Thursday, June 8, 2017

Sage Sankara says even women can realize truth if they persist.+


Many centuries back orthodoxy barred and restricted women from studying scriptures restricted women only to household and bearing children.  In modern days women are capable has more capable of grasping truth like in the Vedic era.

Women  Sages

Women Sages of India have been given less importance, for several reasons obvious to anyone studying history...

In the medieval period, women were confined to homes and according to some moral codes, women were not allowed to study scriptures and chant mantras while mantras were invoked as female deities or Goddesses

The Vedic rishis had wives who were learned women and took part in philosophical discussions. The crippling social practices for women, considering them as inferior, unfit for scriptural studies were introduced by male-dominated societies...While women monastics or nuns were introduced in Buddhism; it was not a common practice to have nuns in Hindu monastic orders until recent times.

Sage Sri, Sankara has philosophical disputes and debates with an equally great scholar, Mandana Mishra.  Mishra's learned wife Bharathi served as the umpire. She was taken as the incarnation of the Goddess of learning Saraswati.

If one realizes the words and the world in which we exist created out of single stuff, and that single stuff is consciousness then no word is required to explain the Soul, which is the ultimate truth, Brahman, or God.  All the words and experiences are of duality. The duality is not reality.

Sage Sri, Sankara says in Vivekachoodamani, that even women can realize the truth if they persist. (Mand.P.351)

Thus, it proves that Sage Sri, Sankara wanted even women to acquire Advaitic wisdom, whereas the Orthodox Advaitins bars women from indulging in the path of wisdom even in these modern days.  Orthodoxy is based on the experience of birth, life, death, and the world as a reality whereas the ultimate truth is based on the formless Soul, the Self.   Thus, Advaitic wisdom is for the whole universe irrespective of any gender, race, creed, and religion. 

Vedic women:~

In the Vedic era, women occupied a very important position, in fact, a superior position to, men. It is a culture whose only words for strength and power are feminine -"Shakti'' means "power'' and "strength.'' All male power comes from the feminine. Literary evidence suggests that kings and towns were destroyed because a single woman was wronged by the state.

The Rig Veda also refers to women engaged in warfare. One queen, Bispala is mentioned, and even as late a witness as Megasthenes (fifth century B.C. E.) mentions heavily armed women guards protecting Chandragupta's palace. 

In Vedic times women and men were equal as far as education and religion were concerned. Women participated in public sacrifices alongside men. One text mentions a female rishi Visvara. Some Vedic hymns are attributed to women such as Apala, the daughter of Atri, Ghosa, the daughter of Kaksivant, or Indrani, the wife of Indra. Apparently, in early Vedic times, women also received the sacred thread and could study the Vedas.

 The Haritasmrti mentions a class of women called Brahmavaadins who remained unmarried and spent their lives in study and ritual. Panini's distinction between arcarya (a lady teacher) and acaryani (a teacher's wife), and Upadhyaya (a woman preceptor) and upadhyayani (a preceptor's wife) indicates that women at that time could not only be students but also teachers of sacred lore. He mentions the names of several noteworthy women scholars of the past such as Kathi, Kalapi, and Bahvici. The Upanishads refer to several women philosophers, who disputed with their male colleagues such as Vacaknavi, who challenged Yagnavalkya. 
India of the Vedas entertained a respect for women amounting to worship; a fact which we seem little to suspect in Europe when we accuse the extreme East of having denied the dignity of woman, and of having only made her an instrument of pleasure and of passive obedience." He also said: "What! here is a civilization, which you cannot deny to be older than your own, which places the woman on a level with the man and gives her an equal place in the family and in society." : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Consciousness is God in truth.+


You will find your own way when you realize the fact that the ‘Self’ is not you but the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.  Consciousness is 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.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter: - All those whose intelligence has been stolen by material desires, they worship many Gods. (7- Verse -20)
Thus, by sticking up to the Gods, which are not God in truth, you are sticking up to the illusion. Sticking up to illusion means sticking up to ignorance. sticking up to ignorance means you are not qualified to acquire self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.
Unless you find it on your own, you will not be able to realize the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space. Without a perfect understanding of ‘what is what’ it will take you nowhere.
Religious God is not God in truth. You must know God in truth according to your own scriptures.
Bible says: ~ “God is a Spirit, and they that worship God  must worship God in spirit and in truth, (John 4:24)”, 

The Spirit is the root element of the universe. The Spirit is present in the form of the Soul, the 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
Meher Baba said: ~ God is your innermost Self. Do not search for God outside of you. Let these words be inscribed in your heart. Nothing is real but God. Nothing Matters but love for God. God is everywhere and does everything. God is beyond us and is everything. God alone is and all else is an illusion. 
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)
Yajurveda – chapter- 32:~ God is Supreme or Supreme Spirit.

Rig Veda: ~ 'Prajnanam Brahma'- Consciousness is the ultimate reality or Brahman or God in truth.  

Do not accept any other God other than the Soul. The Soul is God in truth,  Nothing is real but the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. Nothing matters but realizing God in truth. God in truth is everywhere and in everything. Let these words be inscribed in your subconscious.

God in truth is hidden by the illusory universe. God in truth alone is real and eternal and all else is an illusion.

Brahman is merely a word to indicate the ultimate truth or God in truth.  The ultimate truth itself is God in truth. 

Even Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: ~ Brahman (God) is in the form of the Athma, and it is indeed Athma itself.
There is a clear-cut idea of God in the Vedas, Upanishad, and Bhagavad Gita. And also there is a clear-cut idea of what not to worship as God in place of  God in truth.
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.
Remember:~
Vedas and Upanishad confirm the Soul, the Self, is present in the form of the Spirit or the consciousness.
Rig Veda: ~ The Atman (Soul or Spirit) is the cause; Atman is the support of all that exists in this universe. May ye never turn away from the Atman, the Self. May ye never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman?" (10:48, 5)
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.
Sage Sankara’s Supreme Brahman (God in truth) 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 besides 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.
Only through deeper self-search do beginners and intermediates gradually become aware of ‘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 consciousness, are they 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. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Rituals, prayers and ceremonies of different religions and cults are not the tool for Self-realization or Truth-realization or God-realization.+


Sage Sankara pokes fun at ascetics and points out that all their austerities do not cause desires to go (Altar Flowers" Page 205, v.2 P.207 v.4)

Bhagavad Gita Chapter: - All those whose intelligence has been stolen by material desires, they worship many Gods. (7- Verse -20)
Thus, by sticking up to the Gods, which are not God in truth, you are sticking up to the illusion. Sticking up to illusion means sticking up to ignorance. sticking up to ignorance means you are not qualified to acquire self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.
Unless you find it on your own, you will not be able to realize the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space. Without a perfect understanding of ‘what is what’ it will take you nowhere.
Religious God is not God in truth. You must know God in truth according to your own scriptures.
The Bible says: ~ “God is a Spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. (John 4:24) 

The Spirit is the root element of the universe. The Spirit is present in the form of the Soul, the innermost Self. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. From the Spirit, the universe comes into existence. In the Spirit, the universe resides. And into the Spirit, the universe is dissolved. The Spirit is the parent of all that is there
Meher Baba said: ~ God is your innermost Self. Do not search for God outside of you. Let these words be inscribed in your heart. Nothing is real but God. Nothing Matters but love for God. God is everywhere and does everything. God is beyond us and is everything. God alone is and all else is an illusion. 

The essence of Mundaka is: Do not be satisfied with rituals, yoga, etc. which are good in their own way but inquire. Into what? Brahman and Atman are things you can never see. So do not inquire into them. Inquire into the world around you, which you can see. Science tells you it is passing away every second. Everything is dying repeatedly. Where is it going? Thus you follow up your inquiry into what you can lay your hands on. How can you inquire into Atma which you cannot see? So first we deal with the known and seen, this inquiry leads up to the unknown in the end.

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.

Rituals, prayers, and ceremonies of different religions and cults are not a tool for Self-realization or Truth-realization, or God-realization. They keep the Soul, the 'Self' in the cage of ignorance.

Attachment to the rigid devotion to the religious belief of God limits one to think within the framework of the illusory division of form, time, and space.

Diverse beliefs of religion and its diverse idea of God create divisions between one religion and another. The rituals and ceremonies become an obstacle to realizing the religious God one believes and worships is not God in truth.  Religion becomes an obstacle to realizing the real God hidden by ignorance.

The seeker of truth is keener to realize the ‘Self' hidden by the dualistic illusion. The seeker of truth keeps only one desire and longing — that of union with the Soul, God. A seeker is never entangled in with the religion, rituals, yoga, and physical Gurus  and never allows himself to be overpowered by  any attachment emotions and sentiments
Isa Upanishads says:~  The time one spends in ritualistic practices is wasted; one can spend the same time moving forward towards Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana, which is the main goal.
There is no second thing that exists other than the Soul, the Self. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. the Soul is the real God. God is the only reality, the Soul, the God is the indivisible reality. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Tuesday, June 6, 2017

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


Religion is not final. It only gives satisfaction to the populace. The Self - knowledge is for the whole of humanity to free them from experiencing the illusory birth, life, death, and the world as a reality.
People are more interested in religion than spirituality. Religion makes people believe in the false idea of God whereas spirituality is for realizing God in truth.    
There is no second thing that exists other than the Soul, the Self. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. the Soul is the real God. God is the only reality, the soul, God is the indivisible reality.

Rituals prayers and ceremonies of different religions and cults are not a tool for Self-realization. they keep one in the cage of ignorance.

Attachment to the rigid devotion to the religious belief of God limits one to think within the framework of the illusory division of form, time, and space.

Diverse beliefs of religion and its diverse idea of God create divisions between one religion and another. The rituals and ceremonies become an obstacle in realizing the religious God one believes and worships is not God in truth.  Religion becomes an obstacle for realizing the real God hidden by ignorance.

Real God is not a religious God. Religious Gods are mythical Gods based on belief. Belief based Gods are a myth.

Mythological stories are a myth. Whatever is based on myth is merely superstition.  Mythology was introduced in the past for the ignorant masses. It has to be discarded as one progresses in his spiritual advancement. 

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

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. God with form, name, and attributes does not find any support from the Vedas.

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

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

Even 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 (Gita 14.27)

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).

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. 

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

Thus it refers to formless and attributeless God, which is the Atman (Soul), the  ‘Self’ within the false experience. Thus it indicates clearly all the Gods with form and attributes are mere imagination based on the false ‘Self’.  Thus Atman or Soul, the ‘Self’ is God.

Sage Sankara’s Supreme Brahman 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.

The God you see and meet and in your vision is not God in truth but a hallucination. How can you see and meet God without knowing what God is in actuality? Praying and meditating on God without knowing what God really is, leads to hallucination. The world in which you exist hides God. Thus, Self-realization is necessary to realize ‘what God is in actuality. 

Sage Sankara’s whole wisdom can be summed up in one sentence, ‘There is nothing else but Brahman. He says that Absolute Existence, Absolute Knowledge, and Absolute Awareness are real. The universe is not real. He says that Brahma and Atman are one. 

The ultimate and the Absolute Truth is the Self, which is one though appearing as many different individuals. The individual has no reality. Only the Self is real; the rest, mental and physical are but passing appearances. 

Genuine philosophy must be independent of religion, that in Sage Sankara himself the Saguna Brahman or a personal God is only a part of the phenomenal (if not illusory) world, and the Nirguna Brahman is the only reality and has nothing to do with religion.  

Sage Sri Sankara pokes fun at ascetics and points out that all their austerities do not cause desires to go (Altar Flowers" Page 205, v.2 P.207 v.4)

The seeker of truth is more keen to realize the ‘Self' hidden by the dualistic illusion. The seeker of truth keeping only one desire and longing — that of union with the Soul, God. A seeker is never entangled in with the religion, rituals, yoga and physical Gurus and never allows himself to be overpowered by any attachment emotions and sentiments.

Ordinary persons are caught up in believing the universe as a reality. The entire universe is nothing but an illusion created out of the Soul, which is the God in Truth.

A Gnani is always immersed in  Self-awareness and can never be caught up in the mazes of the illusory universe. Just as an ordinary person does not pay any attention to the reality hidden by the universe, so a Gnani does not pay any attention to the universe except to divert the attention of humanity from the illusory universe to the hidden reality of the universe.

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.

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

The seeker has to begin his analysis with the world first, not with the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. 

The world in which you exist, consciousness is the finality. A Gnani sees the world in which he exists as consciousness." But to know this they must be examined and studied.

The yogi does not care to know about the world" and for a  Gnani nothing remains to be known for him because he is fully aware of the fact that the universe in which he exists is nothing but an illusion created out of consciousness.

The Pundits do not know the true nature of the world in which we exist.  Scriptures deal only with the Objects, not with the Witness of the objects.

If one starts with the idea that Samsara (universe) exists, he can never see the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, because Samsara (world) is an illusion and only ignorant people read it as a reality. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar 

Sunday, June 4, 2017

Meher Baba:~ There is no difference in the realization of the Truth either by a Muslim, Hindu, Zoroastrian, or a Christian.+


Meher Baba said: ~ God is your innermost Self. Do not search for God outside of you. Let these words be inscribed in your heart. Nothing is real but God. Nothing Matters but love for God. God is everywhere and does everything. God is beyond us and is everything. God alone is and all else is an illusion.
Meher Baba:~ There is no difference in the realization of the Truth either by a Muslim, Hindu, Zoroastrian, or Christian. The difference is only in words and terms. Truth is not the monopoly of a particular race or religion.
Meher Baba says:~ UNLESS AND UNTIL ignorance is removed and Knowledge is gained . . . the Knowledge whereby the Divine Life is experienced and lived . . . everything pertaining to the spiritual seems paradoxical . . . GOD, whom we do not see, we say is real; and the world, which we do see, we say is false. In experience, what exists for us does not really exist; and what does not exist for us, really exists.
Meher Baba Said: ~ A true aspirant is not content with the knowledge of spiritual realities based on hearsay... he insists on the direct knowledge."
Meher Baba: ~ "There is no higher or lower goal. There is only one goal, Self-Realization."
Meher Baba: ~ When religion has become merely a matter of external rituals and ceremonies, it has become a cage for the Soul.
Meher Baba:~ The only REAL KNOWLEDGE is the Knowledge that God is the inner dweller in good people and so-called bad, in saint and so-called sinner. 
Meher Baba:~  Spirituality does not need renunciation of worldly activities. It means the internal renunciation of mundane desires. Mere asceticism does not lead to spirituality. The Infinite embraces all expressions of life.

Meher Baba: ~ The scriptures are like rotten bones rotted and are as food for worms.
Theosophy and philosophy are like good bones rotted and are as food for vultures.
The writings of inspired poets are like fresh bones and are as food for dogs.
The writings of spiritually advanced saints are like flesh and are as food for tigers.
The writings by living Perfect Masters are like the brain and are as food for men!
Good bones when rotted have some semblance of bone, but rotten bones when rotted are like filth.
So, you may go through the scriptures superficially — only to drive away the barking dogs when necessary; for instance, when you are called upon to answer the queries of the priests and the Orthodox. [Lord Meher 15: 5267]
Meher Baba: ~ “When the reality appears this ignorance which one thinks as reality becomes unreal.
***
The people of the world, the masses, do not believe in the existence of God. They merely fear God as unknown, mighty Being, Who rewards the good and worthy and punishes the wicked.
And it is this punishment of hell created by God that they fear more than God Himself; for if they really believed in Him- in His existence- and were afraid of Him, their behavior would be quite different from what it is today- dishonest, Selfish, deceitful and wicked.
If they really felt afraid of God, they would be ever alert not to do anything that would displease God, or that God would not like.
If they really trusted in God and believed in Gods existence, they would at once being looking for God and would never rest until they find God.

For when love for God comes, fear of God vanishes. And when that love reaches its zenith, the lover finds that he himself is the Beloved. : ~ Meher Baba

Thursday, June 1, 2017

Intellectual answers to various questions remain in the domain of the form, time and space.+


Intellectual answers to various questions remain in the domain of form, time, and space.  The answers may satisfy one intellectually within the scope of from, time, and space.   The truth is beyond form, time, and space. Beyond the scope of the form, time, and space mean beyond the ‘I’.

All the ‘I-centric Gurus and their teachings become a great hindrance in the path of wisdom. 

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

The path of wisdom is the Soulcentric path.  Thus, egocentric intellectualism is nothing to do with the truth which is beyond form, time, and space.  All accumulated dross leads to hallucination.

Katha Upanishad says:~ Fools dwelling in darkness, but thinking themselves wise and erudite, go round and round, by various tortuous paths, like the blind led by the blind. (Ch II-5 P-14)

People are trying to purify the mind, but you fail to realize the mind itself is impure because it is merely an illusion. First, you realize ’what is the mind?  You and your experience of the world together are the mind. 

When the mind disappears, then the ‘Soul, the innermost Self’ shines.  When you realize the’ mind’ and the Soul are one in essence, then the mind then there is no difference between the mind and the Soul.   The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness is the cause of you and the world, but it itself is uncaused. 

Avadhuta Gita:-“The Atman cannot be purified through the practice of the six limbs of the yoga, or through the annihilation of the mind, or through the instruction of a teacher. The Atman is the Reality Itself and It is Purity Itself."

Lord Krishna himself says: ~ He can do nothing to make a man intelligent straight away. The adepts give Prasad, blessing, initiations, mantrams, etc. only to confer temporary peace of mind, to help one to get rid of worries, but not to confer Gnana. The capacity to receive it must first be inborn in man by evolutionary degree.

Sage Goudapada says that: - The merciful Veda teaches Karma and Upasana to people of lower and middling intellect, while Jnana is taught to those of higher intellect.

If you are seeking truth then you have to drop all that which obstructs your realization of truth.

Ish Upanishad: ~

MANTRA 10

Vidya and Avidya both are hindrances to Self-knowledge, but Vidya is even worse than Avidya. The word Vidya is used here in a special sense; here it means worshipping Gods and Goddesses. By worshipping Gods and Goddesses you will go after death to the world of Gods and Goddesses. But will that help you? The time you spent there is wasted because if you were not there you could have spent that time moving forward towards Self-knowledge, which is your goal. In the world of Gods and Goddesses, you cannot do that, and thus you go deeper and deeper into darkness.

Avidya is Karma and therefore a hindrance. You perform Avidya - i.e., you perform Agnihotra and other sacrifices. This is a roundabout way of purifying the mind, and it is also groping in the dark. But it may not have as heavy a toll on your time and energy as the other.

Ishopanishad: ~ “They are steeped in ignorance and sunk into the greatest depth of misery who worships the matter, instead of the All-Pervading God and those who worship things born of matter like trees, animals, man, idols, etc. are sunk deep in misery."

Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana cannot be attained by the study of the scriptures and intellectual understanding or by bookish knowledge.  Therefore, there is no use in studying the scriptures and other books in order to acquire non-dual wisdom.  

That is why Buddha rejected the scriptures, and even Sage Sankara indicated that the ultimate truth lies beyond religion, the belief in God and the scriptures.  : ~ Santthosh Kumaar