Answer
The primary difference between Vedanta and Neo-Vedanta lies in their historical and ideological development. Vedanta is an ancient tradition. As I had explained earlier, the Upanishads were originally called Vedanta. Later, the philosophy based on the Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras, and the Bhagavad Gita came to be known as Vedanta.
In it, the unity of the individual self (Atman) and the Supreme Self (Brahman), moksha (liberation), and liberation through knowledge were discussed. Shankaracharya (Advaita Vedanta), Ramanuja (Vishishtadvaita), Madhva (Dvaita), and several other Acharyas were regarded as the principal exponents of Vedanta. Neo-Vedanta refers to the modern-era reinterpretation of Vedanta, particularly the interpretations developed in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Its key figures included Swami Vivekananda, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Radhakrishnan, Aurobindo, and others. This stream had certain distinguishing features — sarva-dharma-samabhava (equal respect for all religions), regarding all religions as paths leading toward Truth, and so on. Service, social reform, education, the upliftment of women, and national awakening were its social dimensions. In this framework, not only personal liberation but also the upliftment of society was linked with spirituality.
It also exhibited features such as dialogue with Western modern thought, a scientific outlook, and the incorporation of humanism. Seeing divinity within the human being was a characteristic it shared with classical Vedanta. In simple terms, Vedanta is the philosophical foundation of ancient India, while Neo-Vedanta is the modern reinvention of that very philosophy — one that connected spirituality with social service, nationalism, and universal brotherhood.