Sage Sankara's commentary on Brahma Sutras is not on the philosophical basis, but on a religio-mystic one, with an appeal to Vedas as the final authority.+

Sage Sankara Says:  the orthodoxy is meant for the ignorant populace. People are free to choose their path. 

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 most 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 consciousness, not subject alone.

Sage Sankara says the scriptures dealing with rituals are addressed to an ignorant person.

The Brahma Sutras together with Sage Sankara's commentary thereon do not contain higher Vedanta. They are intended for duffers.

Sage Sankara's commentary on Brahma Sutras is not on the philosophical basis, but on a religio-mystic one, with an appeal to Vedas as the final authority.

In Brahma Sutra Sage Sankara takes the position that there is another entity outside us, i.e. the wall really exists separately from the mind. This was because Sage  Sankara explains in Mandukya that those who study the Sutras are religious minds, intellectual children, hence, his popular viewpoint to assist them. These people are afraid to go deeper because it means being heroic enough to refuse to accept Sruti, and God's authority, in case they mean punishment by God.

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

In Brahma Sutras Sage Sankara takes for granted, assumes that a world was created: He there mixes dogmatic theology with philosophy.

That God created the world is an absolute lie; nevertheless, you will find Sage  Sankara (in his commentary on Vedanta Sutras) clearly says this! He has to adapt his teachings to his audience, reserving the highest for philosophical minds.

The text of Brahma Sutras is based on religion, dogmatism, but in the commentary Sankara cleverly introduced some philosophy. If it is objected that a number of Upanishads are equally dogmatic because they also begin by assuming Brahman, but a few Upanishads do not but prove Brahman at the end of a train of proof.

The causality and creation are for religious people only.  Religion is only for those who are unable to understand the truth beyond form, time, and space. Religion is not final. It only gives satisfaction to the populace.  Self’- knowledge is for the whole of humanity to free them from experiencing birth, life, death, and the world as reality.

People of small intelligence follow religion and believe that the world was created by God. But how do they know that He did so? When a pot is created, one can see both pot and its maker, but not in the case of the world.

This is following a prescription prescribed by orthodoxy in the name of Sage  Sankara.  The orthodoxy has listed down in 5 verses, 40 steps of Sadhanas (discipline) to be followed to achieve the (only meaningful) goal of human life Moksha, liberation.  Use it every day as contemplative prayer.

1. Study the scriptures (Vedas) daily

2. Perform diligently the duties (sva dharma) ordered by the scriptures

3. Dedicate all the actions thus performed (as above) to Ishvara (IshvarArpanna Buddhi)

4. Gradually give up the performance of ‘Selfish actions

5. Filter sinful/adharmic likes and dislikes

6. Recognize the inherent defects of material pursuits

7. Seek moksha with the consistent endeavor

8. Get out from the bondage of activity (specified to the ones which end up entangling us)

9. Seek companionship with men of wisdom

10. Be established in firm devotion to Ishvara and perform Upasana

11. Gain mind control, sense control, withdrawal, forbearance, faith, and focus

12. Give up karma and Upasana  are not required any longer for spiritual growth

13. Seek Knowledge from a Satguru

14. Serve his lotus feet

15. Ask for Brahma Vidya

16. Listen in-depth, to the Upanishadic declarations

17. Analyze the meanings of Upanishadic commandments

18. Perform such analyses by sticking to scriptures

19. Get away from the logic-based system (logic is good when it corroborates scripture, in the sense, don't try to substitute it)

20. Dwell upon the discriminative rationale of Shruti (basically, develop Viveka)

21. Constantly remain steeped in the fact that you are Brahman

22. Renounce pride/vanity/arrogance

23. Give up the delusionary misconception- "I am the body"

24. Do not argue with wise men

25. Consider hunger as a disease

26. Treat hunger, the disease, by taking bhiksha food

27. Beg no delicious food

28. Live contentedly with whatever comes your way as prasadam

29. Endure all pains of opposites- heat/cold, likes/dislikes, pleasure/pain.

30. Avoid wasteful talk

31. Be indifferent and avoid groupism

32. Don't get attached to either someone's love or criticism

33. In solitude also, live joyously

34. Quieten your mind in Ishvara

35. Realize and see the ‘Self’ in everything, everywhere

36. Recognize the universe as a finite projection of the ‘Self’

37. Destroy the effects of deeds done in earlier lives (sanchit karma) through the strength of knowledge

38. Through wisdom, become detached from AgAmi karma (give up doership/enjoyership)

39. Experience and exhaust the prarabdh, fruits of past actions

40. Thereafter, live eternally as Brahman

But

 Sage Sankara Says,   orthodoxy is meant for ignorant people.

Sage Sankara: ~ "Though I wear these robes of a Sanyasin, it is only for the sake of bread."

~ This proves Sage Sankara  was wearing the religious robe only for the sake of bread."

All the rituals based on the false belief of Gods will not yield any fruits and they are meant for the ignorant populace who are unable to grasp the God beyond the form, time, and space.

One of Sage Sankara’s missions was to wean people away from a ritualistic approach advocated by Mimamsakas and to project wisdom (jnana) as the means of liberation in the light of Upanishad teachings.

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

That is why  Sage Sankara says:~ (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 the ‘Self’ with the body is a 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 

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, the Self or Consciousness.   If there is no consciousness, then there is no physical body, no ego, no universe, no religion, and no conceptual God. :~Santthosh Kumaar 

There is no such thing as an individual Soul.+

There is no such thing as an individual Soul. The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness pervades in everything and everywhere in all three states. The three states are the product of ignorance.

From the standpoint of the Soul, the ‘Self’-there is no ignorance; therefore, the three states are non-existent. Only from the dualistic perspective, one can speak of the individual Soul and the universe. On the non-dualistic perspective, there is no second thing that exists other than the Soul or the consciousness.

What is it that becomes the waking? What is that becomes the deep sleep? What is that becomes the dream?

It is the Soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness that appears as waking or dream (duality) and disappears as deep sleep ( nonduality).

Thus, there is no second thing that exists other than the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. 

Remember:~

The Soul is not different from the universe because the universe is merely an illusion created out of the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. Only in ignorance, there is diversity or separation. In reality, diversity or separation has no place. 

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. 

Man and his senses and his experience of the world are a reality within the waking experience. The dream man and his senses and the dream world are a reality within the dream. The dream becomes unreal when waking takes place. Similarly, the waking also becomes unreal when you realize the fact that, the ‘Self’ is not you, but the ‘Self ‘is Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. 

Thus, the theory of Prana Shakti or energy is based on the false self (waking entity) is imagery. When the body, ego, and the world are created out of a single clay and that single clay is consciousness then there is no second thing that exists other than consciousness. Consciousness powers the whole universe there is no second energy other than consciousness. 

Everything is consciousness. Remember, the world in which you exist is nothing but consciousness. 

If the Soul, the Self is non-dual then the question of inward and outward does not arise, because in Self –awareness the body, ego, and the world are nothing but consciousness because they are a mere mirage created out of consciousness. Thus, all these yogic theories hold no water on the standpoint of the  Soul, the   Self. 

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: ~ A wise man, having realized Brahman as his Self, should keep his higher intuitive faculty (prajna) united with Brahman (consciousness). He should not oppress his mind with many words, for they are a mere waste of energy. 

Remember: 

There are no individual Souls.

The Soul is not an individual. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. The Soul is a formless, timeless, and spaceless existence. The Soul is the cause of the universe which contains the whole of humanity. Thus, limiting the Soul to an individual is erroneous.

Sage Sankara asks his opponents: "How do you know there are separate individual Souls? Have you seen the Soul of a man? You can only say that you have seen different bodies. To say more is to misuse language. Therefore, I call you liars unless you give proof, which is impossible.

The Soul, the innermost ‘Self’ is in the form of the consciousness without the division of form, time, and space. The form, time, and space are merely an illusion created out of consciousness. 

The Soul, the ‘Self’, is the fullness of consciousness. In the cloud there is nothing other than the water, so too consciousness is nothing other than itself. Consciousness is absolute without a second.

The moon reflecting on the water and appearing as many, the ‘Self’ is just like the reflection of the moon on the water which increases with the volume of water and decreases with its reduction, which moves when the water moves, and which differs as the water differs.

The moon seems to conform to the characteristics of water, but in reality, the moon never has these increasing or decreasing qualities. So also, from the highest point of view, the consciousness always retains its sameness; it seems to conform to such characteristics as an increase and decrease of the limiting adjunct, owing to its entry into such an adjunct as a universe.

The thread is drawn from cotton and is woven into cloth. But the reality of cotton is in both of these forms, viz., thread and cloth. Similarly, the projections of names and forms of this material universe on the consciousness do not alter the nature of consciousness. It remains as it is without any change. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

The seeker has to get rid of the ignorance, not ego to get Self-realization.+

All actions are possible only in the domain of form, time, and space. The form, time, and space exist till ‘I’ exists. The ‘I’ is inborn samskara or condition. The ‘I’ is the cause of ignorance.

It is impossible to get rid of the inborn samskara and without getting rid of the inborn samskara, the world in which we exist prevails as a reality.

Without getting rid of ignorance, the ‘I’ will prevail as a reality.

If the ‘I’ will prevail as a reality then the form, time, and space will prevail as a reality.

If the form, time, and space prevail as a reality then the world in which you exist prevails as a reality.

If the world in which you exist prevails as a reality then the experience of birth, life death which happens within the world is experienced as a reality.

If the experience of birth, life death which happens within the world is experienced as a reality then the dualistic illusion prevails as reality.

If the dualistic illusion prevails as reality then ignorance will prevail.

Ignorance vanishes when wisdom dawns. Wisdom dawns when you realize the ‘Self’ is not you, but the ‘Self’ is the Soul.

Until you get stuck to the ‘I’ based teaching you will never be able to cross the threshold of the dualistic illusion.

The Gurus say get rid of the ego, but it is impossible to get rid of ego. The ego, body, and the world are the product of ignorance. The seeker has to get rid of the ignorance, not ego to get ‘Self’-realization.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

All search is vain until the seeker begins to perceive that the truth he is seeking for is hidden by the world in which he exist. +

All search is vain until the seeker begins to perceive that the truth he is seeking is hidden by the world in which he exists.  Then he may know the world in which he exists is created out of a single clay.  That single clay is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.  Knowledge of this single clay reveals the truth which is hidden by the illusory world in which we exist.

Only when the seeker drops all the accumulated knowledge then he will be able to realize this truth beyond the form, time, and space.

Sage Sankara says - VC-162-  There is no liberation for a person of mere book-knowledge, howsoever well-read in the philosophy of Vedanta, so long as one does not give up the false identification with the body, sense organs, etc., which are unreal.

Attachment, emotion, aversion, pain, and pleasure are the experience of an individual. You are an individual but the ‘Soul is not an individual because it is a formless, timeless, and spaceless existence. The individual exists only in the domain of the form, me, and space.    

The experience of birth, life, and death belong to the individual.    The Soul, the innermost ‘Self’ is birthless and deathless.

When the ‘Self’ is not you but the ‘Self is the Soul then you are thinking the Self is within you because the world in which you exist is within the Soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness.

Sage Sankara says: - VC-47   All the effects of ignorance, root, and branch, are burnt down by the fire of knowledge, which arises from discrimination between these two—the Self and the not-Self.

Thinking the Soul is within you because the Gurus of the past has said it or it is written in the scriptures you got stuck and you are misdirected and you got stuck to the misdirected believing it as the truth.

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

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”

The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, is the ultimate reality or Brahman.

The Gurus, who mix practical life and the practical world and preach Advaita, have made their own cocktail, which leads to hallucination. The question never occurs to them “Is what I have preached is really the truth?

Sermons consisting of ornamental words, the profusion of words, and possessing skilfulness in expounding scriptures are merely for the enjoyment of the intellectuals. They do not help to get rid of ignorance.

Upanishads: - Fools dwelling in darkness, but thinking they wise and erudite, go round and round, by various tortuous paths, like the blind led by the blind. (Upanishads Nikilanada - Ch II-5 P-14)

The Scriptures' mastery, the force of religious merit--none of these lead to the realization of that Ultimate Truth or Brahman. The ultimate truth is revealed in the clear understanding and realization of ‘what is the truth? and ‘what is untruth?'. When one realizes the untruth (universe) is created out of single stuff, the ‘Self’-awareness rises in the midst of duality exposing the unreal nature of the form, time, and space. :~Santthosh Kumaar  

Adyathma is knowledge of Brahman or God in truth, which is hidden by the illusory form, time and space.+

Adyathma is knowledge of Brahman or God in truth, which is hidden by the illusory form, time and space. Adyatma is nothing to do with religion sect or creed and religious belief. Adyatma is pure spirituality. Knowledge of Atma is Adyathma. Advaita is Adyathma.

Adyathma is the knowledge of the truth beyond the form, time and space. bifurcate religion, yoga, and theoretical philosophy and based the truth on the Atma it is Adyathma.

Adyathma is based on the ultimate truth which is based on the Atma or Spirit, which is the Self. Vedas are of the Adyatma because Vedas are based on the Atma the supreme Spirit.   

 Yajurveda – chapter- 32:~  God is Supreme Spirit.

Vedas confirm the  Atma (Soul), the Self, is present in the form of the Spirit or the consciousness is the ultimate truth or  Brahman or  God. 

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 innermost self. May ye never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman?" (10:48, 5) 

The Spirit is the root element of the universe. The Spirit is present in the form of the Soul, the 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. 

In Yajurveda says: ~ 

Translation 1.

They enter darkness, those who worship natural things (for example air, water, sun, moon, animals, fire, stone, etc).

They sink deeper into darkness those who worship sambhuti. (Sambhuti means created things, for example, table, chair, idol, etc.) (Yajurveda 40:9)

Translation 2.

"Deep into the shade of blinding gloom fall asambhuti's worshippers. They sink to darkness deeper yet who on sambhuti are intent." (Yajurveda Samhita by Ralph T. H. Giffith pg 538)

Translation 3.

"They are enveloped in darkness, in other words, are steeped in ignorance and sunk in the greatest depths of misery who worship the uncreated, eternal prakrti -- the material cause of the world -- in place of the All-pervading God, But those who worship visible things born of the prakrti, such as the earth, trees, bodies (human and the like) in place of God are enveloped in still greater darkness, in other words, they are extremely foolish, fall into an awful hell of pain and sorrow, and suffer terribly for a long time." (Yajur Veda 40:9.)

So, Yajur Veda indicates that: ~

They sink deeper into darkness those who worship sambhuti. (Sambhuti means created things, for example, table, chair, idol etc (Yajurved 40:9)

Those who worship visible things born of the prakrti, such as the earth, trees, bodies (human and the like) in place of God are enveloped in still greater darkness, in other words, they are extremely foolish, fall into an awful hell of pain and sorrow, and suffer terribly for a long time." (Yajur Veda 40:9.)

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 Bhagvad Gita. And also there is a clear-cut idea of what not to worship as God in place of 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 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. 

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.

The religion of the Veda knows no idols, then why so many Gods and Goddesses with different forms and name are being propagated as Vedic Gods. Why these conceptual Gods are introduced when the Vedic concept of God is free from form and attributes.

As one peeps into the annals of the Indian  religious history  he finds that some saints in the past introduced the concept of God with attributes

But

Yajur Veda says:~  those who worship visible things, born of the prakrti, such as the earth, trees, bodies (human and the like), in place of God are enveloped in still greater darkness. Therefore, all these adulterated add-ons prove that the form and attribute-based concepts are introduced by some sages of the past with a new belief system and code of conduct in the name of Vedas. 

Sruti is made the final or exclusive authority in apara Vidya and that for supporting the tenet of the causal relation or creatorship of Brahman, Nirguna Brahman = the "Absolute beyond qualities," which can be defined only in a negative way.

For the Sankarian school = the Ultimate Reality, higher than the Lord. i.e. of Saguna or apara Brahman ... The support of Scriptural Revelation is, therefore, absolutely necessary for this hypothesis of cosmology, this Saguna or apara (= inferior) Brahman, but not for the absolute truth of Nirguna Brahman. 

 The Sruti itself’ says:~  "This Atma is NOT to be attained by a study of the Vedas.  (Katha Upanishad I, 2, 23.)   

        

Therefore, all the adulterated add-ons and attribute-based knowledge, which are inferior, have to be bifurcated and excluded to know the ultimate truth.  The seeker of truth has to drop all the inferior knowledge based on the attributes and go beyond the Vedas to understand assimilate and realize the ultimate truth or Brahman. 

One has to go beyond Vedas means to go beyond the religion. Go beyond the religion means, go beyond the belief of God.  Going beyond the Vedas, the Religion and the belief God is going beyond the illusion.   That is the end of the Vedas (Veda –antha).

The realization of the ultimate truth is Adyatma.   

Remember:~ 

A scholar is proud that he has accumulated so much knowledge; Gnani is humble that he knows no more.

Sage Sankara:~ 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.

Isa Upanishads indicates that: 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 nondual destination by glorifying God 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 in order to get Self-knowledge.

Sage Sankara as a rationalist philosopher. The orthodoxy projected him as a theologian.

Sage Sankara’s Advaitic wisdom is not even a philosopher dish cooked to suit exclusively the palate of one particular religion. Advaitic wisdom of Sage Sankara is like the air and the water, the common food for the whole of humanity.

Advaitic wisdom is Science of the Spirit. The science of the Spirit is Adyathma. 

If rightly interpreted Sage Sankara’s Advaitic wisdom as spiritual food for the whole of humanity. Advaitic wisdom is the universal wisdom par excellence. Advaitic wisdom is not just a not a philosophy, but not a science, but the Science of Truth.

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 Upanishads declare:~

Mundaka Upanishad 1:2:8:~ “Remaining in the fold of ignorance and thinking “we are extremely wise and learned,” the fools with boastful nature ramble about like the blind led by the blind alone.”

Mundaka Upanishad 3:2:3:~ “The weak and timid cannot realize the Self. Self-Realization is not possible through intellect or hearing the spiritual discourse. One who welcomes God in every activity, through a thorough controlled and disciplined life, to him also the Soul is revealed

Katha Upanishad 1:2:23:~ The Soul cannot be realized through hearing a scholarly explanation of the discourses, not even by the intellect.

Katha Upanishad 1:3:6:~ “Through the knowledge of the Soul God, one is pure and clean constantly.” Neither by reading the books nor by taking a bath at the holy place has one become pure. Inner purity is possible when one remains in constant touch with the Soul. Constant Soul Consciousness is real purity.

Kena Upanishad 2:4:~ When it is known through every state of cognition, it is rightly known, for (by such knowledge) one attains life eternal. Through one's own self, one gains power and through wisdom, one gains immortality.

Kena Upanishad 2:5:~ If here one knows it, then there is the truth, and if here one knows it not, there is a great loss. Hence, seeing the Real in all beings, wise men become immortal on departing from this world.

The scriptures are being added from time to time. This process will go on. There is the final authority among them? One contradicts the other: duality reigns supreme.

The Upanishads are Self-contradictory. Every pundit even gives conflicting interpretations of them. The final authority, therefore, is using one’s own reason. One should apply his reason to them.

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

The Scriptures are of value only when dealing with persons who are incapable of understanding the Advaitic truth. They have no value as authority for those who use reason. I quote only verified citations from the scriptures. I need no scriptures but I quote then to help the seekers to realize the scriptures are saying

The Upanishads are the only scriptures in the world which declare:~

It is impossible to find and realize the truth via religion and scriptural study.

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 Ataman reveals its own form. (Katha Upanishad Ch-II -23-P-20)

Mundaka Upanishad: ~ “This Atman cannot be attained through 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)

When the Upanishad says: ~ “The human goal is to acquire Self-Knowledge and they indicate the personal Gods, scriptures, worship, and rituals are not the means to Self –Knowledge, then why anyone should indulge in it. The religion, concept of individualized God, belief in physical Guru, scriptures are a great obstacle to Self-realization because they are based on false Self. The seeker of truth has to search the ultimate truth without losing himself in the labyrinths of philosophy, through deeper Self-search and assimilate and realize it.

That is why Sage Sankara, indicated in Bhaja Govindam says:~ (Jnana Viheena Sarva Mathena Bajathi na Muktim janma Shatena) - One without knowledge does not obtain liberation even in a hundred births, no matter which religious faith he follows.

Then it is no use going a roundabout way, trace the Brahman which is the formless substance, and witness of the universe, which is in the form of mind. By tracing the source of the mind or universe one will be able to realize the Brahman.

Thus, Self-knowledge is meant only for those who have intense urge, and courage to accept the truth with humility and reject the untruth. Since people start comparing with their scriptural knowledge, it becomes impossible to assimilate and realize the non-dual truth. Therefore, there is no need to convince anyone other than our own selves to get the firm conviction.

So they clearly indicate rituals and theories are not meant for those who are searching for higher knowledge or wisdom. The path of wisdom is the only means.

The knowledge of both matter and spirit is True knowledge. The true knowledge is Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Sage Sri, Ramana Maharshi s:~The location of the Heart is of the chest and not on the left. +

Sage Sri, Ramana Maharshi:~ The location of the Heart is of the chest and not on the left. The light of the consciousness flows from the heart to through Sushumna's channel to ‘Sahasrara’.(KNOW YOUR SELF~page 31)

From ‘Sahasrarara’ consciousness spreads all over the body, then the experience of the world arises. Viewing themselves as different from that consciousness human beings get caught up in the cycle of birth and death.

The ‘Sahasrara’ of one who abides in the Self is pure light only. Any thoughts which approach it cannot survive.

Even when objects are perceived, because of their nearness, it does not destroy yoga as the mind sees any differences.

The state in which awareness is firm, even when objects are sensed, is called the natural state. In Nirvikalpa Samadhi, there is no objective perception.

The entire universe is in the body and the whole body is in the Heart. hence, the universe is contained within the Heart.

Some other Gurus also propagate the Nadi you refer to is called Amrita Nadi. It connects the Spiritual Heart with the Sahasrara. It is best to merge in the Heart and then see that the Heart is beyond time and space.

But

Santthosh Kumaar:~ When the ‘Self’ is not the body then the location of the Heart is of the chest and not on the left. The light of the consciousness flows from the heart to through Sushumna ‘channel to ‘Sahasrara’ have no value. All these concepts are yogic and they have no value in the Atmic path.

When the ‘Self’ is not the body, the question of the Nadi or Amrita Nadi or Sahasrara does not arise. Until we think the ‘Self’ is within the body it is impossible to cross the threshold of dualistic illusion. Deeper self-search reveals the fact that the ‘Self’ is not the body why bring Nadi, chakras when they are part and parcel of the body.

Deeper self-search reveals the fact that the ‘Self’ is neither the body nor the ‘I’. Thus, one has to go beyond the ‘I’ means beyond the form, time, and space to realize 'Self' is a formless, timeless, and spaceless existence. 

Mundaka Upanishad:~ The Sages ignored these rituals and went in search of higher knowledge.+

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

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. 

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

Even Rig Veda: ~ The Atman (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)

Yajurveda – chapter- 32:~     God is Supreme Spirit.

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

God (Spirit) is not separate from the universe (matter) because God (Spirit) and the universe (matter) are one, in essence. Without God, the universes in which you exist cease to exist. God is the fullness of the Spirit. Thus, any division in the Spirit, as the form, time and space is merely an illusion. Thus, the universe in which you exist is merely an illusion created out of the Spirit, which is God in truth.

The atheists and religious people, both are believers. The atheists believe there is no such thing as God and religious people believe there is God. Belief is not the truth. One must know God in truth. The truth will set the Spirit free from the illusory prison of form, time, and space.

Remember:~

Religious people are unaware of the fact that there is no God that can exist, apart from the Soul, the innermost ‘Self’. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. If there is no consciousness, then there is no physical body, no world, and no Gods based on blind belief.

Yajur Veda says:~  "They are enveloped in darkness, in other words, are steeped in ignorance and sunk in the greatest depths of misery who worship the uncreated, eternal prakrti -- the material cause of the world -- in place of the All-pervading God, But those who worship visible things born of the prakrti, such as the earth, trees, bodies (human and the like) in place of God are enveloped in still greater darkness, in other words, they are extremely foolish, fall into an awful hell of pain and sorrow, and suffer terribly for a long time.

Mundaka Upanishad:~ 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.

How can you worship the Absolute? That implies two ~ the worshipper and the worshipped, whereas the Absolute is nondual. One can worship his idea of the Absolute only or realize his unity with it when he can’t worship it as apart.

Religious rites and rigid ceremonies were passed down from one generation to the next as a practice or set customs and tradition and performed automatically with blind faith. Such worship based on the belief of God does not reach God.

Religious rites and ceremonies, yagnas and homa-havans, or any other forms of ritual are meant for the ignorant populace.

Belief in God without knowing God in actuality holds the worshiper more firmly in the grip of ignorance. 

All worship and the ceremonies rituals performed on the base of non-Vedic Gods will not yield any fruits.  Deeper self-search reveals the fact that worshiped, the worship and worshiper, and the world are merely an illusion created out of consciousness.

Religious rites and ceremonies, yagnas and homa-havans, or any other forms of rituals formal observance have long since set in. 

Religious rites and ceremonies, yagnas and homa-havans, or any other forms of ritual are meant for the ignorant populace. In the Atmic path, the seeker has to discard what is not needed to realize the truth, which is beyond the form, time, and space.

Religious rites and ceremonies, yagnas and homa-havans, or any other forms of rituals formal observance have long since set in. 

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

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 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. :~Santthosh Kumaar