: “shiShyaste aham, shAdhi mAm tvAm prapannam.” This is a
new idea that is not clearly present in the Vedas or Upanishads. Although Arjuna’s surrender
was only circumstantial, this may have been a strong source of inspiration for
the prapatti concept.
The vishiShTAdvaita siddhAnta also delineates the modes of mokSha (liberation):
sAlokyam: “same-world-ness” — the quality of being in the same world as the deity, in this
case, Vishnu’s vaikuNTha. This can be considered to be the lowest grade.
sAmIpyam: “proximity” — the quality of being close to the deity. Second grade.
sArUpyam: “same form” — the quality of having the same form (I guess spiritual form?) as
the deity. Third grade.
sAyujyam: “union” — the quality of being completely joined with the deity. Highest grade.
Note that this still does not imply elimination of the individuality of the soul, because if the
experience of union must happen then the soul must still retain some separateness.
Or maybe there are no gradations in the mokSha. In any case, the liberated soul still
experiences its individual existence.
Non-dualism (advaita) is simpler than the above system and closer to the Vedas &
Upanishads than both the above systems.
According to advaita siddhAnta, the jIva is identical to Ishvara in substance and essence.
The jagat is a changing and mesmerizing manifestation of Ishvara that binds the jIva in its
limited existence. The analogy is of the air inside an earthen pot. As long as the pot exists,
the air inside it appears separated. But as soon as the pot breaks, the true nature of the air
as a continuum is evident, and there is no more separation.
In the case of the jIva which is a pure consciousness, the layers of the gross body, with its 5
internal layers (vital breath or nervous system, etc.), and the various modes of the mind all
come together to cause an apparent isolation. Hence each jIva considers itself separate and
autonomous from other jIvas. Once it realizes its true nature as pure consciousness, it is no
longer a limited, isolated entity but rather a cosmic reality. Or at the very least, the notion of
association with temporary identities should be gone.
A major misconception about advaita siddhAnta is it teaches that the world is unreal or an
illusion. This is not correct. It proposes three levels of perception of reality:
prAtibhAsika (apparent or illusive)
vyAvahArika (empirical or phenomenal )
pAramArthika (transcendental or ideal or noumenal )
A unique concept in advaita siddhAnta is that of jIvanmukti (i.e. jIvat + mukti — liberation
while alive). Knowledge or enlightenment (jnAna) removes ignorance, thereby leaving
behind the pure, absolute state of Brahman. We cannot prove the existence of heavenly
worlds - these are only based on belief. So we cannot truly rely on going to a better world
after death. So advaita is brutally honest about it and says — do what you can, here and
now. Become enlightened here and now.
This concept does find support in the Vedas and Upanishads. For example, in the Rig Veda
3.26.7, rishi Vishvamitra realizes that he is essentially Agni, and he says “agnirasmi janmanA
jAtavedAh… — I am Agni by birth omniscient”. Also in RV 4.26.1, rishi Vamadeva realizes
that he is essentially everything, and says “aham manurabhavam sUryashca… — I was Manu
and Surya”. This same idea is echoed in the statement “aham brahmAsmi — I am Brahman”
in Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.
However, it is also true that in the Upanishads, the dominant concept of liberation is
“krama-mukti” (i.e. graded liberation, step-by-step transition to higher worlds until final
liberation). My gut feeling about this is, it was done to cater to the beliefs of the majority of
the people of the time. As there are equal number of instances
of jIvanmukti and kramamukti in the Vedas and Upanishads, I don’t think it is too much of
an issue.

Dvaita

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Dvaita-

Madhvacharya propounded this philosophy. It considers Brahman and Atman as two

Qualified non-dualism (vishiShTAdvaita) is a bit complicated. The three eternal

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