In Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad verse 1.1.3 the disciple Śaunaka asks his teacher Aṅgiras: 'By knowing which one thing, everything is known? (kasminnu bhagavo vijñāte sarvamidaṃ vijñātam bhavatīti)'.

In Taittirīya Upaniṣad verse 2.1.1 this question is answered bluntly by stating: 'Whoever knows brahman, knows the highest (and thereby everything, brahmavid āpnoti param)'.

In Kena Upaniṣad verse 2.3 this is qualified when the student is put to the test by the teacher he answers correctly: 'Brahman is known by the one who does not know it (as an object of knowledge). It is not known by the one who knows it (as an object of knowledge). To those who know it, it is not knowable (as an object). To those who do not know it, it is known (as an object, yasyamataṃ tasya mataṃ mataṃ yasya na veda saḥ, avijñātaṃ vijānatāṃ vijñātam avijānatāṃ)'.

Volledige conclusion van vedānta (sarva vedānta siddhānta): it is only directly recognizable as the existence and consciousness of the self! As 'being' itself.

Thus it is the knowledge that makes all other forms of knowledge redundant. This means: 'When I know brahman, the absolute truth consciousness, I know everything as my non-dual self'.

Vedānta is a means of knowledge of words (a śabda pramāṇam). Why is this so important? All other means to arrive at knowledge (see pramāṇa) are directed at the world, at objects (body and mind are also objects!). Let the truth now be the subject, the self as pure consciousness, which can appear as a mind that perceives objects. The self is not the thoughts, feelings and the knower and enjoyer of that mind (all objects), and also not the objects of body and world.

Only words can explain this to you, to remove the ignorance of this, and thus let meaning, immediate self-knowledge arise in you. There is no measuring equipment or calculation method that can do this.

In addition, being human is ignorance and caused by ignorance. So the knowledge must come from outside an individual. So it does not come from people (apauruṣeya) but from the whole (īśvara), through the scriptures that are interpreted by the teacher in śravaṇa (unbiased listening with an open, neutral mindset).

When vedānta has done its work, one lets it go and is what one is, free consciousness-existence, the only thing that is, and from which everything seemingly arises and in which things arise and perish (seemingly). Truth even goes beyond the knowledge that vedānta releases in you. Hence again: Vedānta, the end (anta) of knowledge through knowledge (veda).

Vedānta is the jñāna kāṇḍa (the Upaniṣads), the knowledge part of the Vedas that deals with the self-knowledge that I am non-dual consciousness. We are talking about knowledge, because the problem is ignorance of what I really am. The earlier part of the Vedas, the karma kāṇḍa, including meditation (upāsana kāṇḍa) is the preparation for this. In this, the mind as an inner instrument (antaḥ-karaṇam) for knowledge is stilled, balanced and neutralized.

Vedānta is therefore also called a word-mirror (śabda darpaṇa). You look into the mirror of these kinds of words, and understand that yourself and reality are one and the same, non-dual. The words remove the wrong notions. It is the ultimate, most refined, most precise and most complete method to see that I am mokṣa, freedom.

The whole trajectory of vedānta involves karma yoga (bhakti in action, focused love), qualifications, inventory of values (equal dharma), meditation on the world equal īśvara and then śravaṇa (unbiased listening to the words of the teacher, who presents the means of knowledge of the tradition), manana (reflecting on the lessons, asking questions), nididhyāsana (contemplation of oneself as the non-dual truth, consciousness).

Self-realization occurs by definition in śravaṇa, because individual ignorance is removed by wisdom that comes from outside. Practicing and making permanent this direct, free self-image in life in order to put deep-rooted obstacles in this light, and thus to remove their hold, is called nididhyāsana (self-actualization)

Vedānta is not a school of thought, not a philosophy, not a way of seeing (darśana), not a system of ideas, not a series of disagreements. It is a pramāṇa, a means that I work on my mind by listening to the teacher unfold the teachings of the tradition. It shows that although everything seems to be different (vyatireka) it is actually held together by one connection (anvaya), namely consciousness, which is the only truth of the apparent differences.

It offers the ignorant a level of thought that he or she must first acquire in order to understand the next level. Then one contradicts (apavāda vākya) the previous level, and takes the self-inquirer a step further.

Why all this thinking? Because ignorance has many clever layers that must be unmasked.

Not by replacing one set of concepts with another, but by seeing through the flaw in my interpretation of reality. This continues until vedānta has revealed the non-dual nature of reality to the self-inquirer.

The term advaita vedānta can of course be used perfectly well, but it is a tautology. In itself, the term vedānta is enough. Knowledge (veda) is namely non-dual self-knowledge.

Vedānta is not part of what academics call the six systems or views (darśanas) of Indian philosophy. It is a view of reality that happens to be effective in removing ignorance, about knowing what I am. It encompasses in its non-dual vision all other visions.

Vedānta is not meant to win souls, it is meant only to be shared with those who are intensely (tīvra) searching for their true nature (svarūpa), which is the true nature of reality, which is freedom.

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