ABSTRACT
The fundamental Advaita principle is that liberation is only through Selfknowledge, which consists of the identity of the Self with Brahman and which is obtained primarily from the Upani‚ad-s. The independent practice of meditation or the study of yoga doctrine is not considered as leading directly to liberation. Within modern critical scholarship, it is generally held that ¡an˙kara,2 the premier commentator of the Advaita tradition, rejects yoga3 quite completely, and the great reliance that many neo-Vedåntins place upon the practice of yoga is therefore regarded as a significant deviation from ¡an˙kara.4
