Without Sage, Sri, Sankara there is no Advaita***

Without Sage, Sri, Sankara there is no Advaita (non-duality).  Since it was mixed up with orthodoxy there is a lot of confusion.  Sage Sri, Sankara’s quotes (selected verified) are quoted in my blogs and postings    to show what Sage Sri, Sankara meant and ‘what is blocking the seekers from realizing the ultimate truth or Brahman. 

There are so many non-dualistic masters of the east and also from the west   who expound Advaitic or non-dualistic knowledge, but none of them is helpful to reach the ultimate end of understanding.

Sage Sri, Sankara say: Keep the scriptures for children but throw them on the fire for wise seekers.

In Brahma Sutras Sage Sri, Sankara takes for granted, assumes that a world was created: He there mixes dogmatic theology with philosophy.

That God created the world is an absolute lie; nevertheless you will find Sage Sri, Sankara (in his commentary on Vedanta Sutras) clearly says this! He has to adapt his teachings to his audience, reserving the highest for philosophical minds.

The text of Brahma Sutras based on religion, dogmatism, but in the commentary Sage Sri, Sankara cleverly introduced some philosophy. If it objected that, a number of Upanishads are equally dogmatic because they also begin by assuming Brahman, but a few Upanishads do not, but prove Brahman at the end of a train of proof.

The causality and creation, but these are for religious people only.  Religion is only for those who are unable to understand truth beyond the form, time and space. Religion is not final. It only gives satisfaction to the populace. The self - knowledge is for the whole humanity to free them from experiencing the birth, life, death and the world as reality.

People of small intelligence follow religion and believe that God created the world. However, how do they know that He did so? When a pot is created, one can see both pot and its maker, but not in the case of the world.

Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana meant only for those who have intense urge, and courage to accept the truth with humility and reject the untruth. Since people start comparing with their scriptural knowledge, it becomes impossible to assimilate and realize the Advaitic truth.   Therefore, there is no need to convince anyone other than our ownselves to get a firm conviction. 

Sage Sri, Sankara says:~ The scriptures dealing with rituals, the rewards are therefore addressed to an ignorant person***

Sage Sri, Sankara says:~ The scriptures dealing with rituals, rewards are therefore addressed to an ignorant person. Thus, the rituals are meant for ignorant people.

Sage Sri, Sankara: ~ "Though I wear these robes of a Sanyasin, it is only for the sake of bread."

~ This shows he was wearing the religious robe only for the sake of bread." Thus, it means  those who are wearing  the religious robe of the sake of bread.

All the rituals based on the false belief of Gods will not yield any fruits and they are meant for the ignorant populace who are unable to grasp the God beyond the form, time and space.

One of Sage Sri, Sankara’s missions was to wean people away from a ritualistic approach advocated by Mimamsakas and to project wisdom (jnana) as the means of liberation in the light of Upanishad teachings.

Sage Sri, Sankara criticized severely the ritualistic attitude and those who advocated such practices. However, the orthodox texts that combined rituals with wisdom (jnana_karma_samucchaya) more in favor of the Mimamsaka position came into vogue, projecting Sage Sri, Sankara as the rallying force of the doctrine.

That is why Adhyasa Bhashya of Sage Sri, 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. In addition, 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 a 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 of Sage Sri, 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 of Sage Sri, Sankara:~ (11.2) In short, person who engages in rituals with the notion “I am an agent, doer, thinker”, according to Sage Sri, Sankara, is ignorant, as his behaviour 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 of Sage Sri, Sankara: ~ (12) Sage Sri, 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.

No conceptual God can exist, apart from the consciousness.  People are not aware of the fact that, there is no individual God can exist, apart from Soul, which is in the form of the consciousness. Thus the Soul or   the consciousness is the innermost Self.   If there is no consciousness, then there is no body, no ego, no universe, no religion and no conceptual God. 

Fools dwelling in darkness, but thinking they wise and erudite, go round and round, by various tortuous paths***

Upanishads:~ Fools dwelling in darkness, but thinking they wise and erudite, go round and round, by various tortuous paths, like the blind led by the blind. (Upanishads Nikilanada - Ch II-5 P-14)

The seeker has to overcome all the obstacles in pursuit of truth on his own.  They are so many scholars who mastered philosophy.  It is impossible to acquire Self-knowledge by studying Vedas and theoretical philosophy. Because their preaching is based on spirit and practices is based on ego (you).

Katha Upanishad: ~ This Atman cannot be attained by the study of the Vedas, or by intelligence, or by much hearing of sacred books. It is attained by him alone whom It chooses. To such a one Atman reveals Its own form. (Ch-II -23-P-20)

For the same reason Sage Sri, Raman Maharishi said fortunate are the one who do not lose themselves in the labyrinths of philosophy. Bhagwan says: Take Vedanta, for instance: it speaks of 15 pranas the names and functions of it   which the student is asked to commit memory. Will it not be sufficient if he thought only one prana does the whole work of maintaining the body? Again the antakaran is said to think, to desire, to will, to reason etc. Why all these details? Has anyone seen antakarana, or all these pranas? Do they really exist? They are conceptual divisions invented by teachers of philosophy by their excessive analysis. Where do all these concepts end? Why should confusion 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 arise. (GURU RAMANA .By S.S Cohen -vii Danger of philosophy-Page -58-59)

It is very difficult to talk to people about ultimate truth or Brahman because everyone thinks he knows the ultimate truth or Brahman. This- I know business is dangerous.  And whatever his reached conclusion is secondhand stuff.  Therefore, accepting accumulated knowledge without verification will lead the seekers to hallucinated realization based on the ego.  One may have some flashes of truth when someone tries to indicate it through fewer words. But it takes nearer to the  truth,  not  the realization of truth. 

Upanishad's say :~ "He who thinks he knows, does not know." This means that to know anything implies a second, an object of knowledge, hence duality, i.e. no Gnana.

Tripura Rahasya, 18: 89:~ Second-hand knowledge of the Self-gathered from books or Gurus can never emancipate a man until its truth is rightly investigated and applied; only direct realization will do that. Realise yourself, turning the mind inward.

The pursuit of truth is a mental (inner) journey. Deeper Self-search makes one aware of ‘what truth’ is and ‘what is untruth’ and the subconscious will be able to reject the untruth after knowing, what is Truth. Whatever prevails after rejecting the untruth is the ultimate truth or Brahman.