Jagadguru Adi Shankaracharya
Bhava Shankara Deshika me Sharanam! Around the beginning of the middle ages (1,500 years back), India was witnessing a near collapse of the glorious and ancient Vedic civilisation. The utility of the Vedas was reduced to just performance of a wide range of rituals with the narrow objective of fulfillment of desires - in other words only the Karma Kanda portion was being practiced. The magnificent Jnana Kanda portion (the Upanishads ) - the cream and actual essence of the Vedas which deals with solutions for the ultimate mysteries, was completely overlooked and almost forgotten. Buddhism and Jainism took birth as a reaction against the excess emphasis on rituals. However in their opposition to Karma Kanda, they made the great mistake of outright rejection of the Vedas. In this way, they were devoid of the most beautiful message of the Upanishads - Oneness of Consciousness - the source of Infinite Bliss and Wisdom. One of the fundamental principles of Buddhism is that there is n