Swami Vivekananda aptly described Sage Sankara’s Advaita as the fairest flower of philosophy that any country in any age has produced.
The Advaitic truth is a rational or scientific truth declared by Bhagwan Buddha and Sage Sankara centuries back, but unfortunately, the original essence of the rational Advaita is lost mainly, because of orthodox adulteration and add-ons, which are based on the ego (waking entity), which is the false self within the false experience (waking).
The seeker has to first indulge in deeper self-search without scriptures and understand assimilate the Advaitic truth, which leads to self-awareness. Thus, soulcentric thinking, reasoning, and judgment are very much necessary in pursuit of truth.
Atman is unborn, dreamless, sleepless, and motionless and is beyond duality. It is cognition at its purest. It is Brahman- Ayam Atma Brahma, this Atma is that Brahma; Thus, epitomizing the core of Upanishad teachings.
Sage Sankara’s Advaitic wisdom is the universal wisdom that any country in any age has produced.
Everything is Atman, which Sage Sankara declared 1200 years back. Everything is Atman. Atman or the Soul is present in the form of consciousness.
Sage Sankara gave religious, rituals, and dogmatic instruction to the ignorant populace but Advaitic wisdom only to the few who could rise to it. Hence the interpretation of his writings by commentators is often confusing because they mix up the two viewpoints. Thus, they may assert that ritual is a means of realizing Brahman, which is absurd. :
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.
Sage Sankara indicates that scriptural studies are useless in the pursuit of truth, therefore, it is no use for indulging in scriptural studies and waste their precious time and life.
The study of the Scriptures is useless to realize the ‘Self’ hidden by the dualistic illusion or Maya.
Sage Sankara: ~ Atman, the Self is verily Brahman (God), being equanimous, quiescent, and by nature absolute Existence, Knowledge, and Bliss. Atman is not the body which is non-existence itself. This is called true Knowledge by the wise.
God is not an individual. God is universal God is the cause of this world and it itself is causeless. If God were to be separate he would be Self-less.
The Soul is the Self. The world in which we exist is not different for its essential nature as unlimited Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness is the same.
How can you worship the Absolute? That implies two ~ the worshiper and the worshiped, whereas the Absolute is nondual. One can worship his idea of the Absolute only or realize his unity with it when he can’t worship it as apart.
The Upanishads say in effect that ~ If you believe that the ‘the Soul, the innermost Self’ is one and God (Brahman) is another you cannot understand Truth.
Even 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 other than consciousness a God.
Even Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: ~ Brahman (God) is present in the form of the Athma, and it is indeed Athma itself.
Even 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 innermost self. May ye never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman?" (10:48, 5)
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.
People all over the world in the past and present accepted the idea of the existence of God. The fear of God injected by the religion was the root cause of worship, superstitions, and dogmas. Religious belief is passed on to the populace from one generation to the next generation.
Realizing the single stuff of which this universe in which you exist is made, is Truth realization or Self-realization or God-realization.
When the expression itself is illusory, then the evolution within the illusory expression is bound to be an illusion. Thus, the evolution theory holds no water from the standpoint of the Soul, the innermost Self.
The belief system 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. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar
