"Ekam sat" (all is one), and all is Brahman.+

God cannot be brought down to the domain of duality. There is only one being in reality, and it is the Soul, the innermost self.  The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. The soul, which is present in the form of consciousness pervades everything and everywhere in all three states. Thus, the soul or consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman. Brahman is God in truth. 

When one realizes the form, time and space are one in essence,  and that essence is consciousness,  then he realizes there is no second thing exist other than the consciousness. Thus,  everything is consciousness. Thus, consciousness is the ultimate truth. And the ultimate truth is God. 

The word Brahman means ultimate truth or reality which cannot be indicated by any word.  Brahman can be expressed through silence because it is beyond the experience form, time and space.  Therefore, the word Brahma in clearly stands for the essence of the three states, which is consciousness only. The final use of the pursuit of truth is to know that self is consciousness.

Sage Sankara opposed the Buddhists only, who misunderstood Bhagavan Buddha and became atheists. According to Sage Sankara meditation always means a critical analysis about the self to get salvation from the worldly tensions. Due to the eccentric ego of the then atheists, Sage Sankara did not go beyond this since the atheists will not accept God beyond themselves. This limitation is not due to limited knowledge of Sage Sankara but is due to the then-existing situation of the psychology of the surrounding society. Even Bhagavan Buddha kept silent about God because the society dealt by Him consisted of Purvamimamsakas, who were strong atheists. Bhagavan Buddha says that everything including the self is only relatively real (Sunya). This is correct because the self is a part of the universe, which is relatively real with respect to the absolute unimaginable God. Bhagavan Buddha stopped at this point because the atheists cannot realize the existence of unimaginable God indicated through His silence. 

The point of Buddha is that if God is non-existent, the entire creation including the Self is non-existent. Sage Sankara wanted to establish the existence of the Brahman. For this purpose, He made the Atman as the Brahman. He brought out the identity of self with the consciousness and made the Atman the Brahman. Since one will not negate the existence of his self, he will accept the existence of the Brahman, which is the Atman or soul, the innermost self. BothBhagavan Buddha and Sage Sankara kept silent about the absolute unimaginable God. The same philosophy was dealt with by them from different angles in different situations.

Sage  Sankara gave out what was of most use to the greatest number of people. In the commentaries on the Manduka  Upanishad, he gave the highest Advaitic message of the identity of Atman and Brahman, revitalizing the philosophy and practise of Advaita, while in the commentaries on the Brahmasūtra he gave a 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. 

In Vedas, God has been described as ~

v  Sakshi (Witness)

v  Chetan (conscious)

v  Nirguna (Without form and properties).

v  Nitya (eternal)

v  Shuddha (pure)

v  Buddha (omniscient)

v   Mukta (unattached).

The nature of the Atman (Soul) is:~

   

v  Witness

v  conscious

v  Without form and properties

v  eternal

v  pure

v omniscient

v  unattached

Thus, it refers to formless and attributeless God, which it the Atman (Soul), the Self.  It indicates clearly all the Gods with form and attributes are mere imagination based on the false self.  Thus Atman or Soul, the Self is God in truth.

The mind is present in the form of the universe.  The universe appears as waking or dream. From the ultimate standpoint, the universe is merely an illusion. Whatever the universe contains is a mere illusion.  

The whole illusion is created, sustained, and finally dissolves as consciousness; therefore, there is no second thing that exists other than consciousness. Thus consciousness pervades in everything and everywhere in all the three states. Hence, it is nondual.  Thus limiting the self to the waking entity or ego is the cause of ignorance.  And ignorance is the cause of duality. Duality is the cause of experiencing the illusion as a  reality.

Orthodoxy accepts the concept of god in many forms. Sages of truth declare the Atman is Brahman.  That is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman.  That is the ultimate truth is God.  And the ultimate truth itself is worthy of Godhood. 

Kena Upanishad (6) Chapter I:~  That which cannot be apprehended by the mind, but by which, they say, the mind is apprehended-That alone know as Brahman and not that which people here worship.

Kena Upanishad (7) Chapter I:~  That which cannot be perceived by the eye, but by which the eye is perceived-That alone know as Brahman and not that which people here worship.

Kena Upanishad (8) Chapter I:~  That which cannot be heard by the ear, but by which the hearing is perceived-That alone know as Brahman and not that which people here worship.

Kena Upanishad (9)- Chapter I:~ That which cannot be smelt by the breath, but by which the breath smells an object-That alone know as Brahman, and not that which people here worship.

Swami Vivekananda:~

The masses in India cry to sixty million gods and still die like dogs. Where are these gods?

Knowing this, stand up and fight! Not one step back that is the idea. ... Fight it out, whatever comes. Let the stars move from the sphere! Let the whole world stand against us! Death means only a change of garment. What of it? Thus, fight! You gain nothing by becoming cowards. ... Taking a step backward, you do not avoid any misfortune. You have cried to all the gods in the world. Has misery ceased? The masses in India cry to sixty million gods and still die like dogs. Where are these gods? ... The gods come to help you when you have succeeded. So what is the use? Die game. ... This bending the knee to superstitions, this selling yourself to your own mind does not befit you, my soul. You are infinite, deathless, birthless. Because you are the infinite spirit, it does not befit you to be a slave. ... Arise! Awake! Stand up and fight! Die if you must. There is none to help you. You are the entire world. Who can help you? ~ Swami Vivekananda  (Delivered In San Francisco, on May 28, 1900) -The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda/Volume 1/Lectures And Discourses/The Gita II

Brihadaranyaka-Upanishad:~TheSelf 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. ~ Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

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 into 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, and 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 was 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 forms and names are being propagated as Vedic gods. Why these conceptual gods are introduced when the Vedic concept of God is free from form and attributes.

Who introduced the concept of God with attributes and attributeless gods, when Yajur Veda says: ~ 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. Therefore, all these add-ons prove that the form and attribute-based concepts are introduced by some sages of the past with a new belief system and code of conduct in the name of Vedas. 

It clearly indicates that: -If the human goal is to acquire Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana then why one has to indulge in rituals and glorifying the conceptual gods and goddesses 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.

Kena Upanishad (1) Chapter II:~  If you think: "I know Brahman well," then surely you know but little of Its form; you know only Its form as conditioned by man or by the gods. Therefore Brahman, even now, is worthy of your inquiry.

Kena Upanishad (2) Chapter II:~  The disciple said: I think I know Brahman. The disciple said: I do not think I know It well, nor do I think I do not know It. He among us who knows the meaning of "Neither does I not know nor do I know, knows Brahman.

Kena Upanishad (3) Chapter II:~ He by whom Brahman is not known, knows It; he by whom It is known, knows It not. It is not known by those who know It; It is known by those who do not know It.

Kena Upanishad (4) Chapter II:~ Brahman is known when It is realized in every state of mind; for by such Knowledge one attains Immortality. By Atman, one obtains strength; by Knowledge, Immortality

Kena Upanishad (5) Chapter II:~ If a man knows Atman here, he then attains the true goal of life. If he does not know It here, great destruction awaits him. Having realized the Self in every being, the wise relinquish the world and become immortal

Thus, the goal is to realize the Atman (consciousness).  The Atman (consciousness) is nothing but Brahman. By realizing Atman (consciousness) as Brahman (ultimate truth) is truth realization or Self-Realization. 

There is no need to follow any religion or study the scriptures or glorify the Gods and the Gurus,  and follow the path of doubts and confusion by losing oneself in the labyrinths of philosophy in order to get self-realization, when the path of wisdom 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. The mind rises as the duality (universe or waking or dream) and subsides as the nonduality ( deep sleep).  The mind arises from consciousness and subsides as consciousness.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

Discrimination between the eternal and non- eternal is necessary in order to acquire Self- knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.+

Sage Sankara founded his Advaita Vedanta either on reason independent of Sruti or on Sruti confirmed by reason."   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 object 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—and Revelation is indispensable to prove the latter.  He believed that those of superior intelligence, have no need for this idea of divine causality, and can, therefore, dispense with Sruti and arrive at the truth of Non-Dualism by pure reason. 

Sage Sankara in debates with Buddhists and others who did not recognize the authority of the Vedas, had been obliged to prove the truth of Advaita by means of reason alone.  Mandukya Upanishad, a scripture which appealed to reason to the exclusion of Revelation. 

Upanishads represent the Dharmic ethos of the acceptance of multiple viewpoints of the same Supreme Brahman.

First Mundaka - Chapter 2 (8) - Fools, dwelling in darkness, but wise in their own conceit and puffed up with vain scholarship, wander about, being afflicted by many ills, like blind men led by the blind.

First Mundaka - Chapter 2 (9) - Children, immersed in ignorance in various ways, flatter themselves, saying: We have accomplished life's purpose. Because these performers of karma do not know the Truth owing to their attachment, they fall from heaven, misery-stricken, when the fruit of their work is exhausted.

First Mundaka - Chapter 2 (10) - Ignorant fools, regarding sacrifices and humanitarian works as the highest, do not know any higher good. Having enjoyed their reward on the heights of heaven, gained by good works, they enter again this world or a lower one.

First Mundaka - Chapter 2 (11) - But those wise men of tranquil minds who live in the forest on alms, practicing penances appropriate to their stations of life and contemplating such deities as Hiranyagarbha, depart, freed from impurities, by the Path of the Sun, to the place where that immortal Person dwells whose nature is imperishable.

First Mundaka - Chapter 2 (12) - Let a Brahmin, after having examined all these worlds that are gained by works, acquire freedom from desires: nothing that is eternal can be produced by what is not eternal. In order that he may understand that Eternal, let him, fuel in hand, approach a guru who is well versed in the Vedas and always devoted to Brahman.

--

Bhagavad Gita:~  Even if you are most sinful of all the sinners, you will cross all the sins by the raft of the knowledge (IV-36)

Self–knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is inexhaustible wealth. Other wealth disappears as one spends, but with the Self –knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana, the more one shares more he gains.

The Self is not the ‘I’.  ‘I’ is present in the form of the mind. The origin of the mind is the Soul. The mind is present in the form of the universe. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness.  The root of the universe is consciousness.

The origin of the mind is the soul. The Soul is the Self. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness.

The mind is in the form of the universe. The mind comes and goes as waking or dream.  The ego or physical entity does not become steady in one place and it is restless in its nature.

Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana cannot be surmised by merely reading the Vedas and Upanishads.

Urge to know the truth arises from the source. The source is the Soul. The mind and its substance and the source are one in essence.  The mind or the universe is the product of ignorance.   The true nature of the mind or universe can be recognized with the power of discrimination.

Discrimination between the eternal and non- eternal is necessary in order to acquire Self –knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. 

Dattatreya's Song of the Avadhut (6.25-26):~ There has never been any activity or rest; The one Purity is stainless and motionless, is It not? Truly, I'm the one supreme Self; How, then, should I worship? To whom should I bow? There is no distinction between "embodied" and "bodiless”; “The wrong action," "right action"--neither exists.

Truly, I'm the one supreme Self; How, then, should I worship? To whom should I bow?

Second Mundaka - Chapter 2 (7): ~  He who knows all and understands all, and to whom belongs all the glory in the world-, Atman, is placed in the space in the effulgent abode of Brahman. It assumes the forms of the mind and leads the body and the senses. It dwells in the body, inside the heart. By the knowledge of that which shines as the blissful and immortal Atman, the wise behold Him fully in all things.

Second Mundaka - Chapter 2 (8):~  The fetters of the heart are broken, all doubts are resolved, and all works cease to bear fruit when He is beheld who is both high and low.

Second Mundaka - Chapter 2 (9): ~  There the stainless and indivisible Brahman shines in the highest, golden sheath. It is pure; It is the Light of lights; It is That which they know who know the Self.

Second Mundaka - Chapter 2 (10): ~  The sun does not shine there, nor the moon and the stars, nor these lightning, not to speak of this fire. When He shines, everything shines after Him; by His light, everything is lighted.

Second Mundaka - Chapter 2 (11):~  That immortal Brahman alone is before, that Brahman is behind, that Brahman is to the right and left. Brahman alone pervades everything above and below; this universe is that Supreme Brahman alone.

The misinterpretation is because of Buddha himself. Most of the questions were answered only by silence leaving many to interpret as per their understanding. The enlightenment of Buddha and which again was indirectly accepted by  Sage  Gaudapada.

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

Non-causality is of the highest importance; that is why  Sage Goudapada puts it at the end of his book and devotes 100 slokas to it whereas the other subjects get less than 50 slokas.

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

Sage Sankara says in Mand.P.351 and also in Vivekachudamani, that even women can realize truth if they persist.

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

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 Mandukya, 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.

Only through Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana negation of duality is possible. The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, is the ultimate truth or Brahman. The consciousness is the cause of the origin, maintenance, and withdrawal of the universe is Advaita (i.e. non-dual), which means that the consciousness transcends all conceptions, positive and negative. Nothing positive can ever be imagined or said about it.  Consciousness is existence absolute, awareness absolute.  The existence, absolute means that consciousness is not unreal or non-existent. And it is not unconsciousness.  Nothing positive can be stated about consciousness.

Remember:~ 

The nature of the  Soul, the Self is non-dualistic silence. Nondualistic silence is like a deep sleep state.  The silence indicates that the nature of the Soul, the Self is inexplicable, indescribable and unimaginable.  The Soul, the Self is the one without a second. There is not the least shadow of multiplicity in the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness."

A   person, seeing a rope in dim light, mistakes it for a snake. He is as much frightened as he would have been if there had been a real snake there.  The snake is said to have ‘an illusory reality.  The illusory snake is described as a superimposition on the rope. The snake is not real, because, it is found on examination with a light that it never existed there. At the same time, it was experienced as reality till ignorance prevailed. Similarly, this waking experience experienced as reality due to ignorance. 

When wisdom dawns then the unreal nature of the waking experience is exposed.  At the dawn of Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana, the waking experience has no existence apart from consciousness. Consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman. 

The waking experience is therefore said to be superimposed on consciousness the same way as the dream is superimposed on consciousness.  The waking experience is a practical reality because it is real until the attainment of Self-realization.  Consciousness alone has absolute reality; because it is absolutely changeless because it is formless.      

Remember:~

Maya and Brahman, Jagat (world) and Ishvara (creator), Guru (teacher) and Shishya (disciple), the holy rituals, traditions, the three worlds, the three bodies and so forth are a reality within the illusory duality.  This seeming duality is a hypothesis, not to establish the duality, but to disprove it. Advaitic or the non-dualistic truth has nothing to do with the illusory duality. 

The Soul or consciousness which is present in the form of consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman. Consciousness is neither dual nor non-dual.  Some orthodox claim Atman is dual, some that Atman is non-dual; they do not know the ultimate truth. The Atman or Soul is above duality and non-duality". 

The seeker has to realize the fact that, the duality is a reality only on the standpoint of the waking entity or ego. One thinks that he is an individual separate from the world and the world existed prior to him and he is born in it afterward. Till this conviction is there he will not be able to grasp the Advaitic or the non-dualistic truth.

Sage Sankara ’says:~ "Kuruthe Ganga sahar gamanam Vratha paripal mathva dhanam. Gyana Vihine.Sarva Mathene.”

Gnana is common to all religions.  There is nothing like One Gnana for a Hindu and another for a Christian.

The entire philosophy of Sage Sankara can be summed up in the following statement:-

Brahma Satyam, jaganmithya, jivobrahmaivanaparah:~ Brahman alone is real; the world is non-real, and the individual Self is essentially not-different from Brahman.

This is the quintessence of Sankara’s metaphysics.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

The five senses (body) are nothing to do with the Soul, the Self.+

The universe is the product of ignorance. The five senses (body) are nothing to do with the Soul, the 'Self' because the Soul, the  Self is ever formless. From this standpoint, the Soul, the Self, and the universe in which the body (you) exist are merely an illusion.

The dream universe and the five senses (dream body) become unreal when the waking takes place. Similarly, the waking experience in which you and the waking world exist becomes unreal when wisdom dawns. The wisdom dawns when the Soul remains in its own awareness in the midst of the duality. 

The Soul is the Self. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness.  Consciousness is the witness consciousness that experiences the action, the actor, and the world of separate things. It is like a light that illuminates everything in a theater, revealing the master of ceremonies, the guests, and the dancers with complete impartiality. Even when they all depart, the light shines to reveal their absence.

The  Soul is the  Self. The Soul, the Self is present in the form of consciousness. The whole universe is illumined by consciousness. So how can the body which is inert (insentient) and illumined by an external agent by consciousness, which is present only within the waking or dream?

The  Soul or the consciousness is apart from the three states and permanent, as it endures even after the death of the body and the world within the waking or dream.

Even the subtle body consists of many parts and is unstable. It is also an object of perception, is changeable, limited and non-existent by nature. So how can this be the true self, when the body exists only within the duality (universe)?

The immutable Soul, the substratum of the ego, is thus different from these two bodies and is the true Self, consciousness, the formless witness of the three states; and it is present in everything and everywhere in all the three states and yet transcends them all.

Thus, the enunciation of the difference between the soul and the body has (indirectly) asserted, indeed, after the manner of the inquiry, analysis, and reasoning, the reality of the three states. The birth, life, death, and the world are part of the duality (universe). Consciousness is the true 'Self', and it is the formless witness of birth, life, death, and the world.

Thus, the view that the body is the true 'Self' has been denounced by the enunciation of the difference between the soul and the body. The seeker has to grasp the truth, between the three states, and the formless witness (the Soul).

Remember:~

It is the  Soul, the Self that is in illusion, and it is the Soul, the Self that gets free from the bondage of the illusion. The illusion is present in the form of the mind. The mind is in the form of the universe. The universe appears as a waking or dream and disappears as deep sleep.  The individual experiences of birth, life, death and the world are within the waking experience.  The dream is a parallel waking experience and waking is a parallel dream.

Deeper self-search reveals the fact that the  Self is neither the waking entity nor the self is the dream entity, but the self is a formless Soul, which witnesses the coming and going of the three states in succession.   This has to be mentally grasped and assimilated to realize the Soul, the 'Self' is nothing to do with the three states. From the standpoint of the three states, the three states are merely an illusion.

The practical life within the practical world, which is present as the waking experience, is merely an illusion. 

If waking experience is merely an illusion then the individual experience of birth, life, death, and the world is merely an illusion.   

If the experience of birth, life, death, and the world is merely an illusion, it means the form; time, and space are merely an illusion.  

If the experience of form, time, and space are merely an illusion, it means the past, present, and future are merely an illusion. 

Thus, it is necessary for the Seeker to realize the fact that form, time, and space are one in essence, in order to realize the three states are one in essence. That essence is consciousness. Thus, all the diversity is created out of formless consciousness. Thus, no second thing exists other than Soul, the Self. 

The seeker of truth has to constantly reflect on the subject in order to get a firm conviction of the truth.  The seeker has to reflect on the same truth again and again until it becomes reality. One needs to constantly, reflect on the subject until he gets a firm conviction of 'what is what'.:~Santthosh Kumaar