Kundalini “rise into the sahasrara chakra but Kundalini is not the means to Self-awareness. +

The 'Self is not you but the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. The Soul is bodyless because it is a formless, timeless, and spaceless existence. the Kundalini theory is based on the body. 

The world in which we exist hides the Soul, the Self. the Soul, the Self is not within our body but the Soul is hidden by the world in which we exist. The Soul is hidden by the world in which we exist because the world in which we exist is merely an illusion created out of consciousness. thus the Kundalini theory based on the body is a false theory based on the false self(ego).   

Many think finding the source of the thoughts one becomes aware of the truth and they are not sure what thoughts are and where they come from. Thoughts are part of the illusion and thoughts will rise until the illusion remains a reality.  Therefore, seeking the truth in thought-oriented theories will not lead the seeker to know the ultimate truth.

Until and unless one becomes aware of the fact, how, or in what way the physical existence is an illusion, one will remain in the grip of duality, and base himself on physicality or intellectuality.  Intellectuality is a great hindrance in the pursuit of truth because it is based on the waking entity(physical self or ego).

There is a need to know the facts about the thought that; they are arising in duality or illusion. They are absent without the duality.  There is no need to be curious about what are they and where they come from continues to arise instead find the source of the illusion and the substance of the illusion to unfold the mystery of the mind/physical existence.

Remember:~

As intellectually elegant and edifying as all of these discussions of non-duality may be, they don't bring about true liberation because they are based on physicality. One has to mentally grasp the nondual truth to cross the threshold of duality.

Since people mix yoga and karma theory which is based on physicality it becomes difficult for them to understand and assimilate Self-knowledge.  If the body is not the self, and the true self is formless, then how the “Kundalini” will work when the self is not the physical body. 

If the body is not the Self, then where one has to trace those chakras in a formless Soul, the 'Self'.  If the body is not the 'Self' then the karma theory becomes meaningless because the action is part of the illusion.  Therefore, there is a need for a deeper understanding of the fact to assimilate the non-dual truth.

Until one has the conviction that the Self is the body he will remain experiencing the duality as reality. This duality is too powerful to be displaced by simple conversations. It needs deeper thinking and understanding and assimilation to overcome the duality.

One cannot bring the mind to total stillness without understanding “What is the mind?” and “What is the substance of the mind?”.

Yogic practice with correct posture to open the channels that allow the “Kundalini “rise into the Sahasrara chakra is not the means to Self-knowledge because it is based on physicality.  

When the Self is not the physical body, then the yogic practice is not the tool to acquire non-dual wisdom. It is merely imagining the non-dual nature of the Self/Soul and gaining the time-bound blankness of the mind. 

Remember:~

Yoga does not yield truth because it ignores the objective world. Say that yoga has its place rather than its value and that its value is for a certain type of mindset. One cannot live without the physical world; it is the basis of his life, so it must be the starting point of his inquiry. Things, not imaginations, must be the seeker’s material.

Yogi shuts his eyes against the world and then has the temerity to declare that he 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, which confronts him is not worth bothering about, it detaches him from the world; it makes him treat the world as a dream, i.e. an idea. It does the same to his ego to some extent, because he becomes indifferent to what happens to him. But the great secret is that this is only feeling, he feels these things only but does not know that the world is an idea. Such knowledge can come only from deeper self-search and in no other way. That is why yogi cannot be Gnani.

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

Yoga can yield the only 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 dualistic perspective, not from the nondualistic perspective. 

It is the difference between feeling and knowledge. The feeling of the yogi that the world is unreal may change in the future because all emotions are liable to change; and the fact is that yogis do change, as when they indulge in accumulating wealth they lose their sense of the world unreality though previously they felt it.

 A permanent view of the world as unreal can come only after Soulcentric reasoning; such knowledge cannot change. Were the yogi of sufficiently sharp intellect he could discover the ideality of the world by Soulcentric reasoning alone and then it would not be necessary for him to have gone through yoga practice at all; that is why yoga is for dull or middling intellects.

Panchadasi: - The impossibility of yoga arrives at a successful end to its practices. (P.509 v, 109)

To realize the truth of the whole, one must know the world, which confronts him, otherwise, he gets a half-truth. The seeker of truth should not run away from the external world means the incapacity to think. Thus, it is necessary to know the nature of the world in which he exists.

The ultimate truth is attainable by perfect understanding, assimilation, and realization of ‘what is what’. The perfect understanding of ‘what is what’ leads to Advaitic  Self-awareness. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Most Advaitic Orthodox scriptural scholars are ignorant in the guise of Gnanis.+

The traditionally religious people are so entangled in orthodox religiosity; it is very difficult for them to free themselves from narrow-minded prejudices and dogmas and superstitions. These educated orthodox people are more ignorant than illiterate. They strongly stuck to their inherited orthodox baggage meant for the ignorant populace. Even though, their own sages have said that orthodoxy is meant for the ignorant populace they ignore and they are like blind led by another blind follow the inherited blind belief.  

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).  

Remember:~

Most  Advaitic Orthodox scriptural scholars are ignorant in the guise of Gnanis.

One of Sage Sankara’s missions was to wean people away from the ritualistic approach advocated by Mimamsakas and to project wisdom (jnana) as the means of liberation in the light of Upanishad teachings. Sage Sankara criticized severely the ritualistic attitude and those who advocated such practices. However, the texts that combined rituals with wisdom (jnana_karma_samucchaya) more in favor of the Mimamsaka position came into vogue, projecting Sankara as the rallying force of the doctrine.

Sage Sankara:~   Loud speech, a profusion of words, and possessing skilfulness in expounding scriptures are merely for the enjoyment of the learned.  They do not lead to Liberation."

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)

The scriptures' mastery, the force of religious merit--none of these lead to the realization of that ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth. 

The ultimate truth is revealed in the clear understanding and realization of ‘what is the truth? and ‘what is the untruth?  When one realizes the untruth (universe) is created out of single stuff, Self-awareness rises in the midst of duality exposing the unreal nature of the form, time, and space.

An adherent of the orthodox philosopher   may say his philosophy teaches so and so", another man may object and say “No, his religious philosophy teaches such and such." Thus, they may go on uttering contradictions in the name of philosophy. True philosophy deals only with the appeal to facts, not theories.

Where scriptures and authorities do not agree with the reason, the seeker of truth must reject them.

How is one to know that the scriptures are true? The seeker has to look into the facts, for the proof of what has the worship of God done for the people! When a tsunami occurred in Japan the God did not save the believers of Japan. Thus, God saves the one who prays such an argument is of no value in pursuit of truth.

People believe scripture is infallible, but deeper Self-search reveals the fact that they are merely a book of words. The words are a mere expression of thoughts. Then it is impossible to see if the scripture writers' thoughts are founded in fact or not.

The fallacy of orthodoxy’s appeal to scripture lies in the varying and conflicting interpretations of the same scripture that different men feel entitled to give or hold.

The scriptures are for the ignorant masses, who wholly accept the practical life within the practical world as it presents itself. Gnana is for those who have begun to realize that things are not what they seem.

Where scriptures and authorities do not agree with the reason, the seeker of truth must reject them.

Scriptural knowledge is conceptual divisions invented by teachers of philosophy by their excessive analysis.  All these concepts are a great obstacle in the pursuit of truth.    Why should confusion be created and then explained away? Fortunate is the man who does not lose himself in the labyrinths of philosophy but goes straight to the source from which they all arise. :~Santthosh Kumaar 

Orthodox position came onto vogue, projecting Sage Sankara as the rallying force of the doctrine.+

Sage Sankara is a great Gnani of all times. This world owes him a deep debt of gratitude. He not only consolidated the classical values of life but also spiritual wisdom.

Unfortunately, few philosophers in the world are as misunderstood and misinterpreted as Sage Sankara. Ironically, most of the harm came from his admirers and followers of the orthodox Advaitic sect because they propagated rituals as a means to attain lower knowledge which is meant for those who believed in the physical existence (universe or waking)  as a reality.   The orthodoxy is nothing to do with Sage  Sankara’s Advaitic wisdom.

One of Sage Sankara’s missions was to wean people away from the ritualistic approach and to project the Advaitic wisdom (Gnana) as the means of liberation.

He criticized severely the ritualistic attitude and those who advocated such practices. However, the texts that combined rituals with wisdom (jnana_karma_samucchaya) more in favor of the Orthodox position came into vogue, projecting Sage Sankara as the rallying force of the doctrine.

Sage Sankara: ~ 2. The Adhyasa Bashya is remarkable in many ways. It is not a lengthy work; it is less than fifty lines divided into five sections. It is free-flowing writing. Sage Sankara lucidly puts forth his views. While doing so, he does not cite any traditional text or authority in support of his views. He does not denounce or attack any school of thought (vada). He is not propagating a new school of thought or a new argument. He assures that the significance of the initial discussion will be realized in the main commentary, which seeks to restore the true interpretation of the. Vedanta tradition as contained in the Vedanta Sutra. Adhyasa Bashya is a rare gem in the field of philosophical texts.-Adhyasa Bhashya 

Attaining one's aspirations and expectations by resorting to rituals had caught the imagination of the common people. Sage Sri, Sankara advocated wisdom as the sole means for attaining one's goals in life.

Advaitic orthodoxy diluted the rigorous position by combing Upanishad teachings with rituals to make it appealing to the common people.

Sage Sankara viewed this as a distortion of the Upanishad ideals. To play down the prominence given to rituals, Sage Sankara relied on the idea of Avidya He bracketed the ritualistic approach with Avidya and called it an “error”.

Avidya is a word that occurs in Upanishads, though not often. The word Vidya is used to denote effective discrimination and Avidya is the absence of it.

Sage Sankara states wisdom (Vidya) can eliminate ignorance (Avidya), but the ignorance it eliminates is not real because it has no existence of its own. Once the error is removed the Universe (Brahman) will reveal of its own accord.

Sage Sankara explains darkness and light are distinct from each other in their nature and in their functions. Darkness has no existence of its own; it is merely the absence of light. Whereas, the light is positive and helps vision. Darkness and light can neither coexist nor share their functions or nature. Darkness is an error that can be removed.

Sage Sankara states, the main purpose of the Upanishads is to provide the knowledge(vidya) that will eliminate darkness, ignorance(Avidya), which is in the nature of “reality transfer” (adhyasa). he thereafter goes on to explain the concept of adhyasa.

Adhyasa, according to Sage Sankara, is not an intellectual construct but a matter of realization.

Sage Sankara says we do it all the time. Adhyasa consists of mistaking one thing and its attributes for another; superimposing one level of reality over another. This we do every day. Individual experiences the world through his senses, mind, and other ways of perception. His experience of the world may be tainted by the defect in his senses or other constraints, internal or external. Nevertheless, that person creates his own set of impressions and experiences and he accepts those subjective experiences as real.

Sage Sankara regards personal realization as independent and convincing evidence. 

Sage Sankara says that an individual’s experience cannot be disputed because the experience he went through was real to him; though that may not be real from the absolute point of view.

Sage Sankara makes a distinction between the absolute view and the relative view of things.

Sage Sankara: -   6. In short, what the person does is, impose his transactional experience (relative or Dual) over the transcendental (absolute) and accepts the former as real. That subjective experience need not be proved or disproved. However, the confusion it created can be removed by wisdom (vidya). According to Sage Sri, Sankara the world we experience is not absolutely real but it is not false either. The reality is that which cannot be negated and that which is beyond contradiction.-Adhyasa Bhashya

Sage Sankara:~ 6.1. Sage Sankara explains that vyavaharika (relative) and paramarthika (absolute) both are real. However, the relative reality is “limited” in the sense it is biologically or mechanically determined and it is not beyond contradictions. The absolute, on the other hand, is infinite (everlasting and unitary (meaning utter lack of plurality)).-Adhyasa Bhashya

Sage Sankara is careful to point out that the two dimensions – Vyavaharika and Paramarthika- are two levels of experiential variations. It does not mean they are two orders of reality. They are only two perspectives. Whatever that is there is REAL and is not affected by our views. 

Sage Sankara:~6.2. The 'Self' in the vyavaharika context is saririka (embodied Self ); it encounters the world. However, the Self, in reality, is not saririka; it is absolute, asaririka, and is infinite. The infinite Self, perceived as the limited Self (Jiva) is what Sage Sri, Sankara calls as adhyasa.-Adhyasa Bhashya

Sage Sankara:~7. The dichotomy between being an individual-in-the-world (jiva) and being originally a pure, transcendental consciousness (atman) is taken by Sage Sri, as merely superficial. According to Sage Sri, Sankara, it is due to avidya that the individual fails to see the nexus between Being and the world. That nexus indicates the oneness underlying the subject-object, inner-outer, Man-Nature distinctions. All that is required is to remove the error and the universe will shine on its own accord.-Adhyasa Bhashya

Sage Sankara:~ 8. The analogy given in the text is that of a pond that is clear and undisturbed. One can see the bottom of the pond through its still water. When, however, pebbles are thrown into the pond, the water in it is disturbed and the bottom of the pond becomes no longer visible. That bottom, however, is there all the time and it remains unchanged, no matter whether the surface water is disturbed or not. The water in the pond is the transactional world. The bottom of the pond is the transcendental reality. The disturbance created is avidya.-Adhyasa Bhashya

(It is difficult to find an exact English word for adhyasa. It may, among other things, mean “superimposition”,” projection” etc. adhyasa is more comprehensive than that. Sage Sankara, in my view, recognizes three levels of existence, the Absolute, the relative, and the illusory. Adhyasa consists of superimposing one level of existence (relative/illusory) over the other (The Absolute) and accepting the former as true while it may actually be untrue. The absolute (atman) appearing as the limited (jiva) is what Sage Sri, Sankara calls adhyasa. (For more on this please see Adhyasa )

Sage Sankara:~   9. Extending the concept of adhyasa, Sage Sankara says, we superimpose the body, the sense organs, and the mind on the Self (infinite) and we use expressions like: ‘I am fat’, ‘I am thin’, ‘I am white’, ‘I am black’, ‘I Stand’, ‘I go’, ‘I am dumb’, ‘I am deaf’, ‘I think’, ‘I am not going to fight’, ‘I shall renounce’ and so on. In this way, we superimpose our mind on the Atman, which is the eternal witness. We do it the other way also by superimposing 'Self' on the mind, the non-Self. According to Sage  Sankara, the relation between mind and Self-involves mutual superimposition (itaretara-adhyasa). This relation is false since there cannot be any real relation between the Self and the non-Self. This confusion or adhyasa is innate to us and is a matter of common experience.-Adhyasa Bhashya

Sage Sankara:~  10 - Sage Sankara says, the purpose of Upanishads is to remove Adhyasa or avidya; and once it is removed, Brahman will shine of its accord, for it is the only reality. This doctrine of Sage Sankara became the nucleus for the development of the Advaita school of thought.-Adhyasa Bhashya

 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 well-being 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, a 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:~  11.3.- Sage Sankara elsewhere explains that, when such acts are performed by a person without desire for the fruits of his actions, by recognizing the reality that there is neither a “doer” nor an “object”, then that instills in him the desire for Brahma-vidya, which takes him closer to 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.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

Sage Sankara himself declares the scriptures dealing with rituals, rewards etc. are therefore, addressed to an ignorant person.+

Most of the orthodox families,  today live in the prison of superstition and dogmas.   The orthodox people expect their clan to follow a certain outdated religious code of conduct (Shastras) and live dogmatically following the traditional lifestyle. Orthodox people think that those who followed orthodox worship and rituals get Moksha.

According to Advaita Vedanta, the Veda addresses itself to 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 Brahman. 

Thus, the Purva mimam. sa, with its emphasis on the karma kanda of the Vedas, is meant for the first audience, to help lead its followers along the way. However, the Vedanta, with its emphasis on the jnana kanda, is meant for those who wish to go beyond such transient pleasures.

Their chosen path of orthodoxy is meant for the ignorant people who have a sheepish mentality and blindly accept the inherited dogmas and superstition. 

From the ultimate standpoint,  the concept of God itself is a  superstition. Thus,  all religious ideas of heaven, hell, sin, karma are mere imaginary theories meant for the ignorant people of ancient times.  

Sage Sankara said:~ Talk as much philosophy as you like, worship as many Gods as you please, observe ceremonies, and sing devotional hymns, but liberation will never come, even after a hundred aeons, without realizing the Oneness.

First Mundaka - Chapter 2 (10):~  Ignorant fools, regarding sacrifices and humanitarian works as the highest, do not know any higher good. Having enjoyed their reward on the heights of heaven, gained by good works, they enter again this world or a lower one.

It is high time to stop judging who is right and who is wrong in this unreal world instead spend the same time to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana to realize the world (Samsara) is unreal the Brahman alone is real.  

 
According to Advaita Vedanta, the Veda addresses itself to 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 Brahman. Thus, the Purva mimam. sa, with its emphasis on the karma kanda of the Vedas, is meant for the first audience, to help lead its followers along the way. However, the Vedanta, with its emphasis on the jnana kanda, is meant for those who wish to go beyond such transient pleasures.

The orthodox people are ordinary people. Thus, the ordinary ones who desire the transitory heaven and other pleasures are obtained as a result of ritual sacrifices. The karma kanda of the Vedas is meant for the ordinary audience, to help lead its followers along the way.

Remember:~

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)

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

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 well-being 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, a 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 

When  Sage Sankara himself declares the scriptures dealing with rituals, rewards, etc. are, therefore,  addressed to an ignorant person then why should one follow the path of ignorance. -Adhyasa Bhashya 

Sage Sankara: ~ Atman, the innermost self is verily Brahman (God), being equanimous, quiescent, and by nature absolute Existence, Knowledge, and Bliss. Atman is not the body that is non-existence itself. This is called true Knowledge by the wise. 

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).   

The orthodox Advaita is not the means to acquire Self –knowledge or nondual wisdom.  Those who are seeking the truth have to do their own homework to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. :~Santthosh Kumaar