People study Vedanta and they under the delusion and concludes that they declare:~ I Am-Brahman.+

People study Vedanta and they under the delusion and concludes that they declare:~   "I-Am-Brahman" but they fail to realize the fact that Brahman is everywhere and in everything! The existence of Brahman is not limited to his physical identity, because, it the very essence of the form, time, and space.

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

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 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.

The ‘I’ is ignorance. Till one hold the ‘I’ as the ‘Self’, it is impossible to acquire ‘Self’-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.  Thus,   the seeker has to get rid of the ignorance, which is present in the form of ‘I’, in order to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman. 

What is this ‘I’?

The ‘I’ is not a thought.  The ‘I’ is the mind. The mind is the whole universe.  The universe appears as waking or dream (duality and disappears as deep sleep (nonduality).  The one that appears as waking or dream (duality) and disappears as deep sleep (nonduality) is the Soul, the ‘Self’. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. The consciousness pervades everything and everywhere in all three states.

Without knowing what mind is, it is impossible to realize the truth, which is beyond the form, time and space.  People think the mind is within the body but deeper Self-search reveals the fact that the world in which you exist itself is the mind. When the ‘I’ is there then only the mind is there. If the mind is there then only the universe is there. If the universe is there then only the waking is there.  Thus, it is very much necessary to realize the ‘what ‘I’ is in actuality.  Without knowing ‘what is this ‘I’ it is impossible to realize the ‘I-less’ truth, which is beyond the form, time and space.

Till you hold the ‘‘Self’ ‘as the ‘I’ you will never be able to get ‘Self’-realization.  ‘I’ hides the Soul, which is the ‘Self’. ‘

I’ is ignorance.

‘I’ is the duality.

‘I’ is form, time, and space.

‘I’ is the universe.

‘I’ is the waking.

‘I’ is the dream.

‘I’ is the illusion.

‘I’ is the experience of birth, life, death, and the world.

But 

Without the ‘I’ there is no ignorance.

Without the ‘I’ there is no duality.

Without the ‘I’ there is no form, time, and space.

Without the ‘I’ there is no universe.

Without the ‘I’ there is no waking.

Without the ‘I’ there is no dream.

Without the ‘I’ there is no illusion.

Without the ‘I’ there is no experience of birth, life, death and the world.

The ‘I’ hides Soul, the God in truth.

That is why Ashtavakra Gita 16:10:~ If you desire liberation, but you still say ‘I,’, If you feel the ‘‘Self’’ is the ‘I’, you are not a wise man or a seeker. You are simply a man who suffers.

Bhagavad Gita: ~ The permanent is always there, only the transient ‘I’ comes and goes. (2.18)

It is time to discard the ‘I’. Never use the word the ‘I’ or I AM for the ‘Self’.  :~Santthosh Kumaar  

The ‘Self’ is not ‘you’ because the ‘Self’ is the Soul, the God in truth.+

The ‘Self’ is not ‘you’ because the ‘Self’ is God in truth.  You are not the ‘Self’ therefore,  you are not God.  The world, in which you exist, is a dualistic illusion. Whatever belongs to dualistic illusion is bound to be an illusion, not God.   God cannot be brought down to the domain of duality. The Soul is the  Self, therefore, the Soul is God in truth.

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

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.

Bible says: ~ “God is a Spirit, and they that worship God must worship God  in spirit and in truth (John 4:24)”,

Mythreyi Upanishad 2:26 says: ~ “All those who desire to have salvation without taking several births, should worship God in spirit and truth”.  

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

Religious Gods are based on blind belief. Religious God cannot be considered as the center because the Soul and the ‘Self,’ is the center of all that exists. Without the Soul the world in which you exist ceases to exist, which means the religious God is dependent on the Soul for his existence.

Mythological stories are a myth. Mythological Gods are a myth. Worshipping mythological heroes as God produces only myth.  There is a need to realize ‘what God is supposed to be in actuality'.  Religion has been very influential. Mythology is a synthesis. They are more concerned with synthesis than with truth. The attraction for synthesis is so strong that people accept it blindly without verifying its validity.

Mythology 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 mythology. It is difficult to find anyone who does not take solace from mythology. But for such people ‘Self’-Realization will prove very difficult.

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

 Thus, there is no other God other than Atman. Thus, from the Vedic perspective,   the Atman alone is God; never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman?"

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

No conceptual God can exist, apart from consciousness. People are not aware of the fact that there is no individual God that can exist, apart from the soul, which is in the form of consciousness. Thus, the soul or consciousness is the true self.   If there is no consciousness, then there is no physical body, no ego, no universe, no religion, and no conceptual God.

The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad declares: "He who worships the deities as entities entirely separate from him does not know the truth. For God, he is like a pasu (beast)". (1. 4. 10)

That is why Sage Sankara VC~.61. For one who has been bitten by the serpent of Ignorance, the only remedy is the knowledge of Brahman. Of what avail are the Vedas and (other) Scriptures, Mantras (sacred formulae), and medicines to such a one?

Sickness is not cured by saying the word “medicine.” You must take the medicine. Ignorance will not vanish does not come by merely saying the word “God nor by worshiping God of belief.  First one must know what God is supposed to be.  God must be realized. One must know God in truth.  

Perfect undemanding and assimilation of ‘what is what’ leads to Truth-realization, truth realization itself is Self-realization. Self-realization itself is God-realization. God-realization itself is real worship. :~Santthosh Kumaar 

It all depends on the seekers sincerity, patience, and seriousness to realize the Advaitic truth.+

Advaitic Gnana removes ignorance.  It all depends on the seeker's sincerity, patience, and seriousness to realize the Advaitic truth, which is beyond form, time, and space.

Bhagavan Buddha: - There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth: not going all the way... and not starting.

All accumulated knowledge is of no use in the path of wisdom. Without realizing “What is the truth it is impossible to realize “What is the untruth.  Without realizing what is the truth? and what is untruth it is impossible to assimilate the Self–Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.  The seeker must know with full and firm conviction what truth is.

That is why Bhagavan Buddha said: ~ “Believe nothing because a wise man said it, Believe nothing because it is generally held. Believe nothing because it is written. Believe nothing because it is said to be divine. Believe nothing because someone else said it. But believe only what you yourself judge to be true”.

Wisdom consists in knowing the truth, that everything (mind or physical existence) is consciousness.  The freedom (ultimate truth) is always there yet one does not know it.  But to those whose reason is turned away from physicality and who have attained the serenity of the Soul or the consciousness, the Self, is quite near to realizing the ultimate truth or Brahman. 

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

A Gnani watches the seeker's steps until he or she is mature enough to be on their own. A person who realized the ultimate truth or Brahman will throw off his religious robe and all religious identity and live like a commoner. He never identifies himself as Gnani nor does he identify himself as superior to others. He only shares his knowledge with fellow seekers.

A Gnani never identifies himself as a Guru or a Yogi or someone disciple.  The one who accepts himself as a Guru or someone’s disciple is not a Gnani.

Ashtavakra Samhita: ~ "The man of knowledge (Gnani), though living like an ordinary man, is contrary to him and only those like him understand his state.

A Gnani can point at the sky, but the seeing of the star is the seeker's own work.

Katha Upanishads: ~ This Atman is attained by him alone whom It chooses. To such a one Atman reveals its own form. ( II -23-P-20)

All the chosen ones will get freedom from experiencing the illusion (duality) as a reality.  You are the chosen one.

Millions are searching for truth, but one in million will realize it.  If you are the truth seeker then you are one from that million. :~Santthosh  Kumaar   

In reality, there is no duality, no differentiation. Only Atman exists.+

The mystic who sees God in vision has seen Him during the waking state. The waking experience itself is an illusion. Thus, whatever is seen within the illusion is bound to be an illusion. 

Thus, it is necessary for the mystic to realize his existence is a reality within the illusion.  Whatever belief of God one is familiar with through his inherited conditioning or samskara that he will see in his visions.  When a man is a false self within the false experience, then whatever he believes is bound to be a falsehood. 

God is the Soul, the Self.  The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. God is not within you, but you and your experience of the world are within God.  ‘Self’-realization is God-realization because the Soul the innermost ‘Self’ itself’ is God.  When you and your experience of the world disappear, then God alone prevails as a formless, timeless, and spaceless existence. 

There is neither Shiva nor Shakti but only consciousness. The consciousness is real God. 

Bhagavad Gita: ~ Brahmano hi pratisthaham ~ Brahman (God) 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 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 ‘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)

No dualities, no differentiation. Only Atman exists. Let us see in the words of Bhagavan  Krishna:~

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"

Sage Goudpada: ~ "There's no plurality here"; "The God (Atman) through his powers appears to be many"; "those who are attached to creation or production or origination go to utter darkness"; "the unborn is never reborn, for who can produce God (Atman)?".

The orthodox people are more enslaved than others because they live in ‘Self’-imposed prison. A householder may have a little freedom, but the Gurus, Yogis Saints are more stuck with their own idea of truth than others. Orthodoxies are just blind followers of tradition. They cannot move freely, they cannot sit freely, and they cannot live freely.

Many people pretend they are ‘Self’-realized just by being orthodox one cannot get Gnana.  Yogi practices Samadhi he will not get rid of the ignorance. Everyone has their own idea of Gnana.

The most important thing is that neither society nor politics nor any religion have anything to do with the ultimate truth or Brahman. ‘Self’ –Knowledge helps the seeker transcend emotion, transcending form, time, and space. Perhaps this is why the Atmic path, has not had much impact.

Mythological stories are a myth. Mythological Gods are a myth. Worshipping mythological heroes as God produces only myth.  There is a need to realize ‘what God is supposed to be in actuality'.  Religion has been very influential. Mythology is a synthesis. They are more concerned with synthesis than with truth. The attraction for synthesis is so strong that people accept it blindly without verifying its validity.

Mythology 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 mythology. It is difficult to find anyone who does not take solace from mythology. But for such people ‘Self’-Realization will prove very difficult.

Nondual truth is not for synthesis – it is an uncontradictable truth and it is the ultimate truth. Nondual truth just as it is, without any artifice or coloring.

The knower of nondual truth is not concerned about the listener, he does not care whether his listener will understand or not. The pure expression of truth comes from the source of his existence. 

From the standpoint of the Soul, the ‘Self’: ~

There is nothing to accept,

Nothing to reject,

Nothing to hold on to,

Nothing to let go of,

Nothing to grasp,

Nothing to spurn,

Nothing to embrace,

Nothing to relinquish,

Nothing to dissolve

Because the Soul is free from the illusory form, time, and space. Only within the dualistic illusion, the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness is caught up in the illusory experience of the form, time, and space.   This is the truth.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

Buddhist do not believe in the existence of the Athma. Buddhist believe in emptiness and they fail to realize the emptiness is the nature of the Athma.+

Dalai Lama said: ~ Buddhism need not be the best religion though it is most scientific and religion and inquisitive. But Buddhism has no answer to certain questions like the existence of Atama (Soul) and rebirth. Dali Lama said that as an individual he believes in rebirth as he had come across a few cases of rebirth. Modern science, Dalai Lama hoped would unearth the mystery behind the rebirth. (In DH –dec-212009-Gulbarga)

The Upanishads have the answer to the existence of the Atama.

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

Advaita is the next step higher than Buddhism because it gives the missing reason, viz. unity, non-difference from others, and because it explains that it used the concept of removing the sufferings of others, of lifting them up to happiness, only as we use one thorn to pick out another, afterward throw both away. Similarly, Advaita discards both concepts of misery and happiness in the ultimate standpoint of non-duality, which is indescribable.

Sage Sankara disagrees with Buddhists who say, there is nothing - a nonentity. Sage Sankara believes there is some reality, even though things are not what they appear to be. If one knows the truth, he will know what to do to find inspiration for action. The seeker of truth‘s subject is to know what is it that is Real.

Buddhism says:~ All things are illusory and nothing exists. However, Advaita avers that it is not so. It says that the universe, of course, is illusory, but there is Brahman (consciousness), that exists forming the very substratum of all things (illusion or universe).

Advaita is very different from Buddhism. Advaita regards consciousness as permanent and all-pervading while Buddhists regard it as momentary. Madhyamikas regard that a non-existent entity can appear in perception like it does in the snake in the rope illusion.

Buddhism has not proved the truth of Nonduality because Buddhists do not believe in the existence of the Athma. Buddhist believe in emptiness and they fail to realize that emptiness is the nature of the Athma. 

Bhagavan Buddha pointed out the unreality of the world, and Advaitic Sages agree. Bhagavan Buddha told people they were foolish to cling to it. But he stopped there. He came nearest to Vedanta in speech but not to Vedanta fully.

Only when we independently search for the truth without religion and its doctrine then we will be able to realize the truth beyond form, time, and space.

Unless one exercises his Buddhi--reason--there is no chance of getting the ultimate truth or Brahman.   

Buddhism is not Bhagavan Buddha's wisdom because Bhagavan Buddha's wisdom is lost in diverse Buddhist theories. Bhagavan Buddha is not the founder of Buddhism because Bhagavan  Buddha rejected religion, the religious idea of God, and the scriptures.

Advatic wisdom does not belong to neither   Buddhism nor Hinduism because Advatic wisdom is pure spirituality. Buddhism and Hinduism are based on form, time, and space whereas Advatic wisdom is based on the Athma (Spirit), which formless, timeless, and spaceless existence. 

Remember:~

You cannot live without the physical world; it is the basis of your life, so it must be the starting point of your inquiry. Things, not imaginations, must be the truth seeker's material.

Without knowing the nature of the world in which you exist, it is impossible to know the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space. What is the use of trying to find our inner Self before we understand the world, which confronts us?  You have to realize the fact that, this world that confronts you is also consciousness. 

If you do not make his induction from facts from the world before you, then you are only drawing on your imaginations. By saying the  ‘Self’ is like this, or like that." but it will be only your imagination.

You must inquire into the nature of the ‘I’ i.e. matter. Second, he must inquire into the nature of the Soul, the innermost Self. To say the world in which you exist as an illusion without first examining them and inquiring into them thoroughly is to delude yourself.

This world is common to all of us, therefore you must begin our inquiry with it and not avoid it. It is only after you have inquired into the nature of the objective world, that you should inquire into who is the knower. If, however,  you inquire into the knower before the inquiry into the world in which you exist, then it is mere mysticism.

‘What is this world?’ must precede ‘What is this I? in the Atmic path.

Look at everything in its essence because in everything there is consciousness.  You should not avoid them, do not shut your eyes to the world in which you exist; do not shut yourself away from the world which is as much consciousness, as anywhere else.

Those who are weak and those who are not sharp enough to grasp the truth beyond the form, time, and space advise others to be non-observant and to withdraw.  Soulcentric reasoning will help, not hinder your pursuit of truth.  There is no need to run away from worldly life in ascetic fear or shyness of them.

The 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 the world in which he exists, he knows nothing.  Yoga cannot remove ignorance. It is only a step. It removes obstructions.

Sage Sankara definitely says: ~ Yoga is not the means of liberation. (pages 132-133 of his commentary on Brihadaranyakopanishad).

In Sutra Bashya and Manduka: ~ Samadhi and sleep are identical.

Brihad Upanishad does not advocate Samadhi.

Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana cannot come if anything is left out. The whole universe must be included. For only when all is known can all be known to be but ideation. Hence,  yogis blotting all out in Samadhi cannot lead to Gnana.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

Whatever is seen, whether external or internal, whether by the ordinary persons or yogis, is unreal.+

You exist within the world.  The world in which you exist is present only when the mind is present.  The mind is present only when the ‘I’ is present. So, how can you limit ‘I’ only to you when ‘I’ is the world in which you exist? Without the ‘I’ the world, in which you exist cease to exist.

Think deeply, reason deeply then only you will be able to realize ‘what is what’. Without realizing ‘what is what’ you will never be able to realize ‘what is the truth and ‘what is untruth’?

Yogi may see a hill in his Yoga, but how does he know that hill is Brahman? 

Sage Goudapada’s rational exposition of Advaita: ~ Whatever is seen, whether external or internal, whether by the ordinary persons or yogis, is unreal

First of all, you must give the meaning of Brahman!

A madman can say, “This rock is an elephant.” So until he defines an elephant we cannot say what he means.

It is no use seeing the personal God everywhere. You must see the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness everywhere, and then you will be able to treat the world in which you exist as consciousness.

First, you must know what God is supposed to be.

There is a clear-cut idea in the scriptures, what supposed to be God. And what not to worship in place of God then why worship the belief of God, which is not God in truth.

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.

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)

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 innermost 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. God cannot be seen directly by anyone. God pervades all beings and all directions. 

Thus, Idolatry does not find any support from the Vedas.

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

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

Vedas itself declares: 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.:~Santthosh Kumaar