Sphoṭavāda—Also known as Śabda-tattva, Sphoṭavāda is the philosophy of a metaphysical school of Sanskrit grammarians that goes back to one Sphoṭāyaṇa, whose followers include Bhartṛhari and Jayanta Bhaṭṭa. The famous Karma-mīmāṁsā philosopher Madana Miśra also accepted the Sphoṭavāda doctrine, though other teachers of Mīmāṁsā opposed it. Accordingly, there is a continuum of vibration (ekam eva yad āmnātam), which is partless (akhaṇḍa) and unbroken (akrama), which becomes manifest in sounds (dhvani) or syllables (varṇa). The sounds and syllables are not important. They are used as aids to achieve meditation upon the underlying continuum, where the indivisible unit of meaning (sphoṭa) is realized through śabda-pūrva-yoga. When the sphoṭa is realized, liberation is achieved in the monistic absolute. Clearly, this is a form of Māyāvāda philosophy. Interestingly, Śaṅkarācārya rejected the sphoṭavāda of the grammarians. Yet he accepted the basis of the Sphoṭavāda philosophy, which is the śabda-yoga of Patañjali. In his Prabodhasudhākara 13.144, Śaṅkarācārya wrote, When one's essential nature is contemplated upon for a moment or half a moment, then the subtle sound called anāhata is heard in the right ear. In 148 he explained further: If the mind is completely absorbed for a long time in that Light comprised within the subtle sound, it is surely not slated for the bondage of worldly existence again. Many modern forms of mysticism and meditation can be traced to this doctrine: Transcendental Meditation, Radha-Soami Satsang, Kirpal Singh Satsang, and so on. The subtle sound sought in these systems is the egoistic sound at the root of material existence. Beyond this, however, is the pure name (śuddha-nāma), which cannot be extracted from the ākāśa by śabda-yoga, but which must be received from the pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa. What these śabda-yogīs really seek is explained by Kṛṣṇa Himself: “I am the sound in ether. ... Of vibrations I am the syllable oṁ. ... Of letters I am the letter A, and among compound words I am the dual compound. ... Of poetry I am the Gāyatrī mantra.” (Bg. 7.8, 10.33, 10.35) Hence, they seek Kṛṣṇa but He is to be known only by pure devotion (bhakti-yoga). See Māyāvāda philosophy.