Sage Sankara was criticized for his views on Maya (illusion) without understanding him.+

Sage Sankara’s wisdom can be summed up in one sentence, ‘There is nothing else but Brahman. He says that Absolute Existence, Absolute Knowledge, and Absolute Bliss are Real. The universe is not real. He says that Brahma and Atman are one. The ultimate and Absolute Truth is the Self, which is one though appearing as many in different individuals. The individual has no reality. Only the Self is real; the rest, mental and physical are but passing appearances.

In fact, Sage Sankara states a paradox- the world is and is not. It is neither real nor unreal. It leads us to recognize the existence of Maya. He thinks that the world is illusory from one perspective and from the second it is nothing but Brahman, Itself in manifestation. This apparent world is Maya and has its basis in Brahman, the Eternal. It looks real. It has names and forms and actually, it is not real In the light of true knowledge, it disappears and Self-alone shines as real. However,  Sage Sankara’s Mayavada has not been accepted by many preachers and philosophers.

Sage Sankara was criticized for his views on Maya (illusion) without understanding him.

Sage Sankara said: ~

(1) Brahman (Atman) is real

(2) The universe is unreal,

(3) Brahman is the universe.

He did not stop at the second because the third explains the other two. It signifies that the universe is real if perceived as the ‘Self’ and unreal if perceived as apart from the Self. Hence Maya or illusion and reality are one and the same.

The realists criticize the concept of  Maya or illusion without understanding it. 

Sage Sankara said:~

(1) Consciousness (Atman) is real

(2) The universe or mind is unreal

(3) Consciousness is the universe because the universe is merely an illusion created out of consciousness.

One need not stop at the second because the third explains the other two. It signifies that the universe is real if perceived as the Self (Atman or consciousness) and unreal if perceived as apart from the Self (consciousness). Hence, illusion and reality are one and the same because both are one in essence.

Realizing the essence, which is consciousness as the innermost Self, is Self-Realization or Truth-Realization of God-Realization Thus, Sage Sankara‘s declaration is the rational truth, scientific truth, and also the ultimate truth.

The world is both real and unreal. It is real because it is a manifestation of consciousness, but is unreal, in the sense, that it is not absolute and eternal like consciousness itself.

People's approach is more practical, and they stuck with the reality of the world, they take it as real. That is why all the confusion.

In Self-awareness, the witness and witnessed are one in essence. That essence is consciousness. There is no second thing that exists other than consciousness.

Thus, whatever is seen, known, believed, and experienced as a person is a reality within the waking experience (duality) but the waking experience (duality) itself is merely an illusion.

The Soul, the Self is present in the form of consciousness. The Soul is the witness that experiences the action, the actor, and the world of separate things. It is like a light that illuminates everything in a theatre, 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.

What is not consciousness (formless) in the three states because the three states are created out of consciousness? The three states cease to exist without consciousness. The seeker, seeking and his destination all are one in essence.

There is only a need to realize the whole universe in which we exist is created out of the Soul or the consciousness. 

From the standpoint of the Soul, the Self, the universe is merely an illusion. Thus, from the standpoint of the Soul the Self, no second thing exists other than consciousness. Thus, consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman. The Brahman is God. 

Sage Sankara says: The path of religion, the theory of karma, the yogic path, and the path of wisdom were intended for different classes of people. The wisdom is for the advanced seekers of truth. It deals with the nature of the ultimate Truth and Reality. It is meant for superior aspirants who have the inner urge to know the truth and it is not for those who are immersed in earthly desires.

Remember:~

Sage  Sankara says:~   A buried treasure is not uncovered by merely uttering the words: “Come forth.” You must follow the right directions, dig, remove the stones and earth from above it, and then make it your own. In the same way, the pure truth of the Atman, which is buried under Maya and the effects of Maya, can be reached by meditation, contemplation, and other spiritual disciplines but never by subtle arguments.

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.

Sage Sankara says:~ VC-47 All the effects of ignorance, root, and branch, are burnt down by the fire of knowledge, which arises from discrimination between these two—the Self and the non-Self.

Until you think you are an individual separate from the world and the world existed prior to you and you are born in it afterward ignorance will prevail as a reality. Till ignorance is there the universe prevails as reality.

Sage Sankara says: ~ “The exercise in discrimination between real and unreal and renunciation of the false is real meditation, then why you are indulging in other types of meditation.

Perfect understanding and realization of ‘what is what’ leads to Self-awareness. By holding onto theories one remains in the realm of duality. You have to mentally go on dropping what is not the truth through deeper Self-search. 

Finally when you become aware of the fact that, your ego, your body, and the world are one in essence then there is Self-awareness in the midst of duality. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar