Advaita Vedanta is only one—and arguably the last—of the six schools known as the ‘six systems’ (Shad Darshanas) of mainstream Hindu philosophy, but it has proved the most enduring. Shankara emphasized the importance of pramanas or methods of reasoning, tempered by anubhava or intuitive experience, which empower the seeker to gain the spiritual knowledge adumbrated by the sacred texts.
