Sage Sankara says in Aparoksh Anubhuti on Prarabdha Karma.+

 Sage Sankara says in Aparoksh Anubhuti on Prarabdha Karma: ~

88. When the whole universe, movable and immovable, is known to be Atman, and thus the existence of everything else is negated, where is then any room to say that the body is Atman?

89. O enlightened one, pass your time always contemplating on Atman while you are experiencing all the results of Prarabdha; for it ill becomes you to feel distressed.

90. The theory one hears of from the scripture, that Prarabdha does not lose its hold upon one even after the origination of the knowledge of Atman, is now being refuted.

91. After the origination of the knowledge of Reality, Prarabdha verily ceases to exist, since the body and the like become non-existent; just as a dream does not exist on waking.

92. That Karma which is done in a previous life is known as Prarabdha (which produces the present life). But such Karma cannot take the place of Prarabdha (for a man of knowledge), as he has no other birth (being free from ego).

93. Just as the body in a dream is superimposed (and therefore illusory), so is this body. How could there be any birth of the superimposed (body), and in the absence of birth (of the body), where is the room for that (i.e., Prarabdha) at all?

94. The Vedanta texts declare ignorance to be verily the material (cause) of the phenomenal world just as the earth is of a jar. That (ignorance) being destroyed, where can the universe subsist?

95. Just as a person, out of confusion, perceives only the snake, leaving aside the rope, so does an ignorant person see only the phenomenal world without knowing the reality?

96. The real nature of the rope being known, the appearance of the snake no longer persists; so the substratum being known, the phenomenal world disappears completely.

97. The body also being within the phenomenal world (and therefore unreal), how could Prarabdha exist? It is, therefore, for the understanding of the ignorant alone that the Shruti speaks of Prarabdha.

98. “And all the actions of a man perish when he realizes that (Atman) which is both the higher and the lower”. Here, the clear use of the plural by Shruti is to negate Prarabdha as well.

99. If the ignorant still arbitrarily maintain this, they will not only involve themselves in two absurdities but will also run the risk of forgoing the Vedantic conclusion. So one should accept those Shrutis alone from which proceeds true knowledge.

The above proves that the karma theory is a reality only based on the false Self (ego or 'you'), where one thinks the body and the universe are a reality. When one becomes aware of the fact that the ‘Self ‘is the formless Soul, then the karma theory becomes part and parcel of illusion.

If one accepts the karma theory as a reality, one will never be able to come out of ignorance. And ignorance makes him believe the cycle of birth, life, and death, or pain and pleasure, as a reality. Thursday, the freedom that one is seeking will remain a distant dream.

For the one who accepts the experience of birth, life, death, and the world as a reality, Self-knowledge is impossible.

Thus, the seeker of truth must know that the body which is born, lives, and dies is not the Self. Since he is taking the body to be the Self, he is experiencing the duality as reality within the waking experience. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar 

Religions are more concerned with their beliefs dogmas and superstitions.+

There is nothing more rational, more intelligible, and more undogmatic insights of Sage Sankara is to drop all theistic non-duality or Advaita, which is meant for those who are incapable and not receptive to realizing the ultimate truth or Brahman.

People’s approach was more practical, and they are stuck with the belief in their inherited belief system.

Religions are based on blind belief and are not the truth. Religions are more concerned with their beliefs, dogmas, and superstitions.

Religious Gods are based on blind faith or blind beliefs.

The beliefs are not the truth. The belief is part of the dualistic illusion. The Atman is Brahman or God in truth. Other than the Atman, which is God in truth, all else is an illusion. Whatever is based on blind belief is a myth.

Ish Upanishad declares: ~ “Those people who have neglected the attainment of Self-knowledge and have thus committed suicide.

Those people who have neglected the attainment of Self-knowledge and have thus committed suicide, as it were, are doomed to enter those worlds after death. This is a condemnation of people who do not try to attain Self-knowledge. They are, in a real sense, committing suicide, for what can be worse than being a slave to sense enjoyment, completely oblivious of the real purpose of life, which is to be one’s own master?

Ish Upanishads: ~ Avidya is Karma and therefore a hindrance. (Mantra 10)

Sage Sankara: ~ “Action (karma) cannot destroy ignorance, for it is not in conflict with or opposed to ignorance. Knowledge does verily destroy ignorance as light destroys deep darkness. ~ Atma Bodha

Sage Sri, Goudpada says:~ the merciful Veda teaches karma and Upasana to people of lower and middling intellect, while jnana is taught to those of higher intellect.

So they clearly indicate rituals and theories are not meant for the ignorant populace, not for those who are searching for higher knowledge or wisdom. The path of wisdom is the only means to realize the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space.

All the orthodox Advaitins indulge and immerse themselves in a ritualistic-oriented lifestyle and follow the path of karma and Upasana, which is meant for lower and middling intellect and not for realizing the Advaitic truth.

Many chose these orthodox scholars as their gurus. But these gurus are good to learn the conceptual Advaita meant for those Orthodox who believe their conduct-oriented lifestyle leads to Moksha [liberation].

Religion-based Advaita is not the means to acquire Self-knowledge or nondual wisdom. Those who are seeking truth have to do their own homework to acquire Self-knowledge, or Brahma Gnana, or Atma Gnana.

When everything is consciousness, where is the room to say the thinker, thought, words, body, and the universe are not consciousness? Consciousness alone is real and eternal, and the thinker, thoughts, words, body, and the universe are merely an illusion created out of consciousness. :~Santtosh Kumaar 

In the year 1794 A.D. Sir William Jones, the European chief justice of the then-Supreme Court of India at Calcutta, coined the new term Hinduism for the caste discriminating principle of Varnashrama Dharma

In the year 1794 A.D. Sir William Jones, the European chief justice of the then-Supreme Court of India at Calcutta, coined the new term Hinduism for the caste discriminating principle of Varnashrama Dharma originated on the basis of Manu Dharma Śāstra.

(Sir William Jones spent 11 years on the Supreme Court of Calcutta were highly productive ones, and he applied democratic principles to his judicial decisions. The six charges Jones made to the Calcutta Grand Jury during that period helped determine the course of Indian jurisprudence as well as preserve the rights of Indian citizens to a trial by jury, as Jones considered Indians to be equal under the law with Europeans.

His most famous accomplishment in India was establishing the Asiatic Society of Bengal in January 1784. The founding of the Society grew out of Jones's love for India, its people, and its culture, as well as his abhorrence of oppression, nationalism, and imperialism. His goal for the Society was to develop a means to foster collaborative international scientific and humanistic projects that would be unhindered by social, ethnic, religious, and political barriers. Through the Society, Jones hoped to make Oriental studies much more attractive to people from the West. As a result, Jones exerted a substantial influence on the academic and literary disciplines in Western Europe. He would remain the Society's president until he died.

In addition to establishing the Society, Jones felt compelled to learn Sanskrit so that he could better prepare himself to understand Hindu and Muslim laws. This led to an enormous personal project: the compilation of all such laws. The task was so huge that he was unable to complete it before he died. However, he did publish portions, including Institutes of Hindu Law, or the Ordinances of Menu, Mohammedan Law of Succession to Property of Intestates, and Mohammedan Law of Inheritance. He also published numerous works about India, covering a variety of topics including law, art, music, literature, botany, and geography.)

The term Hindu religion is a totally new name that cannot be found in any Indian literature prior to 1794 A.D. Out of the five Indian religions of Buddhism, Jainism, Saivism, Vaishnavism, and Sikhism, Saivism and Vaishnavism were brought under the Varnashrama principle.

After naming the discriminating principle of casteism of Manu Dharma as Hinduism, the religions of Saivism and Vaishnavism, which were enslaved to the caste discriminating principles, were given a new name as ‘Hindu Religion’! Thus, the Hindu religion is different from Sanatana Dharma or Vedic religion.

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 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 the Hindu law.

The principles of the book of Manu, which was used for drafting the Hindu Law, were called 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 the 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.

This false perception developed a false notion that non-Christian and non-Muslim Indians of the British dominion belonged to the Hindu religion.

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

The orthodox believe in Varnashrama Dharma or caste discrimination.

People of India wrongly believe that Hinduism is an ancient religion because they are unaware that Hinduism is not the Santana Dharma or Vedic religion.

People of India have to liberate themselves from the stranglehold of casteism to realize their original religion is not Hinduism, which is full of different castes and creeds, but the Great Vedic religion. The people should be educated about the historic truth of the religion of Vedas.:~Santthosh Kumaar

You will find your own way when you realize that the Self is not you but the invisible Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.+

You will find your own way when you realize that the Self is not you but the invisible Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Unless you find it on your own, you will not be able to realize the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space.

Without a perfect understanding of ‘what is what?’, it will take the seeker nowhere.

Chandogya Upanishad Chapter: ~”ekam evaditiyam- God is only one without a second. (6- Section- 2- Verse- 1)

Swethaswethara Upanishad:~ “Na casya kasuj janita na cadhipah, which means of him of Almighty God, there are no parents, they have got no lord. Almighty God has no true father, he has no true mother, he has no true superior. (Chapter-6- Verse -9)

Swethaswethara Upanishad: ~ “Na Tasya Pratima Asti- of that God there is no Pratima, there is no likeness, there is no image, there is no picture, there is no photograph, there is no sculpture, there is no statue. (Chapter -4- Verse- 19)

Swethaswethara Upanishad:~ “No one can see the Almighty God (Chapter -4, Verse -20)

Yajurveda – Chapter- 32:~ God is Supreme Spirit.

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

There is a clear-cut idea of God in the Vedas, Upanishads, and Bhagavad Gita. And also, there is a clear-cut idea of what not to worship as God in place of the real God.

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

Vedas and Upanishad confirm that God is the invisible and unborn Soul, the Self, is present in the form of the Spirit or the consciousness.

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 Atma, the Self. May ye never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman?" (10:48, 5)

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 the 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.

Bhagwat Gita: - All those whose intelligence has been stolen by material desires worship many Gods. (7- Verse -20)

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.

Thus, by sticking up to the Gods, which are not God in truth, you are sticking up to the illusion.

Sticking to illusion means sticking to ignorance. Sticking to ignorance means you are not qualified to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana, or Atma Gnana.

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

Only through deeper self-search, beginners and intermediates gradually become aware of ‘what is what’. Only after they have realized that the Self is not ‘I’ but the Self is the invisible Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, they are ready for the inner journey towards reality, which is beyond form, time, and space.

Upanishad:~ 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)

If you are seeking truth, you have to know the ‘Self’ is not you, but the Self is the invisible Soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness.  : ~ Santthosh Kumaar 

Yajurveda – chapter- 32:~God cannot be seen directly by anyone. God pervades all beings and all directions.+

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

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad:~ "He who worships the deities as entities entirely separate from the Self does not know the truth. For the Gods, he is like a pasu (beast)". (1. 4. 10)

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

Yajurveda – chapter- 32:~ God Supreme or 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 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 the Upanishads and Vedas declare that “God is the form of the Athma, 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 it in a variety of ways through diverse words.

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

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

The Vedas themselves say: 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.

In Yajurveda says if you worship what is not God: ~

Yajurveda: ~

Translation 1.

They enter darkness, those who worship natural things (for example, air, water, sun, moon, animals, fire, stone, etc).

They sink deeper in darkness those who worship sambhuti. (Sambhuti means created things, for example, table, chair, idol, etc.) (Yajurveda 40:9)

Translation 2.

"Deep into the shade of blinding gloom fall asambhuti's worshippers. They sink to darkness deeper yet who on sambhuti are intent." (Yajurveda Samhita by Ralph T. H. Giffith pg 538)

Translation 3.

"They are enveloped in darkness, in other words, are steeped in ignorance and sunk in the greatest depths of misery who worship the uncreated, eternal Prakriti -- the material cause of the world -- in place of the All-pervading God, But those who worship visible things born of the Prakriti, such as the earth, trees, bodies (human and the like) in place of God are enveloped in still greater darkness, in other words, they are extremely foolish, fall into an awful hell of pain and sorrow and suffer terribly for a long time." (Yajur Veda 40:9.)

So, Yajur Veda indicates that: ~

They sink deeper in darkness those who worship sambhuti. (Sambhuti means created things, for example, table, chair, idol, etc, Yajurved 40:9)

Those who worship visible things born of the Prakriti, such as the earth, trees, bodies (human and the like) in place of God, are enveloped in still greater darkness; in other words, they are extremely foolish, fall into an awful hell of pain and sorrow, and suffer terribly for a long time." (Yajur Veda 40:9.)

If the religious Gods and goddesses are not real Gods, then why indulge in rituals and glorify the conceptual Gods, Goddesses, and Gurus to go into deeper darkness? Instead, spend that time moving forward towards Self-knowledge, which is one’s prime goal.

That is why Sage Sankara: ~ VC ~ Let erudite scholars quote all the scripture, let Gods be invoked through sacrifices, let elaborate rituals be performed, let personal Gods be propitiated---yet, without the realization of one‘s identity with the Self, there shall be no liberation for the individual, not even in the lifetimes of a hundred Brahmas put together (verses-6): ~ Santthosh Kumaar 

Sage Sankara belongs to whole humanity, his Advaitic wisdom is nothing to do with religion and yoga because it is pure Spirituality or Adyathma.+

Existence is nondual. Nonduality cannot be described through words, for all uses of language fail to express it. Nonduality is sought to be indicated mentally negation of duality (all attributes and characteristics).

Sage Sankara is a Vedic Sage of universal order; projecting him as a non-Vedic Sage is a great sin.

The Vedic truth is a pure spiritual truth. The nonduality is the essence of the Vedas.

Advaita propagated by Sage Sankara is pure spirituality. Advaita has nothing to do with Advaitic orthodoxy, which is meant for the ignorant populace.

Sage Sankara belongs to whole humanity; his Advaitic wisdom has nothing to do with religion and yoga because it is pure Spirituality or Adyathma.

The Vedic truth is the pure spiritual truth. The essence of the Vedas is pure spirituality. Advaita propagated by Sage Sankara is pure spirituality. Advaita has nothing to do with non-Vedic Advaitic orthodoxy, which is meant for the ignorant populace.

Sage Sankara himself declares: Atman is Brahman (God in truth), then why accept anything else as God other than Atman?

Sage Sankara says: ~ Atman is Brahman. Thus, the invisible Soul, the Self, is God. Therefore, all the Gods with form and attributes are merely imaginations based on the false ‘Self’(ego). Thus, there was adulteration and add-ons in the past, which have to be bifurcated if one wants pure Vedic essence.

This clearly indicates that nonduality is the nature of the invisible Soul, the   Self. Thus, the invisible  Soul is the ultimate truth, or Brahman or God. When the Soul is the ultimate truth or God in truth, why indulge in worshiping the belief individualized God, which is not God. 

The Hindu belief system, which came into existence after the 2nd century, has nothing to do with the Vedas and Vedic religion or the Santana Dharma.

The ultimate truth or Brahman is God. God in truth, is not the religious God we believe and worship.:~ Santthosh Kumaar

Sage Sankara says: ~ Atman is Brahman.+

Sage Sankara says: ~ Atman is Brahman. The Atman alone is real is not religious truth. Sage Sankara declared this Advaitic truth, which is the ultimate truth to the whole world, many centuries back, is the rational truth, scientific truth, and the ultimate truth.

Thus, the Atman, which is present in the form of consciousness, is real and eternal; the world in which we exist is merely an illusion.

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.

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

Ish Upanishad declares: - Those people who have neglected the attainment of Self-knowledge and have thus committed suicide 10/11/12

Ishopanishad "They are steeped in ignorance and sunk into the greatest depth of misery who worship the matter, instead of the All-Pervading God, and those who worship things born of matter like trees, animals, man, etc., are sunk deeper in misery."

Katha Upanishad says: ~Fools dwelling in darkness, but thinking themselves wise and erudite, go round and round, by various tortuous paths, like the blind led by the blind. (Ch II-5 P-14 Upanishads Nikhilananda)

It indicates that the ignorant one (darkness) of the invisible Soul, the Self (Atman), searches for truth by accumulating knowledge of every path and practice, and is uncertain about the truth, and thinks every path leads towards reality. Ignorance of the true Self leads one towards unreality or hallucination.

Bhad Upanishad: ~ This Self is dearer than a son, dearer than wealth, dearer than everything else because it is innermost. If one holding the ‘Self’ dear were to say to a person who speaks of anything other than the ‘Self’ as dear, that he, the latter, will lose what he holds dear—and the former is certainly competent to do so—it will indeed come true. One should meditate upon the ‘Self’ alone as dear. He who meditates upon the ‘Self’ alone as dear, what he holds dear will not perish. ((8-p- -211)

It is the first instance of monism in organized religion. Vedic religion remains the only religion with this concept. To call this concept 'God' would be imprecise. The closest interpretation of the term can be found in the Tattireya Upanishad (II.1): ~ where Brahman is described in the following manner: Satyam Jnanam Anantam Brahman - "Brahman is of the nature of truth, knowledge, and infinity". Thus, Brahman is the origin and the end of all things, material or otherwise. Brahman is the root source and Divine Ground of everything that exists and does not exist. It is defined as unknowable and Satchidananda (Truth-Consciousness-Bliss).

Since it is eternal and infinite, it comprises the only truth. The goal of Vedic religion, through the various yogas, is to realize that consciousness (Atman) is actually nothing but Brahman: ~ Santthosh Kumaar