Religious people believe the stories of the Jesus who raised the dead and Krishna who picked a mountain as a reality but Jesus who raised the dead and Krishna who picked a mountain within the dualistic illusion or Maya.+

Religious people believe the stories of Jesus who raised the dead and Krishna who picked a mountain as a reality but Jesus who raised the dead and Krishna who picked a mountain within the dualistic illusion or Maya. Whatever belongs to dualistic illusion or Maya is bound to be an illusion.

Mythological gods and goddesses are based on belief. The belief is not God. The worshiping belief of a religious God is superstition.  The belief implies duality. From the ultimate standpoint, the duality is merely an illusion. Thus, whatever one sees, knows, believes, and experiences within the dualistic illusion are 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 for the ignorant masses. It has to be discarded as one progresses in his spiritual advancement.

Swami Vivekananda: This bending the knee to superstitions, this selling yourself to your own mind does not befit you, the Soul. Self is infinite, deathless, and birthless. Because the Self is infinite Spirit, it does not befit you to be a slave. ... Arise! Awake! Stand up and fight! Die if you must. There is none to help you. Self is the entire world. Who can help you?

Mythology breeds superstition, blind belief, senseless rituals, and the most irrational and gives them a divine outlook.

Swami Vivekananda: ~ If superstition enters, the brain is gone. Superstition is our great enemy, but bigotry is worse.

Mythological contains stories of people with 10 with seven heads, etc., which are fables, yet are taken seriously by pundits.  All these stories are a reality within the dualistic illusion. The waking experience is a dualistic illusion.   Thus, whatever belongs to the dualistic illusion is bound to be a falsehood. In reality, there is no duality because there is only Oneness.   

That the ancient sages had miraculous occult power and books relate stories of their feats, are fairy tales were meant for children, women and those whose minds had not developed.

When ‘Self’ is not ‘you’ then whatever you have seen, known believed, and experienced as reality is bound to be an illusion. Thus, self-realization is necessary to realize your present the world in which you exist is merely an illusion. 

If the present world in which you exist is merely an illusion, then whatever you believed as a reality with the world in which you exist is bound to be an illusion.

 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 as God other than consciousness. 

Religious Gods are not  God in truth. One must know God suppose to be in truth.

Lord Krishna Says Ch ~V: ~ “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. 

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. 

Vedas and Upanishad confirm the Soul, the innermost Self, is present in the form of the Spirit or the consciousness. 

Rig Veda: ~ The Atman (Soul or Spirit) 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) 

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

The Spirit is the root element of the universe. The Spirit is present in the form of the Soul, the innermost Self. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. From the Spirit, the universe comes into existence. In the Spirit, the universe resides. And into the Spirit, the universe is dissolved. The Spirit is the parent of all that is there is. 

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

There is a clear-cut idea of God in the Vedas, Upanishad, and Bhagavad Gita. And also there is a clear-cut idea of what not to worship as God in place of real God.  Thus, it proves from the Vedic perspective the Puranic Gods are not Vedic Gods.

Vedas says never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman.

That is why 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.

Hindus assert their religion is monotheistic, even though they honor several Gods, including Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver, and Shiva the Destroyer.  Hindus claim these various Gods are all manifestations of the oneness of the universe.  Hindu religious practices vary from place to place, but they frequently include yoga, physical and mental discipline to harmonize body and the Soul, and ritual bathing.

Belief in multiple Gods, The worship of idols; they worship of images that are not God, The worship of sacred images,, ancestor worship, pilgrimage, priestcraft, the belief in avatars or incarnations of God, the hereditary caste system because all these lacks Vedic sanction.

Hinduism indulges non-Vedic beliefs such as idolatry, ancestor worship, pilgrimages, priestcraft, offerings made in temples, the caste system, untouchability, and child marriages. All these lack Vedic sanctions, therefore, Hinduism is not Ancient Vedic religion or Santana Dharma.

Realizing the universe is created out of single stuff and that single stuff is the Soul which is present in the form of consciousness leads to non-dualistic or Advaitic Self-awareness. Self-awareness is freedom or Moksha. Moksha is unity in diversity in the midst of duality.

*

It is very difficult to talk to people about the ultimate truth or Brahman because everyone thinks he knows the ultimate truth or Brahman. This I know business is dangerous.  And whatever his reached conclusion is secondhand stuff.  Therefore, accepting accumulated knowledge without verification will lead the seekers to hallucinated realization based on the ego.  One may have some flashes of truth when someone tries to indicate it through fewer words. But it takes nearer to the truth, not realization.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

The seeker of truth should not search for Guru in the world in which exists.+

The Soul, the  Self is the real Guru.  The seeker of truth should not search for Guru in the world in which exists.  Let these words be inscribed in your subconscious.

The Gurus who is well versed in the Vedas is unaware of the fact that his scriptural mastery does not qualify him for Self-realization. Scriptural mastery merely brings the egocentric attitude to the Guru, but it is no use for   Self-realization.

Scriptures deal only with the Objects, the Seen, not with the Seer. If one starts with the idea that Samsara (universe) exists, he can never see the Soul, the innermost 'Self' and because Samsara is an illusion and only ignorant people read it as a reality.

Hence, Sage Sankara says: ~ VC.63 "Without knowing and examining the external world, one can’t know Truth, as the idea that the external world exists, won't go. It can go only by an inquiry into the nature of the external world.

Sage Sankara says: ~   Keep the scriptures for children but throw them on the fire for wise seekers.

You will find your way through soulcentric reasoning.  There is no need to depend upon the scriptures. Actual realization takes you beyond the scriptures.  The scriptures become a botheration.

The Upanishad itself says that the words are only so much of distraction for such minds' A Gnani can point at the sky, but the seeing of the star is the seeker's own work.

Katha Upanishad: ~ This Atman cannot be attained by the study of the Vedas, or by intelligence, nor by much hearing of sacred books. It is attained by him alone whom It chooses. To such a one Atman reveals its own form. (Katha Upanishad Ch-II -23-P-20)

Mundaka Upanishad: ~ This Atman cannot be attained through the study of the Vedas, nor through intelligence, nor through much learning. He who chooses Atman—by him alone is Atman attained. It is Atman that reveals to the seeker Its true nature. (3 –page-70 Upanishads by Nikilanada)

Buddha: ~ Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders.

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."

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

58. Loud speech consisting of a shower of words, the skill in expounding the Scriptures, and likewise erudition - these merely bring on a little personal enjoyment to the scholar but are no good for Liberation.

59. The study of the Scriptures is useless so long as the highest Truth is unknown, and it is equally useless when the highest Truth has already been known.

60. The Scriptures consisting of many words are a dense forest that merely causes the mind to ramble. Hence, men of wisdom should earnestly set about knowing the true nature of the Self.

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?

That is why 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.

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)

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

In Vedanta the  Lord 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 says: "Not by the Vedas is Self to be realized, nor by sacrifices nor by many studies."

Scriptures are not needed in pursuit of truth. Even the Upanishads and the sages of truth declare the same. :~Santthosh Kumaar 

Knowledge of both the Matter and Spirit is Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.+

By saying I know the truth; I know Brahman is not wisdom. The Truth is found only in the Unity of understanding which is the knowledge of both the matter and spirit. That is the matter and the spirit is one in essence.  And that essence is the Spirit, which is present in the form of the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Katha Upanishad (1.2.5) says; -"Caught in the grip of ignorance, self-proclaimed experts consider themselves learned authorities. They wander about this world befooled, like the blind leading the blind."

Upanishads say:~ "He who thinks he knows, does not know." This means that to know anything implies a second, an object of knowledge, hence duality, i.e. no Gnana.

If you know what is this ‘I’? , then you will know the whole truth of the Oneness, which is hidden by the ‘I’. If you know the world which confronts you is nothing but an illusion then there is nothing else that is there for you to seek.

Sage Sankara says you must first know what is before you. If you cannot know that, what else can you know or understand? If you give up the external world in your inquiry, you cannot get the whole truth.

That is why Sage Sankara says:~ ~ VC 63. Without causing the objective universe to vanish and without knowing the truth of the Self, how is one to achieve Liberation by the mere utterance of the word Brahman? — It would result merely in an effort of speech.

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

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

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

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

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

The Soul is the Self, the Soul is present in the form of consciousness. Consciousness is the root element of the universe. From consciousness, the universe comes into existence. In consciousness, the universe resides. And into the consciousness, the universe is dissolved.   The consciousness is the parent of all that is there is.

The sun, the moon, the stars, planets shine because of the Soul or Spirit. The Soul shines and all things else shine as a result. Everything in the universe reflects but that light of the Soul which is present in the form of consciousness. Merely knowing the truth is not enough to escape from the tangle of illusion.

The mind is in the form of the universe. From the standpoint of the Soul, the  Self, the universe is merely an illusion.  The illusion arises from ignorance. Enlightenment comes with detachment from the illusion by realizing the experience of the form, time and space are one in essence. :~Santthosh Kumaar

Sage Sankara:~ Karma cannot destroy ignorance +

Sage Sankara:~   “Action (karma)  cannot destroy ignorance, for it is not in conflict with or opposed to ignorance. Knowledge does verily destroy ignorance as light destroys deep darkness”. ~ Atma Bodha

The Soul the 'Self' has no karma because it is ever formless, timeless and spaceless existence. The Soul the 'Self' has no sorrow. The Soul the 'Self ' has no craving. The Soul the  'Self' is unchanging awareness. The Soul the  'Self'  is present in the form of consciousness is everywhere and in everything in all three states. 

Sage Sankara says clearly, the universe is not real. He says that Brahman and Atman are one. The ultimate and the Absolute Truth is the ‘Self’, which is one though appearing as many in different individuals. The individual has no reality. Only the ‘Self’ is Real; the rest, mental and physical are but passing appearances, then it indicates the form (waking) is unreal the formless is real (Soul).  Therefore, only Atman is real because there is no second thing other than Atman.

Sage  Sankara also clearly mentions that:-

The path of religion, the theory of karma, the path of yoga and the path of wisdom were intended for different classes of people. The wisdom is for the advanced seekers of truth. It deals with the nature of the ultimate truth or the ultimate Reality. It is meant for superior aspirants who have the inner urge to know the truth and it is not for those who are immersed in earthly desires.

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

It means the people who follow religion and worship of guru and conceptual God and believe in karma theory are lower and middling intellect.  But in this modern world, people are sharp enough to understand and assimilate the ultimate truth or Brahman or god. Thus, it is high time to discard the lower knowledge and move ahead to realize the ultimate truth, which is Brahman or God in truth.   

Religious people believe the Karma theory is a universal theory.  The Karma theory is a religious and yogic fable.

The Karma theory is a universal theory for those who believe the dualistic illusion as a reality.  The karma is a reality only for those who believe the false ‘Self’ (ego or you) as the real ‘Self’ and the false experience (waking or universe) as a  reality.

The Karma theory is a reality for those who believe the experience, the form, time and space as a reality.  Karma theory is a reality for those who believe in individualized God.  The Karma theory is a reality for those who believe in the experience of birth, life, death, and rebirth, and the world as a reality.  

The karma performed in the dream becomes unreal when the waking takes place. Similarly, the waking karma becomes unreal when wisdom dawns. The karma theory is the universal theory when the karma is limited to the waking experience alone. 

The wisdom dawns when you (doer of karma) realize you are not the ‘Self’, but the ‘Self’ is the formless Soul.  Thus all theories based on you (form) are falsehood because the Soul, the ‘Self’ is ever formless, timeless and spaceless existence.

If the ‘Self’ is not the waking entity but the ‘Self’ is formless Soul then how anyone can accept the theory of karma, which is based on false ‘Self’ within the false experience.

Thus,  whatever theories are based on the false ‘Self’ (waking entity or ego) and false experience (waking or world) is bound to be the falsehood.   

Karma is a reality only for those who are stuck with the reality of practical life within the practical world because they have accepted the world as a reality. 

Thus,  without knowing what witnesses the coming and going, of the three states how can one say the karma theory is the universal theory when karma is limited to the waking experience alone.  

If the ‘Self’ is not the waking entity but the ‘Self’ is formless Soul then how anyone can accept the theory of karma, which is based on false ‘Self’ within the false experience.

Thus,  whatever theories are based on the false ‘Self’ (waking entity or ego) and false experience (waking or world) is bound to be the falsehood.   

Karma is a reality only for those who are stuck with the reality of the practical life within the practical world because they have accepted the world as reality. 

Remember:

What is the doer, what is the enjoyer, what is a cessation of thought and rising of thought, what is immediate perception and its result, to the Soul, the innermost ‘Self’, the ever impersonal?  

What is the world, what is meant by the aspirant for liberation; what is the contemplative man and what is a man of knowledge; what is the Soul in bondage and what is liberated Soul to the innermost ‘Self', which is ever formless and non-dual.   

What is Prarabdha Karmas, what is even liberation in life, and what is that and where is liberation at death for the Soul, the  ‘Self', which is ever attributeless? 

The nearest state to understand the Soul by itself is to eliminate the whole waking experience, as in deep sleep. Once this is grasped one has to understand that the three states are Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, that Soul or consciousness is the ‘Self’. 

Whether the karma theory existed prior to Buddhism or time immemorial is not the question. Karma theory is based on the form, time and space whereas the ultimate truth or Brahman is based on formless, timeless and spaceless existence. Thus, one has to decide whether the ‘Self’ is in the form of ‘Self’ is formless. If ‘Self’ is the form then karma theory has value but if the ‘Self’ is formless then the karma theory has no value.

Deeper self-search reveals the fact that the karma theory is meant for those who are immersed in worldly life thinking the individual life within the particle world as reality. In the path of the truth, the karma theory becomes a great obstacle in realizing the truth. 

The person who bases on the birth, life, and death is trying to find the meaning of life. There is no meaning or purpose of life because life is mere happening within the dualistic illusion.  Thus,  the karma theory based on the physical entity is based on the birth, life, and death, which is part and parcel of the dualistic illusion. 

Even Sage Sankara indicates in Aparokshanubhuti:~

   88. When the whole universe, movable and immovable, is known to be Atman, and thus the existence of everything else is negated, where is then any room to say that the body is Atman?

   89. O enlightened one, pass your time always contemplating on Atman while you are experiencing all the results of Prarabdha; for it ill becomes you to feel distressed.

   90. The theory one hears from the scripture, that Prarabdha does not lose its hold upon one even after the origination of the knowledge of Atman, is now being refuted.

   91. After the origination of the knowledge of Reality, Prarabdha verily ceases to exist, inasmuch as the body and the like become non-existent; just as a dream does not exist on waking.

   92. That Karma which is done in a previous life is known as Prarabdha (which produces the present life). But such Karma cannot take the place of Prarabdha (for a man of knowledge), as he has no other birth (being free from ego).

   93. Just as the body in a dream is superimposed (and, therefore, illusory), so is also this body. How could there be any birth of the superimposed (body), and in the absence of birth (of the body) where is the room for that (i.e., Prarabdha) at all?

  94. The Vedanta texts declare ignorance to be verily the material (cause) of the phenomenal world just as the earth is of a jar. That (ignorance) being destroyed, where can the universe subsist?

   95. Just as a person out of confusion perceives only the snake leaving aside the rope, so does an ignorant person see only the phenomenal world without knowing the reality?

   96. The real nature of the rope being known, the appearance of the snake no longer persists; so the substratum being known, the phenomenal world disappears completely.

   97. The body also being within the phenomenal world (and, therefore, unreal), how could Prarabdha exist? It is, therefore, for the understanding of the ignorant alone that the Shruti speaks of Prarabdha.

   98. “And all the actions of a man perish when he realizes that (Atman) which is both the higher and the lower”. Here the clear use of the plural by the Shruti is to negate Prarabdha as well.

   99. If the ignorant still arbitrarily maintain this, they will not only involve themselves into two absurdities but will also run the risk of forgoing the Vedantic conclusion. So one should accept those Shrutis alone from which proceeds true knowledge.

The above proves that karma is a reality only on the base of false self within the false experience, where one thinks practical life within the practical world as reality or the universes as reality whereas the practical life within the practical world is merely an illusion from the ultimate standpoint.   When one becomes aware of the fact that, the true Selfs formless Soul, then the karma becomes part and parcel of illusion. 

  My point is that, if one accepts the karma theory as reality, he will never be able to come out of ignorance. And ignorance makes him believe the cycle of birth, life, and death as a reality.  Thus, the freedom which one is seeking will remain a distant dream. For the one who accepts the birth, life,  and death as a reality, Self-knowledge is impossible.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

There is no need to condemn Gurus, but there is need highlight how they become an obstacle in realizing the ultimate truth or Brahman.+

The Saints and Gurus belong to the religion and yogic path it is nothing to with the Gnanic path. Saints and Gurus were meant for the welfare of the society to maintain love, harmony, and guidance to the ignorant populace.     

Most of the Saints and Gurus of the past are mostly social reformers, thus they are more concerned with the humanism rather than the truth. Their contribution is very valuable to the populace within the practical world.  Thus, humanism is part and parcel of the universe, which is an illusion from the Advaitic perspective.  

Many Gurus glorified the ‘I’ in the past. People got emotionally stuck with their Gurus worshipping them as Gods and got entangled with studying the life and happenings of their Guru when their Gurus were alive. They forgot their main goal of discovering the truth of their true existence.  This following Gurudom trend is still continuing.

Yoga Vasistha says: ~ Self-knowledge or knowledge of truth is not had by resorting to a Guru (preceptor) nor by the study of scripture, nor by good works: it is attained only by means of inquiry inspired by the company of wise (Gnani). One’s inner light alone is the means, naught else. When this inner light is kept alive, it is not affected by the darkness of inertia. 

There is no need to condemn Gurus, but there is a need to highlight how they become an obstacle in realizing the ultimate truth or Brahman.

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

The Guru is useless so long as the ultimate truth is unknown, and Guru is equally useless when the ultimate truth or Brahman has already been known.

A Guru is needed in the religious and the yogic path.  There is no need for a Guru to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

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. The Gurudom is meant for the first audience, to help lead its followers along the way. The Atmic path is meant for those who wish to go beyond the domain of the form, time,  and space  

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. 

The Atmic path is straight. One travels from the ignorance to wisdom by perfect understanding of ‘what is what’. 

The search for the truth of our true existence ends in the discovery of the Soul, the innermost ‘Self’.   When the form, time, and space are created out of single stuff then there is no division in consciousness.  The Soul is the fullness of consciousness without the division of the form, time,  and space.

It is erroneous to identify the Soul, the innermost Self as 'I' or 'I AM' because the Soul, the Self is not 'I' or I AM’. The Soul, the  ‘Self’  is that witness of the 'I'.

The ‘I’ is not the expression of the fullness of consciousness.

 The ‘I’ is the cause of the division within consciousness.

The ‘I’ is ignorance.

The ‘I’ is the cause of experiencing the dualistic illusion as a reality.

The ‘I’ is the cause of the experience of birth death and the world.

The ‘I’ is the cause of the form, time, and space.

The ‘I’ is the cause of the universe.

The ‘I’ is the cause of the three states.

The ‘I’ is the cause of the mind.

Remember:~ 

Without The ‘I’ is the fullness of consciousness.

 Without The ‘I’ there is no division within consciousness.

Without the ‘I’ there is no ignorance.

Without the ‘I’ there is no dualistic illusion.

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

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

Without The ‘I’ there is no universe.

Without the ‘I’ there are no three states.

The ‘I’ is the cause of the mind.

People try all kinds of paths and practices in order to get ‘Self’-realization. Realizing the ‘‘Self’ ‘is not you but the ‘Self’ is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness is ‘Self’-realization'. Consciousness is the cause of the world in which you exist and it itself is uncaused.

Consciousness is pure, flawless and full, beyond the form, time, and space. Consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman. Consciousness is beyond all limitations of form, time, and space. :~Santthosh Kumaar