Why the teaching of Advaita has become so popular now is quite possible to understand. On the one hand, everyone is tormented by the mind, and on the other, by an excess of all kinds of spiritual and esoteric knowledge. The teachers of Advaita propose a simple way out – everything into the garbage! Throw out all knowledge, throw out the mind with its thoughts and go within, to your true nature, to your “I.” Simple words, simple decisions. Simplification becomes the guarantee of success, and the antiquity of the teaching and Ramana Maharshi are the guarantee of its truthfulness. In the end, in our age of the sophisticated lie, it is not so bad to have the opportunity to receive simple truths. Furthermore, as I have already written above – categorical claims seem to presuppose the presence in themselves of truth, and negation of all authorities attracts adolescents and individuals disappointed in life.
Advaita was born as a philosophy and no matter what people attempted to do with it later, the influence of the ideas inherent in it from the outset remain fairly strong. On the other hand, if you take away these ideas, then nothing is left of Advaita. If the main ideas of Advaita are followed, then immediately upon acquiring the experience of non-duality of the higher “I” with Brahman, a person must obtain liberation in the direct sense – by leaving the physical body, and along with it leaving this illusory world; by immersing into the only true reality. Now, of course, this is not even recalled, since liberation is implied to mean ridding oneself of the rule of the mind and its thoughts. Well, and the experience of the state of non-duality, of course, ensuing from shutting off the mind.
There exists the mystery of why this or that person comes to the search for higher meaning, God or his own realization. You can discuss karma and reincarnations as much as you like, but the mystery does not become less for that. Even if in a past life you were already a seeker, at some time, after all, there was a life with which everything began. And then either you were born a seeker or – how did you come to it? All stories about the development of the soul do not have any point, because if something can develop, then it is not eternal, and will also die, without waiting for your next reincarnation. Why do some embark on the Sufi Way, and some seek the total absence of the Way in Advaita? All of this, of course, can be attributed to personal inclinations, but there isn’t a clear answer to the question. It happens that way, and that is all. The same may be said about the teaching of Advaita – with all of its vagueness and denial of obvious things – it exists, and that’s it. And if Advaita still attracts people, that means it is necessary. At least for those who have tired of the search and are ready to listen to simple truths, repeated from time to time. And since that is the case, then I, too, will say: “Lord, everything according to Your Will!,” and I will finish now this extensive text.