Understanding the non-dualism existential philosophy of Adi Shankaracharya: Special on his Jayanti

The three fundamental principles of Advaita Vedanta, which is non-dualism, as explained by Adi Shankaracharya, are often captured in the well-known phrase: "Brahma satyam jagat mithyā, jīvo brahmaiva nāparah".

The first principle states 'Brahman Satyam', meaning 'Brahman is the Only Reality' - the ultimate, unchanging, absolute reality. It represents pure consciousness, infinite, and without attributes or 'nirguna'.

The second principle of Advaita is 'Jagat Mithyā', which means the physical-sensual world is Illusory. In other words, the phenomenal world , jagat is false, mithya, indicating it is a relative reality or an illusion, maya. It is not absolutely real since it is temporary and constantly changing, but it is not entirely nonexistent either—it is a misleading manifestation of Brahman.

The third principle is 'Jīvo Brahmaiva Nāparah', which means the Individual Soul is Non-Different from Brahman. The individual self, jivatman, is fundamentally identical to the supreme Brahman. The perceived separation between the individual and the universal consciousness arises from ignorance or avidya.

Therefore, the overall idea of Non-Duality, Advaita, is that ultimately there is only one existence, and the individual soul is the same as the universal Brahman.