Only those who find the religious and yogic or other practices inadequate and useless must take the path of wisdom.+

Bhagavad Gita Krishna says: ~It is only one amongst thousands of people who strive for spiritual salvation. Even amongst such seekers, it is only the rare person who gets to know “Self” correctly.’ (7.3)

Sages of truth restrained themselves parting the Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana to the mass, and it was given only a selected few.   It was hidden from the mass who were not qualified and receptive to it. 

Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana was not written down but was imparted orally to the chosen few.  Thus, religion was given to the mass, and knowledge of the Spirit is given only to a selected few. Thus we find traces of the knowledge of the Spirit in the religious books in the form of parables.

In Manduka Upanishad: ~ Brahman and Atman are defined as the same: ~

Manduka Upanishad, verse-2:~ All indeed is, this Brahman; This Atman is Brahman.

While Brahman lies behind the sum total of the objective universe, some human minds boggle at any attempt to explain it with only the tools provided by reason. Brahman is beyond the senses, beyond the mind, beyond intelligence, beyond imagination. Indeed, the highest idea is that Brahman is beyond both existence and non-existence, transcending and including time, causation, and space, and thus can never be known in the same material sense as one traditionally 'understands' a given concept or object.

Imagine a person who is blind from birth and has not seen anything. Is it possible for us to explain to him the meaning of the color red? Is any amount of thinking or reasoning on his part ever going to make him understand the sensation of the color red? Similarly, the idea of Brahman cannot be explained or understood through material reasoning or any form of human communication. Brahman is like the color red; those who can sense it cannot explain or argue with those who have never sensed it. 

Only those who find the religious and yogic or other practices inadequate and useless must take the path of wisdom.

Sage Sankara in the commentary to "Brahma Sutras: ~ " "The highest beatitude is not to be attained by Yoga." (Sacred Books of East Series page 298 Vol.1.)   And he also says Samadhi is the same as sleep (p.312) ~ which indicates that yoga is not the means to ‘Self’-realization.  And yogic Samadhi is not nondual ‘Self’-awareness.

The essence of Mundaka is: ~  “Do not be satisfied with rituals, yoga, etc. which are good in their own way but inquire. Into what? Brahman and Atman are things you can never see. So do not inquire into them. Inquire into the world around you, which you can see. Science tells you it is passing away every second. Everything is dying repeatedly. Where is it going? Thus you follow up your inquiry into what you can lay hands on. How can you inquire into Atma which you cannot see? So first we deal with the known and seen, this inquiry leads up to the unknown in the end.

Sage Sankara said: ~ “Neither by the practice of yoga nor philosophy, nor by good works nor by learning, does liberation come, but only through the realization that Atman and Brahman are one in no other way. (1) Vivekachoodamani v 56, pg 25

A Gnani imparts Knowledge to others. A Yogi lies in Samadhi like a wooden log so he does not know yogic Samadhi is not wisdom.  Gnani is fully aware of all things, either permanent or perishable and he has realized both permanent and perishable to be consciousness.  Thus consciousness alone is real and eternal all else is merely an illusion.

One of Sage Sankara’s missions was to wean people away from the ritualistic approach advocated by Mimamsakas and to project wisdom (jnana) as the means of liberation in the light of Upanishad teachings. Sage Sankara criticized severely the ritualistic attitude and those who advocated such practices.

If you are seeking truth then never mix the path of religion and yoga with the path of wisdom. Religion and yoga are nothing to do with the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.  

Those who talk of purifying the mind through other practices are hallucinating.  ‘Self’ is always pure.  Only the ignorant talk of purity.  The Atman is always pure.  Those who are stuck with the egocentric paths thinking they are valuable will never be able to discard the old deep-rooted conditioning or samskaras.

The path of wisdom is a soulcentric path whereas all other paths are egocentric paths they will not but they create a mental barricade and the egoic attitude becomes deep-rooted and obstruct the realization of the truth, which is beyond the form, time, and space.   The path of wisdom is the direct path to reality, which is beyond form, time, and space.

Remember:~

Ish Upanishad says: ~ “Those people who have neglected the attainment of ‘Self’-knowledge and have thus committed suicide.

Those people who have neglected the attainment of ‘Self’-knowledge and have thus committed suicide, as it were, are doomed to enter those worlds after death.

This is a condemnation of people who do not try to attain ‘Self’-knowledge. They are, in a real sense, committing suicide, for what can be worse than being a slave to sense enjoyment, completely oblivious of the real purpose of life, which is to be one, own master?

Mundaka Upanishad: - The study of the Vedas, linguistics, Rituals, astronomy, and all the arts can be called lower knowledge. The higher Is that which leads to ‘Self’-realization. The eye cannot see it; the mind cannot grasp it. The deathless ‘Self’ has neither caste nor race, neither eyes nor ears nor hands nor feet. Sages say this ‘Self’ is infinite in the great And in the small, everlasting and changeless, The source of life.

Sage Sankara' gave religious, rituals and dogmatic instruction to the populace but Advaitic 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: ~ VC-  Let erudite scholars quote all the scripture, let Gods be invoked through sacrifices, let elaborate rituals be performed, let personal Gods be propitiated---yet, without the realization of one‘s identity with the ‘Self’, there shall be no liberation for the individual, not  even in the lifetimes of a hundred Brahmas put together (V-6)

Liberation cannot be the result of good works, for Sruti itself’ declares that there is no hope for immortality through wealth.  (V -7)

Actions help to purify the mind but they do not, by themselves, contribute to the attainment of Reality. The attainment of the Reality brought about only by ‘Self’ Inquiry and not in the least by even ten million acts. (V-11)

The fear and sorrow created by the delusory serpent in the rope can be ended only after fully ascertaining the truth of the rope through steady and balanced thinking. (V-12)

Neither sacred baths nor any amount of charity nor even Hundreds of pranayamas* can give us the knowledge about our own ‘Self’.  The firm experience of the nature of the ‘Self’ is seen to proceed from inquiry along the lines of the salutary advice of the wise. (V-13)

Ultimate success in spiritual endeavors depends chiefly upon the qualifications of the seeker.  Auxiliary conveniences such as time And place all have a place indeed, but they are essentially secondary. (V-14)

He alone is considered qualified to enquire after the supreme Reality, who has discrimination, detachment, qualities of Calmness, etc., and a burning desire for liberation. The four-fold qualifications (V-17)

Great sages have spoken of four qualifications for attainment which, when present, succeeds in the realization of Brahman and in the absence of which the goal is not attained. (V-18)

(While enumerating the qualifications), first, we count the ability to discriminate between the Real and the unreal; next comes a spirit of detachment from the enjoyment of the fruits of actions here and hereafter; after that is the groups of six virtues beginning with  Calmness, and the last is undoubtedly an intense desire for liberation. (V-19)

A firm conviction that Brahman alone is Real and the phenomenal world is unreal is known as discrimination between the Real and the unreal. (V-20)

They have crossed the dreadful ocean of (embodied) existence through their own efforts and without any (personal) motives; they help others to cross it. (V-37)

Remember:~

Swami Vivekananda: ~ “The Higher your ideal is, the more miserable you are,' for such a thing as an ideal cannot be attained in the world — or in this life, even. He who wants perfection in the world is a madman — for it cannot be. How can you find the infinite in the finite?

It has not been possible to preach Advaitic Truth entirely free from the settings of dualistic weakness it has not been more operative and useful to mankind at large because only a few will be able to grasp and realize it.

'To realize the Advaitic Truth a freer and fuller scope the seeker has to realize the form, time and space are one in essence. And that essence is consciousness. And the Soul, the  ‘Self’ is present in the form of consciousness.    

To realize the Advaitic truth the seeker has to be free from all superstitions and orthodox contaminations. The seeker has to be dedicated to acquiring ‘Self’-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana   alone.’  : ~Santthosh Kumaar

Guru is the Soul, the Self. The seeker of truth should not search for Guru in the world in which he exists.+

Guru is the Soul, the  Self.  The seeker of truth should not search for Guru in the world in which he exists.  Let these words be inscribed in your subconscious.

The Gurus who is well versed in the Vedas is unaware of the fact that his scriptural mastery does not qualify him for Self-realization. Scriptural mastery merely brings an egocentric attitude to the Guru, but it is no use for   Self-realization.

Scriptures deal only with the Objects, the Seen, not with the Seer. If one starts with the idea that Samsara (universe) exists, he can never see the Soul, the Self, and because Samsara is an illusion and only ignorant people read it as a reality.

Hence, Sage Sankara says: ~ VC.63-"Without knowing and examining the external world, one can’t know Truth, as the idea that the external world exists, won't go. It can go only by an inquiry into the nature of the external world.

Sage  Sankara says: ~   Keep the scriptures for children but throw them on the fire for wise seekers.

You will find your way through soulcentric reasoning.  There is no need to depend upon the scriptures. Actual realization takes you beyond the scriptures.  The scriptures become a botheration.

The Upanishad itself says that the 'words are only so much of distraction for such minds' A Gnani can point at the sky, but the seeing of the star is the seeker's own work.

Katha Upanishad: ~ This Atman cannot be attained by the study of the Vedas, or by intelligence, nor by much hearing of sacred books. It is attained by him alone whom It chooses. To such a one Atman reveals Its own form. (Katha Upanishad Ch-II -23-P-20)

Mundaka Upanishad: ~ This Atman cannot be attained through study of the Vedas, nor through intelligence, nor through much learning. He who chooses Atman—by him alone is Atman attained. It is Atman that reveals to the seeker Its true nature. (3 –page-70 Upanishads by Nikilanada)

Bhagavan Buddha: ~ Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders.

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."

That is why Sage Sri, 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?

That is why Sage Sri, Sankara said:~  Talk as much philosophy as you like, worship as many gods as you please, observe ceremonies, and sing devotional hymns, but liberation will never come, even after a hundred aeons, without realizing the Oneness.

Mundaka Upanishads:~ So-called spiritual pundits and learned are called children because a child takes whatever it thinks as truth. The question never occurs to children “Is what I have seen or thought really the truth?" (P.334 line 9)

Bhagavad Gita 2:46:~  "A man of true knowledge who has attained enlightenment, has the same use for all the scriptures as one has for a small reservoir of water in a place flooded on all sides."

Vedanta that 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 much study. . . . "

Scriptures are not needed in pursuit of truth. Even the Upanishads and the sages of truth declare the same. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

You are nothing to do with the observer. You are not the observer because you exist within the observed.+

Some Gurus hold ‘you’ as an observer but it is an error. You are nothing to do with the observer.   You are not the observer because you exist within the observed.  You are not the observer because the ‘Self is not you but the ‘Self is the Soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness.

One must know what is an observer and what is observed.  The Soul, which is hidden by the dualistic illusion, is the observer.  The world in which you exist is the dualistic illusion is observed.

You are the observer within the dualistic illusion whereas the Soul, the Self is the observer of the whole dualistic illusion.

Those who propagate the Self as you are propagating half-baked knowledge.

Doer and doing and the world is nothing to do with the Soul, the Self.  The Soul is not an individual because it is the cause of the whole universe.  The Soul, the self is hidden by the universe. 

From the standpoint of the Soul, the Self, the universe is non-existent as a reality because the universe is merely an illusion created out of the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. 

There is no such thing as the ‘I’ because ‘I’ is an illusion created out of the Soul, the Self, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Remember:

 If the ‘I’ is an illusion the mind is bound to be an illusion because the ‘I’ is the mind itself.

If the mind is an illusion then the form, time, and space are bound to be an illusion because the form, time, and space together is the mind. 

If form, time, and space are an illusion then the universe is an illusion because the universe ceases to exist without form, time, and space.

 If the universe is an illusion then the waking experience is bound to be an illusion because the universe appears as the waking experience.

 If the waking experience is an illusion then the individual experience of the birth, life, death, and the world is an illusion because the individual experience of the birth, life, death, and the world is present only in waking experience.

Remember:~

 If ‘I’ is absent then the illusion is absent.

 If the ‘I’ is absent then the mind is absent.

 If the ‘I’ is absent then the form, time, and space are absent.

If the ‘I’ is absent then the universe is absent.

If if the ‘I’ is absent then the waking is absent.

If the ‘I’ is absent then the individual experience of birth, life, death, and the world is absent.

 If the ‘I’ is absent then the Soul, the Self is present as formless, timeless, and spaceless existence.

What is the use of sticking to the ‘I’, which is the dualistic illusion?

As the seeker's understanding of ‘what is what ‘grows, gradually the seeker gets a glimpse of truth. Whatever is based on the waking entity is falsehood and whatever is based on the formless Soul, the innermost Self is real and eternal. 

Thus the seeker of truth must make sure the waking entity (ego) is not the Self but the Self is formless Soul to acquire Self-knowledge. :~ Santthosh Kumaar

Sage Sankara:~ "Without knowing and inquiring into the external world, one can’t know the Truth, as the idea that the external world exists, won't go.+

A Gnani has realized the Soul is the Self. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. The consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.

A Gnani has realized the universe is nothing but consciousness. A Gnani is fully aware that consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman or verily becomes Brahman because he is fully aware of the fact that he, his body, and the world in which he exists is nothing but an illusion created out of the consciousness.  

The Self is always present but it is hidden by the dualistic illusion or Maya. The Maya is present in the form of the universe.  And you will find it if you seek it earnestly. The cause of the universe is ignorance. Without ignorance, the universe ceases to exist.

The limitations of illusory form time and space on the Soul, the ‘Self’ make you struggle to transcend them. All pain and pleasure are a reality within the universe. With the universe comes all your experience of birth, life, death.

Remember:~

Sage Sankara: ~ VC~ "All this universe which through ignorance appears as of diverse forms, is nothing else but Brahman (consciousness) which is absolutely free from all the limitations of human thought.

Sage Sankara: ~VC~ if the universe is true, let it then be perceived in the state of deep sleep also. As it is not at all perceived, it must be unreal and false like dreams.  

Ashtavakra Gita: ~ The universe rises from the Soul, the innermost ‘Self’ like bubbles from the sea. Thus know the ‘Self’ to be One and in this way enter into the state of dissolution."

Sage Sankara said: ~A.A~ 88- When the whole universe, movable and immovable, is known to be Atman (consciousness), and thus the existence of everything else is negated, where is then any room to say that the body is Atman?

That is why Sage Sankara Says: ~ VC-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.

To say the universe is an illusion without first examining it and inquiring into its nature thoroughly is to delude oneself. This world is common to every one of us; therefore the seeker of truth must begin his inquiry with it. It is only after he has inquired into the nature of the objective world, he realizes the universe which through ignorance appears as of diverse forms, is nothing else but the Soul which is present in the form of consciousness is absolutely free from all the limitations of human thought.

Those who assert the world is not an illusion because they are unaware of the fact that, the world is the reality within the illusion (waking). And they are frightened to consider the world as an illusion. Without considering the world as an illusion, it is impossible to acquire ‘Self’-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

Sage  Sankara:~ VC-63-"Without knowing and examining the external world, one can’t know the Truth, as the idea that the external world exists, won't go. It can go only by an inquiry into the nature of the external world.

After verifying through deeper inquiry if one finds the world is the reality within the illusion then he cannot again say the world is not an illusion.

If one is frightened to accept the world is an illusion (waking) then he is unfit to acquire ‘Self’-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. Those who are stuck with the reality of the world are stuck with the reality of the individual experiences of birth, life, and death, which take place within the unreal world. Thus the pursuit of truth is for those who have the courage to accept reality as it is, that is the reality without form, time, and space.

When you finally realize the ‘‘Self’ ‘is not you but the ‘‘Self’’ is the Soul then you will realize the world in which you exist is merely an illusion created out of the Soul. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness.

Thus, you, your experience birth, life, death, and the world merely an illusion created out of the consciousness, the consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.:~Santthosh Kumaar

The point of Bhagavan Buddha is that if God is non-existent, the entire creation including Self is non-existent.+

Bhagavan Buddha: ~ There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth: not going all the way... and not starting

Dalai Lama said:~  Buddhism need not be the best religion though it is more scientific and religion and inquisitive. But Buddhism has no answer to certain questions like the existence of Atama (Soul) and rebirth.   Dali Lama said that as an individual he believes in rebirth as he had come across a few cases of rebirth.  Modern science, Dalai Lama hoped would unearth the mystery behind the rebirth. (In DH –dec-212009-Gulbarga).

People who argue that Soul does not exist are not aware of the fact that their own existence is dependent on the Soul, which is in the form of consciousness.

One should not conclude because some great thinkers said so or some philosophy says so. Without consciousness, the mind, which is in the form of the universe ceases to exist. Man ceases to exist without the universe. The universe ceases to exist without the Soul, the innermost Self.  The Soul can exist with or without the universe.

The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. Consciousness is the formless substance and the witness of the mind. The mind is present in the form of the universe. The universe appears as waking or dream (duality) and disappears as deep sleep (nonduality.

From the standpoint of the Soul, the Self the birth, life, death, rebirth, and reincarnation theory is part of the dualistic illusion.  Your body cannot reincarnate because it is insentient. 

Bhagavan Buddha: ~ Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. 

Sage Sankara opposed the Buddhists only, who misunderstood Bhagavan Buddha and became atheists. According to Sage Sankara meditation always means the critical analysis about the Self to get salvation from 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 told 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. The Bhagavan Buddha stopped at this point because the atheists cannot realize the existence of the unimaginable God indicated through His silence. 

The point of Bhagavan Buddha is that if God is non-existent, the entire creation including Self is non-existent. Sage Sankara wanted to establish the existence of the Brahman. For this purpose, He made the Atman as Brahman. He brought out the identity of the 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. Both Bhagavan 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.

Even in Buddhism: - Buddhist teaching has itself become a kind of interactive and Self-evolving process, much like its idea of pratityasamutpada. However, the end goal is still Nirvana, which is an experience ultimately beyond all concepts and language, even beyond the Buddhist teachings. In the end, even the attachment to the Dharma, the Buddhist teaching, must be dropped like all other attachments. The tradition compares the teaching to a raft upon which one crosses a swift river to get to the other side; once one is on the far shore; there is no longer any need to carry the raft. The far shore is Nirvana, and it is also said that when one arrives, one can see quite clearly that there was never any river at all.

Chandogya Upanishad: ~ One who meditates upon and realizes the 'Self' discovers that everything in the cosmos-- energy and space, fire and water, name and form, birth and death, mind and will, word and deed, mantrams and meditation--all come from the Self.

Sage  Goudpada: ~ To establish the truth of Non-duality by sheer reasoning alone. He begins by defining "What is real?" "What is unreal?" etc, because that is the right way to discuss or teach. People must first know what they are talking about. (Manduka Karika)

Buddhism and its relationship with Science is like that of water and wine, one cannot say there is no water in wine, but when you drink it, it would not be the water but wine... thus Einstein’s view is water in wine because modern science does not believe in the matter but in this religion, everything is the matter only"

Sage Sankara says you must first know what is before you. If you cannot know that, what else can you know or understand? If you give up the external world in your inquiry, you cannot get the whole truth.

Emptiness is the nature of the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. Emptiness is the fullness of consciousness without the division of form, time, and space.

For proof of God's creation of the world, you have to go back to a time when there was no world. Since this is impossible, there is no proof of creation. Hence Bhagavan Buddha kept silent. Hence four schools of Buddhism sprang up later which varied from realism to emptiness claiming to interpret his silence. 

We have one key from Sage Sankara to be applied to every statement or assertion or speculations: It is “Is this true?” “Where is the proof?” Opinions belong to scholasticism, not to Advaitic truth. Advaita has no use for opinions.

By discriminating between the dual (waking or dream) and non-dual (deep sleep) experiences and realize the existence of the formless witness of the coming and going of the three states.   The Soul, the  Self is the formless witness of the coming and going of the three states (witnessed).

From the standpoint of the Soul, the innermost Self, the three states are nonexistent as reality because the witness and the witnessed are one in essence. That essence is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. Thus, the consciousness is real and all else is unreal.

The Soul, the  Self is beyond form, time, and space.  The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, is the very form of existence, though one would find it difficult to understand because of the intoxication of the illusory duality.

This formless non-dual Soul is beyond the mind.   The Soul, the Self is never subject to any change by any cause, but the waking is subject to change as deep sleep or dream, and when this is realized then one becomes aware of the fact that the subject and object are one in essence.

The difference between mind (universe) and Soul (consciousness) is only when one considers the waking entity (ego or you) as the Self.

From the ultimate standpoint, there is no second thing that exists other than Soul or consciousness because the formless substance and witness of the mind or universe is consciousness.   The mind and Soul are one in essence. 

Remember:~ 

Buddhism has not proved the truth of Non-duality.  There is no doubt Bhagavan Buddha pointed out the unreality of the world. Bhagavan Buddha told people they were foolish to cling to it. But he stopped there. Bhagavan Buddha came nearest to Advaita in speech but not to Advaita fully.

The distinction between Sage Sankara’s Advaita and Vijnanavadin Buddhism is that the former is mentalism i.e. mind is the real, whereas the latter is idealism, i.e. ideas are real. Advaitins follow the former.

Buddhism did not graduate its teaching to suit people of varying grades; hence its failure to affect society in Asia.

Sage Sankara opposed the Buddhists only, who misunderstood Bhagavan Buddha and became atheists. 

According to Sage Sankara meditation always means the critical analysis about the Self to get salvation from 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 told 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. The Bhagavan Buddha stopped at this point because the atheists cannot realize the existence of the unimaginable God indicated through His silence. 

Bhagavan Buddha as a constructive worker committed an error in failing to give the masses a religion, something tangible they could grasp something materialistic, if symbolic that their limited intellect could take hold of, in addition to his ethics and philosophy. Here Sage Sankara was wiser and gave religion; such as karma and Upasana.--to the ignorant masses, as well as wisdom to those of higher intellect.

The Advaita Sage Sankara' gave religion, rituals, and dogmatic instructions to the populace, 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.

Bhagavan Buddha's teachings that all life is misery belong to the relative standpoint only. For you cannot form any idea of misery without contrasting it with its opposite, happiness. The two will always go together. Bhagavan Buddha taught the goal of cessation of misery, i.e. peace, but took care not to discuss the ultimate standpoint for then he would have had to go above the heads of the people and tell them that misery itself was only an idea, that peace even was an idea (for it contrasted with peacelessness). That the doctrine he gave out was a limited one, is evident because he inculcated compassion. Why should a Buddhist sage practice pity? There is no reason for it.

Advaita is the next step higher than Buddhism because it gives the missing reason, viz. unity, non-difference from others, and because it explains that it used the concept of removing the sufferings of others, of lifting them up to happiness, only as we use one thorn to pick out another, afterward throw both away. Similarly, Advaita discards both concepts of misery and happiness in the ultimate standpoint of non-duality, which is indescribable.

Buddhists say that a thing exists only for a moment, and if that thing has still got some of the substance from which it was produced, how then can they deny that its cause is continuing in the effect; hence its existence is more than a moment. Vedanta is concerned with whether it is one and the same thing which has come into being or has it come out of nothing.: ~Santthosh Kumaar