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I have seen that Vaishnavas are opposed to Advaita siddhanta. Are there Advaita Vaishnava sampradayas also?

Also I want to know whether Shaivas and Shaktas think themselves as part of Advaita's pancayatana or they also oppose Advaita and have separate sampradayas?

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  • Lmao Not even a single Shaiv Sampradaaya follow kevaladvaita bro.
    – user27805
    Sep 7, 2022 at 12:17

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A good question. There are 12 original commentaries on the Brahma Sutra. Each commentary sketches the position of a disctinct sect.

Branches of the Vedanta System

  1. Advaita or Kevaladvaita school of Shankaracharya.
  2. Dvaita school of Madhvacharya.
  3. Bhedabheda school of Bhaskacharya.
  4. Achintya-Bhedabhed school of Baladeva (Sri JivaGoswami, Sri Chaitanya).
  5. Dvaitadvaita school of Nimbarkacharya.
  6. Shuddhadvaita school of Vallabhacharya.
  7. Vishishtadvaitaschool of Ramanujacharya.
  8. Shaiva-Vishisshtadvaita school of Shrikantha.
  9. Visheshadvaita school of Shripati.
  10. Samanjasya school of Vijnanabhikshu.
  11. Shakta-Vishishtadvaita school of Panchanana.
  12. Shaktadvaita of Haritayana

Journey from many to one essentials of Advaita Vedanta by Swami Bhaskarananda

The list shows that Shaivas (8) and Shaktas (11,12) have their own commentaries on the Brahma Sutra. Shaktas even have Shaktadvaita. This would suggest that Shaivas and Shaktas consider themselves as separate from the Kevaladvaita of Shankara.

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  • Is it that 8,11 are similar to 7 and that only supreme being is different and also what is the difference between 1 and 12?
    – user16895
    Nov 30, 2018 at 13:48
  • Yes, 8, 11 are similar to 7 with Narayan replaced by Shiva and Shakti, respectively. The difference between 1 and 12 is that Brahman of 1 is replaced by Devi in 12.
    – Pradip Gangopadhyay
    Nov 30, 2018 at 14:06
  • Then it means all the other worshipers of other gods like Vishnu, Shiva, Ganapti also reach Devi as per 12?
    – user16895
    Nov 30, 2018 at 14:12
  • 12 considers Devi to be the highest. I don't know what 12 says happens to followers of Vishnu, Shiva or Ganapati.I suspect that 12 says that followers of Vishnu, Shiva or Ganapati can also reach Devi if that is what they want.
    – Pradip Gangopadhyay
    Nov 30, 2018 at 14:22
  • If Devi is considered highest and other god worshippers can't reach devi , then it will map to dvaita school(2) or is it that here also they lose individuality and thus it is similar to 1?
    – user16895
    Nov 30, 2018 at 14:25
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Are there Advaita Vaishnava sampradayas also?

There is a good section of people who believe Adi Sankaracharya himself was a Vaishnavaite and that being an Advaitin and a Vaishnava may not be mutually exclusive. This topic has been at the center of some of the most intense, sometimes cordial, sometimes downright nasty, debates online. I don't have any intention of getting in to any debates here with people throwing vakyas, bhasyas and all things at each other.

But then there are people within advaita tradition that focuses purely on devotion to Narayana but ultimately they do believe the Nirguna concept being the end all.

Here's an interesting read: https://www.advaita-vedanta.org/archives/advaita-l/1999-September/010829.html

whether Shaivas and Shaktas think themselves as part of Advaita's pancayatana or they also oppose Advaita and have separate sampradayas?

I had asked a similar question here and am still waiting for an answer.

Most Shaivas and Shaktas certainly do not link themselves to the Advaita samparadaya of Adi Sankaracharya. They might have their own advaitic siddhantas, but many of them do not even consider Veda vedanta as authoritative above their agamas or other texts. Lingayats are the first to come up in my memory that fit that criteria. There will be shaivaites and shaktas within the Advaita sampradaya but then I am sure they are in the scope of this question.

Here are some pages already on Hinduism.stackexchange that detail out some of the issues that relate to Shaivism and Vedanta.

Which Shaivite sect believes God is the operator of the Universe but not the source?

What commentary on the Brahma Sutras does the Saiva Siddhanta Church support?

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  • Madhusudhana Saraswati was an advaita Vaishnava who wrote very devotional books on Krishna. Vishwanath Chakravarty Thakur quotes his explanations often in his Bhagavad Gita commentary. In BG 15.18 VCT writes: 'There should be no indignation at the explanation of these three verses (16-18) which establish the supreme position of the form of Krishna. I offer my respects to the impersonalists. (Madhusudhana Saraswati)'
    – user16618
    Nov 29, 2018 at 18:09
  • @RaRe yes, I know. There are few more, but I don't think they followed or formed a separate sampradaya on their own. Mostly fell under the ambit of Advaita or smartha. That said, it is told that Madhusudhana Saraswati differs on several conclusions with Adi Sankaracharya's works. I haven't personally accessed his works, so I will leave it at that.
    – Ambi
    Nov 30, 2018 at 1:59
  • yes no sampradaya.
    – user16618
    Nov 30, 2018 at 2:08

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