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."

Transition from Vedic to Vedantic religion

While the traditional Vedic 'karma kanda', or ritualistic components of religion, continued to be practiced through the Brahmins as meditative and propitiatory rites to guide society to self-knowledge, more jnana- or knowledge-centered understandings began to emerge. These were mystical streams of Vedic religion that focused on meditation, self-discipline and spiritual connectivity rather than on rituals.

Related Topics:
Brahmins - Jnana - Mystical

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Etymologically, veda means "knowledge" and anta means "end", so the literal meaning of the term "Ved?nta" is "the end of knowledge" or "the ultimate knowledge" or "matter appended to the Veda". In earlier writings, Sanskrit 'Ved?nta' simply referred to the Upanishads, the most speculative and philosophical of the Vedic texts. However, in the medieval period of Hinduism, the word Vedanta came to mean the school of philosophy that interpreted the Upanishads. Traditional Vedanta considered scriptural evidence, or sabdapramana, as the most authentic means of knowledge, while perception, or pratyaksa, and logical inference, or anumana, were considered to be subordinate.

Related Topics:
Etymologically - Veda - Sanskrit - Upanishad - Sabdapramana - Pratyaksa - Anumana

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