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| SmartSurat # Hinduism | |
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| SmartSurat # Hinduism | |
| Monism |
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The characteristic philosophy of the Vedanta is monism. This is a sense of one-ism, the idea that everything in the cosmos is one. Differentiation between this and that, and the recognition of dualities in the universe, occur only because of ignorance (avidya). The Upanisads teach that everything comes forth from the same Ground of all Being which is Brahman, so everything is, in essence, really the same. The Svetasvatara Upanisad tells us that each individual is woman, man, youth, maiden and old man. He or she is the blue-bird, the green parrot, the cloud pregnant with lightning, the seasons and the seas - all things. Such identification with all things is indicative of monism, but as a philosophical principle monism takes this oneness a stage further and states that everything in the cosmos is also identical to the Ground of all Being thus the Absolute, Brahman, and all animate and inanimate matter is one. This is a non-dual theory, sometimes called advaita in Hinduism, and it is the rationale behind the main teaching of the Upanisads, the total identification of Brahman and the essence of Brahman in all things - atman. |
