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Gaudapada
Gauḍapāda (Sanskrit: गौडपाद; ), also referred as Gauḍapādācārya (Sanskrit: गौडपादाचार्य; "Gauḍapāda the Teacher"), was an early medieval era Hindu philosopher and scholar of the ''Advaita'' Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy. While details of his biography are uncertain, his ideas inspired others such as Adi Shankara who called him a ''Paramaguru'' (highest teacher). Gaudapada was the author or compiler of the ', also known as ''Gaudapada Karika''. The text consists of four chapters (also called four books), of which Chapter Four uses Buddhist terminology thereby showing it was influenced by Buddhism. However, doctrinally Gaudapada's work is Vedantic, and not Buddhist. The first three chapters of Gaudapada's text have been influential in the Advaita Vedanta tradition. Parts of the first chapter that include the ''Mandukya Upanishad'' have been considered a valid scriptural source by the Dvaita and Vishistadvaita schools of Ved ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shri Gaudapadacharya Math
Shri Gaudapadacharya Math (, '), also known as (), located in Kavale, Ponda, Goa, is the oldest matha of the Smarthan Saraswat Brahman Samaj. It was founded by Gauḍapāda around 740 AD, whose student was Govinda Bhagavatpada, the guru of Adi Shankara, a highly influential figure in Hinduism.http://www.vidya-ashramvidyaorder.org/index.V.html , Under Page: Biographical Notes About Sankara And Gaudapada There is also a belief that Gauḍapāda himself established the Shri Gaudapadacharya matha when he lived in Gomantak (Goa). Thus, the matha came to be known as ''Shri Saunstan Gaudapadacharya matha''. Unlike other mathas, Shri Gaudapadacharya matha is not a polemical center established to influence the faith of all Hindus, its jurisdiction is limited to only Dakshinatya Saraswat Brahmins. The Peetadhipathi "head monk" is Śrī Gauḍapadācārya. Smartist Goud Saraswat Brahman Samaj and Rajapur Saraswat Brahmin are its main disciples. History Śrī Sansthāna Gau ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mandukya Upanishad
The Mandukya Upanishad (, ) is the shortest of all the Upanishads, and is assigned to Atharvaveda. It is listed as number 6 in the Muktikā canon of 108 Upanishads. It is in prose, consisting of twelve short verses, and is associated with a Rig Vedic school of scholars. It discusses the syllable Aum; adds turiya to the three states of consciousness; and asserts that ''Aum'' is ''Brahman'' – which is the Whole – and that ''Brahman'' is this self ('' ātman'').Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Volume 2, Motilal Banarsidass, , pages 605-637 The Mandukya Upanishad is recommended in the Muktikā Upanishad, in a dialogue between two of the most important characters of the Ramayana, Rama and Hanuman, as the one Upanishad that alone is sufficient for knowledge to gain moksha, and as sixth in its list of ten principal Upanishads.Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Volume 2, Motilal Banarsidass, , pages 556-557 The text is also notable for inspiring Gaudapada's M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vedanta
''Vedanta'' (; , ), also known as ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six orthodox (Āstika and nāstika, ''āstika'') traditions of Hindu philosophy and textual exegesis. The word ''Vedanta'' means 'conclusion of the Vedas', and encompasses the ideas that emerged from, or aligned and reinterpreted, the speculations and enumerations contained in the Upanishads, focusing, with varying emphasis, on devotion, knowledge and liberation. Vedanta developed into many traditions, all of which give their specific interpretations of a common group of texts called the ''Prasthanatrayi, Prasthānatrayī'', translated as 'the three sources': the ''Upanishads'', the ''Brahma Sutras'', and the ''Bhagavad Gita''. All Vedanta traditions are exegetical in nature, but also contain extensive discussions on ontology, soteriology, and epistemology, even as there is much disagreement among the various traditions. Independently considered, they may seem completely disparate due to the pronounced ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Govinda Bhagavatpada
Govinda Bhagavatpada (IAST ) was the guru of the Hindu philosopher Adi Shankara. Little is known of his life and works, except that he is mentioned in all the traditional accounts ( Shankara Vijayams) as the teacher of Adi Shankara. He was the disciple of Gaudapada (IAST '). He is mentioned in the first verse of Adi Shankara's prakaraṇa grantha (''treatise'') Viveka Chudamani. He is named after Gaudapada in the Guru Parampara (''lineage'') of Sringeri Sharada Peetham. He is considered to be an incarnation of Shesha. Meeting Adi Shankara :''See Life of Adi Shankara for the biography of Adi Shankara'' As per the Madhavīya Shankaravijaya, after leaving Kerala, Adi Shankara reached the banks of the river Narmada where he met Govinda Bhagavatpada at Omkareshwar. The Madhavīya Shankaravijaya states that Adi Shankara once calmed a flood from the River Narmada by placing his kamanḍalu (''water pot'') in the path of the raging water, thus saving his guru Govinda Bhagavatpada wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adi Shankara
Adi Shankara (8th c. CE), also called Adi Shankaracharya (, ), was an Indian Vedanga, Vedic scholar, Hindu philosophy, philosopher and teacher (''acharya'') of Advaita Vedanta. Reliable information on Shankara's actual life is scant, and his true impact lies in his "iconic representation of Hinduism, Hindu religion and Hindu culture, culture," despite the fact that most Hindus do not adhere to Advaita Vedanta. Tradition also portrays him as the one who reconciled the various Hindu denominations, sects (Vaishnavism, Shaivism, and Shaktism) with the introduction of the form of Puja (Hinduism), worship, the simultaneous worship of five deities – Ganesha, Surya, Vishnu, Shiva and Devi, arguing that all deities were but different forms of the one Brahman, the invisible Supreme Being.Klaus Klostermaier (2007), A Survey of Hinduism, Third Edition, State University of New York Press, , p. 40 While he is often revered as the most important Indian philosophy, Indian philosoph ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Upanishad
The Upanishads (; , , ) are late Vedic and post-Vedic Sanskrit texts that "document the transition from the archaic ritualism of the Veda into new religious ideas and institutions" and the emergence of the central religious concepts of Hinduism. They are the most recent addition to the Vedas, the oldest scriptures of Hinduism, and deal with meditation, philosophy, consciousness, and ontological knowledge. Earlier parts of the Vedas dealt with mantras, benedictions, rituals, ceremonies, and sacrifices.A Bhattacharya (2006), ''Hindu Dharma: Introduction to Scriptures and Theology'', , pp. 8–14; George M. Williams (2003), Handbook of Hindu Mythology, Oxford University Press, , p. 285Jan Gonda (1975), ''Vedic Literature: (Saṃhitās and Brāhmaṇas)'', Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, While among the most important literature in the history of Indian religions and culture, the Upanishads document a wide variety of "rites, incantations, and esoteric knowledge" departing from Vedic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hindu Philosophy
Hindu philosophy or Vedic philosophy is the set of philosophical systems that developed in tandem with the first Hinduism, Hindu religious traditions during the Iron Age in India, iron and Classical India, classical ages of India. In Indian philosophy, of which Hindu philosophy is a prominent subset, the word used for philosophy is ''Darshana'' (Sanskrit: दर्शन; meaning: "viewpoint or perspective"), from the Sanskrit root 'दृश' () meaning 'to see, to experience'. The schools of thought or ''Darshanas'' within Hindu philosophy largely equate to the six ancient orthodox schools: the ''Āstika and nāstika, āstika'' (Sanskrit: आस्तिक) schools, defined by their acceptance of the Vedas, the oldest collection of Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit texts, as an authoritative source of knowledge. Of these six, Samkhya (सांख्य) is the earliest school of Dualism (Indian philosophy), dualism; Yoga (philosophy), Yoga (योग) combines the metaphysics ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buddhist Influences On Advaita Vedanta
Advaita Vedanta, Advaita Vedānta and Mahayana, Mahāyāna Buddhism share significant similarities. Those similarities have attracted attention both by Indian and Western scholars of Eastern philosophy and Oriental studies, and have also been criticised by concurring schools. The similarities have been interpreted as Buddhist influences on Advaita Vedānta, though some deny such influences, or see them as expressions of the same eternal truth. Advaita Vedanta, Advaita Vedānta (; literally, ''Nonduality (spirituality), not-two'') is the oldest extant sub-school of Vedanta, Vedānta, an Āstika and nāstika, orthodox (''āstika'') school of Hindu philosophy and religious practice. ''Advaita Vedanta, Advaita darśana'' (philosophy, worldview, teaching) is one of the classic Indian paths to spiritual realization and Moksha, liberation. It first took shape systematically with the writings of the Medieval India, medieval Indian philosophy, Indian philosopher Gauḍapāda in the 6th c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prajñā (Hinduism)
Prajña () is the highest and purest form of wisdom, encompassing transcendental intelligence, consciousness, and deep understanding. Prajñā is the state of insight that surpasses knowledge acquired through reasoning or inference. Meaning The Sanskrit word प्रज्ञा (''Prajña'') is the compound of "प्र (''pra-'')" which prefix means – before, forward, fulfiller, and used as the intensifier but rarely as a separate word and "ज्ञ (''jna'')" which means - knowing or familiar with. प्रज्ञ (''Prajña''), meaning - wise, prudent, knowing, conversant with, is the root of प्राज्ञ (''Prājña'') meaning – wise, learned man, intellectual, clever, intelligence dependent on individuality; प्रज्ञा (''Prajñā'') meaning – intelligence, judgement, mental attitude, particular ''shakti'' or energy, insight, mental disposition, true or transcendental wisdom, awareness, mentality, understanding, Viveka (Discrimination), di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ishvara
''Ishvara'' () is a concept in Hinduism, with a wide range of meanings that depend on the era and the school of Hinduism. Monier Monier Williams, Sanskrit-English dictionarySearch for Izvara, University of Cologne, Germany In ancient texts of Hindu philosophy, depending on the context, ''Ishvara'' can mean lord, ruler, king, husband, queen, soul or the supreme Self ( Atman). In medieval era Hindu texts, depending on the school of Hinduism, ''Ishvara'' means God, Supreme Being, personal God, or special Self. In Shaivism, ''Ishvara'' is an epithet of Shiva.James Lochtefeld, "Ishvara", The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 1: A–M, Rosen Publishing. , page 306 In Vaishnavism it is synonymous with Vishnu, like in his epithet of Venkateswara. In traditional Bhakti movements, ''Ishvara'' is one or more deities of an individual's preference ( Iṣṭa-devatā) from Hinduism's polytheistic canon of deities. In modern-day sectarian movements such as Arya Samaj and Brahmoism, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ramanuja
Ramanuja ('; Middle Tamil: Rāmāṉujam; Classical Sanskrit: Rāmānuja; 1077 – 1157), also known as Ramanujacharya, was an Indian Hindu philosopher, guru and social reformer. He is one of the most important exponents of the Sri Vaishnavism tradition in Hinduism. His philosophical foundations for devotional practice were influential in the Bhakti movement. Ramanuja's guru was Yādava Prakāśa, a scholar who, traditionally, is said to have belonged to the Advaita Vedānta tradition, but probably was a Bhedabheda scholar. Sri Vaishnava tradition holds that Ramanuja disagreed with his guru and the non-dualistic Advaita Vedānta, and instead followed in the footsteps of Tamil Alvārs tradition, the scholars Nāthamuni and Yamunāchārya. Ramanuja is famous as the chief proponent of Vishishtadvaita school of Vedānta, and his disciples were likely authors of texts such as the Shatyayaniya Upanishad. Ramanuja himself wrote influential texts, such as Sanskrit bhāsyas on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
