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

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

The Hindu  religion prescribes  four paths to the journey to Ultimate Reality:~

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 an individual with a predominantly logic-driven aptitude

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 nondualistic ideas.

Many sages are used to illustrate, the formless (Nirakar God) ocean water under the cold currents of bhakti freezes to take the shape as 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.  

When the Self is the nirguna /nirakara Soul 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 Advitic 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 in order to understand and assimilate and realize the truth beyond physicality.

Isa Upanishads indicate:~ 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 toward Self-knowledge, which is the main goal. One cannot reach the nondual destination by glorifying god and goddesses and by doing that, one goes deeper and deeper into darkness. It surely indicates the fact that the seeker of truth has to drop the worshiping god and goddess in order to get 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.  

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 religious gods, 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 the Self is bound to be an illusion.  Thus, the karma performed in illusion is bound to be an illusion. Birth, life, and death are happening within the illusion, therefore it is bound to be an illusion. 

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, on the base of the Formless Witness (soul) in order to overcome the illusion/duality.

A 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  the Soul, the Self permanently in the grip of dualistic illusion.

The most valuable contribution of Sage Sankara 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.

Sri Sankara’s whole teaching can be summed up into one sentence, ‘There is nothing else but Brahma. He says that Absolute Existence, Absolute Knowledge and Absolute Bliss is 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.

 In fact, 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 from 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 as 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 (universe) is unreal the formless (Soul) is real.  Therefore, only Atman is real because there is no second thing other than Ataman.

He also clearly mentions that:

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.

Scientists now concluded that you are not the brain (body). Consciousness requires the joint operation of the brain, body, and world. "You are not your brain. The brain, rather, is part of what you are."

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 it is more like dancing than it is like the digestive process. To understand consciousness the fact that we think and feel and that a world shows up for us we need to look at a larger system of which the brain is only one element. Consciousness requires the joint operation of the brain, body, and 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 it will declare that everything is consciousness, which Sage Sankara declared 1200 years back –everything is Ataman- because Ataman is in the form of consciousness.

 Thus we have to know the fact that Bhagavan Buddha, Sage Goudpada and Sage Sankara are not only reformers but also the greatest scientists. Since their original thesis 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 mindset, because of their egocentric outlook.

 All the add-ons have to be deleted, in order 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 nondual truth.  The same time and effort can be used to reach the nondual destination, in lesser time and effort.   

As one goes deeper into investigation he finds:-

Sage Sankara founded his Advaita Vedanta either on reason independent of 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 by means of reason alone.  Mandukya Upanishad, a scripture that appealed to reason to the exclusion of Revelation. 

Nonduality 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 color or creed or 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 their scriptural knowledge, it becomes impossible to assimilate and realize the non-dual truth.   Therefore, there is no need to convince anyone other than our own-self to get a firm conviction.

Gnani does not try to prove my 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, and Raj 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.   

Deeper inquiry, analysis, and reasoning reveal the fact that the self is not physical but the Self is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. 

All the accumulated knowledge, experiences, and understanding based on the physical self (ego or body as Self) are falsehoods 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 falsehood.   Since many teachers and teachings are based on the false self (ego or body as Self) 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?” in order to understand and assimilate the non-dual 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 and verify everything and accept only un-contradictable truth.  Nothing has to be accepted as truth because some great thinker says it or I am saying it.  

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.

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 never changes. The body and world are an object and goes, 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 non-dual 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 an object, or that object is the subject.

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

The duality is a reality from the standpoint of the false self (ego).  The duality is merely an illusion on the base of the true Self, which is 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 God in truth. One becomes limited to the concepts, names, and forms within the waking/dream. Waking/dream originates from the soul.

 The Soul is the true Self.  The Soul is 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, unchanging, and by its nature nondual and universal. The consciousness is the formless knower of the mirage (universe) which comes and goes.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

You are false entity (waking entity or ego) within the false experience (waking).+

Until you realize you are part and parcel of the illusory universe, the Self, which is hidden by the illusory universe will not be found.

Realize, the Self is not you but the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. Consciousness is the cause of the universe it itself is uncaused.

Relax, and introspect mentally that, your body is not Self, your ego is not the Self, you are not the Self’.

You are a false entity (ego) within the false experience (waking). The Soul, the Self ‘is hidden by the universe but the Soul, the Self is without the universe. 

You are part and parcel of that universe, which appears as waking or dream (duality) and disappears as deep sleep (non-duality).

The Soul, the Self is the formless witness which witnesses you (ego) and the universe together.

The Soul, the Self is just a witness of you and your experience of the world. 

This witness is like a mirror. The body and the world are merely reflections on it. 

The mirror is unaffected by the reflection on it. It is its ultimate nondual nature.

Once the seeker has grasped this truth, once he has walked the path to the innermost core, he will never be the same again. Finally, he has to awaken to his formless nondual true identity.

In the eyes of a Gnani, the whole existence becomes enlightened. A Gnani realizes his body, his ego his experience of the world are one in essence.  The essence is formless consciousness, which is the Self.  The waking and dream reflect in the mirror of consciousness without creating any ripples on the mirror when one becomes aware the mirror and its reflection are one in essence.

When the wisdom dawns the mind starts melting into the soul. Wisdom destroys all distance between the mind and the Soul. Mind becomes non-existence; it becomes nothingness in the midst of diversity. And that nothingness is the nondual nature of the Soul or consciousness, which is the Self.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

Whatever appears as the illusory universe is consciousness and whatever is the cause of the illusory universe is also consciousness.+

The universe appears as a waking or dream (duality) and disappears as deep sleep (nonduality)

What is ‘I’? What is the mind? What is the universe? What is waking or dream? What is duality? What is the dualistic illusion?

A deeper self-search reveals the fact that they all are one and the same thing in ignorance we identify them differently.

Without the ‘I’, there is no mind.

Without the mind, there is no universe.

Without the universe, there is no waking or dream.

Without waking or dream, there is no individual experience of birth, life, death, and the world.

What is the Soul? What is consciousness? What is awareness? They all are one and the same thing.

Remember:~

Whatever appears as the illusory universe is consciousness and whatever is the cause of the illusory universe is also consciousness. There is no second thing that exists other than the Soul which is present in the form of consciousness. 

It is foolish to limit the consciousness to the individual and think the consciousness is limited to physicality. 

Consciousness appears as ‘I’ in waking or dream and ‘I’ disappears as consciousness in deep sleep. 

That is the Soul appears as the universe in waking or dream and the universe disappears as the Soul in deep sleep. 

That is the dualistic illusion appears as a waking or dream and disappears as the non-dualistic reality in deep sleep. 

The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, is Seer and also Seen (I). 

The Seen is merely an illusion created out of the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. From the ultimate standpoint, the illusion has no value because the Seer and the Seen are one in essence. 

The ‘I’ appears on its own it perishes on its own. The ‘I’ is not the cause of the appearance and disappearance because the ‘I’ itself is the appearance. The ‘Self’ is not ‘I’, but the ‘Self’ is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. 

The one which witnesses the appearance and disappearance is not ‘I’ because the ‘I’ appears and disappears. 

The one which is aware of the appearance and disappearance as ‘I’ is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. 

Realize, ‘what is this ‘I’ supposed to be in actuality and what is hidden by the ‘I’ will be revealed. 

If you realize the ‘Self ‘is not the ‘I’ but the Soul then whatever is hidden by the ‘I’ will be revealed. 

Realizing the Soul is not the ‘I’ but the Soul is the Self, is Self –realization. 

That is why Bhagavad Gita: ~ The permanent is always there, only the transient ‘I’ comes and goes. (2.18) 

The ‘I’ hides the Soul, the Self, which is present in the form of consciousness. 

People think the ‘I’ without the body is the Self. The seeker has to understand the fact that ‘I’ is not the Self, but the witness of the ‘I’ is the true Self, which is eternal. 

That is why Ashtavakra Gita 16:10:~ If you desire liberation, but you still say "I," If you feel the ‘Self’ is the ‘I’, You are not a wise man or a seeker. You are simply a man who suffers.  

People are stuck with the reality of the ‘I’, which they take 'I' as real because some Gurus have propagated the Self as the ‘I’. There is no need to convince such a mindset. The seeker of truth accepts only the truth nothing but the truth. 

Perfect understanding and assimilation of ‘what is what’ lead to Advaitic Self-awareness.:~ Santthosh Kumaar

Sage Goudpada says ~ “The merciful Veda teaches karma and Upasana to people of lower and middling intellect while Gnana is taught to those of higher intellect.+

Vedic God is Advaita

The religion of the Veda knows no idols. It means the Vedic God is a formless, timeless, and spaceless existence. That means Vedic God is Advaita.

Max Müller says: - "The religion of the Veda knows no idols; the worship of idols in India is a secondary formation, a degradation of the more primitive worship of ideal Gods."

In the Vedas, God has been described as: ~

Yajurveda – chapter- 32:~ It has been said that God Supreme or Supreme Spirit has no ‘Pratima’ (idol) or material shape. God cannot be seen directly by anyone. God pervades all beings and all directions.

Thus, Idolatry does not find any support from the Vedas.

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.

Rig-Veda 1-164-46 and Y.V 32-1 clearly mention that God is “One”.

Rig Veda:~ God is ‘ONE’ and God is Atman, then why believe and worship in place of real God.

Rig Veda: ~ The Atman is the cause; Atman is the support of all that exists in this universe. May ye never turn away from the Atman, the Self. May ye never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman?" (10:48, 5)

How can you worship God? That implies two ~ the worshiper and the worshiped, whereas the God is non-dual. One can worship his idea of God only or realize his unity with it when he can’t worship it as a part.

When Upanishads and Vedas declare that, “God is the form of the Athma, and God is indeed Athma itself” then why accept another God in place of the Atman or worship other than the Atman.

Sage Sankara’s Supreme Brahman (God) is impersonal, Nirguna (without Gunas or attributes), Nirakara (formless), Nirvisesha (without special characteristics), immutable, eternal, and Akarta (non-agent). 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.

Belief in multiple Gods, The worship of idols; the worship of images that are not God, The worship of sacred images, ancestor worship, pilgrimage, priestcraft, the belief in avatars or incarnations of God, and the hereditary caste system on the grounds that all these lacks Vedic sanction.

Religious people indulge in non-Vedic beliefs such as idolatry, ancestor worship, pilgrimages, priestcraft, offerings made in temples, the caste system, untouchability, and child marriages. All these lack Vedic sanctions, therefore, Hinduism is not Ancient Vedic religion or Santana Dharma.

Realizing the universe is created out of single stuff and that single stuff is the Soul which is present in the form of consciousness leads to non-dualistic or Advaitic Self-awareness. Self-awareness is freedom or Moksha. Moksha is unity in diversity in the midst of duality.

It is very difficult to talk to people about the ultimate truth or Brahman because everyone thinks he knows the ultimate truth or Brahman. I know business is dangerous. And whatever his reached conclusion is second-hand stuff. Therefore, accepting accumulated knowledge without verification will lead the seekers to hallucinated realization based on the ego. One may have some flashes of truth when someone tries to indicate it through fewer words. But it takes nearer to truth, not realization

It indicates clearly all the Gods with form and attributes are mere imaginations based on the false self.

Yajurveda says:~

Translation 1

They enter darkness, those who worship natural things (for example air, water, sun, moon, animals, fire, stone, etc).

They sink deeper into darkness those who worship sambhuti. (Sambhuti means created things, for example, table, chair, idol, etc.) (Yajurveda 40:9)

Translation 2

"Deep into the shade of blinding gloom fall asambhuti's worshippers. They sink to darkness deeper yet who on sambhuti is intent." (Yajurveda Samhita by Ralph T. H. Griffith pg. 538)

Translation 3

"They are enveloped in darkness, in other words, are steeped in ignorance and sunk in the greatest depths of misery who worship the uncreated, eternal prakrti -- the material cause of the world -- in place of the All-pervading God, But those who worship visible things born of the prakrti, such as the earth, trees, bodies (human and the like) in place of God are enveloped in still greater darkness, in other words, they are extremely foolish, fall into an awful hell of pain and sorrow, and suffer terribly for a long time." (Yajur Veda 40:9.)

So, Yajur Veda indicates:~

People sink deeper in darkness those who worship sambhuti. (Sambhuti means created things, for example, table, chair, idol, etc.

Those who worship visible things created of matter in place of God are enveloped in still greater darkness, in other words, they are extremely foolish, fall into an awful hell of pain and sorrow, and suffer terribly for a long time.

When the religion of the Veda knows no idols then why so many Gods and Goddesses with different forms and names are being propagated as Vedic Gods. Why these conceptual Gods are introduced when the Vedic concept of God is free from form and attributes.

In India, the founders of different castes, sects, and cults in the past introduced the concept of God with attributes and attributeless Gods with diverse rituals to the deities.

The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad declares: "He who worships the deities as entities entirely separate from him does not know the truth. For the Gods, he is like a pasu (beast)". (1. 4. 10)

Yajur Veda says ~ “Those who worship visible things, born of the prakrti, such as the earth, trees, bodies (human and the like), in place of God are enveloped in still greater darkness. Therefore, all these add-ons prove that the form and attribute-based concepts are introduced by some sages of the past with a new belief system and code of conduct in the name of Vedas. Thus, devotion to such conceptual Gods and Goddesses is non-Vedic. by indulging in non-Vedic practices, one will remain ignorant. The main aim of Vedas is to acquire self-knowledge.

Therefore, all the add-ons and attribute-based knowledge, which are inferior, have to be bifurcated and excluded to know the ultimate truth.

Sage Goudpada says ~ “The merciful Veda teaches karma and Upasana to people of lower and middling intellect while Gnana is taught to those of higher intellect.

This clearly indicates that religion, which is based on individual conduct, prescribes karma and Upasana to people of lower and middling intellect, therefore religion is for the lower intellect. And wisdom is for those who are capable of inquiring into their own existence to know and realize the ultimate truth, which is Brahman.

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)

If Brahman is considered the all-pervading consciousness then, it is necessary to realize, the consciousness as self, which pervades all the three states, to realize the fact that there is no second thing that exists other the consciousness. Thus, consciousness (Ataman) is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.

Sage Sankara’s notion of Maya, the cosmic illusion, must be transcended in order to realize the truth of Brahman, which means the ultimate truth or God in truth. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Sage Sankara‘s declaration:~ "The world is a myth and Brahman alone is real" is the universal truth and ultimate truth.+

Everyone’s inner work leads toward a new understanding and realization.   When doubts crop up and when one does not get reasonable reasoning for his doubts from the other source, then only he indulges in his own personal research and tries to investigate, and then only he becomes aware of the truth. As he goes deeper and deeper into the subject the truth will start to reveal.

At every stage of life, wherever one turns or goes, ignorance meets him. One always worries about what is going to happen in the future to him, or to the world? What will happen to the money if he deposits it, will it be safe? What is happening inside his body? What is the ultimate condition of this world? He will not get answers. Because futures have yet to come, he is thinking of the past and future fears in the present. 

The present is always built on the past and survives on the hopes of the future.   But when one becomes aware of the fact that time is merely an illusion and one which is aware of the time is timeless existence, which is consciousness.  To overcome the sense of time one has to realize the one which is aware of the form and space also is consciousness.  Thus, consciousness alone is real, and form, time, and space are unreal because they are one in essence.

The pursuit of truth means an inquiry into the nature of the universe. How it came to be? What is it? What is it for?  The pursuit of truth is not making various theories about the Absolute, nor ornamental words, nor imagining things. It is directed towards life and has the highest value in weighing life properly.

From a practical outlook, people regard the pursuit of truth as a waste of time. They will say "the world is a reality. Everybody knows it is the world. Why waste time inquiring into it?" This attitude belongs also to the primitive mindset as well as a childish mentality. Therefore,  reasoning belongs to advanced humanity.

Science is true so far as the world of science is concerned and yoga is true so far as one is in yogic Samadhi: the yogi's experiences are not lies,  but truly described; all these are however only relative truths, true only from the physical point of view, they come and go, they contradict each other; whereas nondual wisdom, which is higher than all these, which is uncontradictable and does not conflict with anything else.

The question never enters the mind of the people; why are there so many contradictory religions, opinions, theories, authorities, scriptures, and men?  Nondualistic wisdom is not theoretical wisdom. Philosophic speculation is not the non-dualistic truth.

The pursuit of truth does not belong to any religion, because,  it inquires into the value of religion,  just as it inquires into the value of the whole physical existence.  Because the pursuit of truth is so troublesome, people don't want to be bothered with it but remain content with mysticism or religion, where the need for thinking is absent.  Nondual wisdom comes only by transcending them all for it depends on un-contradiction.

The inquiry will always look thoroughly into all sides of a question, whether it is concerning material or a spiritual matter, and decide upon it.-

Fear and suffering have been often a cause of bringing people to the pursuit of truth.  Because of contradictory arguments and conflicting conclusions—people mistook Religions for spirituality.  Many people think that the ultimate truth cannot be got, but they are mistaken.  Religion will give one the goal of the Advaitic truth, i.e. the knowledge of everything. Religion may make one happy, and give satisfaction, but that is another matter, but one cannot get rid of his ignorance through religion. Therefore, one must make his mind clear as to what object or goal he wants in life because he cannot travel in opposite directions. 

Therefore, It is necessary for the seeker of truth to inquire on his own and realize  nondual truth without any scriptures in this very lifetime and make sure of Sage  Sankara‘s declaration:~ "The world is a myth and Brahman alone is real"   is a great declaration. 

The Advaitic truth or universal truth 1400 years back and his declaration,  is the rational truth, scientific truth, and ultimate truth. No one can patent it as their own invention. By quoting one authority from one scripture, and the other authority from another scripture, and trying to prove and realize the truth is like trying to drain the ocean drop by drop.

 All scriptural knowledge is conceptual divisions invented by philosophers by their excessive analysis. Where do all these concepts end? Why should confusion be created and then explained away? Fortunate is the man who does not lose himself in the labyrinths of philosophy but goes straight to the source from which they all arise.

The direct path to the truth is the source from which the universe arises. Thus, the source is the Ataman, the Self. 

Ataman itself is Brahman or God in truth.  Thus, it is necessary to view the worldview on the base of the Atman, the real Self. 

A deeper inquiry, analysis, and reasoning on the base of Atman, one can acquire the Self –knowledge in lesser time and effort.  The unity in diversity is possible only through Self-knowledge not by mastering scriptural knowledge.

Orthodox and pundits have an “I know” attitude, therefore, they think others know nothing.  They pretend to be listening, but they think others are primitive people who could not possibly have anything to share with them.” This type of outlook is a great obstacle in the pursuit of truth. The orthodoxy is the greatest hindrance in realizing the nondual truth. 

Remember:~

Mentally reduce yourself; your body and the world in which you exist into consciousness by realizing you, your body, and the world in which you exist is merely an illusion created out of consciousness.

Mentally reduce the form, time, and space into consciousness by realizing the form, time and space are merely an illusion created out of the consciousness.

Mentally reduce the three states into consciousness by realizing the three states are nothing but an illusion created out of the consciousness.

Mentally reduce the universe into consciousness by realizing the universe is nothing but an illusion created out of consciousness.

Mentally reduce the experience of the birth, life, death, and world into consciousness by realizing the experience of the birth, life, death, and world is merely an illusion created out of the consciousness.

When you mentally reduce everything into consciousness then there is no second thing that exists other than consciousness.

The consciousness is second to none that is Advaita. Where there is unity in diversity that is Advaita. :~Santthosh Kumaar 

Brahman is considered the all-pervading consciousness which is the basis of all the animate and inanimate entities and material.+

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.

In  Bhagavad, Gita Krishna says: ~It is only one amongst thousands of people who strive for spiritual salvation. Even amongst such seekers, it is only the rare person who gets to know “self” correctly.’ (7.3)

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

Manduka Upanishad, verse-2:~ 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:~ Brahman is considered the all-pervading consciousness which is the basis of all the animate and inanimate entities and material. (brahmano hi pratisthaham, ( 14.27)

Consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman. The consciousness alone is real. The universe is unreal. Everything other than consciousness is unreal.

The waking objects fall into two categories- practical life within the practical world, and the waking objects become unreal on the dawn of nondual wisdom. The egocentric knowledge within practical life is not Self-knowledge.  Self-knowledge means the knowledge of the soul, which is the innermost self.   The Soul, the Self, is present in the form of  consciousness.  

Thus,  basing the reason on the Soul, the Self is soul-centric the inquiry leads to nondual Self-awareness.

The waking objects exist even before they are known. They are the product of ignorance.  Thus,  they are covered by ignorance. When this ignorance is removed through wisdom then the duality ceases. 

Ignorance covers pure consciousness, which is the innermost self, limited by the object. The object itself is not self-luminous and so no covering is necessary for it to remain unknown. 

The consciousness limited by the object is self-luminous and so it remains unknown only because of the covering of ignorance. When the covering is removed through wisdom, then the consciousness underlying the object illumines the object and then the object becomes conscious. :~Santthosh Kumaar