The erroneous identification of the body with the pure Atman is the root cause for human sufferings and miseries and for births and deaths. You identify yourself with the body and say, ‘I am fair, dark, stout or thin. I am a Brahmin, I am a Kshatriya, I am a doctor’. You identify yourself with the senses and say, ‘I am blind, I am dumb’. You identify yourself with the mind and say, ‘I know nothing. I know every- thing. I became angry. I enjoyed a good meal. I am suffering from this disease’. The entire object of the Brahma Sutras is to remove this er- roneous identification of the Soul with the body which is the root cause of your sufferings and miseries, which is the product of Avidya (ignorance) and help you in the attainment of the final emancipation through knowledge of Brahman.
The Upanishads seem to be full of contradictions at first. They do not contain consistent system of thought. Sri Vyasa systematised the thoughts or philosophy of the Upanishads in his Brahma Sutras. The Sutras reconcile the conflicting statements of the Upanishads. In reality there are no conflicts for the thinker.
The five great Acharyas:
Sri Sankara the exponent of Kevala Advaita or uncompromising monism,
Sri Ramanuja the exponent of Visishtadvaita or qualified monism,
Sri Nimbarka the exponent of Bhedabheda-vada,
Sri Madhva the exponent of strict Dvaitism or Dvaita-vada and
Sri Vallabha the exponent of Suddhadvaita-vada or pure monism
agree that Brahman is the cause of this world and that knowledge of Brahman leads to Moksha or the final emancipation, which is the goal of life. They also emphatically declared that Brah- man can be known only through the scriptures and not through mere reasoning. But they differ amongst themselves as to the nature of this Brahman, the relation of the individual soul to Brahman, the state of the soul in the state of final emancipation, the means of attaining It and Its causality with reference to this universe.
According to Sri Sankara, there is one Absolute Brahman who is Sat-chit-ananda, who is of an absolutely homogeneous nature. The appearance of this world is due to Maya—the illusory power of Brah- man which is neither Sat nor Asat. This world is unreal. This world is a Vivarta or apparent modification through Maya. Brahman appears as this universe through Maya. Brahman is the only reality. The individ- ual soul has limited himself through Avidya and identification with the body and other vehicles. Through his selfish actions he enjoys the fruits of his actions. He becomes the actor and enjoyer. He regards himself as atomic and as an agent on account of Avidya or the limiting Antahkarana. The individual soul becomes identical with Brahman when his Avidya is destroyed. In reality Jiva is all-pervading and iden- tical with Brahman. Isvara or Saguna Brahman is a product of Maya. Worship of Isvara leads to Krama Mukti. The pious devotees (the knowers of Saguna Brahman) go to Brahmaloka and attain final re- lease through highest knowledge. They do not return to this world. They attain the Nirguna Brahman at the end of the cycle. Knowledge of Nirguna Brahman is the only means of liberation. The knowers of