An essential identity between Atman and Brahman is upheld in Advaita Vedanta.+

Uttara Mimamsa, also called Vedanta, does not consider the Upanishads and Brahmanas as arthavada subservient to vidhis. Instead, they are seen to be sources of Brahman knowledge, addressed solely to those who seek Moksha or Freedom. 

The rituals enjoined in the Vedas apply to the realm of dharma, but the one who seeks liberation does not merely desire a place in heaven; he is in search of ultimate Reality itself. The Upanishads are viewed as those portions of the Sruti that address philosophical questions about Reality, here called Brahman. This tradition of exegesis follows the Brahma Sutras of Badarayana. Within Vedanta, there is a considerable difference of opinion on whether the Upanishads enjoin anything at all.

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.

An essential identity between Atman and Brahman is upheld in Advaita Vedanta. The personality of Sage Sankara, and the force of Advaita teaching is so strong that most post-Sankarian schools of Vedanta consciously define their doctrines against Advaita thought.

When Advaita declares Atman and Brahman then the direct realization of truth is possible without the scriptures.  Know the soul to be the true self. And true Self is in the form of consciousness and realizes consciousness as the ultimate truth or Brahman.  

Self-knowledge is the aim of every human being. Since everyone thinks the physical body is the self their aim is misdirected, and they focus their attention on materiality which makes one feel the duality (waking) as reality.

Therefore, there is no need to study scriptures, or indulge in God and Guru glorification, or perform religious rituals.  Since they are not the means to acquire non-dualistic or Advaitic wisdom. It is only a waste of time and effort to indulge in those things.

The individual self is not real and is not accepted by many.  The nondual wisdom is based not on the individual self (ego).  Until people hold the ‘I’ (ego) as the witness, they will not reach the ultimate understanding. 

Chandogya Upanishad says:~ sarvam khalvidam brahma - All this (universe) is verily Brahman. By following back all of the relative appearances in the world, we eventually return to that from which it is all manifest – the non-dual reality. 

Then it is no use going roundabout way, trace the Brahman which is the formless substance and witness of the universe, which is in the form of the mind.  By tracing the source of the mind or universe one will be able to realize the Brahman.

Remember:~

The true Self is not perceptible to the senses. It is perceived by Reason. It is not perceptible as a thing with form and attributes. To those whose attention is fixed on the body and the world, it is very difficult to attain Self-knowledge. It is also very difficult for them to see the Self as consciousness. The attention towards the universe (mind) should be lessened by realizing the Self is not the body. The attention has to be focused on the formless substance and the witness of the universe (mind) should be increased. So long as the attention is directed towards the universe, the experience of birth, life, and death will prevail as reality. But when the attention is directed towards the formless witness, the ignorance vanishes and the sense of duality will disappear. Then there is unity in diversity.

What is the state of the ego or the physical self when it has realized that the self is not the body? Such souls have attained their pristine condition. The “Self” is not visible to the physical eyes. The  “Self” is not to be found in the world as a thing, entity, or object. The  Self is above these and has neither a beginning nor an end.

A visible object has a beginning and an ending. Since Atman, which is in the form of consciousness is invisible to the physical eye; Atman or consciousness is without beginning and end. Atman is always constant. Just as space is homogeneous everywhere, so is the Atman the same everywhere.

Ashtavakra Gita:~ But he who is truly wise Always sees the absolute Self. Celebrated, he is not delighted. Spurned, he is not angry. Pure of heart, He watches his own actions As if they were another's. How can praise or blame disturb him? ~ 3:9-10

Bhagavad Gita:~ They live in freedom and have gone beyond the dualities of life. Competing with no one, they are alike in success and failure and content with whatever comes to them. They are free, without selfish attachments; their minds are fixed in knowledge. They perform all work in the spirit of service, and their karma is dissolved.~ 4:22-23

An intense desire for truth -realization is itself the way to it. The Lord is The Self in Advaita. Therefore, one need not accept anything other than the Self, which is consciousness. Thus consciousness alone is the ultimate truth or Brahman that is free from falsehood.

Remember:~

Advaita (non-duality) and dvaita (duality) is the state of the Self. It is not some intellectual theory. 

Religious-based Advaitins believe the Atman (Soul) is Brahman,  and the world is an illusion. Religious dvaitins believe the body is the Self, they believe the world is a reality, and they believe in creator and creation theory.  

 In India Advaita and Dvaita are merely a religious tradition, which they inherited from their ancestors. No one questions their validity, because it is considered blasphemy to question any guru and god-men or pundits.

People who are attached to their religious code of conduct and trying to preach Advaita, which is mixing the individual life, and concept of god, and all mixed up hotchpotch religious doctrine and feed the seeking minds, are themselves not aware of the fact that the individuality and the worldly life is part of the illusion.

Bhagavan Buddha must have verified religion, Vedas, and the concept of god and found them inadequate and useless in the pursuit of the truth, and he rejected them and got enlightened without the aid of religion, Vedas, and the concept of god. 

After studying and going through all the rigorous training from the religious scholars in the Theosophical Society, J.K. was confused about all these, and when he started verifying with deeper introspection, he found everything was priest-crafted hotchpotch ideologies. Thus, he refused to become the world guru, rejected it, and walked out and condemned the priestcraft.  

In Advaita, they accept the karma theory.  If they accept the karma theory, one will not be able to reach the nondual destination. If one accepts karma theory then it is impossible to treat the world as an illusion. All the pundits’ explanation of karma theory carries no weight on the realm of truth because if karma is accepted they are accepting the false self (ego or body) as the true Self and false experience (universe or waking) as reality.

Birth, life, and death are part of the waking experience, which is merely an illusion from the standpoint of the soul, the innermost self.  It is no use in saying that, we are not born, we do not die because, because we all were born,  and we all are going to die. However, birth, life, and death are part of the illusion, which comes and goes as a waking experience.  The formless witness of the three states is real, which is our identity has no birth and death. That is why self-knowledge has nothing to do with the religious-based Advaita, which is based on Vedas.

 A Gnani will never say we are not born; we are not going to die.   Only to the mediocre who nod their head, he will say this to inspire them to think of the formless true identity, which is birthless, deathless.   Thus, it is wrong to say we are not born,  and we do not die by limiting the self to the physical entity.  If one limits the self to the physical entity alone, one gets only half-truth.  The consciousness, which is the true self, pervades all the three states, as their formless substance and witness.  The formless substance and witness, which is our true self (true identity). Without knowing the true self-mere saying, we are not born, we do not die is not knowledge, that has come from the depth, it is mere bookish knowledge.

 When Sage  Sri, Sankara says:  The world is unreal. He never said the body is unreal. He would have said only birth and death are unreal, but he did not say that he said the world is unreal.   He meant the world including the body because the body and world appear together and disappear together (waking/dream).  Then we have to think, about what remains without the body and the world as reality. How can the birth, life, death, rebirth, and reincarnation, which take place in the unreal world (waking or dream), can be true.   The one, that is aware of the birth, life, death, rebirth, and reincarnation (illusion/unreal), is the formless reality, which is the soul, the innermost self.  The unborn Self is the true Self, which is birthless and deathless but it is the witness of the birth, life, and death, and rebirth (illusion/unreal).

 From the standpoint of identity, the birth, life, death, rebirth, and reincarnation theory is part of the illusion/unreal.  The body cannot reincarnate, the body and the world are created out of the same formless stuff. 

Until one views and judges on the base of flesh, bone, and blood (five elements), he will not be able to grasp the nondual truth.  Thus, one must know from what standpoint we are not born, and we do not die thoroughly, just by hearsay views, it will not lead anyone to the nondual destination.

The seeker has to learn to view and judge from the standpoint of a formless witness (Soul). Then he will never have any confusion.  When one thinks deeply then only the inner revelation starts and starts burning the dross (confusion/doubts). 

The seeker has enough material stored in one’s subconscious by reading these messages in my blogs; all will start yielding fruits and start revealing when he starts thinking very deeply.  This is the inner process every serious seeker experiences.  The inner dialogue will start, and one will start getting answers from the inner core of his existence.  :~Santthosh Kumaar