Non-duality: Advaita and Visishta Advaita
What is the difference?
Generally speaking, evolution of religion has been from “many Gods” (as found in polytheism and pagan religions) to “one God” (monotheistic dualism as found in Semitic faiths) to “God alone is” (non-duality as found in Eastern traditions).
The two major Eastern traditions are Vedanta and Buddhism, and they both have many variants of non-duality expressed explicitly or implicitly. And within Vedanta, there are at least two prominent schools of non-duality. What is commonly associated with non-duality in Vedanta is formally known as Kevala Advaita or absolute non-duality, as codified by Adi Shankara. There is another Vedantic system of non-duality called Visishta Advaita or qualified non-duality as codified by Sri Ramanuja.
Both the schools of Vedanta assert the single all pervading nature of the Divine, with one subtle difference.
Visishta Advaita sees the entire universe as the body of God and all the entities, animate and inanimate, as parts of God much like limbs of a body. Another good metaphor is to see that the multitudinous waves (individual beings) are part of one ocean (universal being or God). So there is a part/whole relationship between the individual and the Supreme that brings about a true sense of devotion to the whole, not just as a transcendent reality but as the immanent truth of the entire universe.
Advaita is the vision that goes beyond the part/whole relationship and sees that wave and ocean are essentially made of the same substance — water. This does not deny at the phenomenal level the part/whole relationship between the waves and the ocean and hence fully reconcilable with Visishta Advaita. Advaita just makes the additional leap that what makes the part is the same as what makes the whole. So stripped of all names and forms, the part and the whole are essentially the same, as captured succinctly in the Upanishadic statement tat tvam asi (that thou art).
While the differences may seem too abstract, it does have practical implications.
The part/whole relationship that is emphasized by Visishta Advaita gives the philosophical basis for devotion which may be the natural inclination of many in the spiritual journey. Equally important, the part/whole relationship is the utmost that words can truly explore in a positive sense. Advaita can only be explored in the negative sense (neti neti) which is the essence of self inquiry. A systematic exposition can only go as far as showing the superimposition and the subsequent negation (adhyāropa apavāda) but cannot capture ‘that which is’ in any positive terms. True non-duality or Advaita is by definition beyond words.
When speech arises even about non-duality, there is instantly a seeming separation as the speaker is only a part of the whole. In silence alone is advaita truly realized. Using verbal analysis and study has every danger of landing one in dry intellectualism or second hand spouting of oneness without any true clarity. Advaita is not the word ‘advaita’. It is the end of all words.
On the other hand, it is important to also recognize that devotion or love for God or Guru is only based on one’s conditioning. That which is beyond conditioning is the silence of being. Devotion based on conditioning has every risk of being caught in sectarianism or making a crutch out of the outer form of Guru. Total surrender can transcend any such pitfall but contrary to popular perception, such total surrender is extremely rare.
Because absolute Advaita is not dependent on any conditioning, people from any culture with no exposure to any non-dual teachings of the Upanishads etc. arrive at the same truth. When Jesus said “My father and I are one” or Hafiz said “an al haq” (I am the truth), they were giving voice to the same realization of total oneness as the ancients of the East. And so with recent masters such as Ramana Maharshi who had never studied any traditional books or scriptures.
Thus while both formal systems have a vital place in the philosophical firmament, they both have their pitfalls too of either becoming a dry intellectual or a sectarian devotee.
For this reason and also because engaging in dialectics around philosophy only activates the mind with its stored, second hand knowledge, great sages never encourage any discussions on the various systems of philosophy including Advaita.
As Ramana Maharshi captured in the following verse:
“The world is true!’ — ‘No, it is a false appearance’; ‘The world is mind!’ — ‘No, it is not’; ‘The world is pleasant!’ — ‘No, it is not’. What avails such talk? To leave the world alone and know the Self, to go beyond all thought of one and two, this egoless condition is the common goal of all.”
Put in other words, simply being still within, by a clear recognition of the falsity of the ego or total surrender and therefore free of any identification with any thought movement including any highfalutin philosophical discussions, is the direct way.
