A philosophy of classical Hinduism Vedanta means “the culmination of the Vedas,” referring to the Upanishads as the final portion of that scripture. In essence, Vedanta is theology, with its main concern focused on divine power. In the past 100 years, Vedanta has been popularized in the West, a movement initiated by Swami Vivekananda who carried the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna from Calcutta to Vedanta Society centers in many major cities of the world.
Principal teachings embody the harmony of all religions: “As many faiths, so many paths.” With its aim to experience the oneness of all creation, Vedanta preaches kindness to all, nonviolence and service to others (seva). God (Brahman) can be known as form or formless. In form, for example, God can be found in Divine Incarnations (Avatars) and as the Indweller of every human heart (Atman). As formless, God is perceived as all-pervading and as pure consciousness.
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Shraddhananda, S. (1996). Seeing God everywhere: A practical guide to spiritual living. Hollywood: Vendanta Press.
Yatiswarananda, S. (1995). Meditation and spiritual life. Bangalore: Ramakrishna Math.
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Halligan, F.R. (2020). Vedanta. In: Leeming, D.A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-24348-7_724
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