Vedanta is that philosophy which comes from the sacred scriptures called The Upanishads. The Upanishads are the final part of the ancient texts known as the Vedas.

Veda means knowledge and Anta means end. Therefore Vedanta is said to be the philosophy which leads to the end of knowledge and too from the ending part of the Vedas.

The "Om" symbol Three main schools of Vedanta emerged: Dvaita - the dualistic approach, Advaita - the non-dualistic approach and Kevala Advaita - the pure non-dualistic school. The main exponent of Vedanta was the great sage Adi Sankara who was an adept of the Kevala Advaita Vedanta path.

Sri Sankaracharya summarized the essence of Vedantic teachings into three concise sentences. These are:

"Brahma Satyam. Jagat Mithya. Jivo Brahmaiva Na Parah."

These can be translated in English as follows:

God only is real. The world is unreal. The individual is none other than God.

The beauty of Vedanta is that it transcends dry philosophy and mere intellectual concept. Vedanta is an actual life experience, a philosophy in practice. This practice includes the many techniques of Jnana Yoga (The Yoga of will and intellect).

Related Pages:
An excellent article on Vairagya by Swami Sivananda in the Spring/Summer '96 issue of Yoga Life magazine

Recommended Reading and available in our online YogaStore:
The Principle Upanishad, Upanishad Drama by Swami Sivananda
Meditation and Mantras by Swami Vishnu-devananda