Sankara and Vedanta

           Vedanta is the knowledge . It is a vision and not a particular mode of life or a particular religion . It is also not a set of values . It is not a mode of life but IT IS THE VISION OF LIFE . It is the vision of the TRUTH . This is the fundamental thing about Vedanta . Thus , the pursuit of knowledge comes to an end or it culminates when this knowledge called Vedanta is gained .
          
           Vedanta is the universal vision of life . It is the vision of the truth and the life . It is the vision of the truth and the TRUTH is that which is universally acceptable , which remains the same and is equally applicable everywhere whether it is in India or in the United States , in the forest or in Himalayas , in the ancient time or in the modern era . It does not change with changing conditions or circumstances . Thus , TRUTH is that which remains the same all the time (kala) , all the place(desa) under all conditions(vastu) .

            It is not anyone's private property , neither of Vedas not of Upanishads . By the word Vedanta . we do not even mean the body of words called Upanishads . While discussing what is meant by Vedanta or the knowledge of Brahman , Sri Sankaracharya himself said the knowledge that is Vedanta is not merely a body of words but it is the appreciation or the vision that this word give rise to . Therefore , Vedanta does not mean any particular book but it is the knowledge . Therefore , it is universal . Otherwise , it could have been confined to certain people , to certain place , to a certain mode of life . Vedanta , being universal , is equally applicable to everybody , every living being as a matter of fact and that alone is the reason why we are interested in knowing it .

           There is no such thing as Sankara Vedanta or Sankara philosophy since a number of opinions exist pertaining to the vision of the upanishads . The vision profounded by Sankara is known as Sankara Vedanta . But , it is not his personal opinion . It is what the Upanishads reveals . Thus , we use the word Vedanta instead of Sankara Vedanta .