The body, ego and the world are present only when the mind is present.+

The body, ego, and the world are present only when the mind is present. The mind is present in the form of the ‘I’.  The ‘I’ is present only when the mind is present. The mind is present in the form of the universe. The universe appears as the waking or the dream (duality) and disappears as deep sleep (nonduality).

It is erroneous to limit the ‘I’ only to the ego.  Without the ‘I’ the universes in which you exist cease to exist. Therefore, the ‘I’ is the whole universe.

The Self is not within the body, but the Self is hidden within the world, in which they exist.

The formless Soul is the innermost Self. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. The consciousness is one and undifferentiated. The dual and non-dual experiences (waking or dream (duality) and deep sleep (nonduality) are merely an illusion created out of consciousness. In Self-awareness, the Soul withdraws the three states into itself and remains in its awareness in the midst of the dualistic illusion or Maya. The Soul is indeed the Self —luminous. 

All accumulated knowledge is mental Garbage is of no use in the quest for truth. The seeker has to discard all the accumulated knowledge and start afresh.

Perfect understanding of ‘what is what’ through deeper thinking and reasoning helps to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

The Truth is very simple, but it is very difficult to grasp because of ignorance. You have to only realize the world in which you exist is created out of single clay. And that single clay is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Thus, you and your body and the world in which you exist are nothing but consciousness because they are merely an illusion created out of consciousness. A perfect understanding of ‘what is what’ is needed.

A Gnani can point at the sky, but the seeing of the star is the seeker's own work.  It is necessary to reflect on the same truth again and again till it becomes a reality. One needs to constantly reflect on the subject until he gets a firm conviction of what is what. Words are needed until one gets a firm conviction of ‘what is what’. People need reading and hearing the words of wisdom think reason and reflect deeply and reaching the ultimate end. :~Santthosh Kumaar 

Only on the dualistic perspective there is meaning in life. On nondualistic perspective, the life is meaningless.+

There is no meaning of life from the standpoint of the Soul, the innermost Self because the world, in which you exist, is merely an illusion created out of the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. The one which is born, live, and dies is not the Self.   

You are bound by birth, life, and death so you are not the ‘Self’ because the ‘Self is the Soul, which is birthless and deathless because it is the ever formless, timeless, and spaceless existence. 

Only the false self (ego or you),  thinks there is a meaning of life within the dualistic illusion because of ignorance.  Without the Soul the world in which we exist ceases to exist the Soul, which is the cause of the dualistic illusion (the world in which we exist) and it itself is uncaused.  The Soul is the only reality that is the basis of our illusory existence in which we experience our birth, life, death, and the world as a reality. 

The birth, life-death, and the world are part of the waking experience, which is merely an illusion from the standpoint of the true Self (consciousness).  It is no use of saying that, we are not born, we do not die because we all were born and we all are going to die. However, birth, life, death, and the world are part of the illusion, which comes and goes as a waking experience.  

The formless substance and witness of the three states is real, which is our true identity.   The 'Self'  which is in the form of consciousness has no birth and death. 

When there is no scope for two in reality. Only from the dualistic perspective, there is meaning in life. From the non-dualistic perspective, life is meaningless. :~Santthosh Kumaar   

Lord Krishna: ~So one sees even in those ancient days people did not care for Advaita; they wanted religion; hence Gnana got lost.+

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."

The rituals mentioned in the karmakanda of the Vedas are sought to be negated in the jnanakanda which is also part of the same scripture. While the karmakanda enjoins upon you the worship of various deities and lays down rules for the same, the jnanakanda constituted by the Upanishads ridicules the worshipper of deities as a dim-witted person no better than a beast.

 This seems strange, the latter part of the Vedas contradicting the former part. The first part deals throughout with karma while the second or concluding part is all about jnana. Owing to this difference, people have gone so far as to divide our scripture into two sections: the Vedas (that is the first part) to mean the karmakanda and the Upanishads (Vedanta) to mean the jnanakanda.

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)

It is clear that liberation cannot be the result of good works, for Sruti itself declares that there is no hope for immortality by means of wealth.  (Verses -7)

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) VivekaChudamani v 56, pg 25

Lord Krishna confesses that the oldest wisdom of India ( Advaitic 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 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." 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 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.

There is no need for any practice to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.  Perfect understanding assimilation of ‘what is what’ is very much necessary to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman, which is God in truth.

Sage Sankara: ~ VC~"All this universe which through ignorance appears as of diverse forms, is nothing else but Brahman which is absolutely free from all the limitations of Maya.

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.

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.

Those who lack the intelligence to discriminate between formless witness (subject) and three states (object) will not be able to grasp what is real and what is unreal. Both subject and object are the consciousness, not subject alone. :~Santthosh Kumaar 

ZEN Satori is not highest Advaitic or non-dualistic Gnana,+

ZEN Satori is not the highest Advaitic or non-dualistic Gnana because it comes as flashes, it does not depend on seeing the world and does not depend upon mental sharpness so much as intuition. Zen Buddhists are only mystics--they do not offer proof. How is their main method different from that of Christian mystics, Hindu mystics, all of whom do not seek to prove by reason, but by "I know," intuition?

Zen is quite alright in mentioning non-duality: it is the nearest to true Advaita, but nevertheless, it is still inferior because it fails to prove non-duality, it illogically gives koan exercises as a means of attaining That which is beyond attainment, because always here, and it talks of insight or intuition to see Reality when sight involves a second thing, duality.

Zen gives a high important place to meditation practice. The truth is that Zen advocates the necessity of meditation for those of its adherents who cannot grasp the absolute truth.

ZEN is also on this lower stage of Yoga because it depends on flashes of Intuition gained by meditation, not by reasoning. :~Santthosh Kumaar 

Self-discovery is the only way to unfold the mystery of the ‘I’, which hides the truth.+

Upanishads: ~ “They alone in this world are endowed with the highest wisdom who are firm in their conviction of the sameness and birthlessness of Atman. The ordinary man does not understand their way. (Chapter IV ~ Alatasanti Prakarana 95-P-188 in Upanishads by Nikilanada)

Therefore, if one is seeking the truth he has to know the Self is not the ‘I’ but it is the Soul, which is in the form of the consciousness. 

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”. 

Buddha rejected the religion, the idea of God, scriptures, and even Sage Sankara indicated that the ultimate truth lies beyond religion, the concept of God and scriptures.

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.

There is only one Reality to be known, the same for all the seekers, but the ways to it, are hidden by the religion.  Self-discovery is the only way to unfold the mystery of the ‘I’, which hides the truth.

There is no need to study religious doctrines or indulge in rituals or glorifying the Gods and gurus.

The seekers are trying to unfold the mystery of the dualistic illusion in which seekers are searching for the truth of their true existence.

The beliefs of God, religion, yoga are based on the false self, is nothing to do with the mental (inner) journey.   The religious, rituals, worships, prayers God and guru glorification may be useful in the worldly life, for those who believe in the birth, life, death, and the world as reality, but they are not useful tools in realizing the ultimate truth. On the base of consciousness (Soul) as Self, everything other than consciousness is an illusion.  Thus, man and his experience of the world and his belief of God and religion are part and parcel of the mirage created out of consciousness. 

Arguing with believers is fruitless. Belief in tradition and scripture as if they were true or factual quite clearly is delusion, but the payoff for holding such delusions is, for those who hold them, extremely compelling--the avoidance of the "wrath of God," the hope of heaven or salvation, or the imagined "end of suffering."

Mentally reducing the universe as the waking and waking as the mind and mind as the consciousness leads to Self-awareness.  The universe, the waking, and the mind are one and the same thing.

Without the mind, the universe ceases to exist. Without the universe, the waking ceases to exist.  Without the Soul or consciousness, the mind, the universe, and the waking cease to exist.

Perfect understanding of 'what is what' is very much necessary to realize the formless, timeless and spaceless truth.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

When you reduce everything as consciousness then there is nothing exists there is only Advaita.+

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.

Only through deeper self-search do beginners and intermediates gradually become aware ‘what is what’. Only after they have realized the fact that the ‘Self’ is not ‘I’ but the ‘Self’ is the Soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness,  they are ready for the inner journey towards reality, which is beyond the form, time, and space.

Upanishad: ~ “They alone in this world are endowed with the highest wisdom who are firm in their conviction of the sameness and birthlessness of Atman. The ordinary man does not understand their way. (Chapter IV — Alatasanti Prakarana 95-P-188 in Upanishads by Nikilanada)

If you are seeking truth you have to know the ‘Self’ is not you but the ‘Self’ is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

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. 

Sage Sankara says: - 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.

People refuse to accept anything other than their Gurus words. For them, their Gurus words are the ultimate truth. They do not accept anything else other than their accepted truth. There is no need to convince such a mindset.

Such mindsets are not fit to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. The seekers of truth accept only the truth nothing but the uncontradictable truth.

First Mundaka - Chapter 2 (8):~  Fools, dwelling in darkness, but wise in their own conceit and puffed up with vain scholarship, wander about, being afflicted by many ills, like blind men led by the blind.

Mentally reduce the universe as the consciousness by realizing the universe is nothing but an illusion created out of consciousness.

Mentally reduce the three states as the consciousness by realizing the three states is nothing but an illusion created out of consciousness.

Mentally reduce the form, time, and space as the consciousness by realizing the form, time and space are nothing, but an illusion created out of consciousness.

Mentally reduce your body, ego, and the world, in which you exist as the consciousness by realizing your body, ego, and the world, in which you exist is nothing but an illusion created out of the consciousness. 

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 you reduce everything as consciousness then there is nothing that exists other than the Advaita. The nature of the consciousness is Advaita.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

Chandogya Upanishad :~ God is only one without a second.+

Chandogya Upanishad Chapter: ~ekam evaditiyam- God is only one without a second. (6- Section- 2- Verse- 1)

Swethaswethara Upanishad:~ Na casya kasuj Janita na cadhipah, which means of him of Almighty God, there are no parents they have got no lord. Almighty God has no true father, he has no true mother, he has no true superior. (Chapter-6- Verse -9)

Swethaswethara Upanishad: ~  “Na Tasya Pratima Asti- of that God there is no Pratima, there is no likeness, there is no image, there is no picture, there is no photograph, there is no sculpture, there is no statue. (Chapter -4- Verse- 19)

Swethaswethara Upanishad:~   “No one can see the Almighty God  (Chapter -4, Verse -20)

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

The Vedic pantheon of Gods is said, in the Vedas and Upanishads, to be the only higher manifestations of Brahman. For this reason,- "ekam sat" (all is one), and all is Brahman.

The Soul is the innermost ‘Self’. The seeker's goal is to realize the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness) is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.

The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, is nothing but God because the Soul is the ultimate truth or Brahman. The ultimate truth is God. 

All God propagated by belief systems are nothing but imaginations.  There is nothing so absurd which 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 religion is based on the false ‘Self’.  Therefore, whatever is based on the false ‘Self’ has to be a  falsehood? Thus, the idea of God of any belief system has 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 neither image nor God resides in any particular idol or statue. God cannot be seen directly by anyone. God pervades all beings and all directions.

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 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. 

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, and senseless rituals, and 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 for 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) 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. 

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 innermost ‘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) 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 beside it. It is destitute of difference, either external or internal. Brahman cannot be described because the description implies a 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  or God in truth ."

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:~  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