The Soul, the Self should be regarded as Brahman (God in truth).+

The Soul or Atman

As a lighted lamp does not need another lamp to manifest its light, the Atman, being the consciousness itself, does not need another instrument to illumine itself. The Soul regains fearlessness by realizing that It is not a Jiva (human body) but the Supreme Soul. The tangible Universe is verily Atman. He is the knower of the Self to whom the ideas 'me' and 'mine' have become quite meaningless. The Self is always the same in all beings and free from old age, death, and fear. The Self is pure which the mind and speech do not reach. The pervading Self is the same in waking, dream, and deep sleep. One's actions come to an end when the Self is seen. There is no ignorance in Self, as it is the nature of eternal Knowledge. The Self should be regarded as Brahman. The intense desire for the realization of the Atman after renouncing all others is alone the means for the attainment of the Atman. 

The nature of the mind is impermanent because it appears and disappears.   The mind is present in the form of the universe.  The universe appears as a waking or dream (duality) and disappears as deep sleep (nonduality). 

The soul is the innermost self. The soul is present in the form of consciousness. Consciousness is the root element of the universe. 

From consciousness, the universe comes into existence. In consciousness, the universe resides. And into the consciousness, the universe is dissolved.   Consciousness is the parent of all that there is. Consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.

People think that if the causal relation exists between two things they must be real.  Even when this relation seems to exist, things are unreal. From the ultimate standpoint, the whole universe is an illusion thus all the contents of the mind is bound to be an illusion.  The universe is not born, produced, or caused because it is only an illusion.

Deeper self-search reveals the fact that there is no cause and effect “this experience has come" "that experience has come" and so on, but one can never prove that they are the cause of each other, because, everything of created out of single stuff. And that stuff is consciousness there is no second thing that exists other than consciousness. 

From the dualistic perspective, there is cause and effect but duality itself is created out of single stuff. That single stuff is consciousness and the consciousness itself is the cause of the dualistic illusion and it is uncaused.  When the dualistic illusion has no value on the  Nondualistic perspective cause and effect theory holds no water. 

 So long as there is individuality, one is the enjoyer and doer. But if it is lost, the divine will prevail and guides the course of events. The individual is perceptible to others who cannot perceive divine force. Restrictions and disciplines are for other individuals and not for the Gnanis. 

Religion and Yoga are useful from utilitarian viewpoints, but they are inadequate and useless in the path of wisdom because religion and yoga are based on the false self (ego or you) and the ultimate truth or Brahman is based on the formless soul, the innermost self. The ultimate truth or Brahman is nothing to do with religion, religious ideas of God, religious theories, and yoga because the ultimate truth is beyond the experience of form, time, and space.  

There is in religion the element of imagination. People think that the religion which they like is the best, which gives them satisfaction, which pleases their taste is true! People who have such a limited view are not fit for  Advaitic wisdom. A Gnani discards this limited view because he is aware of the limitlessness of the soul, the innermost self.  

The question is, how to know that the scriptures are true? One has to look into the facts, for proof of what has the worship of God done for the people! When calamities strike, terrorist attacks, or epidemics brakes, the god is helpless in saving people. Even though, they say God saved him: Such an argument is of no value.

Swami Vivekananda:~  The masses in India cry to sixty million Gods and still die like dogs. Where are these gods?

Knowing this, stand up and fight! Not one step back that is the idea. ... Fight it out, whatever comes. Let the stars move from the sphere! Let the whole world stand against us! Death means only a change of garment. What of it? Thus fight! You gain nothing by becoming cowards. ... Taking a step backward, you do not avoid any misfortune. You have cried to all the gods in the world. Has misery ceased? The masses in India cry to sixty million gods and still die like dogs. Where are these gods? ... The gods come to help you when you have succeeded. So what is the use? Die game. ... This bending the knee to superstitions, this selling yourself to your own mind does not befit you, my soul. You are infinite, deathless, birthless. Because you are infinite spirit, it does not befit you to be a slave. ... Arise! Awake! Stand up and fight! Die if you must. There is none to help you. You are the entire world. Who can help you? :~  Swami Vivekananda (Delivered In San Francisco, on May 28, 1900) -The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda/Volume 1/Lectures And Discourses/The Gita II

The ultimate truth will interest only .5% of people; the rest will follow the religion" Religion is that teaching which pleases minds which lack vigor.

The scriptures are for the ignorant masses, who wholly accept the material world as it presents itself. Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is for those who have begun to realize that things are not what they seem and the truth

The famous peace invocation of Isa Upanishad says: ~

Om Purna- madah, purna-midam purnat-purnam-udacyate  Purnaysa purna-madaya purna-meva-vasisyate

This means: ~ All this is full /from fullness, fullness comes when fullness is taken from fullness/ fullness still remains.

 This belief is all-comprehensive and all-absorbing. There is nothing that is not God.

This truth has been told by the seers. This is the only truth but is described by the people differently.

 Truth is one, but people describe it in different ways. Those on the journey to Eternity may differ,  but once reached there, all the differences sink into oneness.

The whole of humanity has to arrive at this eternal truth one day. :~ Santthosh Kumaar 

Advaitic orthodoxy based on individualized God is not the means to acquire Self –knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.+

Religion causes one to become crippled, Self-mortifying and Self-deprecating is not a religion, but the social system of controlling the populace through psychological deformation and retardation. 

Religious Gods are not God in truth. Bible says “God is a Spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. Rig Veda says may ye never accept another God in place of the Atman (Spirit) nor worship other than the Atman.

What is the use of arguing with religious believers?  They think what they know as the ultimate truth.

 Whatever is real in the world in which we exist is God. All that is real in the world in which we exist is the Soul, the innermost Self.

Thus, by realizing the Self, which is the Soul, we discover the Soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness itself is God which is hidden by the ‘I’, which is the dualistic illusion.

Religion can never make you know God. Only an intense urge to know what God supposed to be in truth can make you realize God.  The Soul, the ‘Self is the Infinite God.  

Even The Bhagavad Gita says: ~ Brahmano hi pratisthaham ~ Brahman (God in truth) is considered the all-pervading consciousness, which is the basis of all the animate and inanimate entities and material. (14.27).

When Bhagavad Gita says, God is considered the all-pervading consciousness which is the basis of all the animate and inanimate entities and material then nothing has to be accepted as God other than consciousness. 

Even Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: ~ Brahman (God in truth) is in the form of the Athma, and it is indeed Athma itself.

Even 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)

Yajurveda – chapter- 32:~    God  IS Supreme Spirit has no ‘Pratima’ (idol) or material shape. He cannot be seen directly by anyone. He pervades all beings and all directions. Thus,   Idolatry does not find any support from the Vedas.

What God is like?

God is formless, timeless and spaceless existence. According to the Vedas God neither has any neither image nor God resides in any particular idol or statue. God cannot be seen directly by anyone. God pervades all beings and all directions.     

Those who indulge in a perverted argument from their own standpoint and opinion are not seeking the truth, which is beyond form, time and space.  They just want to exhibit their accumulated knowledge accumulated from here and there.  They think what they know is the ultimate truth. They think whatever they propagate is the ultimate truth. The question never occurs to them, “Is what I know is really the truth?

 Maher Baba said: ~   God is your innermost Self. Do not search for God outside of you.  Let these words be inscribed in your heart. Nothing is real but god. Nothing Matters but love for God. God is everywhere and does everything. God is beyond us and is everything. God alone is and all else is an illusion.

Jesus said: ~ Do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you. (Matthew -7:6) 

~ Jesus meant knowledge of Spirit or God or Self-knowledge or Advaitic wisdom.

Spirituality is nothing to do with religion. Spirituality is based on the Spirit, the real God whereas the religion is based on the false self within the false experience.

The Bible says: ~ God is a Spirit, and they worship God must worship God in Spirit and in Truth. (John 4:24) 

The belief in religious God is not God in truth. Holding a belief as God is holding an illusion as reality because the belief is possible only within the realm of duality. Duality is merely an illusion from the ultimate standpoint.  Without the belief in religious God, the belief system holds no water.   God based on blind belief is not God in truth.   

The belief needs the believer.  The believer needs to be born in this world. If the believer is born than he is part of the illusion.   Without the believer, there is no belief.  The believer and his world and his belief in religious God are part of the illusion because the Soul, the  Self is birthless because the Self is unborn and eternal. 

The one, who is born, lives and dies, is not the Self.    The Soul, the Self is a formless substance and witness of the illusory universe. The Soul, the Self, which is present in the form of consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.

The Upanishads say in effect that: ~ If you believe that you are one and God  (Brahman) is another you cannot understand Truth.

Religions place God as diverse ideas and beliefs.  Every religious believer has a different idea of God. Every man has a different idea of the real.  There is a need to accept verify the facts about the religious Gods before accepting anything as God.  There is in religion the element of imagination and sentiments. The ordinary man is happy because the religion gives him satisfaction, and pleases his taste.

Every sect and creed concocts a God to suit its own purposes. Belief in such concocted Gods is a great hindrance in pursuit of truth.  The man himself’ suggests that there must be a God. It is an auto-suggestion. Belief in religion weakens as the man pays more attention to the facts of his practical life within the practical world.

Remember:~

An honest e seeker of truth says that he has not seen God. He does not know God's capacities, what God can do, and what God cannot do. Therefore any statement he might make about God would only be a lie. The seeker of truth does not wish to tell a lie. Therefore, he does not accept  God nor deny God's existence; he simply refuses to make any statement about God because he wants to discover what is supposed to be God.  Without verification, he does not want to accept anything as truth. 

Every sect and creed concocts a God to suit its own purposes. Belief in such concocted Gods is a great hindrance in pursuit of truth.  The man himself’ suggests that there must be a God. It is an auto-suggestion. Belief in religion weakens as the man pays more attention to the facts of his practical life within the practical world.

Spirituality is a new religion. Advaita is pure spirituality. Advaita is truth beyond the form, time and space. Advaita is the Spirit.  The Spirit is the universal God and God of the whole of humanity.

Do not believe God as a separate entity. Realize God is the cause of the existence of the universe in which we exist. God should not be worshipped but realized right in this very life, not in the next life or next world.  

Remember:~

A 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 imaginations. Imagined God is not God of reality.  Gnani does not say God is not there, God is, but not as one imagines God. God is above all imaginations. 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

Surrendering is a religious fable. Surrendering to ‘what’ when there is only one. Devotion and surrendering are a reality on the base of the false self (ego or you) within the false experience. Thus the guru, devotion, and surrendering are part and parcel of the illusion.  

Surrendering implies duality. Realizing there is no duality leads to nondualistic Self-awareness. Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is the only tool to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman.

He who thinks God is one and the Soul, the  Self is another can never be able to understand, assimilate realize the non- dualistic or Advaitic truth.  

It is not the man, who has to be free, but it is the Soul, the 'Self' has to be free by realizing it is not the man perceiving the world. People want to get freedom, but freedom comes only when the soul wakes up without the illusory body and the illusory world (duality).  It is the Soul, the Self is in the cage of illusion. 

It is the Soul that wants to get out of the illusion because the illusion and the reality are one in essence. That essence is the soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.  Thus, all that man experiences within the dualistic illusion of practical life within the practical world and seeing the vision, speaking to God, seeing God are a reality within the dualistic illusion. From the Nondualistic perspective, there is no second thing exist other than consciousness (spirit). Thus, consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God. From the standpoint of Brahman or God, everything is Brahman or God.   

The Soul, the ‘Self is the Infinite God. 

The Soul is the Self. God is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. God is the fullness of consciousness without the illusory division of form, time and space.  Therefore, there is nothing apart from it. 

God in truth is Self-evident. God in truth is not established by extraneous proofs. It is not possible to deny God in truth because God is the very essence of the one who denies it. God in truth is the basis of all kinds of knowledge, presuppositions, and proofs. God in truth is hidden by the illusory universe in which you exist. God in truth is without the illusory universe in which you exist.

God in truth is the Supreme Being the One eternal homogeneous essence, indivisible consciousness, and intelligence, which is hidden by the illusory form, time, and space. To which the Sages describe in a variety of ways through diverse words.

Bhagavad Gita: ~ ‘All those whose intelligence has been stolen by material desires, they worship many God s. (7- Verse -20)

Only the path of wisdom leads the seeker of truth on his journey to the ultimate realization of the true nature of the universal essence, which is the Soul. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness.

People, who worship the belief of God, are hallucinating that they become one with such God.

Vedas itself says: May ye never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman? Thus, to know the real God Self-realization is necessary. Self-realization is God-realization. Self-realization itself is real worship.

How can you worship God? That implies two ~ the worshipper and the worshiped, whereas God is nondual. One can worship his idea of God only or realize his unity with it when he can’t worship it as apart.  

When Upanishads and Vedas declare that “God is in the form of the Athma, and God is indeed Athma itself” then why to accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman.

Rituals are meant for the ignorant populace. 

Sage Sankara:~  (11) 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 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.~ Adhyasa Bhashya 

Sage  Sankara:~ (11.1)This ignorance (mistaking the body for Self) brings in its wake a desire for the wellbeing of the body, aversion for its disease or discomfort, fear of its destruction and thus a host of miseries(anartha).This anartha is caused by projecting karthvya(“doer” sense) and bhokthavya(object) on the Atman. Sage  Sankara calls this adhyasa. The scriptures dealing with rituals, rewards, etc. are, therefore, he says, addressed to an ignorant person. Adhyasa Bhashya  

Sage Sankara:~ (11.2).In short, the person who engages in rituals with the notion “I am an agent, doer, thinker”, according to Sage Sankara, is ignorant, as his behavior implies a distinct, separate doer/agent/knower; and an object that is to be done/achieved/known. That duality is avidya, an error that can be removed by Vidya.~ Adhyasa Bhashya  

Sage Sankara:~  (12). Sage Sankara affirming his belief in one eternal unchanging reality (Brahman) and the illusion of plurality, drives home the point that Upanishads deal not with rituals but with the knowledge of the Absolute (Brahma Vidya) and the Upanishads give us an insight into the essential nature of the Self which is identical with the Absolute, the Brahman.~ Adhyasa Bhashya 

So,  they clearly indicate rituals and theories are not meant for those who are searching for higher knowledge or wisdom.   The path of wisdom is the only means. 

All the orthodox Advaitins indulge and immerse themselves in a ritualistic-oriented lifestyle and follow the path of karma and Upasana which is meant for lower and middling intellect and not for realizing the Advaitic truth.  

Many chose these orthodox scholars as their gurus. But these gurus are good to learn the conceptual Advaita meant for those orthodox who believe their conduct oriented lifestyle leads to Moksha (liberation). 

Advaitic orthodoxy based on individualized God is not the means to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.  Those who are seeking the truth have to do their own homework in order to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

Sanatana Dharma or Vedic religion, the most ancient religion prior to Hinduism.+

Sanatana Dharma or Vedic religion,   the most ancient religion prior to Hinduism. 

The question arises as to what is Sanatana Dharma? It can safely be said that it is the Vedic religion based on Vedas alone. Hinduism, as we find today, is not the pure Vedic religion it mixers of different ideologies accepted by the people from time to time. Thus, Hinduism is a hotchpotch mixer of many ideologies. 

Hinduism is not a religion it is a way of living of different caste and creeds following their own regional cultures and traditions in different parts of India. All the so-called Hindus are divided by caste, sub-castes, and creeds within Hinduism. Thus, the real Sanatana Dharma or Vedic religion is no longer in existence in its ancient grandeur as it was prior to Buddhism and Jainism. 

As one goes deeper into the annals of the religion one becomes aware of the fact that Sanatana Dharma has no beginning. Nobody can say when it started. It is without a beginning and so without an end. It is eternal and everlasting. That which has a beginning, has also an end, as all beginnings have an end also.

Sanatana Dharma has no founder. All religions are known by their founders or prophets but this is not the case with Sanatana Dharma. It neither has any prophet to begin it nor any book or authorized scripture told by the prophet who got a revelation.

If the Santana Dharma has no founder but all so-called Hindu religions are known by their founders or sages, therefore, Hinduism cannot be the ancient Vedic or Sanatana Dharma. Thus, it proves that the religions founded by the Sages after the 8th century onwards are not the ancient Sanatana Dharma or Vedic religion. 

As one peep into the annals of the history of all religions, one becomes aware of the fact that the religions with scripters have got the largest number of followers and those without scriptures are rare and scarce. In both these classes of religions, one finds that the truth is the result of the experience of a particular person ~ Jesus, Prophet Mohammed or Bhagvan Buddha and Sage Sankara, Guru Nanak, Mahavira. All of them experienced the truth and that they preached. All religions are built upon the direct experience of this experience. But there is a difference. 

Others have the founders of this experience known as the first founder of the religion and after their name, the religion is known. The other difference is that they now claim that the experience, the prophets had, is now no longer possible. So, one has to rely on "Belief”. 

The experience of the scientists says that if one experience is possible, it will be repeated eternally. This is the Law of Nature. What once takes place, takes place often and always.

As one goes deeper into the annals of religious history, he becomes aware of the fact that Sanatana Dharma differs from other religions on this point. Sanatana Dharma is not based on the spiritual experience of any single individual or any such revelation. It is based on the realization, intuition, and experience of a number of Seers, Sages, and mystics who realized the Infinite and were illuminated. It does not owe its origin to any one person or prophet nor does it adhere to any papal authority or dogma.

It does not build around one man as its center though it is not opposed to philosophies built around personalities and prophets. It believes in scientific precision and experiments to arrive at truth anytime and many times, so it believes in the free expression of thoughts and inquiry into the fundamentals even. It is, therefore, a tolerant religion, granting freedom of Enquiry and Expression, seeking evidence.

Looking into these entire facts one can conclude that the Sanatana Dharma is an eternal and everlasting humanitarian religion of all mankind. It is not limited to the teaching of any particular people or class of people or any form of worship. It is a comprehensive way, a law of Being ever praying to be with the Absolute.

In this respect, the present Hinduism with its diverse castes and creeds, dogmas, rituals, beliefs, and worships are not purely of Vedic Religion but they are a hotchpotch of ideologies adopted from other ideologies and seers experiences. 

As one goes in deeper in annals of history he finds the fact that the Sanskrit language is older than Hebrew and Latin. One also finds the oldest spiritual writing known to mankind in the Vedas about 6000 BC, orally transmitted for most of history and written down in Sanskrit. It makes them the world’s longest and most ancient revealed scripture of Sanatana Dharma. 

Vedas are concerned with wisdom; what is life about; what does death means, what the human being is, what is the nature of the Absolute that sustains us, and the cosmos, etc….
.
Sanatana Dharma believes that there is nothing that is not God. The Lord is enshrined in the hearts of all. God permeates everything and nothing permeates Him. 

The famous peace invocation of Isa Upanishad says: ~ 

Om Purna- madah, purna-midam purnat-purnam-udacyate Purnaysa purna-madaya purna-meva-vasisyate.

This means ~ All this is full/ from fullness, fullness comes when fullness is taken from fullness/ fullness still remains.

This belief is all-comprehensive and all-absorbing. There is nothing that is not God. This truth has been told by the seers. This is the only truth but is described by the people differently. 

The message of Sanatana Dharma goes that Akem Satya; Vipraha vividha Vadanti i.e. Truth is one, but the people describe it in different ways. Those on the journey to Eternity may differ but once reached there, all the differences sink into oneness. 

The whole of humanity has to arrive at this eternal truth one day. 

Looking at all these above aspects on can conclude the present Hinduism is modified to suit the mass mindset by the sages by adopting the ideology from other ideologies in the past is nothing to do with the pure Vedic religion or Sanatana Dharma.

Sanatana Dharma aims at making the whole world full of Aryas. It is not confined to the need for Self-salvation alone. It has a missionary message too. It says, ’Kranvanto Viswam Aryam’ lets the people of the world be made Arya i.e. gentle, righteous, and religious-minded. The central point of Isa Upanishad is -- Renounce and enjoy. This has to be our aim in life.

Sanatana Dharma is a cosmopolitan religion. It wishes the happiness of the world. Man is essentially divine. There is divinity in every man. He has to realize it. Then alone the world can become a place to live in. Santana Dharma says that :

Sarve Bhavanti Sukhinah/ Sarve santu Niramayah Sarve Bhadrani Pashyanti, Ma Kashchid Dukh Bhag Bhaveta.

It means: - Let everyone without distinction be happy. Let everyone be without any ailment. Let everyone look like Arya, noble and righteous. Let there be no one to have any share of sorrow or grief. This is the philosophy of Santana Dharma ~ a religion of all religions and all mankind.

Sanatana Dharma stresses upon action. It believes in the theory of Karma. The Upanishad says, ’you are what your driving desire is, as your desire is, so is your will, as your will is, so is your deed. As your deed is, so is your destiny.’ Thus, we create our own destiny through thought and action. So the message goes that there is no joy in the finite, there is joy only in the Infinite. Nothing can satisfy us but the reunion with our real Self which in fact is the attainment of Sat-Chit-Ananda. Self-realization is in becoming immortal. It does not mean an everlasting life, but it stands for a state that is beyond death and life alike.

Sanatana Dharma believes in the immortality of the soul. It inhabits one body after another according to Karma in the previous life, during its eternal journey to the Absolute until it is one with God. This is called belief in Reincarnation. It is not a fact that the individual dies with the death of the visible body. At death, the soul leaves the physical body and does not die. It gets into a subtle body called Astral on a non-physical dimension. The forces which brought the body and personality into existence continue shaping its destiny after death and would do so till unison with the Absolute when one becomes free from the cycle of birth and death.

When 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.) (Yajurved 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. Giffith 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 that: ~ 

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

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.)

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. 

Who introduced the concept of God with attributes and attributeless gods, when 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. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Jesus said:~ "Know what is in front of your face, and what is hidden from you will be disclosed to you.+

The truth-realization is to investigate the truth of the physical existence or the universe.  It seeks the meaning of all that is seen, known, believed, and experienced as A  person and of the world that confronts him. 

That is why Jesus said:~  "Know what is in front of your face, and what is hidden from you will be disclosed to you. (THE GOSPEL OF THOMAS- Saying 5)

It means one has to know the world which confronts him confronts to realize his body and the world are made of the same essence and that essence is Spirit (father). 

That is why Sage Sankara said:~ One 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.

Sage Sankara said:~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.

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

"The Kingdom of God is inside you and all around you, Not in a mansion of wood and stone.  Split a piece of wood and God is there, Lift a stone, and you will find God." (Gospel of Thomas)

Man learns from his experience that he is ever liable to err, which leads to disappointment and suffering. Naturally, it, therefore, seeks to avoid a repetition of an error. Thus, he has to make efforts at seeking truth or freedom from error.  But because of ignorance, he fails to investigate the truth of true existence. The ignorance is present in the form of ‘I’.

Deeper self-search itself is meditation. People think they don’t make progress. It is because they are not going deep enough, and they assume self- realization is some physical experience like yogic Samadhi or yogic bliss.   Self-awareness comes naturally when one becomes fully aware with the firm conviction of the existence of the formless witness of the three states.   The formless witness, which is consciousness, exists prior to the three states. Thus, it is necessary for the seeker to realize what exists prior to the appearance of the three states.  

   

Though the man is able to exercise his reason, yet he does not get to a stage at which there can be no disappointment or suffering. He has to make his "trials" as often as is necessary.  But the pity of it is that he does not realize that he has not attained the truth, unless doubt arises as a result of disappointments or sufferings, of his own or of others.

Jesus said: ~  Do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you. (Matthew -7:6)

~ Jesus meant Self-knowledge or Knowledge of Spirit or  Brahma Gnana (pearls) should not be given to the ignorant populace (pigs).

Many believe, that spirituality and religion are considered interconnected, but it is not so. Religion is based on the false self (ego or body or you) and it is limited to the false experience (universe) while spirituality transcends race, religion, gender, language and nationality, and the universe.  Spirituality is based on the Soul, the Self. From the standpoint of the Soul, the Self,  the universe in which we exist is merely an illusion.:~Santthosh Kumaar  

A Gnani impart Self- Knowledge to others. A Yogi lies in Samadhi, so he does not know yogic Samadhi is not wisdom.+

A Gnani imparts Self- Knowledge to others. A Yogi lies in Samadhi like a wooden log so he does not know yogic Samadhi is not wisdom.  A Gnani is fully aware of the about all things, either permanent or perishable and he has realized both permanent and perishable to be consciousness.  Thus,  the consciousness alone is real and eternal all else is merely an illusion. 

Lord Krishna confesses that the oldest wisdom of India (our true Advaita philosophy) has been lost: people misinterpret and falsify it today as they did then. It is not yoga but philosophic truth. But nobody knows it. The teachers of philosophy and leaders of mysticism or religion do not want to inquire into the truth and have no time for it. (Gita –Chap- IV-v.2)

In Gita Chap.IV where Lord Krishna says: ~ "This yoga has been lost for ages" the word yoga refers to Gnana yoga, not other yogas: the force of the word this is to point this out.

Lord Krishna describes some of the other yogas but devotes this chapter separately to Gnana Yoga. So one sees even in those ancient days people did not care for Advaita; they wanted religion; hence, Gnana got lost. That is why Lord  Krishna calls it "the supreme secret." Lord Krishna points out that yoga must-see "Brahman in action."

Gita Chap.IV: "He who achieves perfection in Yoga finds the self in time." This means that after his yoga is finished, he begins the inquiry into ultimate truth and in due course this inquiry produces realization of the universal spirit as the result. 

Belief in Yoga is a self-mesmeric condition out of which it is extremely difficult to escape.

Sage Sankara:~  56. Neither by Yoga, nor by Sankhya, nor by good work, nor by learning, but by the realization of one's identity with Brahman is Liberation possible, and by no other means. 

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

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

Brihad Upanishad does not advocate Samadhi.

Sage  Sankara in the commentary to "Brahma Sutras:~  " "The highest beatitude is not to be attained by Yoga." (Sacred Books of East Series page 298 Vol.1.) And he also says Samadhi is the same as sleep (p.312) ---this indicates that yoga is not the means to self-realization.

Yoga can yield only the duality because everything that one can do or practice becomes a vanishing 'known.' It yields relative truth based on imagination, which is true from the physical viewpoint of view, not non-dual truth, which is the ultimate reality or Brahman.

As per the scriptures the three "Ashrams" or stages in life were originally intended for three grades of intelligence thus:

v             Religion: low intellects had to do 'karmas' works, ritual actions, chanting of mantras and indulging in Bajans and prayers, etc.

v             Middle intellects:  Yoga: taking yellow robes, going to caves, ashrams etc.

v             High intellects: wisdom who wanted the truth is concerned with no external rites or sanyasa, but depend solely on the intelligent inquiry for their path.

Bhagavad  Gita Chapter 6: ~ which deals with meditation, verses 11 and 12. It says "Yoga is for purification." This means it is not for truth but discipline.Chap.5 deals with renunciation. The Gita says throughout the book, not to rely on Yoga, but to rely on reason (Buddhi) (discrimination between real and unreal). 

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 non-dualistic or Advaitic self-awareness. Self-awareness is freedom or Moksha. Moksha is unity in diversity in the midst of duality. 

The essence of Mundaka 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.

According to Sage Sankara, it is the ignorance of our real nature that causes suffering and pain. The desire for happiness is essentially a longing to awaken to who and what we truly are.

The Religion, the yoga, and the intellectualism are not the means to acquire self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.  Without getting rid of the ignorance and trying to get self-awareness through religion and yoga is like a sleeping man trying to know what he is about, without waking up. As sleep is to waking, so is ordinary life to the state of realization.

Sage Sankara says Atman is Brahman and everything is Brahman is scientific declaration not religious or yogic. Sage Sankara and Sage Goudpada are more scientific than anyone else in the world. Since the real Advaitic essence is hidden it cannot be got without the inner (mental) journey.

Panchadesi:~ the impossibility of yoga arrives at a successful end to its practices. (P.509 v, 109)

All yogic miracles still start from the standpoint of the body and thus has nothing to do with Advaitic  Gnana.

Manduka Upanishads:~ Those who want Brahman will not practice control of the mind.  That is Yoga for duffers. The others will inquire and practice discrimination. (p.231)

Brih. Upanishad: page 32:~  "Yoga does not yield truth or liberation."

One may read the Mahabharata for all philosophical, yogic and cosmological teachings but in the end it finally says "All is imaginative."

Brihad Upanishad:~  It too declares Yoga cannot give you the truth.

Page 78 bottom of Brihad Up.: To see Him whole mystics may have similar ideas of the "universe in a dew-drop," but Vedanta demands proof.

Upanishad and one will see that it says Atman the innermost self is known by Reason alone, by the sharpened and purified intellect. Yet still, people worship Yoga and mysticism as the sole means of attaining Atman.  The illuminations gained by yoga or by trance states are always temporary ones.:~Santthosh Kumaar