Vishishta Advaita, Viśiṣṭa Advaita, Vishishtadvaita, Viśiṣṭādvaita: 7 definitions

Introduction:

Vishishta Advaita means something in Hinduism, Sanskrit, Hindi. If you want to know the exact meaning, history, etymology or English translation of this term then check out the descriptions on this page. Add your comment or reference to a book if you want to contribute to this summary article.

The Sanskrit terms Viśiṣṭa Advaita and Viśiṣṭādvaita can be transliterated into English as Visista Advaita or Vishishta Advaita or Visistadvaita or Vishishtadvaita, using the IAST transliteration scheme (?).

In Hinduism

Vaishnavism (Vaishava dharma)

[«previous next»] — Vishishta Advaita in Vaishnavism glossary
Source: The Annals of the Research Project Center for the Comparative Study of Logic: A Study of Rāmānuja’s Theology

Viśiṣṭādvaita (विशिष्टाद्वैत) or Viśiṣṭādvaitavāda refers to “qualified monisim”, according to Koki Ishimoto in his paper, A Study of Rāmānuja’s Theology : Three Aspects of viśiṣṭatva of Brahman.—Rāmānuja (1017-1137) is known as a philosopher who tried to harmonize the Vedānta philosophy with Vaiṣṇava theology. In later times his theory came to be called viśiṣṭādvaita-vāda ‘qualified monisim’, since, in his view, Brahman is supposed to be qualified by three real factors: specifiers or differentiators (viśeṣa), auspicious qualities (kalyāṇaguṇa), and a twofold body (śarīra, spiritual and physical).

Vaishnavism book cover
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Vaishnava (वैष्णव, vaiṣṇava) or vaishnavism (vaiṣṇavism) represents a tradition of Hinduism worshipping Vishnu as the supreme Lord. Similar to the Shaktism and Shaivism traditions, Vaishnavism also developed as an individual movement, famous for its exposition of the dashavatara (‘ten avatars of Vishnu’).

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General definition (in Hinduism)

[«previous next»] — Vishishta Advaita in Hinduism glossary
Source: Google Books: Kanchipuram: Land of Legends, Saints and Temples

Viśiṣṭa Advaita (exalted monotheism) proclaims that God is the central reality of soul (cit) and matter (acit) and neither can exist without Him. This means that whatever exists is contained within God Himself.

Source: WikiPedia: Hinduism

Viśiṣṭādvaita Vedānta is a sub-school of the Vedanta (literally, end or the goal of knowledge, Sanskrit) school of Hindu philosophy, the other major sub-schools of Vedānta being Advaita, Dvaita, and Achintya-Bheda-Abheda. VishishtAdvaita (literally "Advaita with uniqueness; qualifications") is a non-dualistic school of Vedanta philosophy. It is non-dualism of the qualified whole, in which Brahman alone exists, but is characterised by multiplicity. It can be described as qualified monism or qualified nondualism or attributive monism.

The Vishishtadvaitic thought is considered to have existed for a long time, and it is surmised that the earliest works are no longer available.

There are three key principles of Vishishtadvaita:

  1. Tattva: The knowledge of the 3 real entities namely,
    1. jiva (living souls; the sentient);
    2. ajiva (the insentient) and
    3. Ishvara (Vishnu-Narayana or Parahbrahman, creator and controller of the world).
  2. Hita: The means of realization, as through Bhakti (devotion) and Prapatti (self-surrender).
  3. Purushartha: The goal to be attained, as moksha or liberation from bondage.

Languages of India and abroad

Sanskrit dictionary

[«previous next»] — Vishishta Advaita in Sanskrit glossary
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1) Viśiṣṭādvaita (विशिष्टाद्वैत):—[=vi-śiṣṭādvaita] [from vi-śiṣṭa > vi-śiṣ] a n. See below

2) [from vi-śiṣ] b n. ‘qualified non-duality’, the doctrine that the spirits of men have a qualified identity with the one Spirit (See Rāmānuja), [Religious Thought and Life in India 119 etc.]

[Sanskrit to German]

Vishishta Advaita in German

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Sanskrit, also spelled संस्कृतम् (saṃskṛtam), is an ancient language of India commonly seen as the grandmother of the Indo-European language family (even English!). Closely allied with Prakrit and Pali, Sanskrit is more exhaustive in both grammar and terms and has the most extensive collection of literature in the world, greatly surpassing its sister-languages Greek and Latin.

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Hindi dictionary

[«previous next»] — Vishishta Advaita in Hindi glossary
Source: DDSA: A practical Hindi-English dictionary

Viśiṣṭādvaita (विशिष्टाद्वैत):—(nm) 'qualified non-duality'—a philosophical doctrine that human spirit has a qualified identity with the Supreme Spirit; also ~[vāda] ~[vādī] one who asserts or believes in the doctrine of [viśiṣṭādvaita].

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Kannada-English dictionary

[«previous next»] — Vishishta Advaita in Kannada glossary
Source: Alar: Kannada-English corpus

Viśiṣṭādvaita (ವಿಶಿಷ್ಟಾದ್ವೈತ):—[noun] (phil.) the doctrine that the spirits of men have a qualified identify with the Supreme Spirit, propounded by Rāmānuja.

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Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.

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