Dharma and Identity in Śaṅkara's Advaita

Śaṅkara's Advaita Vedānta teaches that the true self (ātman) is non-dual with brahman, making all worldly identities—caste, gender, and embodiment—false superimpositions born of ignorance. Liberation (mokṣa) requires renouncing these identities. Yet Śaṅkara also insists that only certain social identities are entitled to seek liberation, seemingly contradicting his own metaphysics. Some scholars see this as an unconscious bias. This paper argues that the two positions are reconcilable from an advaita perspective, showing how Advaita Vedānta has historically justified socio-religious hierarchy. Understanding this past configuration helps identify and resist such stratifications in present-day Hindu contexts.

Study at a glance

Abstract

The aim of this article is to put Śaṅkara's (c.750 CE) deconstructions of individual identity in dialogue with his ethical support of Vedic identity categories. Śaṅkara is regarded as one of the most significant propounders of the ancient Veda-rooted (āstika) tradition (darśana) of Advaita Vedānta. This tradition argues that the innermost self (ātman) of all individuals (jīva) is non-dual (advaita) with unchanging and unqualified (nirguṇa) being-consciousness (brahman). All perceivable attributes, including the particularities of one's own embodiment, are false superimpositions (adhyāsa) that arise due to deep-seated ignorance (avidyā) of true being. In this context, Śaṅkara argues that the only way to end this cycle of ignorance is to seek the highest spiritual goal of liberation (mokṣa), where the non-dual nature of the self is revealed. In this state of realisation all forms of worldly suffering come to a permanent end, as the source of this suffering was nothing but the (mis)identification between the unqualified self and the differentiated mind-body. Prima facie, Śaṅkara's position could be interpreted as fairly radical within the contexts of Veda-rooted worldviews, as his deconstruction of identity categories would seem to imply that all persons are spiritual equals, and that socio-religious distinctions of caste (varṇa), gender (liṅga), and so on are irrelevant to one's true self. However, as we will see, asserting the ontological instability of these identity categories nevertheless does not stop Śaṅkara from invoking them as righteously determining each person's location on a hierarchical spectrum of socio-religious merit (dharma) and entitlement (adhikāra). Consequently, while liberation (mokṣa) from ignorance requires a renunciation of religious acts and identities, Śaṅkara nevertheless firmly states that only certain identities are entitled to seek this ultimate liberation. Some authors have argued that this commitment to socio-religious hierarchy is incompatible with Śaṅkara's broader view of the non-duality of the self and should therefore be regarded as a kind of unconscious acquiescence to bigoted notions which are otherwise deeply questioned by his non-dual metaphysics. In contrast, this paper attempts to show how Śaṅkara's metaphysical and ethical commitments are in fact reconcilable from his advaita perspective. By doing so, one can shed light on how Advaita Vedānta has historically justified its belief in various forms of socio-religious stratification. This is particularly imperative as many of these stratifications continue to exist within Hindu universes even today. As such, understanding how these Vedic identities have been configured in the past can be a crucial way of resisting and identifying their operations in the present.