There is a need to bifurcate religion from Spirituality or Adyathma.+

In Spirituality or Adyathma, the ultimate truth is God in truth. The Atman is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.

BRAHMAN -The English use of the word real as applied to the material world, whereas we Indians use it as applied to unseen Brahman. Hence many errors have arisen in translations from the Sanskrit.

BRAHMAN- The word Brahman or Sat has no proper equivalent in English. The nearest is the ultimate reality or ultimate truth. The west, however, applies reality to individual objects or to the multiplicity of them all: whereas Advaitins apply it to the non-duality. Brahman is called "That" because it is something not known yet by the seeker. 

Sage Sankara’s wisdom is nothing to do 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 Sri, 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 (true 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.

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)

Sage Sankara: ~VC~ if the universe be 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.

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, 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 formless 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 scriptures.

The ultimate truth has to be realized first, and then only it is possible to know what the scriptures are saying.

Scriptures are being added from time to time. This process will go on. There is the final authority among them? One contradicts the other: duality reigns supreme.

I quote Scriptural citations only after verifying reality and proving the truth, to point out that the scriptures teach the same thing. If one quotes them before having demonstrated the truth, then it is scholasticism.

Sage Sankara:~ Loud speech, a profusion of words, and possessing skilfulness in expounding scriptures are merely for the enjoyment of the learned. They do not lead to Liberation."

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)

The Scriptures mastery, the force of religious merit--none of these lead to the realization of that Ultimate Truth or Brahman. The ultimate truth is revealed in the clear understanding and realization of ‘what is the truth and ‘what is the untruth. When one realizes the untruth (universe) is created out of single stuff, the Self-awareness rises in the midst of duality exposing the unreal nature of the form, time and space.

An adherent of the orthodox philosopher may say his philosophy teaches so and so", another man may object and say “No, his religious philosophy teaches such and such." Thus, they may go on uttering contradictions in the name of philosophy. True philosophy deals only with the appeal to facts not theories.

Where scriptures and authorities do not agree with the reason, the seeker of truth must reject them.

How is one to know that the scriptures are true? The seeker has to look into the facts, for the proof of what has the worship of God done for the people! When a tsunami occurred in Japan, God did not save the believers of Japan. Thus, God saves one who prays such an argument is of no value in pursuit of truth. 

People believe scripture is infallible but deeper Self-search reveals the fact that they are a mere book of words. The words are merely an expression of thoughts. Then it is impossible to see if the scripture-writers thoughts are founded in fact or not.

The fallacy of orthodoxy’s appeal to scripture lies in the varying and conflicting interpretations of the same scripture, which different men feel, entitled to give or hold.

The scriptures are for the ignorant masses, who wholly accept the practical life within the practical world as it presents itself. Gnana is for those who have begun to realize that things are not what they seem.

Where scriptures and authorities do not agree with the reason, the seeker of truth must reject them.

Scriptural knowledge is conceptual divisions invented by teachers of philosophy by their excessive analysis. All these concepts are a great obstacle in the pursuit of truth. Why should confusion created and then explained away? Fortunate is the man who does not lose himself in the labyrinths of philosophy but goes straight to the source from which they all arise. 

Remember:~ 

There is a need to bifurcate religion from spirituality. People think religion is the stepping stone for Self-realization but it is not so. The religion is based on ignorance and it keeps the seeker permanently in ignorance by hiding the truth with its mythical beliefs and dogmas and superstition. According to Vedas and Upanishads, all religious propagated beliefs are myths. 

Whereas Spirituality is based on the Spirit, which is the cause of the world in which we exist.

As one goes deeper in annals of history he becomes aware of the fact that the so-called present Hinduism has adopted many things from Buddhism, the religion of Abraham, Jainism, and Islam. If one goes deeper enough he will become aware everything is mixed up and messed up in time.

Sage Sankara endeavored towards establishing Vedic religion overthrowing Buddhism. But even he was not able to avoid the influence of Buddhism. The influence of the revolutionary atmosphere of Buddhism has reappeared in the Advaita of Sage Sankara. His inability to revive Vedic religion that flourished before the Buddhist revolution in its pure form is discernible.

No one has taken pains to rectify it because; people have inherited them, from their ancestors and they think it is blasphemy even to hear anything against their inherited religion and belief.

Once one gets involved with the religious class it is the end of the pursuit of truth.

The theistic (orthodoxy) Advaita is based on the dualistic perspective but Advaita philosophy is based on the nondualistic perspective. The theistic (orthodoxy) Advaita bifurcated from Advaitic philosophy. The theistic (dualistic) Advaita is meant for the ignorant populace.

Sage Sankara and Sage Goudpada are independent thinkers other schools of Indian philosophy are mere theologies. Advaitic philosophy is real philosophy. The dualistic philosophy cannot escape the charge of dogmatism.

Advaitic wisdom propagated by Sage Sankara is from the non-dualistic perspective.

There is no need to study neither Advaita Vedanta nor Vedas nor Buddhism to realize ultimate truth or Brahman. It is no use going roundabout way; trace the Brahman.

Philosophy does not begin with the ultimate truth. Ultimate truth has to be proved, not assumed. Hence, so-called philosophers who take Brahman for granted are not philosophers at all.

Lots of Advaitin scholars will teach that all is yourself, but none of them can show that this is so, none has analyzed it scientifically, and none can prove it. The rational proof is required so that one arrives at knowing the ultimate truth or Brahman i.e. Gnana. Theirs is mere dogma, parrotism, repetition of what they read in scripture. Authoritarianism merely assumes as true what another says, but what has yet to be proved.

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

Sage  Sankara ’says:~ Gnana is common to all religions.

There is nothing like One Gnana for a Hindu and another for a Christian.

The entire philosophy of Sage Sankara can be summed up in the following statement:-

Brahma Satyam, jaganmithya, jivobrahmaivanaparah: - Brahman alone is real; the world is non-real, and the individual ‘Self’ is essentially not different from Brahman.

This is the quintessence of Sage Sankara’s Advaitic wisdom.  : ~ Santthosh Kumaar