Sankara’s philosophy is known as radical non-dualism or Advaita
Vedanta. It was first outlined somewhere around the 8th century
C.E. according to most scholars (Cenkner 29). The basis of this
philosophy is that there is only one indivisible thing in
existence and that is Brahman [Brahman is not to be confused
with the creator god Brahma or the priestly class brahmin. All
three come from the root brh meaning to grow in Sanskrit and is
often used to connote greatness (Masih 66)]. Brahman is
indescribable and cannot be fully understood by teachings alone.
Since Brahman is indescribable, it is often spoken of in terms
of what it is not. For example it could be said that Brahman is
not acit (unreal), nor asat (ignorance), nor is it dukkha
(suffering). This method of describing Brahman is the reason for
Sankara’s philosophy to be termed non-dualism instead of simply
monism (Masih 66). Sankara gives us his ideas on Brahman and
Advaita through his commentaries on certain Upanisads, the
Bhagavad Gita, and the Brahma S