''Vedantasara'', ''Essence of Vedanta'', is a 15th-century Advaita vedanta text written by Sadananda Yogendra Saraswati.

Authorship

Its author, Sadananda Yogendra Saraswati, was the son of Anantadeva Apadeva, and probably lived in the mid-15th Century A.D. He also wrote ''Vedantasiddhanta-sarasangraha'', ''Bhavaprakasa'' on ''

Bhagavad Gita The Bhagavad Gita (; ), often referred to as the Gita (), is a Hindu texts, Hindu scripture, dated to the second or first century BCE, which forms part of the Hindu epic, epic poem Mahabharata. The Gita is a synthesis of various strands of Ind ...

'' and ''Brahmasutra-tatpryaprakasa''. Sadananda, the author of ''Advaitabrahmasiddhi'', published by Asiatic Society of Bengal, is a different author.

Themes

The ''Vedantasara'' is based on ''

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'' Ved ...

’s Karika'', Upadesasahasri of

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 h ...

, '' Panchadasi'' of

Vidyaranya Vidyaranya (IAST: Vidyāraṇya), usually identified with Mādhavācārya, was the ''jagadguru'' of the Sringeri Sharada Peetham from ca. 1374–1380 until 1386 – according to tradition, after ordination at an old age, he took the name of ...

who died in 1386 A.D., and the ''Naishkarmayasiddhi'' of Suresvara. The ''Vedantasara'' presents Sutratman (text) as Viraj, the prime means to reach knowledge of ''Atman'' and ''Brahman''. Only the liberated Self-knower realizes

Brahman In Hinduism, ''Brahman'' (; IAST: ''Brahman'') connotes the highest universal principle, the ultimate reality of the universe.P. T. Raju (2006), ''Idealistic Thought of India'', Routledge, , page 426 and Conclusion chapter part XII In the ...

. Just like the ''

Dṛg-Dṛśya-Viveka The ''Dṛg-Dṛśya-Viveka'' or ''Vâkyasudhâ'' is an Advaita Vedanta text attributed to Bhāratī Tīrtha or Vidyaranya Swami (c. 1350) Authorship Although also attributed to Adi Shankara, the text is most commonly attributed to Bharatī Tī ...

'' the ''Vedantasara'' adds

samadhi Statue of a meditating Rishikesh.html" ;"title="Shiva, Rishikesh">Shiva, Rishikesh ''Samādhi'' (Pali and ), in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, is a state of meditative consciousness. In many Indian religious traditions, the cultivati ...

to the triad of sravana ('hearing'), manana ('reflection') and nididhyasana ('repeated meditation').

The ''Vedantasara'' is divided into six chapters and contains 227 verses. *Chapter I has thirty-one verses dealing with the preliminaries that begin with an Introductory Prayer and immediately thereafter takes up for discussion the Subject-matter of Vedanta, the Qualifications for the study of Vedanta and the Necessity of a

Guru Guru ( ; International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''guru'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian religions, Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: tr ...

. Advayānanda was the Guru of Sadānanda. Vedanta is the evidence of the

Upanishads 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 Hind ...

, the

Brahma Sutras The ''Brahma Sūtras'' (), also known as the Vedanta Sūtra (Sanskrit: वेदान्त सूत्र), Shariraka Sūtra, and Bhikshu-sūtra, are a Sanskrit text which criticizes the metaphysical dualism of the influential Samkhya philos ...

and the various commentaries on these texts and the

. The ''Nitya'' (daily), ''Naimittika'' (occasional) and ''Prayscitta'' (purifying) works purify the mind, ''Upasanas'' are not

karma Karma (, from , ; ) is an ancient Indian concept that refers to an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptively called ...

s, the former lead to the ''Pitruloka'' and the latter, to the ''Satyaloka''. *Chapter II has ninety verses dealing with Adhyasa, i.e. Superimposition, which is the superimposition of the unreal on the real due to ignorance, its individual and collective aspects, the nature of

Turiya In Hindu philosophy, ''turiya'' (Sanskrit: तुरीय, meaning "the fourth"), also referred to as chaturiya or chaturtha, is the true self (''atman'') beyond the three common states of consciousness (waking, dreaming, and dreamless deep slee ...

, the experience of pure

consciousness Consciousness, at its simplest, is awareness of a state or object, either internal to oneself or in one's external environment. However, its nature has led to millennia of analyses, explanations, and debate among philosophers, scientists, an ...

, the extensions of Ignorance, the nature of the Subtle Bodies, the nature of the Gross Bodies and the Limit of Superimposition. Sadananda explains why the characteristic of ignorance is its very unintelligibleness, that it is without support and contradictory to all reasoning. *Chapter III has fifteen verses and takes up for discussion the

Jiva ''Jiva'' (, IAST: ), also referred as ''Jivātman,'' is a living being or any entity imbued with a life force in Hinduism and Jīva (Jainism), Jainism. The word itself originates from the Sanskrit verb-root ''jīv'', which translates as 'to br ...

and Superimposition with a view to establishment of the true nature of the Self (

), and in that context discusses the views of the

Carvaka Charvaka (; IAST: ''Cārvāka''), also known as ''Lokāyata'', is an ancient school of Indian materialism. It's an example of the atheistic schools in the Ancient Indian philosophies. Charvaka holds direct perception, empiricism, and condit ...

s, of the

Buddhists Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or 5th century BCE. It is the world's fourth ...

, of the Mimamsakas and the Sunyavadins, the followers of

Nāgārjuna Nāgārjuna (Sanskrit: नागार्जुन, ''Nāgārjuna''; ) was an Indian monk and Mahāyāna Buddhist philosopher of the Madhyamaka (Centrism, Middle Way) school. He is widely considered one of the most important Buddhist philosoph ...

. The Self is too subtle for ordinary understanding, the views of other differing schools gradually train the mind to dwell on finer and finer aspects of the Self. *Chapter IV has forty-four verses dealing exclusively with De-superimposition, going back into the Final Cause, the meaning of "Thou art That" (''

Tat Tvam Asi Tat or TAT may refer to: Geography * Tát, a Hungarian village * Tat Ali, an Ethiopian volcano *Trinidad and Tobago, a Caribbean country People *Tat, a son and disciple of Hermes Trismegistus * Tiffani Amber Thiessen, initials T.A.T. * Tat Wood, ...

'') and "I am Brahman" ('' Aham Brahman Asmi''). Truth does not become known till it is made to reveal itself. Sadananda explains that because it is impossible to conceive the same word as indicating a part of its own meaning as well as the meaning of another word, and when the meaning is directly expressed by the other word it does not require the application of '' Lakshana'' to the first word to indicate it. *Chapter V has thirty-five verses and prescribes the Steps to Self-Realization, lays emphasis on the Study of Vedantic texts, explains Reflection and Meditation,

Samadhi Statue of a meditating Rishikesh.html" ;"title="Shiva, Rishikesh">Shiva, Rishikesh ''Samādhi'' (Pali and ), in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, is a state of meditative consciousness. In many Indian religious traditions, the cultivati ...

and its nature and varieties, Samadhi and Sleep, The Eightfold Practice and the Obstacles to Samadhi and their Removal. *Chapter VI has twelve verses which deal with the

Jivanmukta A ''jivan mukta'' or ''mukta'' is someone who, in the Advaita Vedanta philosophy of Hinduism, has gained and assimilated self-knowledge, thus is liberated with an inner sense of freedom while living. The state is the aim of moksha in Advaita Ve ...

(liberated being), the Characteristics of the Jivanmukta and the Attainment of Kaivalya or Absoluteness.

Commentaries

The earliest commentaries on Vedantasara of Sadananda, that incorporates pre-Sankara, Sankara and post-Sankara teachings, are ''Subodhini'' written in 1588 A.D. by Nrisimhasaraswati of Varanasi, ''Balabodhini'' by Apadeva, the renowned authority on Purva Mimamsa, and ''Vidvanmanoranjani'' by Ramatirtha.

References

Sources

Printed sources

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Web-sources

External links

''Vedantasara'' (translated by Swami Nikhilananda)
Hindu texts 15th-century Sanskrit literature Advaita Vedanta Advaita Vedanta texts