The seeker of truth must know the difference between the ordinary concept of God and the truth about God.+

The seeker of truth must know the difference between the ordinary concept of God and the truth about God.

Religious people believe the stories of Jesus, who raised the dead,d and Krishna, who picked a mountain, as reality, but Jesus, who raised the dead, and Krishna, who picked a mountain, are within the dualistic illusion. Whatever belongs to dualistic illusion is bound to be an illusion.

All the mythological gods' existence is a myth. Such Gods can exist only within the dualistic illusion. Thus, the existence of such Gods is illusory.

Mythological Gods and Goddesses are based on the belief. The belief is not God. The belief implies duality. From the ultimate standpoint, the duality is merely an illusion. Thus, whatever one sees, knows, believes, and experiences within the dualistic illusion is bound to be an illusion.

Mythological stories are a myth. Whatever is based on myth is merely a superstition. Mythology was introduced in the past for the ignorant masses. It has to be discarded as one progresses in one's spiritual advancement.

Swami Vivekananda: ~ “This bending the knee to superstitions, this selling yourself to your own mind does not befit you, the SoulThehe elf is infinite, deathless, and birthless. Because the Self is infinite Spirit, it does not befit you to be a slave. ... Arise! Awake! Stand up and fight! Die if you must. There is nno oneto help you. SThe selfis the entire world. Who can help you?”

Mythology breeds superstition, blind belief, nd senseless rituals, nd mois st irrational and gives them dia vine outlook.

Swami Vivekananda: ~ “If superstition enters, the brain is gone. Superstition is our great enemy, but bigotry is worse.”

Mythological contains stories of people with 10 with seven heads, etc., which are fables, yet are taken seriously by pundits. All these stories are a reality within the dualistic illusion. The waking experience is a dualistic illusion. Thus, whatever belongs to the dualistic illusion is bound to be a falsehood. In reality, there is no duality because there is only Oneness.

That the ancient sages had miraculous occult power and books relate stories of their feats, and that these were fairy tales for children, women, nd those whose minds had not developed.

When ‘Self’ is not ‘you’, then whatever you have seen, known, believed, and experienced as reality is bound to be an illusion. Thus, Self-realization is necessary to realize that the world in which you exist is merely an illusion.

If the present world in which you exist is merely an illusion, then whatever you believe to be real in the world in which you exist is bound to be an illusion.

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 that 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. 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 ‘Self’. In reality, there are no dualities, no differentiation. Only Atman exists.

The Vedas and Upanishads confirm that the Soul, the Self, is present in the form of the Spirit or consciousness.

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

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

The Bible says: ~ “God is a Spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24)”,.he Spirit is the root element of the universe. The Spirit is present in the form of the Soul, the 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.

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 t, here is a clear-cut idea of what not to worship as God in place of the real God. Thus, it proves onfrom aedic perspective that the Puranic Gods are not Vedic Gods.

One must remember that for all periods the Vedas are the final goal and authority, and if the Puranas differ in any respect from the Vedas, then the Puranas isareo be rejected without mercy.

Vedas says never accept another God in place of the Atma, nor worship other than the Atman.

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. : ~ Santthosh Kumaarr

You cannot impart Sage Sankara’s Advaitic wisdom to anyone incapable of grasping the truth that the universe is an illusion. +

The philosophers and modern thinkers of the world cannot get over their tallest hurdle, not because they cannot see that they are part of the illusory universe, but because they are so strongly attached to the reality of the illusory universe in which they exist that they modify or fit their theories to please this attachment. In short, they refuse to give up the illusory universe in which they exist.

Only those who think body and world are real, follow yoga and mysticism, which is the middling class of intelligence. Those who grasp that they are mental constructions belong to the highest grade of intellect. 

Desires, attachments, and passions are regarded as handicaps to the path only because they prevent one from accepting the truth that the universe (matter) is an illusion. Naturally, one will say "he likes his villa because it is luxurious and very comfortable. He refuses to regard it as merely an illusion," if he is so passionately attached to its reality. They do not necessarily mean specific desires for wealth, women, etc. 

You cannot impart Sage Sankara’s Advaitic wisdom to anyone incapable of grasping the truth that the universe is an illusion. 

The Advaitic wisdom of Sage Sankara is verified truth. That is why Sage Sankara did not impart Advaitic wisdom to everyone." 

Unless one can eliminate the illusory universe in which he exists, it is no good imparting the Advaitic wisdom to him. 

It is knowing that is necessary for the existence of a thing; the objects are not different from the subject because objects are merely an illusion created out of the subject.:~ Santthosh Kumaar 

Sage Sankara’s wisdom reveals Atman is the only one ultimate reality or Brahman.+

Advaita means the Soul, the Self, which is present in the form of consciousness. The Soul is Advaita, the one without the second.

Sage Sankara’s wisdom reveals: ~ Atman is the only one ultimate reality or Brahman.

Advaita means the Soul, the innermost Self, which is second to none. The Soul, which is present in the form of the Spirit or consciousness, is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth. Advaita is the nature of God, the Self. Advaita is God. Advaita is the fullness of consciousness.

Yajurveda – Chapter 32:~ God Supreme or Supreme Spirit.

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

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

Sage Sankara’s wisdom is very much in tune with the essence of the Vedas and Upanishads

The Soul, the Self, is the present in the form of the Spirit or the consciousness.

Sage Sankara says: ~ there is no need to study the Scriptures to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman.

~ then why indulge in studying the scriptures?

Sage Sankara says: ~ there is no need to study philosophy, to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman

~ Then why indulge in studying philosophy?

Sage Sankara says: ~ there is no need to indulge in rituals, to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman

~then why indulge in rituals?

Sage Sankara says: ~ there is no need to indulge in yoga, to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman

~then why indulge in yoga?

Sage Sankara says the transparent Truth of the Self, which is hidden by the illusion, is to be attained through the instructions of a knower of Brahman (Gnani)

~ then why sticka Guru who is not a Gnani.

Sage Sankara says: ~ “The exercise in discrimination between real and unreal and renunciation of the false leads to truth realization.

Atman is Brahman. The Atman, the innermost Self, is non-dual because there is no second thing exist other than the Atman. Atman is present in the form of consciousness. Consciousness is the only true reality, and everything else, which appears as form, time, and space are mere illusion.

There is nothing exist before consciousness. The ‘I’ ceases to exist without consciousness. The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, is the ultimate truth or Brahman.

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

The ‘I’ hides the truth of the whole.

The Bhagavad Gita says: ~ 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 that 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.

Consciousness is ever-present. Without consciousness, the world in which you exist ceases to exist. Consciousness is Self-evident. It is not established by extraneous proofs. It is not possible to deny consciousness because it is the very essence of the one who denies it. Consciousness is the basis of all kinds of knowledge, presuppositions, and proofs. Consciousness is everything. Thus, consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman. : ~Santthosh Kumaar

Advaita is the Soul itself. Advaita is the ultimate truth. Advaita is Brahman. Advaita is God itself.+

Advaita is not a religion or a sect. Advaita is not philosophy. Advaita is not yoga. Advaita is the nature of the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. Advaita is the Soul itself. Advaita is the ultimate truth. Advaita is Brahman. Advaita is God itself.

That is why Sage Sankara says:~ “VC- v6~ 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.

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’s Advaitic wisdom is Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. Self-knowledge, or Brahma Gnana, or Atma Gnana, is knowledge of the Spirit or God.

Sage Sankara means Advaita, and Advaita means Sage Sri Sankara. If the seeker is seeking truth, nothing but the truth, then he has to drop all theistic Advaita and different versions of Advaita created by eastern and western masters without mercy, to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. Such teaching, instead of helping the seeker, blocks them from realizing the truth, hidden by the ‘I’.

Sage Sankara alone is Brahma Gnani; humanity has to bow with gratitude to the great Sage.

People who go round and round in search of the truth still have to walk around the mountains and face other difficulties. The seekers who have come to the conclusion that the outer path is inadequate and useless to find the truth that they are seeking will take up the Atmic path.

Atmic path is the inner path or mental path. The Atmic path takes the seeker straight to the source and is not obstructed by any obstacles on the way. One also reaches the destination faster if one is sincere and serious in one's quest for truth.

Upanishad says:~ “The human goal is to acquire Self-Knowledge, and they indicate that belief in the personal Gods, yoga scriptures, worship, and rituals are not the means to Self –Knowledge, then why should anyone indulge in it. The religion, concept of individualized god and scriptures are the greatest obstacles to Self-realization because they are based on the false Self. The seeker of truth has to search for the ultimate truth without losing himself in the labyrinths of philosophy, through deeper Self-search, and assimilate and realize it.

Sage Sankara: ~ VC Neither sacred baths nor any amount of charity nor even Hundreds of pranayamas* can give us the knowledge about our own Self. The firm realization of the nature of the Self is seen to proceed from inquiry along the lines of the salutary advice of the wise. (13)

All accumulated knowledge is of no use in the path of wisdom. Without realizing “What is truth, it is impossible to realize “What is untruth?” Without realizing what truth is and what is the untruth, it is impossible to assimilate the Self –Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. The seeker must know with full and firm conviction what truth is.

That is why Bhagavan Buddha said: ~ “Believe nothing because a wise man said it, Believe nothing because it is generally held. Believe nothing because it is written. Believe nothing because it is said to be divine. Believe nothing because someone else said it. But believe only what you yourself judge to be true.

The wisdom consists in knowing the truth, that everything (mind or physical existence) is the consciousness. The freedom (ultimate truth) is always there, yet one does not know it. But to those whose reason is turned away from physicality and who have attained the serenity of the Soul or the consciousness, the innermost Self, are quite near to realizing the ultimate truth or Brahman.

Yoga Vasistha says: ~ “Self-knowledge or knowledge of truth is not had by resorting to a Guru (preceptor) nor by the study of scripture, nor by good works: it is attained only by means of inquiry inspired by the company of wise (Gnani). One’s inner light alone is the means, naught else. When this inner light is kept alive, it is not affected by the darkness of inertia.

Deeper thinking and Soulcentric reasoning help the seeker to unfold the truth that is hidden within form, time, and space.

Bhagavan Buddha: ~ “There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth: not going all the way... and not starting: ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Sage Sankara founded his Advaitic Wisdom either on reason independent of Sruti or on Sruti confirmed by reason.+

Sage Sankara founded his Advaitic Wisdom either on reason independent of Sruti or on Sruti confirmed by reason."

Sage Sankara taught that it was only through direct knowledge of non-duality that one could be enlightened.

Sage Sankara’s opponents accused him of teaching Buddhism in the garb of Hinduism because his non-dualistic ideal was a bit radical to contemporary Hindu philosophy. 

However, it may be noted that while the Later Buddhists arrived at a changeless, deathless, absolute truth after their insightful understanding of the unreality of samsara, historically, Vedantins never liked this idea.

Although Advaita also proposes the theory of Maya, explaining the universe as a "trick of a magician", Sage Sankara and his followers see this as a consequence of their basic premise that Atman is real. Their idea of Maya emerges from their belief in the reality of Atman, rather than the other way around.

Sage Sankara was a peripatetic orthodox Hindu monk who traveled the length and breadth of India. The more enthusiastic followers of the Advaita tradition claim that he was chiefly responsible for "driving the Buddhists away". Historically, the decline of Buddhism in India is known to have taken place long after Sage Sankara or even Kumarila Bhatta (who, according to a legend, had "driven the Buddhists away" by defeating them in debates), sometime before the Muslim invasion into Afghanistan (earlier Gandhara).

Although today's followers of Advaita believe Sage Sankara argued against Buddhists in person, a historical source, the Madhaviya Shankara Vijayam, indicates that Sage Sankara sought debates with Mimamsa, Samkhya, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, and Yoga scholars as keenly as with any Buddhists. In fact, his arguments against the Buddhists are quite mild in the Upanishad Bhashyas, while they border on the acrimonious in the Brahma Sutra Bhashya.

The Vishistadvaita and Dvaita schools believe in an ultimately attributed Atman. They differ passionately with Advaita, and believe that his attriubuteless Atman is not different from the Buddhist Sunyata (wholeness or zeroness) — much to the dismay of the Advaita school. A careful study of the Buddhist Sunyata will show that it is in some ways metaphysically similar to Atman. Whether Sage Sankara agrees with the Buddhists is not very clear from his commentaries on the Upanishads. His arguments against Buddhism in the Brahma Sutra Bhashyas are more a representation of Vedantic traditional debate with Buddhists than a true representation of his own individual belief. 

Sage Sankara's commentary on the Manduka Upanishad, II, 1: This [the unreality of duality] is borne out by the Srutis ... But it is possible also to show the unreality of the objective world even from pure reasoning, and this second chapter is undertaken for that purpose.

Sage Sankara himself had often said that his philosophy was based on Sruti, 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, nd Revelation is indispensable to prove the latter. He believed that those of superior intelligence have no need for this idea of divine causality, nd can, therefore, dispense with Sruti and arrive at the truth of Non-Dualism by pure reason. :~Santthosh Kumaar

Manduka Upanishad:~Atman is the highest Reality and its opposite: Note the word "and". Reality and illusion together make Brahman: nothing can be left out. +

Manduka Upanishad:~Atman is the highest Reality and its opposite: Note the word "and". Reality and illusion together make Brahman: nothing can be left out. Page 51.

Brahman must be realized in the waking state when all objects are present to consciousness; otherwise, it is nonsense. Page 65: v.10.

"Sleep does not exist in Turiya”: This emphatically disproves the mystic use of sleep as an analogy for Brahman. Page 69.

This means that objects do not disappear; they are there, and yet they are non-dual. Disillusionment is not the same as appearance. Page 74. v. 17:

The essential message of Manduka is that the whole world, whatever is seen, is only imagined. Points out that even though it is harder for them, women can attain Brahman just as men. Page 351

"From their notion": Everybody has their own imagination about facts and starts from that, instead of discarding their personal idea and looking at the facts. Page 333. V. 83:

"Soundless and of infinite sounds"; means both the waking and sleep worlds must be known, and both objects and non-objects must be understood before the truth of Brahman is realized. Page 96. v. 29:

Manduka shows how one opinion may be used to contradict another so that both may be thrown away. Opinions are not for philosophy; they are merely thoughts; they want the truth.

In deep sleep and anesthesia, you have non-duality but no Gnana. Therefore, there must be discrimination along with non-duality. Otherwise, sleeping dogs would be Gnanis. ~ (P.219)

Existence means existence in the sense of the Drik. When you reduce everything to consciousness, Drik, Gnana, or even Mind, giving up all imagination in truth, it is unborn. You see a man's body come and go, but that is not the same as seeing him come and go, which you can never do. P.300. V. 45.

Sage Goudpada's 3rd chapter is devoted to proving the existence of Atman to distinguish it from the changeable objects in this world, but in the final 4th chapter, P.33, verse 83, he discards that position and rejects even the idea of Atmanic existence. He then declares we may assert nothing about it. Not even existence or nonexistence, i.e., silence alone, is demanded by the truth. :~ Santthosh Kumaar

Bhagavan Buddha imparted nondualistic wisdom, whereas Buddhism encompasses a multitude of teachings. +

Bhagavan Buddha imparted nondualistic wisdom, whereas Buddhism encompasses a multitude of teachings. Bhagavan Buddha’s wisdom was lost because it was buried under the diverse teachings of Buddhism.

Buddhism has not proved the truth of Nonduality, whereas Bhagavan Buddha pointed out the unreality of the world, and he told people they were foolish to cling to it. But he stopped there. He came nearest to Advaita in speech, but not to Advaita fully.

Buddhism does not prove the truth of nonduality because they do not believe in the existence of the Soul. Without the existence of the Soul, talking of nonduality is like building a castle in the air.

Sage Sankara disagrees with Buddhists who say there is nothing - a nonentity. Sage Sankara believes there is some reality, even though things are not what they appear to be. If one knows the truth, they will know what to do to find inspiration for action. The seeker of truth‘s subject is to know what it is that is Real.

Buddhism says: all things are illusory and nothing exists. However, Advaita avers that it is not so. It says that the universe, of course, is illusory, but there is Brahman (consciousness) that exists, forming the very substratum of all things (illusion or universe).

Advaitic Sages disagree with Buddhists only on the ultimate question, but they agree with their idealism fully. ~Santthosh Kumaar