Sage Sankara advocated wisdom as the sole means for attaining ones goals in life.+

Sage Sankara is a great Gnani 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 orthodox 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 a reality. The orthodoxy has nothing to do with Sage Sankara’s Advaitic wisdom.

One of Sage  Sankara’s missions was to wean people away from the ritualistic approach and to project the Advaitic wisdom (Gnana) as the means of liberation.

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 Orthodox position came into vogue, projecting Sage  Sankara as the rallying force of the doctrine.

Adhyasa Bhashya of Sage Sankara: ~

Adhyasa Bhashya of Sage Sankara: ~ 2. The Adhyasa Bashya is remarkable in many ways. It is not a lengthy work; it is less than fifty lines divided into five sections. It is free-flowing writing. Sage Sri, Sankara lucidly puts forth his views. While doing so, he does not cite any traditional text or authority in support of his views. He does not denounce or attack any school of thought (vada). He is not propagating a new school of thought or a new argument. He assures that the significance of the initial discussion will be realized in the main commentary, which seeks to restore the true interpretation of them. Vedanta tradition is contained in the Vedanta Sutra. Adhyasa Bashya is a rare gem in the field of philosophical texts.

Attaining one's aspirations and expectations by resorting to rituals caught the imagination of the common people. Sage  Sankara advocated wisdom as the sole means for attaining one's goals in life.

 Advaitic orthodoxy diluted the rigorous position by combining Upanishad teachings with rituals to make it appealing to the common people.

Sage Sankara viewed this as a distortion of the Upanishad ideals. To play down the prominence given to rituals, Sage  Sankara relied on the idea of Avidya He bracketed the ritualistic approach with Avidya and called it an “error”.

Avidya is a word that occurs in Upanishads, though not often. The word Vidya is used to denote effective discrimination and Avidya is the absence of it.

Sage Sankara states wisdom (Vidya) can eliminate ignorance (Avidya), but the ignorance it eliminates is not real because it has no existence of its own. Once the error is removed the Universe (Brahman) will reveal of its own accord.

Sage Sankara explains darkness and light are distinct from each other in their nature and in their functions. Darkness has no existence of its own; it is merely the absence of light. Whereas, the light is positive and helps vision. Darkness and light can neither coexist nor share their functions or nature. Darkness is an error that can be removed.

Sage Sankara states, that the main purpose of the Upanishads is to provide the knowledge(vidya) that will eliminate darkness, and ignorance(Avidya), which is in the nature of “reality transfer” (adhyasa). he thereafter goes on to explain the concept Adhyasa.

Adhyasa, according to Sage Sankara, is not an intellectual construct but a matter of realization.

Sage Sankara says we do it all the time. Adhyasa consists in mistaking one thing and its attributes for another; superimposing one level of reality over others. This we do every day. Individuals experience the world through their senses, minds, and other ways of perception. His experience of the world may be tainted by the defect in his senses or other constraints, internal or external. Nevertheless, that person creates his own set of impressions and experiences and he accepts those subjective experiences as real.

Sage Sankara regards personal realization as independent and convincing evidence.

Sage Sankara says that an individual’s experience cannot be disputed because the experience he went through was real to him; though that may not be real, from the absolute point of view.

Sage  Sankara makes a distinction between the absolute view and the relative view of things.

Sage Sankara:~ 6. In short, what the person does is, he imposes his transactional experience (relative or dual) over the transcendental (absolute) and accepts the former as real. That subjective experience need not be proved or disproved. However, the confusion it creates can be removed by wisdom (vidya). According to Sage Sankara, the world we experience is not absolutely real but it is not false either. The reality is that which cannot be negated and that which is beyond contradiction.-Adhyasa Bhashya

Sage Sankara:~6.1. Sage Sankara explains that vyavaharika (relative) and paramarthika (absolute) both are real. However, the relative reality is “limited” in the sense it is biologically or mechanically determined and it is not beyond contradictions. The absolute on the other hand is infinite (everlasting and unitary (meaning utter lack of plurality)).-Adhyasa Bhashya

Sage Sankara is careful to point out that the two dimensions – Vyavaharika and Paramarthika- are two levels of experiential variations. It does not mean they are two orders of reality. There are only two perspectives. Whatever that is there is REAL and is not affected by our views.

Sage Sankara: - 6.2. The Self in the vyavaharika context is saririka (embodied Self ); it encounters the world. However, the Self, in reality, is not saririka; it is absolute, asaririka, and is infinite. The infinite Self, perceived as the limited Self (jiva) is what Sage Sri, Sankara calls as adhyasa..-Adhyasa Bhashya

Sage Sankara:~7. The dichotomy between being an individual-in-the-world (jiva) and being originally a pure, transcendental consciousness (atman) is taken by Sage  Sankara as merely superficial. According to Sage Sankara, it is due to avidya that the individual fails to see the nexus between Being and the world. That nexus indicates the oneness underlying the subject-object, inner-outer, and Man-Nature distinctions. All that is required is to remove the error and the universe will shine on its own accord..-Adhyasa Bhashya

Sage Sankara:~ 8. The analogy given in the text is that of a pond that is clear and undisturbed. One can see the bottom of the pond through its still water. When, however, pebbles are thrown into the pond, the water in it is disturbed and the bottom of the pond becomes no longer visible. That bottom, however, is there all the time and it remains unchanged, no matter whether the surface water is disturbed or not. The water in the pond is the transactional world. The bottom of the pond is the transcendental reality. The disturbance created is avidya..-Adhyasa Bhashya

(It is difficult to find an exact English word for adhyasa. It may, among other things, mean “superimposition”,” projection” etc. Adhyasa is more comprehensive than that. Sage Sankara, in my view, recognizes three levels of existence, the Absolute, the relative, and the illusory. Adhyasa consists in superimposing one level of existence (relative/illusory) over the other (The Absolute) and accepting the former as true while it may actually be untrue. The absolute (atman) appearing as the limited (jiva) is what Sage Sankara calls adhyasa. (For more on this please see Adhyasa ).-Adhyasa Bhashya

Sage  Sankara:~ 9. Extending the concept of adhyasa, Sage Sankara says, we superimpose the body, the sense organs, and the mind on the Self (infinite) and we use expressions like: ‘I am fat’, ‘I am thin’, ‘I am white’, ‘I am black’, ‘I stand’, ‘I go’, ‘I am dumb’, ‘I am deaf’, ‘I think’, ‘I am not going to fight’, ‘I shall renounce’ and so on. In this way, we superimpose our mind on the Atman, which is the eternal witness. We do it the other way also by superimposing the Self on the mind, the non-self. According to Sage Sankara, the relation between mind and self involves mutual superimposition (itaretara-adhyasa). This relation is false since there cannot be any real relation between the Self and the non-self. This confusion or adhyasa is innate to us and is a matter of common experience.

Sage Sankara:- 10. Sage  Sankara says the purpose of Upanishads is to remove adhyasa or avidya; and once it is removed, Brahman will shine of its accord, for it is the only reality. This doctrine of Sage Sankara became the nucleus for the development of the Advaita school of thought..-Adhyasa Bhashya

Sage Sankara:~11. As regards the rituals, Sage Sankara says, that 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 the 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 the 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. Sage 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.

Sage Sankara:~ 11.3. Sage  Sankara elsewhere explains that when such acts are performed by a person without desire for the fruits of his actions, by recognizing the reality that there is neither a “doer” nor an “object”, then that instills in him the desire for Brahma-vidya, which takes him closer to Vidya..-Adhyasa Bhashya

Sage Sankara:~ 12.  Sage Sankara 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

Remember:~

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.

People dwelling in ignorance but thinking themselves wise and erudite, go round and round by various blind beliefs and tortuous paths and practices, like the blind led by the blind.

Swami Vivekananda said:~ "The Vedas teach that the Soul is divine, only held in the bondage of matter; perfection will be reached when this bond will burst, and the word they use for it is, therefore, Mukthi - freedom, freedom from the bonds of imperfection, freedom from death and misery."

The truth is very simple, but it is very difficult to grasp because of ignorance. You have to only realize the world in which you exist is created out of a single clay. And that single clay is the Soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness.

Thus, you and your body and the world in which you exist are nothing but consciousness because they are merely an illusion created out of consciousness. A perfect understanding of ‘what is what’ is needed. 

Remember:~ 

Search for truth is searching to know God in truth. If you search for the ‘Self’  then you will find only the Soul. If you search for truth then you will find only the Soul. If you search for God then you will find only the Soul.  

Thus, the Soul is the Goal. The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.

God is not he or she God is the Spirit. Do not physicalize God's worship. Such worships of non-Vedic Gods are barred by Vedas. All God with forms and attributes are not God in truth. 

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. 

The dualistic worship of "God” is only for the ignorant populace. The God in truth is only Atman, the  Self. In reality, there is no duality, no differentiation. Only Atman exists.
 
The Bhagavad Gita: ~ Brahmano hi pratisthaham ~ Brahman (God in truth) is considered the all-pervading consciousness, which is the basis of all the animate and inanimate entities and material. (14.27). 

When Bhagavad Gita says, that God is considered the all-pervading consciousness which is the basis of all the animate and inanimate entities and material then nothing has to be accepted as God other than consciousness. 

Bhagavad Gita Chapter: ~ “All those whose intelligence has been stolen by material desires, they worship many Gods. (7- Verse -20)

The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad says: "He who worships the deities as entities entirely separate from him does not know the truth. For the Gods, he is like a pasu (beast)". (1. 4. 10)

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 ideal Gods."

Hindus are idol worshipers of the large numbers of Gods and Goddesses whereas Vedas say God is ‘ONE’ and that God is Atman. 

Yajurveda – chapter- 32:~ God is  Supreme Spirit has no ‘Pratima’ (idol) or material shape. God cannot be seen directly by anyone. God pervades all beings and all directions. Thus, Idolatry does not find any support from the Vedas.

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

 

Do not accept any other God other than the Athma. The Athma is God in truth, Nothing is real but the Athma, which is present in the form of consciousness. Nothing matters but realizing 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.  

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

Rig-Veda 1-164-46 and Y.V 32-1 clearly mention that God is “One”. 

Rig Veda declares God is ‘ONE’ and that God is Atman, then why believe and worship anything else in place of the real God. 

Thus, Atman the Self’ is God.  Self-realization is real worship. Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is necessary to get realization. 

Hindus are idol worshipers of the large numbers of Gods and Goddesses whereas Vedas say God is ‘ONE’ and that God is Atman. 

Chandogya Upanishad: ~ ekam evadvitiyam ~ God is only one without a second. (6- Section- 2- Verse- 1)

According to Vedas the Atman the  Self’ is God.

Shiva is not a Vedic God. All the Gods and Goddesses with form, name, and attributes belong to Hinduism, not of the Vedic religion or Santana Dharma 

God and Goddesses are religious concepts. Whatever is seen, known, believed, and experienced as a person within the dualistic illusion (world) is a falsehood. 

Thus, it refers to a formless and attributeless God, which is the Atman (Soul), the  Self within the false experience. Thus, it indicates clearly all the Gods with form and attributes are mere imaginations based on the false self (ego).   Thus, Atman or the Soul, the  ’Self is God.

The Vedas do not talk about idol worship. In fact, till about 2000 years ago followers of Vedism never worshiped idols. Idol worship was started by the followers of Buddhism and Jains. There is logic to idol worship. Vedas speak of one God that is the supreme Self i.e. Atman or Soul but Hinduism indulges in worshiping 60 million Gods.

It indicates clearly all the Gods with form and attributes are mere imaginations based on the false self.

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 is written in praise of certain deities by poets over several centuries and does not seem to have much significance for the Hindus.

Yajur Veda says: ~

Translation 1

They enter darkness, those who worship natural things (for example air, water, sun, moon, animals, fire, stone, etc).

They sink deeper into darkness those who worship sambhuti. (Sambhuti means created things, for example, table, chair, idol, etc.) (Yajurveda 40:9)

Translation 2

Deep into the shade of blinding gloom fall asambhuti's worshippers. They sink to darkness deeper yet who on sambhuti are intent." (Yajurveda Samhita by Ralph T. H. Griffith 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." (Yajurveda 40:9.)

So, Yajur Veda indicates that: ~

Those who worship visible things such as the earth, trees, and bodies (humans and the like) in place of God are enveloped in still greater ignorance.

To acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana, the seeker has to realize his inherited religion is adulterated in the past and it becomes a great obstacle is realizing the ultimate truth or Brahman. 

The seeker's aim is the search for the Ultimate Truth or Brahman. The search to find the non-dualistic or Advaitic truth that in actuality never was lost, only hidden.

Upanishad aspiration is best expressed in the following sutra: ~

Om Asato ma sad gaMaya, tamaso ma jyotir gaMaya, mrityor ma aamritaam gaMaya. Shanti, Shanti, Shanti

"OM Lead me from ignorance to truth, from darkness to light, from death to immortality. Peace, Peace, Peace" (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (1/3/28).

Religion was coherent because it had a transcendent individualized God as a central doctrine, whereas in the realm of truth, a personal God cannot be considered as the cause of the universe because the Soul, the Self is the cause of the universe. 

First, one should not hold a God as the center of existence without verification. Both the theists and atheists have theories, with nothing to do with ultimate truth or Brahman. : ~Santthosh Kumaar