Vedanta the executive summary of the vedas!

Vedanta is the essence of the teaching of the vedas. The foundation of Vedanta rests on three sources  also referred to as the three points of departure or  प्रस्थानत्रय

1. उपनिषद्    sruti prasthana, the revealed texts (sruti - that which is heard). The Upanishads are an extraordinary collection of philosophical texts that are considered  by many to be among the most influenctial texts in the human experience .

2. भगवद्गीता    smriti prasthana, composed by sages, is based on their understanding of the Vedas (smriti - that which is remembered). It is a part of the महाभारत and contains the essence of the उपनिषद्.

It is rightly said of भगवद्गीता  that सर्वोपनिषदो गावो दोग्धा गोपालनन्दन|  all upanishads are cows, milked by Nandagopal

3. वेदान्तसूत्र  of बादरायण  or  nyaya prasthana, the logical text that sets forth the philosophy systematically and logically  in a set of 555 aphorisms

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