The ignorant always thinks what he knows is truth and he always indulges in pursuit of an argument.+

People's observation is based on a dualistic (form, time, and space) perspective, whereas Gnani's judgment is based on the nondualistic (Soul or consciousness) perspective.  What is the use of discussing the karma, which takes place within the unreal world? Instead,  one has to find how this world is unreal (illusion). 

 In the Atmic discussion, the form, time, and space (universe) are merely an illusion.  Karma is possible within the scope of the experience of the form, time, and space (universe).

That is why Sage Goudpada said:~ The merciful Veda teaches karma and Upasana to people of lower and middling intellect, while Jnana is taught to those of higher intellect.

Thus, Sage Goudpada suggests that the religious paths and worship of the guru and conceptual god are lower and middling intellect.  But in this modern world,  people are sharp enough to understand and assimilate the ultimate truth or Brahman or God. Thus, for people who want the higher truth, then it is high time to discard the lower knowledge and move ahead to realize the ultimate truth, which is Brahman or God.  

That is why Sage Sankara says:~ VC- 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.

66. Therefore, the wise should, as in the case of disease and the like, personally strive by all the means in their power to be free from the bondage of repeated births and deaths.

When one realizes the fact that, the whole universe and its contents, movable and immovable, are known to be the consciousness, and thus the existence of everything else is negated, there is then no room to say that the universe is the universe. The universe and its contents are also consciousness.  Thus, consciousness alone is real and eternal. 

The one who says he is already enlightened is ignorant. The person who says I am enlightened is unaware of the fact that the Self is not he, because he and his experience of the world are the product of ignorance. Only the ignorant say he is already enlightened.  Without Advaitic wisdom, ignorance will not vanish.

The one which says ‘I am enlightened’ itself is the ego. The one who feels it is he or she is also the ego.  The ego is the false self (you or waking entity) within the false experience (waking).  The ego, body, and the world appear together and disappear together.   It is a foolish venture to try to destroy the ego because the ego is the very basis of physical existence (the universe in, which we exist). 

Remember:~

The discussion is possible only in the domain of duality.  The words are only for communication purposes.  There is no second thing that exists because everything is the Spirit. That means the thoughts, the words, and the world in which we exist are also nothing but the Spirit.  But when the spirit alone is, how can " duality " remain? Only the Spirit remains, not duality. But there is no other way to express it. The Spirit is always there, only the transient ‘duality’  comes and goes.

Suppose the same subject, if we are discussing in the dream and one asks the same questions in the dream, then whatever we are discussing in the dream becomes unreal, when the waking takes place. Whatever we are discussing now, we are discussing it within the waking experience. The waking is unreal on the base of the formless witness, which is the Soul, which is the Spirit.

The words may give different meanings at different levels of understanding. As one moves deeper and deeper one realizes the thought, the thinker, words, and the world are one in essence. Thus in the realm of truth, the thought and words become meaningless. 

When one who has realized that which lies beyond form, time and space does not give importance to thoughts and words which have value only in falsehood. 

The reality is beyond thoughts and words. The words have meaning in duality. Duality exists until the mind exists. The mind exists where there is a division of form, time, and space. If there is no division of form, time, and space, then there is no mind. Words are used as a tool to name individual objects and feelings within the duality.

The words become meaningless when one becomes aware of the formless substance of the mind, which is consciousness.  

Consciousness is the real Self. From the standpoint of the Soul, the Self, the mind is merely an illusion. 

If the mind is merely an illusion, then form, time, and space are merely an illusion.

If form, time, and space are merely an illusion then the thoughts and words that arise within the scope of form, time, and space are also part and parcel of that illusion.

Thus, the body, ego, words, thoughts, and whatever the contents of the universe are within the illusion created out of the single stuff that is the consciousness. 

Thus,  it is necessary to know 'What is the nature of the mind?' and 'What is the substance of the mind?' and 'What is the source of the mind?', to realize the words are meaningless in the realm of truth.

The world is both real and unreal. It is real because it is a manifestation of consciousness, but is unreal, in the sense, that it is not absolute and eternal like consciousness itself.

People's approach is more practical, and they stuck with the reality of the world, they take it as real. That is why all the confusion.

That is why Sage Sankara says: ~ VC-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.

VC~ 65. As a treasure hidden underground requires (for its extraction) competent instruction, excavation, the removal of stones and other such things lying above it, and (finally) grasping, but never comes out by being (merely) called out by name, so the transparent Truth of the self, which is hidden by Maya and its effects, is to be attained through the instructions of a knower of Brahman, followed by reflection, meditation and so forth, but not through perverted arguments.

The ignorant is always egocentric. He thinks what he knows is the truth. He always indulges in pursuit of an argument. The Ignorant is sentimentalized to his belief system. An ignorant person just to prove that he is correct and others are wrong because the ignorant presumes he already knows and wants to see whether others know or not.

The ignorant person provokes others to snub them. Ignorant accumulates knowledge and tries to show his intellectual wealth. Such intellectual sharing of knowledge is mere garbage. It is of no use in pursuit of truth. Because they are egocentric based on ignorance thus they will not yield any truth.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

A religious guru or yogi is too enthusiastic to have everyone as his disciple but Gnani is not enthusiastic to have anyone as his disciple.+

A Gnani is not recognized by the people because he does not identify himself with religion nor he wears a religious robe.

A Gnani cannot have the idea of renouncing the world or giving up something of the practical world because that would connote the idea of duality. Duality is merely an illusion from the ultimate standpoint. Knowing no second thing at all there remains nothing to be given up.

The Gurus and yogis belong to religion, not Spirituality. Guru and yogis are meant for those who are emotionally involved with their religion and religious Gods and Gurus

A Gnani will never force anyone to accept the path of wisdom. He will constantly bring the seeker back to the fact of his inherent perfection and encourage him to seek the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space.

A Gnani knows you need nothing, not even him, and is never tired of reminding you.

A Gnani continuously shares Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana with like-minded fellow seekers.

A Self-declared Guru is more concerned with himself than with his disciples and plays with their sentiments and emotions. Sticking to such Gurus the seeker will not get the Self–realization.

Gurus and yogis are meant for those who are emotionally involved with their religion and religious Gods.

Remember; religion and yoga are not spirituality. Spirituality has nothing to do with religion and yoga. Spirituality is based on the Spirit the real God whereas religion and yoga are based on the matter (body). The matter is nothing but an illusion created out of the Spirit the real God.

A Gnani cannot have the idea of renouncing the world or giving up something of the practical world because that would connote the idea of duality. Duality is merely an illusion from the ultimate standpoint. Knowing no second thing at all there remains nothing to be given up.

Self- Knowledge is only true knowledge not the absence of duality. Self -Knowledge cannot destroy the world but it eliminates ignorance and exposes the unreal nature of the mind or universe.

Remember:~

Manduka Upanishads:~ It is not possible to recognize who is a Gnani because he bears no external mark. Neither nudity nor the yellow robe has anything to do with him.

Sage Sri, Sankara says Gnani 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.

A Gnani never identifies himself as a swami, Guru, pundit, or yogi. People see God only through their religious spectacle. They fail to recognize the truth hidden by their religion.

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.

"Unless one realizes the Soul as the Self as it really is” it is impossible to realize the nondualistic or Advaitic truth. 

A person who realizes the ultimate truth or Brahman will throw off his religious robe and his religious identity and become Avadhuta and live as he wishes. 

A religious guru or yogi is too enthusiastic to have everyone as his disciple, and he will push himself on others with his advice scriptural knowledge, and authoritativeness. Religious guru or yogi wants to keep everyone in the domain of religion and yoga. More than he wants to help people, he wants to help his ego. 

A Gurus will only use people and impose his inherited idea of religion and god on them, usually unintentionally because he, himself is more unconscious than others of the ultimate truth.

A Gnani is not enthusiastic to have anyone as his disciple. He never identifies himself as a guru.  He does not impose his wisdom on anyone. 

A Gnani sows the seed of truth by sharing Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana and tries to guide the serious seeker and guides them. It is very difficult to identify a Gnani because he never claims to be a guru or teacher.

Remember:~

Most people are not aware of what they are really seeking. They start their pursuit with their inherited religious ideas and as they go deeper they will feel that religion and yoga are inadequate and useless in quenching their inner thirst.

A serious seeker will realize the fact that he is looking for something else, and he is now sure it is not the self-assurance, fulfillment of dreams, fulfillment of social demands. He will realize the fact that religion and yoga are not meant to quench his inner thirst.

A Gnani dearly cares about the serious seeker but will stay aloof, he knows that if the seeker needs to be assisted by him, he will approach or rather be drawn to approach him. He has no self-interest whatsoever and so anyone considered equally, for his love as anybody else, whoever comes, comes and if no one comes it is also fine.

Gnani is not opposed to God, he is not an atheist, but he wants God free from the imagination, as God is in truth, as he exists apart from human imagination. Imagined Gods are not God in truth.  Gnani does not say God is not there, God is, but not as one imagines God. God in truth is above all imagination. 

God exists as truth. Hence in the path of wisdom do not use the word God. It will be misunderstood.  Thus, Brahman, which means the ultimate truth, is the right word.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

Advaita is not a philosophy. Advaita is the nondual nature of the Soul, the Self.+

Sage Sankara:~ 'like a servant who carries a lamp in front of you to find your way, and you have found it, so becomes the Veda to that person. What is the Veda? -- utterances of those who have known the Truth. Here is one who has known the Truth; why should he or she depend upon the Veda further? Actual realization takes you beyond books. At a certain stage, books become a botheration. The Upanishad itself says that the 'words are only so much of distraction for such minds'

Someone posing as a Gnani, because he is some gurus’ direct disciple,  cannot be a Gnani. Those who pose themselves as Gnanis are not Gnanis.  A Gnani never poses himself as a Guru, a swami,  a sadhu or a  yogi or some guru’s disciple.  

Advaita is not a philosophy. Advaita is the nature of the Soul, the Self.  There is no need to study any philosophy to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman.  The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, is the ultimate truth.

All the philosophies and all the teachings on nonduality are based on the dualistic perspective. Such teachings are mere imaginary nonduality on the dualistic perspective.

In Self-awareness the Soul will be in the objectless –awareness in the midst of the duality (objects) and then the sense of duality will cease to exist as a reality.

The mind is nothing but an objective existence.   The seeker has to eliminate such all the objective knowledge through wisdom and then objectless knowledge will alone remain. This is the nature of the Soul, the Self. 

Remember:~

Even though the self is something other than this waking entity (ego), the majority of people still identify themselves with it.  The main reason people identify the Self with the waking entity (ego) is their ignorance of the Real Self.

Whosoever identifies his- self with this bundle of bones and flesh are caught up in the grip of duality. Now the question arises: If self is not this waking entity, then what is that Self? The real Self is not the waking entity but the formless Soul, which witnesses the waking entity and waking world together.

The scriptures declare that the Self is the Soul, the Self. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness or Spirit ~ the three states are mere an illusion created out of the Soul or the consciousness.  That's all.

The three states are is temporary, while the Soul, the Self is immortal, Therefore, this  waking entity and waking experience is  false (impermanent), and the Soul, the Self is real and eternal

The ultimate goal of human existence is to become re-established in reality of his true existence through Self-realization. Self-knowledge of Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana makes one realize the form, time and space are one in essence. That essence is the Soul or consciousness.  

Realizing the essence, which the soul or consciousness leads one to nondual self- Awareness.  In Self-awareness, there is only oneness in the midst of duality. :~Santthosh Kumaar 

A Gnani is neither a scriptural scholar nor he is a philosopher.+

A Gnani does not consider himself as wise and others are less wise. No one is wise or less wise in the pursuit of truth. The inner revolution starts within and ends within.  A Gnani is neither a scriptural scholar nor he is a philosopher. 

Gnani neither a teacher nor he has any teaching.  He silently works and helps the fellow seekers inspiring them and guiding them towards inner reality in his own way. The scholar will remain as scholars and philosophers will remain as philosophers and intellectual remains as intellectuals arguing on their point of view. Gnani never propagates any philosophy, because philosophy is nothing to do with the pursuit of truth, but he points out, the obstacles, which is blocking everyone’s realization.  

Avadhuta Gita describes Sage (Gnani) as:~

Having renounced all, he moves about naked. He perceives the Absolute, the All, within himself.

The Avadhuta never knows any mantra in Vedic meter or any Tantra. Ashtavakra Gita describes him in a similar manner:

The Sage sees no difference between happiness and misery, Man and woman, Adversity and success.  Everything is seen to be the same. 

The Sage is not conflicted by states of stillness and thought.  His mind is empty.  His home is the Absolute. 

Knowing for certain that all is Self, The sage has no trace of thoughts  Such as “I am this” or “I am not that.” 

The sage who finds stillness is neither distracted nor focused.  He knows neither pleasure nor pain.  Ignorance dispelled, He is free of knowing. 

The ignorance vanishes only when wisdom dawns. The wisdom dawns only when the waking entity (you) realizes it itself is not the self, but the self is the formless soul which witnesses the form, time and space together.  Thus,  instead of getting rid of the ‘I’ one has to get rid of ignorance by acquiring self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.  A Gnani sees no separation in the form, time and space because,  form, time and space are one in essence. That essence is the soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.  The one who claims himself as Gnani is not a Gnani because he limits the ‘I’ to form alone and never takes the time and space into account. 

The Gnani is not a sanyasi or a guru or swami or Sadhu or monk.  Gnani does not belong to any ashrams."  Both Gnani and ignorant see the multiplicity, but Gnani does not take the differences which he sees as being real. That is the difference between them. The Gnani sees the unity behind the differences within the realm of form, time and space by knowing the form, time and space are one in essence.  A true Gnani can never renounce anything. It is impossible. He has only renounced the idea of a separation of form, time and space. 

A Gnani,  never claims himself as Gnani, he guides the seekers, not posing himself as a guru, and he does not force his wisdom on others.

Manduka Upanishads: ~    Even the Gods cannot find out who is a Gnani because he bears no external mark. Neither nudity nor the religious robe has anything to do with him.

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).  

Sage Sankara 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." 

Sage Sankara:~  Knower of the Atman or the knower of Brahman or Brahma Gnani.

When the knower of Brahman (Gnani) wears no signs it means he does not identify himself as Guru or yogi or teacher or Swami because a Gnani sees the form, the time and space are one in essence. Thus, there is unity in diversity in his realization.  

When the Soul remains in its own awareness, then the body is not the body, the ego is not the ego and the experience of the world is not the world but everything is merely an illusion created out of the consciousness.

People can only lecture for giving out falsehood, but it is a  waste of time delivers a public lecture giving out the truth.   It the illusions that appeal to the taste of the audience because they are ignorant about the world in which they exist is merely an illusion, from the standpoint of the Soul, the innermost self.

For a crowd at a venue will contain men of varying capacities to understand, of whom only one or two might be receptive to receive the  Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

If one wants to interview a Gnani then he must be ripe enough to understand what a Gnani is pointing at.    A Gnani will be withholding the truth because he is aware of the fact that, the unready people will not understand what he is saying.  The path of wisdom is not the path of argument. The argument is possible only from the standpoint of the ego, which is the false self within the false experience.

That is why Bhagavad Gita says: ~ "Don't unsettle the minds of the  ignorant by revealing the esoteric truth.”

A Gnani may travel provided he is actively engaged therein helping the serious seekers. For the benefit of those who think from the lower standpoint of the world of duality, the Gnani tells them to follow their chosen path and when they are convinced that their chosen paths are inadequate and useless in quenching their inner thirst then only they take the path of wisdom. 

The Gnani is not a sanyasi or a guru or swami or Sadhu or monk.  Gnani does not belong to any ashrams."  Both Gnani and ignorant see the multiplicity, but Gnani does not take the differences which he sees as being real. That is the difference between them. 

Gnani sees the unity behind the differences within the realm of form, time and space by knowing the form, time and space are one in essence.  A true Gnani can never renounce anything. It is impossible. He has only renounced the idea of a separation of form, time and space.

Gnanis have ignored the opinions of whole peoples in their independent search of truth and questioned all beliefs, all scriptures, all authorities until they could be proved to be true. 

Even the arguments that religions have been followed since time immemorial makes no difference to them because if people have believed a false thing over thousands of years, the length of time does not prove it true.  

The ultimate truth does not belong to the religion because the religion and its belief in God and its scriptures are a reality within the scope of form, time and space whereas the ultimate truth is hidden by the illusory form, time and space. 

The Gnani accepts the sameness in pleasure and pain because he is fully aware of the fact that the pleasure, pain, and the world are made of the same stuff and that stuff is consciousness.   

Without consciousness, there is no pleasure, pain, and the world.  Gnani’s position is that if enjoyment comes, he accepts it; if it does not, he keeps quiet. Even when he is taking pleasures, however, he is not deluded by them and he regards them as a game he is playing for he knows their unreality: he does not take them seriously. 

Clouds do not affect the sky, although they appear to; so the pleasure and pain do not change the Gnani because he is fully aware of the fact that, the pleasure and pain belong to the world. And the world is merely an illusion from the standpoint of the Soul, the innermost self.    From the standpoint of the Soul, the Self the illusion is merely a passing show. 

The Gnani will follow whatever occupation he wishes according to circumstances. There are no prohibitions for him. He may be a peasant or a  billionaire. 

Gnanis do not perform miracles to attract attention to the truth.  If one performed Miracles in a dream the dream becomes unreal when the waking takes place. Similarly, the waking becomes unreal when wisdom dawns. 

Wisdom dawns when the waking entity (you) realizes it itself is not the Self,  but the Self is the formless Soul, which witnesses the coming and going of the three states. 

The witness of the three states and the three states are one in essence.  That essence is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. 

Even whilst in the midst of the experience of objects, the Gnani has the awareness of the Soul, the Self.  The Soul is present in the form of consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman.

In Self-awareness, there is no separation of form, time and space from the other because, form, time and space are one in essence. 

A person who realized the ultimate truth or Brahman will throw off his religious robe and his religious identity and becomes an  Avadhuta, and live as he wishes. :~Santthosh Kumaar 

Ignorance is the cause of the inborn samskara or conditioning, which present as ‘I’ or ‘I AM’.+

In India, people think that religion as a stepping stone to the higher truth but it is not so because religion is based on the false Self (waking entity or ego) within the false experience (waking or the world). Religion is not spirituality. Spirituality is based on the Soul, which is present in the form of the Spirit.

One must go beyond form, time, and space. The theistic tradition has been kept alive by the orthodoxy.

The orthodoxy is the path of ignorance because it is based on ignorance. The orthodoxy is nothing to do with the ultimate truth or Brahman. Thus, it is not the path of ultimate truth or Brahman.

People who stuck to orthodoxy never will be able to cross the prison of duality. Without crossing the prison of duality, Self-awareness is an impossibility.

Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana is necessary to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman.

Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is the highest wisdom. Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is the Advaitic Gnana. Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana leads to Self-awareness.

In Self-awareness, there is no second other than the soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Remember:~

People speak of getting rid of the conditioning or the samskara, but they themselves are unaware of the fact that the universe in which they exist is the product of the inborn samskara or conditioning.  The ignorance is the cause of the inborn samskara or the conditioning which present as ‘I’ or ‘I AM’. 

The real Moksha or freedom is to realize the fact that ‘I’ consciousness is mere physical awareness. Physical awareness is not self-awareness. The self –awareness is when the formless soul or consciousness remains aware of its own non-dual true nature.

When one realizes the fact that, the whole universe and its contents, movable and immovable, is known to be the consciousness, and thus the existence of everything else is negated, where is then any room to say that the universe is the universe.  The universe and its contents bound to be the consciousness.   

Sage Sankara said:~ VC-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 arguments. 

One cannot expect mental spoon-feeding for everything. The seeker has to do his own homework.  One will not understand it through argument, which leads nowhere but to perversity.  

That is why Bhagavan Buddha said:~ Believe nothing just because a so-called wise person said it. Believe nothing just because a belief is generally held. Believe nothing just because it is said in ancient books. Believe nothing just because it is said to be of divine origin. Believe nothing just because someone else believes it. Believe only what you yourself test and judge to be true.   

Swami Vivekananda said: ~“You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher, but your own soul.” 

The real Moksha or freedom is to realize the fact that ‘I’ consciousness is mere physical awareness. Physical awareness is not self-awareness. The self –awareness is when the formless soul or consciousness, the innermost self remains aware of its own awareness.  

Dualist sages could not distinguish between the  ‘I’ and  the ‘formless witness.’ The 'I' was the witness. Their highest was the Jiva. One is so much attached to the 'I' that he does not want to think that 'I' does not exist. Again, one is unable to detach the ‘I’ from the real witness. 

Most of the modern Gurus are also stuck with ‘I’ awareness as self-awareness. The ‘I’ awareness is present only when the mind is present. The mind is present only when the universe is present. The universe is present only when the waking or dream is present.   

The ‘I’ awareness is absent when the mind is absent. The mind is absent then the universe or waking or dream is absent. ‘I’ awareness is mere illusion.  Self-awareness is Atmic awareness. 

It is impossible to get rid of any conditioning without getting rid of the inborn samskara or conditioning.   ‘I’ or ‘I AM’ is the inborn samskara or the conditioning. ‘I’ or ‘I AM’ is the mother of all conditioning. Because of this inborn conditioning, one thinks he is an individual separate from the world and the world existed prior to him and he is born in it afterward. Until this inborn conditioning is present one is in the grip of duality and he experiences the birth, life, death and the world as reality.  

This inborn conditioning makes one experience the illusory duality as a  reality. :~Santthosh Kumaar 

Knowledge gathered as wisdom from books or Gurus can never emancipate a man until its truth is rightly investigated and applied.+

Sage Sankara:~ 'Like a servant who carries a lamp in front of you to find your way, and you have found it, so becomes the Veda to that person. What is the Veda? -- utterances of those who have known the Truth. Here is one who has known the Truth; why should he or she depend upon the Veda further? Actual realization takes you beyond books. At a certain stage, books become a botheration. The Upanishad itself says that the 'words are only so much of distraction for such minds'

Someone posing as a Gnani, because he is some guru’s direct disciple cannot be a Gnani. Those who pose themselves as Gnanis are not Gnanis.  A Gnani never poses himself as a Guru, a swami,  a sadhu or a yogi, or some guru’s disciple. 

Knowledge gathered as wisdom from books or Gurus can never emancipate a man until its truth is rightly investigated and applied; only direct realization will do that. Realize yourself, turning the mind inward. 


The seeker has to realize the fact that the right path to acquiring Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is the inner (mental) path.   

Swami Vivekananda said: ~ “You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher but your own soul.” 

In this hi-fi world, many self-declared Spiritual Gurus are born like mushrooms amidst us and they are looked upon as great solace by the mass of gullible people, who are more ‘peace and wisdom hungry. 

Most seekers are looking for something beyond their inherited belief system. Most of these dollar-hungry gurus hanker after titles and honors and enjoy it like these modern-day self-styled gurus and they are connected to one or other controversies and scandals. 

People get stuck with these modern self-proclaimed gurus who claim to be enlightened.  Many of these Gurus have taken many new “avatars” like Corporate Gurus, Universal Gurus, online Gurus, Global Gurus, one name it, he will find them. The honest Gurus and swamis never come to the limelight and they remain to mind their own inherited divine business and remain aloof from publicity.    

Remember:~

There are so many gurus who have overnight become Global Gurus. They only play with the feelings of people. Most of them are propagating ancient yogic practices as if it is their own great new invention and branding them or getting them patented,   this is the height of the mockery of spirituality. 

As long as innocent and ignorant people are there, these kinds of Gurus can flourish their business to peak height. They are fooling the masses who are unaware of the fact that their inherited belief system itself is not the original Vedic religion.

The earliest ancient sages used the word ‘I’ to witness of the three states not to the ego as moderns use it and think the ‘I’ without the body is the Self. 

The seeker has to realize that the Self is not 'I', but the witness of the ‘I’ is the true Self, which is eternal. 

People think that ‘Soul’ or ‘Spirit’ is something different from the mind. They believe that the mind is really two. This is the confusion among religionists and intellectuals. If ‘Soul’ has any meaning, if ‘spirit’ has any meaning, so long as one thinks of them, they are merely ideas. No, the Mind is the highest: it is consciousness, non-dual wisdom.

The individual is a bundle of memories and desires within the waking or dream. The memories and desires are part of the duality. Therefore, the individual self is entirely part and parcel of the illusory universe. 

People's ideas that they will go to some world after death, some astral plane or religious heavens will disappear as nonsense with the disappearance of belief in the reality of the ‘I’.

The words betray the hollowness. The real cannot be described; it must be discovered and realized. Whatever the words try to convey is only helpful to grasp the truth. The non-dual truth has to be grasped and realized.  

The man knows only the world and his individual experiences within the world.   He is not aware that he and his experience of the world are part of the illusion. He views and judges the truth on the base of his birth entity, which is a false entity, thus he is stuck in the muck of illusion or duality. 

The non-dual truth lies beyond the physical-based understanding.  Thus, it is necessary to verify the fact through deeper inquiry, analysis, and reasoning about his own inherited beliefs and accumulated knowledge, to realize, how they become an obstacle to realizing the truth. 

The physical conditioning of the Soul will be dropped only when it realizes that the physical self or ego is not the Self. Thus struggling to get rid of the ego and ego-based conditioning or samskara is a foolish venture. 

Constant mental pounding is necessary through constant reflecting on the truth that, the Soul is the true Self and on the base of the Soul all else is merely an illusion.   

When one grasps this truth and becomes firm in his conviction the physical conviction drops and the non-dual wisdom dawns.  Thus, one becomes aware of the non-dual truth in the midst of the experience of duality or illusion. :~Santthosh Kumaar 

The yogi cannot be Gnani.+

Manduka Upanishads:- Yoga for duffers. The others will inquire and practice discrimination.

The essence of Manduka is:~ Do not be satisfied with rituals, yoga, etc. which are good in their own way but inquire. Into what? Brahman and Atman are things you can never see. So do not inquire into them. Inquire into the world around you, which you can see. Science tells you it is passing away every second. Everything is dying repeatedly. Where is it going? Thus, you follow up your inquiry into what you can lay hands on. How can you inquire into Atma which you cannot see? So first we deal with the known and seen, this inquiry leads up to the unknown in the end.

Yogi shuts his eyes the world confronts him and then has the temerity to declare that it knows the world to be Brahman! Because he has not inquired into it, he knows nothing. 

Yoga helps the yogi by giving him the feeling that the world is not worth bothering about, it detaches him from the world; it makes him treat the world as a dream. It does the same to his ego to some extent because he becomes indifferent to what happens to him. But this is only feeling, he feels these things only but does not know that the world is a mere mirage. Such knowledge can come only after soul-centric inquiry and in no other way. 

That is why the yogi cannot be Gnani. It is the difference between feeling and knowledge. The feeling of the yogi that the world is unreal may change tomorrow because all emotions are liable to change, and the fact is that yogis do change, as when going after women they lose their sense of world unreality though previously they felt it. 

A permanent view of the world as unreal can come only after soul-centric reasoning; such knowledge cannot change. Were the seeker who is sufficiently sharp 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. 

Sanyasa is not the means to acquire self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana.  Renouncing the worldly life and accepting sanyasa or monkhood means the incapacity to think deeper, the impotency to inquire and reason. 

Sage Sri, Sankara’s commentary:~  Page 489: "The knower of Brahman 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."

Yoga Vashita:~  The greatest Gnani: “His state is indescribable yet he will move in the world like anybody else," ..." Though acting after every feeling such as love, hate, fear and the like, he who stands unaffected within is said to be real jivanmukta." Sankara's commentary.

Yoga Vasista says of the Gnani:~ "He is a great worker." It also so says, that he keeps his body healthy, and does not starve it.

People speak of getting rid of conditioning or samskara,  but they are unaware of the fact that the universe in which they exist is the product of the inborn samskara or conditioning.  Ignorance is the cause of the inborn samskara or conditioning that is present as ‘I’ or ‘I AM’. 

The real Moksha or freedom is to realize that ‘I-awareness is mere physical awareness. Physical awareness is not Self-awareness.  Self–awareness is when the formless soul or consciousness remains aware of its own non-dual true nature. :~Santthosh Kumaar