Download or read book Shankara and Indian Philosophy written by Natalia Isayeva and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2016-03-22 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: According to Advaita-Vedanta, God or Brahman is identical with the inner self (the Atman) of each person, while the rest of the world is nothing but objective illusion (maya). Shankara maintains that there are two primary levels of existence and knowledge: the higher knowledge that is Brahman itself, and the relative, limited knowledge, regarded as the very texture of the universe. Consequently, the task of a human being is to reach the absolute unity and the reality of Brahman—in other words, to reach the innermost self within his or her own being, discarding on the way all temporary characteristics and attributes.