Liberation in early Advaita Vedanta

by Aleksandar Uskokov | 2018 | 195,782 words

Hinduism Hindu Philosophy Vedanta

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Summary: This thesis highlights that liberation (in Sanskrit: Moksha) is posited as the “highest good”—i.e., it represents freedom from the cyclical process of birth and rebirth. This essay further shows how Shankara’s doctrine emphasizes that liberation is solely derived from knowledge of Brahman, not from ritual actions or meditation, marking a clear departure from the views of his Vedic contemporaries and predecessors who advocated for a combination of rituals and meditation for attaining liberation.

The full title is “Deciphering the Hidden Meaning: Scripture and the Hermeneutics of Liberation in Early Advaita Vedanta”.

Copyright:
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Source 1: motilalbanarsidass.com
Source 2: academia.edu

Contents of this online book ( + / - )

The full text of the Liberation in early Advaita Vedanta in English is available here and publically accesible (free to read online). Of course, I would always recommend buying the book so you get the latest edition. You can see all this book’s content by visiting the pages in the below index:

Acknowledgments

. 1. Liberation and the Highest Good

. 2. Mahā-Vākya (great statements)

. 3. Characters, Dates, and Archive

. 4. Vedic Theology

. 5. Mīmāṃsā and Vedānta as Pūrva-and Uttara-Mīmāṃsā

. 6. The History of Ideas

. 7. Structure and Chapter Overview

. 8. Note on the Title

+ Chapter 1 - Rethinking the idea of Scripture in Vedic Theology

. 1. Introduction

. 2. The Classical Theory of Śruti

. 3. Śruti in Early Vedic Theology

. 4. Śabara’s Understanding of Śruti

. 5. From Śruti to Śāstra

. 6. The Impersonal Nature of the Veda

. 7. Śruti-Śāstra as Perception

. 8. Śruti in Other Brāhmaṇical Traditions

. 9. Śaṅkara’s Understanding of Śruti

+ Chapter 2 - The Mīmāṃsā model of Puruṣārtha and the role of Scripture

. 1. Introduction

. 2. Dharma and Puruṣārtha

. 3. Dharma and Ritual Causality

. 4. The Doctrine of Apūrva and the Temporal Unity of the Ritual

. 5. The Idea of Mediate Causality

. 6. Bhāvanā, Ākāṅkṣā, and the Structural Unity of Sacrifice and Text

. 7. Mīmāṃsā Classification of Vedic Texts and the Upaniṣads

. 8. Language and Prābhākara Mīmāṃsā

. 9. Conclusion

+ Chapter 3 - The Highest Good and Liberation in pre-Śaṅkara Mīmāṃsā

. 1. Introduction

. 2. Heaven as Liberation

. 3. Liberation in Kumārila’s Thought: Introduction

. 4. Kumārila’s First Account of Liberation

. 5. Kumārila’s Second Account of Liberation

. 6. Concluding Remarks

+ Chapter 4 - Liberation in the Brahma-sūtra

. 1. Introductory Remarks: Methodology

. 2. The Doctrine of Vidyā/Upāsana

. 3. The concept of Brahma-vidyā

. 4. The Practice of Meditation on Brahman

. 5. Attaining Brahman

. 6. The Self in Liberation

. 7. Brahma-Sūtra, Liberation and the Two Great Upaniṣads

+ Chapter 5 - The Doctrine of Prasaṅkhyāna

. 1. Introduction

. 2. The Soteriology of Bhartṛprapañca

. 3. Prasaṅkhyāna in Pātañjala-Yoga-Śāstra

. 4. The Vedāntic Prasaṅkhyāna

. 5. The “Another Cognition” Meditation

. 6. Conclusion to chapter 5

Conclusion to Second Part

Introduction to Third Part

+ Chapter 6 - General characteristics of Dharma and the Path of Engagement

. 1. Introduction

. 2. Dharma and the Validity of the Veda

. 3. The Dharma of Engagement and Disengagement

. 4. Śaṅkara’s Psychology and the Human Condition

. 5. Desire and Qualification

. 6. The Attainments of Dharma

. 7. Winning the World of the Gods

. 8. Brahman as Brahmā, the Ultimate Attainment of Meditation

+ Chapter 7 - Liberation, Ritual, and the arising of Knowledge

. 1. Introduction

. 2. The Self and the Nature of Liberation

. 3. The Role of Ritual and Vividiṣā

. 4. Arising of Knowledge

. 5. The Model of Causality

+ Chapter 8 - Vedānta-Vākya and the Identity Statements

. 1. The Upaniṣads and Para-and Apara-vidyā

. 2. The Scope of Para-vidyā Texts

. 3. The Identity Statements of the Upaniṣads

. 4. The Problem of Language

. 5. The Categories of “That” and “You”

. 6. The Identity Statement Context

+ Chapter 9 - Liberation and the Inquiry into Brahman

. 1. The Dharma of Disengagement and Desire

. 2. The Processes of Knowing Brahman and the Doctrine of Pramāṇa

. 3. Śravaṇa and Manana in the Upadeśa-Sāhasrī

. 4. Nididhyāsana and Parisaṅkhyāna

. 5. Parisaṅkhyāna: A Second Avenue

. 6. The Purpose of Parisaṅkhyāna and the Nature of Liberation

+ Chapter 10 - Sarvajñātman and the doctrine of Upaniṣadic Mahā-vākya

. 1. Introduction and a Historical Note

. 2. Mahā-vākya in Mīmāṃsā

. 3. Sarvajñātman and the Preliminaries

. 4. The Vedāntic Mahā-vākyas

. 5. Conclusion to chapter 10

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Last Updated: 11 January, 2025

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