Vijñānabhikṣu

Vijñānabhikṣu was a Hindu philosopher from Bihar, variously dated to the 15th or 16th century. He is renowned for his commentaries on key schools of Hindu philosophy, particularly the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, as well as texts from Vedanta and Samkhya. Vijñānabhikṣu’s central contribution was his attempt to unify these distinct philosophical traditions, proposing a synthesis that harmonized Vedanta, Yoga, and Samkhya under a nondualistic platform, often referred to as 'Avibhaga Advaita' (indistinguishable non-dualism). This integration, which drew on both Bhedabheda and Advaita sub-schools of Vedanta, is seen by scholars like Andrew Nicholson as a crucial step that paved the way for modern Hindu reformers such as Vivekananda and Radhakrishnan, enabling them to articulate a cohesive identity for Hinduism as a world religion. Vijñānabhikṣu's sub-commentary on the Yoga Sutras, the 'Yogavarttika,' is considered a significant work. He viewed Yoga as the most effective path to liberation while also acknowledging the salvific potential in Vedanta and Samkhya. Notably, he critiqued Shankara's strict non-dualism, which he perceived as being too close to Buddhist thought, and reinterpreted the Brahma Sutras to incorporate Samkhya's dualistic metaphysics of prakriti and purusha. He posited Brahman as the Inner Ruler of both, explaining the universe's creation through maya as an evolution of the real prakriti, thus asserting the reality of the world rather than its illusory nature. His commentary on the Samkhya Sutras also challenged traditional interpretations by arguing that Kapila, the founder of Samkhya, believed in God. Vijñānabhikṣu's intellectual legacy extended to 19th-century Indologists and significantly shaped the development of Neo-Vedanta.