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