Sage Sankara’s Advaitic wisdom is not philosophy or teaching but universal wisdom.+

Upanishads: ~ “They alone in this world are endowed with the highest wisdom who are firm in their conviction of the sameness and birthlessness of Atman. The ordinary man does not understand their way. (Chapter IV — Alatasanti Prakarana 95-P-188 in Upanishads by Nikilanada)

Sage Sankara’s Advaitic wisdom is not teaching but universal wisdom. Advaitic wisdom is neither a teaching nor a theory, but it is mere guidance to those who are seriously seeking the ultimate truth or Brahman. Grasp the ultimate truth anytime any age, if the seeker has the spiritual maturity and capacity to grasp it.

Sage Sankara says: - VC-47- All the effects of ignorance, root, and branch, are burnt down by the fire of knowledge, which arises from discrimination between these two—the Self and the not-Self.

It really depends on his inborn natural capacity to understand and assimilate it. Sage Sankara’s wisdom is a Self-examiner, to test oneself to discover how near to Gnana he has approached and what progress has already been made on the path, and what still remains to be done. It sets up criteria for self-judgment. There are millions in search of truth, but one in a million will be able to grasp it.

Without Sage Sankara, there is no Advaita (nonduality). Since it was mixed up with orthodoxy, there is a lot of confusion. I am highlighting all the obstacles that are blocking one from realizing the ultimate truth or Brahman.

There are so many non-dualistic masters of the east and also from the west who expound Advaitic or non-dualistic knowledge but none of them are helpful to reach the ultimate end.

There is a need to bifurcate religion from spirituality. People think religion is the stepping stone for Self-realization, but it is not so.

Religion is based on ignorance, and it keeps the seeker permanently in ignorance by hiding the truth with its mythical beliefs and dogmas, and superstitions.

According to the Vedas and the Upanishads, all the religiously propagated beliefs are a myth. Spirituality is based on the spirit, which is the cause of the world in which we exist.

As one goes deeper in annals of the history he becomes aware of the fact that the so-called present Hinduism has adopted many things from Buddhism, the religion of Abraham, Jainism, and Islam. If one goes deeper enough he will become aware that everything is mixed up and messed up in time.

Sage Sankara endeavored towards establishing the Vedic religion overthrowing Buddhism. But even he was not able to avoid the influence of Buddhism. The influence of the revolutionary atmosphere of Buddhism has reappeared in the Advaita of Sage Sankara. His inability to revive Vedic religion that flourished before the Buddhist revolution in its pure form is discernible.

No one has taken pains to rectify it because people have inherited it from their ancestors, and they think it is blasphemy even to hear anything against their inherited religion and belief. Once one gets involved with the religious class, it is the end of the pursuit of truth.

The theistic (orthodoxy) Advaita is based on the dualistic perspective but Advaita philosophy is based on the nondualistic perspective. The theistic (orthodoxy) Advaita bifurcated from Advaitic philosophy. The theistic (dualistic) Advaita is meant for the ignorant populace.

Sage Sankara and Sage Goudpada are independent thinkers; other schools of Indian philosophy are mere theologies. Advaitic philosophy is real philosophy. The dualistic philosophy cannot escape the charge of dogmatism.

Advaitic wisdom propagated by Sage Sankara is on the non-dualistic perspective.

There is no need to study neither Advaita Vedanta nor Vedas nor Buddhism to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman. It is no use going roundabout way; trace the Brahman.

Philosophy does not begin with the ultimate truth. The ultimate truth has to be proved, not assumed. Hence, so-called philosophers who take Brahman for granted are not philosophers at all.

Lots of Advaitin scholars will teach that all is yourself, but none of them can show that this is so, none has analyzed it scientifically, and none can prove it. Rational proof is required so that one arrives at knowing the ultimate truth or Brahman i.e., Gnana. Theirs is mere dogma, parrotism, repetition of what they read in scripture. Authoritarianism merely assumes as true what another says, but what has yet to be proved.

Sage Sankara said:~ Talk as much philosophy as you like, worship as many Gods as you please, observe ceremonies, and sing devotional hymns, but the liberation will never come, even after a hundred aeons, without realizing the Oneness.

Sage Sankara says:~ Gnana is common to all religions.

There is nothing like One Gnana for a Hindu and another for a Christian.

The entire philosophy of Sage Sankara can be summed up in the following statement:-

Brahma Satyam, jaganmithya, jivobrahmaivanaparah: - Brahman alone is real; the world is non-real, and the individual Self is essentially not different from Brahman.

This is the quintessence of Sage Sankara’s metaphysics. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

If you are serious and sincerely seeking truth then that very seriousness and sincerity will help you to realize the ultimate truth.+

Going beyond the Vedas means going beyond religion. Going beyond religion means going beyond God s based on blind belief.

Going beyond the Vedas, religion, and Gods based on blind belief means going beyond illusion. That is the end of the Vedas (Veda –ante). That is why Buddha rejected the Vedas, religion, and belief in a religious God and got enlightenment.

When one goes into the annals of history, it looks like the true Advaita expounded by Sage Sankara and Sage Goudpada was hidden from the ignorant populace.

The Advaitic orthodoxy is not Sage Sankara's path of wisdom. Advaitic orthodoxy is meant for the ignorant.

The Advaitic Orthodoxy talks of Advaita, but their practice is dualistic.

The orthodoxy has nothing to do with Sage Sankara's Advaitic wisdom. Advaitic orthodoxy is based on the experience of the birth entity, whereas Advaitic wisdom is based on the invisible Soul, the Self, which is ever birthless and deathless, and wordless.

Advaitic Orthodoxy holds the individual experience of birth, life, death, and the world as a reality, whereas Sage Sankara says the world in which the individual exists is an illusion.

Sage Sankara’s wisdom is not teaching or philosophy, but Advaita is the universal wisdom. Advaitic wisdom is neither a teaching nor a theory, but it is merely guidance to those who are seriously seeking the ultimate truth or Brahman.

Grasp the ultimate truth anytime any age, if the seeker has the spiritual maturity and capacity to grasp it.

Sage Sankara says: ~ VC-47 All the effects of ignorance, root, and branch, are burnt down by the fire of knowledge, which arises from discrimination between these two—the Self and the not-Self.

It really depends on the seeker's inborn natural capacity to understand and assimilate it.

Remember:~

Sage Sankara’s wisdom is a Self-examiner, to test oneself to discover how near to Gnana he has approached and what progress has already been made on the path, and what still remains to be done. It sets up criteria for self-judgment. There are millions in search of truth, but one in a million will be able to grasp it.

Without Sage Sankara, there is no Advaita (nonduality). Since it was mixed up with orthodoxy, there is a lot of confusion.

I am highlighting all the obstacles that are blocking one from realizing the ultimate truth or Brahman. There are so many non-dualistic masters of the East and also from the West who expound Advaitic or non-dualistic knowledge, but none of them help reach the ultimate end.

One has to know and realize that the Self is the invisible Soul and identify it as his true identity to find liberation from the bondage of the illusion of birth, life, death, and the world(duality).

The goal of our life is to find and realize our identity with the invisible Soul, which is the Self.

If you are serious and sincerely seeking truth, then that very seriousness and sincerity will help you to realize what is truth and what is the untruth. Self-discovery leads to Self-awareness.

Upanishads:~ Fools dwelling in darkness, but thinking they are wise and erudite, go around and round, by various tortuous paths, like the blind led by the blind. (Upanishads Nikilanada - Ch II-5 P-14)

The scriptures' mastery, the force of religious merit--none of these lead to the realization of that the ultimate truth or Brahman. The ultimate truth is revealed in the clear understanding and realization of ‘what is truth and ‘what is untruth'.

When one realizes the untruth (universe) is created out of a single stuff, the Self-awareness rises in the midst of duality, exposing the unreal nature of the form, time, and space.

People think that by studying Vedanta thoroughly, they are under the delusion and conclude that they have become Gnanis.

Becoming adept in Advaita Vedanta does not mean that one has become a Gnani. One gains thereby a mere intellectual understanding of the truth. The truth is e beyond the intellect.

Sage Sankara said:~ ‘Neither by the practice of yoga nor philosophy, nor by good works nor by learning, does liberation come, but only through the realization that Atman and Brahman are one in no other way. (1) Vivekachoodamani v 56, pg 25

Fortunate seekers are those who do not lose themselves in the labyrinths of philosophy.

Conceptual divisions invented by the Advaitic Gurus of the east and the west by their excessive analysis. there is no end for concepts, they create more confusion. the serious seeker is the one who does not lose himself in the labyrinths of philosophy but searches the Self independently and realizes it.

Among thousands of people, scarcely one strives for perfection; and of those who strive and succeed, scarcely one knows the Self in truth. The truth is beyond form, time, and space.

Come ye slow, or come ye fast; it is but the invisible Soul that reveals itself at last. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Religious Gods based on blind faith or blind belief are not God in truth.+

People dwelling in ignorance, but thinking themselves wise and erudite, go round and round by various blind beliefs and tortuous paths and practices, like the blind led by the blind.

Religions were coherent because they had a transcendent God as a central doctrine, whereas in the realm of truth religious God cannot be considered as real because all the religious Gods are based on blind faith or blind beliefs.

Gods based on blind faith or blind belief are not God in truth. Every religion has its own idea of God.

There is no universality in religious beliefs. From the ultimate standpoint, religious gods are myths.

According to the Vedas, the Athma (Soul) is the cause of the universe therefore, Atma itself is God in truth.

Religious Gods are not God in truth.

The Bible says, “God is a Spirit, and they that worship God must worship God in Spirit and in Truth.

Rig Veda says: May ye never accept another God in place of the Atman (Spirit) nor worship other than the Atman.

What is the use of arguing with religious believers? They think of what they know as the ultimate truth, or Brahman or God in truth.

Whatever is real in the world in which we exist is God. All that is real in the world in which we exist is the invisible Soul, the Self.

Thus, by realizing the Self, which is the invisible Soul, we discover the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness itself is God which is hidden by the ‘I’, which is the dualistic illusion or Maya.

Check that you are worshiping the Vedic God?

The Vedas confirm that God is Atman (Spirit), the Self.

Rig Veda: ~ 'Prajnanam Brahma'- Consciousness is the ultimate reality or Brahman or God in truth.

Do not accept any other God other than the invisible Soul. The invisible Soul is God in truth. Nothing is real but the invisible Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Nothing matters but realizing God in truth. God in truth is everywhere and in everything. Let these words be inscribed in your subconscious.

God in truth is hidden by the illusory universe. God in truth alone is real and eternal, and all else is an illusion.

Brahman is merely a word to indicate the ultimate truth or God in truth. The ultimate truth itself is God in truth.

Yajurveda – chapter- 32:~ God is the Supreme Spirit, has no ‘Pratima’ (idol) or material shape. God cannot be seen directly by anyone. God pervades all beings and all directions.

Thus, Idolatry does not find any support from the Vedas.

Rig Veda: ~ The Atman (Soul or Spirit) is the cause; Atman is the support of all that exists in this universe. May ye never turn away from the Atman, the Self. May ye never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman?" (10:48, 5)

Rig Veda 1/164/46: ~ “They call him Indra, Mitra, Varuna, Agni, or the heavenly sunbird Garutmat. The seers call in many ways that which is One; they speak of Agni, Yama, and Matarishvan.

Rig Veda 8/58/2:~ Only One is the Fire, enkindled in numerous ways; only One is the Sun, pervading this whole universe; only One is the Dawn, illuminating all things. In very truth, the One has become the whole world.

Humanity has to awaken to the reality of its true existence by realizing the world in which humanity exists is merely an illusion created out of consciousness through Self-knowledge, or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana frees the invisible Soul, the Self, from the cage of the dualistic illusion or Maya.

The Spirit is the root element of the universe. The Spirit is present in the form of the Soul, the Self. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness.

From the Spirit, the universe comes into existence. In the Spirit, the universe resides. And into the Spirit, the universe is dissolved. The Spirit is the parent of all that is there.

Swami Vivekananda: ~ “If superstition enters, the brain is gone. Superstition is our great enemy, but bigotry is worse.

Remember:~

You cannot worship God in truth, whichever nondual. Worshipping implies two ~ the worshipper and the worshiped, whereas God in truth is ever nondual. One can worship his idea of the Absolute only or realize his unity with it when he can’t worship it as apart.

Upanishads say in effect that: ~ If you believe that the invisible Soul, the Self, is one and God (Brahman) is another, you cannot understand Truth.

The religion preaches that God is one and the ways to God are many. It simply tries to lead them to darkness with its dogma and idea of many Gods, which is apart from the Self.

Realizing the single stuff of which this universe in which you exist is made, is Truth realization, or Self-realization, or God-realization.

Truth- realization is Self-realization. Self-realization is God-realization, and God realization is real worship. : ~Santthosh Kumaar

If you keep reading my posts and blogs old as well as new, all your doubts and confusions will vanish.+

If you keep on reading my posts and blogs, old as well as new, all your doubts and confusion will vanish.

It takes time for the seeker to gain the perfect understanding of ‘what is truth’ and ’what is untruth’.

It takes time for the invisible Soul, the Self, to wake up from the sleep of ignorance, and it takes time for one to realize the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space.

The body, the ego, and the world together are the mind. If the mind is there, then only the body, the ego, and the world are present.

The body, the ego, and the world appear together and disappear together. That is the mind that is present in the form of the ‘I’ appears and disappears.

The one which witnesses the coming and going of the ‘I’ (mind) is the Soul, the Self.

From the standpoint of the invisible Soul, the Self, the mind (the universe in which we exist) is non-existent as a reality.

The mind cannot be purified because the mind itself is an illusion.

Till one thinks the mind is within the body, he will not be able to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana, because the body and the world are within the mind. And the mind is within the Soul.

Ignorance is the cause of duality. The duality is the cause of the illusion (Maya).

The illusion is the cause of experiencing birth, life, death, and the world as a reality.

Self-knowledge leads to Self-awareness. The quest for truth is not the quest for acquiring the dualistic truth within the world.

The seeker must have an intense urge to realize the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space.

The dualistic knowledge hides the truth beyond form, time, and space.

The practical life within the practical world has nothing to do with the ultimate truth or Brahman.

The dualistic knowledge within the dualistic illusion is not Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

This vast cosmos with all its contents (atom, molecule, sun, moon, planet, and star) all created out of a single stuff. That single stuff is the invisible Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Knowledge of the single stuff is Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

The invisible Soul is the Self. The invisible Soul is present in the form of consciousness.

Nondualistic Awareness is the nature of the Soul or consciousness. Consciousness is existence itself.

Consciousness is ever-present. Without consciousness, the world in which you exist ceases to exist.

Consciousness is Self-evident. It is not established by extraneous proofs. It is not possible to deny consciousness because it is the very essence of the one who denies it.

Consciousness is the basis of all kinds of knowledge, presuppositions, and proofs. Consciousness is everything. Thus, consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman, or God in truth. : ~Santthosh Kumaar

Tattireya Upanishad: ~ “There are two different Samadhis, philosophic and Sahaja Samadhi, which is the highest in which is in full wakefulness, and then he inquires what is meant by this world, the world is seen in this Sahaja Samadhi. +

Tattireya Upanishad: ~ “There are two different Samadhis, philosophic and Sahaja Samadhi, which is the highest, in which one is in full wakefulness, and then he inquires what is meant by this world, the world is seen in this Sahaja Samadhi. Whereas Yogic or Nirvikalpa Samadhi is just like swoon or deep sleep, where one is unaware of anything, not even the world. (Page 640,641 and verse 132,133)

Each person sees in his own Samadhi whatever is uppermost in his mind. How does he/she or anyone know that what he/she or anyone sees is the truth? Similarly, each has intuitions agreeable to what is uppermost in his mind.

A yogi cannot attain realization because he thinks his body to be the body and the world to be the world, and fails to see them as consciousness, and thinks his experience of Samadhi is because of his individual effort. The individual experience is limited to waking experience is merely an illusion.

Thus, even his Samadhi is also limited to the waking experience, which is merely an illusion. He thinks the thoughtlessness is Samadhi, but thoughts are of individuality. Thoughts disappear even in deep sleep. Therefore, deep sleep is not wisdom. If one thinks thoughtlessness is Samadhi and Samadhi is Brahman, then anyone gets knowledge of Brahman by taking sleeping pills or hemp.

In Sutra, Bashya and Mundaka Upanishads: ~ Samadhi and sleep are identical.

Brihad Upanishad does not advocate Samadhi.

Sage Sankara in the commentary to "Brahma Sutras: "The highest beatitude is not to be attained by Yoga." (Sacred Books of the East Series page 298 Vol. 1.) And he also says Samadhi is the same as sleep (p.312)-- which indicates that yoga is not the means to Self-realization. And yogic Samadhi is not nondualistic or Advaitic-awareness. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Sage Sankara pointed out; even those who were outside the Upanishad fold were as eligible to moksha.+

Bhagavad Gita 2:46:~ "A man of true knowledge who has attained enlightenment has the same use for all the scriptures as one has for a small reservoir of water in a place flooded on all sides."

Sage Sankara strongly advocated the study of Upanishads, and at the same time, cautioned that the study of Upanishads alone would not lead to moksha. In matters such as spiritual attainment, one’s own realization was the sole authority, and it cannot be disputed

Sage Sankara also said the study of the Upanishad was neither indispensable nor a necessary prerequisite for attaining the human goal, the moksha.

Sage Sankara pointed out; even those who were outside the Upanishad fold were as eligible to moksha as those within the fold were. He declared that all beings are Brahman, and therefore, the question of discrimination did not arise. All that one was required to do was to get rid of ignorance (Avidya or duality).

The seeker's aim is the search for the Ultimate Truth or Brahman. The search to find the non-dualistic or Advaitic truth that, in actuality, was never lost, only hidden.

Upanishad aspiration is best expressed in the following sutra:-

OM Asato ma sad gaMaya, tamaso ma jyotir gaMaya, mrityor ma aamritaam gaMaya. Shanti, Shanti, Shanti

"OM Lead me from ignorance to truth, from darkness to light, from death to immortality. Peace, Peace, Peace" (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (1/3/28)).

Upanishads are based on the insights of the sages and seers, serve primarily as a guidebook. One has to accept the Ultimate reality as Brahman or God in truth.

The Sruti itself says:~ "This Atma is not to be attained by a study of the Vedas. (Katha Upanishad I, 2, 23.)

Sage Sankara:~ VC- 162- There is no liberation for a person of mere book-knowledge, howsoever well-read in the philosophy of Vedanta, so long as one does not give up the false identification with the body, sense organs, etc., which are unreal.: : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

There is nothing else to realize other than to realize that consciousness alone is, everything else is merely an illusion created out of consciousness.+

Rig Veda: ~ 'Prajnanam Brahma'- Consciousness is the ultimate reality or Brahman or God in truth.

Do not accept any other truth other than consciousness. Consciousness is the ultimate truth. Nothing is real but consciousness. Realize consciousness as the ultimate truth or Brahman, or God in truth. Consciousness is everywhere and in everything. Let these words be inscribed in your subconscious.

The ‘Self is neither you nor your body nor the world in which you exist. The Self is the invisible Soul, the cause of the universe.

The invisible Soul, the Self, is hidden by the universe. It is hidden by the universe because the universe is a dualistic illusion or Maya created out of the invisible Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Those who base the invisible Soul as ‘I’ or ‘I AM’ will never be able to cross the threshold of ignorance.

You are not you, but consciousness; your body is not the body but consciousness; the world in which you exist is not the world but consciousness.

Everything is known, seen, believed, and experienced by you is nothing but consciousness; then what else remains that is not consciousness?

There is nothing else to realize other than to realize that consciousness alone is, everything else is merely an illusion created out of consciousness.

By realizing that everything is consciousness is the Advaitic wisdom dawns.

A perfect understanding and assimilation of ‘what is what’ leads to Advaitic awareness.

Without the world in which you exist, God in truth alone exists. When God in truth disappears, the world in which you exist appears. The world, in which you exist, disappears then God in truth appears. Thus, realize God in truth to be the invisible and unborn Soul.

The invisible Soul is the Self. Thus, the invisible Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, is the ultimate truth, or Brahman or God in truth.

If you stick to the ultimate truth, then the world in which you exist is merely an illusion created out of consciousness.

If you realize this truth, you will live in this world but not of this world. Thus, consciousness alone is real and eternal. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar