Advaita

ahd-VY-tah

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The name Advaita means “non-duality, oneness, without a second.” It comes from the Sanskrit language tradition.

Advaita is one of the most profound philosophical concepts in Hinduism, meaning non-duality — the understanding that the individual soul (atman) and the universal consciousness (Brahman) are one and the same. Adi Shankara's Advaita Vedanta is one of the most influential schools of Hindu philosophy.

From the Sanskrit अद्वैत, combining the negating prefix a- with dvaita, meaning duality. The form is the abstract noun itself — non-duality — where Advait functions more as the adjective, though modern usage treats the two as interchangeable given names.

Advaita Vedanta is among the most influential schools of Indian philosophy, holding that ātman and Brahman are identical and that plurality is appearance rather than reality. Adi Shankara gave it systematic form in the eighth century, and it shaped Hindu thought so thoroughly that later movements defined themselves largely by their agreement or disagreement with it.

• Adi Shankara (8th-century philosopher who systematized Advaita Vedanta)
• Advaita (Indian music band)

Sibling names that share Advaita's rhythm and register without echoing it too closely.