Advaita and Dvaita: Bridging the Gap: Journal of Vaishnava Studies

Abstract

Probably the fiercest debate in Hindu philosophy is the one between Vaishnava philosophies—particularly the dualistic Dvaita Vedånta of Madhvåcårya—and the non-dualistic Advaita Vedånta of Ådi Ûaõkaråcårya. Some of the sharpest polemics of the Indic philosophical tradition have been those leveled by Madhvåcårya and his successors against Advaita —or Måyåvåda, the ‘doctrine of illusion,’ as this system has also been known. A prominent modern exponent of Vaishnava thought, A. C. Bhaktivedånta Swåmî Prabhupåda, has been equally critical of this philosophy, which he frequently refers to as ‘impersonalism.’