Sageb Sankara is Jagadguru for the ignorant populace and Brahma Gnani for the seeking world.
Sage Sankara’s wisdom has nothing to do with orthodox belief system. 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.
Religion has nothing to do with Advaita. Advaitic sect belongs to religion. Advaita is pure spirituality. The Advaitic sect is dualistic, has nothing to do with the Advaitic truth, which is hidden by the illusion. Mixing religion and spirituality is like mixing oil and water.
Religion is regarded as sacred and real by the common people, by the wise as false, and by the politicians as useful.
The religion and its sects are based on the form, time, and space, whereas Spirituality is based on the Atman, the formless, timeless, and spaceless existence.
Religions hold birth, life, death, and the world as realities. From the ultimate standpoint, the world in which we exist is an illusion created out of the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. The seeker must know the difference between religion and spirituality.
Sage Sankara means Advaita, and Advaita means Sage Sankara. Advaitic wisdom of Sage Sankara has nothing to do with orthodoxy. Orthodox Advaita blocks the seeker from acquiring Advaitic wisdom of Sage Sankara. Sage Sankara says the orthodoxy is meant for ignorant people.
Most of the ideas that Sage Sankara rejected came back to the Advaita fold, and the Mimamsa position with regard to the scriptural authority and value of rituals became a part of the Advaita posture.
The wisdom–oriented teachings of Sage Sankara became as much a face of Advaita as the rituals, worship, and other practices. There was, therefore, an obvious disparity between what Sage Sankara idealized and what his followers, even the elite, practiced.
If the seeker is seeking truth, nothing but the truth, then he has to drop all the orthodox Advaita and different versions of Advaita created by eastern and western masters without mercy, to acquire Advaitic wisdom or Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. Such teaching, instead of helping the seeker, blocks them from realizing the truth, hidden by ignorance.
According to Advaita Vedanta, the Veda addresses itself to two kinds of audiences –
1. “The ordinary ones who desire the transitory heaven and other pleasures obtained as a result of ritual sacrifices”.
2. “The advanced seekers who seek to know the ultimate truth or Brahman.”
Thus, the purva
mimam.sa, with its emphasis on the karma kanda of the Vedas, is meant for the first audience, to help lead its followers along the way. However, the Vedanta, with its emphasis on the jnana kanda, is meant for those who wish to go beyond form, time, and space.
Sage Sri, Sankara says: Advaitic orthodoxy is meant for ignorant people.
Sage Sankara says the scriptures dealing with rituals are addressed to an ignorant person.
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" (Brhadaranyaka Upanishad (1/3/28)).
According to Advaita Vedanta, the Veda addresses itself to two kinds of audiences - the ordinary ones who desire the transitory heaven and other pleasures obtained as a result of ritual sacrifices, and the more advanced seeker who seeks to know Brahman. Thus, the purva
mimam.sa, with its emphasis on the karma kanda of the Vedas, is meant for the first audience, to help lead its followers along the way. However, the Vedanta, with its emphasis on the jnana kanda, is meant for those who wish to go beyond such transient pleasures.
Those who lack the intelligence to discriminate between formless witness (subject) and the three states (object) will not be able to grasp what is real and what is unreal. Both subject and object are consciousness, not the subject alone.
Ish Upanishad declares: - Those people who have neglected the attainment of ‘Self’-knowledge and have thus committed suicide ~10/11/12
Those people who have neglected the attainment of ‘Self’-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana and have thus committed suicide, as it were, are doomed to enter those worlds after death.
This is a condemnation of people who do not try to attain ‘Self’-knowledge. They are, in a real sense, committing suicide, for what can be worse than being a slave to sense enjoyment, completely oblivious of the real purpose of life, which is to be one’s own master?
The Brahma Sutras, together with Sage Sankara's commentary thereon, do not contain higher Vedanta. They are intended for duffers.
Sage Sankara's commentary on Brahma Sutras is not on the philosophical basis, but on a religio-mystic one, with appeal to the Vedas as the final authority.
In the Brahma Sutra, Sage Sankara takes the position that there is another entity outside us, i.e., the wall really exists separately from the mind. This was because Sage Sri, Sankara explains in Manduka, that those who study the Sutras are religious minds, intellectual children, hence his popular viewpoint to assist them. These people are afraid to go deeper because it means being heroic enough to refuse to accept Sruti and God's authority, in case they mean punishment by God.
Sage Sankara says: Keep the scriptures for children, but throw them on the fire for wise seekers.
In the Brahma Sutras, Sage Sankara takes for granted, assumes that a world was created: He there mixes dogmatic theology with philosophy.
That God created the world is an absolute lie; nevertheless, you will find Sage Sankara (in his commentary on the Vedanta Sutras) clearly says this! He has to adapt his teachings to his audience, reserving the highest for philosophical minds.
The text of Brahma Sutras is based on religion, dogmatism, but in the commentary, Sankara cleverly introduced some philosophy. If it is objected that many Upanishads are equally dogmatic because they also begin by assuming Brahman, but a few Upanishads do not, but prove Brahman at the end of a train of proof.
The causality and creation, but these are for religious people only. Religion is only for those who are unable to understand truth beyond form, time, and space.
Religion is not final. It only gives satisfaction to the populace. Self-knowledge is for the whole of humanity to free them from experiencing birth, life, death, and the world as reality.
People of small intelligence follow religion and believe that the world was created by God. But how do they know that He did so? When a pot is created, one can see both the pot and its maker, but not in the case of the world.
This follows the prescription prescribed by orthodoxy in the name of Sage Sankara. The orthodoxy has listed down in 5 verses, 40 steps of Sadhanas (discipline) to be followed to achieve the (only meaningful) goal of human life, Moksha, liberation. Use it as every day as contemplative prayer.
1. Study the scriptures (Vedas) daily
2. Perform diligently the duties (sva dharma) ordered by the scriptures
3. Dedicate all the actions thus performed (as above) to Ishvara (IshvarArpanna Buddhi)
4. Gradually give up the performance of ‘Selfish actions
5. Filter sinful/adharmic likes and dislikes
6. Recognize the inherent defects of material pursuits
7. Seek moksha with a consistent endeavor
8. Get out of the bondage of activity (specified to the ones that end up entangling us)
9. Seek companionship with men of wisdom
10. Be established in firm devotion to Ishvara and perform upasana
11. Gain mind control, sense control, withdrawal, forbearance, faith, and focus
12. Give up karma and upasana when they are not required any longer for spiritual growth
13. Seek Knowledge from a Satguru
16. Listen in-depth to the Upanishadic declarations
17. Analyze the meanings of Upanishadic commandments
18. Perform such analyses by sticking to the scriptures
19. Get away from the logic-based system (logic is good when it corroborates scripture, in the sense, don't try to substitute it)
20. Dwell upon the discriminative rationale of Shruti (basically, develop Viveka)
21. Constantly remain steeped in the fact that you are Brahman
22. Renounce pride/vanity/arrogance
23. Give up the delusionary misconception- "I am the body"
24. Do not argue with wise men
25. Consider hunger as a disease
26. Treat hunger, the disease, by taking bhiksha food
27. Beg no delicious food
28. Live contentedly with whatever comes your way as prasadam
29. Endure all pains of opposites- heat/cold, likes/dislikes, pleasure/pain.
31. Be indifferent and avoid groupism
32. Don't get attached to either someone's love or criticism
33. In solitude also, live joyously
34. Quieten your mind in Ishvara
35. Realize and see the ‘Self’ in everything, everywhere
36. Recognize the universe as a finite projection of the ‘Self’
37. Destroy the effects of deeds done in earlier lives (sanchit karma) through the strength of knowledge
38. Through wisdom, become detached from AgAmi karma (give up doership/enjoyership)
39. Experience and exhaust the prarabdh, fruits of past actions
40. Thereafter, live eternally as Brahma
But
Sage Sankara: ~ "Though I wear these robes of a Sanyasin, it is only for the sake of bread."
~ This shows he was wearing the religious robe only for the sake of bread."
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.
All the rituals based on the false belief of Gods will not yield any fruits, and they are meant for the ignorant populace who are unable to grasp the God beyond form, time, and space.
The rituals mentioned in the karmakanda of the Vedas are sought to be negated in the jnanakanda, which is also part of the same scripture. While the karmakanda enjoins upon you the worship of various deities and lays down rules for the same, the jnanakand, a constituent of the Upanishads, ridicules the worshipper of deities as a dim-witted person no better than a beast.
This seems strange, the latter part of the Vedas contradicting the former part. The first part deals with karma, while the second or concluding part is all about jnana. Owing to this difference, people have gone so far as to divide our scripture into two sections: the Vedas (that is, the first part) to mean the karmakanda and the Upanishads (Vedanta) to mean the jnanakanda.
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)
The liberation cannot be the result of good works, for Sruti itself declares that there is no hope for immortality by means of wealth. (Verses -7)
Religious rites and rigid ceremonies were passed down from one generation to the next as a practice or set customs and traditions, and performed automatically with blind faith. Such worship based on the belief in God does not reach God.
Religious rites and ceremonies, yagnas, and homa-havans or any other forms of rituals are meant for the ignorant populace.
Belief in God without knowing God in actuality holds the worshiper more firmly in the grip of ignorance.
All worship and the ceremonial rituals performed on the base of non-~Vedic Gods will not yield any fruits. Deeper self-search reveals the fact that the worshiper, the worship, and the worshiper and the world are merely an illusion created out of the consciousness.
Religious rites and ceremonies, yagnas and homa-havans, or any other forms of ritual formal observance have long since set in.
Religious rites and ceremonies, yagnas, and homa-havans or any other forms of rituals are meant for the ignorant populace. In the Atmic path, the seeker has to discard what is not needed to realize the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space.
Mundaka Upanishad: ~ “The rituals and the sacrifices described in the Vedas deal with lower knowledge. The sages ignored these rituals and went in search of higher knowledge. ... Such rituals are unsafe rafts for crossing the sea of samsara, of birth and death. Doomed to shipwreck are those who try to cross the sea of samsara on these poor rafts. Ignorant of their own ignorance, yet wise in their own esteem, these deluded men, Proud of their vain learning, go round and round like the blind led by the blind.
Sage Sankara pointed out that rituals could in no way bring about wisdom, much less moksha. He asserted that while the rewards of the rituals were not a matter of direct realization, wisdom, which is the fruit of Vedanta, is based on immediate and personal realization; one does not need to wait for the reward nor be in doubt whether the reward would or would not come.
This was in sharp contrast to the position taken by Mimamsakas, who asserted that rituals alone would lead one to higher levels of attainment. Further, the deities would reward only those entitled to perform the rituals alone. The entitlement involved the caste, creed, and other parameters.
Sage Sankara severely criticized the ritualistic attitude and those who advocated such practices. However, the texts that combined rituals with wisdom (jnana_karma_samucchaya) were more in favor of the Mimamsaka position, came into vogue, projecting Sage Sankara as the rallying force of the doctrine. His followers might have found Sage Sankara’s mission a hard task and therefore compromised the liberating wisdom with the performance of rituals.
One of Sage Sankara’s missions was to wean people away from a ritualistic approach advocated by Mimamsakas and to project wisdom (jnana) as the means of liberation in the light of Upanishad teachings.
Sage Sankara severely criticized the ritualistic attitude and those who advocated such practices. However, the orthodox texts that combined rituals with wisdom (jnana_karma_samucchaya) were more in favor of the Mimamsaka position, came into vogue, projecting Sage Sankara as the rallying force of the doctrine.
Sage Sankara:~ (11) As regards the rituals, Sage Sankara says, 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 throughout 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 a 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 ‘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. ~Adhyasa Bhashya
Sage Sankara: ~ (12) Sage Sri, 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
Sage Sankara himself had often said that his philosophy was based on Sruti, or revealed scripture. This may be because Sage Sankara addressed the ordinary man, who finds security in the idea of causality and thus, in the idea of God, and Revelation is indispensable to prove the latter. He believed that those of superior intelligence have no need of this idea of divine causality, and can, therefore, dispense with Sruti and arrive at the truth of Advaita by pure reason.
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 such as spiritual attainment, one’s own realization was the sole authority, and it cannot be disputed.
Sage Sankara also said the study of the Upanishad was neither indispensable nor a necessary prerequisite for attaining the human goal, the moksha.
Sage Sri, Sankara pointed out, even those who were outside the Upanishad fold were as eligible to 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 says: ~ VC 56. Neither by Yoga, nor by Sankhya, nor by good work, nor by learning, but by the realization of one's identity with Brahman is Liberation possible, and by no other means.
58. Loud speech consisting of a shower of words, the skill in expounding the Scriptures, and likewise erudition - these merely bring on a little personal enjoyment to the scholar but are no good for Liberation.
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?
Sage Sankara says rituals and rites such as yajna or fire ritual are meant for the ignorant populace. Sage Sankara asserts that, will not prepare the mindset for the journey to Self-knowledge.
Sagev Sankara says, “he who knows the Brahman (God) is one and the ‘Self’ is another does not know Brahman (God in truth).”
Sage Sankara also asserts that the Self is realized when all the effects of ignorance, root, and branch, are burnt down by the fire of Self-knowledge, which arises from discrimination between these two—the Self and the non-Self.
Sage Sankara’s Gnanic path can help the seekers draw and prepare them for the journey to the reality hidden by the dualistic illusion or Maya.
The seeker's aim is the search for the Ultimate Truth or Brahman. The search to find and realize the non-dualistic or Advaitic truth that, in actuality, was never lost, only hidden. : ~Santthosh Kumaar
