Sage Sankara was a mighty, marvelous genius. He was a profound thinker of the first rank.+

Many thinkers since his time have said about Sage  Sankara that he made use of many important tenets of Buddhism and presented to the people the very Buddhism in the guise of Vedic religion. Though the Vedic religion represented by  Sage Sankara is a conglomeration of many things he deserves the credit of having turned the Hindu mind which was once averse to Vedas -the root of Hinduism, towards the Vedas once again. For this, the followers of the Vedic religion should be grateful to Sage Sankara.

The brilliance shown by Sage  Sankara, a man of wonderful genius, a matchless speaker, and an extraordinary dialectician is really a great spectacle in history. In his time, there was a severe conflict between Buddhism and the Atheist Vedic religion of Kumarila Bhatta. Utilizing this opportunity Sage Sankara intervened in the conflict and making use of some concepts and methodology of both the Kumarila Bhatta school and Buddhism presented a new coalition religion before the people.

Sage Sri, Sankara gave extraordinary charisma to this religion with the help of his methods of logic and style of exposition. Its influence was so great that both the Bhatta School and Buddhism had to flee from India without leaving a trace. The absence, even today, of a single follower of the Kumarila Bhatta school as well as of Buddhism, is proof enough for the great achievement of Sage Sankara. This indeed is a historical miracle.

One can see in the Vedic religion expounded by Sri Sankara a different version of the Kumarila Bhatta School and Buddhism. That is why the tradition of following Kumarila Bhatta's methodology in expounding the Advaita thought at the empirical level gained ground in the Advaita School. Different types of the methodology of Buddhism were absorbed into the Advaita thought, of course, under new labels. There is a very clear similarity between the Vedic religion of  Sage Sankara and Buddhism and the Advaita School has given the world a common message. The essence of both schools is:-

The entire world which one perceives is illusionary; it is just an appearance of unreality and there is only one indeterminate and attributeless Sat at the root of this world".

Hindus are idol worshipers of a large number of Gods and Goddesses whereas the in Vedas the God has been described as:-

• v  Sakshi (Witness)
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• v  Chetan (conscious)
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• v  Nirguna (Without form and properties)
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• v  Nitya (eternal)
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• v  Shuddha (pure)
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• v  Buddha (omniscient)
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• v   Mukta (unattached).

The nature of the Atman (Soul) is:~  

• v  Witness
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• v  conscious
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• v  Without form and properties
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• v  eternal
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• v  pure
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• v  omniscient
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• v  unattached

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

The Vedas confirm God is Atman (Spirit), the ‘Self’.

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 ‘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 God is Atman, then why believe and worship in place of the real God.

Brihad Upanishad: ~ “If you think there is another entity, whether man or God there is no truth."

When Upanishad itself says: ~   Sarvam khalvidam brahma ~ all this (universe) is verily Brahman. By following back all of the relative appearances in the world, we eventually return to that from which it is all manifest – the non-dual reality (Chandogya Upanishad). 

Sage Sankara’s Supreme Brahman (God in truth) is impersonal, Nirguna (without Gunas or attributes), Nirakara (formless), Nirvisesha (without special characteristics), immutable, eternal, and Akarta (non-agent). It is above all needs and desires. It is always the Witnessing Subject. It can never become an object as it is beyond the reach of the senses. Brahman is non-dual, one without a second. It has no other besides it. It is destitute of difference, either external or internal. Brahman cannot be described because the description implies a distinction. Brahman cannot be distinguished from any other than It. In Brahman, there is no distinction between substance and attribute. Sat-Chit-Ananda constitutes the very essence or Svarupa of Brahman and not just Its attributes. The Nirguna Brahman of Sage  Sankara is impersonal.

Sage Sankara: ~"That which permeates all, which nothing transcends and which, like the universal space around us, fills everything completely from within and without, that Supreme non-dual Brahman  (God)."

Thus, truth realization is Self-realization.  Self-realization is God-realization.  God-realization itself is real worship.    

The Vedas do not talk about idol worship. In fact, till about 2000 years ago followers of Vedism never worshipped 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.

That is why Swami Vivekananda:~

The masses in India cry to sixty million Gods and still die like dogs. Where are these Gods?

Knowing this, stand up and fight! Not one step back that is the idea. ... Fight it out, whatever comes. Let the stars move from the sphere! Let the whole world stand against us! Death means only a change of garment. What of it? Thus fight! You gain nothing by becoming cowards. ... Taking a step backward, you do not avoid any misfortune. You have cried to all the gods in the world. Has misery ceased? The masses in India cry to sixty million gods and still die like dogs. Where are these gods? ... The gods come to help you when you have succeeded. So what is the use? Die game. ... This bending the knee to superstitions, this selling yourself to your own mind does not befit you, my soul. You are infinite, deathless, birthless. Because you are the infinite spirit, it does not befit you to be a slave. ... Arise! Awake! Stand up and fight! Die if you must. There is none to help you. You are the entire world. Who can help you? - Swami Vivekananda 

(Delivered in San Francisco, on May 28, 1900) -The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda/Volume 1/Lectures And Discourses/The Gita II

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.

Though the Soul is self-proved, Sage Sankara also proposed some logical proofs:

• Shruti — the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Brahma Sutras describe Brahman in an almost exact manner as Sage Sankara. This is the testimonial proof of Brahman.
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• Psychological — every person experiences his Soul or Atman. According to Sage  Sankara, Atman = Brahman. This argument also proves the omniscience of the Brahman.
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• Teleological — the world appears very well ordered; the reason for this cannot be an unconscious principle. The reason must be due to Brahman.
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• Essential — Brahman is the basis of the universe.
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• Perceptible feeling — many people, when they achieve the turīya state, claim that their soul has become one with everything else.

Maya: 

Maya or illusion is the most important contribution of Sage  Sankara. Maya or illusion is that complex illusionary power of the Atman (Soul), which is present in the form of consciousness. Consciousness is the ultimate reality or Brahman. Ignorance is the cause of experiencing duality as reality. Maya or illusion is present in the form of the mind. And the mind is present in the form of the universe. And universe appears as a waking or dream (duality) and disappears as deep sleep (Nonduality). 

The waking experience is real from the standpoint of the waking entity (ego). Waking experience is unreal from the standpoint of the Soul, the Self.  The shelter of the three states is consciousness (Brahman but consciousness itself is untouched by the profanity of illusion (Maya). Illusion (Maya) is temporary and is destroyed with "Self- knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana ".

Status of God:

There is no place for a personal God (Ishvara) in Advaitic Reality. Mixing the concept of God becomes the greatest hindrance in the pursuit of truth. The universe is, in an ultimate sense, described as "false" because consciousness appears as a waking experience due to ignorance. 

The waking experience is a reality from the standpoint of the waking entity. And the waking experience is falsehood from the standpoint of the Soul the  Self. Just as the waking experience is false, the man and his experiences, which are present within the waking experience are also false. 

The experience of the birth, life, and death that happens within the world is also false. The form, time, and space within the waking experience are also false.  Karma and Bhakti have nothing to do with ultimate truth or Brahman. The people, who talk about the personal God, Karma are not fit for Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.   

Brahman—The One Without A Second:~

The Atman is self-evident (Svatah-Siddha). It is not established by extraneous proofs. It is not possible to deny the Atman because It is the very essence of the one who denies It. The Atman is the basis of all kinds of knowledge, presuppositions, and proofs. Self is within, Self is without; Self is before, Self is behind; Self is on the right, Self is on the left; Self is above and Self is below. Brahman is not an object, as it is Adrisya, beyond the reach of the eyes. Hence the Upanishads declare: “Neti Neti—not this, not this....” This does not mean that Brahman is a negative concept, or a metaphysical abstraction, or a nonentity, or a void. It is not another. It is all-full, infinite, changeless, self-existent, self-delight, Self-knowledge and Self-awareness. It is Svarupa, essence. It is the essence of the witness. It is the Seer (Drashta), Transcendent (Turiya), and Silent Witness (Sakshi).

Sage Sankara’s Supreme Brahman is impersonal, Nirguna (without Gunas or attributes), Nirakara (formless), Nirvisesha (without special characteristics), immutable, eternal, and Akarta (non-agent). It is above all needs and desires. It is always the Witnessing Subject. It can never become an object as it is beyond the reach of the senses. Brahman is non-dual, one without a second. It has no other besides it. It is destitute of difference, either external or internal. Brahman cannot be described because the description implies a distinction. Brahman cannot be distinguished from any other than It. In Brahman, there is no distinction between substance and attribute. Sat-Chit-Ananda constitutes the very essence or Svarupa of Brahman and not just Its attributes. The Nirguna Brahman of Sankara is impersonal.

Sage Sankara said:~  Just as a snake is superimposed on the rope in the twilight, this world and body are superimposed on Brahman or the Supreme Self. If you get knowledge of the rope, the illusion of a snake in the rope will vanish. Even so, if you get knowledge of Brahman or the Imperishable, the illusion of body and world will disappear.  

The cause produces the effect without undergoing any change in itself. Snake is only an appearance on the rope. The rope has not transformed itself into a snake, like milk into curd. Brahman is immutable and eternal.  It cannot change itself into the world. Brahman becomes the cause of the world through Maya, which is Its inscrutable mysterious power. 

When you come to know that it is only a rope, your fear disappears. You do not run away from it. Even so, when you realize the eternal immutable Brahman, you are not affected by the phenomena or the names and forms of this world. 

When Avidya or the veil of ignorance is destroyed through knowledge of the Eternal, when Mithya Jnana or false knowledge is removed by real knowledge of the Imperishable or the living Reality, you shine in your true, pristine, divine splendor and glory. 

The Advaita—Without a Parallel 

Sage Sankara's Advaita is lofty, sublime, and unique. It is a system of bold philosophy and logical subtlety. It is highly interesting, inspiring, and elevating. No other philosophy can stand before it in boldness, depth, and subtle thinking. Sage Sankara’s philosophy is complete and perfect

Sage Sankara was a mighty, marvelous genius.  He was a profound thinker of the first rank. He was a sage of the highest realization. His philosophy has brought solace, peace, and illumination to countless persons in the East and the West. His philosophy has soothed the sorrows and afflictions of the most forlorn persons and brought hope, joy, wisdom, perfection, freedom, and calmness to many. His system of philosophy commands the admiration of the whole world.:~Santthosh Kumaar