Advaitāmoda : (a study of Advaita and Viśiṣṭādvaita)

Abstract

This work consists of (a) a translation of the Sanskrit text Advaitamoda and (b) my own supplementary comments to the discussion contained in the text. The work is divided into four chapters, corresponding to the Anandasrama publication of the text. The Sanskrit text has been further divided into sections with the translation following directly under each section in double spacing. My comments upon the text are in 1.5 spacing and have been placed under the translation of the relevant section. The first chapter: "the teaching of Advaita" (Advaitamatam) gives a detailed overview of the philosophy of the Advaita Vedanta. The second chapter: "the teaching of Visistadvaita" (Visistadvaitamatam) outlines the philosophical view of the Visistadvaita Vedanta. At the conclusion of the second chapter, the author summarizes what he considers to be the fundamental differences between Advaita and Visistadvaita. The third chapter: "the logical untenability of the Visistadvai ta teaching" (Visistadvaitamatanupapatti) and chapter four: "the logical tenability of Ignorance" (avidyopapattih) constitute the major part of the text. These chapters consist of a detailed reply to Ramanuja's critique of Advaita in the Laghusiddhanta and the Mahasiddhanta portions of his Sribhasya 1.1.1. The procedure followed in these chapters is that the author firstly cites the Sribhasya passage and then takes up that passage for discussion. In this manner, the major part of the above sections of the Sribhasya are systematically discussed. Show more