Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana, or Atma Gnana, cannot be surmised by merely reading the Vedas and Upanishads.
Ashtavakra:~There is no wisdom whatsoever in the scriptures-just a collection of words.
Sage Sankara says:~ 58. Loud speech consisting of a shower of words, the skill in expounding the Scriptures, and likewise erudition - these merely bring on a little personal enjoyment to the scholar but are no good for Liberation.
59. The study of the Scriptures is useless so long as the highest Truth is unknown, and it is equally useless when the highest Truth has already been known.
60. The Scriptures, consisting of many words, are a dense forest that merely causes the mind to ramble. Hence, men of wisdom should earnestly set about knowing the true nature of the Self.
The seeker has to move ahead without the scriptures in his pursuit of truth.
Dew drops of Upanishads:~
Manduka Upanishad:~ Atman is the highest Reality and its opposite: Note the word "and". Reality and illusion together make Brahman: nothing can be left out. Page 51.
Manduka Upanishad:~ Brahman must be realized in the waking state when all objects are present to consciousness; otherwise, it is nonsense. Page 65: v.10.
Manduka Upanishad:~"Sleep does not exist in Turiya”: This emphatically disproves the mystic use of sleep as an analogy for Brahman. Page 69.
Manduka Upanishad :~This means that objects do not disappear; they are there, and yet they are non-dual. Disillusionment is not the same as appearance. Page 74. v. 17
The essential message of the Manduka Upanishad is that the whole world, whatever is seen, is only imagined. points out that even though it is harder for them, women can attain Brahman just as men. Page 351
Manduka Upanishad:~" From their notion": Everybody has their own imagination about facts and starts from that, instead of discarding their personal idea and looking at the fact. Page 333. V. 83:
Manduka Upanishad:~"Soundless and of infinite sounds"; means both the waking and the sleeping world must be known, both objects and non-objects must be understood before the truth of Brahman is realized. Page 96. v. 29:
Manduka shows how one opinion may be used to contradict another so that both may be thrown away. Opinions are not for philosophy; as Ashtavakra says, they are merely an illusion; they do not want the truth.
Manduka Upanishad:~ In deep sleep and anesthesia, you have non-duality but no Gnana. Therefore, there must be discrimination along with non-duality. Otherwise, sleeping dogs would be Gnanis. ~ (P.219)
Manduka Upanishad:~Existence means existence in the sense of the Drik. When you reduce everything to consciousness, Drik, Gnana, or even Mind, giving up all imagination in truth, it is unborn. You see a man's body comes and goes, but that is not the same as seeing him come and go, which you can never do. P.300. V.45.
Mundaka Upanishad 1:2:8:~ “Remaining in the fold of ignorance and thinking 'we are extremely wise and learned,' the fools with boastful nature ramble about like the blind led by the blind alone.”
Mundaka Upanishad 3:2:3:- “The weak and timid cannot realize the Self. Self-realization is not possible through intellect or hearing spiritual discourse. One who welcomes God in every activity, through a thoroughly controlled and disciplined life, to him also the Soul is revealed
Katha Upanishad 1:2:23:~ The Soul cannot be realized through hearing the scholarly explanation of the discourses, not even by the intellect.
Katha Upanishad 1:3:6:~ “Through the knowledge of the Soul God, one is pure and clean constantly.” Neither by reading the book, nor by taking a bath at the holy place, has one become pure. Inner purity is possible when one remains in constant touch with the Soul. Constant Soul Consciousness is the real purity.
Kena Upanishad 2:4:~ When it is known through every state of cognition, it is rightly known, for (by such knowledge) one attains life eternal. Through one's own Self, one gains power, and through wisdom, one gains immortality.
Kena Upanishad 2:5:~ If here one knows it, then there is truth, and if here one knows it not, there is a great loss. Hence, seeing the Real in all beings, wise men become immortal on departing from this world.
The scriptures are being added to from time to time. This process will go on. Is there a final authority among them? One contradicts the other: duality reigns supreme.
The Upanishads are Self-contradictory. Every pundit even gives conflicting interpretations of them. The final authority, therefore, is using one’s own reason. One should apply their reason to them.
The scriptures are for the ignorant masses, who wholly accept the material world as it presents itself. Gnana is for those who have begun to realize that things are not what they seem.
The Scriptures are of value only when dealing with persons who are incapable of understanding the truth, which is hidden by ignorance. They have no value as authority for those who use reason. I quote only verified citations from the scriptures. I need no scriptures, but I quote them to help the seekers to realize what the scriptures are saying
The Upanishads are the only scriptures in the world which declare:-
It is impossible to find and realize the truth via religion and scriptural study.
Katha Upanishad: ~ This Atman cannot be attained by the study of the Vedas, or by intelligence, or by much hearing of sacred books. It is attained by him alone whom it chooses. To such a one, Ataman reveals its own form. (Katha Upanishad Ch-II -23-P-20)
Mundaka Upanishad: ~ “This Atman cannot be attained through study of the Vedas, nor through intelligence, nor through much learning. He who chooses Atman, by him alone is Atman attained. It is Atman that reveals to the seeker its true nature. (3 page-70 Upanishads by Nikilanada)
That is why Sage Sankara indicated that:` V-C 56. Neither by Yoga, nor by Sankhya, nor by work, nor by learning, but by the realization of one's identity with Brahman is Liberation possible, and by no other means.
58. Loud speech consisting of a shower of words, the skill in expounding the Scriptures, and likewise erudition - these merely bring on a little personal enjoyment to the scholar, but are no good for Liberation.
59. The study of the Scriptures is useless so long as the highest Truth is unknown, and it is equally useless when the highest Truth has already been known.
60. The Scriptures, consisting of many words, are a dense forest that merely causes the mind to ramble. Hence, men of wisdom should earnestly set about knowing the true nature of the Self.
61. For one who has been bitten by the serpent of Ignorance, the only remedy is the knowledge of Brahman. Of what avail are the Vedas and (other) Scriptures, Mantras (sacred formulae), and medicines to such a one?
62. A disease does not leave off if one simply utters the name of the medicine, without taking it; (similarly) without direct realization, one cannot be liberated by the mere utterance of the word Brahman.
All accumulated knowledge is mental garbage. Holding this mental garbage blocks the realization of the ultimate truth or Brahman.
Holding some teacher or teaching as a yardstick and trying to prove that he is right and others are wrong, and indulging in perverse argument, will not help to unfold the mystery of the universe.
The Seeker has to learn to view and judge from the standpoint of formless witness (Soul, the Self), then he will never have any doubts and confusion. When one thinks deeply, then only the inner revelation starts and starts burning the dross (confusion/doubts). : ~ Santthosh Kumaar
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