A closer look at the word " Vedanta" is revealing , it is a combination of two words -"Veda" which means knowledge and "anta" which means the end of . In this context the goal of knowledge is not intellectual, the limited knowledge we acquire by reading books. " Knowledge" here means " the knowledge of God " as well as the "knowledge of our own divine nature". Vedanta then is the search for self knowledge as well as the search for God.
According to Vedanta- God is infinite existence, infinite consciousness, infinite love and infinite bliss.
Most importantly, God dwells within our own hearts as the divine self. This divine self is never born nor will it ever die, neither stained by our failings nor affected by the fluctuations of the body or mind. The divine self is not subject to grief , despair, disease or ignorance.
This pure , perfect , free from limitations -the divine self , Vedanta declares, is one with the impersonal ,transcendent reality. The greatest temple of God lies within the human heart.
Vedanta further asserts that the goal of human life is to realise and manifest our divinity. Not only is this possible but it is inevitable.Our real nature is divine; God realisation is our birthright. Sooner or later we will all manifest our divinity because the greatest truth of our existence is our own divine nature. Finally Vedanta affirms that all religions teach the same basic truth about God , the world and our relationship to one another.
Thousands of years ago the Rig Veda declared "truth is one". Sages call it by various names.
The world's religions offer varying approaches to God, each one true and valid, each religion offering the world a unique and irreplaceable path to God realisation. The conflicting messages we find among religions are due more to doctrines and dogmas than to reality of spiritual experience. While dis-similarities exist in the external observances of the world's religions, the internals bear remarkable similarities.
Shree.
http://www.vedanta.org/wiv/philosophy/oneness.html
