The Upanishads declare: ~ “Neti Neti—not this, not this, not that.+

Rig Veda: ~ 'Prajnanam Brahma'- Consciousness is the ultimate reality or Brahman or God in truth. 

God in truth is the Atman, the Self. Atman is present in the form of consciousness.

Do not accept any other God other than Atman not worship other than Atman.

Let these words be inscribed in your subconscious.

Nothing is real but God. Nothing Matters but love for God in truth. God in truth is everywhere and in everything.

God in truth is hidden by the illusory universe. God in truth alone is and all else is an illusion.

Remember:~

Consciousness is within, the consciousness is without; the consciousness is before,  consciousness is behind;   consciousness is on the right,  consciousness is on the left;   consciousness is above and consciousness is below.  Consciousness is not an object, as it is invisible, beyond the reach of the physical eyes.  Consciousness is the ultimate truth. And the ultimate truth is Brahman or God in truth.

The world in which we exist is merely an illusion created out of consciousness.  Therefore, hold on to the consciousness which is real and eternal, and mentally negate the world in which we exist by realizing the world in which we exist is nothing but consciousness.   

Upanishads declare: ~ “Neti Neti—not this, not this, not that.” This does not mean that Brahman is a negative concept, or a metaphysical abstraction, or a nonentity, or a void. It is not another. It is all-full, infinite, changeless, Self-existent, Self-delight, Self-knowledge, and Self-bliss. It is the essence. It is the essence of the knower and the known.

Sage Sankara said: - The Brahman is impersonal, without Gunas or attributes (Nirguna), formless (Nirakara), (without special characteristics (Nirvisesha), immutable, eternal, and non-agent (Akarta). It is above all needs and desires. It is always the Witnessing Subject. It can never become an object as it is beyond the reach of the senses. Brahman is non-dual, one without a second. It has no other besides it. It is destitute of difference, either external or internal. Brahman cannot be described because description implies a distinction. Brahman cannot be distinguished from any other than it. In Brahman, there is not distinction between substance and attribute.

In Manduka Upanishad Brahman and Atman are defined as the same:~

सर्वं ह्येतद् ब्रह्मायमात्मा ब्रह्म सोयमात्मा चतुष्पात् / sarvam hyetad brahmaayamaatmaa brahm soyamaatmaa chatushpaat –

Mandukya Upanishad, verse-2

Translation:~

sarvam(सर्वम्)- Whole/All/Everything; hi(हि)- Really/Just/Surely/Indeed;etad(एतद्)- This here/This; brahm(ब्रह्म)- Brahm/Brahman;ayam(अयम्)- This/Here; aatmaa(आत्मा)- Atma/Atman; sah(सः)- He;ayam(अयम्)- This/Here; chatus(चतुस्)- Four/Quadruple; paat(पात्)- Step/Foot/Quarter

Fragmented Verse:

सर्वम् हि एतद् ब्रह्म अयम् आत्मा ब्रह्म सः अयम् आत्मा चतुस पात् / sarvam hi etad brahm ayama aatmaa brahm sah ayam aatmaa chatus paat

Simple Meaning:~ 

All indeed is this Brahman; This Atman is Brahman; He, this Atman has four steps/quarters.

While Brahman lies behind the sum total of the objective universe, some human minds boggle at any attempt to explain it with only the tools provided by reason. Brahman is beyond the senses, beyond the mind, beyond intelligence, beyond imagination. Indeed, the highest idea is that Brahman is beyond both existence and non-existence, transcending and including time, causation, and space, and thus can never be known in the same material sense as one traditionally 'understands' a given concept or object.

Imagine a person who is blind from birth and has not seen anything. Is it possible for us to explain to him the meaning of the color red? Is any amount of thinking or reasoning on his part ever going to make him understand the sensation of the color red? In a similar fashion, the idea of Brahman cannot be explained or understood through material reasoning or any form of human communication. Brahman is like the color red; those who can sense it cannot explain or argue with those who have never sensed it.

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

In Advaita Vedanta: - Brahman is without attributes and strictly impersonal. It can be best described as infinite Being, infinite Consciousness, and infinite Bliss. It is pure knowledge itself, similar to a source of infinite radiance. Since the Advaitins regard Brahman to be the Ultimate Truth, so, in comparison to Brahman, every other thing, including the material world, its distinctness, the individuality of the living creatures, and even Ishvara (the Supreme Lord) itself are all untrue. Brahman is the effulgent cause of everything that exists and can possibly exist. Since it is beyond human comprehension, it is without any attributes, for assigning attributes to it would be distorting the true nature of Brahman. Advaitins believe in the existence of both Saguna Brahman and Nirguna Brahman; however, they consider Nirguna Brahman to be the absolute supreme truth. 

Chandogya Upanishad:~  One who meditates upon and realizes the 'Self'discovers that everything in the cosmos-- energy and space, fire and water, name and form, birth and death, mind and will, word and deed, mantrams and meditation--all come from the Self.

So, it clearly says the one who meditates upon the self (consciousness) discovers that everything in the cosmos-- energy and space, fire and water, name and form, birth and death, mind and will, word and deed, mantrams and meditation--all come from the Self. Therefore, there is a need to know the fact that, the true self is not physical but the soul in order to realize the fact that:  the cosmos-- energy and space, fire and water, name and form, birth and death, mind and will, word and deed, mantrams and meditation ~ all come from the Self, which is in the form of consciousness. 

Atman is Brahman. Brahman the Absolute is alone real; this waking is unreal, and the three states are non-different from Brahman. :~Santthosh Kumaar 

Ashtavakra says: ~ "This is your bondage, that you practice Samadhi or meditation.+

People dip into meditation, but they do not understand that that is  not the truth and that this dipping is also a mental discipline for them to understand the true nature of the external universe, which understanding they must next get if they are to become a Gnani.

Ashtavakra says:~  "This is your bondage, that you practice Samadhi or meditation.”

The Samadhi is based on the false ‘Self’ within the false experience. When the ‘‘Self’ is not you but the ‘Self’ is the Soul then what is the use of the Nirvikalpa Samadhi. The Soul, the ‘‘Self’ ‘is the fullness of the consciousness. The nature of the Soul itself’ is Samadhi.

What is the use of practicing Samadhi on the false ‘Self’ (you) within the dualistic illusion?

The experience and experiencer and the world are one, in essence. That essence is consciousness.

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 which is beyond form, time, and space.

Sage Sankara says: ~ Yoga is not the means of liberation (page 132-133 - Commentary on Brihadaranyakopanishad.

In Sutra Bashya and Manduka: ~ “The Samadhi and sleep are identical.

Brihad Upanishad: ~ does not advocate Samadhi.

Sage Sankara in the commentary to "Brahma Sutras: ~ " "The highest beatitude is not to be attained by Yoga." (Sacred Books of East Series page 298 Vol.1.) and he also says Samadhi is the same as sleep (p.312)'

~ this indicates that yoga is not the means to ‘Self’-realization. And yogic Samadhi is not non-dual ‘Self’-awareness.

Panchadasi shows the impossibility of yoga arriving at a successful end to its practices. (P.509 v, 109)

The idea of Self’-realization through yoga is not philosophic. Every yogi who shuts himself in a cave is not thereby freed from thinking.

Yoga can lead only to temporary peace because the world is subject to change.

Only Self- knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana can yield Advaitic awareness in the midst of the form, time, and space.

Remember:~

The Yoga Sastras say that the Sahasrara or brain is the seat of the Self. The Purusha Sukta declares that the Heart is its seat. 

When the ‘Self’ is  not the body then why you are thinking of the brain and the heart.   The Soul, the innermost self is ever formless, timeless, and spaceless existence.  The ‘Soul is not within the body, but the world in which you exist is within the Soul. 

When  you realize the world in which you exist is created out of the Soul, which is present in the form of  consciousness then you will realize the world in which you exist is merely an illusion created out of the Soul,  the Self, which is present in the form of the consciousness.

That is why Sage Sankara:~  VC~.63: "Without knowing and examining the external world, one can’t know the Truth, as the idea that the external world exists, won't go. It can go only by an inquiry into the nature of the external world.

Mundaka Upanishad 1.3:~ complete knowledge includes knowledge of the phenomenal world, the spirit behind it, and the source of both of them.  When the cause of all causes becomes known, then everything knowable becomes known, and nothing remains unknown is Gnana.”

Sage Sankara says:~Yoga is not the means of liberation (page 132-133 of his commentary on Brihadaranyakopanishad).

Ashtavakra says: ~ “This is your bondage, that you practice Samadhi or meditation.”

Meditation is not the means to Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. Meditation is not the goal itself. It is an important and useful tool to quiet the body, mind, and emotions and allow one to enter a deep and quiet state of mind. 

Once the turbulent tendencies of the body or ego and emotions are brought into harmony, clarity and renewed strength are available to meet and overcome each life challenge as it presents itself. Meditation will not eliminate our life challenges but can enable us to harmonize our body, mind, emotions, and spirit and to focus that energy like a powerful beam of light on the challenges that lie ahead in worldly life. 

When one sits down to meditate, he is thinking first of sitting, i.e. his body; then he tries to have only thoughts of getting rid of the thoughts, with the thoughts of getting rid of the thought.  Thus, he is thinking as a person within the world.  

Thus, he remains as a person practicing meditation, thinking the ego alone is illusory, and the rest (universe) is a reality within the illusion.  He only thinks of the object, within the object, as an object.  But he is never aware of the formless subject.  

The Self- realization is the prime goal.  The seeker has to know the Atman or consciousness as self, to have an actual realization. Thus seeker has to drop religious  ritual and  dogmatic instruction if he has chosen the Gnana Marga or path of wisdom.

Sage Sankara definitely says that Yoga is not the means of liberation (on pages 132-133 ( commentary on Brihadaranyakopanishad).

What happens when thoughts are stilled? It is not the Self that is found. It is only the mind. Through yoga, it is not possible to acquire Advaitic wisdom.   Therefore, the yogi does not know the ultimate truth. Yoga is good to give peace and concentration, but only in order to start reasoning, i.e. thinking again to find the truth.

It is not enough to see a mere blank, in meditation. One has to see the body, ego, and the universe as consciousness. One is free from ignorance not when he sees nothing at all, as in meditation, but only when he sees the entire universe as consciousness. Hence one must know “What is the mind, which appeared as the universe?” in order to unfold the mystery of the mind.

Yogic Samadhi is not the goal but a means to an end, i.e. wisdom. Yogic Samadhi in itself is useless because the mind is withdrawn and there is no memory of it until after it is over and one returns to a waking state. Yogi who attains mind control: it is only sleep.

When Yogi comes out of Samadhi and immediately duality confronts him again. His peace goes, it depended on Samadhi -sleep. Hence no yogi attains true peace, but he imagines it.  

 Yogi is not Self-realized because the yogic Samadhi is not Self-realization.  Only through Advaitic wisdom, one gets Self-realization.  The yogic Samadhi cannot be considered as  Advaitic wisdom. Therefore, there is a need to verify the facts.

 If a Godman claim:  “I am god “No one can disapprove. Similarly, with all other yogis who assert they know Brahman in Samadhi. There is no possibility of proof or disproof. Hence, these yogis assume or imagine they are god and they cheat themselves or others without knowing what God is in reality.

 When one cannot know the world in front of him then how can he know God? He will only know his imagination of a God. How can he say his God is all-merciful when the god is formless and cannot be perceivable from physical eyes?

Sanyasins are enjoined not to accept anything or ask for anything in order to get established in Atman. Religion propagates that only Sanyasis can have Atma Gnana, but it is not so, anyone who trains himself to reason on the base of the true self will be able to acquire nondual wisdom.  Blessings are religious fable. Only pretenders give blessings. A Gnani neither blesses nor curses.

The yogi fails to see non-duality in Samadhi because he believes there is bliss to come to him from Samadhi. That shows he does not know the truth but still seeks bliss as something apart from himself.

It is no use seeing God everywhere. One must see Atman, the same consciousness, the same self, everywhere, and then he will be able to accept all the three states alike (as consciousness),  with sameness.

Inquiry, analysis,  and reasoning must begin with the mind, which is in the form of the universe to inquire into. It will end with unity. The yogi tries to avoid this duality by ignoring the world. Hence,  he gets a false unity only.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

Until a man is ripe to receive Self-knowledge or Bramha Gnana or Atma Gnana, he will not be able to understand what I am saying.+

Self-Knowledge should be explained again and again until it is firmly rooted in the subconscious.

The one who has adopted the life of a wandering monk will never be able to realize the truth which is hidden in the form, time, and space. He keeps wandering from one place to the next, meeting different gurus, and worshipping different Gods. He is caught up in the prison of the dualistic illusion.

People who think Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana can be achieved by means of their karma (actions) are in hallucination.

People who are worshipping religious Gods are hallucinating about their Gods of belief as truth. They must know what God is supposed to be in truth according to their own scriptures.

First, they must know what is God in actuality. Without knowing the truth of God worshipping a false God leads to hallucination.

The existence of God or no God is only a belief. Belief is not the truth. Religion imposed people to blindly follow their inherited belief verification.

Religion is based on blind belief. Every religion has its own beliefs and dogmas. Religion discourages people to verify whether it is based on truth or not.

That is why Lord Krishna 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.

Lord Krishna himself says that he can do nothing to make a man intelligent straight away. The adepts give Prasad, blessings, initiations, mantrams, etc. only to confer temporary peace of mind, to help one to get rid of worries, but not to confer Gnana. The capacity to receive it must first be inborn in man by evolutionary degree. 

Any word one may utter is, after all, they are the words and words that have meaning only within the illusory universe or Maya.

The seeker of truth should not become attached to words as being in perfect conformity with meaning because Truth is not in the letters.

The words and their discrimination bind one to the duality; meaning stands alone and is a guide to non-dual awareness. Meaning is attained by much learning, and much learning is attained by becoming conversant with meaning and not with words; therefore, seekers of truth have to avoid the sticklers for particular words.

Remember:~

The words may aggravate illusion; words may also help dispel it.  It is necessary for repeating the same truth again and again until it becomes a reality. One needs to constantly reflect on the subject until he gets a conviction of what is what. Words are needed until one gets a firm conviction of ‘what is what'.  People need to read and hear the words of wisdom to think deeply and reach the ultimate end of understanding. 

We contemplate that reality in which everything exists, to which everything belongs, from which everything has emerged, which is the cause of everything and which is everything.

Jesus said: ~ Those who seek should not stop seeking until they find. When they find it, they will be disturbed. When they are disturbed, they will marvel, and will reign over all." (Gospel of Thomas 2)

You may find it difficult in the first as you go on reading the post your subconscious will start dropping the dualistic egocentric knowledge and start accepting the Soul-centric Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. It takes time for the seeker to gain the perfect understanding of ‘what is the truth’ and ‘’what is untruth’.

As you raft upon which you cross the swift river to get to the other side; once you are on the other side of the shore; there is no longer any need to carry the raft. The far shore is the reality when you reach it, you can see quite clearly that there was never any river at all.

Until a man is ripe to receive Self-knowledge, he will not be able to understand what I am saying.

What is the use of arguing on the base of the birth entity, which is not the Self? the truth is based on the Soul, the Self, which is birthless and deathless because it is ever formless, timeless, and spaceless existence.  The truth is not custom-made stuff to please the individual, according to their taste and fancy.

The seeker must read the posts and blogs umpteen times in order to know the subject.   It is foolish to argue holding their own accumulated knowledge as a yardstick and try to exhibit their accumulated intellectual wealth. 

One must move on to his chosen path, which pleases and satisfies them.  Atmic path is not the path of argument or exchange of views and opinions. All the posts and blogs are only signposts that help the seeker to remove all the obstructions and realize the truth in lesser time and effort. 

As the truth is hidden within the dualistic illusion requires excavation, and the removal of the obstruction, it requires sharpness to grasp but never comes by arguing or provoking. The transparent Truth of the ‘Self’ is hidden by the dualistic illusion or Maya.

Sages of truth declare: ~ Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana to be attained through the instructions of a knower of Brahman, followed by reflection, and so forth, but not through perverted arguments.

 The seeker should personally strive by using the power of Soulcentric reason to be free from the bondage of the dualistic illusion.  

The seeker of truth should be aware of everything that is untrue: stick to the truth and he shall succeed, maybe slowly, but surely. :~Santthosh Kumaar 

The idea of reincarnation is based on the birth entity, which lives and dies within the illusory world.+

Accepting in rebirth and reincarnation theory as reality is accepting the false self (ego) as real Self and false experience (waking) as reality. Self-realization is impossible if one accepts the present waking entity as the real Self because the Self is neither the waking entity nor the Self is the dream entity, but the Self is the formless Soul, which witnesses the coming and going of the three states.  

 The three states are impermanent, but the Soul or the consciousness, which is the witness of the three states, is permanent and eternal.  In reality,  the three states are one,  in essence. And that essence is consciousness. There is no second thing exists other than consciousness.  Thus, the consciousness (Soul) is second to none.

Deeper Self-search reveals the fact that the waking experiences itself an illusion. It means the present experience of birth, life, death, and the world are merely  an illusion. Thus, the reincarnation theory based on the false Self within the false experience is bound to be a  falsehood. When the waking entity is not the Self,  then whatever theories are based on the waking entity is an imagined theory. 

 This imagined theory based on the waking entity or ego is for the lower mindset who are incapable of grasping the ultimate truth or Brahman.

People who are caught up with the idea of reincarnation and rebirth theories are not qualified for Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana because they accepted the duality as reality. Birth implies duality and duality is falsehood from the ultimate standpoint.

The Soul, the   Self is birthless therefore,  it is deathless. The one which is born, lives, and dies within the world (waking) is not the Self.  The idea of reincarnation is based on the birth entity (waking entity or ego) which lives and dies within the illusory world (waking).   

The Self is the one that  witnesses the coming and going of the dual (waking or dream) nondual (deep sleep) experiences. When the experience of birth, life, and death takes place in the illusion, then rebirth and reincarnation also is part of the same illusion. 

The dream becomes unreal when the waking takes place. Similarly, the waking becomes unreal when wisdom dawns. Wisdom dawns when the Soul, the Self, consciously remains awake in its formless nondual nature.  When the substance and the witness of the three states are one in essence and the essence is consciousness. Then what value is there for this universe in, which the experience of birth, life death, and reincarnation happen? 

Even if you take reincarnation as a reality, but reincarnation happens within the world, which is an illusion.  

From the standpoint of the formless Soul, the Self, the present birth, life, and death itself are merely an illusion. The Soul, the  Self is birthless and deathless because it is the ever-formless, timeless and spaceless existence.  

Dalai Lama said:~   Buddhism need not be the best religion though it is most scientific and religious and inquisitive. But Buddhism has no answer to certain questions like the existence of Atama [soul] and rebirth.   Dali Lama said that as an individual he believes in rebirth as he had come across a few cases of rebirth.  Modern science, Dalai Lama hoped would unearth the mystery behind the rebirth. (In DH –dec-212009-Gulbarga).

People who are caught up with the  idea of reincarnation and rebirth theories are not qualified for Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana because they accepted the  dualistic illusion  as a reality

People who believe in reincarnation and rebirth theories are unaware of the fact that their belief is based on the waking entity, which is the false self within the false experience. The waking entity itself is a false self within the false experience, it means the present experience of birth, life, death, and the world is a falsehood.  

Thus, whatever is seen, known, believed, and experienced as the waking entity is bound to be falsehood because the Soul, the Self, which is present in the form of consciousness is birthless because it is unborn and eternal. Therefore, the rebirth and reincarnation theory based on the false self is bound to be a falsehood.

Accepting in rebirth and reincarnation theory as reality is accepting the false self (waking entity or ego)  as the real self and false experience(waking) as reality. Self-realization is an impossibility  if one accepts the present waking entity as the real self because the Self is neither the waking entity nor the  Self  is dream entity, but the  Self is  the  unborn Soul, which  witnesses  the coming and going  of the  three states without the physical apparatus.

 The three states are impermanent, but the soul or consciousness, which is the witness of the three states, is permanent and eternal.  In reality, the three states are one in essence. And that essence is consciousness. Therefore, there is no second thing that exists other than consciousness.  Consciousness is second to none.

A deeper self-search reveals the fact that the waking experience itself is an illusion. It means the present experience of birth, life, death, and the world is an illusion. 

Thus, the reincarnation theory based on the false self within the false experience is bound to be a  falsehood. When the waking entity is not the Self then whatever theories are based on the waking entity imagined theory. 

This imagined theory based on the waking entity or ego is for those with lower mindsets who are incapable of grasping the ultimate truth or Brahman.

People who are caught up with the idea of reincarnation and rebirth theories are not qualified for Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana because they accepted the duality as reality.   The birth implies duality and the duality is a falsehood from the ultimate standpoint. :~Santthosh Kumaar