Advay Gyan Tattva (अद्वय ज्ञान तत्त्व)

Advay Gyan Tattva is a Vedic epithet for Shri Krishna, the self-existent Supreme Brahm of whom there is no equal or independent second.

09 May 2024 — 1 min read

Advay Gyan Tattva (अद्वय ज्ञान तत्त्व | advaya jñāna tattva) is a sublime epithet used exclusively for the Supreme Lord, Shri Krishna.

The expression is composed of three words:

Advay literally means “no second.”
Gyan generally means knowledge. In this context, however, the Vedas use the word Gyan to refer to Shri Krishna Himself. He is both knowledge and the knower of knowledge.
Tattva means an entity or reality.

Thus, Advay Gyan Tattva refers to the Supreme Reality of whom there is no second.

An entity can be called advay only when there is no other entity equal to it, independent of it, or separate from it.

Defining Criteria

An entity is accepted as advay, or non-dual, only when it fulfills all of the following criteria:

It exists by itself and does not depend upon any other entity.

There is no second entity identical or equal to it.

There is no entity fundamentally separate from or outside it.

It functions entirely through its own powers and does not depend upon any external source.

There are three kinds of difference. Advay Gyan Tattva is free from all three:

Only Shri Krishna is self-existent, without an equal, without an independent second reality, and complete in His own powers.

Therefore, the Vedas describe Him as Advay Gyan Tattva—the one Supreme Brahm of whom there is no second.