Bhagvan Buddha, Sage Goudpada and Sage Sankara are not only reformers but also the Sage scientists.+

Bhagavan Buddha,  Sage Goudpada, and Sage Sankara are not only reformers but also Sage scientists. Since their original wisdom has been lost in the labyrinths of philosophy and mutilated by pundits and priestcraft, it becomes very difficult to understand and assimilate the wisdom expounded by the great masters. In addition, the conservativeness of the orthodox scholars will not allow any research other than playing with the words, which suits the mass mindsets, because of their egocentric outlook.

All the  Adulterated add-ons have to be deleted, to understand and assimilate the real fragrance of the wisdom expounded by the great masters of Advaita, but it is a hurricane task.  Thus, it is no use going through all the scriptures, when there is a direct path to Advaitic truth.  The same time and effort can be used to reach the nondual destination, in lesser time and effort.    

As one goes deeper investigation he finds:~

Sage Sankara founded his Advaita Vedanta either on reason independent of Sruti or on Sruti confirmed by reason." Sruti or on Sruti confirmed by reason."   

Sage Sankara's commentary on the Mandukya Upanishad, II, 1:  This (the unreality of duality) is borne out by the Srutis ... But it is possible also to show the unreality of the object world even from pure reasoning, and this second chapter is undertaken for that purpose.

Sage Sankara himself had often said that his philosophy was based on Sruti, or revealed scripture.  This may be because Sage Sankara addressed the ordinary man, who finds security in the idea of causality and thus in the idea of God ~ and Revelation is indispensable to prove the latter.  He believed that those of superior intelligence, have no need for this idea of divine causality, and can, therefore,  dispense with Sruti and arrive at the truth of Non-Dualism by pure reason. 

Sage Sankara, in debates with Buddhists and others who did not recognize the authority of the Vedas, had been obliged to prove the truth of Advaita through reason alone.  Mandukya Upanishad, a scripture that appealed to reason to the exclusion of Revelation. 

Advaitic wisdom does not need the support of any Scripture or Revelation like the Veda. For it is based, not upon the varying theological fancies, which are as numerous as the sands of the sea, but upon reason, the common heritage of all mankind, irrespective of the color or creed or the clime.

Thus, Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is meant only for those who have an intense urge, and 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 the self to get the firm conviction.

Remember:~

Gnani does not try to prove his views, but it is for the seeker to prove himself to know “What is the truth, “and “What is untruth?” to assimilate the Self -knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

Karma, Bhakti, Raja Yoga are not the means to the path of wisdom. And mixing them up and trying to assimilate the ultimate truth is an impossibility.

There is no need to practice devotion, Karma, and Raja Yoga because they are not the means to acquire non-dual wisdom.

There is no practice as such but perfect understanding is needed.   The deeper inquiry, analysis,  and reasoning reveal the fact that the Self is not physical, but the Self is consciousness. Therefore, all the accumulated knowledge, experiences, and understanding based on the physical self (ego or you) are falsehood based on the false self, within the false experience (waking).

Thus, whatever is based on the waking entity is bound to be falsehood because the waking experience itself is the falsehood.   Since many teachers and teachings are based on the false self (ego) and they consider the false experience (three states) as reality, they are incapable of grasping the witness, which is within the three states, but it is without the three states.

 Thus, the formless knower of the three states has to be grasped mentally and realize the fact that, all the three states, which come and go, are mental.  They are impermanent. The formless witness or knower of the three states is permanent and eternal.  Therefore, there is a need to understand “What is Mind?” and “What is the substance of the Mind?” and "What is the source of the mind?" to understand and assimilate the nondual or Advaitic truth.

 For this one has to drop all his accumulated knowledge, which he is using as a yardstick, and lands himself in pursuit of an argument without reaching anywhere.  One has to think deeper and analyze, verify everything and accept only the uncontradictable truth.  Nothing has to be accepted as the truth because some great thinker says it or some holy men saying or it is written in the holy books.  

Those who lack the intelligence to discriminate between formless witness (subject) and three states (object) will not be able to grasp what is real and what is unreal. Both subject and object are consciousness, not subject alone.

Remember:~

The truth can never change. The nature of truth is, it can never be changed under any circumstances. It may be misrepresented. It must apply to the whole of existence, to the whole of the universe. It is in the object (three states) alone that one has all changes as deeper analysis points out.

 The subject (formless witness) remains unchanged. The subject (formless witness), as such remains immortal. It can never die for it changes. The body and the world are an object and go, but the subject or knower of the body and the universe can never go.

The seeker has to take this principle as his guiding thread, and nondualistic truth becomes easy to grasp. The formless witness can never be subject to the changes of the object; it is unchanged. The mistake usually made is that the subject becomes the object, or that the object is the subject.

If one wants to have an absence of contradictions, absence of duality, there must be one entity, one being. If one has experience which is an object (mind), there is a contradiction between the subject and the object, for the  "mind” is an object.

Remember:~

The duality is a reality from the standpoint of the false self (ego or body as Self).  The duality is a mere illusion on the base of the Soul, the Self. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. 

This understanding comes only to the serious seeker, who has a real urge to know the ultimate truth, which is beyond all the teachings and teachers. There is neither teaching nor teacher nor a student in the realm of truth.  

Different paths will not converge to the same Ultimate Reality because they are based on the false self. They are not different stages in the same path. 

People fight about the differences and greatness of their chosen paths but only through wisdom one can realize the Ultimate Reality.

One has to have a perfect understanding and march ahead, surely and steadily, towards that Ultimate Reality, which is consciousness or Brahman or Christ or Buddha. One becomes limited to the concepts, names, and forms within the waking or the dream.  the waking or the dream originates from the Soul.

The Soul is the true Self.  The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. Realizing the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness as the true Self is,  Self-realization or Truth-realization.  

Consciousness is formless,  limitless, permanent, and unchanging, and by its nature non-dual and universal. The consciousness is the formless knower of the dualistic illusion(universe) which comes and goes.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

Jesus said to them: “When you make the two one, and when you make the inside like the outside and the outside like the inside.+

Gospel Thomas logian 22:-  Jesus saw infants being suckled. He said to his disciples, “These infants being suckled are like those who enter the kingdom.”

They said to him, “Shall we then as children  enter the kingdom?”

Jesus said to them, “When you make the two one, and when you make the inside like the outside and the outside like the inside, and the above like the below, and when you make the male and the female one and the same, so that the male not be male nor the female is female; and when you fashion eyes in the place of an eye, and a hand in place of a hand, and a foot in place of a foot, and a likeness in place of a likeness; then will you enter the kingdom.”

Santthosh Kumaar: ~This above passage is Jesus’s version of Nonduality or Advaita. When one realizes mind (matter) and Soul (spirit), the Self are one, in essence, then there is no place for duality. Without duality, the universe ceases to exist. Without the universe, your existence within the universe is merely an illusion because there is scope for two because everything is created out of single stuff. That single stuff is the consciousness or spirit. The spirit or the consciousness

Santthosh Kumaar

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  John Troy Right on, Santthosh Kumaar. Your input is always an edifying spirit.

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• • Dearest John Troy
•        It is a true blessing to have appreciation from a sage like you. 
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One day the science will declare that the universe is nothing but consciousness, which Sage Sankara declared 1200 years back.+

Both modern science and religion offer hypotheses and theories but there is one vital difference--science begins with facts which it collects; religion begins with fancies. Science evolves its hypotheses from such facts, religion from fancies.

Science declares that oxygen combines with hydrogen to give water. And it also declares oxygen is protons or electrons. But in pursuit of the truth,  the whole physical existence (universe or mind) is considered as an illusion, and science and its inventions, which are based on physical existence are limited to physical existence. The truth is within but it is beyond the physical existence.  Science demands physical proof.  But the physical proof is part of the illusion. Hence,  science cannot go beyond physicality because the truth cannot be traced with laboratory conditions.  Deeper Inquiry, analysis,  and reasoning are required if one wants to push its quest deeply enough.

The modern man appears to have acquired admirable knowledge in various fields of inventions in the physical world. However, what man has acquired is limited to the physical world not beyond.  The man has to admit the fact that he cannot investigate the truth of his own existence through scientific inventions because it is possible only through a deeper thinking process. Above all, acquired physical-based knowledge and power do not assure man of lasting happiness in the worldly life and peace evades him at every moment.

Max Planck: ~ “Science cannot solve the ultimate mystery of nature. And that is because, in the last analysis, we ourselves are part of nature and therefore part of the mystery that we are trying to solve”

The scientists now concluded that the  'SELF' is not the brain (body). The consciousness requires the joint operation of the brain, body, and the world. The  "Self" is not your brain. The brain, rather, is part of what "SELF" is 

The Biology of Consciousness

by Alva Noë. Hill and Wang, 2009

 Alva Noe, a University of California, Berkeley, philosopher, and cognitive scientist, argues that after decades of a concerted effort on the part of neuroscientists, psychologists, and philosophers "only one proposition about how the brain makes us conscious ... has emerged unchallenged: we don't have a clue." The reason we have been unable to explain the neural basis of consciousness, he says, is that it does not take place in the brain. Consciousness is not something that happens inside us, but something we achieve is more like dancing than it is like the digestive process. To understand consciousness the fact that we think and feel and that the world shows up for us we need to look at a larger system in which the brain is only one element. Consciousness requires the joint operation of the brain, body, and the world. "You are not your brain. The brain, rather, is part of what you are."

Thus, science is going in the right direction in its invention, and one day the science will declare that the universe is nothing but consciousness, which Sage Sankara declared 1200 years back ~ everything is Aaman- because Atman is present in the form of consciousness.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

The path of wisdom is for the advanced seekers of truth.+

Everyone likes religion because it belongs to the world of sentiments and emotions. Religion changes as it appeals to different emotions. One will find at one pole the nude Sadhu is admired; at the other, the gorgeous life-styled Godman is revered. Belief in religious prohibitions arises out of fear of God's punishment.

The man himself suggests that there must be a God. It is autosuggestion. To say that one knows God exists always implies he must also exist always. It would be correct to say at this point, he does not know about the existence of God, because God's existence depends on an individualized belief. 

The path of religion, the path of yoga, and the path of wisdom were intended for different classes of people. The path of wisdom is for the advanced seekers of truth. It deals with the nature of the ultimate Truth and Reality. It is meant for superior aspirants who have an inner urge to know the truth and it is not for those who are immersed in earthly desires.

Religion is nothing to do with the ultimate truth of Brahman. If one is seeking the truth, then he has to be free from all the religious beliefs and dogmas. Religion is based on the ego (you), whereas, the ultimate truth is based on the Soul, the innermost Self. Whatever is based on the ego is an illusion and whatever is based on the Soul is ultimate reality or Brahman. Thus, religion has to be bifurcated from spirituality to realize the truth beyond form, time, and space. 

The Orthodox dualist and nondualists sects are nothing to do with the ultimate truth or Brahman. The Orthodox Advaita considers, birth, life, death, rebirth, heaven, hell, sin, karma, and the world as reality, whereas  Sage Sankara declares the world in which we exist is merely an illusion. If the world is an illusion, then birth, life, death, rebirth, heaven, hell, sin, karma, and the world, is bound to be an illusion. 

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 or non-dualistic knowledge, but none of them are helpful to reach the ultimate end.

According to Advaita Vedanta, the Veda addresses itself to two kinds of audiences - the ordinary ones who desire the transitory heaven and other pleasures obtained as a result of ritual sacrifices, and the more advanced seeker who seeks to know Brahman. Thus, the Purva mimam. sa, with its emphasis on the karma kanda of the Vedas, is meant for the first audience, to help lead its followers along the way. However, the Vedanta, with its emphasis on the Jnana kanda, is meant for those who wish to go beyond such transient pleasures.

In the end, the philosophy that will appeal to one mostly depends on his mental makeup.

The different paths are intended for different classes of people:~ 

Karma Yoga: ~ Suited for an individual with predominantly activity-oriented mental aptitude

Raja Yoga: ~ Suited for an individual with predominantly occult activity-oriented mental aptitude

Bhakti Yoga:~ Suited for individuals with a predominantly emotional aptitude

Gyan Yoga -Suited for individual who wishes to go beyond such transient pleasures.

Many people follow both Bhakti as well as Jnana. Advaitic sages in the past composed numerous hymns for various Gods and Goddesses by mixing both dual and non-dualistic ideas.

 

Many sages used to illustrate, the formless (Nirakar God) ocean water under the cold currents of bhakti freezes take a shape as a block of ice (Saakar God). The same ice (Saakar God) under the heat of Gyan dissolves and again becomes the formless ocean (Niraakar God).

All the Advaitins believe in god and goddesses (vidya) and performing rituals and other sacrifices (Avidya) both are a hindrance to Self-knowledge according to Ish Upanishads, then why the seeker of truth needs to worship the God and Goddesses, when the essence of Advaita is Ataman is Brahman (soul or self as the ultimate reality).  

When the Self is formless then there is no need for pada pooja (feet worship) 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. Therefore, there is a need to know the fact that the self is not physical to understand and assimilate and realize the truth beyond physicality.

Sage Sankara said:~Neither by the practice of yoga nor philosophy, nor by good works, nor by learning, does liberation come, but only through the realization that Atman and Brahman are one in no other way.(1) VivekaChudamani v 56, pg 25

 Isa Upanishads indicates that:~  By worshipping 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 the darkness. It surely indicates the fact that the seeker of truth has to drop the worshiping god and goddess to get the self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

It also indicates that Religious Rituals (Avidya) are Karma (action) and therefore a hindrance. Performing Agnihotra and other sacrifices (Avidya) is a roundabout way of purifying the mind, and it is also groping in the dark.

In addition, it indicates that karma is limited only to religious rituals, not to the whole human life. This karma theory based on human conduct must have been adopted from Buddhism and other theories based on human conduct.  

Remember:~

When it says: Perform the obligatory karmas without any attachment to the fruits, and at the same time worship gods and goddesses, again without any desire to go to heaven - then you can get the benefit of both, liberation and bliss. For those who are not yet ready to renounce, this path is recommended, it means that the religion and its idea of god and goddesses and code of conduct, and its rituals are meant for the mass who are incapable of thinking of the beyond.

In addition, it also speaks of heaven the abode of gods, where one goes after death, and it speaks of rebirth, this contradiction, the seeker has to conclude that religion, rituals god, and its code of conduct is meant for the mass that is not receptive to self-knowledge.

When the self is not the body (‘I’) whatever one sees, knows, believes, experiences, and feels on the base of the body (‘I’) as self is bound to be an illusion. Thus, karma performed in illusion is bound to be an illusion. The birth, life, and death are happening within the illusion, therefore it is bound to be an illusion. Thus, rebirth and reincarnation theories based on the false self within the false experience are bound to be an illusion on the base of the true Self. Only the witness of the illusion is real (Brahman). Therefore, everything has to be viewed and judged, based on the Formless Witness (soul) to overcome the illusion/duality.

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.

Remember:~

The most valuable contribution of Sage Sankar is that he gained general consciousness on the issue that the authoritative explanation of Upanishads, Geeta, and Brahma Sutra was the final say in the matter of religion. Anything that goes contrary to the trio is not authentic. He also made a clear distinction between Vedas and Upanishads in his commentary on Geeta. He stated that the Karma Kand of the Vedas deals with the injunctions relating to the performance of duties and actions. These are for ordinary householders.

The path of religion, the path of yoga, and the path of wisdom were intended for different classes of people. The wisdom is for the advanced seekers of truth. It deals with the nature of the ultimate Truth and Reality. It is meant for superior aspirants who have an inner urge to know the truth and it is not for those who are immersed in earthly desires.

Sage Sankara’s whole wisdom can be summed up in one sentence, ‘There is nothing else but Brahman. He says that the Absolute Existence, Absolute Knowledge, and Absolute Bliss are Real. The universe is not real. He says that Brahma and Atman are one. The ultimate and the Absolute Truth is the Self, which is one though appearing as many in different individuals. The individual has no reality. Only the Self is real; the rest, mental and physical are but passing appearances.

 Sage Sankara states a paradox ~ the world is and is not. It is neither real nor unreal. It leads us to recognize the existence of Maya. He thinks that the world is illusory from one perspective and the second it is nothing but Brahma, Itself in manifestation. This apparent world is Maya and has its basis in Brahman, the Eternal. It looks real. It has names and forms and actually, it is not real In the light of true knowledge, it disappears and Self-alone shines as real. However,   Sage Sankar’s Mayavad has not been accepted by many preachers and philosophers.

When Sage Sankara says clearly, 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 in different individuals. The individual has no reality. Only the Self is Real; the rest, mental and physical are but passing appearances, then it indicates the form (waking/duality/mind) is unreal the formless is real (Soul/Spirit). Therefore, only Atman is real because there is no second thing other than Atman.

Sage Sankara says:~  Of what avail are the Vedas and (other) Scriptures, Mantras (sacred formulae), and medicines to such a one?

For one who wants to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana, the mantas will not help to realize the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space.

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?

Let erudite scholars quote all the scripture, let Gods be invoked through sacrifices, let elaborate rituals be performed, let personal Gods be propitiated---yet, without the realization of one‘s identity With the Self, there shall be no liberation for the individual, not even in the lifetimes of a hundred Brahmas put together

A sickness of not cured by saying the word “medicine.” You must take the medicine. Liberation does not come by merely saying the word “Brahman.” Brahman must be experienced. Until you allow this apparent universe to dissolve from your consciousness until you have realized Brahman, how can you find liberation just by saying the word Brahman? The result is merely noise. Until a man has destroyed his enemies and taken possession of the splendor and wealth of the kingdom, he cannot become a king by simply saying “I am a king.”

A buried treasure is not uncovered by merely uttering the words: “Come forth.” You must follow the right directions, dig, remove the stones and earth from above it, and then make it your own. In the same way, the pure truth of the Atman, which is buried under Maya and the effects of Maya, can be reached by meditation, contemplation, and other spiritual disciplines but never by subtle arguments.

Remember:~

You and your physical Guru belong to the domain of duality. The duality is merely an illusion. Sticking to some guru emotionally within the duality is a great obstacle in the path of wisdom.

The world in which you and the guru exist is the product of ignorance. If there is no ignorance, then the world in which you and your guru exist cease to exist as a reality.

When reality appears this ignorance which one thinks as reality becomes unreal.

The ultimate truth has to be realized first without any philosophy, then only it is possible to know what the scriptures are saying. 

Reality is simply the loss of ignorance. Until the ignorance is there the body, ego and the world exist as a reality. When ignorance vanishes, then the Soul, the Self, remains in its awareness. In Self - awareness there is unity in diversity, thus there is only oneness. :~Santthosh Kumaar