Sage Sri, Sankara said:~ Just as the snake is superimposed on the rope in the twilight, this world and body are superimposed on Brahman or the Supreme Self. If you get knowledge of the rope, the illusion of snake in the rope will vanish. Even so, if you get knowledge of Brahman or the Imperishable, the illusion of body and world will disappear. The cause produces the effect without undergoing any change in itself. Snake is only an appearance on the rope. The rope has not transformed itself into a snake, like milk into curd. Brahman is immutable and eternal. Therefore, It cannot change Itself into the world. Brahman becomes the cause of the world through Maya, which is Its inscrutable mysterious power. When you come to know that it is only a rope, your fear disappears. You do not run away from it. Even so, when you realise the eternal immutable Brahman, you are not affected by the phenomena or the names and forms of this world. When Avidya or the veil of ignorance is destroyed through knowledge of the Eternal, when Mithya Jnana or false knowledge is removed by real knowledge of the Imperishable or the living Reality, you shine in your true, pristine, divine splendour and glory
Sage Sri Sankara's Advaitic wisdom ~Without a Parallel.
Sage Sri Sankara's Advaita is lofty, sublime and unique. It is highly interesting, inspiring and elevating. No other wisdom can stand before it in boldness, depth and subtle thinking. Sankara’s wisdom is complete and perfect
Sage Sri Sankara's Advaita is lofty, sublime and unique. It is highly interesting, inspiring and elevating. No other wisdom can stand before it in boldness, depth and subtle thinking. Sankara’s wisdom is complete and perfect
Sage Sri Sankara was a mighty, marvellous genius. He was a profound thinker of the first rank. He was a sage of the highest realisation. His philosophy has brought solace, peace and illumination to countless persons in the East and the West.
The Western thinkers bow their heads at the lotus-feet of Sage Sri Sankara. His wisdom has soothed the sorrows and afflictions of the most forlorn persons and brought hope, joy, wisdom, perfection, freedom and calmness to many. His wisdom commands the admiration of the whole world.
As indicated in ISH Upanishads:~ By worshiping gods and goddesses you will go after death to the world of gods and goddesses. But will that help you? The time you spent there is wasted, because if you were not there you could have spent that time moving forward towards Self-knowledge, which is your goal. In the world of gods and goddesses you cannot do that, and thus, you go deeper and deeper into darkness.
It clearly indicates that:-If the human goal is to acquire Self-Knowledge then why one has to indulge in rituals and glorifying the conceptual Gods, Goddesses, and gurus to go into deeper darkness. Instead, spend that time moving forward towards Self-knowledge, which is one’s prime goal.
Since it is eternal and infinite, it comprises the only truth. The goal of Vedic religion, through the various yogas, is to realize that the consciousness (Atman) is actually nothing but Brahman.
The Vedic pantheon of gods is said, in the Vedas and Upanishads, to be only higher manifestations of Brahman. For this reason, "ekam sat" (all is one), and all is Brahman.
Thus, the goal is to realize Ataman (consciousness). If Atman (consciousness) is nothing but Brahman and by realizing Ataman (consciousness) as Brahman (ultimate truth) is truth realization or Self-Realization , then there is no need to follow religion, study scriptures or glorifying gods or gurus and follow the path of doubts and confusion by losing oneself in the labyrinths of philosophy, when there is an easier path. By mentally tracing the source of the mind from where it rises and subsides one becomes aware of the fallacy of the mind, which rises as waking or dream and subsides as deep sleep. The mind arises from consciousness and subsides as consciousness.
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad:~ The Self is indeed Brahman, but through ignorance, people identify it with intellect, mind, senses, passions, and the elements of earth, water, air, space, and fire. This is why the Self is said to consist of this and that and appears to be everything. -
Yajurveda says: - if one worships God :~
Translation 1.
They enter darkness, those who worship natural things (for example air, water, sun, moon, animals, fire, stone, etc.).
They sink deeper in darkness those who worship sambhuti. (Sambhuti means created things, for example, table, chair, idol etc.) - (Yajurveda 40:9)
Translation 2.
"Deep into the shade of blinding gloom fall asambhuti's worshippers. They sink to darkness deeper yet who on sambhuti are intent.("Yajurveda Samhita by Ralph T. H. Giffith pg 538)
Translation 3.
"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.)
So, Yajur Veda indicates that:-
They sink deeper in darkness those who worship sambhuti. (Sambhuti means created things, for example, table, chair, idol etc. - (Yajurved 40:9)
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.)
The Hindus believed in polytheism, believing all of their Gods to be separate individuals, which were introduced much later by the founders of Hinduism which contains diverse beliefs caste and creed.
When the religion of the Veda knows no idols then why so many Gods and goddesses with different form and name are being propagated as Vedic Gods. Why these conceptual gods are introduced when the Vedic concept of God is free from form and attributes.
Vedic religion was modified and reintroduced with new add-ons by Sage Sri, Sankara a great Advaita Master to uplift the Vedic culture and Santana Dharma, which were in ruins in the clutches of Buddhism. 18 Puranas are introduced in the name of Veda Vyasa not by Sri, Sankara but someone else because the Puranic gods are non-Vedic Gods. Worshipping of Such non-Vedic Gods are barred by Vedas.
As one goes deeper in the annals of the history, it indicates the fact that somewhere someone has added the Puranas in the name of Veda Vyasa the grand master of Vedas. It is impossible to accept and believe that Veda Vyasa authored and introduced Puranas which has all conceptual gods because:-
Genuine philosophy must be independent of religion, that in Sage Sri, Sankara himself the Saguna Brahman or a personal God is only a part of the phenomenal (if not illusory) world, and the Nirguna Brahman is the only reality and has nothing to do with religion.
The main hurdle in his way of thinking is the fact that Sage Sri, Sankara did not claim to be an original thinker at all, and his philosophy took the form of commentaries on the generality of scriptures, particularly the Upanishads and the Gita.
Sage Sri, Sankara was an independent thinker. His wisdom has not been taken seriously by many in India because most of the followers of Sage Sri, Sankara are religious orthodox.
It is that philosophy in India was for centuries more an exposition of the ancient classics than the independent thought of individual thinkers as in ancient Greece or modern Europe and America.
Sage Sri, Sankara and Sage Sri, Gaudapada are independent thinkers other schools of Indian philosophy are mere theologies. Advaitic philosophy is real philosophy. The dualistic philosophy cannot escape the charge of dogmatism.
Intelligence and thought, is not applicable to Advaitism intelligence and thought are based on false self (waking entity) within the false experience (waking). The whole Advaitic philosophy is an attempt to transcend the limitations of intelligence and thought.
The two points of view A Gnani is not cut off from the experience of practical life within the practical world because Advaitic truth is neither realism nor idealism; it is beyond both these.
