Swami Vivekananda aptly described Sage Sankara’s Advaita as the fairest flower of philosophy that any country of any age has produced.
The Advaitic truth is a rational or scientific truth declared by Sage Sankara many 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.
The non-dual Atman is realized when the individual self (jiva) is awakened from its ignorance. 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.
Remember:~
The entire Advaitic wisdom 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 Advaitic wisdom.
Consciousness is the one single reality or Brahman or God in truth. The individual self is a reality within the universe, which is the dualistic illusion or Maya. There is no individual in the realm of non-dualistic reality.
Sage Sankara says:~ One alone exists, and the rest is all superimposition on that One, due to ignorance.
Through a systematic inquiry into the nature of the mind, which is present in the form of the universe, one arrives at the position that the soul, the innermost self, which is present in the form of consciousness, is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.
The Soul, the Self is constant and, therefore, real, while the phenomena constituting the universe are constantly changing and, therefore, unreal. The final conclusion is that the form, time, and space or the universe are one in essence. That essence is consciousness. Thus, no second thing exists other than consciousness.
The seeker of truth has to take into account all three states of our existence, which are waking, dream, and deep sleep ~ in waking or dream one experiences duality, and in deep sleep, there is only non-duality.
In order to obtain a complete picture of our existential reality, we need to include evidence from all three states. This is the phenomenology of consciousness.
The consciousness is one only, without a second. One experiences the manifold universe ignorance ~ led illusion “covers" the One and "projects" the Many. The illusion is the veil on the consciousness. In truth, only One, non-dual Reality is all there is. Consciousness is all-pervasive. It is intrinsically Real, self-effulgent, infinite, undifferentiated Pure.
When the Soul, the Self, wakes up to its own formless nondual true nature, the ignorance ceases, and the illusion, which is present in the form of duality never again experienced as reality.
The show of the illusory duality, however, continues, as before. Only our identification with a particular actor's role is gone forever because the self is in its own awareness.
Self-awareness is Brahmic Bliss! This state is already ours always in deep sleep in a "general" way. When the Self-Knowledge dawns then one is awake to it in a "special" way in the midst of duality.
Atman=Brahman or the Self, capture the essence of the immanent (Self) and the transcendent (Brahman) Reality. Humanity has not yet conceived a more lofty conception of its position in the universe.
Advaita only means the negation of duality. The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth. Consciousness is the cause of the origin, maintenance, and withdrawal of the universe is Advaita (i.e. non-dual), which means that consciousness transcends all conceptions, positive and negative. Nothing positive can ever be imagined or said about it.
Consciousness is existence absolute, awareness absolute. Existence absolute means that consciousness is not unreal or non-existent. And it is not the unconsciousness. Nothing positive can be stated about consciousness.
Remember:~
Sage Sankara is Jagadguru for the ignorant populace and Brahma Gnani for the seeking world.
Sage Sankara’s wisdom is nothing to do with the orthodox sect. Sage Sankara is the only sage who has final authority on the Advaitic truth. The Advaitic truth is rational truth and scientific truth without dogma.
Religion is nothing to do with Advaita. Advaitic sect belongs to religion. Advaita is pure spirituality. Advaitic sect is dualistic is nothing to do with the Advaitic wisdom of Sage Sankara which is hidden by the illusion or Maya. Mixing religion and spirituality is like mixing oil and water.
Religion is regarded as sacred and real by the common people, by the wise as false, and by the politicians as useful.
Religion and its sects are based on form, time, and space whereas Spirituality is based on the Atman the formless, timeless, and spaceless existence.
Sage Sankara’s wisdom is nothing to do with the orthodox sect. Some philosophers in the past dissented from this interpretation of Vedanta philosophy, holding that the incarnated Souls were separate from the Divine Essence and only finally merged with it after the cycles of birth.
All these theoretical philosophies are based on the imagination based on the false ‘Self’ (ego or you) within the false experience (waking).
Orthodox people argue that Sage Sankara had a Guru. Sage Sankara himself was Guru.
For ignorant orthodox people, Sage Sankara is Jagadguru but for the seeker of truth, he is a Brahma Gnani
The traditionally religious people are so entangled in orthodox religiosity; it is very difficult for them to free themselves from narrow-minded prejudices and dogmas and superstitions. These educated orthodox people are more ignorant than illiterate. They strongly stuck to their inherited orthodox baggage meant for the ignorant populace. Even though their own Sage has said that orthodoxy meant for the ignorant populace they ignore and they are like blind led by another blind follow the inherited blind belief.
The scriptural authority and value of rituals are part of the Advaitic orthodoxy, which is meant for ignorant people.
Sage Sankara varied his practical advice and doctrinal teaching according to the people he was amongst. He never told them to give their particular religion or beliefs or metaphysics completely; he only told them to give up the worst features of abuse: at the same time he showed just one step forward towards the truth.
Remember:~
Advaitic Orthodoxy misinterpreted Sage Sankara and presented only the religious side of his teaching as the highest doctrine. Thus, people are misled.
Orthodoxy is based on rituals and mythical Gods and Karma. Advaitic wisdom of Sage Sankara is nothing to with Advaitic orthodoxy.
Let Advaitic wisdom annihilate ignorance (I) and reveal Soul, the Self the God in truth.
Let your ears become deaf to the untruth propagated by the religion as a reality; enable you to realize the truth hidden by the ignorance (I).
Let your eyes become blind to illusion to receive the Soul as the Self as it is in the midst of the dualistic illusion.
All the orthodox ideas were rejected by Sage Sankara. There is no need to indulge in rituals, in order to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth. There is no need to study philosophy, in order to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman then why you indulge in studying philosophy.
Sage Sankara pokes fun at ascetics and points out that all their austerities do not cause desires to go (Altar Flowers" Page 205, v.2 P.207 v.4)
Sage Sankara pointed out those rituals could in no way bring about wisdom, much less Moksha.
Sage Sankara says the rewards of the rituals are not a matter of direct realization. Advaitic wisdom is based on personal realization.
The orthodox Advaitin believes that rituals alone would lead one to higher levels of attainment. Further, the deities would reward only those entitled to perform the rituals alone. The entitlement involved the caste, creed, and other parameters.
The scriptural authority and value of rituals are part of the Advaitic orthodoxy, which is meant for ignorant people.
The Advaitic wisdom of Sage Sankara is nothing to do with religion, caste, rituals, worship, yoga, and other practices. Therefore, an obvious disparity between Sage Sankara‘s path of Gnana, and the path of Karma. The path of Gnana is meant for the advanced seeker of truth and the path of Karma is meant for the ignorant populace.
Even Sage Sankara appears and tells the orthodox people the path of orthodoxy is the path of ignorance they will not be able to drop their inherited samskara or conditioning, which they think is the only way to reach heaven and reap a happy life in the next life.
Sage Sankara says in Brahma Sutras: that Brahman is the cause of the world, whereas in Manduka he denies it.
Sage Gaudapada says: - the merciful Veda teaches karma and upasana to people of lower and middling intellect, while jnana is taught to those of higher intellect.
Sage Sankara says in Brahma Sutras: that Brahman is the cause of the world, whereas in Manduka he denies it.
Brahma Sutras, i.e. "Vedanta Sutras" by Badarayana, are intended for those of middling intellects, not for those who have the best brains: it is a semi-theological, semi-philosophical work; it starts with the assumption that Brahman exists.
The doctrine of causality taught in the Brahma Sutra is not the same as our highest Advaitic non-causality. It is only a beginning towards that; it says that you do not find in the effect what is not already present in the cause.
The Sutra-Bhashya of Sage Sankara principally deals with the principle of superimposition yet the pundits have not grasped its higher semantic value.
Brahma Sutras begin with the dogma of Brahman but who has seen Brahman? It is a mere empty word like 'x'. Hence it is called a book of religion, not philosophy. It is for beginners who have not yet unfolded discrimination, who believe in creation (i.e. causality), and who have to be raised as Anandagiri the commentator himself writes.
The opening sentence is "All this is Brahman.” But nobody knows or has seen Brahman. If we say "All this is wood" and show a piece of wood, the words are understandable. Suppose you have never seen wood. Then what is the use of such a sentence? It becomes meaningless when the object indicated is seen by none. Hence the Brahma Sutra opening is equivalent to "All this is X". Both have no meaning so long as they are not understood if we take them as the data to start from. It is for this reason such books are intended for a theological mindset because it begins with dogma although its reasoning is close. For it starts with something imagined.
Brahma Sutras together with Sage Sankara's commentary thereon do not contain higher Vedanta. They are intended for duffers.
Sage Sankara's commentary on Brahma Sutras is not on a philosophical basis, but on a religio-mystic one, with an appeal to Vedas as the final authority. In Brahma Sutra Sage Sankara takes the position that there is another entity outside us, i.e. the wall really exists separately from the mind. This was because Sage Sankara explains in Manduka Upanishad that those who study the Sutras are religious minds, intellectual children, hence his popular viewpoint to assist them.
These people are afraid to go deeper because it means being heroic enough to refuse to accept Sruti, and God's authority, in case they mean punishment by God. But we say: Keep the scriptures for children but throw them on the fire for wise seekers.:~Santthosh Kumaar
