Etymology and nomenclature[edit]

The word Vedanta is made of two words :

Veda (वेद) - refers to the four sacred vedic texts.
Anta (अंत) - this word means "End".
The word Vedanta literally means the end of the Vedas and originally referred to the Upanishads.[19][20] Vedanta is concerned with
the jñānakāṇḍa or knowledge section of the vedas which is called the Upanishads.[21][22] The denotation of Vedanta subsequently
widened to include the various philosophical traditions based on to the Prasthanatrayi.[19][23]
The Upanishads may be regarded as the end of Vedas in different senses:[24]
These were the last literary products of the Vedic period.
These mark the culmination of Vedic thought.
These were taught and debated last, in the Brahmacharya (student) stage.[19][25]
Vedanta is one of the six orthodox (āstika) schools of Indian philosophy.[20] It is also called Uttara Mīmāṃsā, which means the
'latter enquiry' or 'higher enquiry'; and is often contrasted with Pūrva Mīmāṃsā, the 'former enquiry' or 'primary enquiry'. Pūrva
Mīmāṃsā deals with the karmakāṇḍa or ritualistic section (the Samhita and Brahmanas) in the Vedas.[26][27][a]
Vedanta philosophy[edit]
Common features[edit]
Despite their differences, all schools of Vedanta share some common features:
Vedanta is the pursuit of knowledge into the Brahman and the Ātman.[29]
The Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita and the Brahma Sutras constitute the basis of Vedanta, providing reliable sources of
knowledge (Sruti Śabda in Pramana);[30]
Brahman, c.q. Ishvara (God, Vishnu), exists as the unchanging material cause and instrumental cause of the world. The only
exception here is that Dvaita Vedanta does not hold Brahman to be the material cause, but only the efficient cause.[31]
The self (Ātman/Jiva) is the agent of its own acts (karma) and the recipient of the consequences of these actions.[32]
Belief in rebirth and the desirability of release from the cycle of rebirths, (mokṣa).[32]
Rejection of Buddhism and Jainism and conclusions of the other Vedic schools (Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Samkhya, Yoga, and, to some
extent, the Purva Mimamsa.)[32]