Sage Sankara’s whole wisdom can be summed up in one sentence, ‘There is nothing else but Brahman'.+

Without Sage Sankara, there is no Advaita. Without Advaitic wisdom, it is impossible to realize the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space. The all-pervading Reality is beyond both duality and non-duality.

Sage Sankara says: ~ Atman is Brahman. The Atman alone is real is not religious truth. Sage Sri, Sankara declared this Advaitic truth, which is the ultimate truth to the whole world, many centuries back is the rational truth, the scientific truth, and the ultimate truth.

Sage Sankara’s whole wisdom can be summed up in one sentence, ‘There is nothing else but Brahman (consciousness). He says that the Absolute Existence, Absolute Knowledge, and Absolute awareness are real. The universe is not real. He says that Brahman and Atman are one. The ultimate and the Absolute Truth is the ‘Self’, which is one though appearing as many different individuals. The individual has no reality. Only the ‘‘Self’’ is real; the rest, mental and physical are but passing appearances.

Genuine philosophy must be independent of religion, Sage Sankara himself attributed God as reality only in dualistic illusion. The attributeless God (Brahman) is the only reality and has nothing to do with religion.

Sage Sankara pokes fun at ascetics and points out that all their austerities do not cause desires to go (Altar Flowers" Page 205, v.2 P.207 v.4)

There are two kinds of audiences ~ the ordinary ones who desire the transitory heaven and other pleasures obtained as a result of ritual, prayers, devotion to personal Gods, and sacrifices. And the more advanced seeker who seeks to know the ultimate truth or Brahman.

Religion and yoga are meant for the ignorant populace, to help lead their followers along the way.

The jnana kanda is meant for those who wish to realize the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space.

Those who lack the intelligence to discriminate between reality and illusion will not be able to grasp what is real and what is an illusion. Both real and unreal is the consciousness, not real alone.

Those who have chosen the Atmic path have to drop all the orthodox adulteration by bifurcation and drop what is not needed to acquire ‘Self’-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana: ~

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. Sage Sankara says: ~ there is no need to study the Scriptures, to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman then why indulge in studying the scriptures.

Sage Sankara says: ~ ‘There is no need to study philosophy, to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman then why indulge in studying philosophy.

Sage Sankara says: ~ “There is no need to indulge in rituals, to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman then why indulge in rituals.

Sage Sankara says: ~ “The person who superimposes all those attributes on the changeless, eternal ‘‘Self’’ and identifies ‘‘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. Therefore, why believe and worship attributed Gods in place of real God and permanently remain in ignorance of the reality, which is beyond form, time, and space.”

Sage Sankara says:~ “There is no need to indulge in yoga, to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman then why indulge in yoga. Neither sacred baths nor any amount of charity nor even Hundreds of pranayamas* can give the ‘Self’-knowledge then why indulge in yoga, pranayama dipping in the rivers, and any amount of charity, when they are not the means to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

Sage Sankara says:~ the transparent Truth of the ‘Self’, which is hidden by the illusion, is to be attained through the instructions of a knower of Brahman, (Gnani) then why you are sticking a Guru who is not a Gnani.

Sage Sankara says:~ “The exercise in discrimination between real and unreal and renunciation of the false is real meditation, then why you are indulging in all other types of meditation.

Sage Sankara says:~ “Though I wear these robes of a Sanyasin, it is only for the sake of bread” Then why stick to the religious Gurus who wear the robes of a Sanyasin is only for the sake of bread.

Sage Sankara says:~ “One without knowledge does not obtain liberation even in a hundred births, no matter which religious faith he follows then why you are sticking to your religion which will not help you to obtain Self-knowledge.

Sage Sankara says:~ “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 then why you are not dropping all other means which are blocking your realization of the ultimate truth or Brahman.

Sage Sankara says:~ “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 then why you are after scholars explanation, when the scholar's scriptural mastery and shower of words, the skill in expounding the scriptures are no good for liberation,

Sage Sankara says:~ “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 then why you want to study the scriptures.

Sage Sankara says:~ “The Scriptures consisting of many words are a dense forest which merely causes the mind to ramble. Hence, men of wisdom should earnestly set about knowing the true nature of the ‘Self’ and then why not independently investigate and know the ‘‘Self’’.

Sage Sankara says:~ “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? When Sage Sankara says “Vedas and mantras will not help you to get rid of the ignorance then why you are indulging in what is not required to acquire the ‘Self’-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

Sage Sankara says:~ “ A disease does not leave off if one simply utter the name of the medicine, without taking it; (similarly) without direct realization one cannot be liberated by the mere utterance of the word Brahman.

Sage Sankara says “Without causing the objective universe to vanish and without knowing the truth of the ‘‘Self’’, how is one to achieve Liberation by the mere utterance of the word Brahman? — It would result merely in an effort of speech then why indulge in repetition of the name of God when they are not the means to Self-knowledge.

Sage Sankara clearly says:~ “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.

Therefore the wise should, as in the case of disease and the like, personally strive by all the means in their power of reason Sage Sankara clearly says the truth is to be attained through the instructions of a knower of Brahman (Gnani) the why you are after a Guru or yogi who is not a Gnani.

Sage Sankara says:~ 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 Sage Sankara says the liberation cannot be the result by scholars giving sermons of all the scripture, by Gods be invoked through sacrifices, by performing elaborate rituals, by propitiating the personal Gods, by good deeds than what is the use of indulging in all these things which are useless to acquire ‘Self’-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

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 ‘‘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.

There is no hope of Self-realization by studying the philosophy of the following religion or by practicing yoga.

Sage Sankara says:~ “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.

There is no hope of Self-realization by studying the philosophy of following a religion or by practicing yoga so why you are indulging in unwanted things that are not required to unfold the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space.

Sage Sankara says:~ “Without knowing and examining the external world, one can’t know the Truth, as the idea that the external world exists, won't go. It can go only by an inquiry into the nature of the external world.

Sage Sankara’s wisdom has nothing to do with orthodox belief systems.

Sage Sankara says: ~ “What is accepted without proper inquiry will not lead to the final Goal. Then why accept others' wisdom without verifying their validity. Nothing has to be accepted as truth without verification. Only uncontradictable truth has to be accepted as the ultimate truth or Brahman.

Nothing has to be accepted as truth without verification.

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 Non-Dualism by pure reason.

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.

Sage Sankara says:~ “The Knower of the Atman (i.e., a Gnani) "bears no outward mark of a holy man”, then why you are stuck up with the holy men or Gurus or Godmen or yogis who identify themselves as holy men are not Gnanis.

Sage Sankara says:~ How can the talk of diversity, dvaita, apply to the Supreme Reality which is one and homogeneous, Advaita? Who has ever observed diversity, dvaita, in the unmixed bliss of the state of profound sleep?

A Gnani will easily appreciate the high flights of Sage Sankara’s Advaitic wisdom is one of the 'most majestic structures and valuable products of the Genius of man in his search for Truth. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar