Summary of main Vedic though
- 'Adi Sankara's Advaita': - Only one truth, Brahman; all else is illusion. - Brahman is formless and attribute-less; deities like Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva are illusions. - Illusion obscures Brahman; realization is non-duality (Advaita). - Analogy: River reaching the ocean, losing identity and becoming one with the ocean.
- 'Ramanuja's VishishtAdvaita': - Brahman (Supreme) must have form and attributes. - Supreme is Lord Vishnu with infinite attributes; souls are part of Vishnu. - Illusion cannot obscure the Supreme. - Goal: Reach Vaikuntha, serve Lord Vishnu without losing individual identity. - Analogy: Sun and its energies (heat and light) exist eternally; souls are energies/parts of the Lord.
- 'Madhva's Dvaita': - God (Lord Vishnu), soul, and world are all distinct and different. - Soul and creations are true and depend on God. - Emphasizes duality; God is independent, everything else is dependent. - Analogy: Parrot on a tree, appearing one but separate; parrot depends on tree, not vice versa.
- 'Conclusion': - Adi Sankara's Advaita and Madhvacharya's Dvaita are opposite. - Ramanuja's VishishtAdvaita tries to unify aspects of both.
- Unified analogy: Ocean and waves
- Advaita: Ocean and waves are identical (same water).
- VishishtAdvaita: Waves are part of the ocean.
- Dvaita: Ocean and waves are different (ocean infinite, waves finite).
- Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Nimbarkacharya reconciled all with philosophies like Achintya BhedAbheda and DvaitAdvaita.