No mantras help to get rid of ignorance, the mantras and rituals are meant for the ignorant populace.+

Yoga Vasistha:~ "Teachers, interpretations of sacred texts, the force of religious merit--none of these lead to the realization of that Ultimate Truth which is revealed in the clear reflection of the heart, engendered from contact with the good."

Religion belongs to you.  The religious belief of God belongs to you. All religious code of conduct belongs to you. Religious rituals belong to you.  But remember you belong to the dualistic illusion because the world in which you exist is an illusion created out of the Spirit, which is God in truth. The Spirit is present in the form of the Soul. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness.

People who mechanically perform worship and rituals remain in ignorance which is like being blind. But those who merely worship gods remain in deeper ignorance because they seek rewards for their worship. Without knowing the real God all the worship and rituals are a waste. Thus one has to strive to know the real god, which is beyond form, time, and space.

Many Advaitic Gurus of the east and west suffer from the exaggerated egocentric insanity of the ‘I KNOW’ attitude.  They want to distinguish themselves from others" is their idea, and they go about propagating religious rituals, yoga, karma, and Upaasana and love as the means to acquire Advaitic wisdom. 

No mantras help to get rid of ignorance. All the mantras and rituals are meant for the ignorant populace, which strongly believes, in the world in which he exists as a reality.  For one who wants to acquire self-knowledge or Bramha Gnana or Atma Gnana, the mantas will not help to realize the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space. 

That is why Sage Sankara says ~VC~.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?

VC-  v6~ Let erudite scholars quote all the scripture, let Gods be invoked through sacrifices, let elaborate rituals be performed, let personal gods be propitiated---yet, without the realization of one‘s identity with the Self, there shall be no liberation for the individual, not  even in the lifetimes of a hundred Brahmas put together 

Sage Sankara goes on to say: ~A sickness of not cured by saying the word “medicine.” You must take the medicine. Liberation does not come by merely saying the word “Brahman.” Brahman must be experienced. Until you allow this apparent universe to dissolve from your consciousness until you have realized Brahman, how can you find liberation just by saying the word Brahman? The result is merely noise. Until a man has destroyed his enemies and taken possession of the splendor and wealth of the kingdom, he cannot become a king by simply saying “I am a king.” 

A buried treasure is not uncovered by merely uttering the words: “Come forth.” You must follow the right directions, dig, remove the stones and earth from above it, and then make it your own. In the same way, the pure truth of the Atman, which is buried under Maya and the effects of Maya, can be reached by meditation, contemplation, and other spiritual disciplines but never by subtle arguments. 

Remember: ~

All the orthodox ideas were rejected by Sage Sankara. There is no need to indulge in rituals, in order to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman. There is no need to study philosophy, in order to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman then why indulge in studying philosophy.

Sage Sankara pokes fun at ascetics and points out that all their austerities do not cause desires to go (Altar Flowers" Page 205, v.2 P.207 v.4)

Sage Sankara pointed out that those rituals could in no way bring about wisdom, much less moksha.

Sage Sankara says the rewards of the rituals are not a matter of direct realization. Advaitic wisdom is based on personal realization.

The orthodox Advaitin believes that rituals alone would lead one to higher levels of attainment. Further, the deities would reward only those entitled to perform the rituals alone. The entitlement involved caste, creed, and other parameters.

The scriptural authority and value of rituals are part of the Advaitic orthodoxy, which is meant for ignorant people.

The Advaitic wisdom of Sage Sankara is nothing to do with religion, caste, rituals, worship, yoga, and other practices. Therefore an obvious disparity between Sage  Sankara‘s path of Gnana, and the path of Karma. The path of Gnana is meant for the advanced seeker of truth and the path of Karma is meant for the ignorant populace.

Even Sage Sankara appear and tell the orthodox people the path of orthodoxy is the path of ignorance they will not be able to drop their inherited samskara or conditioning, which they think is the only way to reach heaven and reap a happy life in the next life.

As regards the rituals, Sage Sankara says, the person who performs rituals and aspires for rewards will view himself in terms of the caste into which he is born, his age, the stage of his life, his standing in society, etc. In addition, he is required to perform rituals all through his life. However, the Self has none of those attributes or tags. Hence, the person who superimposes all those attributes on the changeless, eternal Self and identifies the ‘Self’ with the body is confusing one for the other; and is, therefore, an ignorant person. The scriptures dealing with rituals, rewards, etc. are therefore addressed to an ignorant person.-  (11- Adhyasa Bhashya)

The orthodox people only teach and preach their knowledge of ignorance but none of them wants to know God in  Truth, which is hidden by the dualistic illusion or Maya. 

Remember:~

First Mundaka - Chapter 2 (10) - Ignorant fools, regarding sacrifices and humanitarian works as the highest, do not know any higher good. Having enjoyed their reward on the heights of heaven, gained by good works, they still remain in ignorance of the Atman the real God.

As a person, one performs rituals throughout his life.  The person who performs rituals and aspires for rewards will view the world in which he exists as a reality. However, the Soul, the Self unborn eternal hidden by the world in which he exists.  From the standpoint of the Soul, the world in which he exists is merely an illusion.

The scriptures dealing with rituals, rewards, etc. are therefore addressed to an ignorant person.

First Mundaka - Chapter 2 (9) ~ Children, immersed in ignorance in various ways, flatter themselves, saying: We have accomplished life's purpose. Because these performers of karma do not know the Truth owing to their attachment, they fall from heaven, misery-stricken, when the fruit of their work is exhausted.

First Mundaka - Chapter 2 (8) ~ Fools, dwelling in darkness, but wise in their own conceit and puffed up with vain scholarship, wander about, being afflicted by many ills, like blind men led by the blind.

Ish Upanishad says:~ Those people who have neglected the attainment of Self-knowledge and have thus committed suicide.- 10/11/12

The religious orthodox people who have neglected the attainment of Self-knowledge and have thus committed suicide, as it were, are doomed to enter those worlds after death.

This is a condemnation of people who do not try to attain Self-knowledge. They are, in a real sense, committing suicide, for what can be worse than being a slave to sense enjoyment, completely oblivious of the real purpose of life, which is to be one’s, own master?

Sage Sankara says “he who knows the Brahman (God in truth) is one and the ‘Self’ is another does not know Brahman (God in truth).”

Sage Sankara also asserts that the Self is realized when All the effects of ignorance, root, and branch, are burnt down by the fire of Self-  knowledge, which arises from discrimination between these two—the Self and the non-Self.

Sage Sri, Sankara’s Gnanic path can help the seekers draw and prepare them for the journey to the reality hidden by the dualistic illusion or Maya. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar 

In Vedic era a Brahmin was a person who had acquired Self- knowledge or Brahma Gnana Atma Gnana.+

In the Vedic era, a Brahmin was a person who had acquired Self- knowledge or Brahma Gnana Atma Gnana. This was an extremely difficult path of the discipline of body, mind, and intellect, and people irrespective of their birth or class, who were dedicated to such an austere life, were recognized as Brahmins. 

A great example of this tradition (that a person becoming a Brahmin, rather than born as one) is in the case of Vishwamitra, a warrior (Kshatriya), who became a Brahmin after attaining Atma Jnana or Self-Knowledge.

A smritis or code of conduct composed by sage Atri defines brahminhood very clearly:~

"By birth, every man is a Shudra (an ignorant person). Through various types of disciplines (samskaras), he becomes a dwija (twice-born). 

 
Through the studies of the scriptures, he becomes a vipra (or a scholar). Through the realization of a supreme spirit (Brahma jnana), he becomes a Brahmin."

The belief that people born in the Brahmin caste, automatically become Brahmins, is a much later concept in very ancient India. Thus, Brahmin means not the caste, but, one who has attained Atma Jnana or Brahma Jnana. 

Sage Sankara, in Bhaja Govindam, says:~ (Jnana Viheena Sarva Mathena Bajathi na Muktim janma Shatena) - One without knowledge does not obtain liberation even in a hundred births, no matter which religious faith he follows. 
 
Thus, it proves that religion is not the means to self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

To realize the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth no scriptures are needed.+

I quote scriptures to show the scriptures are also saying the same thing, what 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. 

No one can stay as the Self without realizing the Self. After realizing Self-nothing stays as reality other than the Self, which is not you but the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.  

It is foolish to say I AM THAT, I AM THIS without realizing  “what the self is” and “what the self is not”.   

A permanent view of ‘what is real' and ‘what is unreal’ can come only after soul-centric reasoning; such knowledge cannot change. Were the seeker who is sufficiently sharp enough,  he could grasp the unreal nature of the world,  by soul-centric reasoning alone.  To know the whole truth, one must know the whole universe, otherwise, he gets only a half-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 and they indicate the personal gods, scriptures, worship, and rituals are not the means to Self –Knowledge, then why anyone should indulge in it.

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 the spiritual discourse. One who welcomes God in every activity, through a thorough controlled and disciplined life, to him also the Soul is revealed

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 a 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 truth. They have no value as an authority for those who use reason.

I quote only verified citations from the scriptures. I need no scriptures, but I quote them to help the seekers to realize that religion, the scriptures, and the belief of God is nothing to do with the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth. 

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  Sankara:~ 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 that 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.

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

Religion views and judges on the standpoint of the physical self/ego, whereas the in path of wisdom,   everything is viewed, judged, and concluded,  on the base of the Soul, the Self.  

Whatever is based on the physical entity (ego or you)  is not spirituality,  because the Soul, the  Self 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.   :~ Santthosh Kumaar

Sage Sankara says in Brahma Sutras~ : Brahman is the cause of the world, whereas in Manduka Upanishad he denies it.+

When one goes into the annals of history it looks like the true Advaita expounded by Sage Sankara was lost or mutilated by the orthodox cult, because their preaching is based on nonduality, and practices are based on duality. 

Sage Sankara says in Brahma Sutras ~  Brahman is the cause of the world, whereas in Manduka Upanishad he denies it. This is because he says that at the lower stage of understanding, the former teaching must be given, for people will get frightened as they cannot understand how the world can be without a cause, but to those in a higher stage, the truth of non-causality can be revealed. 

Sage Sankara himself has warned us not to use ambiguous words and to practice semantic analysis in his book "Definition of one's own Self. ( Page 199, v.24 of "Sankara's Selected Works)

Bhagavan Buddha found religion in such a worthless state, with so many vile animal sacrifices, that he attacked religion. Sage Sankara did not seek to destroy religion like Bhagava Buddha, but he advocated reforming it for the better. He did this because he saw that the masses had to have some form of religion as they were not ripe intellectually for truth. 

Sage Sankara's sex experience in Benares and occupying the body of another man and then having sexual intercourse with his wife, is a story created by pundits hiding the real fact. Sage Sankara had a scientific spirit and when told by Saraswathi the woman that he was talking freely about sex, being a Sanyasi, Sage Sankara wanted to know the truth by having actual intercourse himself and thus learning by experiment and observation. Thus, this has to be viewed by the seeker on a rational standpoint, because sex is part of the illusion on the ultimate standpoint.   Sage Sankara stressed the great importance of freeing our use of words from all ambiguity. 

Buddhists and Jains did not believe in the Vedic positions, did not accept the scriptures. Hence, Sage Sankara had to meet their objections also.  Biographical anecdotes about his persecution of Jains and Buddhists or of his challenges to self-immolation for the loser of a debate are all foolish tales fabricated after his lifetime either by his own followers who took him to be a religious propagator but not as a  philosopher or by the dualistic cult. 

The religious pundits of the Adavitic sect relate boastfully pseudo-historical stories of how Sage Sankara's school put down, persecuted end exterminated the Buddhists, as though this was something to be proud of. However, these stories are either exaggerations or false stories fabricated by pundits or priestcraft. The religious pundits are mere followers of the religion, never having understood the depth of Advitic philosophy. Sage Sankara gave religion and scholasticism and yoga no less than philosophy, to the world. 

His commentary on Manduka Upanishad is pure philosophy, but many of his other books are presented from a religious standpoint to help those who cannot rise up to the philosophy.  the Indian populace likes mysticism and deification and only a few are keen on realizing the  Advatic truth.

Sage Sankara had only four fully trained disciples, although he advised some kings. His doctrines spread after his lifetime. His books were dictated to assistants as he traveled. So, only a few were capable of understanding his philosophy. 

Sage Sankara always traveled and he never lived in a monastery. He simply instructed his disciples to build one here and there " and then left because he was busy spreading his doctrines. 

Some who followed  Sage Sankara are mere followers of the orthodoxy, never having understood the Advaitic philosophy are religious scholars not Gnanis, and they are unable to grasp the non-dual -truth. 

Sage Sankara says the seeker must first know what is before him. If he cannot know that, what else can he know or understand? If he gives up the external world in his inquiry, he cannot get the whole truth. 

Some thinkers hold views of Maya which are entirely incorrect and untenable. They do not know  Sage Sankara's Upanishad Bashyas, but only the Brahma Sutra Bashya.  The followers of Sage Sankara have constituted a religious sect. Thus, all movements ultimately degenerate. 

In the commentary to "Brahma Sutras Sage Sankara says:~ ." "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 clearly indicates that yoga is not the means to self-realization.  And yogis Samadhi is not nondualistic or Advaitic wisdom.

Sage Sankara's commentary to Brahma Sutras (Chap.3.4.50) shows that the Gnani "should pass through life", not run away from life and should take a middle course between seeking worldly honor and worldly abasement. 

Sage Sankara varied his practical advice and doctrinal teaching according to the people he was amongst. He never advised them to give up their particular religion or beliefs or metaphysics completely; he only told them to give up the worst features of abuse: at the same time, he showed just one step forward towards the truth.  Sage Sankara was extremely precise and careful in his choice of words. 

Sage Sankara did more than write books or initiate Sanyasins: He brought India into unity as a nation. He advised the mass: Worship what they wish, remain in their particular religion but remember they are also part of a larger whole. 

Few pundits have caught the spirit; they are merely fond of his words.  Sage Sankara’s spirit is that of an appeal to reason, with scripture dragged in as second and lesser support afterward. 

Sage Sankara gave religious, rituals, and dogmatic instruction to the mass, but pure philosophy only to the few who could rise to it. Hence, the interpretation of his writings by commentators is often confusing because they mix up the two viewpoints. Thus, they may assert that ritual is a means of realizing Brahman, which is absurd. 

Centuries have passed since  Sage Sankara appeared, yet it is very hard to find his wisdom understood anywhere in the world today. It is because so few could rise to his level. Hence dualistic cults and devotional sects came into existence and prospered. :~Santthosh Kumaar 

When the Self not the form, but the Self is formless Soul, then there is no need for Pada Pooja (feet worship) of Advaitin Gurus to get freedom.+

When the Self, not the form, but the Self is formless soul, then there is no need for Pada Pooja (feet worship) of Advaitin Gurus to get freedom. A guru, who preaches conduct (action or karma) as the means to freedom, believes in birth, life, death, and the world as reality, whereas the Advaitic 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. 

Vedas bars human worship: ~

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.)

Then why worship and glorify the GURUS and YOGIS (human form) in place of God when Veda bars such activities and also warns people who indulge in such activities 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.

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. 

Sage Sankara's commentary:~

 Page 489: "The knower of Brahman (self-realized or Gnani) wears no signs.

 Page 500 asks in effect: "Tell us what you know, show it, and let us examine it under the mental microscope." It means we must bring notions and beliefs out of vagueness into clearness. It also criticizes the mystics who claim superior knowledge, but who cannot communicate it for purposes of verification. 

On page 482: On Gnani: "The knower of Brahman wears no signs. Gives up the insignia of a monk's life…his signs are not manifest, nor his behavior." When the knower of Brahman wears no signs -- it means he does not identify himself as a guru or a teacher.

Sage Sankara clearly indicates in Viveka Chudamani (2) that the Knower of the Atman (A Gnani) "bears no outward mark of a holy man" (Stanza 539). 

Thus, it proves that the one who identifies himself as a Guru or a Swami is not a Gnani. 

The one who identifies himself as a swami,  a guru, or a  yogi is not a Gnani. A Gnani never identifies himself as swami, guru, pundit, or yogi. Swami, guru, pundit, or yogi belongs to the religious and yogic path, not to the Path of truth or the Path of wisdom. 

That is why Sage Sankara: ~ "Though I wear these robes of a Sanyasin, it is only for the sake of bread." Exploring if an outside observer can, in all cases, determine if a person is Enlightened or not, the venerated Indian Sanyasin, Sage Sankara, in his work The Crest Jewel of Discrimination (1) or as it is sometimes known, Viveka Chudamani (2), states that the Knower of the Atman (i.e., a Gnani) "bears no outward mark of a holy man" (Stanza 539).

 

Continuing, although there are variances found in the actual wording between various translators and translations the gist behind the words remains the same, Sage Sankara writes:~ “Sometimes he appears to be a Fool, sometimes a wise man. Sometimes he seems splendid as a king, sometimes feeble-minded. Sometimes he is calm and silent. Sometimes he draws men to him. Sometimes people honor him greatly, sometimes they insult him. Sometimes they ignore him.

In the Vedic era, a Brahmin was a person who had acquired Self- knowledge or Brahma Gnana Atma Gnana. This was extremely a difficult path of the discipline of body, mind, and intellect, and people irrespective of their birth or class, who dedicated to such an austere life, were recognized as Brahmins. 

A great example of this tradition (that a person becoming a Brahmin, rather than born as one) is the case of Vishwamitra, a warrior (Kshatriya), who became a Brahmin after attaining Atma Jnana or Self-Knowledge.

A smritis or code of conduct composed by sage Atri defines brahminhood very clearly:~

"By birth, every man is a Shudra (an ignorant person). Through various types of disciplines (samskaras), he becomes a dwija (twice-born). Through the studies of the scriptures, he becomes a vipra (or a scholar). Through the realization of  a supreme spirit (Brahma jnana), he becomes a Brahmin."

The belief that people born in the Brahmin caste automatically becomes Brahmins, which is a much later concept in the very ancient India. Thus, Brahmin means not the caste but, one who has attained Atma Jnana or Brahma Jnana. 

Sage Sankara, in Bhaja Govindam, says: - (Jnana Viheena Sarva Mathena Bajathi na Muktim janma Shatena) ~ One without knowledge does not obtain liberation even in a hundred births, no matter which religious faith he follows. 

Thus, it proves that religion is not the means to Self-knowledge or Bramha Gnana or Atma Gnana. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar