Uttara Mimamsa Philosophy

The Uttara Mimamsa school is also known as theVedanta School of Philosophy.

Vyasa founded this school.

Its tenets are written across four divisions, 16 chapters, 192 sub-chapters and 555 poems.

The school is subdivided into three, namely:

• Non-Dualism - Preached by Adi Sankara, this school of thought believes the Supreme Soul is real and has no beginning or end. The universe is just an illusion. When a person is completely free from illusion, he attains self-enlightenment. Adi Sankara popularized this idea and added the theory of appearance and reality. Belief in the existence of the universe, consisting of various objects and phenomena, is because of a lack of knowledge. What really appears to our limited intelligence as the universe is simply God; just as, at twilight, what appears as a snake is maybe just a piece of rope.

• Qualified Monism- Preached by Ramanuja, this school believes that the entire world is real. There is a difference between the soul and the Supreme Soul. The soul is finite while the Supreme Soul is infinite. God is the only basis for the universe. It also sets forth the belief that God controls all materials and beings--human, sub-human and celestial. It is therefore a religion of harmony and hospitality. It goes further and asserts that God is the inner life and soul of all beings.

• Dualism- According to Madhvacharya, the chief proponent of this school of thought, the entire universe is divided into two, namely:
  • The independent
  • The dependent

This school also says that God is permanent - He has no beginning or end. No one and nothing is equal to Him. All other things in the world are dependent. This belief system also states that prayer is one of the ways to achieve self-attainment.

Charaka has quoted many verses from Mimamsa in the context of the soul.