Atma Svarupa Mahadeva

By Anadi The Founders of Advaita Vedanta Advaita is not so much a spiritual path as a philosophy, a highly intellectualized vision of reality. It has risen to popularity in the West largely due to Ramana Maharishi, a great sage who chose to articulate his self-experience through the philosophy of Advaita, even though he himself did not follow the teachings of Advaita on his path to self-realization. The concept of non-duality, which sits at the heart of Advaita, is very old. It can be found in the ancient Brahma Sutras of Bādarāyana and the teachings of Gaudapada. Gaudapada was GovindaBhagavatpāda’s teacher, and he in turn was Adi Shankara’s guru. However, it was Shankara who, in the 8th century, gave Advaita Vedanta its final, recognizable shape and who became its most influential expounder. Adi Shankara was not a practical teacher, but a religious reformer and philosopher who travelled across the Indian subcontinent to propagate his philosophy through discourses an