Shankara (788–820 C.E.) was a philosophical genius who created Vedanta — the end (or conclusion) of the Vedas. It is this philosophy that dominates Hinduism today. It rests on the wisdom of the three basic Hindu texts: the Upanishads, Vedanta Sutras, and Bhagavad Gita. Shankara's Vedanta philosophy taught that the world is illusory, or maya, and only the transcendent ultimate reality, the Brahman, is real.