Vedanta, the most prominent school of Hinduism, is a philosophical system that is concerned with questions such as ‘Who am I?’, ‘What is this Universe?’ ‘How am I related to the Universe?’
The roots of the Vedanta philosophy are in the Upanishads, which are the concluding portions of the Vedas. It literally means the end of the Vedas. There are three main concepts in Vedanta. The first is the Brahman or Ishvara, which is the ultimate reality. The second is Atman or the individual souls. The third is the Prakriti or the physical world. When it comes to the relationship between the three, there are many views in Vedanta, each represented by a school of thought.
Advaita Vedanta says Brahman and Atman are one and the same. It believes that all souls across space and time are one entity. This is the most famous school of Vedanta. It rejects rituals and advocates renunciation. It is, to some extent, influenced by Buddhism, which was popular at the time. The prominent teachers were Gaudapada (500 CE) and Adi Shankaracharya (8th century CE).
Dvaita Vedanta says Brahman and Atman are always totally different from each other. This is the opposite of Advaita. The most important philosopher was Madhvacharya (1238-1317 CE).
Vishishita Advaita Vedanta says the Atman is different from the Brahman though connected to it as its root. The most famous philosopher was Ramanuja (1017-1137 CE), who stressed the importance of bhakti (devotion) to a personal god. In modern times, the Swaminarayan movement was started by Swaminarayan (1781-1830). This movement is known for its huge Akshardham temples in New Delhi and Ahmedabad.
Besides these three basic schools, many other schools have arisen over time which follows similar but slightly differing versions of Vedanta. In the 19th century, a school called Neo-Vedanta arose. It was a reaction to British rule and combined Vedantic thoughts with nationalism. This school maintains that the different schools of Vedanta are all different interpretations of a single truth. Prominent thinkers of this school were Ramakrishna Paramhansa, Swami Vivekananda and Sri Aurobindo.
Several core beliefs are common across these schools. These include a belief in god as opposed to atheism, considering the Vedas as revealed knowledge, and that time moves in cycles of creation and destruction. Besides its influence in India, the philosophy of Vedanta has had a great influence on western thinkers and scientists.