Where there is ‘I’, there is always duality. The duality is there only when the universe is present. +

Chandogya Upanishad -One who meditates upon and realizes the Self discovers that everything in the cosmos-- energy and space, fire and water, name and form, birth and death, mind and will, word and deed, mantram and meditation--all come from the Self.-

The past, present, and future experiences are limited to the domain of form, time, and space. Where there is ‘I’, there is always duality. The duality is there only when the universe is present.

The universe is there only when waking is present. You are present only when waking. Where there is duality, there is always a limitation. The limitation is an illusion. Ignorance is the cause of the illusion.

The Illusion is created by the invisible Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. Consciousness is unlimited, which is hidden by the ‘I’, which is the limited.

Without realizing the falsity of the ‘I’, it is impossible to cross the threshold of the dualistic illusion.

You are not you, but consciousness; your body is not the body, but consciousness; the world in which you exist is not the world, but consciousness.

Everything is known, seen, believed, and experienced by you is nothing but consciousness; then what else remains, which is not consciousness?

There is nothing else to realize other than to realize that consciousness alone is, and everything else is merely an illusion created out of consciousness.

By realizing that everything is consciousness is the Advaitic wisdom dawns.

Perfect understanding and assimilation of ‘what is what’ leads to Advaitic awareness.

Without the world in which you exist, God alone exists. When God disappears, the world in which you exist appears.

The world in which you exist disappears. God appears. Thus, realize God to be the invisible Soul.

The invisible Soul is the Self. Thus, the invisible Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth

If you stick to the ultimate truth, then the world in which you exist is merely an illusion created out of consciousness. If you realize this truth, you will live in this world but not of this world. Thus, consciousness alone is real and eternal. : : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

People mistake the ego for the mind. The illusion is not the projection of the mind. +

Without realizing what the mind is supposed to be in actuality, it is impossible to realize the Self hidden by the mind.

Know what this mind is in actuality. People mistake the ego for the mind. The illusion is not the projection of the mind.

It is high time to realize the mind is not within the body, but their body and the world are within the mind. The mind itself is an illusion.

Without knowing what is the mind, it is impossible to realize the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space.

The ‘I’ is present only when the mind is present. The mind is present in the form of the universe. The universe appears as the waking or the dream (duality) and disappears as deep sleep (nonduality).

The one that becomes dual and nondual is consciousness. Thus, all three states are nothing but consciousness. Consciousness alone is real, and all three states are merely an illusion.

When the conviction about the consciousness becomes firm, then it leads to Advaitic awareness in the midst of the dualistic illusion or Maya.

Thus, it is necessary to have a perfect understanding of ‘what is what’ to realize the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space.

Illusion’s "concealing power" merely means that when one looks at an ice block, he think only of the ice block. But a Gnani will think of the substance of the ice block, too. A wise man has the knowledge of the substance of the ice block.

Similarly, a Gnani has the knowledge of the universe and its formless substance also. Consciousness is concealed because of ignorance. As a man, one is not aware that his body, ego, and his experience of the world are merely an illusion created out of consciousness.

When one becomes aware of the fact that the universe is an illusion, then there is no-body no ego, and no world, then there is only the formless, timeless, and spaceless Soul, the Self, which is present in the form of consciousness.

All is consciousness. The whole universe is consciousness. From consciousness, the universe comes. When the universe disappears, consciousness still remains without form, time, and space.

Sage Sankara: ~ All this universe, which through ignorance appears as of diverse forms, is nothing else but Brahman (Consciousness), which is absolutely free from all the limitations of Maya.

When you finally realize the Self is not you, but the Self is the invisible Soul, then you will realize the world in which you exist is merely an illusion created out of the invisible Soul. The invisible Soul is present in the form of consciousness.

Sage Sankara says: - VC-47 All the effects of ignorance, root, and branch, are burnt down by the fire of knowledge, which arises from discrimination between these two—the Self and the non-Self.

Until you think you are an individual separate from the world, and the world existed prior to you, and you are born in it afterward, ignorance will prevail as a reality. Till ignorance is there, the universe prevails as reality.: ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Ahum Brahmasmi is physicalized, it gives a wrong interpretation – I AM BRAHMAN. But the Self is not ‘I AM’.+

It is you who says I AM. The invisible Soul, the Self, is the ultimate reality before you. The ultimate reality is nondual.

To realize the Self hidden by the illusory form, time and space are not easy; it is the most difficult without removing the obstacles that are blocking your realization of truth.

By thinking I am not the body, I am formless, I am Brahman, or I am God, the ignorance will not vanish.

People say Aham Brahmasmi -- I am not the body, I am formless, I am God, I am Brahman. But when Brahman is, how can 'I' remain? Only Brahman remains, not I. But there is no other way to express it.

The ultimate truth itself is God. When the Upanishadic quote: Ahum Brahmasmi is physicalized, it gives a wrong interpretation – I AM BRAHMAN. But the Self is not ‘I AM’.

The seeker must have an intense urge to realize the truth. Only the sincere and serious seeker who has the courage like Buddha and is ready to drop religion, scriptures, and beliefs in a religious God like Buddha will be able to realize the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space.

When the invisible Soul, the Self, is a formless, timeless, and spaceless existence, then the body and the world are merely a dualistic illusion or Maya.

The world in which you exist exists only in the domain of the dualistic illusion or Maya. The world in which you exist ceases without the dualistic illusion or Maya.

The truth-realization is possible only through perfect understanding and assimilation.

The reasoning base has to be rectified from (I) form to formless (I-LESS-Soul) to unfold the mystery of the universe.

When the Self is not you, then it is erroneous to judge and reason, and conclude the truth as you, because you are not the Self. You are the false ‘Self’ within the false experience (waking). : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Being in the present moment is not Self-awareness.+

Breathing in and breathing out, dwelling in the present moment, remaining in that moment, the ignorance will not vanish. Being in the present moment is not Self-awareness.

It is you who is breathing in and breathing out. The one who breathes in and breathes out is you. The breath has nothing to do with the invisible Soul, the Self, because it is an ever-formless, timeless, and spaceless existence.

The Self is not you, but the Self is the invisible Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Only through the Advaitic wisdom of Sage Sankara, the Self hidden by the dualistic illusion or Maya will be revealed.

Remember:~

You are with the body. You are born in this world. You are living in this world, and you are going to die in this world. The world itself is an illusion.

When the Self is not you, but the Self is the invisible Soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness, then what is the use of discussing birth, life, death, and the world, because the one that is born, lives, and dies is not the Self. The invisible Soul is birthless and deathless because it is the ever-formless, timeless, and spaceless existence.

You are the birth entity. Your existence is limited to form, time, and space. Your religion, your religious Gods, your beliefs, your religious rituals and prayers, your race, your nationality, are nothing to do with the invisible Soul, the Self, because the invisible Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness itself, is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.

It is not that you have to establish in consciousness, but by realizing you, and your experience of the world is nothing but an illusion created out of consciousness, Self-awareness arises in the midst of the dualistic illusion or Maya.

Mentally reduce the world in which you exist into consciousness by realizing that the world in which you exist is nothing but consciousness.

If everything is consciousness, then how can anything exist that is not consciousness

When the conviction about consciousness becomes firm, then everything falls into the right slot.

Self-realization is very much necessary to realize that the world is an illusion. Until and unless you realize the Self is not you, but the Self is the invisible Soul, Self-realization is an impossibility:~Santthosh Kumaar

If God is creator then it is foolish to worship anything as God from his creation because the creation is apart from God.+

All that God propagated by religion is nothing but imagination. There is nothing so absurd that men have not worshipped in religion; every imaginable face has been given to God.

If God is the creator, then it is foolish to worship anything as God from his creation because the creation is apart from God.

Every Religion has its own idea of God. Thus, every religion is based on the false self. Therefore, whatever is based on the false self has to be a falsehood. Thus, the idea of God of any religion is an imagination based on the false ‘Self’.

God is a formless, timeless, and spaceless existence. According to the Vedas, God neither has any image nor does God reside in any particular idol or statue. God cannot be seen directly by anyone. God pervades all beings and all directions.

Mythological gods and Goddesses are based on blind belief. The belief is no God. The belief implies duality.

From the ultimate standpoint, duality is merely an illusion. Thus, whatever one sees, knows, believes, and experiences within the dualistic illusion is bound to be an illusion.

Mythological stories are a myth. Whatever is based on myth is merely a superstition. Mythology was introduced in the past for the ignorant masses. It has to be discarded as one progresses in his spiritual advancement.

All the mythological Gods are worshipped in the form of idols. The belief system that propagated ideas of many Gods and Goddesses, Bhakti is the only way to God, is simply trying to lead the people to darkness with its dogma and idea of many Gods, which is apart from the ‘Self’.

Mythology breeds superstition, blind belief, and senseless rituals, and is most irrational and giving them a divine outlook. Mythological stories are a myth. Whatever is based on myth is merely a superstition.

Mythology was introduced in the past for the ignorant masses. It has to be discarded if one has to realize the ultimate truth, or Brahman, or the real God.

Through deeper self-search, one gains a new understanding of certain dogmas.

Ideas injected by religion about the literal heaven where people are immersed in pleasure, in a literal hell where people suffer, are fables.

God is not up there to judge and decides our good and bad deeds. All the mythological stories and mythological Gods are religiously injected fables.

Hell is merely a metaphor for the isolated soul, which, like all souls, ultimately will be united in love with God.”

The seeker of truth must remember the fact that religion is not spirituality. The religion is based on the ego, which is the false self (ego) within the false experience (waking). Spirituality has nothing to do with religion.

Spirituality is based on the Spirit, which is present in the form of the Soul, the Self.

The Vedas are based on the Spirit because they hold God as the Spirit.

The Yajur Veda – chapter- 32:~ God is the Supreme Spirit, has no ‘Pratima’ (idol) or material shape. God cannot be seen directly by anyone. God pervades all beings and all directions.

Thus, idolatry does not find any support from the Vedas.

The Vedas and the Upanishads confirm that the Soul, the Self, is present in the form of the Spirit or consciousness.

Rig Veda: ~ The Atman (Soul or Spirit) is the cause; Atman is the support of all that exists in this universe. May ye never turn away from the Atman, the Self. May ye never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman?" (10:48, 5)

The Spirit is the root element of the universe. The Spirit is present in the form of the Soul, the Self. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness.

From the Spirit, the universe comes into existence. In the Spirit, the universe resides. And into the Spirit, the universe is dissolved. The Spirit is the parent of all that is there.

Even the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: ~ Brahman (God) is the form of the Athma, and it is indeed Athma itself.

There is a clear-cut idea of God in the Vedas, Upanishads, and Bhagavad Gita. And also, there is a clear-cut idea of what not to worship as God in place of the real God. Thus, it proves from a Vedic perspective that the Puranic Gods are not Vedic Gods.

Vedas says never accept another God in place of the Atman, nor worship other than the Atman.

.

One must remember that for all periods the Vedas are the final goal and authority, and if the Puranas differ in any respect from the Vedas, the Puranas are to be rejected without mercy.

If you feel the Puranas say something and the Vedas say something else, reject the Puranas and believe in the Vedas. The Puranas are just a myth.

India takes pride in being the descendants of the Sages of truth who gave the Advaita the ultimate truth. The Advaitic truth is the truth beyond form, time, and space.

All the mythological Gods' existence is a myth. Such Gods can exist only within the dualistic illusion. Thus, the existence of such Gods is illusory.

Mythological Gods and Goddesses are based on the belief. The belief is not in God. The belief implies duality. From the ultimate standpoint, the duality is merely an illusion. Thus, whatever one sees, knows, believes, and experiences within the dualistic illusion is bound to be an illusion.

Mythological stories are a myth. Whatever is based on myth is merely a superstition. Mythology was introduced in the past for the ignorant masses. It has to be discarded as one progresses in his spiritual advancement.

Swami Vivekananda:~ This bending the knee to superstitions, this selling yourself to your own mind does not befit you, the Soul. Self is infinite, deathless, and birthless. Because the Self is infinite Spirit, it does not befit you to be a slave. ... Arise! Awake! Stand up and fight! Die if you must. There is none to help you. Self is the entire world. Who can help you?

Mythology breeds superstition, blind belief, and senseless rituals, and most irrational, and gives them a divine outlook.

Swami Vivekananda: ~ If superstition enters, the brain is gone. Superstition is our great enemy, but bigotry is worse.

Mythological stories, religious, are fables, yet are taken seriously by pundits. All these stories are a reality within the dualistic illusion. The waking experience is a dualistic illusion. Thus, whatever belongs to the dualistic illusion is bound to be a falsehood. In reality, there is no duality because there is only Oneness.

That the ancient sages had miraculous occult power and books relate stories of their feats, are fairy tales meant for children and those whose minds had not developed.

That is why Sage Sankara said:~ Talk as much philosophy as you like, worship as many gods as you please, observe ceremonies and sing devotional hymns, but liberation will never come, even after a hundred aeons, without realizing the Oneness. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

The past, present, and future have nothing to do with the Soul, the Self, which is present in the form of consciousness.+

The past, present, and future have nothing to do with the Soul, the Self, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Remember: ~

First, realize the Self is not within you. You are bound by the experience of the birth, life, death, and the world, whereas the Self is birthless and deathless because it is ever-formless, timeless, and spaceless existence.

The Soul is the Self. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. Consciousness is the cause of the world in which you exist, and it itself is uncaused. Consciousness is the ultimate truth, or Brahman or God in truth.

From the standpoint of the Soul, the Self, the world in which you exist is merely an illusion. Thus, the world in which we exist hides the Soul, which is the real God.

Till you think the ‘Soul, the Self’ is within you, you will never be able to realize God. God is not limited to you, but it pervades everything and everywhere in the world in which you exist.

You are with the body. You are born in this world. You are living in this world, and you are going to die in this world. The world itself is an illusion.

When the Self is not you but the Self is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, then what is the use of discussing birth, life, death, and the world, because the one that is born, lives, and dies is not the Self. The Soul is birthless and deathless because it is the ever formless, timeless, and spaceless existence.

You are the birth entity. Your existence is limited to form, time, and space. Your religion, your religious Gods, your beliefs, your religious rituals and prayers, your race, your nationality, are nothing to do with the Soul, the Self, because the Soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness itself, is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God.

It is not that you have to establish in consciousness, but by realizing you, and your experience of the world is nothing but an illusion created out of consciousness, Self-awareness arises in the midst of the dualistic illusion.

Mentally reduce the world in which you exist into consciousness by realizing that the world in which you exist is nothing but consciousness. If everything is consciousness, then how can anything exist that is not consciousness?

When the conviction about the consciousness becomes firm, then everything falls into the right slot.

Self-realization is very much necessary to realize that the world is an illusion. Until and unless you realize the Self is not you, but the Self is the Soul, Self-realization is an impossibility. :~Santthosh Kumaar

Where is the body, where is the mind, where is the world, the void; or despair in the invisible Soul, the Self, which the taintless, which is present in the form of consciousness.+

Where is the body, where is the mind, where is the world, the void; or despair in the invisible Soul, the Self, which the taintless, which is present in the form of consciousness. They are or have become consciousness.

One thinks there is a mind when he has thoughts, but when thoughts are not considered different from consciousness, which is the true Self, then where is the division into waking, dream, and deep sleep, etc?

Void implies duality: the universe may not exist, but the thought of the second is there. If one knows there is a Void (emptiness/nothingness), then there is something there to be known and known. They are or have become consciousness.

All these appearances are merely an illusion that comes and goes; hence, meaningless to the formless Soul, the Self.

Egocentric knowledge is not the ultimate knowledge because ego-based knowledge is dualistic, knowledge based on the object (body) as the subject. But in non-dualistic Knowledge, whatever seems to exist also is consciousness; therefore, there is no scope for the existence of the second thing.

All is consciousness. The whole universe is consciousness. From consciousness, the universe comes. When the universe disappears, the consciousness still remains without form, time, and space.

People think everything is energy, but without consciousness, how can one know it is energy? It is only intellectual speculation.

Chandogya Upanishad:~ One who meditates upon and realizes the 'Self' discovers that everything in the cosmos-- energy and space, fire and water, name and form, birth and death, mind and will, word and deed, mantrams and meditation--all come from the Self.

The sun, the moon, the stars, and planets shine because of the Soul or Spirit. The Soul shines, and all things else shine as a result. Everything in the universe reflects but that light of the Soul which is present in the form of consciousness. Merely knowing the truth is not enough to escape from the tangle of illusion. : : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Without Sage Sankara, there is no Advaita (non-duality).+

Without Sage Sankara, there is no Advaita (non-duality). Since it was mixed up with orthodoxy, there is a lot of confusion. Sage Sankara’s quotes (selected, verified) are quoted in my blogs and postings to show what Sage Sankara meant and ‘what is blocking the seekers' from realizing the ultimate truth or Brahman.

There are so many non-dualistic masters of the east and also from the west who expound Advaitic Wisdom, but none of them is helpful to reach the ultimate end of understanding.

Sage Sankara says: Keep the scriptures for children, but throw them on the fire for wise seekers.

In Brahma Sutras, Sage Sankara takes for granted, assumes that a world was created; He there mixes dogmatic theology with philosophy.

That God created the world is an absolute lie; nevertheless, you will find Sage Sankara (in his commentary on the Vedanta Sutras) clearly says this! He has to adapt his teachings to his audience, reserving the highest for philosophical minds.

The text of Brahma Sutras is based on religion, dogmatism, but in the commentary, Sage Sankara cleverly introduced some philosophy. If it objected that, many Upanishads are equally dogmatic because they also begin by assuming Brahman, but a few Upanishads do not, but prove Brahman at the end of a train of proof.

The causality and creation are for religious people only. Religion is only for those who are unable to understand truth beyond form, time, and space. Religion is not final. It only gives satisfaction to the populace. Self-knowledge is for the whole of humanity to free them from experiencing birth, life, death, and the world as reality.

People of small intelligence follow religion and believe that God created the world. However, how do they know that He did so? When a pot is created, one can see both the pot and its maker, but not in the case of the world.

Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is meant only for those who have an intense urge and the courage to accept the truth with humility and reject the untruth. Since people start comparing with their scriptural knowledge, it becomes impossible to assimilate and realize the Advaitic truth. Therefore, there is no need to convince anyone other than our own selves to get a firm conviction. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Without Sage Sankara the Advaitic wisdom is incomplete. Without Advaitic wisdom, it is impossible to realize the truth, which is hidden by the illusory form, time, and space.+

Without Sage Sankara, the Advaitic wisdom is incomplete. Without Advaitic wisdom, it is impossible to realize the truth, which is hidden by the illusory form, time, and space. Advaitic wisdom is the fullness of the truth.

Sage Sankara’s whole teaching can be summed up in one sentence: ‘There is nothing else but Brahman. He says that Absolute Existence, Absolute Knowledge, and Absolute Bliss are real.

The universe is not real. He says that Brahman and Atman are one. The ultimate and the Absolute Truth is the Self, which is one though appearing as many different individuals. The individual has no reality. Only the Self is real; the rest, mental and physical, are but passing appearances.

Genuine philosophy must be independent of religion, as in Sage Sankara himself, the Saguna Brahman or a personal God is only a part of the phenomenal (if not illusory) world, and the Nirguna Brahman is the only reality and has nothing to do with religion.

Sage Sankara pokes fun at ascetics and points out that all their austerities do not cause desires to go (Altar Flowers" Page 205, v.2, P.207 v.4)

The Brahma Sutras, together with Sage Sankara's commentary thereon, do not contain the higher wisdom. They are intended for those who are incapable of thinking rationally.

Sage Sankara's commentary on the Brahma Sutras is not on a philosophical basis, but on an orthodox and mystic basis, with an appeal to the Vedas as a final authority.

In the Brahma Sutra, Sage Sankara takes the position that there is another entity outside us, i.e., the wall really exists separately from the mind. This was because Sage Sankara explains in Manduka that those who study the Sutras are orthodox minds, intellectual children, hence his popular viewpoint to assist them. These people are afraid to go deeper because it means being heroic enough to refuse to accept Sruti and God's authority, in case they mean punishment by God.

A Gnani says the scriptures for children, but wise seekers will think rationally.

In the Brahma Sutras, Sage Sankara takes for granted, assumes that a world was created; He there mixes dogmatic theology with philosophy.

That God created the world is an absolute lie; nevertheless, one will find Sage Sankara (in his commentary on the Vedanta Sutras) clearly says this! He has to adapt his teachings to his audience, reserving the highest for philosophical minds.

The text of Brahma Sutras is based on religion, dogmatism, but in the commentary, Sage Sankara cleverly introduced some philosophy. If it is objected that many Upanishads are equally dogmatic because they also begin by assuming Brahman, only a few Upanishads do not but prove Brahman at the end of a train of proof.

Scholars' translation of the Brahma Sutras in the Sacred Books of the East must be read cautiously, as he has not understood its highest sense, e.g., for Advaita, they wrongly put "Unity" instead of “Non-duality."

Sage Sankara gave religion and scholasticism, and yoga, no less than philosophy, to the seeking world. He was great enough to be able to do so. His commentary on Manduka is pure philosophy, but many of his other books are presented from a religious standpoint to help those who cannot rise up to philosophy.

Orthodoxy is the home of mysticism and deification, which is why they are not the keen rational truth. Thus, Sage Sankara is the Jagadguru to the religious follower, and he is a great Sage (Gnani) of the highest order to the seeking world. : : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Nowhere in the scriptures is there any reference to Hinduism. +

Nowhere in the scriptures is there any reference to Hinduism.

Bhad Upanishad: - This Self is dearer than a son, dearer than wealth, dearer than everything else because It is innermost. If one holding the Self dear were to say to a person who speaks of anything other than the Self as dear, that he, the latter, will lose what he holds dear—and the former is certainly competent to do so—it will indeed come true. One should meditate upon the Self alone as dear. He who meditates upon the Self alone as dear, what he holds dear will not perish. [Bhad Upanishad -8-p- -211]

When the Upanishads say: the human goal is to acquire Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana, and they indicate the personal gods, scriptures, worship, and rituals are not the means to Self–Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana, then why should anyone indulge in it? The religion, concept of individualized god, and scriptures are the greatest obstacles to realizing non-dual truth or self-realization, because they are based on the ego, which is the false self. Therefore, one has to search for the ultimate truth without losing oneself in the labyrinths of philosophy; one should indulge in deeper self-search to assimilate and realize it.

The orthodox people think that the Vedas as the final authority for them, and they strictly follow the Vedas; they do not know the fact that they themselves are indulging in non-Vedic rituals and activities which the Vedas clearly bar.

As one goes deeper into the annals of history, it indicates the fact that somewhere someone has added the Puranas in the name of Veda Vyasa, the grand master of the Vedas. It is impossible to accept and believe that Veda Vyasa authored and introduced the Puranas, which have all conceptual Gods because:-

In the Vedas, God has been described as:-

 Sakshi (Witness)

 Chetan (conscious)

 Nirguna (Without form and properties).

 Nitya (eternal)

 Shuddha (pure)

 Buddha (omniscient)

 Mukta (unattached).

This clearly indicates the nature of the innermost self, which is the soul. Thus soul is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God. When the Soul is the ultimate truth or god, why indulge in worshiping the belief individualized God, which is not God. The Hindu belief system, which came into existence after the 2nd century, has nothing to do with the Vedic religion.

Swami Vivekananda:- The masses in India cry to sixty million gods, and still die like dogs. Where are these gods

Knowing this, stand up and fight! Not one step back that is the idea. ... Fight it out, whatever comes. Let the stars move from the sphere! Let the whole world stand against us! Death means only a change of garments. What of it? Thus fight! You gain nothing by becoming cowards. ... Taking a step backward, you do not avoid any misfortune. You have cried to all the gods in the world. Has misery ceased? The masses in India cry to sixty million gods, and still die like dogs. Where are these gods? ... The gods come to help you when you have succeeded. So what is the use? Die game. ... This bending the knee to superstitions, this selling yourself to your own mind does not befit you, my soul. You are infinite, deathless, birthless. Because you are an infinite spirit, it does not befit you to be a slave. ... Arise! Awake! Stand up and fight! Die if you must. There is one to help you. You are the entire world. Who can help you? - Swami Vivekananda

(Delivered In San Francisco, on May 28, 1900) -The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda/Volume 1/Lectures And Discourses/The Gita II

Meher Baba said: - To love God as he ought to be loved, we must love for God and die for god, knowing that the goal of life is to know God, and find him as our own self.

To realize God is to attain liberation from the bondage of illusion.

Live only to find and realize your true identity with your beloved God.

The energy which is expended in mere thinking, taking, or writing is like steam which escapes through the whistle of a railway engine …

That is why the sages have always insisted on practice rather than theory. This applies particularly to those who want to know and realize God.

----

-----It means one has to know and realize his Self is God and identify it as his true identity to find liberation from the bondage of the illusion of birth, life, death, and world[duality]. The goal of our life is to find and realize our identity with our beloved God, which is our innermost self.

Isa Upanishads indicate that: By worshiping gods and goddesses and going to the world of gods after death is of no use. The time one spends in ritualistic practices is wasted; one can spend the same time moving forward towards Self-knowledge, which is the main goal. One cannot reach the non-dual destination by glorifying gods and goddesses, and by doing that, one goes deeper and deeper into darkness. It surely indicates the fact that the seeker of truth has to drop the worshiping of god and Goddess to get self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

Sage Sankara says: - Atman is Brahman. Thus, the Soul, the Self, is God. Therefore, all the gods with form and attributes are mere imagination based on the false self. Thus, there is adulteration and add-ons in the past, which have to be bifurcated if one wants pure Vedic essence.

In the Yajurveda, it clearly declares what not to worship as God.

In Yajurved says:-

Translation 1.

They enter darkness, those who worship natural things (for example, air, water, sun, moon, animals, fire, stone, etc).

They sink deeper in darkness those who worship sambhuti. (Sambhuti means created things, for example, table, chair, idol, etc.)- (Yajurved 40:9)

Translation 2.

"Deep into the shade of blinding gloom fall asambhuti's worshippers. They sink to darkness deeper yet, who on sambhuti are intent."- (Yajurveda Samhita by Ralph T. H. Giffith pg 538)

Translation 3.

"They are enveloped in darkness, in other words, are steeped in ignorance and sunk in the greatest depths of misery who worship the uncreated, eternal prakrti -- the material cause of the world -- in place of the All-pervading God, But those who worship visible things born of the prakrti, such as the earth, trees, bodies (human and the like) in place of God are enveloped in still greater darkness, in other words, they are extremely foolish, fall into an awful hell of pain and sorrow, and suffer terribly for a long time." -(Yajur Veda 40:9.)

So, Yajur Veda indicates that:-

They sink deeper in darkness those who worship sambhuti. (Sambhuti means created things, for example, table, chair, idol, etc- (Yajurved 40:9)

Those who worship visible things born of the prakrti, such as the earth, trees, bodies (human and the like) in place of God, are enveloped in still greater darkness; in other words, they are extremely foolish, fall into an awful hell of pain and sorrow, and suffer terribly for a long time."- (Yajur Veda 40:9.)

When the religion of the Veda knows no idols, then why are so many gods and goddesses with different forms and names being propagated as Vedic gods? Why these conceptual gods are introduced when the Vedic concept of god is free from form and attributes?

Who introduced the concept of god with attributes and attributeless gods, when the Yajur Veda says: - those who worship visible things, born of the prakrti, such as the earth, trees, bodies (human and the like), in place of God are enveloped in still greater darkness. Therefore, all these add-ons prove that the form and attribute-based concepts were introduced by some sages of the past with a new belief system and code of conduct in the name of the Vedas.

Sruti is made the final or exclusive authority in apara Vidya, and that for supporting the tenet of the CAUSAL relation or creatorship of Brahman, Nirguna Brahman = the "Absolute beyond qualities," which can be defined only in a negative way. For the Shankarian school = the Ultimate Reality, higher than the Lord. i.e., of Saguna or apara Brahman ... The support of Scriptural Revelation is, therefore, absolutely necessary for this hypothesis of cosmology, this Saguna or apara

inferior) Brahman, but not for the absolute truth of Nirguna Brahman. The Sruti itself says: "This Atma is NOT to be attained by a study of the Vedas. (Katha Upanishad I, 2, 23.)

Therefore, all the add-ons and attribute-based knowledge, which are inferior, have to be bifurcated and excluded to know the ultimate truth. The seeker of truth has to drop all the inferior knowledge based on the attributes and go beyond the Vedas to understand, assimilate, and realize the ultimate truth or Brahman.

Physical & mental discipline, such as Karma, Mantra Yaga, and Yajna, Puja Japa, a blind devotion to deity or guru, is not the tool for liberation or freedom from experiencing the duality as reality. It is a dualistic cult including traditional Advaitic orthodoxy. This discipline has no value if one is seeking truth to get non-dual moksha.

Mysticism, scriptural knowledge, penance penance-based Scholasticism are great are great hindrances to self-realization. Inherited blind belief with corresponding actions based on scriptures, worship, ritual faith, which imply certain mental and physical discipline, or scripture supporting belief, faith, creed, ritual, and theological knowledge, personal opinion leads to hallucinated knowledge.

All these become great hindrances in grasping understanding, assimilating, and realizing the Advaitic or non-dual truth.

Scriptural mastery, including ancient Sastras, Tarka, Samkhya disciplines to support Karmas & belief Bhakti Argument & interpretation with the help of logic, grammar, etc to support beliefs, revelations, prayers, etc. Also, dogmas, theological or other, based on authorities.

Yoga, Silence, meditation, rituals, and devotion are based on the false self, and false experience does not yield the truth one seeks, because the truth is beyond the false self [ego] and the false experience [universe].

Mysticism is based on individual experience. The self is not individual because the self, which is in the form of consciousness, pervades everything and everywhere in all three states. Blind beliefs without verification and argument, and interpretation on the base of a false self are not verified knowledge; therefore, it is not truth.

One has to go beyond the Vedas means going beyond religion. Going beyond religion means going beyond the concept of god. Thus, going beyond Veda, religion, and conceptual god means going beyond illusion. That is the end of the Vedas (Veda –antha).

Sage Sankara declared: - The world is myth and Brahman alone is real, then why worship the Guru and Gods based on the ego, which is false self within the false world.

All the karmas performed by the orthodoxy are non-Vedic and barred by the Vedas. That is why Veda bars such worship, and people who indulge in such activities will suffer and sink into darkness. And the Upanishads say self-realization is the human goal. Therefore, one has to strive only for self-realization or truth realization.

When the self is formless, there is no need for pada pooja (feet worship) of Advaitin gurus to get freedom. A guru, who preaches conduct as the means to freedom, believes in birth, life, death, and the world as reality, whereas the Advaitic Sage Sankara declares the world as unreal. Therefore, how actions performed in the unreal world can get moksha or freedom. There is a need to know the fact that the self is not physical to understand and assimilate, and realize the truth beyond physicality.

That is why Sage Gaudapada said: - The merciful Veda teaches karma and Upaasana to people of lower and middling intellect, while Jnana is taught to those of higher intellect.

Thus, Goudapada suggests that the religious paths and worship of the guru and the conceptual god are lower and middling intellect. But in this modern world, people are sharp enough to understand and assimilate the ultimate truth or Brahman or god. Thus, people who want higher truth than it is high time to discard the lower knowledge and move ahead to realize the ultimate truth, which is Brahman or God.

That is why Sage Sankara says:- VC- 65. As a treasure hidden underground requires (for its extraction) competent instruction, excavation, the removal of stones and other such things lying above it and (finally) grasping, but never comes out by being (merely) called out by name, so the transparent Truth of the self, which is hidden by Maya and its effects, is to be attained through the instructions of a knower of Brahman.

66. Therefore, the wise should, as in the case of disease and the like, personally strive by all the means in their power to be free from the bondage of repeated births and deaths.

Sage Sankara was criticized for his views on Maya (illusion)without understanding him. He said that (1) Brahman (the Self)is real, (2) the universe is unreal, and (3) Brahman is the universe. He did not stop at the second because the third explains the other two. It signifies that the universe is real if perceived as the ‘Self’ and unreal if perceived as apart from the Self. Hence, Maya or illusion and reality are one and the same.

The realists criticize the concept of illusion without understanding it. He said that:-

(1) Consciousness [the Self] is real

(2) The universe or mind is unreal, and

(3) Consciousness is the mind or the universe because the universe or mind is merely an illusion created out of consciousness.

One need not stop at the second because the third explains the other two. It signifies that the universe is real if perceived as the Self (consciousness) and unreal if perceived as apart from the Self [consciousness]. Hence, illusion and reality are one and the same because both are one in essence. Realizing the essence, which is consciousness as the Self, is Self-Realization or Truth-Realization of God- Realization. Thus, Sage Sankara‘s declaration is rational truth, scientific truth, and also ultimate truth.

Mundaka Upanishad says:- The rituals and the sacrifices described in the Vedas deal with lower knowledge. The sages ignored these rituals and went in search of higher knowledge. ... Such rituals are unsafe rafts for crossing the sea of samsara, of birth and death. Doomed to shipwreck are those who try to cross the sea of samsara on these poor rafts. Ignorant of their own ignorance, yet wise in their own esteem, these deluded men, Proud of their vain learning, go round and round like the blind led by the blind.

When sages themselves found rituals are unsafe rafts for crossing the sea of samsara, of birth and death, and ignored them they the Mundaka Upanishad further suggests that such rituals are unsafe rafts for crossing the realm of duality. Those who try to cross the realm of duality on these poor rafts are doomed to shipwreck. Ignorant of their own ignorance, yet wise in their own esteem, these deluded people (pundits), proud of their vain learning, go round and round like the blind led by the blind.

Therefore, if one wants to acquire Atma Gnana or Brahma Gnana or Self-Knowledge or knowledge of consciousness, one has to drop all ritualistic and orthodox baggage to move forward in their pursuit of truth.

We have to grow from the inside out. None can teach us, none can make us spiritual. There is no other guru but our own soul.”

Self-knowledge or Atma Gnana or Brahma Gnana cannot be attained by one who is without strength or earnestness or without the receptiveness and courage to accept the truth and reject the untruth. If a serious seeker strives sincerely by means of inquiry, analysis, and soul-centric reasoning, he will be able to realize it.

It is only the seeker's sincerity and earnestness in his spiritual pursuit, the knowledge starts revealing on its own. Anyone who has humility and patience and is sincere and ready to drop their accumulated dross and receptive to accepting the truth will enter non-dual Self-Awareness when their conviction becomes firm. :~Santthosh Kumaar