Rebirth and reincarnation exist only so long as there is ignorance.+

Rebirth and  Reincarnation exist only so long as there is ignorance.  The world in which you are born, live and die is nothing to do with the Soul, the Self,  because the Soul, the Self is birthless, deathless and worldless existence.  The rebirth and reincarnation theory is based on the false self (ego or you) therefore it is a falsehood.  

Accepting the rebirth and reincarnation theory as reality is accepting false self (waking entity or ego) as real Self,  and false experience (waking) as reality. Self-realization is impossible if one accepts the present waking entity (body) as the real Self because the self is neither the waking entity nor the Self is the dream entity, but the self is the   Soul, which witnesses the coming and going of the three states. 

The three states are impermanent, but the Soul or consciousness, which is the witness of the three states, is permanent and eternal. In reality, the three states are one in essence. And that essence is consciousness. Therefore, there is no second thing that exists other than consciousness. The Soul or consciousness is second to none.

A deeper self-search reveals the fact that the waking experiences themselves are an illusion. It means the present experience of birth, life, death, and the world is an illusion. The reincarnation theory based on the false self (ego)  within the false experience(waking)  is bound to be a falsehood. When the waking entity is not the self then whatever theories are based on the waking entity imagined theory. 

This imagined theory based on the waking entity(ego), is for those lower mindset who are incapable of grasping the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.

People who are caught up with the idea of reincarnation and rebirth theories are not qualified for Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana because they accepted the duality as reality. Birth implies duality and duality is falsehood from the ultimate standpoint. 

***

From The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharishi

Edited by David Godman

Question:- is reincarnation true?

Sage Ramana Maharishi:~ Reincarnation exists only so long as there is ignorance. There is really no reincarnation at all, either now or before. Nor will there be any hereafter. This is the truth.

[Note: Comments by David Godman: Most religions have constructed elaborate theories that purport to explain what happens to the individual soul after the death of the body. Some claim that the soul goes to heaven or hell while others claim that it is reincarnated in a new body.

Sage Ramana Maharishi taught that all such theories are based on the false assumption that the individual self or soul is real; once this illusion is seen through, the whole superstructure of afterlife theories collapses. From the standpoint of the Self, there is no birth or death, no heaven or hell, and no reincarnation.

As a concession to those who were unable to assimilate the implications of this truth, Sage Ramana would sometimes admit that reincarnation existed. In replying to such people he would say that if one imagined that the individual self was real, then that imaginary self would persist after death and that eventually, it would identify with a new body and a new life. 

The whole process, he said, is sustained by the tendency of the mind to identify itself with a body. Once the limiting illusion of the mind is transcended, identification with the body ceases, and all theories about death and reincarnation are found to be inapplicable.

Sage Sri, Sankara criticized severely the ritualistic attitude and those who advocated such practice.+

People are not prepared to verify the facts about their own religion they are unable to understand and assimilate the Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. Until one has an urge to know the truth and prepares the ground properly, and he is consistent in his efforts to know the truth, he will not be receptive to receive Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

In India, people think that religion as a stepping stone to higher truth but it is not so because religion is based on the false self (waking entity or ego) within the false experience (waking or world).

People of small intelligence follow religion and believe that the world was created by God. But 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. Then there is the question which nobody has answered till now, viz. Why did He create all these evils, these sufferings? Even a father would never do that. If He did so, assuming that God did create, then what sort of an evil God is He! 

All religions which begin with "God created the world," are fit only for children. It is a lie; it is inconsistent and fit only for ignorant people.

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) VivekaChudamani v 56, pg 25

Sage Sankara:~ (11) As regards the rituals, Sage 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 Self with the body is 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

Sage 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

Sage Sankara:~ (11.2) In short, a person who engages in rituals with the notion “I am an agent, doer, thinker”, according to Sage Sankara, is ignorant, as his behavior 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

Sage Sankara: ~ (12) 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.-  Adhyasa Bhashya

Sage Sankara: ~ Atman, the Self is verily Brahman (God), being equanimous, quiescent, and by nature absolute Existence, Knowledge, and Bliss. Atman is not the body that is non-existence itself. This is called true Knowledge by the wise. 

Mundaka Upanishad: ~   The rituals and the sacrifices described in the Vedas deal with lower knowledge. The sages ignored these rituals and went in search of higher knowledge. ... Such rituals are unsafe rafts for crossing the sea of samsara, of birth and death. Doomed to shipwreck are those who try to cross the sea of samsara on these poor rafts. Ignorant of their own ignorance, yet wise In their own esteem, these deluded men Proud of their vain learning go round and round Like the blind led by the blind.

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 (verses-6)

It is clear that liberation cannot be the result of good works, for Sruti itself declares that there is no hope for immortality by means of wealth.  (Verses -7)

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. (Verses- 13)

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. However, the texts that combined rituals with wisdom (jnana_karma_samucchaya) more in favor of the Mimamsaka position came onto vogue, projecting  Sage Sankara as the rallying force of the doctrine.

Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana puts an end to ignorance, which is the cause of experiencing the duality as reality. Experiencing waking experience (duality), as reality is the cause of misery.  

It is necessary for the seeker to realize the existence of the formless witness of the three states, to overcome ignorance.  Only when the seeker overcomes the ignorance, realize the fact that ‘I’ is not the Self,  but the witness of the ‘I’, which is the Soul, is the true Self. The seeker has to learn to view and judge the three states on the base of the Soul, the Self only then the truth will start unfolding. 

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. 

Sage Sankara' gave religious, ritual, or dogmatic instruction 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. 

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. 

Sage Sankara’s Supreme Brahman (God)  is Nirguna (without the Gunas), Nirakara (formless), Nirvisesha (without attributes), and Akarta (non-agent). He is above all needs and desires. 

Sage Sankara says, "This Atman is self-evident. This Atman or Self is not established by proofs of the existence of the Self. It is not possible to deny this Atman, for it is the very essence of he who denies it. Atman is the basis of all kinds of knowledge. The Self is within, the Self is without, the Self is before and the Self is behind. The Self is on the right hand, the Self is on the left, the Self is above and the Self is below":~Santthosh Kumaar 

The Vedic Culture and the vedas are complete in themselves.+

The Vedic Culture and Vedas are complete in themselves, but Hinduism which is a non-Vedic belief system with all its ritual and conduct-oriented practices has been contributed largely by the orthodox priests to suit their convenience!

The Vedas are in the Vedic language which was a high-class language. Rig Veda (excluding chapters II and X) were written before the Christian Era in the Vedic language.  Vedic language is not Sanskrit.  It is the same language in which the Zoroastrian Scripture Zend Avesta is written – a form of Persian language.  All the other scriptures of India are written in Sanskrit.  

These include Rig Veda Chapter II and X and the Upanishads, Brahmanas, Puranas, and the Vedanta.  These were written during the Christian Era after the Thomas ministry. As the use of this language diminished, it became a tough language for the commoners. The priests, who were supposed to be an expert in this language, translated it into the Sanskrit language and manipulated the meanings in time, and gradually, all the practices changed.

The DaVita, Vedanta borrows the concept from Abrahamic religions, such as Eternal Damnation (of certain souls destined to hell forever) which goes against the belief of most Vedanta schools, which state that soul attains liberation. 

It looks like the creator-creation theory is also borrowed from Abrahamic religion and on the base, a new belief system has been introduced giving it a Vedic outlook and propagating all non-Vedic rituals and worships by someone in the past.  

St. Thomas is said to have come to India to spread Christianity in the first century AD. It first spread among the people of the Malabar coast and in areas near present-day Madras.

There is a total discontinuity in the concept of God before and after the entry of St, Thomas.  As one goes in deeper into the annals of religious history then we become aware of the fact that the Vedic gods were personifications of Nature and their worship essentially sacrifices to these Natural Forces to appease them.  All of a sudden by the first century, we encounter Vedanta.  Vedanta literally means “End of the Vedas,” though it is today interpreted as "the essence of Vedas."

Vedanta, which appeared as theological discourses, presents a supreme Godhead, “Para Brahman’.  Such an idea was not even remotely conceivable in the Vedic context.  

New Gods like Maheshwara and Vishnu appeared.  The concept of Maheshwara.  Vishnu means Sky or Heavens.   Vishnu simply means God of Heaven lies or one who pervades everything.   Then we have the concept of incarnation – God taking flesh in human form to save humanity.  All these suddenly appeared after the entry of St, Thomas.

This was also the time when most of the Vedic gods passed into oblivion. Their place was taken by the trinity of gods, with Brahma as the creator, Vishnu the preserver, and Shiva the destroyer. It is believed that when evil is rampant, various incarnations of Vishnu enter the world of men to save them. Krishna is one such 'avatar'. 

There are many contradictions, Brahma Vishnu and Maheshwar are the three main Gods but they are one. Brahma is the creator of this universe (Generator), Vishnu is responsible for the smooth conduct of the same (sustainer), & Maheshwar is Destroyer! But if you go and read Vishnu Purana, he is characterized as the supreme power.

Further, due to many castes and sub-castes prevailing in the society, some more rules and principles were added for the benefit of these priests. Can you imagine how would you get rid of the sin you committed by killing a cat? You will have to make a golden cat weighing equal to the dead cat and hand over this golden cat to the priest chanting for the purification of an individual soul! Hinduism is different from the Vedic religion.

A new religion was introduced with new add-ons by Advaitic Sage  Sankara to uplift the Vedic culture and Santana Dharma, which were in ruins in the clutches of Buddhism. 18 Puranas are introduced in the name of Veda Vyasa. 

Max Müller says ~ "The religion of the Veda knows no idols; the worship of idols in India is a secondary formation, a degradation of the more primitive worship of idolized Gods."

As one goes deeper into the annals of history, it indicates the fact that somewhere someone has added the Puranas in the name of Veda Vyasa the grandmaster of Vedas. It is impossible to accept and believe that Veda Vyasa authored and introduced Puranas which has all conceptual gods because:- 

In Vedas, God has been described as:~

Rig Veda: ~ 'Prajnanam Brahma'- Consciousness is the ultimate reality or Brahman or God in truth.

Do not accept any other God other than the Soul. The Soul is God in truth,  Nothing is real but the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. Nothing matters but realize  God in truth. God in truth is everywhere and in everything. Let these words be inscribed in your subconscious.

God in truth is hidden by the illusory universe. God in truth alone is real and eternal and all else is an illusion.

Brahman is merely a word to indicate the ultimate truth or God in truth.  The ultimate truth itself is God in truth. 

In Vedas, God has been described as:-

Yajur Veda – Chapter- 32: - God is Supreme Spirit has no ‘Pratima’ (idol) or material shape. He cannot be seen directly by anyone. He pervades all beings and all directions.

Thus, Idolatry does not find any support from the Vedas.

Rig Veda: ~ The Atman (Soul or Spirit) is the cause; Atman is the support of all that exists in this universe. May ye never turn away from the Atman the innermost ‘Self’. May ye never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman?" (10:48, 5)

The Vedas as a body of scripture contains many contradictions and they are fragmentary in nature. For Hindus, scriptures like the Bhagavad-Gita, Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Puranas are more attractive and appealing than the Vedas. And also, the Gods and Goddesses they worship differ considerably from the Vedic ones. The collection of hymns called Vedas are written in praise of certain deities by poets over several centuries does not seem to have much significance for the Hindus

 Vedas reveals ONE GOD but Hinduism is filled with 33crores of gods Vedas reveals God as Spirit (Atman or Brahman ) and no form whereas Hinduism worships God in the form of various non-Vedic idols of gods and goddesses are barred by Vedas.

Vedas say that God does not have any form and exists as light, but in Hinduism people idol worship with their inherited personal god. 

It indicates clearly all the gods with form and attributes are mere imagination based on the false self.  The ideas of conceptual gods are a reality on the base of the false self (waking entity or ego)  within the false experience (waking).  Thus, all the belief systems are based on the false self. Thus, their idea of God is merely a belief based on their religious doctrine. In Advaita Lord means Atman and Atman means Brahman.  

If people who indulge in god or guru glorification are not Advaitins because they have accepted the belief of God as the true God and they forget the true God is Atman their true identity, which exists without the body and the experience of the world.

If God exists, as he does for religionists and yogis, and exists separately from them, then there is duality, which always implies a contradiction. From the ultimate point of view God is a mere belief or an idea, a thought, an object, therefore the Self or witness, contradict God.

When there are two, one thought contradicts another for one thought comes at one moment, and the other at another moment, both moments contradict; one cannot say they are identical. He cannot find non-contradiction in this universe.

One the ultimate point of view the individualized God does not exist, because his existence implies that one is different from Him. Any kind of difference means a contradiction. Nothing whatsoever other than the consciousness exists thus for non-dualists the consciousness itself is the ultimate truth and the ultimate truth is God. Non-duality means the negation of all thought.

Truth is not only that which is beyond contradiction but also that in which is no possibility of contradiction. Such a state can only be realized as non-duality, where there is no second thing other than consciousness. The illustration for that is deep sleep but sleep is not the ultimate reality. It is merely an analogy.

Brihad Upanishad declares:-, "if you think there is another entity whether man or God there is no truth." This is the teaching since time immemorial of those who have inquired into the truth.

The Soul or the consciousness alone which is permanent and eternal, unchanging in the changing world is a reality. People hear of Brahman or the ultimate truth. People can only imagine it. One requires words only to distinguish between is there and not there, but he can’t posit either of Reality, because his saying so is only an idea, not reality. The ultimate truth is beyond words. Words are of use, however, as a thorn to pull out the thorn of other words that hinder knowledge. Intellectually knowing the truth is only an imagination, whereas realizing the truth is knowing it as such.

Thus, the orthodoxy misleads the seekers of truth, therefore, the seeker of truth has to verify the truth on his own by reason based on the consciousness as self then only accept the uncontradictable truth.  

And also Yajurved says:~

Translation 1.

They enter darkness, those who worship natural things (for example air, water, sun, moon, animals, fire, stone, etc). They sink deeper in darkness than those who worship sambhuti. (Sambhuti means created things, for example, table, chair, idol, etc.)  (Yajurved 40:9)

Translation 2.

"Deep into the shade of blinding gloom fall asambhuti's worshippers. They sink to darkness deeper yet who on sambhuti is 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, 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.)

When Yajur Veda says: ~  they are extremely foolish, fall into an awful hell of pain and sorrow, and suffer terribly for a long time." 

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.  Someone has introduced the concept of many gods with attributes and attributeless Gods in the past.

Remember:~

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. 

Sruti is made the final or exclusive authority in apara Vidya and that for supporting the tenet of the CAUSAL relation or creatorship of Brahman, Nirguna Brahman = the "Absolute beyond qualities," which can be defined only in a negative way. For the Sankarian school = the Ultimate Reality, higher than the Lord. i.e. of Saguna or apara Brahman ... The support of Scriptural Revelation is, therefore, absolutely necessary for this hypothesis of cosmology, this Saguna or apara (= inferior) Brahman, but not for the absolute truth of Nirguna Brahman

The Sruti itself says: "This Atma is NOT to be attained by a study of the Vedas.  (Katha Upanishad I, 2, 23.)    

Therefore, all the non- Vedic add-ons and attribute-based knowledge, which is inferior, have to be bifurcated and excluded to know the ultimate truth.  The seeker of truth has to drop all the inferior knowledge based on the attributes and go beyond Vedas to understand assimilate and realize the ultimate truth or Brahman.  

One has to go beyond Vedas means to go beyond religion. To go beyond religion means, to go beyond the concept of the religious idea of God.  Thus, going beyond Veda, religion and conceptual god means going beyond 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 cult because their preaching is based on non-duality and practices are based on duality. 

Sage Sankara says in Brahma Sutras: that Brahman is the cause of the world, whereas in Mandukya he denies it. This is because he says that at the lower stage of understanding, the former teaching must be given, for people will get frightened as they cannot understand how the world can be without a cause, but to those in a higher stage, the truth of non-causality can be revealed. 

Sage Sankara himself has warned us not to use ambiguous words and to practice semantic analysis in his book "Definition of one's own Self. (" Page 199, v.24 of "Sankara's Selected Works)

Bhagavan Buddha found religion in such a worthless state, with so many vile animal sacrifices, that he attacked religion. Sage Sankara did not seek to destroy religion like Bhagavan Buddha, but he advocated reforming it for the better. He did this because he saw that the masses had to have some form of religion as they were not ripe intellectually for truth. 

Sage  Sankara's sex experience in Benares and occupying the body of another man and then having sexual intercourse with his wife, is a story created by pundits hiding the real fact. 

Sage Sankara had the scientific spirit and when told by Saraswathi the woman that he was talking freely about sex, being a Sanyasi, he wanted to know the truth by having actual intercourse himself and thus learning by experiment and observation. Thus, this has to be viewed by the seeker from a rational standpoint, because sex is part of the illusion on the ultimate standpoint.   

Sage Sankara stressed the great importance of freeing our use of words from all ambiguity. 

Buddhists and Jains did not believe in the Vedic positions, did not accept the scriptures. Hence, Sage Sankara had to meet their objections also.  Biographical anecdotes about his persecution of Jains and Buddhists or of his challenges to self-immolation for the loser of a debate are all foolish tales fabricated after his lifetime either by his own followers who took him to be a religious propagator but not as a  philosopher or by the dualistic cult. 

The religious pundits of the Advaitic sect relate boastfully pseudo-historic stories of how Sage Sankara's school put down, persecuted end exterminated the Buddhists, as though this was something to be proud of. However, these stories are either exaggerations or false stories fabricated by the pundits or the priestcraft. The religious pundits are mere followers of the religion, never having understood the depth of Advaitic wisdom.  Sage Sankara gave religion and scholasticism and yoga no less than philosophy, to the world. 

His commentary on Manduka is pure philosophy, but many of his other books are presented from a religious standpoint to help those who cannot rise up to the philosophy.  North India is the home of mysticism and deification and South India of keen rational truth.

Sage Sankara had only four fully trained disciples, although he advised some kings. His doctrines spread after his lifetime. His books were dictated to secretaries as he traveled. So, only a few were capable of understanding his philosophy. 

Sage Sankara always traveled and he never lived in a monastery. He simply instructed his disciples to build one here and there " and then left because he was busy spreading his doctrines. 

Some who followed  Sage Sankara are mere followers of the religion, never having understood the Advaitic philosophy are religious scholars not Gnanis, and they are unable to grasp the non-dual -truth. 

Sage Sankara says the seeker must first know what is before him. If he cannot know that, what else can he know or understand? If he gives up the external world in his inquiry, he cannot get the whole truth. 

Some thinkers hold views of Maya which are entirely incorrect and untenable. They do not know Sage Sankara's Upanishad Bashyas, but only the Brahma Sutra Bashya.  The followers of  Sage Sankara have constituted a religious sect. Thus, all movements ultimately, degenerate. 

In the commentary to "Brahma Sutras Sage Sankara says:~ "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). ---this indicates that yoga is not a means to self-realization.  And yogic Samadhi is not the non-dualistic or Advaitic wisdom.

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

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. 

Sage Sankara did more than write books or initiate Sannyasins: He brought India into unity as a nation. He advised the mass: Worship what they wish, remain in their particular religion but remember also they are part of a larger whole. 

Few Pundits have caught the spirit; they are merely fond of his words. Sage  Sankara’s spirit is that of an appeal to reason, with scripture dragged in as second and lesser support afterward. 

Sage Sankara' gave religious, ritual, or 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. 

Centuries have passed since Sage Sankara appeared, yet it is very hard to find his true teachings understood anywhere in the world today. It is because so few could rise to his level. Hence,  the dualistic cults and the devotional sects that came into existence prospered. 

It may not have been possible for him to have written so many books during such a short term of existence of 32 years. The truth is that he wrote very few books. Those actually written by him were Commentaries on Brahma Sutras and the Upanishads and on the Gita. All other books ascribed to him were not written down by his own hand. They are merely collections of notes recorded by his disciples from his sayings, talk, and discussions. 

Sage Sankara wrote his commentaries on Manduka Upanishad's commentary first, and then as this revealed that he thoroughly understood the subject, his gurus requested him to write the commentary on Badarayana's Brahma Sutras, which was a popular theological work universally studied by Advaitins. That is why his commentary is written from a lower dualistic point, for those who cannot rise higher, save that here and there Sage Sri, Sankara occasionally has strewn a few truly Advaitic sentences. 

Since, Hinduism is a mixer of many ideologies one gets confused about which is the true philosophy because the dual, non-dual, and qualified non-dual philosophies all are based on Vedas.  And many believe the inherited beliefs of their forefathers are pure and sacred without verifying the facts. All rituals and individualized gods are added from time to time.  Only when one tries to go deeper in the annals of history one will be able to find that all the present days’ beliefs and rituals are not part of the Santana Dharma or Vedic religion. 

It is necessary for the seeker to do his homework, and verify the validity of all the claims, rather than blindly believe, what others expound as knowledge, till, the un-contradicted truth is obtained.

The seeker must have the courage of Buddha to accept the truth and reject the untruth. Since Buddha rejected religion, the idea of God, and scriptures, therefore, it is evident that he has gone through every aspect and verified and found them to be inadequate and useless for the pursuit of truth.

Even Buddhism is mixed up with regional culture and traditions of the local religion, wherever it existed. Thus to get the full essence from Buddhism is very difficult.

The Buddhist scriptures were completely distorted by the time of  Sage Sankara. Sage Sankara had to criticize the Buddhist literature prevailing then as the Buddhists themselves were confused as to what Shunyata is. Vasubandhu and his disciple Dignaga (the latter lived about a couple of centuries before Sri, Sankara) could not retain the original teachings of Lord Buddha.

At first, Vasubandhu did not agree with his half-brother Asanga and wrote one book on Abhidharma and later on, he went to the side of Asanga and wrote a second book, where? he opposed his own earlier views on Abhidharma.  Sage Sankara? had to criticize Buddhist knowledge? and literature of his time as he wanted to bring to us back the Pure Vedantic knowledge through his work on the Prasthanatraya. That is why there is a reference to the writing of Dharmakirti in Sutrabashya.

There is another aspect that in ~  Vishnu Purana also says that  Bhagavan Buddha created confusion. In Sarnath, he first taught about the Moral code which is basic. He talked about Anatma. Then? two decades later he taught the concept of Shunyata and? the tenets of Mahayana Buddhism.? Despite Nagarjuna's telling that Shunyata is not Nihilism and that Parajanaparamita also mentioning about the Shunyata after one leaves? the five? skandhas, there are and there will always be people who will go on calling Buddha's philosophy as Nihilism. About the origin of Tantric Buddhism also? there are controversies.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

Swami Vivekananda: ~ “Advaita encompasses everything. Since Advaita requires heavy-duty intellectualism, it had to be progressively simplified.+

Spiritual truth is universal whereas religious truth is individualized truth. Religion is based on a dualistic perspective whereas spirituality is based on a non-dualistic perspective. Whatever is based on a dualistic perspective is egocentric and whatever is based on the nondualistic perspective is soulcentric.

Swami Vivekananda: ~ “Advaita encompasses everything. Since Advaita requires heavy-duty intellectualism, it had to be progressively simplified.

Advaita is pure spirituality is nothing to do with religion, sect, or dualistic-based spirituality. That is why Bhagavan Buddha rejected the religion, scriptures, and religious Gods, and Sage  Sankara indicated the truth is beyond the religion, scriptures, and belief of God.

Sage 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.

Religion is regarded as sacred and real by the common people, by the wise as false, and by the political class as useful.

There is only one Reality to be known, the same for all seekers, but the ways to it, are hidden by the religion.  Self-discovery is the only way, toward non-dual Absolute without any religious doctrines, which will help the seekers to unfold the mystery of the illusion in which we all are searching for the ultimate truth of our true existence.

Sage Sankara, is one of the greatest thinkers of all time. This world owes him a deep debt of gratitude. He not only consolidated the classical values of life but also spiritual wisdom. Unfortunately, few philosophers in the world are as misunderstood and misinterpreted as Sage Sankara. Ironically, most of the harm came from his admirers and followers of the Advaitic sect because they propagated rituals as a means to attain lower knowledge which is meant for those who believed in the physical existence (universe or waking)  as reality. 

Sage Sankara is the only sage who has final authority on the Advaitic truth. The Advaitic truth is rational truth and scientific truth without dogma.

The Advaitic orthodoxy is not the means to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.  Advaitic orthodoxy is meant for the ignorant mass that is unfit to grasp the highest truth.   Thus, the Advaitic orthodoxy is nothing to do with the ultimate truth or Brahman.

Sage Sankara disagrees with Buddhists who say, there is nothing - a nonentity. Sage Sri, Sankara believes there is some reality, even though things are not what they appear to be. If one knows the truth, he will know what to do to find inspiration for action.  The seeker of truth‘s subject is to know what is it that is Real.

Buddhism says:~All things are illusory,  and nothing exists.  However, Advaita avers that it is not so.  It says that the universe, of course, is illusory, but there is Brahman (consciousness), that exists forming the very substratum of all things (illusion or universe).

The ignorant are always egocentric. He thinks what he knows is the truth.  He always indulges in pursuit of an argument. Ignorant is sentimentalized to his belief system.  an ignorant person just to prove that he is correct, and others are wrong because the ignorant presumes he already knows and wants to see whether others know or not. The ignorant person provokes others to snub them. Ignorants accumulate knowledge and try to show their intellectual wealth. Such intellectual sharing of knowledge is mere garbage. It is of no use in the pursuit of truth. Because they are ego-centric based on ignorance thus they will not yield any truth.

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 innermost 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 have an intense urge  to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana   alone.'

Lord Krishna confesses that the oldest wisdom of India ( Advaita wisdom) has been lost: people misinterpret and falsify it today as they did then. It is not yoga but philosophic truth. But nobody knows it. The teachers of philosophy and leaders of mysticism or religion do not want to inquire into the truth and have no time for it. (Gita –Chap- IV-v.2)

In Gita Chap.IV where Lord Krishna says: ~ "This yoga has been lost for ages" the word yoga refers to Gnana yoga, not other yogas: the force of the word this is to point this out.

Lord Krishna describes some of the other yogas but devotes this chapter separately to Gnana Yoga. So one sees even in those ancient days people did not care for Advaita; they wanted religion; hence, Gnana got lost. That is why Krishna calls it "the supreme secret." Krishna points out that yoga must see "Brahman in action."

Gita Chap.IV:~  "He who achieves perfection in Yoga finds the self in time." This means that after his yoga is finished, he begins the inquiry into ultimate truth, and in due course, this inquiry produces the realization of the universal spirit as the result.

Lord Krishna says Ch. V:~ “Those who know the Self in truth.". The last two words (tattvataha) are usually ignored by pundits, but they make all the difference between the ordinary concept of God and the truth about God.

Neither the religious view, nor the yogic, nor the scientific view, nor the atheistic nor the intellectual view, etc., are tenable. Because of the realization of the part-less consciousness, the ultimate truth is absolutely free from diversity. It always remains as oneself, free from all diversities when one is able to view it from the ultimate standpoint.

It is better to bifurcate religion, mysticism, and yoga from spirituality.  Since spirituality is based on the formless entity. Religion, mysticism, and yoga are based on the physical entity. Religion and its ideology and its theories are true only in the experience of duality.

Religion, mysticism, and yoga are for the people, who believe their physical entity, as the true Self, and who accept the experience of duality as reality.

Religion and yoga and the concept of god are valuable tools in worldly life. But is not of any use in pursuit of truth.

90% of people belong to a religion, but religion is nothing to do with spirituality (Adyatma).  religion is egocentric, and spirituality is soulcentric.   

Individual views and opinions are based on the waking entity, which is the false self within the false experience. the individual experiences and opinions are most valuable to those who are in the religious and yogic and the mystical paths.

Spirituality is a very personal journey, it is not for condemning religion and its idea of god and its saints and sages or their practices. Spirituality is for finding and realizing the ultimate truth of his true existence.

The religion and its worship of individualized God is nothing to with the ultimate truth or Brahman because religious gods are mere belief. Belief is not God but the ultimate truth or Brahman is God in truth.

Spirituality is based on the beyond, and it is a journey towards the beyond. And the seeker of truth has to reject the untruth, and accept only truth, in the pursuit of truth. And it is no use of mixing religious and yogic ideologies. Since Spiritualists consider nondual truth (self) as a god. And other than the true "Self", the rest is all illusion.

One must go beyond form, time, and space. The theistic tradition has been kept alive by the orthodoxy. The orthodoxy is the path of ignorance because it is based on ignorance.  The orthodoxy is nothing to do with the ultimate truth or Brahman. Thus, it is not the path of ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth. 

People who are stuck to orthodoxy never will be able to cross the prison of duality. Without crossing the prison of duality self-awareness is an impossibility.  Thus, Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana is necessary to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.

The ultimate truth has to be ascertained without the scriptures, by realizing the self is neither the waking entity (you) nor the dream entity but the Self is the nondual Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. 

In the realm of truth the form, time, and space are created out of single stuff. That single stuff is consciousness. Realizing the single stuff as the ultimate truth is Self-realization or truth-realization. 

To realize this truth there is no need for the scriptures. This I am highlighting again and again in my blogs.

Mixing up religion and spirituality, neither helps the religious people, yogis, nor the truth seekers. Since all are based on a different base of understanding. Mixing anything with spirituality is like a dancing teacher teaching maths, who have no knowledge of maths.

To know what is God we must know what the Self suppose to be in truth. In deeper self-search, we become aware of the fact that our body, ego, and our experience of the universe are created out of single stuff, which is the Soul or consciousness.  Due to ignorance, we identify the Soul with the body and we become egocentric.  

When we become aware of the fact that, the self is not the form but the Self is nondual then we become soul-centric and realize the fact that, all the three states are merely an illusion created out of consciousness.  

The Soul or consciousness is the ultimate truth. Consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.    

Thus, we have to share and interact with fellow seekers and move ahead and reach the nondual destination through this mental (inner) journey.

It is better to move ahead on a chosen path, without mixing one another, to get the best results without disturbing their mindset. Therefore, one has to choose his path and move ahead in the chosen path without mixing up anything other than his chosen ideology.:~Santthosh Kumaar