Upanishads :~ Lead me from ignorance to truth, from darkness to light, from death to immortality.++****

The Soul, the Self is ever free. How could the free ever be bound? It was never bound. Only within the illusion of form, time and space, it is bound. 

From the standpoint of the Soul, the Self, the form, time and space are merely an illusion.  How could the unlimited ever be limited by anything? Infinite divided by infinite, added to infinite, multiplied by infinite remains infinite.  

The Soul, the Self is infinite.  The Soul, the Self is God. God is infinite There cannot be two existences, only one. The Infinite can never be made finite. The Soul, the  Self is never bound. Realizing the Soul as the Self, the Soul is free already.  Through Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana the goal is reached -- all there is to reach. 

The seeker's aim is the search for the Ultimate Truth or Brahman.  The search to find the non-dualistic or Advaitic truth that in actuality never was lost, only hidden.

Upanishad aspiration is best expressed in the following sutra:~

OM Asato ma sad gamaya, tamaso ma jyotir gamaya, mrityor ma aamritaam gamaya. Shanti, Shanti, Shanti

"OM Lead me from ignorance to truth, from darkness to light, from death to immortality. Peace, Peace, Peace" (Brhadaranyaka Upanishad (1/3/28)).

The belief system was coherent because they had a transcendent God as a central doctrine, whereas in the realm of truth individualized God cannot be considered as the center because the soul, the soul, the innermost self is the center of all that exists.

First, one should not hold a god as the center of existence without verification. Both the theist and atheist are theories nothing to do with ultimate truth or Brahman.

There are so many Godmen and gurus with all their accumulated knowledge will not get the realization of the soul.

Many are good at acrobatics with words, but their knowledge is limited to the physical self.  The inner work is at progress, and the realization will happen as the conviction of formless witness grows.  Everyone’s individual experiences are not the same.   Some are so much immersed in materiality, religion, and duty-bound towards their family and society, and they do not have an inner urge because they have accepted their present experience of birth, life, death, and the world as reality. Because of this deep-rooted conviction, they are not attracted to the path of non-dualistic or Advaitic wisdom. Some are interested intellectually knowing the truth.

Many are interested in arguing on the base of accumulated knowledge, but they do not understand the fact that neither by arguing nor by provoking the wisdom will not dawn. 

The path of wisdom does not need any support from any scriptures, philosophy, and words of great people of the past because the path of wisdom is the path of verification not the path of argument.  The seeker has to get all his doubts and confusion cleared by discussing.  The seeker should not hold his accumulated knowledge as a yardstick. The ultimate truth or Brahman cannot be compared with any other knowledge because it is not based on form, time and space   

I quote scriptures because the scriptures are also saying the same thing that I am saying.  To realize the ultimate truth or Brahman no scriptures are needed. I am highlighting only the rational views of the sages of truth. 

People think that by studying Vedas one will be able to get self-realization, but it is not so.   Vedic studies lead to nowhere. What is the use of studying scriptures when Upanishads itself declares:~

Katha Upanishad:~   This Atman cannot be attained by the study of the Vedas, or by intelligence, nor by much hearing of sacred books. It is attained by him alone whom It chooses. To such a one Atman reveals Its own form. (Katha Upanishad Ch-II -23-P-20)

Mundaka Upanishad:~ This Atman cannot be attained through the study of the Vedas, nor through intelligence, nor through much learning. He who chooses Atman—by him alone is Atman attained. It is the Atman that reveals to the seeker Its true nature. (3 page-70 - Mundaka Upanishad- Upanishads by Nikilanada)

When the Upanishad says:  the human goal is to acquire Self-Knowledge or Bramha Gnana or Atma Gnana.  And  they  also indicate the personal Gods, scriptures, worship, and rituals are not the means to Self –Knowledge or Bramha Gnana or Atma Gnana  therefore  why anyone should indulge in such things

The Upanishads declare:~

 
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 thorough controlled and disciplined life, to him also the soul is revealed.

The Upanishads says: ~

Katha Upanishad 1:2:23:~  The Soul cannot be realized through hearing a 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 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 the 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.

Scriptures are being added from time to time. This process will go on. There is the 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 his reason to them.

The scriptures are for 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. They have no value as an authority for those who use reason.

 I quote only verified citations form the scriptures. I need no scriptures, but I quote then to help the seekers to realize it is possible to acquire the Self-knowledge without the scriptures.   

The Upanishads are the only scriptures in the world that say ~  It is impossible to find and realize the truth via religion and scriptural study.

That is why Sage Sri, Sankara says:~ VC-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 which 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.

63. Without causing the objective universe to vanish and without knowing the truth of the Self, how is one to achieve Liberation by the mere utterance of the word Brahman? — It would result merely in an effort of speech.

64. Without killing one’s enemies, and possessing oneself of the splendor of the entire surrounding region, one cannot claim to be an emperor by merely saying, ‘I am an emperor’.

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, followed by reflection, meditation and so forth, but not through perverted arguments.

The religion is based on the body (form) as the Self since it is based on birth. Spirituality is based on the Soul or Spirit. Thus there is a need to bifurcate the religion from spirituality. 

Religion views and judges on the standpoint of the physical self( you or ego), whereas in pursuit of truth everything is viewed, judged and concluded on the base of the Soul, the Self.  

Whatever is based on the physical entity is not spirituality because the Soul has no form, so it has no religion.  Therefore, the seeker of truth has to rectify the reasoning base, from form to formless, to understand and assimilate the Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.   

Upanishads:~ Fools dwelling in darkness, but thinking themselves wise and erudite, go round and round, by various tortuous paths, like the blind led by the blind. (Upanishads Nikhilananda -  Ch II-5 P-14)

The seeker has to overcome all the obstacles in his pursuit of truth on his own.  They are so many scholars who mastered philosophy.  It is impossible to acquire Self-knowledge or Bramha Gnana or Atma Gnana through theoretical philosophy. Because their preaching is based on spirit and practices is based on ego or the waking entity(you or ego).

Thus, one has to realize the Advaitic truth without the scriptures and without getting involved in orthodoxy or any other teaching.:~Santthosh Kumaar