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Do not fill this in! =====Renouncement of ritualism===== In the ''Upadesasahasri'' Shankara discourages ritual worship such as oblations to ''Deva'' (God), because that assumes the Self within is different from [[Brahman]].{{refn|group=note|name="ritualism"|Shankara, himself, had renounced all religious ritual acts;{{sfn|Potter|2008|p=16}}<br/>For an example of Shankara's reasoning "why rites and ritual actions should be given up",<ref>Karl Potter on p. 220;{{full citation needed|date=February 2022}}</ref> Elsewhere, Shankara's ''Bhasya'' on various Upanishads repeat "give up rituals and rites".<ref>{{cite book |title=Shankara's Bhasya on Brihadaranyaka Upanishad |translator=S Madhavananda |year=1950 |url=https://archive.org/details/Brihadaranyaka.Upanishad.Shankara.Bhashya.by.Swami.Madhavananda |pages=[https://archive.org/details/Brihadaranyaka.Upanishad.Shankara.Bhashya.by.Swami.Madhavananda/page/348/mode/2up?view=theater 348–350, 754–757]}}</ref>}}{{refn |group=note |name="Mookerji" |1=Compare {{harvnb|Mookerji|2011}} on [[Svādhyāya]] (Vedic learning). {{harvtxt|Mookerji|2011|pp=29–31}} notes that the Rigveda, and Sayana's commentary, contain passages criticizing as fruitless mere recitation of the ''Ŗik'' (words) without understanding their inner meaning or essence, the knowledge of ''dharma'' and ''Parabrahman''. {{harvtxt|Mookerji|2011|pp=29, 34}} concludes that in the Rigvedic education of the mantras "the contemplation and comprehension of [[Nirukta|their meaning]] was considered as more important and vital to education than their mere mechanical repetition and correct pronunciation." {{harvtxt|Mookerji|2011|p=35}} refers to Sayana as stating that "the mastery of texts, ''akshara-praptī'', is followed by ''[[artha]]-[[Buddhi|bodha]]'', perception of their meaning." (''[[Artha]]'' may also mean "goal, purpose or essence," depending on the context.{{sfn|Potter|1998|p=610 (note 17)}}<ref group=web>{{cite web |url=http://spokensanskrit.de/index.php?tinput=artha&direction=SE&script=HK&link=yes&beginning=0 |title=artha |work=Sanskrit English Dictionary |publisher=University of Koeln, Germany |url-status=deviated |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150607221225/http://spokensanskrit.de/index.php?tinput=artha&direction=SE&script=HK&link=yes&beginning=0 |archive-date=2015-06-07}}</ref>) According to {{harvtxt|Mookerji|2011|p=36}}, "the realization of [[rta|Truth]]" and the knowledge of ''[[paramatman]]'' as revealed to the ''rishis'' is the real aim of Vedic learning, and not the mere recitation of texts.}} The "doctrine of difference" is wrong, asserts Shankara, because, "he who knows the Brahman is one and he is another, does not know Brahman".{{sfn|Śaṅkarācārya|1949|pp=16–17}}{{sfn|Potter|2008|pp=219–221}} The false notion that ''Atman'' is different from ''Brahman''{{sfn|Mayeda|1992|p=91; 219 (Up.II.1.28)}} is connected with the novice's conviction that (''Upadesasaharsi II.1.25'') {{blockquote|...I am one [and] He is another; I am ignorant, experience pleasure and pain, am bound and a transmigrator [whereas] he is essentially different from me, the god not subject to transmigration. By worshipping Him with oblation, offerings, homage and the like through the [performance of] the actions prescribed for [my] class and stage of life, I wish to get out of the ocean of transmigratory existence. How am I he?{{sfn|Mayeda|1992|p=91, 218}}}} Recognizing oneself as "the Existent-''Brahman''," which is mediated by scriptural teachings, is contrasted with the notion of "I act," which is mediated by relying on sense-perception and the like.{{sfn|Mayeda|1992|p=172-173 (Up.I.18.3-8)}} According to Shankara, the statement "Thou art That" "remove[s] the delusion of a hearer,"{{sfn|Mayeda|1992|p=183 (Up.I.18.99-100)}} "so through sentences as "Thou art That" one knows one's own ''Atman'', the witness of all internal organs,"{{sfn|Mayeda|1992|p=190 (Up.I.18.174)}} and not from any actions.{{sfn|Mayeda|1992|p=192 (Up.I.18.196-197); p.195 (Up.I.18.2019)}}{{refn|group=note|Up.I.18.219: "The renunciation of all actions becomes the means for discriminating the meaning of the word "Thou" since there is an [Upanisadic] teaching, "Having become calm, self-controlled [..., one sees ''Atman'' there in oneself]" (Bhr. Up. IV, 4, 23)."{{sfn|Mayeda|1992|p=195 (Up.I.18.2019)}}}} With this realization, the performance of rituals is prohibited, "since [the use of] rituals and their requisites is contradictory to the realization of the identity [of ''Atman''] with the highest ''Atman''."{{sfn|Mayeda|1992|p=85, 220 (Up.II.1.30)}} Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page