Vedanta

Vedanta (Ved?nta) is an important branch of Hindu philosophy and is a form of Jnana Yoga (one of the four basic yoga practices in Hinduism; the others are: Raja Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Karma Yoga), a form of yoga which involves an individual seeking "the path of intellectual analysis or the discrimination of truth and reality."

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All forms of Vedanta are drawn primarily from the Upanishads, a set of philosophical and instructive Vedic scriptures which deal mainly with forms of meditation. "The Upanishads are commentaries on the Vedas, their putative end and essence, and thus known as Ved?nta = 'End of the Veda'. They are considered the fundamental essence of all the Vedas and although they form the backbone of Vedanta, portions of Vedantic thought are also derived from some of the earlier Aranyakas.

Hindu philosophy: Hindu philosophy (one of the main divisions of Indian philosophy) is traditionally seen through the prism of six different systems (called darshanas in Sanskrit) that are listed here and makes up the main belief systems of Hinduism. The characteristic of this philosophy is to consider being (conscio...

Jnana Yoga: Jnana in Sanskrit means "knowledge", and is often interpreted to mean "knowledge of the true self". In the Vedanta school of the Hindu religion, to know Brahman as one's own Self is jnana. To say, "I am Brahman, the pure, all-pervading Consciousness, the non-enjoyer, non-doer and silent witness," is...

Yoga: : See Hatha Yoga for the yoga of mostly physical exercises popular in the West....