Comparative Analysis of Vedant of Shankara and Vedant of Ramanuja

Vedanta is a school of Hindu philosophy that focuses on the interpretation of the sacred texts, the Vedas. There are different sub-schools within Vedanta, two of which are Shankara's Advaita Vedanta and Ramanuja's Vishishtadvaita Vedanta. While both these sub-schools share some commonalities, there are significant differences between the two, which can be explored through a comparative analysis. Concept of Brahman: In Shankara's Advaita Vedanta, Brahman is the only reality, and the world is an illusion or Maya. According to Shankara, the individual self or Atman is not different from Brahman but is identical to it. The goal of human life is to realize this identity through self-inquiry and meditation. In contrast, Ramanuja's Vishishtadvaita Vedanta considers Brahman as the highest reality, but not the only one. Ramanuja's view of Brahman is that it includes both the unchanging and the changing aspects of reality. Ramanuja also stresses that the individual self is di...