Hello to all in this DIR. I am new to RF, which I joined in order to discover ideas for non-theistic religious expression. Somewhat more specifically, I would like to learn more about Advaitism, which is a term that I have begun to apply to the Advaita school of Hindu thought (the Greek-derived English suffix -ism indicates a “school of thought, doctrine, or philosophy”). I first encountered Advaita through @Aupmanyav, one of your own, and found immediately that it expressed, in refined form, some of the thoughts that I myself had conceived regarding the nature of reality. I have been reading about Advaita, and have developed several questions about different aspects of the philosophy. This thread is determined towards exposition of the historical aspect of Advaita as it exists within the history of broader Hindu thought.
In considering my postings, please be mindful that Advaita is utterly new to me, and that I do not approach it from a Hindu perspective, but rather from the perspective of someone raised Christian and now is an atheist. My posts may occasionally seem to ignore certain presumptions that a Hindu would be expected to hold as he regards Advaitist thought.
As I have read, I have continually encountered three names: Gaudapada of the 6th century CE, Mandana Misra, and the virtually omnipresent Adi Shankara, who both contributed much to Advaitist thought in the 8th century CE. I note that these three developers of Advaitist thought all lived in the 6th through 8th centuries, while Advaita philosophy is much older; I read in one essay that it may be around three thousand years old. The question occurs to me, then: what is the early history of Advaita? What happened before Gaudapada began a two century period of fruitful development of Advaitism? Are there any names from the BCE associated with Advaita; indeed, was there a founder of Advaita as Gautama was the founder of Buddhism and Mahavira was a founder of Jainism, and is this name remembered? Please, let us discuss the earlier periods of Advaitist philosophy, about which I have been wondering.
In considering my postings, please be mindful that Advaita is utterly new to me, and that I do not approach it from a Hindu perspective, but rather from the perspective of someone raised Christian and now is an atheist. My posts may occasionally seem to ignore certain presumptions that a Hindu would be expected to hold as he regards Advaitist thought.
As I have read, I have continually encountered three names: Gaudapada of the 6th century CE, Mandana Misra, and the virtually omnipresent Adi Shankara, who both contributed much to Advaitist thought in the 8th century CE. I note that these three developers of Advaitist thought all lived in the 6th through 8th centuries, while Advaita philosophy is much older; I read in one essay that it may be around three thousand years old. The question occurs to me, then: what is the early history of Advaita? What happened before Gaudapada began a two century period of fruitful development of Advaitism? Are there any names from the BCE associated with Advaita; indeed, was there a founder of Advaita as Gautama was the founder of Buddhism and Mahavira was a founder of Jainism, and is this name remembered? Please, let us discuss the earlier periods of Advaitist philosophy, about which I have been wondering.
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. And if there is such information, I request members to mention it. 
