Truth according to Vedas

The fundamental principle of Vedanta is oneness.

There is one Existence, one Life, one Spirit, one Being in the universe. The idea of separateness is unreal. Vedants does not teach, that the phenomenal world is a mere illusion. It teaches that the underlying reality of the universe is the absolute Being which is one and one without the second lekamevádvitiyam'. What is regarded as Illusion or delusion in Vedanta is not the phenomenal, but the attribution of true substantiality or essentiality to the phenomenal without the recognition of the underlying unity.

It is generally known as nescience (ajnâa) that hides the glory of the absolute Being. The same absolute Being is called by various names. It is Brahman in Vedanta, the Good by Plato, the Substantia of Spinoza, Ding-an-Sich by Kant, the Unknown and Unknowable of Herbert Spencer, the Will by Schopenhaeur, Oversold by Emerson calls it Oversoul. But Vedanta differs from these systems by unifying the subject and object in Brahman.

Vedanta philosophy brings the thing-in-itself within the plane of experience and recognizes it in the conception of entity, sat (Existence) which has all other things as attributes or relations. The same Brahman is sat from the objective point of view, and cit or pure intelligence from the subjective standpoint. It is the infinite source of knowledge: it is the eternal knower of the universe. The same Brahman, when qualified by cosmic self-consciousness, omniscience and omnipotence, appears as the ruler of the universe. When qualified by the individual consciousness and imperfect knowledge, it constitutes the individual soul, and when qualified by total absence of self-consciousness, it forms the object or what we call ‘matter’.

Thus Vedanta philosophy recognizes three entities in the universe, God, soul and matter. The God of Vedanta philosophy is not an extra cosmic something, but it is the inner and underlying reality of the cosmic world, it forms the background of the world, and it exists both inside and outside of the world.

Vedanta philosophy also gives a rational foundation to religion which harmonizes with the modern conclusions of science and philosophy. It teaches that the soul is immortal and divine, and the knowledge of the soul brings emancipation to man.

Vedanta philosophy teaches that emancipation of the soul (i.e. individual soul) is freedom from the bondages of selfishness and other imperfections. The ethics of Vedanta philosophy is entirely based upon the attainment of God consciousness which means the recognition of oneness of the individual soul with the absolute Brahman.

Edited text from preface to book The Vedanta Philosophy by Swami Abhedananda.