SmartSurat  #  Hinduism

Meaning of the term Vedanta

The end of the Vedic period is given the special term Vedanta. This term means ' end of the Vedas ', the word anta meaning ' end '. The word anta can also mean end in the sense of fulfilment and this is a very apt idea in relation to the Vedanta for the scriptures which the period produced were believed to have been the fulfilment of all knowledge, especially since it was believed that they brought out the real meaning behind the earlier Vedic ritual and scriptural material. Vedantic thought is thus rather different from earlier Vedic thought. Lott has described the Vedanta as `the most important of India's living conceptual systems' and, while his remark is intended more for the systems of philosophy which rose out of tlie Vedanta, it serves also as an appropriate statement regarding the fundamental importance of the Vedanta for all Hinduism. It is because the Vedanta deals with the nature of the Absolute, Brahman, that it has provided the foundation for so much subsequent belief in Hinduism as a whole.