The Culmination of Knowledge, the Ultimate Wisdom
The word Vedanta is a combination of two Sanskrit words “Veda” and “Anta” which together mean the culmination of knowledge, the ultimate wisdom. The Vedanta philosophy is derived from the end portion of the Vedas, which are humanity’s primeval spiritual textbooks dating back thousands of years. The Vedas are four in number, and at the end of each are the philosophical and spiritual teachings called the Upanishads. Vedanta (also translated as the end of the Veda), is essentially the philosophy of the Upanishads. This philosophy was further explained and clarified at later dates by various authors and texts, the most well-known of which is the Bhagavad Gita.
The Vedanta philosophy is referred to as the highest wisdom because it not only takes one to the ultimate state of Spiritual Enlightenment or Self-Realization, but also offers a practical philosophy of life that caters to one’s material, emotional and spiritual well-being in the process.
If you would like to learn the Vedanta philosophy in a structured, systematic way, we recommend attending Gautamji’s weekly lectures on Vedanta taught in an interactive, engaging format.
Watch Gautamji give a comprehensive introduction to the Vedanta philosophy and how it can be applied in your life ⟶
The Vedanta philosophy is covered in its entirety in Swami A. Parthasarathy’s seminal work The Eternities: Vedanta Treatise. This best-selling book now in its seventeenth edition has been a revelation to hundreds of thousands of readers worldwide since it was first published in 1978. It presents the entire philosophy encompassing the message of the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita and other Vedanta texts in contemporary thought and language; so this profound wisdom is available to any sincere seeker of Truth in today’s world.
