Advaita is not any type of teaching or philosophy. Advaita is the knowledge of the existence hidden by the universe. Advaita is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. Advaita is the ultimate reality, Brahman, or God in truth.
That 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.
Sage Sankara says:~ “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.
Sage Sankara himself had often said that his philosophy was based on Shruti, or revealed scripture. This may be because Sage Sankara addressed the ordinary man, who finds security in the idea of causality and thus, in the idea of God—and Revelation is indispensable to prove the latter. He believed that those of superior intelligence, have no need of this idea of divine causality, and can, therefore, dispense with Shruti and arrive at the truth of Advaita by pure reason.
The intricate maze of the philosophy of different schools claims to clarify matters and reveal the Truth, but in fact, they create more confusion where no confusion need exist. To understand anything there is a need for perfect understanding and assimilation of the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.
Why worry about the physical body, ego, logic creation, creator, saints and sages, and the world, which are part and parcel of the illusion or Maya.
All conceptual divisions invented by teachers of philosophy by their excessive analysis. Where do all these concepts end? Why should confusion be created and then explained away? Fortunate is the man who does not lose himself in the labyrinths of philosophy but goes straight to the Source from which they all rise. [
Assuming or speculating and coming to logical conclusion on the base of physical self/ego is intellectuality. Therefore, intellectuality is egocentric. Egocentricity is the greatest obstacle in grasping the nondual truth.
There is no need to study philosophies of western and eastern philosophers; they are not the means to acquire Self-Knowledge or nondual wisdom. They are in fact an obstacle in the pursuit of truth because they are based on the physical self/ego. There is no necessity to study the philosophy of any great thinkers to ensure firm realization.
There is no need for any philosophy to verify the truth of the self. All that is intellectual wealth, useful in explaining doubts and difficulties if others rise them if he himself encounter them in course of thinking. But to attain realization, all that is not necessary. One wants fresh water to drink, but he does not require all the water in the whole lake to quench his quest.
Philosophical Authoritarianism merely assumes as true what another says, but what has yet to be proved. Lots of pundits will teach “Who am ‘I’”? but none have deeply analyzed it scientifically, none can prove it. Rational proof is needed in pursuit of truth, so that one can arrive at knowing truth i.e. Wisdom; theirs is mere dogma, parrotism, repetition of what they read in scripture.
Philosophical argument leads nowhere. If a philosopher says “Self” is formless “another will reply, "No, self has a form! If one says "his adopted philosophy has higher value then all other philosophy” another will say, "No, that is lower and there are many philosophies higher than that." It is impossible to get anywhere with such talk because both sides are merely assuming and imagining.
The Reality has no method. Illusion has many methods, many problems, and many concepts.
Awakening is nothing but a complete, perfect understanding. A clear-cut understanding of ‘what is what’ is awakening. Reality is not to be achieved, it is there. After this thorough understanding, nothing is required. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar
