Query: Advaita Vedanta philosophy Hinduism... You said shankaracharya's advaita is correct but he says there is only one soul which is brahman. But you stated brahman is collection of all these souls. Is there only one soul or more than one, becoz shankara says that atma is only parmatama. what it means please?

Kaivalya Jnani:
The Advaita Vedanta philosophy of Hinduism is without a parallel. Adi Shankaracharya was a fierce proponent of the doctrine of Advaita Vedanta. Adi Shankaracharya stood for what was correct and right. Bhagavad Gita... the most sacred scriptures of Hinduism also confirms the same.

Advaita Vedanta is not merely a philosophy... it is the absolute truth of life! Apart from God Almighty nothing else exists in the whole of Cosmos. God Almighty can be summed up as a mighty puzzle... all individual souls' atmans being individual parts of the bigger puzzle.

After enlightenment (kaivalya jnana)... the individual soul atman having liberated forever joins the main puzzle. Piece by piece... the larger puzzle gets completed! At the time of the dissolution of the Cosmos... the entire puzzle is complete announcing every single soul atman having reached the end of cosmic life... the 8.4 millionth manifestation!

When the big bang occurs... God Almighty explodes self for creation of the Cosmos. In simpler terms... the mighty puzzle... the greater puzzle (we call God Almighty) explodes itself and in the process all individual pieces of the puzzle (the Independent souls' atmans) scatter all over the Cosmos.

To purify themselves... to remove the dross impurities within... these individual pieces of puzzle... the Independent souls' atmans start their cosmic sojourn... the cosmic journey of 8.4 million manifestations (an earthly life cycle of 96.4 million earthly years)!

Only after human beings gained enlightenment... and finally salvation (moksha)... this individual pieces of the puzzle join the mighty puzzle aka the kingdom of God (Vaikunth in Hinduism). Gaining enlightenment is a one-way path. Having joined the mighty puzzle... the individual pieces of the puzzle... the liberated soul atman cannot embark on another cosmic journey.

The soul atman present in every human being... rather every living being is part of God Almighty himself. Does it mean God Almighty is present in every living being in minuscule form... yes, the truth is so! None can ever deny the presence of a soul atman within our heart.

One who has not yet reached the stage of enlightenment... is he authorized to impart the teachings of the Sacred Bhagavad Gita. Mahavira... the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism rightly said, before imparting the Wisdom of the sacred scriptures to the masses... first become a true Jina (one who has won his real self)... becomes one with real self, the soul atman within.

As per Mahavira... the Wisdom of the Sacred Scriptures can only be delivered by one who has gained enlightenment... never before! Rituals do not play any role on the spiritual path. Religious masters of today merely indulge in rituals that carry no meaning. Simply by following the path of Bhakti... Bhakti yoga... human beings can never reach God Almighty!

Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa and Maharishi Ramana... both started their journey of search for God... the Bhakti Marga way! Subsequently they switched to the jnana Yoga path... the path of Wisdom! Most human beings in life travel towards God by the path of Bhakti Yoga. The path of Bhakti Yoga at one stage merges with the path of jnana yoga.

The path of jnana yoga is the only medium of reaching God Almighty. It is not religion... but the path of spirituality that paves way for one reaching God Almighty. In the present Kali Yuga... the Dark Age... the metal age... the religious masters often stress upon the benefits of following the path of Bhakti. That does not mean one reaches God via the path of Bhakti Yoga.

At a time when society has reached its lowest ebb... to think of following the path of jnana yoga seems impossible... but the absolute facts of life can never be belied! Kali Yuga or no Kali Yuga... God Almighty can only be reached by following the path of jnana yoga... the path of Advaita Vedanta... the path followed and advocated by Adi Shankaracharya!

We also need remember... Swarga (Heaven in English) is not a place for the human body. Every soul atman when not manifesting a body either remains in heaven (Swarga) or hell (Naraka) depending upon the residual balance of karma of the individual soul atman. If the residual balance of karma is positive... the soul atman merits a place in heaven.

What if the residual balance of karma is negative! Both heaven and hell exist in the sun. The core of the sun where temperatures exceed millions of the degrees centigrade is where heaven exists. It is in such high temperatures the soul atman feels comfortable.

Hell exists in the periphery of the sun where temperatures are considerably less. It is in such low temperatures... the soul atman suffers for eternity! The human form... the present human life is limited to a life span of 70 to 80 years. We do not know what we shall be in the next manifestation... rather what form our soul atman manifests in the next manifestation! Why worry of heaven or hell in present life!

For a human being... the commoner... the masses... thinking of heaven or hell carries no meaning. As the human life is limited to the present span of 70 to 80 years... the domain of heaven and hell is exclusively meant for the soul atman within and not the human form!

More Advaita Vedanta philosophy Hinduism related links...

Creator of God - Names of God

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Essay by: Kaivalya Jnani... One who realized self in his life time!

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Full text of query: 1)you said shankaracharya's advaita is correct. but he say's there is only one soul which is brahman. But you have stated that brahman is collection of all these souls.i'm confused whether there is only one soul or more than one, becoz shankara says that atma is only parmatama. what it means please?

2)i had recently read in prabhupada's bhagvat gita that at time of death if one thinks of goloka he attains that place for eternity. is there any tru unimaginable th in such statement, does any goloka really exist?

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