“Absolute Monism” refers to the ancient philosophy called “Advaita Vedanta” according to the spiritual heritage of India. Although the philosophy of Absolute Monism has come to us virtually from time immemorial, it was first recorded dur ing the period when the ancient Aryans entered into what is now the region of the Indian subcontinent from Central Asia, developing there a culture and civilization whose distinctive features culminated in the philosophy first known as Advaita Vedanta. The period is known historically as being between 2500 and 600 B.C.

Absolute Monism originated in the divine consciousness of the soul of man. The soul of man—of every man—of identical nature with the God of the Universe, awakens to the realization of its inherent attributes of pure intelligence, immortal life and peace and love. The soul of man, one with the Consciousness-Existence- Bliss (Sat-Chit-Anandam) of God, realizes itself as Absolute, One.

Although the philosophy has undergone development over time, it is impossible to present Absolute Monism from a historical survey. Its exponents, by their very deeply contemplative nature, have placed more emphasis on the eternal than on what can be marked by time. They have stressed the Reality to be known rather than themselves as its personal agents; and they have illumined humanity with their encouragement and guidance to a subjective experience to be apprehended and proved by each truth seeker rather than doctrines to be conferred, adopted, or conformed to collectively.