People speak of heaven, paradise and hell as if they have been there on a conducted tour.+

People speak of heaven, paradise, and hell as if they have been there on a conducted tour.

How can they speak of heaven, paradise, and hell as if they are real when no one can reach there before their physical death?  

Just because it is written in their religious books they believe in such a thing.   It is not the religious idea of heaven it is the Spiritual heaven.

The world in which you exist hides the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of heaven is beyond the ‘I’. Cross the 'I' and enter the kingdom of heaven.

"The kingdom of heaven is within you." The kingdom of heaven is within the Spirit, the innermost Self. The kingdom of heaven is the state of God. In that state, nothing exists other than God, the Spirit? In the kingdom of God, there is unity in diversity. There is oneness, the one without the Second.

The kingdom of heaven" is that the Advaitic state. The Advaitic state is the nature of God, the Spirit.

 In the nature of God, the Spirit there is no more pain, nor sorrow. There is no duality in the nature of God, the Spirit.  God, the Spirit lights the whole universe. God alone is real and the universe is merely an illusion created out of God or Spirit.  

Gospel Thomas logian 22: - Jesus saw infants being suckled.  He said to his disciples, “These infants being suckled are like those who enter the kingdom.”

They said to him, “Shall we then, as children, enter the kingdom?”

Jesus version of Advaita:  “When you make the two one, and when you make the inside like the outside  and the outside like the inside, and the above like the below, and when you make the male and the female one and the same, so that the male not be male nor the female is female; and when you fashion eyes in the place of an eye,  and a hand in place of a hand, and a foot in place of a foot, and a likeness in place of a likeness; then will you enter the kingdom.”

Santthosh Kumaar: ~ When one realizes mind (matter) and Soul (Spirit), the 'Self' are one in essence then there is no place for the duality. Without duality, the universe ceases to exist as a reality. Without the universe, your existence within the universe is merely an illusion because there is scope for two because everything is created out of single stuff.   That single stuff is Spirit. The spirit or the consciousness

Jesus said: ~ Do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you. (Matthew -7:6)

~ Jesus meant Self-knowledge or knowledge of the Spirit or Advaitic wisdom (pearls).  :~Santthosh Kumaar  

If you are seeking the truth nothing but then keep away from this Guru ~ disciple business.+

If you are seeking the truth nothing but then keep away from this Guru ~ disciple business. The Soul is the Sadguru.  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.

Shri Ramana Maharishi: The Sad Guru is within ~

Questioner: I am always at your feet. Will Bhagavan give us some upadesa (teaching) to follow? Otherwise, how can I get help living 600 miles away?

Shri Ramana Maharishi: The Sadguru (the true Guru) is within.

Questioner: Sadguru is necessary to guide me to understand it.

Shri Ramana Maharishi: The sadguru is within.

Questioner: I want a visible Guru.

Shri Ramana Maharishi: That visible Guru says that he is within.

Remember: 

If you are seeking truth then you have to do deeper self-search in order to realize the truth which is hidden by the world in which you exist.   It is only Soul, the inner Guru will walk with you to the goal, for the Soul is the goal.

The seeker must know the difference between the Guru and a Gnani.  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.

A Gnani wears no signs it means he does not identify himself as Guru or teacher or swami. 

Sage Sankara: ~ On Gnani: "The knower of Brahman wears no signs. Gives up the insignia of a monk's life…his signs are not manifest, nor his behavior." 

When the knower of Brahman (Gnani) wears no signs it means he does not identify himself as a Guru or a yogi or a teacher or a Swami. 

By identifying as a Guru or some Guru’s disciple keeps one in the cage of ignorance.  A person who identifies himself as a guru or disciple will never be able to get Advaitic Gnana.

Guru and disciple concept is meant for the religious and yogic path.  In the Atmic path, the Guru and disciple concepts have no value.

A person who realized the ultimate truth or Brahman will throw off his religious robe and all religious identity and lives 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 never claims himself as a Gnani, he guides the seekers, not posing himself as a Guru, and he does not force his wisdom on others.

A Gnani can point at the sky, but the seeing of the star is the seeker's own work. The one who he realizes Brahman becomes a Gnani.  A Gnani would be there to show the way to freedom from experiencing the duality as reality. A Gnani does not identify himself as Guru or swami or yogi or sadhu.

The truth-seeker seeks only truth. The inner Sage will guide you with love. Your sincerity and seriousness lead you to your inner core.  Sincere and serious seekers are not excluded.

Sage Sankara says the transparent Truth of the Self, which is hidden by the illusion, is to be attained through the instructions of a knower of Brahman, (Gnani)

~ Then why you are sticking a Guru who is not a Gnani.

That is why Swami Vivekananda who was a disciple of Sage Ramakrishna Paramahansa himself 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.”

Sage  Sankara: ~ "Though I wear these robes of a Sanyasin, it is only for the sake of bread." (Select Works of Sage Sri, Sankara" also his commentary on Brihad)

Thus, the above passage proves that all those who were the sanyasin robes are wearing it for the sake of bread belongs to the religion; they are nothing to do with the Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. There is no need to criticize and condemn the Gurus, yogis, and swamis because they are needed for the welfare of ignorant masses in the dualistic world.

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.  All the seekers of truth are chosen ones.  All the chosen ones will get freedom from experiencing the illusion (duality) as a reality.  All the seekers of truth are chosen ones.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

Isa Upanishads: ~ By worshipping Gods and Goddesses and going to the world of Gods after death is of no use.+

Religion can never make you know God. Only an intense urge to know what God is supposed to be in truth can make you realize God.  The Soul, the ‘Self is the Infinite God. 

The Soul, the ‘Self is the Infinite God. 

The Soul is the  Self. God is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. God is the fullness of the consciousness without the illusory division of form, time, and space.  Therefore, there is nothing apart from it. 

God is Self-evident. God is not established by extraneous proofs. It is not possible to deny God because God is the very essence of the one who denies it. God is the basis of all kinds of knowledge, presuppositions, and proofs. God is within the universe in which you exist, God is without the universe in which you exist.

No second thing exists other than the Soul which is the fullness of the consciousness without the division of the form, time, and space.

From the standpoint of the Soul, there is neither form nor time nor space.

Religion propagates the creator and the creation theory hence people are forced to admit it. People are stuck believing in the creator and the creation theory thus they are stuck to the reality of the world in which they exist.  

Religion makes humanity remain in ignorance of the reality of their true existence with its beliefs, superstitions, and dogmas, the ideas of heaven, hell, sin, karma, and rebirth.  

Heaven is the abode of physicalized Gods, where one goes after death, rebirth, and karma theories based on the birth entity, which is the false self within the illusory world.

When Vedas and Upanishads give a clear-cut idea of what God is supposed to be then all these Gods and Goddesses which people worship have no value from the ultimate standpoint.   

For those ignorant who believe their experience of birth, life, death, and the world as a reality, think that the effect of action done in previous births, as the Prarabdha in this birth, but for the realized one the present birth, life, death and the world itself is an illusion because they have realized the fact that, waking experience itself is an illusion created out of the Soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness.

Isa Upanishads: ~ By worshipping Gods and Goddesses and going to the world of Gods after death is of no use.  The time one spends in ritualistic practices is wasted; one can spend the same time moving forward towards Self-knowledge, which is the main goal. One cannot reach the non-dual destination by glorifying gods and goddesses and by doing that, one goes deeper and deeper into darkness. It surely indicates the fact that the seeker of truth has to drop the worshiping god and goddess to get self-knowledge.

Sage Sankara says ~ “The scriptures dealing with rituals, rewards are therefore addressed to an ignorant person.- 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: ~ (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

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. 

Isa Upanishads: ~ Religious Rituals (Avidya) is Karma (action) and, therefore, a hindrance. By performing Agnihotra and other sacrifices (Avidya) is a roundabout way of purifying the mind, and it is also groping in the dark.

 Vedic karma is limited only to the religious rituals, but not on the whole, human life. This karma theory based on human conduct must have been adopted from Buddhism and other theories based on human conduct. 

When it says: Perform the obligatory karmas without any attachment to the fruits, and at the same time worship Gods and Goddesses, again without any desire to go to heaven - then you can get the benefit of both, liberation and bliss. 

For those who are not yet ready to renounce, this path is recommended, it means that the religion and its idea of God and Goddesses and code of conduct, and its rituals are meant for the mass who are incapable of thinking of the beyond.

If the ‘Self’ is not the body, then the karma theory has no meaning.  From the standpoint of the Soul, the innermost Self no second thing exists other than the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness because the world in which we exist is an illusion created out of the consciousness. 

Thus, whatever karma performed by you within the world in which you exist has no value because the world in which you exist is an illusion.

Mundaka Upanishad says ~ “The rituals and the sacrifices described in the Vedas deal with lower knowledge. The sages ignored these rituals and went in search of higher knowledge. ... Such rituals are unsafe rafts for crossing the sea of samsara, of birth and death. Doomed to shipwreck are those who try to cross the sea of samsara on these poor rafts. Ignorant of their own ignorance, yet wise In their own esteem, these deluded men Proud of their vain learning go round and round Like the blind led by the blind.

Heaven is the abode of physicalized Gods, where one goes after death, rebirth, and karma theories based on the birth entity, which is the false self within the illusory world.

Remember:~ 

When Vedas and Upanishads give clear-cut ideas that God is supposed to be then all these Gods and Goddesses which people worship have no value from the ultimate standpoint. 

  

Religious Gods are based on beliefs. Belief-based Gods are not God in truth.  Religious God cannot be considered as the center because the Soul, the innermost ‘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. God in truth is only the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

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.

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)

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

Religious beliefs are self-imagined. Religious God cannot be considered as the center because the Soul, the innermost ‘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.

Even Bhagavad Gita says: ~ 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. 

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

No mantras help to get rid of ignorance. All the mantras and rituals are meant for the ignorant populace, which strongly believes, the world in which he exists as a reality.  For one who wants to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana, the mantas will not help to realize the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space.

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?

VC-  v6~ 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. 

If God is the formless Spirit, then how does man know God created the world? There is no proof. If man had seen God creating the world, he could admit it, but how could he have seen God before he came into existence? (i.e. were created). 

Sage  Goudapada quotes from the Upanishads: ~ "There's no plurality here"; "The Soul through its powers appears to be many"; "those who are attached to the creation or production or origination go to utter darkness"; "the unborn is never reborn, for what can produce it?”. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

The ‘I KNOW’ attitude is blocking your realization.+

People’s   ‘I KNOW’ attitude is blocking their realization. Their scriptural mastery is making them more egoic.   Without humility and patience, they are unfit to receive self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

Till they drop all their accumulated knowledge their egoic attitude will not allow them to move further, they simply waste time arguing,  provoking, and trying to snub others. It is better to Keep away from those who want to exhibit their accumulated intellectual wealth.   Those who have mastered scriptures are unaware of the fact that their scriptural mastery is of no use in the Atmic path.

Sage Sankara says ~   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.

Sage Sankara says Atman is Brahman and everything is Brahman is a scientific declaration not religious or yogic or dogmatic. Sage Sankara and Sage Goudpada are more scientific than anyone else in the world. Since the real Advaitic essence is hidden it cannot be got without the inner (mental) journey.

A Gnani will never force anyone to accept the path of wisdom. He will constantly bring the seeker back to the fact of his inherent perfection and encourage him to seek the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space. A Gnani knows you need nothing, not even him, and is never tired of reminding you.  A Gnani continuously shares Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana with like-minded fellow seekers.

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

Truth- realization is very simple. We make it complicated by mixing diverse theories, different ideologies, religions, and yoga.  

All our accumulated knowledge is the greatest hindrance in the pursuit of truth. To realize the truth beyond the form, time, and space, one must have the courage of Buddha. Buddha got enlightenment only after dropping the religion, Vedas, and the concept of God.  

To realize the simple truth there is no need to go from one mountain to another, one Ashram to another or worship the Godmen or   Guru as a God, or converting from one faith to another.  The truth is universal. Anyone can realize it if has an intense urge. 

There is no second thing exists other than consciousness.  In the world in which we exist, all our thoughts, words, beliefs, experiences are nothing but consciousness. Realizing consciousness is everything, is truth realization or Self-realization or God-realization.

The Guru is useless so long as the ultimate truth is unknown, and Guru is equally useless when the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth 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.   The inner Guru to unfold the mystery of the ‘I’.

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

The world in which you exist is the dualistic illusion created out single stuff. To realize this knowledge of single stuff, there is no need for a Guru, there is no need to study scriptures, there is no need to go to the mountain, there is no need for gurus blessing or grace in order to get Self-realization.   

If you have an intense urge and are ready to drop all your accumulated knowledge and start afresh then you are fit and ready to take this mental journey.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

Chandogya Upanishad:~ “One who meditates upon and realizes the ”Self’ discovers that everything in the cosmos --all come from the “Self’ +

Chandogya Upanishad:~ “One who meditates upon and realizes the ”Self’ discovers that everything in the cosmos-- energy and space, fire and water, name and form, birth and death, mind and will, word and deed, mantram and meditation--all come from the “Self’”.

So, it clearly says the one who meditates upon the “Self’ (consciousness) discovers that everything in the cosmos-- energy and space, fire and water, name and form, birth and death, mind and will, word and deed, mantrams and meditation--all come from the “Self’. Therefore, there is a need to know the fact that, the true “Self’ is not physical but the Soul in order to realize the fact that:  the cosmos-- energy and space, fire and water, name and form, birth and death, mind and will, word and deed, mantrams and meditation--all come from the “Self’, which is in the form of consciousness. 

Atman is Brahman. Brahman the Absolute is alone real; this waking is unreal, and the three states are non-different from Brahman. 

The body, the ego, the world are one,  in essence.  The essence is consciousness. Therefore, the body, the ego, and the world are created out of single stuff.  That single stuff is the Soul which is present in the form of consciousness.  The “Soul is the fullness of consciousness. Therefore, there is nothing apart from it. 

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad- The “Self’ is indeed Brahman (consciousness), but through ignorance, people identify it with intellect, mind, senses, passions, and the elements of earth, water, air, space, and fire. This is why the “Self’ is said to consist of this and that and appears to be everything. 

Consciousness is within,  consciousness is without;  consciousness is before, consciousness is behind;  consciousness is on the right,  consciousness is on the left; consciousness is above and consciousness is below.  Consciousness is not an object, as it is invisible, beyond the reach of the physical eyes.  Consciousness is the ultimate truth. And the ultimate truth is Brahman or God in truth.

The world in which we exist is merely an illusion created out of consciousness.  Therefore, hold on to consciousness which is real and eternal, and mentally negate the world in which we exist by realizing the world in which we exist is nothing but consciousness. :~Santthosh Kumaar  

That alone know as Brahman, and not that which people here worship.+

Kena Upanishad (9)- Chapter I -That which cannot be smelt by the breath, but by which the breath smells an object-That alone know as Brahman, and not that which people here worship.

Sage Sankara:~  The vital- air-Sheath cannot be the Self because it is the modification of air (Vayu). Like air, it enters the body and goes out of it never knowing the joy and sorrow like others. It is ever dependent on the Self.  ~VC~165-166

The breath, body, and the world are one in essence. That essence is formless consciousness.   The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness is the Self.  Breath, body, and the world are part and parcel of the illusion. 

By holding the breath (vital force) as the Self, one cannot get rid of ignorance. Without getting rid of ignorance wisdom will not dawn. Wisdom dawns only when one realizes the form, time and space are one in essence.

The Soul, the 'Self' does not breathe because it is formless. The Self is not a thinker because it is ever formless, timeless, and spaceless. By regulating the thought or by regulating the breath, it is impossible to get Self-realization. 

The Self is not the thinks and the one which breathes. You are the thinker. You are the breather. The Self is not you, but the Self is the one which witnesses you and the world together. Therefore, it is erroneous to say ‘I AM THIS’ or ‘I AM THAT’ because the  ‘I’ itself is an illusion. Thus, it is necessary to know ‘What is ‘I’? in order to realize the truth beyond form, time, and space.

If you are caught in the grip of the ‘I’ then you will remain permanently in the grip of ignorance. If you hold the Self as ‘I’ you will never be able to cross the dualistic illusion.    If you follow the ‘I’ based teaching it is like the blind leading the blind.

If you inquire   “Who am ‘I’?  the ‘I’ will not disappear. You must know the nature of the ‘I’, which appears and disappears.

The Soul is the witness of the ‘I’ which is permeant and eternal. The Soul is the subject and the ‘I’ is an object.

The ‘I’ hides the Soul. Therefore, the seeker has to realize ‘what is this ‘I’ supposed to be in actuality

If the Self is not ‘I’ but the Self is the Soul then from the standpoint of the Soul, the  Self:~

Where is the ‘I’?

Where is the ego?

Where is the body?

Where is the mind?

Where is the world in which you exist?

Where are the form, time, and space?

Where is the waking experience?

Where is the duality?

Where is void?

They are or have become one with the Soul which is present in the form of consciousness. Consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.

The ‘I’ is present only when the mind is present. The mind is present only when the world is present. The world is present only when there is a waking experience.

Deeper self-search reveals the fact that the waking experience is not considered different from the world. The world is not considered different from the mind. The mind is not considered different from the’ I’. This truth has to be assimilated.

The ‘I’ is merely an illusion created out of the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. ‘I’ is not the subject. The ‘I’ is an object to the Soul, which is the formless, timeless, and spaceless subject.

If the ‘I’ is an illusion then the world in which you exist is bound to be an illusion.

If the ‘I’ is an illusion then three states, are bound to be an illusion.

If the ‘I’ is an illusion then the form, time, and space are bound to be an illusion.

If the I’ is an illusion then the individual experience of birth, life, death is bound to be an illusion.

If the ‘I’ is an illusion then the words and thoughts are bound to be an illusion.

If the ‘I’ is an illusion then the duality is bound to be an illusion.

The seeker has to make sure what is this ‘I’ supposed to be? The seeker has to make sure the unreal nature of the ‘I’ which comes and goes in order to realize the truth, which is beyond the form, time, and space.

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

The ‘I’ hides the Soul, the Self, which is the cause of the 'I'. 

People think the ‘I’ without the body is the Self. The seeker has to understand the fact that ‘I’ is not the Self, but the witness of the ‘I’ is the true Self, which is eternal.

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.

People are stuck with the reality of the ‘I’, which they take 'I' as real because some Gurus have propagated the Self is the ‘I’. is no need to convince such mindsets. The seeker of truth accepts only the truth nothing but the truth.  : ~ Santthosh Kumaar