Truth is ONE. Why so much Divisiveness? Advaita vs. Vishishta Advaita vs. Dvaita

For centuries, followers of Shankara, Ramanuja, and Madhva have argued stridently about the nature of absolute, universal reality - brahman. This divisiveness might possibly be harmful to sincere spiritual seekers. What can be done to resolve these differences?

Vedanta is based on the teachings of the ancient rishis, teachings found in the last section of the ancient Vedic scriptures, Upanishads. It’s also based on the Bhagavad Gita and the highly analytical text, Brahma sutras. Shankara strictly interpreted each of those scriptures according to the principle of advaita, non-duality. Ramanuja interpreted each of them according to the principles of vishishta advaita, qualified nondualism. And Madhva interpreted each of them according to the principles of dvaita, duality. Other interpretations of those scriptures include:
Bhedabheda of Yadava Prakasha
Dvaitadvaita of Nimbarka
Shuddhadvaita of Vallabha
Achintya Bhedbheda of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu

In commentaries and in scholarly texts like Advaita Siddhi of Madhusudana Sarasvati, the followers of all these great Vedantic traditions have always disagreed and argued about the nature of brahman - being with or without qualities or characteristics - nirguna, saguna, nirvishesha, or savishesha. They also argued about the nature of the material world: satyam, mithya, real, false, separate, or non-separate. And they argued about the nature of the individual person, jiva. In their arguments, they often used a powerful scholarly technique called purva-paksha siddhanta, in which an opposing point of view is deliberately introduced and developed for the sake of discussion. Then, it is thoroughly refuted by showing its defects according to traditional logic, nyaya, and new logic, navya nyaya.

These three Vedantic perspectives can be reconciled through the important principle of adhikari bheda, the principle of recognizing the differences (bheda) among spiritual seekers (adhikaris), that each person has different religious preferences and spiritual needs. In this way, the teachings of advaita, vishishtadvaita, and dvaita can be understood to serve the needs of different groups of students. Each teaching is capable of leading them to moksha, liberation.

0:00 Shankara, Ramanuja & Madhva
9:14 The Problem of Divisiveness
19:58 Reconciling the Three Perspectives

Credits:
Editorial assistant - Vasanthi Sunil
Artwork assistant - Nilson Oliveira
Artwork courtesy of Himalayan Academy https://himalayanacademy.com/

Swami Tadatmananda is a traditionally-trained teacher of Advaita Vedanta, meditation, and Sanskrit. For more information, please see: https://www.arshabodha.org/