By praying and meditating on God without knowing what God really is, leads to hallucination. The world in which you exist hides the God.+

How can you see and meet God without knowing what God is in actuality? By 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.

Swami Vivekananda: ~ The masses in India cry to sixty million Gods and still die like dogs. Where are these Gods?

 Knowing this, stand up and fight! Not one step back that is the idea. ... Fight it out, whatever comes. Let the stars move from the sphere! Let the whole world stand against us! Death means only a change of garment. What of it? Thus, fight! You gain nothing by becoming cowards. ... Taking a step backward, you do not avoid any misfortune. You have cried to all the Gods in the world. Has misery ceased? The masses in India cry to sixty million Gods and still die like dogs. Where are these Gods? ... The Gods come to help you when you have succeeded. So what is the use? Die game. ... This bending the knee to superstitions, this selling yourself to your own mind does not befit you, my Soul. You are infinite, deathless, birthless. Because you are the infinite spirit, it does not befit you to be a slave. ... Arise! Awake! Stand up and fight! Die if you must. There is none to help you. You are the entire world. Who can help you? - Swami Vivekananda (Delivered In San Francisco, on May 28, 1900) -The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda/Volume 1/Lectures And Discourses/The Gita II

Swami Vivekananda: ~ “Stick to the truth”

The belief system preaches that God is one and the ways to God are many. It simply tries to lead them to darkness with its dogma and idea of many Gods, which is apart from the Self. The religion is based on the false self (ego) and false experience (world) thus; all religion-based beliefs are a falsehood.

Religious Gods are based on belief. Belief is not God. 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, it 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.

Religion can never make you know God because it propagates the belief as God. Only an intense urge to know what God supposed to be in truth can make you realize 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, the God is without the universe in which you exist.

God is the Supreme Being the One eternal homogeneous essence, indivisible consciousness and intelligence, which is beyond the form, time, and space. To which the Sages describe in a variety of ways through diverse words.

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

Only the path of wisdom leads the seeker of truth on his journey to the ultimate realization of the true nature of the Universal Essence, which is the Soul. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness.

Bhagavad Gita: 7: 19:~ "Such a man who has attained true knowledge, the knowledge of Self, the knowledge of Atman, worships ‘Self’ as~ Atman (God) alone exists~ everything is Atman, there exists nothing except Atman. Such a man is extremely rare.

The 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 other than consciousness a God.

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

Religious Gods are based on blind belief. Religious God cannot be considered as the center because the Soul and the innermost ‘Self’ is the center of all that exists. Without the Soul the world in which you exist ceases to exist, it means the religious God is dependent on the Soul for his existence.

In Yajurveda – chapter- 32:~ It has been said that God Supreme or 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 innermost self. May ye never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman?" (10:48, 5)

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 the 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

Sage Sankara goes on to say: ~A sickness of not cured by saying the word “medicine.” You must take the medicine. Liberation does not come by merely saying the word “Brahman.” Brahman must be experienced. Until you allow this apparent universe to dissolve from your consciousness until you have realized Brahman, how can you find liberation just by saying the word Brahman? The result is merely noise. Until a man has destroyed his enemies and taken possession of the splendor and wealth of the kingdom, he cannot become a king by simply saying “I am a king.”

A buried treasure is not uncovered by merely uttering the words: “Come forth.” You must follow the right directions, dig, remove the stones and earth from above it, and then make it your own. In the same way, the pure truth of the Atman, which is buried under Maya and the effects of Maya, can be reached by meditation, contemplation, and other spiritual disciplines but never by subtle arguments.

As indicated in ISH Upanishads: ~ “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.

It clearly indicates that: -If the human goal is to acquire Self-Knowledge then why one has to indulge in rituals and glorify the conceptual Gods, Goddesses, and Gurus to go into deeper darkness. Instead, spend that time moving forward towards Self-knowledge, which is one’s prime goal. ~Santthosh Kumaar

Buddhists do not believe in Athma but they believe in emptiness. Buddhist fail to realize the emptiness is the nature of the Athma. emptiness itself is Athma.+*****

Buddhism has not proved the truth of Nonduality. Bhagavan Buddha pointed out the unreality of the world but he told people they were foolish to cling to it. But he stopped there. He came nearest to Advaita in speech but not to Advaita fully.

Dalai Lama said: ~ Buddhism need not be the best religion though it is most scientific and religion and inquisitive. But Buddhism has no answer to certain questions like the existence of Atama (Soul) and rebirth. Dali Lama said that as an individual he believes in rebirth as he had come across a few cases of rebirth. Modern science, Dalai Lama hoped would unearth the mystery behind the rebirth. (In DH –dec-212009-Gulbarga)

Buddhists do not believe in Athma but they believe in emptiness. Buddhist fail to realize the emptiness is the nature of the Athma. emptiness itself is Athma. emptiness is the fullness of the consciousness without the illusory division of the form, time and space.  Without the Athma it is impossible to prove nonduality. 

The Athma is the Self.   The Athma is present in the form of consciousness.  The consciousness is Self-evident. It is not established by extraneous proofs. It is not possible to deny consciousness because it is the very essence of the one who denies it. The consciousness is the basis of all kinds of knowledge, presuppositions, and proofs. Until one thinks of his body as the body, the ego as the ego the universe as the universe he remains in ignorance because he is still in ignorance and he is unaware of the fact that they too are the consciousness. 

The Upanishads have the answer to the existence of the Atama.

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

Sage Sankara disagrees with Buddhists who say, there is nothing - a nonentity. Sage  Sankara believes there is some reality, even though things are not what they appear to be. If one knows the truth, he will know what to do to find inspiration for action. The seeker of truth‘s subject is to know what is it that is Real.

Advaitic Sages disagree with Buddhists (Vijnanavadin) only on the Ultimate question, but they agree with their idealism fully.

Even when you say "I am not" you are thinking. Hence, every thought means positing some existence. To exist is to be thought of hence our criticism of Sunyavada which says there is nothing. In saying "There is nothing" they are unconsciously positing something. The thought of nothing is existence itself. Hence only by refraining from thought can they state their case. The thought itself is an object. The negation of existence is a thought. The presence of an object means duality. Hence, this proves that the Sunyavadins never understood non-duality, ie. Brahman.

Buddhism agrees in thinking that the ego sees itself; they do not admit there is anything that sees the ego: they say there is no proof that any witness exists. When thoughts are there, thoughts become conscious of themselves.  Skandhas that appear and disappear are objects only Buddhists are unaware of the subject.

ZEN may get a flash of peace but that is not the same as Advaitins who realizes that the world in which we exist is the Atman. Zen is mysticism.

Critics say Sage Sankara and Sag Goudpada borrowed their ideas from Buddhism. But in Manduka Upanishad (page 281) these two declare they are not Buddhists, only a number of their ideas agree with those of Buddhism, whilst they point out their difference of view from Sunyavada Buddhists and Vijnanavadins. Thus, Sage Sankara and Sage  Goudpada both agree and disagree with Buddhists.

Sunyavadins say there is nothing, neither matter nor mind: they are nihilists. How do they know the mind ceases to exist? Where is the proof? When you know everything is mind, both the changing forms and the underlying substances how can you posit its real change into nothingness? Mind, Brahman always remains really itself because of its nature. We see change every minute but by an inquiry into the nature of change and cause, we see that it is only when we imagine that there is cause and change.

Remember:~

The distinction between Sage Sankara's Advaita and Vijnanavadin Buddhism is that the former is mentalism i.e. mind is the real, whereas the latter is idealism, i.e. ideas are real. We follow the former.

Buddhism did not graduate its teaching to suit people of varying grades; hence its failure to affect society in Asia.

Bhagavan Buddha's teachings that all life is misery belongs to the relative standpoint only. For you cannot form any idea of misery without contrasting it with its opposite, happiness. The two will always go together. Bhagavan Buddha taught the goal of cessation of misery, i.e. peace, but took care not to discuss the ultimate standpoint for then he would have had to go above the heads of the people and tell them that misery itself was only an idea, that peace even was an idea (for it contrasted with peacelessness). That the doctrine he gave out was a limited one, is evident because he inculcated compassion. Why should a Buddhist sage practice pity? There is no reason for it. Advaita is the next step higher than Buddhism because it gives the missing reason, viz. unity, non-difference from others, and because it explains that it used the concept of removing the sufferings of others, of lifting them up to happiness, only as we use one thorn to pick out another, afterward throw both away. Similarly, Advaita discards both concepts of misery and happiness in the ultimate standpoint of non-duality, which is indescribable.

Buddhists say that a thing exists only for a moment, and if that thing has still got some of the substance from which it was produced how then can they deny that its cause is continuing in the effect; hence its existence is more than a moment. Vedanta is concerned with whether it is one and the same thing which has come into being or has it come out of nothing.

Even the Sunyavada ultimate of the "void" is really a breath, and therefore an imagination and not truth.

Bhagavan Buddha as a constructive worker committed an error in failing to give the masses a religion, something tangible they could grasp something materialistic, if symbolic that their limited intellect could take hold of, in addition to his ethics and philosophy.

Sage Sankara gave religion, rituals to the ignorant masses, and  Advaitic wisdom to the serious seekers of truth.  

Bhagavan Buddha gave as the central feature of his doctrine the great law of Karma in order to reiterate its ethical meaning. He did more good in this to uplift the people than the ritualists.

Remember:~

Why Zen has failed to influence the Japanese in practicing Zen, whether it is because Zen Buddhism has degenerated into religion instead of philosophy.

Tibetan and Chinese Buddhists who say that there are many Buddhas living in spirit bodies and helping our earth from the spiritual world are still in the sphere of religious illusion, not the ultimate truth. Their statements are wrong. Every sage realizes that the only way to help mankind is to come down amongst them, for which he must necessarily take on flesh-body. When people are suffering how can he relieve their suffering unless he appears amongst them? When people are suffering how can he feed them from an unseen world whether their struggle is for material bread or for spiritual truth? No! He must be here actually in the flesh. It is impossible to help them in any other way and all talk of Shiva living on Mount Kailas in the spiritual body or Buddha in Nirmanakaya, invisible body belongs to the realm of delusion or Self-deception.

Sage Sankara disagrees with Buddhists who say, there is nothing - a nonentity. Sage  Sankara believes there is some reality, even though things are not what they appear to be. If one knows the truth, he will know what to do to find inspiration for action. The seeker of truth‘s subject is to know what is it that is Real.

Buddhism says: all things are illusory and nothing exists. However, Advaita avers that it is not so. It says that the universe, of course, is illusory, but there is Brahman (consciousness), that exists forming the very substratum of all things (illusion or universe).

Only when we independently search the truth without religion and its doctrine then we will be able to realize the truth beyond form, time, and space.

There is no need to study neither Advaita nor Vedas nor Buddhism to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth. It is no use going roundabout way; trace the Brahman.

Sage Sankara said: ~ Neither by the practice of yoga nor philosophy, nor by good works nor by learning, does liberation come, but only through the realization that Atman and Brahman are one in no other way.  (1) Vivekachoodamani v 56, pg 25

Advaita is the next step higher than Buddhism because it gives the missing reason, viz. unity, non-difference from others, and because it explains that it used the concept of removing the sufferings of others, of lifting them up to happiness, only as we use one thorn to pick out another, afterward throw both away. Similarly, Advaita discards both concepts of misery and happiness in the ultimate standpoint of non-duality, which is indescribable.

Buddhists say that a thing exists only for a moment, and if that thing has still got some of the substance from which it was produced, how then can they deny that its cause is continuing in the effect; hence its existence is more than a moment. Vedanta is concerned with whether it is one and the same thing which has come into being or has it come out of nothing.

Even in Buddhism:~ Buddhist teaching has itself become a kind of interactive and Self-evolving process, much like its idea of pratityasamutpada. However, the end goal is still Nirvana, which is an experience ultimately beyond all concepts and language, even beyond the Buddhist teachings. In the end, even the attachment to the Dharma, the Buddhist teaching, must be dropped like all other attachments. The tradition compares the teaching to a raft upon which one crosses a swift river to get to the other side; once one is on the far shore; there is no longer any need to carry the raft. The far shore is Nirvana, and it is also said that when one arrives, one can see quite clearly that there was never any river at all.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

The Soul does not reside in human body.+

The Soul does not reside in the human body. People think it is in the brain or forehead or Ajna chakra or the third eye but all these are imagination based on false self (ego) within the false experience (waking). These body-based theories have no value on the Advaitic perspective. Such theories hold no water when the ‘Self’ is not the body.

Your judgment has to be based on the ‘Self’, which is the Soul. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness is the ultimate reality or Brahman. From the standpoint of the Soul, you and the world in which you exist is an illusion created out of the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Consciousness is ever-present. Without consciousness, the world, in which you exist ceases to exist. Consciousness is Self-evident. It is not established by extraneous proofs. It is not possible to deny consciousness because it is the very essence of the one who denies it. Consciousness is the basis of all kinds of knowledge, presuppositions, and proofs. Consciousness is everything. Thus, consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.

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 realize  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. 

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 truth other than the Soul, the ‘Self’.

The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, is real and eternal. The world in which we exist is an illusion created out of consciousness.

The scientists now concluded that you are not the brain (body). The consciousness requires the joint operation of the brain, body and the world. "You are not your brain. The brain, rather, is part of what you are."

The Biology of Consciousness

by Alva Noë. Hill and Wang, 2009

 Alva Noe, a University of California, Berkeley, philosopher, and cognitive scientist, argues that after decades of a concerted effort on the part of neuroscientists, psychologists, and philosophers "only one proposition about how the brain makes us conscious ... has emerged unchallenged: we don't have a clue." The reason we have been unable to explain the neural basis of consciousness, he says, is that it does not take place in the brain. Consciousness is not something that happens inside us but something we achieve it is more like dancing than it is like the digestive process. To understand consciousness the fact that we think and feel and that the world shows up for us we need to look at a larger system of which the brain is only one element. Consciousness requires the joint operation of the brain, body, and the world. "You are not your brain. The brain, rather, is part of what you are.

Thus, science is going in the right direction in its invention and one day it will declare that everything is consciousness, which Sage Sankara declared 1200 years back ~ everything is Atman- because Atman is in the form of consciousness. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

People think the Soul or consciousness is different from awareness. It is the different words are used for the same stuff.+

People think the Soul or consciousness is different from awareness.  It is the different words are used for the same stuff.   They make their own intellectual theory and get stuck with intellectual prison.

God is the Supreme Being the One eternal homogeneous essence, indivisible consciousness and intelligence, which is beyond the form, time, and space. To which the Sages describe in a variety of ways through diverse words.

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

Only the path of wisdom leads the seeker of truth on his journey to the ultimate realization of the true nature of the Universal Essence, which is the Soul. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness.

Bhagavad Gita: 7: 19:~ "Such a man who has attained true knowledge, the knowledge of Self, the knowledge of Atman worships ‘Self’ as~ Atman (God) alone exists~ everything is Atman there exists nothing except Atman. Such a man is extremely rare."

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.

By becoming more and more intellectual one becomes more and more intoxicated to individuality. The intellectuality is limited to the domain of the form, time and space.  In the realm of truth, the intellectuality is replaced by Advaitic wisdom.  

There is no second thing exists other than the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. The world in which you exist is nothing but an illusion created out of consciousness. Everything is one, that is, unity in diversity.

By realizing the world in which you exist is created out of single stuff.  That single stuff is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. Knowledge of the single stuff is Self-knowledge. Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana leads to Self-awareness. 

In Self-awareness of the Soul, the 'Self' remains in its own awareness in the midst of the form, time and space. Thus, Self-awareness is real meditation. Mediation is the nature of the Soul, the Self.

The seeker has to move on in his search for the real truth, hidden by the illusory form, time and space.

The nature of the Soul is a silent, featureless one without attributes. The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, is not an object but it is always the subject.

The truth is beyond form, time and space. Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana dispels ‘Ignorance’. The Self is the Soul. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness; there the object has become one with the subject.  There is only unity in diversity.

Consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman. Consciousness is ‘the one without a second’, the one which alone exists as the ultimate reality. 

The Soul remains in its own awareness. The illusion (mind) does not merge with the Soul because it never really separated from it.  The Soul remains the one without a second (Advaita). The Soul’s separation is an illusion, the result of ignorance which when dispelled, the hidden reality shines as formless, timeless and spaceless existence. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

You will find your own way when you realize the fact that the ‘Self’ is not you but the Soul, the God, which is present in the form of the consciousness.+

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.  The consciousness is God in truth.

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

Only the path of wisdom leads the seeker of truth on his journey to the ultimate realization of the true nature of the Universal Essence, which is the Soul. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness.

Bhagavad Gita: 7: 19:~ "Such a man who has attained true knowledge, the knowledge of Self, the knowledge of Atman worships ‘Self’ as~ Atman (God) alone exists~ everything is Atman there exists nothing except Atman. Such a man is extremely rare."

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.

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 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. 

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)

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

Even Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: ~ Brahman (God) is present 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.

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

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.

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

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

From the Advaitic perspective, the Karma theory has no value.  Karma is based on birth entity whereas the Soul, the unborn eternal has no karma. 

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

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

Remember:~

Karma (Action) will not dispel ignorance itself. Karma itself is based on ignorance Only Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana will destroy ignorance.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

If the 'Self' is not you (waking entity) but the 'Self' is formless Soul then how anyone can accept the theory of Karma, which is based on false self within the false experience.

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

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

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

What is the world, what is meant by the aspirant for liberation; what is the contemplative man and what is a man of knowledge; what is bondage and what is liberation to the 'Self',  which is ever formless, timeless, and spaceless existence.

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

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

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

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

Sage Sankara says: ~ Without knowing and examining the external world, one can’t know truth, as the idea that the external world exists, won't go.+

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.

People dwelling in ignorance, but thinking themselves wise and erudite, go round and round by various blind beliefs and tortuous paths and practices, like the blind led by the blind.

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

To say the universe is an illusion without first examining it and inquiring into its nature thoroughly is to delude oneself. This world is common to every one of us; therefore the seeker of truth must begin his inquiry with it. It is only after he has inquired into the nature of the objective world, he realizes the universe which through ignorance appears as of diverse forms, is nothing else but the Soul which is present in the form of the consciousness is absolutely free from all the limitations of Maya.

It is erroneous to believe the general impression is that the universe disappears to a Gnani, that he sees nothing in Samadhi. Only by deluded persons will have such an impression?   Nothing is destroyed. Only ignorance disappears and the unreal nature of the universe is exposed.  The universe which appears as the waking experience is a dualistic illusion.

Remember:~

A Gnani has the full and firm conviction that everything is consciousness in the midst of dualistic illusion.  The Soul, Self being aware of its true nature in the midst of dualistic illusion is called Self-awareness.  

The universe or the waking experience will not disappear.  It is there always but the unreal nature of the waking experience is exposed in the midst of dualistic illusion through Advaitic wisdom.

 If one thinks its mere disappearance in Yogic Samadhi is the ultimate truth or Brahman, then he would get it in deep sleep.  Thus, the Yogic Samadhi is not the Advaitic wisdom. Thoughtlessness is not Advaitic wisdom.

Thoughtlessness is not wisdom. The thinker thought and the world is part of the illusion. The thought will not arise without form, time, and space. The form, time and space will not arise without the mind. The mind ceases to exist without the Soul which is in the form of the Spirit. Therefore, there is a need to know the “Self” is not limited to the physical entity (you), but it pervades everything and everywhere in the experience of diversity (waking or dream). 

The deep sleep is the state of thoughtlessness, silence, wordlessness, silence but it is not considered as the state of oneness because anyone can take a sleeping pill and will be able to get a state of oneness. 

Thus, trying to imitate the state of oneness in duality by observing silence, thoughtlessness, wordlessness or by Yogic Samadhi or surrendering to the physical Guru, the Advaitic wisdom will not dawn. Without the Advaitic wisdom, ignorance will not vanish. Thus, getting rid of ignorance through wisdom is the only way to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman.   : ~ Santthosh Kumaar