You cannot see God through your physical eyes then why do you waste your time debating about your personal Gods.+

The religion blocks one from realizing God in truth because religion is based on myth whereas Spirituality is based on the truth.

God in truth is not based on your inherited blind faith or belief. The Religions are based on personal God whereas Sage Sankara’s Supreme Brahman (God) is impersonal, Nirguna (without Gunas or attributes), Nirakara (formless), Nirvisesha (without special characteristics), immutable, eternal, and Akarta (non-agent). God is above all needs and desires. God is always the Witnessing Subject. God can never become an object as God is beyond the reach of the senses. God is non-dual, one without a second. God has no other beside it. God is destitute of difference, either external or internal. God cannot be described because description implies a distinction. God cannot be distinguished from any other than God. In God, there is not a distinction between substance and attribute. Sat-Chit-Ananda constituted the very essence or Svarupa of God, and not just God attributes. The Nirguna Brahman of Sage Sankara is impersonal.

The Soul, the Self is unborn and undifferentiated consciousness is God in truth. 

God cannot be seen directly by anyone because God is ever nondual. God pervades in everything and everywhere in the whole universe. 

Rig Veda: ~ 'Prajnanam Brahma'- Consciousness is the ultimate reality or Brahman or God in truth.

Do not accept any other God other than the Soul. The Soul is God in truth,  Nothing is real but the Soul, which present in the form of consciousness. Nothing Matters but realize  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

Remember:~ 

You cannot see God through your physical eyes then why do you waste your time debating about your personal Gods with forms and names.

Yajurveda – chapter- 32: -  God is Supreme Spirit has no ‘Pratima’ (idol) or material shape. God cannot be seen directly by anyone. God pervades all beings and all directions.

Sage Sankara’s wisdom is nothing to do with orthodox belief systems. 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.

The Advaitic orthodoxy is not the means to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. Advaitic orthodoxy is meant for the ignorant populace that is unfit to grasp the highest truth. The Advaitic orthodoxy is nothing to do with the ultimate truth or Brahman.

All sect-based beliefs are dualistic and unphilosophical nothing to do with the ultimate truth or Brahman. In spirituality, the ultimate truth is God. Thus, the Advaitic orthodoxy is a sect is nothing to do with the Advaitic wisdom of the Sage Sankara. Advaitic orthodox sect is meant for the ignorant populace.

All the personal Gods with form and names are a mere belief within the domain of the form, time, and space. Whatever belongs to form, time and space are the dualistic illusion. Thus, the Gods with forms and names are bound to be a falsehood.

Bhagavad Gita: ~ 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.

Religious Gods are not real Gods mere belief. One must know God in truth.

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 innermost ‘Self’. In reality, there is no duality, no differentiation. Only Atman exists.

Vedas and Upanishad confirm the Soul, the Self, is present in the form of the Spirit or 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 Atman the innermost self. May ye never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman?" (10:48, 5)

Bible says: ~ “God is a Spirit, and they that worship God must worship God in spirit and in truth (John 4:24)”,

The Spirit is the root element of the universe. The Spirit is present in the form of the Soul, the innermost Self. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. From the Spirit, the universe comes into existence. In the Spirit, the universe resides. And into the Spirit, the universe is dissolved. The Spirit is the parent of all that is there is.

Even Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: ~ Brahman (God) is present in 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 real God. Thus, it proves on Vedic perspective the Puranic Gods are not Vedic Gods.

Vedas say never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman.

The Soul is the real God, which is the cause of the dualistic illusion and it itself is uncaused.

The Soul is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth. The Soul is in the form of consciousness. The Soul is Self -evident. It is not established by extraneous proofs. It is not possible to deny the Soul because it is the very essence of the one who denies it. The Soul is the basis of all kinds of knowledge, presuppositions, and proofs. The Soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness (Spirit), is the ultimate truth or Brahman. The Brahman is God in truth. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

The unborn is not you but the Soul, the Self. The unborn Soul is hidden by the ‘I’.+

The unborn is not you but the Soul, the Self. The unborn Soul is hidden by the ‘I’. You are unaware of the fact that you and your experience of birth, life, death, and the world are a reality within the dualistic illusion or Maya. The dualistic illusion or Maya is present in the form of the ‘I’.

Why you are saying I AM THAT when the Self is not you but the Soul is hidden by the ‘I’.

You are saying I AM THAT within the world in which you exist. The world in which you exist is the dualistic illusion or Maya. What is the use of saying I AM THAT within the dualistic illusion or Maya?

In reality, there is no second thing that exists other than nondualistic awareness. Nondualisitc awareness is not ‘I’-awareness. ‘I’-awareness is not Self-awareness.

The dualistic illusion or Maya hides the Self. Realize the ‘Self’ is not you but the Soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness.

The dualistic illusion or Maya is present in the form of the ‘I’. The ‘I’ appears and disappears. The ‘Self is not the ‘I’. The Soul, the ‘Self’ is always present is hidden by the ‘I’.

The Soul, the Self is nothing to do with the ‘I’, which is the dualistic illusion or Maya. What prevails without the dualistic illusion or Maya is the ultimate reality.

The ignorance appears and disappears as ‘I’. The ignorance is present in the form of the ‘I’. the ‘I’ is present in the form of the universe. The universe appears as waking or dream (duality) and disappears as deep sleep (nonduality).

Remember:~

Bhagavad Gita: ~ “You must first see the ‘I’ as illusory before you see others as illusory. ~ CH.2 v.16

The ‘Self’ permanent and the ‘I’, is impermanent. The ‘I’, which appears and disappears is not the Self. The Self is hidden by the ‘I’. the ‘I’ is perishable whereas the Self is imperishable.

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

Why are you struggling to find out who you are? You will never find the answer if you get stuck to the ‘I’. Find out ‘what is this ‘I’, which appears and disappears. What is that is aware of the coming and going of the ‘I’?

Without realizing ‘What is this ‘I’? you will never be able to realize the mystery of the ‘I’. The ‘I’ is the most intoxicating stuff. Those who use the word ‘I’ for the ‘Self ‘will never be able to cross the threshold of the dualistic illusion.

The ‘I’ based teachings will not transport the seeker to the ultimate end of understanding.

The ‘I’ is the cage for the Soul. ‘I’ is the cause of the ignorance. Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is the only weapon to get rid of ignorance.

The ‘I’ based teachings will not transport the seeker to the ultimate end of understanding. Perfect understanding of ‘what is this ‘I’ leads to the realization of the truth beyond the form, time, and space.

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. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

The question of birth, life, death, and the world arises only in the domain of ignorance.+

The question of birth, life, death, and the world arises only in the domain of ignorance. It is no use in discussing the birth, life, death, and the world in Atmic discussion.

The one which is born, lives, and dies in this world is ‘you’. The Self is not you but the Self is the Soul because the Soul is unborn eternal. You and the world in which you exist is limited to the domain of the form, time, and space.

There is nothing to discuss or argue in the Atmic path. Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is knowledge of God one without the second. Where there is no second thing then what is there to argue and discuss. When the reality is nondual what is there to discuss and what is there to argue.

From the standpoint of the Soul, the Self, the form, time, and space are merely an illusion. If the form, time, and space are an illusion then the ‘I’ is an illusion. If the ‘I’ is an illusion then the universe is merely an illusion. If the universe is an illusion then the experience of birth, life, and death is merely an illusion.

The Soul, the 'Self' hidden by the illusion. It is hidden by the illusion because the Soul is the cause of the illusion and it itself is uncaused.

Perfect understanding of ‘what is what is needed to realize the truth, which is beyond the ‘I’.

What is the use of finding out ‘who you are?’ It is undeniable fact that you are the birth entity born in this world.

You think you are an individual separate from the world. You think the world existed prior to you and you are born in it but you are unaware of the fact that you and your experience of birth, life, death, and the world are a reality within the dualistic illusion or Maya. The dualistic illusion or Maya is present in the form of the ‘I’.

Why you are saying I AM THAT when the Self is not you but the Soul is hidden by the ‘I’.

You are saying I AM THAT within the world in which you exist. The world in which you exist is the dualistic illusion or Maya. What is the use of saying I AM THAT within the dualistic illusion or Maya?

The dualistic illusion or Maya hides the Self. Realize the ‘Self’ is not you but the Soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness.

The dualistic illusion or Maya is present in the form of the ‘I’. The ‘I’ appears and disappears. The ‘Self is not the ‘I’. The Soul, the ‘Self’ is always present is hidden by the ‘I’.:~

Santthosh Kumaar

Only the Advaitic wisdom of Sage Sankara unfolds the mystery of the ‘I’.+

Advaitic wisdom rises gradually by weakening the ignorance as understanding and realization of ‘what is what’ matures. Only the Advaitic wisdom of Sage Sankara unfolds the mystery of the ‘I’.

If the inquiry does not include the universe then it is incomplete. The universe itself is what God is all about. The totality of the universe is what God is all about.

You just study the nature of the universe with all the seriousness and sincerity to unfold the mystery of the universe. That is all you have to do. The universe is the seeker's school.

Without realizing the universe is an illusion the 'Self' hidden by the universe will not be revealed.

Without realizing the illusory nature of the universe Self-realization is an impossibility.

You are also part of the divine book of the universe! And whatever you have seen, known, believed, and experienced as an individual is part of it.

That is why Sage Sankara says: ~ VC-63- Without causing the objective universe to vanish and without knowing the truth of the ‘Self’ how is one to achieve Liberation by the mere utterance of the word Brahman? — It would result merely in an effort of speech.

Sage Sankara says: ~ A buried treasure is not uncovered by merely uttering the words: “Come forth.” You must follow the right directions, dig, remove the stones and earth from above it, and then make it your own. In the same way, the pure truth of the Atman, which is buried under Maya and the effects of Maya, can be reached by meditation, contemplation, and other spiritual disciplines but never by perverse arguments.

Sage Sankara: ~ “VC~ All this universe which through ignorance appears as of diverse forms, is nothing else but Brahman (Consciousness) which is absolutely free from all the limitations of human thought.

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. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness.

Sage Sankara: ~ VC-63- "Without knowing and examining the universe, one can’t know the Truth, as the idea that the external world exists, won't go. It can go only by an inquiry into the nature of the external world.

Sage Sankara says ~ “What is accepted without a proper inquiry will not lead a person to the final goal. On the contrary, such acceptance will result only in evil, in something which is detrimental to our spiritual progress.

Sage Sankara says: - VC-47 All the effects of ignorance, root, and branch, are burnt down by the fire of knowledge, which arises from discrimination between these two—the Self and the non-Self.

Until you think you are an individual separate from the world and the world that existed prior to you and you are born in it afterward the ignorance will prevail as a reality. Till ignorance is there the universe prevails as reality.

Sage Sankara says: ~ “The exercise in discrimination between real and unreal and renunciation of the false is real meditation, then why you are indulging in other types of meditation.

Perfect understanding and realization of ‘what is what’ leads to Self-awareness. By holding onto theories one remains in the realm of duality. You have to mentally go on dropping what is not the truth through deeper Self-search. Finally when you become aware of the fact that, your ego, your body, and the world are one in essence then there is Self-awareness in the midst of duality. : ~

Santthosh Kumaar

By discriminating between what is real and what is what unreal one becomes aware of the reality hidden by the unreality.+

By thinking or not thinking or stop thinking the ignorance will not vanish. By discriminating between what is real and what is what unreal one becomes aware of the reality hidden by the unreality.

As your inner conviction about the Soul grows you will be able to realize ‘what is the truth?’ and ‘what is the untruth?’

As we keep thinking and reasoning deeper and deeper, the truth will shines as pure awareness in the midst of the duality (waking).

The Soul, the ‘Self’ is your ultimate teacher. It is only your inner teacher that will walk with you to the goal, for the Soul is the goal.

Millions are searching for truth but one in million will realize it. You are one from that million because you have the intense urge to realize the ultimate truth.

When the seeker is ready, the guidance comes on its own. An earnest desire to grow and a sense of deep commitment are the hallmarks of one who aspires to be a seeker.

When at the core of one’s being a person comes to realize he/she needs to seek a path for coming out of one’s unconscious and conditioned life, mysteriously the guidance appears to guide and shows the way.

Read repeatedly my postings and blogs and reflect and reason deeply which helps you to create a mental yardstick in your subconscious to discriminate between ‘what is the truth? And what is the untruth? When the subconscious is receptive and ready then it will start rejecting the untruth and finally then the Soul, the 'Self’ alone will prevail as the ultimate truth or Brahman or God.

There is no practice as such, but perfect understanding is needed to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atman Gnana.

Remember:~

Sage Sankara says ~ “What is accepted without a proper inquiry will not lead a person to the final goal. On the contrary, such acceptance will result only in evil, in something which is detrimental to our spiritual progress.

Sage Sankara says: - VC-47 All the effects of ignorance, root, and branch, are burnt down by the fire of knowledge, which arises from discrimination between these two—the Self and the non-Self.

Until you think you are an individual separate from the world and the world that existed prior to you and you are born in it afterward the ignorance will prevail as a reality. Till ignorance is there the universe prevails as reality.

Sage Sankara says ~ “The exercise in discrimination between real and unreal and renunciation of the false is real meditation, then why you are indulging in other types of meditation.

Perfect understanding and realization of ‘what is what’ leads to Self-awareness. :~Santthosh Kumaar

Vedas bar worship of non-Vedic Gods. Non-Vedic Gods are not God in truth.+

Vedas bar worship of non-Vedic Gods. Non-Vedic Gods are not God in truth. All the Gods with forms and names are not Vedic God.

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

The idea of worshiping physicalized God is not a Vedic idea but adopted from different ideologies.

Yajurveda – chapter- 32:~ God is Supreme Spirit has no ‘Pratima’ (idol) or material shape. God cannot be seen directly by anyone. God pervades all beings and all directions.

Idolatry does not find any support from the Vedas.

Yajurveda Vedas bars worship of non-Vedic Gods: ~

"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 prakrti -- the material cause of the world -- in place of the All-pervading God, But 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, 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.)

Ishopanishad says: ~ “They are steeped in ignorance and sunk into the greatest depth of misery who worships the matter, instead of the All-Pervading God (Atma or Soul) and those who worship things born of matter like trees, animals, man, etc. are sunk deeper in misery."

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

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

Swami Vivekananda: ~ The masses in India cry to sixty million Gods and still die like dogs. Where are these gods?

Knowing this, stand up and fight! Not one step back that is the idea. ... Fight it out, whatever comes. Let the stars move from the sphere! Let the whole world stand against us! Death means only a change of garment. What of it? Thus fight! You gain nothing by becoming cowards. ... Taking a step backward, you do not avoid any misfortune. You have cried to all the gods in the world. Has misery ceased? The masses in India cry to sixty million Gods and still die like dogs. Where are these gods? ... The Gods come to help you when you have succeeded. So what is the use? Die game. ... This bending the knee to superstitions, this selling yourself to your own mind does not befit you, my Soul. You are infinite, deathless, birthless. Because you are the infinite spirit, it does not befit you to be a slave. ... Arise! Awake! Stand up and fight! Die if you must. There is none to help you. You are the entire world. Who can help you? - Swami Vivekananda (Delivered In San Francisco, on May 28, 1900) -The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda/Volume 1/Lectures And Discourses/The Gita II

Bible says: ~ “God is a Spirit, and they that worship God must worship God in Spirit and in Truth (John 4:24)”,

Kena Upanishad (6) Chapter I: ~ “That which cannot be apprehended by the mind, but by which, they say, the mind is apprehended-That alone know as Brahman, and not that which people here worship.

Kena Upanishad (7) Chapter I:~ That which cannot be perceived by the eye, but by which the eye is perceived-That alone know as Brahman, and not that which people here worship.

Kena Upanishad (8) Chapter I:~ That which cannot be heard by the ear, but by which the hearing is perceived-That alone know as Brahman and not that which people here worship.

Kena Upanishad (9)- Chapter I:~ That which cannot be smelt by the breath, but by which the breath smells an object-That alone know as Brahman, and not that which people here worship.

Then why worship non-Vedic Gods in place of the Vedic God when Veda bars such activities and it also warns people who indulge in such activities 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.

No one has ever seen God by practicing religion or yoga or indulging in glorifying the religious God and Goddesses because God exists prior to the form, time, and space. The form, time, and space cease to exist as a reality when wisdom dawns. Thus, the Gods and Gurus have no place in the domain of the Advaitic reality. Advaita is the nature of the Soul, which is the real God. Thus, Self-realization is the only way to God-realization. God-realization is real worship.

By worshipping the religious Gods and Gurus one will not get Self-realization or God-realization.

The Soul, the inner Guru reveals ‘what is real’ and ‘what is unreal” when the seeker is receptive and ready. : ~

Santthosh Kumaar

The Breath, the body, and the world are one in essence. That essence is consciousness.+

Thich Nhat Hanh:~"Breath is the bridge, which connects life to consciousness, which unites your body to your thoughts."

Remember:~

But it is not so.

Sage Sankara: ~ VC ~ 165-166- The vital- air-Sheath cannot be the Self because it is the modification of air (Vayu). Like air, it enters the body and goes out of it never knowing the joy and sorrow like others. It is ever dependent on the Self.

The Breath, the body, and the world are one in essence. That essence is consciousness. The Soul, the Self, is present in the form of consciousness.

The Breath, the body, and the world are part and parcel of the illusion. By holding the breath (vital force) as the Self, one cannot get rid of the ignorance.

Without getting rid of ignorance, the Advaitic wisdom will not dawn. Advaitic Wisdom dawns only when one realizes the form, time and space are one in essence. –

Santthosh Kumaar

The rituals mentioned in the karmakanda of the Vedas are sought to be negated in the jnanakanda which is also part of the same scripture.+

First Mundaka - Chapter 2 (10) - Ignorant fools, regarding sacrifices and humanitarian works as the highest, do not know any higher good. Having enjoyed their reward on the heights of heaven, gained by good works, they still remain in ignorance of the Atman the real God.

As a person one performs rituals throughout his life.  The person who performs rituals and aspires for rewards will view the world in which he exists as a reality. However, the Soul, the Self unborn eternal hidden by the world in which he exists.  From the standpoint of the Soul, the world in which he exists is merely an illusion. The scriptures dealing with rituals, rewards, etc. are therefore addressed to an ignorant person.

First Mundaka - Chapter 2 (9) - Children, immersed in ignorance in various ways, flatter themselves, saying: We have accomplished life's purpose. Because these performers of karma do not know the Truth owing to their attachment, they fall from heaven, misery-stricken, when the fruit of their work is exhausted.

First Mundaka - Chapter 2 (8) - Fools, dwelling in darkness, but wise in their own conceit and puffed up with vain scholarship, wander about, being afflicted by many ills, like blind men led by the blind.

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

 The rituals and sacrifices:

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 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)

The rituals mentioned in the karmakanda of the Vedas are sought to be negated in the jnanakanda which is also part of the same scripture. While the karmakanda enjoins upon you the worship of various deities and lays down rules for the same, the jnanakanda constituted by the Upanishads ridicules the worshipper of deities as a dim-witted person no better than a beast.

This seems strange, the latter part of the Vedas contradicting the former part. The first part deals throughout with karma while the second or concluding part is all about jnana. Owing to this difference, people have gone so far as to divide our scripture into two sections: the Vedas (that is the first part) to mean the karmakanda and the Upanishads (Vedanta) to mean the jnanakanda.

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)

It is clear that liberation cannot be the result of good works, for Sruti itself declares that there is no hope for immortality through wealth. (Verses -7)

Religious rites and rigid ceremonies were passed down from one generation to the next as a practice or set customs and tradition and performed automatically with blind faith. Such worship based on the belief of God does not reach God.

Religious rites and ceremonies, yagnas and homa-havans, or any other forms of ritual are meant for the ignorant populace.

Belief in God without knowing God in actuality holds the worshiper more firmly in the grip of ignorance.

All worship and the ceremonies rituals performed on the base of non-~Vedic Gods will not yield any fruits. Deeper self-search reveals the fact that worshiped, the worship, and the worshiper and the world are merely an illusion created out of the consciousness.

Religious rites and ceremonies, yagnas and homa-havans, or any other forms of rituals formal observance have long since set in.

Religious rites and ceremonies, yagnas and homa-havans, or any other forms of ritual are meant for the ignorant populace. In the Atmic path, the seeker has to discard what is not needed to realize the truth, which is beyond the form, time, and space.

Religious rites and ceremonies, yagnas and homa-havans, or any other forms of rituals formal observance have long since set in.

Mundaka Upanishad: ~ “The rituals and the sacrifices described in the Vedas deal with lower knowledge. The sages ignored these rituals and went in search of higher knowledge. ... Such rituals are unsafe rafts for crossing the sea of samsara, of birth and death. Doomed to shipwreck are those who try to cross the sea of samsara on these poor rafts.

Ignorant of their own ignorance, yet wise In their own esteem, these deluded men Proud of their vain learning go round and round Like the blind led by the blind.

Sage Sankara pointed out that rituals could in no way bring about wisdom, much less moksha. He asserted while the rewards of the rituals were not mattered of direct realization, wisdom which is the fruit of Vedanta is based on immediate and personal realization; one need not have to wait for the reward nor one be in doubt whether the reward would or would not come.

This was in sharp contrast to the position taken by Mimamsakas who asserted 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.

Sage Sankara’s criticized severely the ritualistic attitude and those who advocated such practices. However, the texts that combined rituals with wisdom (jnana_karma_samucchaya) more in favor of the Mimamsaka position came onto vogue, projecting Sage Sankara as the rallying force of the doctrine. His followers might have found Sage Sankara’s mission a hard task and, therefore, compromised the liberating wisdom with the performance of rituals.

Sage Sankara says ~ “The scriptures dealing with rituals, rewards are therefore addressed to an ignorant person.

 Sage Sankara: ~ (11) As regards the rituals, Sage Sri, Sankara says, the person who performs rituals and aspires for rewards will view himself in terms of the caste into which he is born, his age, the stage of his life, his standing in society, etc. Also, he is required to perform rituals all through his life. However, the 'Self' has none of those attributes or tags. Hence, the person who superimposes all those attributes on the changeless, eternal Self and identifies the ‘Self’ with the body is confusing one for the other; and is, therefore, an ignorant person. The scriptures dealing with rituals, rewards, etc. are therefore addressed to an ignorant person.-Adhyasa Bhashya

Sage Sankara: ~ (11.1) This ignorance (mistaking the body for Self) brings in its wake a desire for the well-being of the body, aversion for its disease or discomfort, fear of its destruction, and thus a host of miseries(anartha). This anartha is caused by projecting karthvya(“doer” sense) and bhokthavya (object) on the Atman. Sankara calls this adhyasa. The scriptures dealing with rituals, rewards, etc. are, therefore, he says, addressed to an ignorant person.-Adhyasa Bhashya

Sage Sankara: ~ (11.2) In short, the person who engages in rituals with the notion “I am an agent, doer, thinker”, according to Sage Sri, Sankara, is ignorant, as his behavior implies a distinct, separate doer/agent/knower; and an object that is to be done/achieved/known. That duality is Avidya, an error that can be removed by Vidya.- Adhyasa Bhashya

Sage Sankara: ~ (12) Sage Sankara affirming his belief in one eternal unchanging reality (Brahman) and the illusion of plurality, drives home the point that Upanishads deal not with rituals but with the knowledge of the Absolute (Brahma Vidya) and the Upanishads give us an insight into the essential nature of the Self which is identical with the Absolute, the Brahman.-Adhyasa Bhashya

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 that is non-existence itself. This is called true Knowledge by the wise. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar