Editing Upanishads (section)

==Schools of Vedanta==
{{Main|Vedanta}}
[[File:Raja Ravi Varma - Sankaracharya.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Adi Shankara]], expounder of [[Advaita Vedanta]] and [[Works of Adi Shankara|commentator]] (''[[bhashya]]'') on the Upanishads]]

The Upanishads form one of the three main sources for all schools of Vedanta, together with the Bhagavad Gita and the [[Brahmasutra]]s.{{sfn|Radhakrishnan|1956|p=272}} Due to the wide variety of philosophical teachings contained in the Upanishads, various interpretations could be grounded on the Upanishads.{{refn|group=note|name=Olivelle_plurality}}{{refn|group=note|name=Collins}} The schools of Vedānta seek to answer questions about the relation between atman and Brahman, and the relation between Brahman and the world.{{sfn|Raju|1992|p=176-177}} The schools of Vedanta are named after the relation they see between atman and Brahman:{{sfn|Raju|1992|p=177}}
* According to [[Advaita Vedanta]], there is no difference.{{sfn|Raju|1992|p=177}}
* According to [[Vishishtadvaita]] the jīvātman is a part of Brahman, and hence is similar, but not identical.
* According to [[Dvaita]], all individual souls (jīvātmans) and matter as eternal and mutually separate entities.

Other schools of Vedanta include [[Nimbarkacharya]]'s ''[[Svabhavika Bhedabheda]]'', [[Vallabha]]'s ''Suddhadvaita'', and Chaitanya's ''Acintya [[Bhedabheda]]''.{{sfn|Ranade|1926|pp=179–182}} The philosopher [[Adi Shankara]] has provided commentaries on 11 [[mukhya]] Upanishads.{{sfn|Mahadevan|1956|p=63}}

===Advaita Vedanta===
Advaita literally means non-duality, and it is a [[monistic]] system of thought.{{sfn|Encyclopædia Britannica}} It deals with the non-dual nature of [[Brahman]] and Atman. Advaita is considered the most influential sub-school of the ''Vedanta'' school of Hindu philosophy.{{sfn|Encyclopædia Britannica}} Gaudapada was the first person to expound the basic principles of the Advaita philosophy in a commentary on the conflicting statements of the Upanishads.{{sfn|Radhakrishnan|1956|p=273}} Gaudapada's Advaita ideas were further developed by [[Adi Shankara|Shankara]] (8th century CE).{{sfn|King|1999|p=221}}{{sfn|Nakamura|2004|p=31}} King states that Gaudapada's main work, Māṇḍukya Kārikā, is infused with philosophical terminology of Buddhism, and uses Buddhist arguments and analogies.{{sfn|King|1999|p=219}} King also suggests that there are clear differences between Shankara's writings and the ''Brahmasutra'',{{sfn|King|1999|p=221}}{{sfn|Nakamura|2004|p=31}} and many ideas of Shankara are at odds with those in the Upanishads.{{sfn|Collins|2000|p=195}} Radhakrishnan, on the other hand, suggests that Shankara's views of Advaita were straightforward developments of the Upanishads and the ''Brahmasutra'',{{sfn|Radhakrishnan|1956|p=284}} and many ideas of Shankara derive from the Upanishads.<ref>John Koller (2012), Shankara in Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Religion (Editors: Chad Meister, Paul Copan), Routledge, {{ISBN|978-0415782944}}, pages 99-108</ref>

Shankara in his discussions of the Advaita Vedanta philosophy referred to the early Upanishads to explain the key difference between Hinduism and Buddhism, stating that Hinduism asserts that Atman (soul, self) exists, whereas Buddhism asserts that there is no soul, no self.<ref name=eroer1>Edward Roer (translator), {{Google books|3uwDAAAAMAAJ|Shankara's Introduction|page=3}} to ''Brihad Aranyaka Upanishad'' at pages 3-4; Quote - "(...) Lokayatikas and Bauddhas who assert that the soul does not exist. There are four sects among the followers of Buddha: 1. Madhyamicas who maintain all is void; 2. Yogacharas, who assert except sensation and intelligence all else is void; 3. Sautranticas, who affirm actual existence of external objects no less than of internal sensations; 4. Vaibhashikas, who agree with later (Sautranticas) except that they contend for immediate apprehension of exterior objects through images or forms represented to the intellect."</ref><ref name=eroer2>Edward Roer (Translator), {{Google books|3uwDAAAAMAAJ|Shankara's Introduction|page=3}} to ''Brihad Aranyaka Upanishad'' at page 3, {{oclc|19373677}}</ref><ref>KN Jayatilleke (2010), Early Buddhist Theory of Knowledge, {{ISBN|978-8120806191}}, pages 246-249, from note 385 onwards;<br />Steven Collins (1994), Religion and Practical Reason (Editors: Frank Reynolds, David Tracy), State Univ of New York Press, {{ISBN|978-0791422175}}, page 64; Quote: "Central to Buddhist soteriology is the doctrine of not-self (Pali: anattā, Sanskrit: anātman, the opposed doctrine of ātman is central to Brahmanical thought). Put very briefly, this is the [Buddhist] doctrine that human beings have no soul, no self, no unchanging essence.";<br />Edward Roer (Translator), {{Google books|3uwDAAAAMAAJ|Shankara's Introduction|page=2}}, pages 2-4<br />Katie Javanaud (2013), [https://philosophynow.org/issues/97/Is_The_Buddhist_No-Self_Doctrine_Compatible_With_Pursuing_Nirvana Is The Buddhist 'No-Self' Doctrine Compatible With Pursuing Nirvana?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913132314/https://philosophynow.org/issues/97/Is_The_Buddhist_No-Self_Doctrine_Compatible_With_Pursuing_Nirvana |date=13 September 2017 }}, Philosophy Now;<br />John C. Plott et al. (2000), Global History of Philosophy: The Axial Age, Volume 1, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120801585}}, page 63, Quote: "The Buddhist schools reject any Ātman concept. As we have already observed, this is the basic and ineradicable distinction between Hinduism and Buddhism".</ref>

Shankara used four sentences from the Upanishads, called the [[Mahavakyas|Mahāvākyas]] (Great Sayings), to establish the identity of Atman and Brahman as scriptural truth:
* [[Mahāvākyas#Prajñānam Brahma|"Prajñānam brahma"]] - "Consciousness is Brahman" ([[Aitareya Upanishad]]){{sfn|Panikkar|2001|p=669}}
* "Aham brahmāsmi" - "I am Brahman" ([[Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]){{sfn|Panikkar|2001|pp=725–727}}
* [[Tat Tvam Asi|"Tat tvam asi"]] - "That Thou art" ([[Chandogya Upanishad]]){{sfn|Panikkar|2001|pp=747–750}}
* "Ayamātmā brahma" - "This Atman is Brahman" ([[Mandukya Upanishad]]){{sfn|Panikkar|2001|pp=697–701}}

=== Bhedabheda ===
Vijñānabhikṣu countered Advaita emphasis on non-difference of the self and Brahman by pointing to statements from the Upanishads that support difference.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Nicholson |first=Andrew J. |date=2007-08-01 |title=Reconciling dualism and non-dualism: three arguments in Vijñānabhikṣu’s Bhedābheda Vedānta |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10781-007-9016-6 |journal=Journal of Indian Philosophy |language=en |volume=35 |issue=4 |pages=377–378 |doi=10.1007/s10781-007-9016-6 |issn=1573-0395}}</ref>

===Vishishtadvaita===
[[Ramanuja]] (1017–1137 CE), the main proponent of the Vishishtadvaita philosophy, disagreed with Adi Shankara and the Advaita school.{{sfn|Klostermaier|2007|pp=361–363}} Visistadvaita is a synthetic philosophy bridging the monistic Advaita and theistic Dvaita systems of Vedanta.{{sfn|Chari|1956|p=305}} Ramanuja frequently cited the Upanishads, and stated that Vishishtadvaita is grounded in the Upanishads.<ref name=staffordbetty>Stafford Betty (2010), Dvaita, Advaita, and Viśiṣṭādvaita: Contrasting Views of Mokṣa, Asian Philosophy, Vol. 20, No. 2, pages 215-224, {{doi|10.1080/09552367.2010.484955}}</ref><ref name=fowlerr299>{{cite book|author=Jeaneane D. Fowler|title=Perspectives of Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Hinduism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8dRZ4E-qgz8C|year=2002|publisher=Sussex Academic Press|isbn=978-1-898723-93-6|pages=298–299, 320–321, 331 with notes|access-date=3 November 2016|archive-date=22 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170122065042/https://books.google.com/books?id=8dRZ4E-qgz8C|url-status=live}}</ref>

Ramanuja's Vishishtadvaita interpretation of the Upanishads is that of qualified [[monism]].<ref name=williamindichcav1>{{cite book|author=William M. Indich|title=Consciousness in Advaita Vedanta|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7ykZjWOiBMoC|year=1995|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-81-208-1251-2|pages=1–2, 97–102|access-date=3 November 2016|archive-date=13 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220213135335/https://books.google.com/books?id=7ykZjWOiBMoC|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=brucesullivan239>{{cite book|author=Bruce M. Sullivan|title=The A to Z of Hinduism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xU4ZdatgRysC|year=2001|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-0-8108-4070-6|page=239|access-date=3 November 2016|archive-date=15 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415064539/https://books.google.com/books?id=xU4ZdatgRysC|url-status=live}}</ref> Ramanuja interprets the Upanishadic literature to be teaching a body-soul theory, states Jeaneane Fowler – a professor of Philosophy and Religious Studies, where the Brahman is the dweller in all things, yet also distinct and beyond all things, as the soul, the inner controller, the immortal.<ref name=fowlerr299/> The Upanishads, according to the Vishishtadvaita school, teach individual souls to be of the same quality as the Brahman, but quantitatively distinct.<ref name=staffordbetty215>Stafford Betty (2010), Dvaita, Advaita, and Viśiṣṭādvaita: Contrasting Views of Mokṣa, Asian Philosophy: An International Journal of the Philosophical Traditions of the East, Volume 20, Issue 2, pages 215-224</ref><ref>Edward Craig (2000), Concise Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Routledge, {{ISBN|978-0415223645}}, pages 517-518</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Sharma |first=Chandradhar |title=A Critical Survey of Indian Philosophy|year= 1994|publisher= Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=81-208-0365-5 | pages=373–374}}</ref>

In the Vishishtadvaita school, the Upanishads are interpreted to be teaching about [[Ishvara]] (Vishnu), who is the seat of all auspicious qualities, with all of the empirically perceived world as the body of God who dwells in everything.<ref name=fowlerr299/> The school recommends a devotion to godliness and constant remembrance of the beauty and love of a personal god. This ultimately leads one to the oneness with abstract Brahman.<ref name=jabvanbuirhtp/><ref name="Sydnor2012p20">{{cite book|author=Jon Paul Sydnor|title=Ramanuja and Schleiermacher: Toward a Constructive Comparative Theology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ae4FBAAAQBAJ|year=2012|publisher=Casemate|isbn=978-0227680247|pages=20–22 with footnote 32|access-date=3 November 2016|archive-date=3 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170103173247/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ae4FBAAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=joeschultz81>{{cite book|author=Joseph P. Schultz|title=Judaism and the Gentile Faiths: Comparative Studies in Religion|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dchpiP-9YQAC|year=1981|publisher=Fairleigh Dickinson University Press|isbn=978-0-8386-1707-6|pages=81–84|access-date=3 November 2016|archive-date=3 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170103172821/https://books.google.com/books?id=dchpiP-9YQAC|url-status=live}}</ref> The Brahman in the Upanishads is a living reality, states Fowler, and "the Atman of all things and all beings" in Ramanuja's interpretation.<ref name=fowlerr299/>

===Dvaita===
The Dvaita school was founded by [[Madhvacharya]] (1199–1278 CE).{{sfn|Raghavendrachar|1956|p=322}} It is regarded as a strongly theistic philosophic exposition of the Upanishads.{{sfn|Chari|1956|p=305}} Madhvacharya, much like Adi Shankara claims for Advaita, and Ramanuja claims for Vishishtadvaita, states that his theistic Dvaita Vedanta is grounded in the Upanishads.<ref name=staffordbetty/>

According to the Dvaita school, states Fowler, the "Upanishads that speak of the soul as Brahman, speak of resemblance and not identity".<ref name="Fowler2002p356">{{cite book|author=Jeaneane D. Fowler|title=Perspectives of Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Hinduism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8dRZ4E-qgz8C|year=2002|publisher=Sussex Academic Press|isbn=978-1-898723-93-6|pages=356–357|access-date=3 November 2016|archive-date=22 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170122065042/https://books.google.com/books?id=8dRZ4E-qgz8C|url-status=live}}</ref> Madhvacharya interprets the Upanishadic teachings of the self becoming one with Brahman, as "entering into Brahman", just like a drop enters an ocean. This to the Dvaita school implies duality and dependence, where Brahman and Atman are different realities. Brahman is a separate, independent and supreme reality in the Upanishads, Atman only resembles the Brahman in limited, inferior, dependent manner according to [[Madhvacharya]].<ref name="Fowler2002p356"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Madhva (1238–1317) |first=Valerie |last=Stoker |publisher=Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy |year=2011 |access-date=2 November 2016 |url=http://www.iep.utm.edu/madhva/ |archive-date=12 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161012131604/http://www.iep.utm.edu/madhva/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|first=Edwin |last= Bryant| title=Krishna : A Sourcebook (Chapter 15 by Deepak Sarma)| publisher= Oxford University Press| year= 2007| isbn= 978-0195148923|pages=358–359}}</ref>

Ramanuja's Vishishtadvaita school and Shankara's Advaita school are both nondualism Vedanta schools,<ref name=jabvanbuirhtp>J.A.B. van Buitenen (2008), [http://www.britannica.com/biography/Ramanuja Ramanuja - Hindu theologian and Philosopher] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161006100847/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ramanuja |date=6 October 2016 }}, Encyclopædia Britannica</ref> both are premised on the assumption that all souls can hope for and achieve the state of blissful liberation; in contrast, Madhvacharya believed that some souls are eternally doomed and damned.<ref>{{cite book|last=Sharma |first=Chandradhar |title=A Critical Survey of Indian Philosophy|year= 1994|publisher= Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=81-208-0365-5 | pages=374–375}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|first=Edwin |last= Bryant| title=Krishna : A Sourcebook (Chapter 15 by Deepak Sarma)| publisher= Oxford University Press| year= 2007| isbn= 978-0195148923|pages=361–362}}</ref>