The universe is not different from consciousness because the universe is merely an illusion created out of consciousness.+

Look into the nature of the universe. And you will be able to see that the universe, by its very nature, is illusory. The moment you understand that the universe is illusory, ignorance disappears and Self-awareness arises.

The snow is nothing but water, therefore, the water alone is real. Similarly, the universe is nothing but Consciousness, therefore, Consciousness alone is real.

Bhagavad Gita says: ~ ‘Brahmano hi pratisthaham’ ~ Brahman (God) is considered the all-pervading consciousness, which is the basis of all the animate and inanimate entities and material. (14.27).

When Bhagavad Gita says, God is considered the all-pervading consciousness which is the basis of all the animate and inanimate entities and material, then nothing has to be accepted as God other than consciousness.

The universe is not different from consciousness; however, consciousness is different from the universe.

The universe is not different from consciousness because the universe is merely an illusion created out of consciousness.

Consciousness is different from consciousness because the illusory universe is non-existent as reality from the standpoint of consciousness, which is the ultimate truth.

It has not been possible to grasp Advaitic Truth entirely free from the settings of dualistic weakness; it has not been more operative and useful to mankind at large because only a few will be able to grasp and realize it.

Remember:~

To realize the Advaitic Truth a freer and fuller scope the seeker has to realize that form, time and space are one in essence. And that essence is consciousness. And the invisible Soul, the Self, is present in the form of consciousness.

To realize the Advaitic truth, the seeker has to be free from all superstitions and orthodox contaminations. The seeker has to be dedicated to acquiring Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana alone.

A Gnani will easily appreciate that the high flights of Sage Sankara’s Advaitic wisdom are one of the most majestic structures and valuable products of the Genius of man in his search for Truth.

The ‘Self ‘ is not the ‘I’. The Self is not within the body. The Self is hidden by the ‘I’. The ‘I’ is ignorance. The ‘I’ is an illusion. :~Santthosh Kumaar

So-called spiritual paths are useless unless it causes us to seek the truth of our true existence.+

So-called spiritual paths are useless unless they cause us to seek the truth of our true existence. All controversies about creation, the nature of the universe, evolution, the purpose of God, etc., are useless in the Atmic path.

To understand the false nature of the ‘I’, the Self-knowledge, or Brahma Gnana, or Atma Gnana, is necessary.

It is for the seeker to go on his own and remove all the obstacles that are blocking the realization of the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space.

The greatest hindrance is mixing religion, God, scriptures, and yogic theories. Moreover, attachment to scriptures, a personal God, and a religious code of conduct keeps one permanently in the grip of the dualistic illusion or Maya.

Embark on the journey of the truth; it frees the invisible Soul from the illusion of form, time, and space.

When you finally realize the ‘Self ‘ is not you, but the ‘Self’ is the Soul then you will realize the world in which you exist is merely an illusion created out of the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Self-inquiry is to realize the Self is not ‘I’ but the ‘self is the ‘I-LESS Soul’, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Remember: ~

You are not the ‘Self.

You are bound by form, time, and space.

You are bound by the experience of birth, life, death, and the world.

You are never free because the world in which you exist is the product of ignorance.

It is not you who is in ignorance, but it is the invisible Soul, which is in ignorance of its own true nature. When the invisible Soul wakes up from its sleep of ignorance and remains in its own awareness, the world in which you exist becomes one with Soul-awareness.

When ignorance vanishes through wisdom, then the world in which you exist never again prevails as a reality.

The world in which you exist is created out of a single clay. That single clay is the invisible Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. The invisible Soul is the Self. The Soul is not ‘I’. The invisible Soul is the witness of the ‘I’ which appears and disappears.

The invisible Soul is the only permanent thing, and the ‘I’ is merely an illusion. If you do not understand this truth, you will never be able to cross the ‘I’, which is the dualistic illusion or Maya.

The seeker has to make sure what this ‘I’ is supposed to be. The seeker has to make sure of the unreal nature of the ‘I’, which comes and goes.

That is why Bhagavad Gita: ~ “The permanent is always there, only the transient ‘I’ comes and goes. (2.18)

The ‘I’ hides the Soul, the Self, which is the cause of the 'I'.

People think the ‘I’ without the body is the Self. The seeker has to understand the fact that ‘I’ is not the Self, but the witness of the ‘I’ is the true Self, which is eternal.

That is why Ashtavakra Gita 16:10:~ “If you desire liberation, but you still say 'I', if you feel the ‘Self’ is the ‘I’, you are not a wise man or a seeker. You are simply a man who suffers.

People are stuck with the reality of the ‘I’, which they take as real because some Gurus have propagated the Self is the ‘I’. is no need to convince such a mindset. The seeker of truth accepts only the truth nothing but the truth.

Advaita is the true nature of existence. The ‘I’ hides the Advaitic reality. Realize the ‘I’ is merely an illusion created out of consciousness, which is Advaita.

Consciousness is Advaita because it is second to none. The world in which you exist is the dvaita (duality), which is merely an illusion created out of consciousness, which is Advaita. The Advaita (non-duality) is real and eternal; the Dvaita (duality) is an illusion.

Holding the ‘Self’ as ‘I’ is the cause of ignorance. Realize the ‘I’ is merely an illusion. Stop identifying the Self as ‘I’ or ‘I AM’. Till you identify the Self as ‘I’ or ‘I AM’ the Soul will remain in the cage of ignorance. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Religion can never make you know God in truth.+

Religion can never make you know God in truth. Only an intense urge to know what God is supposed to be in truth can make you realize God. The invisible Soul, the Self, is the Infinite God.

The invisible Soul, the Self, is the Infinite God.

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

God in truth is the fullness of consciousness without the illusory division of form, time, and space. Therefore, there is nothing apart from it.

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

God in truth is the basis of all kinds of knowledge, presuppositions, and proofs. God in truth is within the universe in which you exist; God in truth is without the universe in which you exist.

No second thing exists other than the invisible Soul, which is the fullness of consciousness without the division of form, time, and space.

From the standpoint of the invisible Soul, there is neither form nor time nor space.

Religion propagates the creator and the creation theory, hence, people are forced to admit it.

People are stuck believing in the creator and the creation theory, thus, they are stuck in the reality of the world in which they exist.

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

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.

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: ~ Brahman (God in truth) is the form of the Atman, and it is indeed Athma itself.

People who worship God based on blind belief are hallucinating that they become one with such God.

Vedas itself declares: May ye never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman?

Thus, to know the real God, Self-realization is necessary. Self-realization is God-realization. Self-realization is real worship.

Rig Veda: ~ The Atman 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)

How can you worship God? That implies two ~ the worshipper and the worshiped, whereas God is nondual. One can worship his idea of God only or realize his unity with it when he can’t worship it as apart.

When Upanishads and Vedas declare that “God is the form of the Atman, and God is indeed Athma itself,” then why accept another God in place of the Atman or worship other than the Atman.

God is the Supreme Being the One eternal homogeneous essence, indivisible consciousness, and intelligence, which is beyond form, time, and space. To which the Sages describe in a variety of ways through diverse words.

Bhagavad Gita: ~ ‘All those whose intelligence has been stolen by material desires, they worship many gods. (7- Verse -20)

Only the path of wisdom leads the seeker of truth on his journey to the ultimate realization of the true nature of the Universal Essence, which is the Soul. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness.

Bhagavad Gita: 7: 19:~ "Such a man who has attained true knowledge, the knowledge of Self, the knowledge of Atman, worships ‘Self’ as~ Atman (God in truth) alone exists~ everything is Atman, there exists nothing except Atman. Such a man is extremely rare."

The Bhagavad Gita: ~ Brahmano hi pratisthaham ~ Brahman (God in truth) is considered the all-pervading consciousness, which is the basis of all the animate and inanimate entities and material. (14.27).

When Bhagavad Gita says, God is considered the all-pervading consciousness which is the basis of all the animate and inanimate entities and material, then nothing has to be accepted as God other than consciousness.

Lord Krishna says Ch ~V: ~ “Those who know the ‘Self’ in truth.". The last two words (tattvataha) are usually ignored by pundits, but they make all the difference between the ordinary concept of God and the truth about God.

The dualistic worship of "God” is only for the ignorant populace. The God in truth is only Atman, the Self. In reality, there is no duality, no differentiation. Only Atman exists.

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad IV-13:~ ‘As a mass of salt has neither inside nor outside, but is entirely a mass of taste, thus indeed, has that Self neither inside nor outside but is altogether a mass of Knowledge. Just as a lump of salt has inside as well as outside one and the same saltish taste, not any other taste, so also that Brahman (consciousness) has inside as well as outside one and the same intelligence. Inside and outside are mental creations only. When the mind melts in silence, ideas of inside and outside vanish. The sages cognize one illimitable, homogeneous mass of consciousness only.

Causality taught in the Upanishads is only to enable us to understand the supreme truth of no-origination. The world is not different from consciousness, and consciousness is not different from the Soul, the Self, and the Soul is not different from the ultimate truth or Brahman. That consciousness appears as the diverse world is only an illusion. If it really became diverse, then the immortal would become mortal.

The dualists who seek to prove the origination of the unborn, by that very enterprise, try to make the immortal mortal. Ultimate nature can never change - the immortal can never become mortal and vice versa.

Sage Goudapada quotes from the Upanishads: ~ "There's no plurality here"; "The Soul through its powers appears to be many"; "those who are attached to the creation or production or origination go to utter darkness"; "the unborn is never reborn, for what can produce it?” : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Experience is possible only within the universe, which is a dualistic illusion.+

Experience implies duality. Experience is possible only within the dualistic illusion. Experience has nothing to do with the invisible Soul, the Self, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Experience is possible only in the domain of form, time, and space. Without the form, time, and space, experience ceases to exist.

Experience is present in the form of the ‘I’. Without the ‘I’, experience ceases to exist.

The 'I’ is present in the form of the mind. Without the mind, experience ceases to exist.

The mind is present in the form of the universe. Without the universe, the experience ceases to exist.

The universe appears as waking or dream without the waking or dream experience ceasing to exist.

The individual experience of birth, life, and death is happening within the waking experience, but the waking experience is merely an illusion. Without the dualistic illusion, the individual experience of birth, life, death, and the world ceases to exist.

The dualistic illusion is created out of a single clay. That single clay is the Soul, the Self, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Without the invisible Soul, the Self, which is present in the form of consciousness, the dualistic illusion ceases to exist, but the invisible Soul, the Self, which is present in the form of consciousness, can remain with or without the dualistic illusion.

The seeker must realize the invisible and unborn Soul, the Self, hidden by dualistic illusion, not to experience the Self. ~ Santthosh Kumaar

The nature of the invisible Soul, the Self is like deep sleep (Advaita). In deep sleep, there is no trace of duality.+

You, your experience of the world, your religion, your religious Gods you’re your religious heaven and hell, your paradise, your physical gurus, your sins, your good deeds, your karmas, your holy rivers, your sacred mountains are within the universe, which is the dualistic illusion or Maya. The dualistic illusion or Maya is present in the form of the ‘I’.

Only when the ‘I’ appears, the dualistic illusion appears. And when ‘I’ disappears, the dualistic illusion disappears.

The ‘I’ hides the Self. The ‘I’ hides the Self means the dualistic illusion hides the Self, the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

When Sage Sankara says clearly, the universe is not real. He says that Brahman and Atman are one. The ultimate and the Absolute Truth is the Self, which is one though appearing as many in different individuals and things. The individual and things have no reality.

Only the invisible Soul, the Self, is Real; the rest, mental and physical, are but passing appearances. So, it indicates the universe is unreal because the universe is merely an illusion created out of the invisible Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Only the invisible Soul is real and the ultimate reality because there is no second thing other than the invisible Soul, the Self, which is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.

The invisible Soul is not limited to an individual. The individuals are many, but the invisible Soul is one. The individual exists within the universe. The Soul is the cause of the universe, and it, itself, is uncaused.

The invisible Soul is not within the human body. The universe is created out of a single stuff. That single stuff is the invisible Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Thus, whatever universe it contains is bound to be an illusion created out of the invisible Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

In the dream world, the dream people appeared together and disappeared together and disappeared together. Similarly, the waking world and waking people appeared together and disappeared together.

Thus, the dream is created out of single stuff, and that stuff is the invisible Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. In the same way, the waking experience also created single stuff. And that single stuff is consciousness.

The invisible Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, is the cause of the three states, and it, itself is uncaused.

The many soul theories are religious and yogic fables based on the false self(ego) and false experience (waking).

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

Like an ornament made from gold is Gold, that which is born out of consciousness is consciousness. Like gold is a permanent thing, in ornaments made of gold, similarly, the mind, which is in the form of the universe, is born out of consciousness, is consciousness in its essence.

Deeper self-search reveals that you are not the Self; the world in which you exist is the invisible Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, but consciousness is specifically not an entity or identity or a thing within the world in which you exist. But it is the cause of the world in which you exist, and it, itself, is uncaused.

The invisible Soul is hidden within the world in which you exist. The nature of the invisible Soul is a formless, timeless, and spaceless existence.

Thus, it is necessary to realize the world in which you exist is created out of a single stuff, which is consciousness. Consciousness is the ultimate truth, or Brahman or God in truth.

Thus, God alone is real; the world in which you exist is merely an illusion created out of consciousness.

Scholars, interpretations of sacred texts, the force of religious merit--none of these lead to the realization of the ultimate truth or Brahman.

Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Athma Gnana is the knowledge of the immortal Soul, the one and only the Self of all that exists as an illusion.

All this talk of immortality will crumble into nothingness because he has not known the knowledge of the invisible Soul, which is immortal.

The nature of the invisible Soul, the Self, is like deep sleep (Advaita). In deep sleep, there is no trace of duality.

The waking or dream is the world of objects. And the waking and a dream are objects to the invisible Soul, which is the formless subject.

Without the knowledge of the formless subject, the object will remain as reality.

By becoming aware of the formless subject, the reality of the object ceases to exist as a reality.

The knowledge of the object (body) as the subject is the cause of ignorance.

Thus, it is necessary to examine the nature of the object to realize that the object is not the subject.

The subject is not the form, but it is formless. The knower of the object is the subject, which is the Soul or consciousness.

So, the object has no existence without the subject. Therefore, it is erroneous to view and judge the truth on the base of the object as subject.

Conscious ignorance of all objects (three states) means really the positive knowledge of the invisible Soul, the Self, which pervades everywhere and everything in the object.

Consequently, ignorance of the ordinary man in deep sleep is really the knowledge of the invisible Soul, the Self, which is present in the form of consciousness.

One can say about his deep sleep experience only when the waking takes place that is in the states of ignorance.

Ignorance of the mind (universe) in deep sleep is nothing but the knowledge of the invisible Soul, the Self, which is nondual peace.

Thus, the experience in deep sleep, if properly understood, is only one, and that is the invisible Soul, which is in the form of consciousness.

There is only one there, and hence, ignorance of the many is no experience at all

A Gnani knows that what he is talking about is not an explanation; what he is talking about is the realization of the truth, which is hidden by the illusory form, time, and space.

A Gnani shares his joy by sharing his wisdom; he is singing the song about the unsung truth.

Remember, whenever a Gnani speaks about God in truth it is not blind belief-based God; he knows it, it is his realization. He is talking out of his realization; hence he can be of immense help to the whole of humanity.

A Gnani always sees the world in which he exists as the invisible Soul without any division of form, time, and space. And a Gnani watches his own actions as if they were another's. He is never puffed up by the praise or disturbed by blame.

As for Gnani, his individuality is dead. It is merged in the Soul like waves in the ocean. A Gnani lives in freedom and has gone beyond the dualities of life.

A Gnani is not competing with anyone; he is like to success and failure and content with whatever comes to him. He is free, without Selfish attachments; his attention is fixed in the awareness of the invisible Soul.

A Gnani performs all practical duties of the practical world like others and he helps other seekers to get rid of ignorance of their true existence.

The Seeker must first realize:

What is the Self?

If something is true, is real, is constant, is a foundation of nature that is unchanging, this can be called the Self.

The invisible Soul, the Self, is the fullness of consciousness without the illusory division of form, time, and space. The invisible Soul is a formless, timeless, spaceless, and eternal existence.

People have not penetrated the meaning of the Self. The meaning is that the ultimate truth is the Self, which is eternal is existence.

You are impermanent because the Self is not you, but the Self is the invisible Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

People have not penetrated the meaning of the Self. The meaning is that the ultimate truth is the Self, which is eternal is existence.

You should not hold anything of the dualistic illusion (universe), which is impermanence.

The world in which you exist makes you feel as though they are real, but ultimately it is merely an illusion created out of the invisible Soul, which is permanent.

You must cultivate to see the permanence (Soul) hidden by the impermanence (universe) as it is.

If you do this, you will be like one who sees a gem in the muddied water among the stones and rocks and waits for the water to settle before he skillfully plucks it out.

It is the same with cultivating the idea of the invisible Soul, the Self hidden by the universe, which is the dualistic illusion or Maya.: ~Santthosh Kumaar

As we peep into the annals of the religious history of India we find that Santana Dharma or Vedic religion was not the religion of the Hindus.+

Hinduism does not consist in struggles and attempts to believe a certain doctrine or dogma. From the high spiritual flights of the Vedanta philosophy, of which the latest discoveries of science seem like echoes, to the low ideas of idolatry with its multifarious mythology, the agnosticism of the Buddhists, and the atheism of the Jains, each and all have a place in the Hinduism.

The vast ocean of Vedic religion or Santana Dharma was consistently steady and calm for a very long period. It appears that as a consequence of the rage of the Buddhist revolution it got suddenly disturbed and flowed down to us in disorder. Even today Vedic Religion or Santana Dharma has not recovered from the onslaught of Buddhism and Jainism and is not able to settle in people's heart in its original form in the same old measure.

As we peep into the annals of the religious history of India we find that Santana Dharma or Vedic religion was not the religion of the Hindus: ~

Every one of the great religions in the world, excepting our own, is built upon such historical characters; but ours rests upon principles. No man or woman can claim to have created the Vedas. They are the embodiment of eternal principles; sages discovered them.

Santana Dharma or Vedic Religion was not the religion of the Hindus, nor were the Vedic people Hindus, nor will the Hindus of today approve the replacement of the term ‘Hinduism’ with Santana Dharma or Vedic Religion. None can say exactly when the Aryans became Hindus because neither the name Hindu nor its major beliefs and practices existed in the Vedic times.

To this, one must add the marginal place the Vedic gods occupy in today’s Hindu pantheon. Also, as we have seen, the Vedas themselves are not attractive to most of today’s Hindus as sacred texts. The Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagavad-Gita, Puranas, and Manusmriti, may have more to do with the Hinduism of today than the Vedas.

Thus, it is clear that there is no direct ancestry of modern Hinduism traceable in the Vedas, though it does have some influence on it “The Vedic corpus reflects the archetypal religion of those who called themselves Aryas, and which, although it contributed to facets of latter-day Hinduism, was nevertheless distinct”.

The book of Manu is nothing to do with the Vedas and Vedic Religion or Santana Dharma.

Indian populace wrongly believes that Hinduism is an ancient religion because they are unaware of the fact that Hinduism is not the Santana Dharma or Vedic Religion. The people in India believe in Varnashrama Dharma or caste discrimination.

The people of India have to liberate from the stranglehold of casteism to realize their original religion is not Hinduism which is full of different caste and creeds but the Santana Dharma or Vedic Religion. The people should be educated about the historical truth of the religion of the Santana Dharma or Vedic Religion.

Out of the five Indian religions, Saivism and Vaishnavism were already enslaved to Varnashrama Dharma i.e. caste discrimination. The people of India began to use the newly originated common name of ‘Hinduism’ to denote Saivism and Vaishnavism. The context and substance of the term Hinduism; coined by Sir William Jones is different from the context and substance of this term ‘Hindu religion’, which was substituted erroneously and used by the people to denote Saivism and Vaishnavism.

The term Hinduism came into existence in British rule. Hinduism is the caste discriminating principle of Varnashrama Dharma based on the Book of Manu.

After 1750 A.D., Europeans captured certain parts of India and started ruling those areas. The capital of the then British India was Calcutta the present-day Kolkata.

The Britishers were duty-bound to administer justice to the people living within their dominion. Thus, they set up courts of justice. They needed laws to administer justice through the courts.

To administer justice to the Christian citizens of India living within their dominion, there was Christian Law, based on Biblical principles.

To administer justice to the Muslim citizens of India living within their dominion, there was Islamic Law, based on Quranic principles. But to administer justice to non-Christian and non-Islamic citizens living in British dominion, there was no law book. This created problems for the Britishers.

At this time, Sir William Jones was appointed as the chief justice of the Supreme Court at Calcutta. Local pundits made Sir William Jones believe that the book of Manu was the law book for the people of India.

Sir William Jones believed pundits and translated the book of Manu from Sanskrit to English. Thus, on the basis of the laws of Manu, a law was formed for administering justice to non-Christian and non-Muslim Indians of the British dominion, and this law was called as the Hindu law.

The principles of the book of Manu which was used for drafting the Hindu Law were called as Hinduism. The basic principle of the book of Manu is caste discrimination.

The name coined by Sir William Jones to denote caste discriminating principles is Hinduism. It is not a religion. It is a way of Life. It is the way of life of the Indus people.

In this, a historic false perception crept in. That is when they called the terms Christian Law, Muslim law, and Hindu Law, both Christian Law, and Muslim Law were associated with the Christian religion and Islamic religion. But in respect of Hindu Law, a false perception of religion was wrongly attributed to it as if it was also associated with a ‘Hindu religion’ which was not there.

It is necessary for the people to realize the Hinduism is nothing to do with Spirituality because Hinduism is based on the matter whereas Vedic Religion or Santana Dharma is based on the Spirit(Atman). :~ Santthosh Kumaar

Sage Sankara endeavored towards establishing Vedic Religion overthrowing Buddhism. But even he was not able to avoid the influence of Buddhism.+

The Hindus indulge in non-Vedic practices barred by the Veda, which were introduced by the different founders of the different sects of Hinduism at different times, whereas the Vedic Religion or Santana Dharma is ancient and has no founder.

Thus, to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana, the seeker has to realize his inherited religion is adulterated in the past and it becomes a great obstacle is realizing the ultimate truth or Brahman.

Hinduism is based on mythology and thus people of Indian are unaware of the facts of their inherited religious history.

The Vedic Culture and Vedas are complete in themselves, but Hinduism, which is a non-Vedic belief system with all rituals and conduct-oriented practice, has been contributed largely by the orthodox priests to suit their convenience!

The Buddhist influence is seen in a great measure in the Vedic philosophy, which is followed by the majority of Indians.

Thus, it is clear that Vedic Religion or Santana Dharma has not retained its original form, but has been influenced by other religions that have undergone a sea change. The influence of Buddhism on Santana Dharma is extraordinary. Even Kumarila Bhatta, who fought with great heroism for the revival of Santana Dharma or Vedic Religion, was so much influenced by Buddhism that he established for the first time in the country, an atheist Vedic Religion or Santana Dharma. There is no room for any doubt to assert that the Kumarila Bhatta School was influenced by atheist Buddhism because the school, which is based on the validity of the Vedas and rituals, refutes the existence of God.

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 the Vedic religion that flourished before the Buddhist revolution in its pure form is discernible.

Many thinkers since his time have said about Sage Sankara that he made use of many important tenets of Buddhism and presented to the people the very Buddhism in the guise of Santana Dharma or Vedic Religion. Though the Santana Dharma or Vedic Religion represented by Sage Sankara is like a conglomeration of many things, he deserves the credit of having turned the Hindu mind, which was once averse to Vedas -the root of Hinduism, towards the Vedas once again. For this, the followers of the Santana Dharma or the Vedic Religion should be grateful to Sage Sankara.

The brilliance shown by Sage Sri Sankara, a man of wonderful genius, a matchless speaker, and an extraordinary dialectician, is really a great spectacle in history. In his time, there was a severe conflict between Buddhism and the atheist Santana Dharma or the Vedic Religion of Kumarila Bhatta. Utilizing this opportunity age Sri Sankara intervened in the conflict and, making use of some concepts and methodology of both the Kumarila Bhatta School and Buddhism, presented a new coalition religion before the people.

Sage Sankara gave an extraordinary charisma to this religion with the help of his methods of logic and style of exposition. Its influence was so much that both the Bhatta School and Buddhism had to flee from India without leaving a trace. The absence, even today, of a single follower of the Kumarila Bhatta School as well as of Buddhism, is proof enough for the great achievement of Sage Sankara. This indeed is a historical miracle.

One can see in the Santana Dharma or Vedic Religion expounded by Sage Sankara a different version of the Kumarila Bhatta School and Buddhism. That is why the tradition of following Kumarila Bhatta's methodology in expounding the Advaita thought at the empirical level gained ground in the Advaita School. Different types of the methodology of Buddhism were absorbed into the Advaita thought, of course, under new labels. There is a very clear similarity between the Vedic Religion of Sage Sankara and Buddhism, and the Advaita School has given the world a common message. The essence of both schools is:~

The entire world which man perceives is illusory; it is just an appearance of unreality, and there is only one indeterminate and attributeless Sat at the root of this world".

Some Saints in the past introduced the concept of God with attributes and attributeless gods, but Yajur Veda says: ~ those who worship visible things, born of the prakrti, such as the earth, trees, bodies (human and the like), in place of God are enveloped in still greater darkness.

Therefore, all these add-ons prove that the form and attribute-based concepts were introduced by some sages of the past with a new belief system and code of conduct in the name of the Vedas.

Thus, it proves that Hinduism has nothing to do with the ancient Santana Dharma or Vedic Religion. :~Santthosh Kumaaar