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

In India Advaita and Dvaita are religious traditions, which they inherited from their ancestors. No one questions their validity because it is considered blasphemy to question their religion, their Guru, and Godmen or the pundits. 

People who are attached to their religious code of conduct and trying to preach Advaita, that is mixing the individual life, and the concept of God and all mixed up hotchpotch religious doctrine and feed the seeking people are themselves not aware of the fact that the individuality and their worldly life is part of the illusion.

Sage Sankara says ~ VC-162- There is no liberation for a person of mere book knowledge, howsoever well-read in the philosophy of Vedanta, so long as one does not give up the false identification with the body, sense organs, etc., which are unreal.

Advaitic Orthodoxy is the path of ignorance. The ignorants worship mechanically performs the prescribed sacrifices without any thought as to why they are doing them.

That is why Ish Upanishads says:` Such people no wonder they grope in the dark. They are doomed unless someday the truth dawns on them that to save themselves they must seek Self-knowledge.

And also, it says:~ Worse, however, is the situation of those who worship vidya. The word Vidya ¸ usually means "knowledge, but here it is used to mean "Gods and Goddesses. Some people worship gods and goddesses so that they may someday attain the same status. They may get their desire fulfilled, but this will only delay their liberation. That is why the Upanishad says that they will be in deeper darkness.

Religious believers are sentimentally attached to their religion, religious ideas of God, scriptures, and religious code of conduct; they will not accept anything else as truth other than their accepted truth. There is no use in discussing with such a mindset because nothing can be gained from such a discussion.

Religious believers are unfit for the Atmic path unless they drop all their accumulated knowledge.

Sage Sankara’s wisdom is nothing to do with the orthodox caste.

Remember:~

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)

In spirituality the ultimate truth is God. The Atman is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God.

Sage Sankara’s wisdom is nothing to do with orthodox belief systems. 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 populace that is unfit to grasp the highest truth. The Advaitic orthodoxy is nothing to do with the ultimate truth or Brahman.

All sect-based beliefs are dualistic and unphilosophical nothing to do with the ultimate truth or Brahman. In spirituality the ultimate truth is God. Thus, the Advaitic orthodoxy is a sect is nothing to do with the Advaitic wisdom of the Sage Sankara. Advaitic orthodox sect is meant for the ignorant populace.

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

Mundaka Upanishad condemns rituals. The Para or Higher knowledge is the knowledge of the Supreme Being while the Apara or Lower Knowledge is that of following sacrificial rites and ceremonies. (1/2/ 1 – 6)

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)

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 the philosophic truth. But nobody knows it. The teachers of philosophy and leaders of mysticism or religion do not want to inquire into truth and have no time for it. (Gita –Chap- IV-v.2)

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.

There is no need for a Guru in the Atmic path.

Swami Vivekananda said: ~ “You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, and none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher, but your own Soul.”

The scriptures are not needed in the pursuit of truth. Even the Upanishads and the Sages of truth declare the same.

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. (Ch-II -23-P-20)

Mundaka Upanishad: ~ This Atman cannot be attained through the 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)

The ultimate truth has to be ascertained without the scriptures by realizing the Self is neither the waking entity not the dream entity, but the Self is a formless Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. 

In the realm of truth 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 scriptures. 

Remember:~

Sage Sankara's Advaitic wisdom is nothing to do with Advaitic orthodoxy. Sage  Sankara's Advaitic wisdom is pure spirituality. 

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.

Realists criticize the concept of illusion without understanding it. He said:~

(1) Consciousness (Atman) is real.

(2) The universe or mind is unreal.

(3) Consciousness is the universe because the universe is 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 Self, is Self-Realization or Truth-Realization, or God-realization.

Sage Sankara‘s declaration is the rational truth, scientific truth, and also 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 (nondual) 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 in truth. 

Remember:

The look of an object will depend upon the medium through which the observer views it. In fact, our mental and intellectual conditions determine the world, observed and experienced. The commoner viewing the world will see differently from a Gnani viewing the same world. Each one interprets the world that they see in terms of their existing knowledge. The commoner sees everything based on the ego, therefore, experiences birth, life, death, and the world as a reality, whereas a Gnani sees everything as consciousness and he is fully aware of the fact that, there is no second thing that exists other than the Soul or consciousness. 

Thus, all egocentric knowledge has to be bifurcated to realize the ultimate truth, which is beyond form, time, and space.

Anubhav in the Advaitic contest is not an experience but is the realization of the 'Self' hidden by the dualistic illusion (Maya or world). 

Remember the 'Self', is not an individual but the Self is a formless, timeless, and spaceless existence. the experience is possible only in the domain of form, time, and space. In reality, form, time, and space are one in essence.

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

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

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

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

Sage  Sankara: ~ 'Like a servant who carries a lamp in front of you to find your way, and you have found it, so becomes the Veda to that person. What is the Veda? ~ utterances of those who have known the Truth. Here is one who has known the Truth; why should he or she depend upon the Veda further? Actual realization takes you beyond books. At a certain stage, books become a botheration. The Upanishad itself says that the 'words are only so much of distraction for such minds'

Upanishad:~ They alone in this world are endowed with the highest wisdom who are firm in their conviction of the sameness and birthlessness of Atman. The ordinary man does not understand their way. (Chapter IV — Alatasanti Prakarana 95-P-188 in Upanishads by Nikilanada)

Sage Sankara himself says: ~ VC 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?

It is not that one should pore over the ancient scriptures. There is no need to study first, and then realize. One has to realize first, then only he will know ‘what is the truth’ and ‘what is untruth’. One has to make discoveries through the process of rational thinking.

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

Sage Sankara says: ~ What is accepted without a proper inquiry will not lead to the final Goal. (Commentary on Vedanta Sutra).


Remember:~

The 'Self' cannot be experienced because the experience is possible only in the realm of duality. There is neither experience nor experiencer in reality. In Self-awareness, the body, ego, and the world are not considered different from consciousness.

The experience and experiencer exist within the domain of form, time, and space. Form, time, and space are within the domain of the dualistic illusion.

To experiencer must have a form, without the form the experience is impossible? The experience is impossible without form, time and space. The experiencer and the experience are one, in essence. The essence is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

The Soul, the ‘Self’ is the fullness of the consciousness without the division of form, time, and space. All the division in consciousness is merely an illusion. Thus, other than consciousness all else is merely an illusion. The illusion is also consciousness because it is created out of consciousness.

The Atmic path is nothing to do with religion and the yogic path. The Atmic path is the path of wisdom. 

All your accumulated knowledge is nothing to do with the Atmic path. The Atmic path is not a path of discussion or exchange of views and opinions but the direct realization of the 'Self' hidden by the dualistic illusion.

The seeker must have the patience to open the blogs and posting and read. It will not only help you to clear all your cobweb of doubts and confusion. 

Without reading the blogs trying to argue on your own yardstick, is not of any use. Whatever you have read, whatever you have heard and accumulated becomes a hindrance in realizing the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space.

Remember:~

All your egocentric accumulated cocktail knowledge is not Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana soulcentric knowledge is not available in the spiritual supermarket.

All accumulated knowledge is mental Garbage is no use in the quest for truth. The seeker has to discard all the accumulated knowledge and start afresh.

Reading and reflecting on my blogs and postings gradually, the seekers will start assimilating and realizing ‘what is the truth and what is the untruth. 

Repeated reading of my blogs and postings makes the seeker Soulcentric and the inner dialogue will start and clear all the doubts and confusion.

Perfect understanding of ‘what is what’ through deeper thinking and reasoning helps to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

In the Atmic path discussion of the unimportant subject matter is a great hindrance. The path of truth is the path of verification.

When there are no doubts and confusion, then they have realized the truth that form, time and space are one in essence. And that essence is consciousness. 

There is no use in wasting time in questioning and arguing the same time and effort have to be used to make the seeker more independent and without external spoon-feeding, he can reach the inner core, which is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar