The orthodox people only teach and preach their knowledge of ignorance but none of them wants to know the God in Truth.+

The orthodox people only teach and preach their knowledge of ignorance but none of them wants to know the God in Truth, which is hidden by the dualistic illusion or Maya.

First Mundaka - Chapter 2 (10) - Ignorant fools, regarding sacrifices and humanitarian works as the highest, do not know any higher good. Having enjoyed their reward on the heights of heaven, gained by good works, they still remain in ignorance of the Atman is the God in truth.

As a person, one performs rituals throughout his life. The person who performs rituals and aspires for rewards will view the world in which he exists as a reality. However, the Soul, the 'Self' unborn eternal hidden by the world in which he exists. From the standpoint of the Soul, the world in which he exists is merely an illusion.

The scriptures dealing with rituals, rewards, etc. are therefore addressed to an ignorant person.

First Mundaka - Chapter 2 (9) ~ Children, immersed in ignorance in various ways, flatter themselves, saying: We have accomplished life's purpose. Because these performers of karma do not know the Truth owing to their attachment, they fall from heaven, misery-stricken, when the fruit of their work is exhausted.

First Mundaka - Chapter 2 (8) ~ Fools, dwelling in darkness, but wise in their own conceit and puffed up with vain scholarship, wander about, being afflicted by many ills, like blind men led by the blind.

Ish Upanishad declares:~ Those people who have neglected the attainment of Self-knowledge and have thus committed suicide 10/11/12

The religious orthodox people who have neglected the attainment of Self-knowledge 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?

Sage Sankara says “he who knows the Brahman (God in truth) 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 orthodox dualist and nondualists sects are nothing to do with the ultimate truth or Brahman. The orthodox Advaita considers, birth, life, death, rebirth, heaven, hell, sin, karma, and the world as a reality, whereas Sage Sankara declares the world in which we exist is merely an illusion.

If the world is an illusion, then birth, life, death, rebirth, heaven, hell, sin, karma, and the world, is bound to be an illusion.

Without Sage Sankara, there is no Advaita (non-duality). Since it was mixed up with orthodoxy there is a lot of confusion. Sage Sankara’s quotes (selected verified) are quoted in my blogs and postings to show what Sage Sankara meant and ‘what is blocking the seekers from realizing the ultimate truth or Brahman. There are so many non-dualistic masters of the east and also from the west who expound Advaitic or non-dualistic knowledge, but none of them are helpful to reach the ultimate end.

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 most 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.

Sage Sankara's commentary to Brahma Sutras (Chap.3.4.50) shows that the Gnani "should pass through life", not run away from life, and should take a middle course between seeking worldly honor and worldly abasement.

Sage Sankara varied his practical advice and doctrinal teaching according to the people he was amongst. He never advised them to give up their particular religion or beliefs or metaphysics completely; he only told them to give up the worst features of abuse: at the same time, he showed just one step forward towards the truth. Sage Sankara was extremely precise and careful in his choice of words.

Sage Sankara gave religious, rituals, and dogmatic instruction to the mass, but pure philosophy only to the few who could rise to it. Hence the interpretation of his writings by commentators is often confusing because they mix up the two viewpoints. Thus, they may assert that ritual is a means of realizing Brahman, which is absurd.

Sage Sankara says in the commentary in Vedanta, sutra that what is accepted without a proper enquiry will not lead a person to the final goal. On the contrary, such acceptance will result only in evil, something which is detrimental to our spiritual progress.

Seekers of truth should not believe blindly in traditional orthodox Advaita without verifying all the facts from every angle. The orthodoxy has nothing to with spirituality, which is based on the Soul or spirit. One has to reflect through reasoning over and over again without getting tired of the process. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar