Advaita Vedanta is a sub-school of the Vedanta school of Vedic or Hindu philosophy and religious practice, giving "a unifying interpretation of the whole body of Upanishads". The principal, though not the first, exponent of the Advaita Vedanta-interpretation was Shankara Bhagavadpada who systematised the works of preceding philosophers. Its teachings have influenced various sects of Hinduism. __TOC__