“There is only one reality without a second, and all apparent multiplicity is grounded in it.”
— Adi ShankaraCommonly cited formulation of Advaita non-duality, derived from the Chandogya Upanishad (6.2.1) and Shankara's commentary on it; not a verbatim line
Commentary
This statement summarises the principle of non-duality that Shankara drew from the Chandogya Upanishad, where the single reality is said to be without a second. Shankara interpreted that teaching as the claim that all differentiated being is ultimately dependent upon one undivided Brahman. Eliot Deutsch describes the non-dual principle as the organising claim of Advaita, one that governs its treatment of cause, effect, and the relation of the individual to the absolute. Sengaku Mayeda shows that Shankara's commentary on the Chandogya passage is among his most developed statements of this principle. Richard King notes that the non-dual reading was contested by theistic Vedantins such as Ramanuja, whose qualified non-dualism gave the relation between Brahman and the world a different structure. Paul Hacker's analysis of Shankara's exegesis highlights the methodological care with which he reads the Upanishads. The statement expresses a central doctrine of the school and is faithful to Shankara's exegesis of the passage.
Commentary
This statement summarises the principle of non-duality that Shankara drew from the Chandogya Upanishad, where the single reality is said to be without a second. Shankara interpreted that teaching as the claim that all differentiated being is ultimately dependent upon one undivided Brahman. Eliot Deutsch describes the non-dual principle as the organising claim of Advaita, one that governs its treatment of cause, effect, and the relation of the individual to the absolute. Sengaku Mayeda shows that Shankara's commentary on the Chandogya passage is among his most developed statements of this principle. Richard King notes that the non-dual reading was contested by theistic Vedantins such as Ramanuja, whose qualified non-dualism gave the relation between Brahman and the world a different structure. Paul Hacker's analysis of Shankara's exegesis highlights the methodological care with which he reads the Upanishads. The statement expresses a central doctrine of the school and is faithful to Shankara's exegesis of the passage.