Sage Sankara’s Advaitic Gnana is common to whole humanity.+

Sage Sankara’s Advaitic Gnana is common to the whole of humanity.  There is nothing like One Gnana for a Hindu and another for a Christian another for Buddhist or Muslim.

The Wisdom of Sage Sankara can be summed up in the following statement: ~ 

Brahma Satyam, Jaganmithya, jivobrahmaivanaparah ~ Brahman alone is real; the world is non-real, and the individual Self is essentially not different from Brahman.

This is the quintessence of Sage  Sankara’s Advaitic wisdom.

Spirituality must be independent of religion, that in Sage Sri, Sankara himself the Saguna Brahman or a personal God is only a part of the illusory world, and the Nirguna Brahman is the only reality and has nothing to do with religion. 

Sage Sankara said: ~ Talk as much philosophy as you like, worship as many Gods as you please, observe ceremonies, and sing devotional hymns, but the liberation will never come, even after a hundred aeons, without realizing the Oneness.

The quest for truth does not begin with God. God has to be proved, not assumed. Hence, so-called philosophers who take God for granted are not philosophers at all.

Self-knowledge 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 scriptures in order to acquire non-dual wisdom. That is why Bhagavan Buddha rejected the scriptures, and even Sage Sankara indicated that the ultimate truth lies beyond religion, the concept of God, and the scriptures.

There is only one Reality to be known, the same for all seekers, but the ways to it, are hidden by the ‘I’. Self-discovery is the only way, towards the non-dualistic absolute without any religious doctrines, which will help the seekers to unfold the mystery of the illusion in which we all are searching for the truth of our true existence.

Sage Sankara:~  VC~ 65. As a treasure hidden underground requires (for its extraction) competent instruction, excavation, the removal of stones and other such things lying above it, and (finally) grasping, but never comes out by being (merely) called out by name, so the transparent truth of the Self, which is hidden by Maya and its effects, is to be attained through the instructions of a knower of Brahman, followed by reflection, meditation and so forth, but not through perverted arguments.

To realize the Advaitic Truth in a freer and fuller scope the seeker has to realize that form, time and space are one in essence. And that essence is consciousness. And the Soul, the innermost Self is present in the form of consciousness.

To realize the Advaitic truth the seeker has to be free from all superstitions and orthodox contaminations. The seeker has to be dedicated to acquiring the Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana alone.'

Advaitin pundits or scholars will teach that all is yourself, but none of them can show that this is so, none has analyzed it scientifically, and none can prove it. Rational proof is required so that one arrives at knowing the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.  Advaitic Gnana is the Knowledge of the Spirit or Soul, the God in truth.

Advaitin pundits or scholars' knowledge is mere dogma, parrotism, a repetition of what they read in scripture.  Authoritarianism merely assumes as true what another says, but what has yet to be proved.

Sage Sankara’s  Advaitic wisdom can be summed up in one sentence, ‘There is nothing else but Brahman (Atman or consciousness). Sage Sankara says that Absolute Existence, Absolute Knowledge, and Absolute awareness are real. The universe is not real. Sage  Sankara says that Brahma and Atman are one. The ultimate and Absolute Truth is the Self, which is one though appearing as the universe containing many different individuals. The individual has no reality. Only the Self is real; the universe is but passing appearances.

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)

The Brahma Sutras together with Sage Sankara's commentary thereon do not contain the higher wisdom. They are intended for those who are incapable of thinking rationally.

Orthodoxy is the home of mysticism and deification which is why they are not keen on the rational truth.  Sage  Sankara is a Guru to the religious followers and he is a great Gnani to the seeking world.   

Remember:~

There is a need to bifurcate religion from spirituality. People think religion is the stepping stone to Self-realization but it is not so. Religion is based on ignorance and it keeps the seeker permanently in ignorance by hiding the truth with its mythical beliefs and dogmas and superstition. According to the Vedas and Upanishads, all religious propagated beliefs are a myth.

Whereas Spirituality is based on the Spirit, which is the cause of the world in which we exist.

As one goes deeper into annals of the history one becomes aware of the fact that the so-called present Hinduism has adopted many things from Buddhism, the religion of Abraham, Jainism, and Islam. If one goes deeper enough he will become aware everything is mixed up and messed up in time.

Sage Sankara endeavored towards establishing the Vedic religion overthrowing Buddhism. But even he was not able to avoid the influence of Buddhism. The influence of the revolutionary atmosphere of Buddhism has reappeared in the Advaita of Sage Sankara. His inability to revive the Vedic religion that flourished before the Buddhist revolution in its pure form is discernible.

No one is taken pains to rectify it because; because people have inherited them, from their ancestors and they think it is blasphemy even to hear anything against their inherited religion and belief.  

Once one gets involved with the religious class it is the end of the pursuit of truth.

The orthodox  Advaita is based on a dualistic perspective but the Advaitic wisdom of Sage Sankara is based on the nondualistic perspective. The theistic (orthodoxy) Advaita bifurcated from Advaitic philosophy. The theistic (dualistic) Advaita is meant for the ignorant populace.

Sage Sankara and Sage Goudpada are independent thinkers other schools of Indian philosophy are mere theologies. Advaitic philosophy is real philosophy. The dualistic philosophy cannot escape the charge of dogmatism.

Advaitic wisdom propagated by Sage Sankara is from the non-dualistic perspective.

There is no need to study neither Advaita Vedanta nor Vedas nor Buddhism to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman. It is no use going roundabout way; trace the Brahman.: ~ Santthosh Kumaar

God created the world is an absolute lie. If the man had seen God creating the world, he could admit it, but how could he have seen God before he came into existence? +

Religious Gods are not God in truth. Bible says “God is a Spirit, and they that worship God must worship God in Spirit and in Truth. Rig Veda says may ye never accept another God in place of the Atman (Spirit) nor worship other than the Atman.

What is the use of arguing with religious believers?  They think of what they know as the ultimate truth.

Whatever is real in the world in which we exist is God. All that is real in the world in which we exist is the Soul, the innermost Self.

Thus, by realizing the Self, which is the Soul, we discover the Soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness itself is God which is hidden by the ‘I’, which is the dualistic illusion. 

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

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

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, timeless, and spaceless  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).

No one has seen God creating the world. No one can claim that he was the first Knower of creation. How can anyone know God created the creation when he himself is part of the creation?

People talk about God creating the creation as if they were present when God was creating the creation. So people who wrote creation and creator theory existed prior to God creating the creation.

There got to be at the very beginning of the creation, someone or another who was the very first knower of the creation. There cannot be something ‘known’ in the absence of a ‘knower.’

Remember:~ 

Vedas say God is Supreme Spirit. God has no form. God cannot be seen directly by anyone. God pervades all beings and all directions. Thus God with forms and names does not find any support from the Vedas.

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.

Some philosophers and theologians strongly believe in the existence of God. They use different names for Him, Her, or it. God can be Christ, Allah, or Brahma. They regard God as the creator of the whole universe. they think without potter the pot cannot be created. 

The doubt naturally arises in every seeker, if God is the creator if that is so, who created God. The truth is that from the ultimate standpoint there is neither creator nor creation. The universe was not created by any person by whatever name you call Him or Her. There is no creator because there is no creation. Because the creation is a mere illusion created out of consciousness.

The consciousness is the only reality and all else is merely an illusion. It is not  God-created creation but man-created God and creator and creation theory. 

The creation is merely a dualistic illusion or Maya created out of the Spirit, which is the real God or Brahman.  From the standpoint of the Spirit the God the creation is non-existent as reality because it is merely an illusion.  

Remember:~ 

In Brahma Sutras Sage Sankara takes for granted, and 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 and dogmatism, but in the commentary, Sage Sri, Sankara cleverly introduced some philosophy.

A number of Upanishads are equally dogmatic and self-contradictory because they also begin by assuming Brahman. Few Upanishads prove Brahman at the end of a train of proof but still, they are very confusing and vague.

The causality and creation are for religious people only. Religion is only for those who are unable to understand truth beyond form, time, and space. 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 birth, life, death, and the world as reality.

Sage Sankara himself had often said that his philosophy was based on Sruti, or revealed scripture. This may be because Sage Sankara addressed the ordinary man, who finds security in the idea of causality and thus, in the idea of God—and Revelation is indispensable to prove the latter. He believed that those of superior intelligence, have no need for this idea of divine causality, and can, therefore, dispense with Sruti and arrive at the truth of Advaita by pure reason.

People of small intelligence follow religion and believe that God created the world. However, 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.

The seeker has to begin his analysis with the world first, not with the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. In the world in which you exist, consciousness is the finality. Thus, consciousness is the ultimate truth, Brahman, or God. The universe is merely an illusion created by God. 

In reality, the illusion and God are one in essence. Thus, consciousness, God is one without the second. Those who are stuck with the creator, and creation theory will not be able to realize God in truth.

A Gnani sees the world in which he exists as the consciousness." However, to know this, they must study and be examined.

Remember:~ 

Sage Sankara’s Advaitic wisdom is the fairest flower of wisdom in the world. 

Sage  Sankara says 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.

Advaita is not philosophy. Advaita is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth. The nature of God is Advaita. All the teaching propagated by some gurus are adulterated with theories, tradition, and religions and are not Advaitic wisdom. Advaita Gnana is “Self’-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

Lord Krishna confesses that the oldest wisdom of India (Advaitic wisdom) has been lost: people misinterpret and falsify it today as they did then. It is not yoga but the philosophic truth. But nobody knows it. The teachers of philosophy and leaders of mysticism or religion do not want to inquire into truth and have no time for it. (Gita –Chap- IV-v.2)

In Advaitic reality, there is neither God nor Goddess but only the consciousness. The consciousness is the real God.

Bhagavad Gita: ~ Brahmano hi pratisthaham ~ Brahman (God in truth) 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 'Self’. In reality, there is no duality, no differentiation. Only Atman exists.

 It is for every seeker who is seeking truth must first know what God is supposed to be in actuality according to Vedas and Upanishads and reject all non-Vedic Gods to realize the Atman is   God in truth.

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

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

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

The Vedas do not talk about idol worship. In fact, till about 2000 years ago followers of Vedism never worshipped idols. Idol worship was started by the followers of Buddhism and Jains. There is logic to idol worship. Vedas speak of one God that is the supreme ‘Self’ i.e. Atman or Soul but Hinduism indulges in worshiping 60 million Gods.

It indicates clearly all the Gods with form and attributes are mere imaginations based on the false ‘Self’.

 Brihadaranyaka Upanishad says: "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)

A great majority of Hindus are not in contact with their religious history therefore, they believe their inherited beliefs as the ultimate truth.

The Vedas confirm God is Atman (Spirit), the Self.

Rig Veda: ~ The Atman is the cause; Atman is the support of all that exists in this universe. May ye never turn away from the Atman, the 'Self’. May ye never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman?" (10:48, 5)

Rig Veda 1/164/46: ~ “They call him Indra, Mitra, Varuna, Agni, or the heavenly sunbird Garutmat. The seers call in many ways that which is One; they speak of Agni, Yama, and Matarishvan.

Rig Veda 8/58/2:~ Only One is the Fire, enkindled in numerous ways; only One is the Sun, pervading this whole universe; only One is the Dawn, illuminating all things. In very truth, the One has become the whole world.

Rig-Veda 1-164-46 and Y.V 32-1 clearly mention that God is “One”.

Rig Veda says God is ‘ONE’ and God is Atman, then why believe and worship in place of the real God.

Yajurveda – chapter- 32:~  God is Supreme Spirit has no ‘Pratima’ (idol) or material shape. God cannot be seen directly by anyone. God pervades all beings and all directions. Thus, Idolatry does not find any support from the Vedas.

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

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.

People who are saying ‘I AM GOD’ are hallucinating that they become God. First, you must know what God is supposed to be in actuality.

Sage Sankara declares Atman is Brahman. That is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness is the ultimate truth and the ultimate truth or Brahman is God.

 The nature of God is Advaita. Advaita is the fullness of consciousness. God is in the form of the Atman, therefore; never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman.

Thus, truth-realization is Self-realization. Self-realization is God-realization. God- realization itself is real worship. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Just the way Light destroys the Darkness. Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana will dispel the clouds covering the path to Liberation.+

Just the way Light destroys the Darkness. Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana will dispel the clouds covering the path to Liberation.

Humility, patience seriousness, sincerity, and an intense urge to realize the truth of his true existence will help the seeker to remove all the obstacles and show the path to liberation.

The Soul, the innermost ‘Self’ is hidden by ignorance. Through Self-knowledge, ignorance vanishes. The Soul remains in its own awareness without ignorance. In self-awareness, the Soul shines as the fullness of consciousness, without the illusory division of form, time, and space.

The Soul, which is the fullness of consciousness alone, is eternal. Self-knowledge removes ignorance. Self-knowledge removes the knowledge of the individual. Thus, the Soul loses the apparent hold of ignorance upon itself. And it frees itself from experiencing the dualistic illusion as a reality~ that is Liberation.

From the standpoint of the Soul, there is no such thing as internal or external. Within the dualistic illusion, you create your own set of impressions and experiences and you accept the dualistic illusion as reality.

A personal realization of the truth, which is beyond the form, time, and space, is independent and convincing evidence.

That is why Sage Sankara says:~VC-65-As a treasure hidden underground requires (for its extraction) competent instruction, excavation, the removal of stones and other such things lying above it and (finally) grasping, but never comes out by being (merely) called out by name, so the transparent truth of the Self, which is hidden by Maya and its effects, is to be attained through the instructions of a knower of Brahman, followed by reflection, meditation and so forth, but not through perverted arguments.

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

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

Remember:~

People's individual experiences cannot be disputed because the experience they went through was real to them; though that may not be real from the absolute standpoint.

The seeker has to make a distinction between the dualistic perspective view and the non-dualistic perspective of the worldview realize ‘what is the truth?’ and ‘what is untruth?’.

From the dualistic perspective, the world in which we exist is a reality.

From the non-dualistic perspective, the world in which we exist is an illusion.

Thus, it is necessary to realize on what standpoint the world in which we exist, is a reality and on ‘what standpoint the world in which we exist is an illusion.

Because you hold the Self’ as ‘I’  you are misled, All this because you are stuck up with some gurus and their teaching as ultimate. There is no Guru whose teaching takes you to realize the Advaitic truth expounded by Sage Sankara.

Never use the word ‘I’ or ‘I AM’ for identifying the Soul, the Self because the ‘I’ represents ignorance, illusion, physicality, and duality.

Bhagvad Gita: ~ “You must first see the ‘I’ as illusory before you see others as illusory. ~ CH.2 v.16

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

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

The ‘I’ hides the Soul, the Self, which is present in the form of consciousness.

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

That is why Ashtavakra Gita 16:10:~ If you desire liberation, but you still say "I," If you feel the ‘Self’ is the ‘I’, You are not a wise man or a seeker. You are simply a man who suffers.

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

Remember:~

Some Gurus say by dropping the body and mind you get enlightenment but without knowing what this body and mind are supposed to be in actuality it is impossible to realize the truth, which is hidden by the dualistic illusion, which is present in the form of the ‘I’.

People only imagine that way by dropping the body and the mind they get enlightenment. Imagination is not the truth. It is impossible to drop the body alone because the body and the world have appeared together and they disappear together.

Only by getting rid of the whole dualistic illusion the reality hidden by the dualistic illusion will be revealed. Only when the ignorance vanishes then only the dualistic illusion vanishes. Only through Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana, the ignorance vanishes.

From the dualistic perspective, people see the world in which they exist as a reality. They see their body as the body, their ego as the ego, and the world in which they exist as the world whereas a Gnani sees everything from the non-dualistic perspective.

A Gnani sees his body as consciousness, his ego as consciousness, the world in which he exists as consciousness.

For a Gnani, whatever is seen, known, believed, and experienced is nothing but consciousness. There is unity in diversity in Gnani's understanding whereas the ignorant people see only diversity and separation.

In Advaitic Self-awareness, the ego is not considered as ego, even though the ego is present, the body is not considered as a body even though the body is present, the world which confronts him is not considered as the world even though the world is present, the duality ceases even though the duality is present, because of wisdom everything is considered as consciousness. Thus there is conscious oneness.

Only in ignorance, the world in which we exist is an illusion created out of the Soul, the  Self.

The world is both real and unreal. It is real because it is a manifestation of consciousness, but is unreal, in the sense, that it is not absolute and eternal like consciousness itself.

People's approach is more practical, and they stuck with the reality of the world, they take it as real. That is why all the confusion.

Remember:~ 

The look of an object will depend upon the medium through which the observer views it. In fact, our mental and intellectual conditions determine the world, observed and experienced. The commoner viewing the world will see differently from a Gnani viewing the same world. Each one interprets the world that they see in terms of their existing knowledge. The commoner sees everything based on the ego, therefore, experiences the birth, life, death, and the world as a reality, whereas a Gnani sees everything as the consciousness and he is fully aware of the fact that, there is no second thing that exists other than the Soul or consciousness. Thus, all the egocentric (religious) adulteration has to be bifurcated to realize the ultimate truth, which is beyond form, time, and space.

Thus, it is necessary to learn to view and judge the worldview from the non-dualistic perspective, to realize that form, time and space are one in essence. There is nothing to realize other than realizing that consciousness is everything. Consciousness is second to none.

When everything is nothing but consciousness then what remains is not consciousness.

Without knowing ‘what is this mind in actuality it is impossible to realize the truth hidden by the mind. People are stuck thinking the mind is within their body and theorize and write books speculating and creating their own theory.

A deeper self-search reveals the fact that the ‘I’ is present in the form of mind. And the mind is in the form of the universe. And the universe appears as the waking or the dream (duality) and disappears as deep sleep (nonduality).

Remember:~ 

Self-realization is necessary to realize the mind, which is present in the form of the universe is merely an illusion. The mind cannot be destroyed because it is merely an illusion. When Advaitic wisdom dawns the unreal nature of the mind is exposed, the same way the unreal nature of the dream was exposed when the waking takes place.

I am highlighting all the obstacles in the inner journey and how to overcome these obstacles. All accumulated knowledge is of no use in the Atmic path.

It is for every seeker, who is in the Atmic path to realizing himself “What is the truth? “and “What is untruth?” to assimilate the Self –Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. 

My postings are only signposts. The seeker needs to reflect constantly on the subject until the cobwebs of his doubts and confusion get cleared.

It takes time for the seeker to gain the perfect understanding of ‘what is the truth?’ and ‘’what is untruth?’. It takes time for the Soul, the Self to wake up from the sleep of ignorance, and it takes time for one realizes the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space. :~ Santthosh Kumaar

Only those who find the religious and yogic or other practices inadequate and useless must take the path of wisdom.+

Bhagavad Gita Krishna says: ~It is only one amongst thousands of people who strive for spiritual salvation. Even amongst such seekers, it is only the rare person who gets to know “Self” correctly.’ (7.3)

Sages of truth restrained themselves parting the Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana to the mass, and it was given only a selected few.   It was hidden from the mass who were not qualified and receptive to it. 

Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana was not written down but was imparted orally to the chosen few.  Thus, religion was given to the mass, and knowledge of the Spirit is given only to a selected few. Thus we find traces of the knowledge of the Spirit in the religious books in the form of parables.

In Manduka Upanishad: ~ Brahman and Atman are defined as the same: ~

Manduka Upanishad, verse-2:~ All indeed is, this Brahman; This Atman is Brahman.

While Brahman lies behind the sum total of the objective universe, some human minds boggle at any attempt to explain it with only the tools provided by reason. Brahman is beyond the senses, beyond the mind, beyond intelligence, beyond imagination. Indeed, the highest idea is that Brahman is beyond both existence and non-existence, transcending and including time, causation, and space, and thus can never be known in the same material sense as one traditionally 'understands' a given concept or object.

Imagine a person who is blind from birth and has not seen anything. Is it possible for us to explain to him the meaning of the color red? Is any amount of thinking or reasoning on his part ever going to make him understand the sensation of the color red? Similarly, the idea of Brahman cannot be explained or understood through material reasoning or any form of human communication. Brahman is like the color red; those who can sense it cannot explain or argue with those who have never sensed it. 

Only those who find the religious and yogic or other practices inadequate and useless must take the path of wisdom.

Sage Sankara in the commentary to "Brahma Sutras: ~ " "The highest beatitude is not to be attained by Yoga." (Sacred Books of East Series page 298 Vol.1.)   And he also says Samadhi is the same as sleep (p.312) ~ which indicates that yoga is not the means to ‘Self’-realization.  And yogic Samadhi is not nondual ‘Self’-awareness.

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 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: ~ “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

A Gnani imparts Knowledge to others. A Yogi lies in Samadhi like a wooden log so he does not know yogic Samadhi is not wisdom.  Gnani is fully aware of all things, either permanent or perishable and he has realized both permanent and perishable to be consciousness.  Thus consciousness alone is real and eternal all else is merely an illusion.

One of Sage Sankara’s missions was to wean people away from the 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.

If you are seeking truth then never mix the path of religion and yoga with the path of wisdom. Religion and yoga are nothing to do with the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.  

Those who talk of purifying the mind through other practices are hallucinating.  ‘Self’ is always pure.  Only the ignorant talk of purity.  The Atman is always pure.  Those who are stuck with the egocentric paths thinking they are valuable will never be able to discard the old deep-rooted conditioning or samskaras.

The path of wisdom is a soulcentric path whereas all other paths are egocentric paths they will not but they create a mental barricade and the egoic attitude becomes deep-rooted and obstruct the realization of the truth, which is beyond the form, time, and space.   The path of wisdom is the direct path to reality, which is beyond form, time, and space.

Remember:~

Ish Upanishad says: ~ “Those people who have neglected the attainment of ‘Self’-knowledge and have thus committed suicide.

Those people who have neglected the attainment of ‘Self’-knowledge and have thus committed suicide, as it were, are doomed to enter those worlds after death.

This is a condemnation of people who do not try to attain ‘Self’-knowledge. They are, in a real sense, committing suicide, for what can be worse than being a slave to sense enjoyment, completely oblivious of the real purpose of life, which is to be one, own master?

Mundaka Upanishad: - The study of the Vedas, linguistics, Rituals, astronomy, and all the arts can be called lower knowledge. The higher Is that which leads to ‘Self’-realization. The eye cannot see it; the mind cannot grasp it. The deathless ‘Self’ has neither caste nor race, neither eyes nor ears nor hands nor feet. Sages say this ‘Self’ is infinite in the great And in the small, everlasting and changeless, The source of life.

Sage Sankara' gave religious, rituals and dogmatic instruction to the populace but Advaitic 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.

Sage Sankara: ~ VC-  Let erudite scholars quote all the scripture, let Gods be invoked through sacrifices, let elaborate rituals be performed, let personal Gods be propitiated---yet, without the realization of one‘s identity with the ‘Self’, there shall be no liberation for the individual, not  even in the lifetimes of a hundred Brahmas put together (V-6)

Liberation cannot be the result of good works, for Sruti itself’ declares that there is no hope for immortality through wealth.  (V -7)

Actions help to purify the mind but they do not, by themselves, contribute to the attainment of Reality. The attainment of the Reality brought about only by ‘Self’ Inquiry and not in the least by even ten million acts. (V-11)

The fear and sorrow created by the delusory serpent in the rope can be ended only after fully ascertaining the truth of the rope through steady and balanced thinking. (V-12)

Neither sacred baths nor any amount of charity nor even Hundreds of pranayamas* can give us the knowledge about our own ‘Self’.  The firm experience of the nature of the ‘Self’ is seen to proceed from inquiry along the lines of the salutary advice of the wise. (V-13)

Ultimate success in spiritual endeavors depends chiefly upon the qualifications of the seeker.  Auxiliary conveniences such as time And place all have a place indeed, but they are essentially secondary. (V-14)

He alone is considered qualified to enquire after the supreme Reality, who has discrimination, detachment, qualities of Calmness, etc., and a burning desire for liberation. The four-fold qualifications (V-17)

Great sages have spoken of four qualifications for attainment which, when present, succeeds in the realization of Brahman and in the absence of which the goal is not attained. (V-18)

(While enumerating the qualifications), first, we count the ability to discriminate between the Real and the unreal; next comes a spirit of detachment from the enjoyment of the fruits of actions here and hereafter; after that is the groups of six virtues beginning with  Calmness, and the last is undoubtedly an intense desire for liberation. (V-19)

A firm conviction that Brahman alone is Real and the phenomenal world is unreal is known as discrimination between the Real and the unreal. (V-20)

They have crossed the dreadful ocean of (embodied) existence through their own efforts and without any (personal) motives; they help others to cross it. (V-37)

Remember:~

Swami Vivekananda: ~ “The Higher your ideal is, the more miserable you are,' for such a thing as an ideal cannot be attained in the world — or in this life, even. He who wants perfection in the world is a madman — for it cannot be. How can you find the infinite in the finite?

It has not been possible to preach Advaitic Truth entirely free from the settings of dualistic weakness it has not been more operative and useful to mankind at large because only a few will be able to grasp and realize it.

'To realize the Advaitic Truth a freer and fuller scope the seeker has to realize the form, time and space are one in essence. And that essence is consciousness. And the Soul, the  ‘Self’ is present in the form of consciousness.    

To realize the Advaitic truth the seeker has to be free from all superstitions and orthodox contaminations. The seeker has to be dedicated to acquiring ‘Self’-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana   alone.’  : ~Santthosh Kumaar