Sage Goudpada: the first historic Sage known to us to give a rational exposition of Advaita.+

Sage Goudpada: he was the first historic Sage known to us to give a rational exposition of Advaita. He says that whatever is seen, whether external or internal, whether by the ordinary persons or yogis is unreal.

Non-causality is of the highest importance; that is why Sage Goudpada puts it at the end of his book and devotes 100 slokas to it whereas the other subjects get less than 50 slokas.

Manduka Upanishad has no assumptions whatever. It is an honest and bold inquiry into the truth. It rises above scripture.

Manduka Upanishad is not meant for all, as it is based entirely on reasoning. Hence, only a few will be able to understand and assimilate it.

Manduka Upanishad:~

Atman is the highest Reality and its opposite: Note the word "and". Reality and illusion together make Brahman: nothing can be left out.  Page 51.

Brahman must be realized in the waking state when all objects are present in consciousness, otherwise, it is nonsense. Page 65: v.10.

"Sleep does not exist In Turiya”: This emphatically disproves the mystic use of sleep as an analogy for Brahman. Page 69.

This means that objects do not disappear, they are there, and yet they are non-dual. Disillusionment is not the same as appearance. Page 74. v. 17:

The essential message of Manduka is that the whole world, whatever is seen is only imagined.  points out that even though it is harder for them, still women can attain Brahman just as men. Page 351

"From their notion": Everybody has his own imagination about facts and starts from that, instead of discarding his personal idea and looking at the fact. Page 333. V. 83:

"Soundless and of infinite sounds"; means both the waking and sleep world must be known, and both objects and non-objects must be understood before the truth of Brahman is realized. Page 96. v. 29:

Manduka shows how one opinion may be used to contradict another so that both may be thrown away. Opinions are not for philosophy; they are mere, as Ashtavakra says, mere thoughts; it wants the truth.

In deep sleep and anesthesia, you have non-duality but no Gnana. Therefore there must be discrimination along with non-duality. Otherwise sleeping dogs would be Gnanis. ~ (P.219)

Existence means existence in the sense of the Drik. When you reduce everything to consciousness, Drik, Gnana, or even Mind, giving up all imaginations in truth it is unborn. You see a man's body comes and goes, but that is not the same as seeing him come and go, which you can never do. P.300. V.45.

Sage Sri, Goudpada 's 3^rd chapter is devoted to proving the existence of Atman to distinguish it from the changeable objects in this world, but in the final 4th chapter P.33, verse 83, he discards that position and rejects even the idea of Atmanic existence. He then declares we may assert nothing about it. Not even existence or nonexistence i.e. silence alone is demanded by the truth.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

If God is the creator then it is foolish to worship anything as God from his creation.+

All God propagated by belief systems are nothing but imaginations.  There is nothing so absurd that men have not worshipped in religion, every imaginable face has been given to God.  If God is the creator then it is foolish to worship anything as God from his creation because the creation is apart from God. 

Every belief system has its own idea and conviction of God.  Thus,  every belief system is based on the false self.  Therefore, whatever is based on the 'false self' has to be a falsehood? Thus, the idea of God in any belief system is mere imagination based on the false self.

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

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

 Mythological gods and Goddesses are based on blind belief. The belief is no God. The belief implies duality. From the ultimate standpoint,  duality is merely an illusion. Thus, whatever one sees, knows, believes, and experiences within the dualistic illusion is bound to be an illusion.

Mythological stories are a myth. Whatever is based on myth is merely a superstition.  Mythology was introduced in the past to the ignorant masses. It has to be discarded as one progresses in his spiritual advancement. 

All the mythological Gods are worshipped in the form of idols.  The belief system which propagated ideas of many Gods and Goddesses Bhakti is the only way to God is simply tries to lead the people to darkness with its dogma and idea of many Gods, which is apart from the Self.

Mythology breeds superstition, blind belief, senseless rituals, and the most irrational and gives them a divine outlook. Mythological stories are a myth. Whatever is based on myth is merely a superstition.  Mythology was introduced in the past to the ignorant masses. It has to be discarded if one has to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman or  God in truth.

Bhagavad Gita: ~ 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 other than consciousness a God.  

Lord Krishna says Ch ~V: ~ “Those who know the Self in truth.". The last two words (tattvataha) are usually ignored by pundits, but they make all the difference between the ordinary concept of God and the truth about God.

The dualistic worship of "God” is only for the ignorant populace. The God in the truth is only Atman, the innermost Self.   In reality,  there is no duality, no differentiation. Only Atman exists.

The Vedas confirm God is Atman (Spirit), the innermost Self.

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)

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

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

Brihad Upanishad: ~ “If you think there is another entity, whether man or God there is no truth."

When Upanishad itself declares: ~   Sarvam khalvidam brahma ~ All this (universe) is verily Brahman. By following back all of the relative appearances in the world, we eventually return to that from which it is all manifest – the non-dual reality (Chandogya Upanishad). 

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

Sage Sankara: ~"That which permeates all, which nothing transcends and which, like the universal space around us, fills everything completely from within and without, that Supreme non-dual Brahman  (God in truth) ~ that thou art."

Sage Sankara: ~  VC 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 (verses-6)

Sage Sankara’s wisdom is nothing to do with the orthodox belief systems. Some philosophers in the past dissented from this interpretation of Vedanta philosophy, holding that the incarnated Souls were separate from the Divine Essence and only finally merged with it after the cycles of birth. 

All these theoretical philosophies are based on the imagination based on the false self (ego or you) within the false experience (waking).  :~Santthosh Kumaar

It is of no use of renouncing the worldly life and become and Sanyasi or a Monk or Sadhu to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Brahma Gnana.+

A Gnani cannot have the idea of giving up, renouncing the world or some object or person in the world, because that would connote the idea of duality. Knowing no second thing at all there remains nothing to be given up.

A Gnani, on attaining realization, will not give up his vocation in life but will continue it as before. If he was a billniore, he continues so, if a peasant, he will remain one. He still does his duty, but he is fully aware of the fact that his practical life within the practical world is merely an illusion.

It is not correct to say that, a Gnani sees only good everywhere and never evil. He is fully aware of the evil things, he knows when he is being taken for a ride, but he remains unperturbed though acting as required. He recognizes what is bad and what is a good practical point of view and what is real and what is an illusion from the ultimate standpoint.

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: ~ The 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.

A Gnani is not a sanyasi or a Guru or swami or Sadhu or monk.  Gnani does not belong to any ashrams."  Both Gnani and the 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 that 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.

Sage Sankara says the knower of Brahman wears no signs. Gives up the insignia of a monk's life then it is of no use of renouncing the worldly life and become and sanyasi or monk or Sadhu to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Brahma Gnana.

The seeker of truth need not renounce the worldly life run to the mountains or run behind the Gurus or Yogis to waste their precious life and fortune to get self-knowledge. If the seeker has an intense urge to realize the truth, then that very urge leads to realizing the ultimate truth or Brahman.

The seeker of truth will follow whatever occupation. There are no prohibitions for him to follow any code of conduct. He may be a peasant or a billionaire his aim is to realize the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space. 

What is the use of renouncing anything within the dualistic illusion? By giving up anything, ignorance will not vanish. By hearing ornamental words from some guru wisdom will not dawn. Sticking to some Guru trying to get self-realization is trying to drain the sea drop by drop.

The path of wisdom is the inner path. The inner path is a mental path. Without stepping out of the boundary of form, time, and space, it is impossible to assimilate Advaitic truth. The Advaitic truth is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.

This Path of wisdom is Soulcentric, therefore, it is very difficult to tread this path from an egocentric perspective. Even the yogis and saints have not come to understand the state of the Soul, the  Self.

By posing as a Gnani because he is some Gurus’ a 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.   

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

Even the arguments that religions have been followed since time immemorial make 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 blind belief-based God and its scriptures are a reality within the scope of form, time, and space whereas the ultimate truth is beyond form, time, and space.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

Sage Sankara’s wisdom is nothing to do orthodox Advaitic sect or religion.+

Religious upbringing is a major cause, which blocks one from realizing the Self hidden by ignorance. The orthodox people have a narrow-minded outlook because they think what religious samskaras they inherited from their forefathers as the ultimate truth.

The garbage of the religious beliefs dogmas superstition is confounded with the human imagination. The great reality of the glory of the religious Gods is hyped and obscured by so much tinsel and commercialism.

Spirituality is not theology. Advaita is not a philosophy but Advaita is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God. Advaita is Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana or knowledge of the Spirit or God in truth

Hindus get samskara as Hindu. Christian gets samskara as Christian. Muslim get samskara as Muslims. Buddhist get samskara as Buddhists.

The seeker of truth should not start with the idea of God. The seeker does not know whether there is God or not. There is no proof. The seeker needs proof of God's existence.

There is need not doubt that people saw Shiva, Jesus, etc. That they saw visions may be an undeniable fact. But the question is “Was what they saw the Truth?" They no doubt had such visions but they never stopped to inquire if their visions be true.

Remember:~

After years of effort glorifying Christ when Christian closes his eyes and Christ comes to him.

After years of effort glorifying Krishna when a Hindu closes his eyes and Krishna comes to him.

After years of effort glorifying Buddha when a Buddhist closes his eyes and Buddha comes to him.

After years of effort glorifying Mahavira when a Jain closes his eyes and Mahavira comes to him.

Christ doesn’t come to a Hindu; Mahavira doesn’t come to a Christian. Buddha doesn’t come to a Jain: only the image projected in the subconscious will come. The image became almost solid. It became so real from constant repetition, from continuous remembering, that it seemed a projected deity was standing in from of him. No one was standing there.

Wherever is projected is merely an illusion created out of the consciousness. Any experience is possible only within the domain of form, time, and space. Whatever belongs to the form, time and space are merely an illusion.

The illusion is created out of single stuff and that single stuff is the consciousness. The knowledge of the single stuff is Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

In reality, consciousness alone exists without the division of form, time, and space. There is no second here, no other. From the standpoint of the Soul, form, time and space are merely an illusion.

The seeker has to take all the facts, and then proceed to examine and analyze, how far is it true?”

To talk of seeking God is as meaningless as saying "seeking dog". It is only a hollow word. one must know God in truth. 

Remember:~

All sect-based beliefs are dualistic and unphilosophical nothing to do with the ultimate truth or Brahman. In spirituality, the ultimate truth is God. Sage Sankara’s wisdom is nothing to do with orthodox belief systems. 

Sage Sankara: ~ VC- 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 (verses-6)

In spirituality, the ultimate truth is God. The Atman is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God. 

Sage Sankara’s wisdom is nothing to do with orthodox belief systems. Sage  Sankara is the only sage who has final authority on the Advaitic truth. The Advaitic truth is rational truth and scientific truth without dogma. 

The Advaitic orthodoxy is not the means to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. Advaitic orthodoxy is meant for the ignorant populace that is unfit to grasp the highest truth. The Advaitic orthodoxy is nothing to do with the ultimate truth or Brahman.

All sect-based beliefs are dualistic and unphilosophical nothing to do with the ultimate truth or Brahman. In spirituality,  the ultimate truth is God. Thus, the Advaitic orthodoxy is a sect is nothing to do with the Advaitic wisdom of the Sage Sri, Sankara. The Advaitic orthodox sect is meant for the ignorant populace. 

Sage Sankara said:~ Neither by the practice of yoga nor philosophy, nor by good works nor by learning, does liberation come, but only through the realization that Atman and Brahman are one in no other way. (1) Vivekachoodamani v 56, pg~25

Mundaka Upanishad condemns rituals. The Para or Higher knowledge is the knowledge of the Supreme Being while the Apara or Lower Knowledge is that of following sacrificial rites and ceremonies. (1/2/ 1 – 6)

Mundaka Upanishads:~ So-called spiritual pundits and learned are called children because a child takes whatever it thinks as truth. The question never occurs to children “Is what I have seen or thought really the truth?" (P.334 line 9) 

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 the 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 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 the realization of the universal spirit as the result. 

Lord Krishna says: ~ “Those who know me in truth.". The last two words (tattvataha) are usually ignored by pundits, but they make all the difference between the ordinary concept of God and the truth about God. ( Ch~ V)

Sage Sankara: ~ VC- 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 (verses-6) 

The theosophist’s idea of the universe appearing and dissolving, days and nights of Brahma, entering into pralaya, etc. is intended for mediocre intellects, who cannot rise to the truth. It is a convenient fable representing the philosophic truth that the whole universe dissolves in your mind in deep sleep, thus entering pralaya, and rises again the next morning, i.e. it is all imagination, idea. The Brahman -God has nothing to do with it. 

Although Sage Sankara puts the mystic goal highest in his mystical books, he is careful to say that this goal leads to Brahman, not that it is the realization.:~Santthsoh Kumaar 

The oldest wisdom of India the Advaitic wisdom has been lost: people misinterpret and falsify it today as they did then.+

Lord Krishna confesses that the oldest wisdom of India (Advaita wisdom) has been lost: people misinterpret and falsify it today as they did then. It is not yoga but the 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)

Why is the word Yoga used in so many different senses in the Gita? Because there are grades and the highest demands concentrated brains, not sitting mindless and imagining you are seeing God.

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 Krishna calls it "the supreme secret." Krishna points out that the yoga must-see is "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 the realization of the universal spirit as the result.

Understanding what is God is not so easy. Religious people can only imagine God based on their beliefs.

That is why Lord Krishna Says Ch ~V: ~ “Those who know the Self in truth.". The last two words (tattvataha) are usually ignored by pundits, but they make all the difference between the ordinary concept of God and the truth about God.

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

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

Remember:~

Maha Gita: ~ Krishna's Gita is a hodgepodge containing everything; hence it suits everyone because there is something in it for everyone. It is difficult to find any tradition whose voice is not found in the Gita. It is difficult to find anyone who does not take solace from the Gita. But for such people, Ashtavakra's Gita will prove very difficult.

Ashtavakra is not for synthesis -- he is a man of truth. He speaks the truth just as it is, without any artifice or coloring. He is not concerned about the listener, he does not care whether his listener will understand or not. Such a pure expression of truth has never happened anywhere before, nor has it ever happened again.

People love Krishna's Gita because it is very easy to extract one's own meaning from it. Krishna's Gita is poetic: in it, two plus two can equal five, and two plus two can also equal three. No such tricks are possible with Ashtavakra. With him, two plus two are exactly four. Ashtavakra's statements are statements of pure mathematics. There isn't the least possibility for poetic license here. He says things as they are, without any sort of compromise.

Reading Krishna's Gita a devotee extracts something of which he can make a belief because Krishna spoke on bhakti, devotion. The karma yogi extracts his belief because Krishna has spoken on karma yoga, the Yoga of action. The believer in knowledge finds what he wants because Krishna has spoken on knowledge as well. Somewhere Krishna calls bhakti the ultimate, somewhere else he calls knowledge the ultimate, again elsewhere he calls karma yoga the ultimate.

Krishna's statements are very political. He was a politician, a perfect politician. Just to say he was a politician is not right; he was a shrewd politician, a real diplomat. In his statements, he considered and included many things. This is why the Gita suits everyone, why there are thousands of commentaries on the Gita. No one is concerned with Ashtavakra because to accept Ashtavakra you are going to have to drop yourself -- unconditionally. You cannot bring yourself along. Only if you stay behind can you come near him? With Krishna, you can bring yourself along. With Krishna, there is no need to transform yourself. With Krishna, you can fit just as you are.

Hence, the founders of each tradition have written commentaries on Krishna's Gita -- Sankara, Ramanuja, Nimbarak, Vallabha -- everyone. Each has extracted his own meaning. Krishna has said things in such a way as to allow multiple meanings; hence I call his Gita poetic. You can draw out any meaning you like from a poem.

Krishna's statements are like clouds surrounding you in the rainy season: you see in them whatever you want. Someone may see an elephant's trunk, someone sees the whole body of Ganesha, the elephant god. Someone may not see anything. He will say, "What nonsense you talk! They are clouds, vapor -- how is it you see forms in them?"

Krishna's Gita is just like this -- you will be able to see whatever is in your mind. So Sankara sees knowledge, Ramanuja sees bhakti, Tilak sees action -- and each returns home in a cheerful mood thinking that what Krishna says is the same as his belief.

This kind of suspicion often arises with Krishna too. Centuries have passed and commentaries on Krishna keep on coming. Each century finds its own meaning, and each person finds his own meaning. Krishna's Gita is like an inkblot... it is the statement of the perfect politician.

You cannot extract any beliefs from Ashtavakra's Gita. Only if you drop yourself as you move into it, will Ashtavakra's Gita become clear to you?

Ashtavakra's message is crystal clear. You won't be able to add even a small bit of your own interpretation to it. Hence, people have not written commentaries on Ashtavakra's Gita. There is no scope for writing a commentary; there is no way to distort or twist it. Your mind has no chance to add anything. Ashtavakra has given such an expression that no one has been able to add or take anything from it, even though centuries have passed. It is not easy to give such a perfect expression. Such skill with words is very difficult to come by. This is why I say we are starting off on a rare journey. ~OSHO

Remember:~

There are two kinds of audiences - the ordinary ones who desire the transitory heaven and other pleasures obtained as a result of ritual sacrifices, and the more advanced seeker who seeks to know the truth beyond the form, time, and space. 

Bhagavad Gita is meant for the first audience, to help lead its followers along the way. The Ashtavakra Gita, with its emphasis on the Advaitic wisdom, is meant for those who wish to go beyond such transient pleasures.

Scientific knowledge is limited to form, time and space. Self-knowledge is beyond form, time, and space.  

The birth, life, death, and the world are within the domain of form, time, and space. The Soul, the Self, is a formless, timeless, and spaceless existence.

Consciousness is ever-present. Without consciousness, the world, in which you exist ceases to exist. 

Consciousness is Self-evident. It is not established by extraneous proofs. It is not possible to deny consciousness, because it is the very essence of the one who denies it. Consciousness is the basis of all kinds of knowledge, presuppositions, and proofs. Consciousness is everything. Thus, consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth. :~Santthosh Kumaar 

Lord Krishna :~ Gnana yoga path, which is the highest and the real object of his teaching.+

To see "Brahman in action" one must act. Therefore, if he remains inactive in a cave can never see Brahman.

The true meaning of "kill doubt" is not to refrain from inquiry as Pundits, yogis and religionists say, but to tackle every doubt and to go on until you answer or solve it satisfactorily and thus the doubt disappears.

Lord Krishna tells Arjuna to fight is misrepresented by half-Vedantins as an order to kill other human beings, because they are mere Ideas, Illusory, whereas whole Vedanta says these ideas too are Brahman, and the Self and hence no killing really occurs. Only when you see all individuals, especially the Self as imagined ideas, can you rise to see them later as Brahman? Thus, there are two stages. You must first see the 'I' as illusory before you see others as illusory. ~ CH.2 v.16

Bhagavad Gita gives dualistic worship of "God” only for the lower minds; it also teaches Advaita for the more evolved.

Likewise, thinkers and poets of the Age of Devotion (Bhakti) of the 16th century believed in a God with attributes who became very tangible when incarnating as Avatar and was attainable simply through love and devotion rather than scholastic and intellectual meditation.

For the religious people,  the Bhagavad Gita became the main vehicle of inspiration with its qualified and deistic Monism, rather than the scholastic and esoteric path shown by Sage Sankara’s Advaitic path.

Sage Sankara never rejected devotional prayer (Bhakti) or denied its value for he held that it was a necessary but intermediate stage for the adept on his journey to the ultimate realization of the true nature of the Universal Essence.

People worship God in various ways, not knowing the Truth. At different levels, at different epochs, in different lands, people have different conceptions of God. They have quarreled because they did not know the truth about God.

The conflict of opinions among mystics and religionists proves that all are imagining God as they like, not knowing God.

Vedanta it is that Lord Krishna teaches us in the Gita and in it he lashes out against the karmakanda. It is generally believed that the Buddha and Mahavira were the first to attack the Vedas.

It is not so. Lord Krishna himself spoke against them long before these two religious leaders. At one place in the Gita, he says to Arjuna: ~"The Vedas are associated with the three qualities of sattva, rajas, and tamas.

You must transcend these three qualities. Full of desire, they (the practitioners of Vedic rituals) long for paradise and keep thinking of pleasures and material prosperity. They are born again and again and their minds are never fixed in samadhi, these men clinging to Vedic rituals.

“In another passage Krishna declares:~  "Not by the Vedas is Self to be realized, nor by sacrifices nor by much study. . . . "

Bhagavad Gita 2:46:~ "A man of true knowledge who has attained enlightenment, has the same use for all the scriptures as one has for a small reservoir of water in a place flooded on all sides."

Lord Krishna taught the Karma and Bhakti yogis their own paths only in order to lead them up to the Gnana yoga path, which is the highest and the real object of his teaching. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar 

The earliest part of Bhagavad Gita deals with religion, but in the latter part you get philosophy.+

Bhagavad Gita:~

There are hundreds of commentaries from different authors on the Bhagavad Gita. Each one goes on spinning yarns imagining as he likes what the meaning may be.

Bhagavad Gita has been interpreted in a thousand ways, according to the author’s capacity to understand the test of all these is the reason. Only a few understood the Bhagavad Gita.

Bhagavad Gita is a hodgepodge containing everything; hence it suits the populace because there is something in it for every type of mindset. It is difficult to find any tradition whose voice is not found in the Gita. It is difficult to find anyone who does not take solace from the Bhagavad Gita. But for such people, the Advaitic path will prove very difficult.

Once you are Soulcentric you will know what Bhagavad Gita and other scriptures really meant, you will see that there is only one possible interpretation, irrespective of diverse opinions or imagination.

The Bhagavad Gita does not contain higher wisdom. Bhagavad Gita is intended for those who are incapable of thinking rationally.

People love the Bhagavad Gita because it is very easy to extract one's own meaning from it. Reading the Bhagavad Gita, a religious believer extracts something of which he can make a belief because Bhagavad Gita speaks on Bhakti, devotion. The karma yogi extracts his belief because Krishna has spoken on karma yoga, the Yoga of action. The believer in knowledge finds what he wants because Bhagavad Gita has spoken on knowledge as well. Somewhere Krishna calls bhakti the ultimate, somewhere else he calls knowledge the ultimate, again elsewhere he calls karma yoga the ultimate.

Lord Krishna taught the Karma and Bhakti yogis, their own paths only in order to lead them up to the Gnana yoga path, which is the highest and the real object of his teaching.

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 the 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)

Why is the word Yoga used in so many different senses in the Gita? Because there are grades and the highest demands concentrated brains, not sitting mindless and imagining you are seeing God.

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 Krishna calls it "the supreme secret." Krishna points out that the 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 the realization of the universal spirit as the result.

Understanding what is God is not so easy. Religious people can only imagine God based on their beliefs.

That is why Lord Krishna says Ch ~V: ~ “Those who know the Self in truth.". The last two words (tattvataha) are usually ignored by pundits, but they make all the difference between the ordinary concept of God and the truth about God.

No dualities, no differentiation. Only Atman exists.

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

It proves that the all-pervading Atman, which is present in the form of consciousness, is God. Thus worshipping the form-based Gods is meant for the ignorant populace who are incapable of realizing the truth, which is beyond the form, time,  and space.

Lord Krishna Says Ch ~V: ~ “Those who know me in truth.".

Bhagavad Gita: 4: 22: ~ ".....who has gone beyond the conflicting dualities like the good (happiness) and bad (sorrow)....."

Bhagavad Gita: 4: 42:~ ".....cut all such conflicting dualities (doubts) by the sword (weapon) of knowledge. ....."

Bhagavad Gita: 5: 18:~ “The learned men (who have come out of delusions (Māyā), got rid of Avidya) see no differentiation have equal vision for a revered Brahmin, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a cāndāla (outcaste, rogue, mleccha, demonic person, etc)"

Bhagavad Gita: 5: 19:~ "Those who have achieved the true knowledge i.e. the 'Self-Knowledge' or the 'knowledge of Atman' and see no difference, are free from conflicting dualities have merged in Brahman."

Bhagavad Gita: 5: 20:~ "One who does not get excited out of happiness on getting good and does not get depressed on getting bad is situated in Brahman i.e. is merged in Brahman."

Bhagavad Gita: 6: 9:~ "The one who has equal vision for a Selfless do-gooder, a friend, a foe, an unbiased, a well-wisher, a depressed and jealous man, relatives, a righteous and a sinner is the best (as he sees no duality and differentiation but sees everything as Ātman)"

Bhagavad Gita: 6: 32:~ “.....as one seeks and treats oneself with equal vision, the same way one who has an equal vision for good and evil, for everybody, is the best of all"

Bhagavad Gita: 6: 8: ~ "For whom soil, a pebble, and gold are alike, he is merged in Brahman"

Bhagavad-Gita Gita: 7: 27:~ ".....people are getting entangled in the primordial ignorance (Avidya) of the conflicting dualities like good and evil, happiness and sorrow caused due to attachments, desires, and hatred....."

Bhagavad Gita: 6: 28:~ “.....who have cut-off conflicting dualities (like good and evil) is determinedly in my service. ...."

Bhagavad Gita: 7: 19:~ "Such a man who has attained true knowledge, the knowledge of Self, the knowledge of Atman, in the last birth in the series of many births worships Me as~ Atman alone exists~ everything is Atman, there exists nothing except Atman. Such a man is extremely rare."

The earliest part of Bhagavad Gita deals with religion because it is for mentally immature persons, but in the latter part, you get philosophy as that is intended for the intellectually evolved. You can’t make all men into genius, and therefore religion is provided for them.

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

In the statement in the Bhagavad Gita which says that the path of the Unmanifest is harder than others, this path means Gnana Yoga.

The Upanishads and Gita do not give detailed explanations because the knowledge of those days was not as advanced as it as nowadays. However, there are odd words here and there which give hints.

Bhagavad Gita gives dualistic worship of "God” only for the lower minds; it also indicates the Advaitic wisdom for the more evolved.

Likewise, thinkers and poets of the Age of Devotion (Bhakti) of the 16th century believed in a God with attributes who became very tangible when incarnating as Avatar and was attainable simply through love and devotion rather than scholastic and intellectual meditation.

For the religious people, the Bhagavad Gita became the main vehicle of inspiration with its qualified and deistic Monism, rather than the scholastic and esoteric path shown by Sage Sankara’s Advaitic path. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar