Vedānta and It's Sub-schools

Vedānta(Also known as Uttara Mimamsa)  is one of the six schools of Hindu philosophy. Literal meaning of Vedānta is “end of the Vedas”. 

The Vedanta school concentrates on the philosophical teachings of the Upanishads rather than the rituals and sacrifices given in Brahmanas.

Based on the different philosophical interpretations of the Vedas ( Mainly Upanishads ), Six different schools emerged under the Vedanta philosophy. The main focus of these schools was on the nature of the Brahman and its relation with Atman(Soul). 

These schools were mainly divided into three philosophical categories: non-dualism, dualism, and qualified non-dualism.

Let’s study them one by one.

Advaita :

This was the most popular school and it was propounded by Adi Sahnakar and his Guru Gaudapada.

It believes in absolute monism( Or absolute non-dualism).

It states that both the individual self (Atman) and Brahman are the same.

Brahman is the only reality, and the world, as it appears to us, is only an illusion. Brahman has no qualities or attributes and it is completely indivisible.

The teachings of this school were vehemently opposed by other Vedanta philosophies because of Its similarities with Buddhism.

Dvaita :

This school believes in absolute dualism and was propounded by Madhvacharya.

This school considers Brahman and Atman( Individual souls) as two separate entities and suggests Bhakti as the route to salvation.