Advaitic Gnana of Sage Sankara imparted only to those of higher intellect.+

The seeker of truth has to know somewhere he is going wrong, and it is for the seeker to go on his own and remove the obstacle.  The greatest hindrance is mixing religion, god, scriptures, and yogic theories. Moreover, attachment to scriptures, personal god, and religious code of conduct keep one permanently in the grip of duality.

I am highlighting the obstacles in pursuit of truth that help the fellow seeker reach their non-dual destination, in lesser time and effort.

Mundaka Upanishad:- 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.

To do good to the world is to enlighten mankind and bring them out of pain and misery, rather than leaving them to the grace of God. It is only through the wisdom of God, that man can understand his mistakes. It is imperative to disseminate the Vedic knowledge and assist in liberating souls and at the same time elevate your own soul.

Undoubtedly, India can boast or pride itself on being the most secular nation in the whole world. Refugees of religious persecution in all religions including Charvaka Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians, Muslims, and Buddhists all took refuge in India. Throughout the ages, religious tolerance has become a universal message. There are thousands or perhaps millions of temples, churches, and mosques, exploitation no other nation in the world can surpass.

Almost a billion people engage in some form of spiritual worship. This takes place in temples, mosques, synagogues and churches, homes, factories, along riverbanks, in forests or mountains, on streets, on trains, buses, and wherever they may be. One can easily relate to such profound symbolism as truly a divine paradise for the seekers of spirituality. But strangely and unfortunately, it was not meant to be so.

The prevailing conditions of India have cleared the oppugnancies that all religious dogmas do lead ultimately to Salvation. The practices of these doctrines have definitely proved that destitution is a languishing pain for the poor, and happiness, is a distant dream for the privileged. The diminished glorious ages of India, once the cradle of civilization, where only one person worshiped one God, are long gone. (Source:-SATYARATH PRAKASH)

Looking at all these facts there is a need to bifurcate whatever is not Vedic to know the pure Vedic essence which is mixed in the sea of mythology, Superstitions, and dogmas.  

The idea of God is adopted by Indian sages after the 2nd century from Abrahamic religion and introduced with a mythological base.  There is no use in arguing with anyone about all these facts because all these things make one believe the illusion (universe)  as reality.  The main goal of the truth-seeker is to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.   

Swami Vivekananda aptly described Sage Sankara’s Advaita as the fairest flower of philosophy that any country in any age has produced.

The Advaitic truth is a rational or scientific truth declared by Bhagwan Buddha and Sage Sankara centuries back, but unfortunately, the original essence of the rational Advaita is lost mainly, because of orthodox adulteration and add-ons, which are based on the ego (waking entity), which is the false self within the false experience (waking).

The seeker has to first indulge in deeper self-search without scriptures and understand and assimilate the Advaitic truth, which leads to Self-awareness. Thus, soulcentric thinking, reasoning, and judgment are very much necessary for the pursuit of truth.

Sage Sri, Sankara ’says:~ "Kuruthe Ganga sahar gamanam Vratha paripal mathva dhanam. Gyana Vihine.Sarva Mathene.”

Gnana is common to all religions. There is nothing like One Gnana for a Hindu and another for a Christian.

The entire philosophy of Sage Sankara can be summed up in the following statement:-

Brahma Satyam, jaganmithya, jivobrahmaivanaparah: - Brahman alone is real; the world is non-real and the individual Self is essentially not different from Brahman.

This is the quintessence of Sage Sankara’s metaphysics.

The consciousness is the one single reality or Brahman. The individual self is a reality within the duality. There is no individual in the realm of the nondual reality.

Advaita says:~ One alone exists, and the rest is all superimposition on that One, due to ignorance.

Through a systematic inquiry into the nature of the mind, which is present in the form of the universe, one arrives at the position that the Soul, the Self, which is present in the form of consciousness, is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.

The Soul, the Self is constant and, therefore, real, while the phenomena constituting the universe is constantly changing and, therefore, unreal. The final conclusion is that the form, time, and space or the universe are one in essence. That essence is consciousness. Thus, no second thing exists other than consciousness.

The seeker of truth has to take into account all three states of our existence, which are waking, dream, and deep sleep ~ in waking or dream one experiences duality, and in deep sleep, there is only non-duality. To obtain a complete picture of our existential reality, we need to include evidence from all three states. This is the phenomenology of consciousness.

Consciousness is one only, without a second. One experiences the manifold universe ignorance ~ led illusion “covers" the One and "projects" the Many. The illusion is the veil on consciousness. In truth, only One, non-dual Reality is all there is. Consciousness is all-pervasive. It is intrinsically Real, self-effulgent, infinite, undifferentiated Pure.

When the soul, the innermost self, wakes up to its own formless nondual true nature, ignorance ceases, and the illusion, which is present in the form of duality never again experienced as reality.

The show of the illusory duality, however, continues, as before. Only our identification with a particular actor's role is gone forever because the Self is in its own awareness.

Self-awareness is Brahmic Bliss! This state is already ours always in deep sleep in a "general" way. When Self-Knowledge dawns then one is awake to it in a "special" way in the midst of duality.

Atman=Brahman captures the essence of the immanent (Self) and the transcendent (Brahman) Reality. Humanity has not yet conceived a more lofty conception of its position in the universe.

Advaita only means the negation of duality. The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth. 

Consciousness is the cause of the origin, maintenance, and withdrawal of the universe is Advaita (i.e. non-dual), which means that consciousness transcends all conceptions, positive and negative. Nothing positive can ever be imagined or said about it.

Consciousness is existence absolute, awareness absolute. Existence absolute means that consciousness is not unreal or non-existent. And it is not the unconsciousness. Nothing positive can be stated about consciousness.

Sage  Gaudapada:~ The non-dual Atman is realized when the individual self (jiva) is awakened from its ignorance. Atman is unborn, dreamless, sleepless, and motionless and is beyond duality. It is cognition at its purest. It is Brahman- Ayam Atma Brahma, this Atma is Brahman;  epitomizing the core of Upanishad teachings.

Sage Sankara declared Advaitic truth centuries back but one has to reach the destination with scientific (rational) investigation, not through punditry and intellectuality. One has to mentally reach the final conclusion, then only the conviction comes firm. Without firm conviction, wisdom will not dawn. Therefore, there is a need to realize consciousness is real all else is a myth, which Sage Sankara declared as the world is a myth Brahman alone is real.

Sage Sankara says Atman is Brahman and everything is Brahman is a scientific declaration not religious or yogic. Sri, Sankara, and Goudpada are more scientific than anyone else in the world. Since the real Advaitic essence is hidden it cannot be got without the inner (mental) journey.

Sage Goudpada says that: - The merciful Veda teaches karma and Upasana to people of lower and middling intellect, while Jnana is taught to those of higher intellect.

Gnana is knowledge of un-contradictable truth or scientific truth. Gnanic or scientific truth of the whole, not the part is declared by Sri, Sankara 1400 years back and thought only to those of higher intellect. Thus karma and Upasana, yoga, and orthodoxy have to be bifurcated to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman or Brahman.  

Advaitic Wisdom is for those who are capable of inquiring into their own existence to know and realize the ultimate truth or Brahman. 

Remember:

Advaita is nothing but God in truth.

God in Vedas is not the God people believe in and worship.

God in the Bible is not the God people believe in and worship.

Bible says: ~ “God is a Spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24)”,

Yajurveda – chapter- 32:~God  is  Supreme Spirit.

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

If God is the formless Spirit, then how does man know God created the world? There is no proof. If man had seen God creating the world, he could admit it, but how could he have seen God before he came into existence? (i.e. were created).

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

Remember:~

The Spirit is present in the form of consciousness. Everything is consciousness. All the moments are within the dualistic illusion.

Whatever happens within the dualistic illusion is bound to be an illusion created out of consciousness. Consciousness alone is real and all else is merely an illusion.

“Spirit is my father and I and my father are one.”

If the Spirit is the father the son is bound to be the Spirit. The Spirit, the beloved alone is real and all else is merely an illusion.

There is no God in the dualistic illusion because the dualistic illusion is created out of God, which is present in the form of the Spirit or the consciousness. Thus, God alone is real.

Spirit is prior to Love. Love implies duality. The love hides God. When love disappears God appears. Find the Self, and Love the Self and rest in God, which is the Spirit.

Search for God. God is not within your body but it is hidden within the world in which you exist.

God is not in any mosque, temple, or church. The religious Gods are not God in truth.

The dualistic worship of "God” only for the ignorant populace and Advaitic wisdom, unfolds the mystery of the real God.

Lord Krishna himself says Ch~ V:~ “Those who know the Self in truth.". The last two words (tattvataha) are usually ignored by pundits, but they make all the difference between the ordinary concept of God and the truth about God.

Bhagavad Gita: ~ Brahmano hi pratisthaham ~ Brahman (God) is considered the all-pervading consciousness, which is the basis of all the animate and inanimate entities and material. (14.27. )

It proves that the all-pervading Atman, which is present in the form of consciousness, is God. Thus, worshipping the form-based Gods is meant for the ignorant populace who are incapable of realizing the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space.

Rig-Veda 1-164-46 and Y.V 32-1 clearly mention that God is “One”.

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

Yajurveda – chapter- 32:~   God is 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.

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

People who are saying ‘I AN GOD’ are hallucinating that they become God. First, you must know what is God.

That is why Ashtavakra Gita 16:10:~ If you desire liberation, but you still say "mine," If you feel the ‘Self’ is the ‘I’, You are not a wise man or a seeker. You are simply a man who suffers.

If one thinks the Advaitic truth is the ultimate truth, then he has to drop all theories based on the ‘I’. All the theories based on the ‘I’ are based on the dualistic perspective. How can one realize the non-dualistic truth based on dualistic theories?

The ‘I’ hides the Advaita, which is the ultimate truth. Thus, why glorify the ‘I’ which is the cause of ignorance. The seeker has to make sure and accept only the uncontradictable truth.

That is why Bhagavad Gita: ~ “The permanent is always there, only the transient ‘I’ comes and goes.” (2.18)

The ‘I’ hides the Soul, the Self, which is present in the form of consciousness.

People think the ‘I’ without the body is the ‘Self’. The seeker has to understand the fact that ‘I’ is not the ‘Self’, but the witness of the ‘I’ is the true ‘Self’, which is eternal.

People are stuck with the reality of the ‘I’, which they take 'I' as real because some Gurus have propagated the ‘Self’ is the ‘I’. is no need to convince such a mindset. The seeker of truth accepts only the truth nothing but the truth.

Advaita is not a theory.

Advaita is the nature of the truth.

Advaita is the nature of the Soul, the ‘Self’.

Advaita is the Soul itself.

Advaita is the nature of God because Rigveda says the Soul itself is God.

Advaita is nothing but God in truth.

Thus, it is time to realize the world in which we exist is created out of the Soul, which is the innermost ‘Self’. The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness is the cause of the world in which we exist and it, itself is uncaused. 

The Soul alone is real and eternal. The eternal Soul itself is God. There is no other God other than the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Realize the Soul, the is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God. The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness itself is God in truth. 

Consciousness is the cause of the world in which you exist. And consciousness itself’ is uncaused.

Thus, the truth realization itself is God-realization because the ultimate truth is Brahman or God.  Self-realization is God-realization and God-realization is real worship.

Nothing has to be accepted as God other than the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. Atman is Brahman means the Soul alone is God. Atman is the Advaitic God. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar