Prakashatman

(13th c.) Proponent of the Advaita
Vedanta school, one of the six schools of
traditional Hindu philosophy. Prakashatman’s Vivarana, a commentary on
the work of the Advaita philosopher
Padmapada, provides the name for the
Vivarana school of Advaita Vedanta.
Prakashatman is traditionally described
as Padmapada’s disciple, but since the
latter is an attested pupil of Shankaracharya (9th c. C.E.), the time difference
makes this unlikely.
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Prakashatman
Since Brahman is believed to be the
locus of all things, Vivarana Advaitins
conclude that ignorance must also be a
part of Brahman. However, they try to
maintain Brahman’s integrity by invoking a theory of reflectionism to explain
the apparent difference between Self
and Brahman, even though they are ultimately identical. Just as an image
appearing in a mirror is based on the
original but different from it, so human
Selves are identical with Brahman but
appear to be separate. The basic position of the Vivarana school is an uncompromising affirmation of Brahman as
the sole “reality,” in which anything that
exists must belong to it.