Sage Sankara said:~ The liberation will never come, even after a hundred aeons, without realizing the Oneness.+

Sage Sankara said:~ The liberation will never come, even after a hundred aeons, without realizing the Oneness.

In the pursuit of truth discussion of the unimportant subject matter is a great hindrance. Personal attacks and perverted arguments are a hindrance to realizing the truth beyond form, time, and space.

The path of truth is the path of verification. Nothing has to be accepted as truth without verification. Agreeing to disagree causes unnecessary friction, everyone has a point of view and everyone must respect others' views and wisdom just to maintain harmony irregardless of whether the point made was acceptable or not.

There are millions in search of truth, but one in million will be able to grasp it. I am just highlighting the obstacle in the pursuit of truth.  Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is not based on any teaching or teacher. The pursuit of truth is the pursuit of verification not the pursuit of an argument.   Intellectual discussion is a great hindrance to the pursuit of truth.

The path of wisdom is an inner path. The inner path is a mental path.   Without stepping out of the boundary of form, time, and space, it is impossible to assimilate Advaitic truth. The Advaitic truth is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.

This path of wisdom is soulcentric, therefore,  it is very difficult to tread this path from the egocentric perspective.

Even the yogis and saints have not come to understand the state of the Soul, the Self. Ignorance is the cause of the ‘I’. The ‘I’ is present in the form of the mind. The mind is present in the form of the universe. The universe appears as waking or a dream (duality) and disappears as deep sleep (non-duality).   

Sage Sankara says in the commentary in Vedanta sutra that 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, something which is detrimental to our spiritual progress.   

Seekers of truth should not believe blindly in Advaitic orthodoxy without verifying all the facts from every angle. One has to reflect through reasoning over and over again without getting tired of the process.

Sage Gaudapada:~  he was the first historic Sage to give a rational exposition of Advaita. He says that whatever is seen, whether external or internal, whether by ordinary persons or yogis, is unreal.

"Select Works of  Sage Sankara" also his commentary on Brihad Upanishads: "Though I wear these robes of a Sanyasin, it is only for the sake of bread."

Sage Sankara's commentary to Brahma Sutras (Chap.3.4.50) shows that the Gnani "should pass through life", not run away from life, and should take a middle course between seeking worldly honor and worldly abasement. 

Sage Sankara varied his practical advice and doctrinal teaching according to the people he was amongst. He never advised them to give up 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.  Sage Sankara was extremely precise and careful in his choice of words. 

According to Advaita Vedanta, the Veda addresses itself to two kinds of audiences - the ordinary ones who desire the transitory heaven and other pleasures obtained as a result of ritual sacrifices, and the more advanced seeker who seeks to know Brahman. Thus, the Purva mimam. sa, with its emphasis on the karma kanda of the Vedas, is meant for the first audience, to help lead its followers along the way. However, the Vedanta, with its emphasis on the jnana kanda, is meant for those who wish to go beyond such transient pleasures.

Sage Sankara gave religious ritual and dogmatic instruction to the mass, but pure philosophy only to the few who could rise to it. Hence, the interpretation of his writings by commentators is often confusing because they mix up the two viewpoints. Thus, they may assert that ritual is a means of realizing Brahman, which is absurd. 

Sage Sankara believed that those of superior intelligence, have no need of this idea of divine causality, and can, therefore, dispense with Sruti,  and arrive at the truth of Non-Dualism by pure reason. 

Logic and inference can be used elsewhere but not in pursuit of truth. Logic is useful only in practical life within the practical world. Logic is based on the ego (form) whereas the ultimate truth is based on the Soul (formless).

Sage Sankara gave out what was of most use to the greatest number of people. Therefore, in the commentaries on the Upanishads, such as the famous Manduka Upanishad, he gave the highest non-dual message of the identity of Atman and Brahman, revitalizing the philosophy and practice of Advaita, while in the commentaries on the Brahmasūtra he gave lesser teaching, positing both higher and lower Maya and higher and lower Brahman (Ishvara) to explain creation for those of lesser intellects until they were ready for the highest truth.

Ignorance is the greatest obstacle in the pursuit of truth.  Any type of experience is the product of ignorance. Wherever there is an experience there is duality. Wherever there is duality there is bound to be a falsehood. 

All our experiences of birth, life, death and the world are merely an illusion created out of consciousness. Consciousness (Soul or Atman) alone is real all else is a falsehood.    

The dream ego, dream body, and the dream world are a reality within the dream but the dream is considered a falsehood when waking takes place. Similarly, the waking ego, waking body, and waking world are a reality within the waking experience but the waking experience also becomes falsehood when Advaitic wisdom dawns.

Advaitic Wisdom dawns when the waking entity realizes it itself is not the self in the midst of the waking experience.  

Waking experience is a state of ignorance. In the state of ignorance, the Soul, the 'Self' remains, experiencing illusion as a reality.  Till illusion remains a reality, he will remain ignorant of the fact that the cycle of birth, life, and death is merely an illusion. 

It is not possible for one to accept the fact that the world is an illusion, till he becomes aware of the fact that, the Self is neither the waking entity nor the Self is dream entity but the Self the formless Soul or consciousness, which is substance and witness of the three states.  

Those who believe the waking entity as the Self, and refuse to accept the Soul as the true Self and they think by getting rid of the ego or by surrendering to their guru is the means to self-realization. 

The seeker has to become aware of the existence of the formless witness apart from the three states. The formless witness is the Soul, the Self, which witnesses the coming and going of the three states.

The ego, body, and the world appear together and they disappear together.   The ego, body, and the world are one in essence. That essence is consciousness.

The waking entity is the false self within the false experience whereas the Self is birthless and deathless because the Self is a formless, timeless, and spaceless existence. 

Surrendering with the false self within the false experience is bound to false surrender. The surrendering is a religious fable meant for the ignorant people who are stuck with the reality of the illusory world (waking).

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 not-Self.:~Santthosh Kumaar