While seemingly similar in their denial of ordinary reality, nihilism and Advaita Vedanta radically diverge in their ultimate outcomes.• Nihilism, particularly in its ontological form, proclaims a universe emptied of intrinsic meaning, where every value is an ephemeral human construct. It presents a definitive void, viewing matter as the sole reality, the self as an epiphenomenon destined to dissolve, and ethics as pure contingency. For nihilism, illusion is a symptom of metaphysical chaos, and it ultimately ends in despair or stoic courage in the face of emptiness. As Nietzsche noted, nihilism is a feeling of utter worthlessness.• Advaita Vedanta, on the other hand, dissolves the phenomenal world only to reveal the infinity of Brahman. What nihilism calls "reality" is, for Advaita, Maya—not absolute nothingness, but a veil of ignorance (Avidyā) that obscures cosmic unity. It affirms the identity between the individual Atman and the universal Brahman, encapsulated in the proclamation "Tat tvam asi" (Thou art That). While nihilists see purposeless causality, Vedantins find eternal bliss of being-consciousness-joy (Sat-cit-ānanda) in liberation (Mokṣa). For Advaita, illusion is described as "that which is neither real nor unreal" (anirvacanīya), serving as the instrument of a single, supersensible Reality. Advaita culminates in the joy of knowledge (Jñāna), as "When one knows Brahman, one becomes Brahman itself".In summary, both begin with a critique of appearances but diverge irrevocably: nihilism denies all foundation, sinking into an abyss of nothingness, while Advaita denies multiplicity to affirm the Infinite, ascending to the fullness of the Absolute. As Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan summarized, "Advaita is not nihilism, but the boldest affirmation of the Real".