Smarta/Advaita connection

[Swami Tyagananda]

RISA-community, greetings! A friend and student of mine, Rakesh
Vaidyanathan (rvaidyan at wharton.upenn.edu) is working on a thesis showing
the Smarta/Advaita linkage in the Indian tradition. He requested me for any
possible references to (1) the connection between Smarta and Advaita
traditions and (2) family history of neo-Hindu leaders such as Aurobindo,
Rabindranath Tagore et al.
         I shall be grateful for any possible clues--which could either
appear on this list or sent directly to Rakesh. Many thanks.

Swami Tyagananda
Vedanta Society
Boston