12-16-2004, 09:54 PM
Vedanta including advaita has been around since vedic times and primarily expounded in the Upanishads. And agreeing with Kaushal, I also believe that rumors of its demise are highly premature.
Besides Shri Adi Shankara's revival of advaita Vedanta, other notable development regarding advaita took place in Kashmir in shaiva Agama. Kashmir shaivism has a highly developed system of philosophy with strong advaitic foundation. Shri Shankara had traveled to Kashmir and there is an ancient Shankarachrya temple on a hill close to Srinagar.
What I have gathered from Pathma in the past is that he tends to see everything from Agamic point of view, especially of Tamil sangam era. Nothing wrong with that, but it becomes an exercise in parochialism if one feels a need to show every other tradition in Hinduism as subsequent and derived from or inferior to one's preferred sect/tradition etc.
Such parochial views have existed in Hinduism amongst all the major sects. But those parochial views define those sects, not Hinduism. Core unique value of Hinduism is its universalist approach.
At present my understanding of advaita is limited to that derived from Upanishads, Shankaracharya's advaita and Kashmir Shaiva Agama. I am personally not very familiar with Tamil sangam literature and would appreciate pointers to its philosophical texts translated into english, especially those relating to advaita.
Besides Shri Adi Shankara's revival of advaita Vedanta, other notable development regarding advaita took place in Kashmir in shaiva Agama. Kashmir shaivism has a highly developed system of philosophy with strong advaitic foundation. Shri Shankara had traveled to Kashmir and there is an ancient Shankarachrya temple on a hill close to Srinagar.
What I have gathered from Pathma in the past is that he tends to see everything from Agamic point of view, especially of Tamil sangam era. Nothing wrong with that, but it becomes an exercise in parochialism if one feels a need to show every other tradition in Hinduism as subsequent and derived from or inferior to one's preferred sect/tradition etc.
Such parochial views have existed in Hinduism amongst all the major sects. But those parochial views define those sects, not Hinduism. Core unique value of Hinduism is its universalist approach.
At present my understanding of advaita is limited to that derived from Upanishads, Shankaracharya's advaita and Kashmir Shaiva Agama. I am personally not very familiar with Tamil sangam literature and would appreciate pointers to its philosophical texts translated into english, especially those relating to advaita.