- the chief Hindu philosophy, dealing mainly with the Upanishadic doctrine of the identity of Brahman and Atman, that reached its highest development a.d. c800 through the philosopher Shankara.
- one of the six main philosophical schools of Hinduism, expounding the monism regarded as implicit in the Veda in accordance with the doctrines of the Upanishads. It teaches that only Brahman has reality, while the whole phenomenal world is the outcome of illusion (maya)
