Is Brahman beyond Advaita, Dvaita, and Visistha-advaita? If so, why have the great acharyas restrained themselves by these concepts?

Question

Garuda Purana preta khanda chapter 49 states.

अद्वैतं केचिदिच्छन्ति द्वैतमिच्छन्ति चापरे । समं तत्त्वं न जानन्ति द्वैताद्द्वैतविवर्जितम् ॥ २,४९.९२ ॥

Some Desire Advaita, others desire Dvaita. Neither of them know the true tattva which is devoid of both Dvaita and Advaita.

Does this not mean that Brahman is beyond concepts such as Advaita,Dvaita, Vishishtadvaita etc. ?

If so, why have all the great Acharyas restrained themselves by these concepts by seeking to establish their view alone as the gospel truth and the other views as completely false?

Answer 1

Short answer to question: Yes, Brahman is beyond all the concepts.

Kenopnishada can certainly help with that and you can extrapolate the fact given there to get understanding of what you are asking. (Sorry, but I do not know IAST, so you can add it but do not remove dev nagri version)

न तत्र चक्षुर्गच्छति न वाग्गच्छति नो मनो न विद्मो न विजानीमो यथैतदनुशिष्यादन्यदेव तद्विदितादथो अविदितादधि | इति शुश्रुम पूर्वेषां ये नस्तद्व्याचचक्षिरे ॥ 1/3 ॥

Focus on the words न विजानीमो यथैतदनुशिष्यादन्यदेव it means neither we know how to instruct one about Brahman. This clearly shows that all the philosophies concerning him are just logical interpretation of Brahman, done as per the perception of a person, not what Brahman really is.

Further it also says तद्विदितादथो अविदितादधि which means he is distinct from known (or what can be known) and is beyond the unknown (or what cannot be known).

It implies you cannot describe Brahman in words because words can only describe generalisations not what Brahman actually is.

The answer written further has a trigger warning: Vedic Darshan (no extensive discussion shall be done in comments about it).

This can, in a generalised form, also be confirmed by Nyaya Darshan of Gautam:

इन्द्रियार्थसन्निकर्षोत्पन्नं ज्ञानम् अव्यपदेश्यम् अव्यभिचारि व्यवसायात्मकं प्रत्यक्षम् ।। 1/4 ।।

Above is about Pratyaksha Gyan (Direct knowledge perceived by 5 senses and Mana) and there is a term अव्यपदेश्यम्. It roughly means that direct knowledge should always be indescribable. For example, you eat a mango and an apple both were sweet but you can never describe using words what kind of sweet mango and apple were. To be more precise you cannot by telling to someone about taste of them make other person taste them. Both had different taste but taste cannot be described.

This rule of Gautam can be applied there. You cannot even make other person taste something by merely telling him, let alone Brahman.

Since the sages have experienced Brahman they cannot describe it anyhow because that is what Direct knowledge is. Direct knowledge would always be bound in the rules of Gautam.

Answer 2

Does this not mean that Brahman is beyond concepts such as Advaita,Dvaita, Vishishtadvaita etc. ?

In Swami Vivekanandas words , It was the same Brahman, and the different realisations were only degrees and differences of vision

Excerpt from The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda- Volume 8 -Notes Of Class Talks And Lectures-God: Personal And Impersonal

To give an illustration: We stand here and see the sun. Suppose you want to go towards the sun. After you get a few thousand miles nearer, you will see another sun, much bigger. Supposing you proceed much closer, you will see a much bigger sun. At last you will see the real sun, millions and millions of miles big. Suppose you divide this journey into so many stages, and take photographs from each stage, and after you have taken the real sun, come back and compare them; they will all appear to be different, because the first view was a little red ball, and the real sun was millions of miles bigger; yet it was the same sun. It is the same with God: the Infinite Being we see from different standpoints, from different planes of mind. The lowest man sees Him as an ancestor; as his vision gets higher, as the Governor of the planet; still higher as the Governor of the universe, and the highest man sees Him as himself. It was the same God, and the different realisations were only degrees and differences of vision.

Some Desire Advaita, others desire Dvaita. Neither of them know the true tattva which is devoid of both Dvaita and Advaita

Impersonal Brahman beyond space and time is same as Personal Brahman , It is only difference of vision due to different standpoints

Excerpt from The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda- Volume 8 -Notes Of Class Talks And Lectures-God: Personal And Impersonal

Many of you remember the definition I gave of the soul; that each soul is a circle whose centre is in one point and circumference nowhere. The centre is where the body is, and the activity is manifested there. You are omnipresent; only you have the consciousness of being concentrated in one point. That point has taken up particles of matter, and formed them into a machine to express itself.

God is a circle with its circumference nowhere and centre everywhere. Every point in that circle is living, conscious, active, and equally working;

As the body has a very infinitesimal existence in comparison with that of the universe, so the whole universe, in comparison with God, is nothing. When we talk of God speaking, we say He speaks through His universe; and when we speak of Him beyond all limitations of time and space, we say He is an Impersonal Being. Yet He is the same Being.