End of the Vedas = Veda –antha).+

In Vedanta, it is said  Lord teaches us in the Gita, and in it he lashes out against the karmakanda. It is generally believed that the Buddha and Mahavira were the first to attack the Vedas.

It is not so. Lord Krishna himself spoke against them long before these two religious leaders. At one place in the Gita, he says to Arjuna: "The Vedas are associated with the three qualities of sattva, rajas, and tamas.

 You must transcend these three qualities. Full of desire, they (the practitioners of Vedic rituals) long for paradise and keep thinking of pleasures and material prosperity. They are born again and again and their minds are never fixed in samadhi, these men clinging to Vedic rituals. 

“In another passage Krishna says: "Not by the Vedas is Self to be realized, nor by sacrifices nor by many studies. . . . "

One has to go beyond Vedas means to go beyond religion. Going beyond religion means, going beyond the belief in the religious idea of God.

Going beyond the Vedas, religion and the belief in religious Gods means, going beyond the illusion, that is the end of Vedas (Veda –antha).

When one goes into the annals of history it looks like the true Advaita expounded by Sage Sankara and Sage Goudpada was lost or mutilated by the orthodox. The wisdom of Advaitic wisdom is nothing to do with orthodox preaching and practice because Advaitic orthodoxy is dogmatism. If you are the Advaitic orthodoxy has to be discarded if one wants to acquire ‘Self’-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

Sage Sankara and Sage Goudpada 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.

Sage Sankara was an independent thinker. His wisdom has not been taken seriously by many in India because most of the followers of Sage Sankara are religious orthodoxy.

Yoga Vasistha:~ "Teachers, interpretations of sacred texts, the force of religious merit--none of these lead to the realization of that Ultimate Truth which is revealed in the clear reflection of the heart, engendered from contact with the good."

Anybody can write a commentary on the Upanishads and other great philosophic texts, all they need to do to pour out words. Some westerners along with some orthodox pundits translated and published books. The influence of Sage Sankara’s wisdom is nothing to do with orthodox belief systems.

The seeker must do his homework, and verify the validity of all the claims, rather than blindly believe, what orthodox pundits expound as knowledge, till; the uncontradicted truth is obtained.

Self- Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is only being true knowledge not the absence of duality.  ’Self’ -Knowledge cannot destroy the world, but it eliminates ignorance and exposes the unreal nature of the mind or the universe. 

Sage Sankara: - 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:~  VC- 61. For one who has been bitten by the serpent of Ignorance, the only remedy is the knowledge of Brahman. Of what avail are the Vedas and (other) Scriptures, Mantras (sacred formulae), and medicines to such a one?

How does one get knowledge? What is meant for knowledge? What is true knowledge? –All this which must be dealt with by the seeker of truth to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman.

Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana does not destroy the world, but it exposes the unreal nature of the world which appears as waking and is experienced as reality by the person within the waking.  In the same way, the unreality of the dream was exposed when the waking took place. 

Remember:~ 

Sage Sankara strongly advocated the study of Upanishads, and at the same time cautioned that the study of Upanishads alone would not lead to moksha. In matters such as spiritual attainment, one’s own realization was the sole authority and it cannot be disputed

Sage Sankara also said the study of Upanishad was neither indispensable nor a necessary prerequisite for attaining the human goal, the moksha.

Sage Sankara pointed out; even those who were outside the Upanishad fold were as eligible to moksha as those within the fold were. He declared that all beings are Brahman, and therefore the question of discrimination did not arise. All that one was required to do was to get rid of ignorance (Avidya or duality).

That is why Sage Sankara says: ~ VC 56. Neither by Yoga, nor by Sankhya, nor by good work, nor by learning, but by the realization of one's identity with Brahman is Liberation possible, and by no other means.

58. Loud speech consisting of a shower of words, the skill in expounding the Scriptures, and likewise erudition - these merely bring on a little personal enjoyment to the scholar but are no good for Liberation.

59. The study of the Scriptures is useless so long as the highest Truth is unknown, and it is equally useless when the highest Truth has already been known.

60. The Scriptures consisting of many words are a dense forest that merely causes the mind to ramble. Hence, men of wisdom should earnestly set about knowing the true nature of the Self.

61. For one who has been bitten by the serpent of Ignorance, the only remedy is the knowledge of Brahman. Of what avail are the Vedas and (other) Scriptures, Mantras (sacred formulae), and medicines to such a one?

62. A disease does not leave off if one simply utters the name of the medicine, without taking it; (similarly) without direct realization one cannot be liberated by the mere utterance of the word Brahman.

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.

64. Without killing one’s enemies, and possessing oneself of the splendor of the entire surrounding region, one cannot claim to be an emperor by merely saying, ‘I am an emperor’.

65. As a treasure hidden underground requires (for its extraction) competent instruction, excavation, the removal of stones and other such things lying above it, and (finally) grasping, but never comes out by being (merely) called out by name, so the transparent Truth of the Self, which is hidden by Maya and its effects, is to be attained through the instructions of a knower of Brahman, followed by reflection, meditation and so forth, but not through perverted arguments.

66. Therefore, the wise should, as in the case of disease and the like, personally strive by all the means in their power to be free from the bondage of repeated births and deaths.

Then there is no need for the scriptures, religion, and idea of God. One has to be more rational to realize the Advaitic truth, which is the ultimate truth or scientific truth.:~Santthosh Kumaar