Ashtavakra:~There is no wisdom whatsoever in the scriptures-just a collection of words. You cannot establish God in truth unless they forget all.+

Religious people may speak upon various scriptures or hear the sermons on the scriptures. 

Advaitic wisdom is nothing to do with religion and religious scriptures. Religion is based on blind belief whereas spirituality is based on the truth of existence. The existence hidden by the universe is God in truth.  

In matters such as spiritual attainment, one’s own realization is the sole authority and it cannot be disputed.

Remember:~

Ashtavakra:~There is no wisdom whatsoever in the scriptures-just a collection of words.

You cannot establish  God in truth unless they forget all.

I only highlighted scriptural insights which point to the ultimate reality. what is not helpful in the pursuit of truth has to be discarded. 

 

The seeker should not bother about finding the meaning of what is written in the scriptures.

Do not indulge in arguing from your own standpoint holding your accumulated knowledge as a yardstick that is pointless. 

Instead, read, reason, and reflect on the subject, which is the Advaitic wisdom of Sage Sankara to get rid of ignorance. The study of scriptures is not a necessary prerequisite for attaining the human goal of realizing God in truth. 

Remember:~

Sage Sankara does not believe in the book. Sage Sankara denies the authority of any book over any other book. 

Sage Sankara denies emphatically any one book containing all the truths about God, Soul, the ultimate reality.

Those of you who have studied Upanishads remember that again and again, “Not by studying scriptures  can we realize the Self”

Second, it finds veneration for some particular person still more difficult to uphold. If you are seeking the truth then you should not cling to any particular scripture or  Guru or Godmen or their teachings. Not one man or woman has become object worship. 

No man has to worship as God because he is part of the Maya. by worshipping holy books, or holy man Self-realization or   God-realization is an impossibility.

Sage Sankara strongly advocated the study of Upanishads, and at the same time cautioned that the study of Upanishads alone would not lead to moksha. In matters such as spiritual attainment, one’s own realization was the sole authority and it cannot be disputed

Sage Sankara also said the study of Upanishad was neither indispensable nor a necessary prerequisite for attaining the human goal, the moksha.

Sage Sankara pointed out; that even those who were outside the Upanishad fold were as eligible to moksha as those within the fold were. He declared that all beings are Brahman, and therefore the question of discrimination did not arise. All that one was required to do was to get rid of ignorance (Avidya or duality).

That is why Sage Sankara says: ~ VC 56- Neither by Yoga, nor by Sankhya, nor by good work, nor by learning, but by the realization of one's identity with Brahman is Liberation possible, and by no other means.

There has never been a single scripture that has the whole wisdom in it.

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

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

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

The Scriptures are of value only when dealing with persons who are incapable of understanding truth. They have no value as authority for those who use reason.

I quote only verified citations from the scriptures. I need no scriptures but I quote them to help the seekers to realize that religion, scriptures, and the Gods based on blind faith or blind belief are nothing to do with the ultimate truth or Brahman.

The Upanishads are the only scriptures in the world that say:~

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

That is why Sage Sankara says in Vivekachudamani:~

58. Loud speech consisting of a shower of words, the skill in expounding the Scriptures, and likewise erudition - these merely bring on a little personal enjoyment to the scholar but are no good for Liberation.

59. The study of the scriptures is useless so long as the highest Truth is unknown, and it is equally useless when the highest Truth has already been known.

60. The Scriptures consisting of many words are a dense forest that merely causes the mind to ramble. Hence men of wisdom should earnestly set about knowing the true nature of the Self.

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?

62. A disease does not leave off if one simply utters the name of the medicine, without taking it; (similarly) without direct realization one cannot be liberated by the mere utterance of the word Brahman.

63. Without causing the objective universe to vanish and without knowing the truth of the Self, how is one to achieve Liberation by the mere utterance of the word Brahman? — It would result merely in an effort of speech.

64. Without killing one’s enemies, and possessing oneself of the splendor of the entire surrounding region, one cannot claim to be an emperor by merely saying, ‘I am an emperor’.

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.

Religion is based on the body (form) as the Self since it is based on birth. Spirituality is based on the soul (formless). Thus,  there is a need to bifurcate religion from spirituality.

Religion views and judges from the standpoint of the physical self/ego, whereas in the path of wisdom,   everything is viewed, judged, and concluded,  on the base of the Soul, the Self.  

Whatever is based on the physical entity (ego or you)  is not spirituality,  because the soul, the  Self has no form, so it has no religion.  Therefore, the seeker of truth has to rectify the reasoning base, from form to formless, to understand and assimilate the Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.   :~ Santthosh Kumaar 

Sage Sankara says: All the Guru Parampara is for ignorant people. There is no need for a Guru who wants to tread the path of wisdom.+

The Advaita propagated by the Gurus of the east and the west is not the Advatic wisdom of Sage Sankara.

Religion is in the grip of superstitions, dogmas, caste-system, and corruption. Gurudom is commercialized and the real purpose of the pursuit of truth has vanished.

The religion, mysticism and yoga, high jacked by the Gurudom and the Advaitic wisdom got lost. All the Gurus of the east and west introduced their own theories and teaching and started playing with the sentiments and emotions of the innocent seekers for the sake of acquiring wealth.

It is no use the seeker should spend the lifetime in search of the truth they are seeking for. The truth is already declared by Sage Sankara 1200 years back then why are you searching for the truth. Sage Sakara’s declaration Atman is Brahman.~ the world is an illusion Brahman alone is real, is the Advaitic truth, rational truth, scientific truth, and the ultimate truth.

It is time now to realize and have the firm conviction of Sage Sri, Sakara’s declaration Atman is Brahman.~ the world is an illusion Brahman alone is real as the finality. There is nothing to contradict Sage Sakara’s declaration because there is only Oneness.

There is no need to search for the Guru the Soul, the Self itself is the Guru.

Many Gurus describes to perfection is the awakening to Reality ~the realization that pure Consciousness alone is, that the perpetually fluctuating and evanescent contents of the mind derive from it. This awakening effectively happens in an instant. But in order for the lightning flash to take place, resulting in a firm and unshakable certitude, long labor is necessary, which they seem to underestimate. “Truth is formless is their answer.

Remember:~

Many Gurus' teachings seem essentially negative, potent but bitter medicine for those imprisoned by institutional cults. They break the disciple bonds but then lead him to a vast desert where he abandons him.

The ultimate state of consciousness they e describe is that of the traditional sage or fully enlightened being, but they do not show us the process leading to the realization of this state. They describe marvelously the goal but do not indicate the steps to be taken: their recurring phrases "unified consciousness" and "let go" and "' love alone" are not a roadmap.

Most of the Gurus and Yogis s approach was more practical, and they stuck with the reality of the 'I', they take it as real. All their teachings of Advaita is based on the dualistic perspective. Such teaching will not yield the truth of the whole.

There is no need to wander in search of truth from one mountain to another, one guru to another, one ashram to another, and remain away from home in ashrams the whole life to get Self-realization.

The guidance comes from any form when the seeker is ready and receptive to take the mental (inner) journey. The people who are stuck accepting the ‘Self’ as the ‘I’ or ‘I AM’ are eaten only the half-cooked food and they are satisfied with half-baked knowledge. And they will not be able to grasp digest the fullness of the consciousness because their conviction about it is deep-rooted. Thus, they remain in ignorance thinking they know everything without fully knowing ‘what is what’.

Remember:~

Religious or yogic Gurus propagate that, once a seeker identifies a Guru, he must totally surrender to the Guru, and then from there onwards, the spiritual journey is fully the Guru's responsibility, not his... Hence, the importance of choosing the right Guru is necessary, but in pursuit of truth, the guru is not necessary because the truth is not theoretical. Truth has to be ascertained by the seeker on his own through a well-directed inquiry, analysis, and reasoning based on the Soul, the Self, which will lead the seeker to his destination.

People who worship the Guru as God in human form and there is a danger that they might establish a regular religious sect in his name. This is an unhappy development of the religious movement.

It is better to take guidance from a Gnani and try to attain the same realization which he had, rather than spend their energies in deifying him. Let us remember that to deify a Gnani is to defy wisdom”

Hindu religious literature is full of such aphorisms as ' there is no higher deity than the Guru; the Guru is the ultimate Truth and Deity. God and Avatars (incarnations) are secondary to the Guru in importance; there is no higher refuge, no higher target, no higher destination than the Guru; the Guru is God Himself; God and the Guru are one; he who makes a distinction between the Guru and God is ignorant and stupid; and scores of similar others. They abound both in Sanskrit and in modern Indian languages.

People born in the different sect and they remain as its follower. Most of the sects are founded by some gurus, thus the Indian belief system is a Guru Cult, i.e. believes in the worship of the Guru as the Supreme Deity.

When a seeker could not get full enlightenment from his inherited belief system, then only he searches elsewhere. And tries to get enlightened further to clear the cobwebs of his understanding and seeks guidance to his progress.

All the Guru Parampara is for ignorant people. There is no need for a Guru who wants to tread the path of wisdom.

Even Swami Vivekananda was Ramakrishna Paramahansa's disciple. Swami Vivekananda himself said: ~ “You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher, but your own Soul.”

There are two kinds of audiences - the ordinary ones who desire the transitory heaven and other pleasures obtained as a result of ritual sacrifices, and the most advanced seeker who seeks to know the ultimate truth or Brahman. The Guru and guru paramparas are meant for the first audience, to help lead its followers along the way. However, there is no need to follow any parampara and follow any Guru those who wish to realize the truth which is beyond the form, time, and space. We should not mix religion with spirituality because religion is based on the ego and spirituality is based on the Soul. Religion is concerned with its paramparas, not truth whereas spirituality is concerned only with the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space. Religion is not spirituality.

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

So he wore a Guru's robe only for the sake of the ignorant. So he was identified as Guru with parampara by religious people. For the truth seekers, Sage Sankara is a Brahma Gnani.

Sage Sankara himself said: ~ A Gnani "bears no outward mark of a holy man.

Thus, it proves that the religious gurus and yogis are not Gnanis because they identified themselves as holy people.

Why worship and glorify the Gurus and Yogis (human form) in place of God when Veda bars such activities and it also warns people who indulge in such activities are enveloped in still greater darkness, in other words, they are extremely foolish, fall into an awful hell of pain and sorrow and suffer terribly for a long time.

Vedas bars human worship: ~

Translation:~

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

Many people are stuck to the idea that without a Guru, Truth -realization is impossible. Guru is only a religious fable. They do not even know what their Guru teaches is the truth.

Gurus themselves dwelling in darkness preach their way is the only way and the followers of the gurus follow the dualistic path like the blind led by the blind.

The Guru is useless so long as the ultimate truth is unknown, and Guru is equally useless when the ultimate truth or Brahman has already been known.

The Guru is useless so long as the ultimate truth is unknown, and Guru is equally useless when the ultimate truth or Brahman has already been known.

A Guru is needed in the religious and the yogic path. There is no need for a Guru to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. A person who realized the ultimate truth or Brahman will throw off his religious robe and all religious identity and live like a commoner. He never identifies himself as Gnani nor does he identify himself superior to others. He only shares his knowledge with fellow seekers.

A Gnani never identifies himself as a Guru or a Yogi or someone disciple. The one who accepts himself as a Guru or someone’s disciple is not a Gnani.

Ashtavakra Samhita: ~ "The man of knowledge (Gnani), though living like an ordinary man, is contrary to him and only those like him understand his state.

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

So he wore a Guru's robe only for the sake of the ignorant. So he was identified as Guru with parampara by religious people. For the truth seekers, Sage Sri, Sankara is a Brahma Gnani.

Thus, it proves that the religious gurus and yogis are not Gnanis because they identified themselves as holy people.

All those who were the sanyasin robes are wearing it for the sake of bread belongs to the religion; they are nothing to do with the Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. There is no need to criticize and condemn the gurus, yogis, and swamis because they are needed for the welfare of ignorant masses in the dualistic world. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Sage Sankara’s declaration: Atman is Brahman the world is an illusion Brahman alone is real as the finality.+

It is no use the seeker should spend the lifetime in search of the truth they are seeking for. The truth is already declared by Sage Sankara 1200 years back then why are you searching for the truth. Sage Sankara’s declaration Atman is Brahman.~ the world is an illusion Brahman alone is real, is the Advaitic truth, rational truth, scientific truth, and the ultimate truth.

It is time now to realize and have the firm conviction of Sage Sakara’s declaration Atman is Brahman.~ the world is an illusion Brahman alone is real as the finality. There is nothing to contradict Sage Sri, Sakara’s declaration because there is only Oneness.

There is no need to search for the Guru the Soul, the  Self itself is the Guru.

Many Gurus describe perfection as the awakening to Reality ~the realization that pure Consciousness alone is, that the perpetually fluctuating and evanescent contents of the mind derive from it. This awakening effectively happens in an instant. But for the lightning flash to take place, resulting in a firm and unshakable certitude, long labor is necessary, which they seem to underestimate. “Truth is formless is their answer.

Many Guru's teaching seems essentially negative, potent but bitter medicine for those imprisoned by institutional cults. They break the disciple bonds but then lead him to a vast desert where he abandons him.

The ultimate state of consciousness they describe is that of the traditional Gurs or fully enlightened being, but they do not show us the process leading to the realization of this state. They describe marvelously the goal but do not indicate the steps to be taken: their recurring phrases "unified consciousness" and "let go" and "' love alone" are not a roadmap.

Most of the Gurus and Yogis s approach was more practical, and they stuck with the reality of the 'I', they take it as real. All their teachings of Advaita are based on the dualistic perspective. Such teaching will not yield the truth of the whole.

There is no need to wander in search of truth from one mountain to another, one guru to another, one ashram to another, and remain away from home in ashrams the whole life to get Self-realization.

The guidance comes from any form when the seeker is ready and receptive to take the mental (inner) journey. 

People who are stuck accepting the ‘Self’ as the ‘I’ or ‘I AM’ are eaten only the half-cooked food and they are satisfied with half-baked knowledge. And they will not be able to grasp digest the fullness of the consciousness because their conviction about it is deep-rooted. Thus, they remain in ignorance thinking they know everything without fully knowing ‘what is what’.

Self~ knowledge is available to serious and sincere seekers on my spiritual groups on FB. The seeker can avail of it in their spare time at the comfort of home or workplace in fact anywhere in his spare time attending to his practical life within the practical world.  

Remember:~

People, who claim that their doubts vanish merely by sitting in the presence of a yogi, have merely been hypnotized.

Religion and mysticism are a species of mesmerism affecting weaker or impressionable minds. The complete and impressive array of a Guru’s religious robes lifestyle creates the unconscious suggestion in the weaker mindset of superior power or magical knowledge.

The visitors to ashrams are suggested in thinking they experience great peace because they are unconsciously hypnotized into believing that will happen. But when a strong disciplined philosophic mind meets a Guru or visits an ashram, he is entirely unaffected.

People think that by meeting Gurus and yogis and by visiting the Ashrams they feel much peace as a result. But such peace and feeling is nothing to with the ultimate truth or Brahman. That is only hallucinated peace. Such hallucinated peace has nothing t to do with the question of truth. The person, who had eaten well, may also feel much satisfaction and contentment; his feeling is similar to the yogi. Such feeling and satisfaction are a reality within the duality. The duality is not a reality from the standpoint of the Soul, the Self.

When the follower of the mysticism sits before the yogic-Guru, he may see all kinds of visions; the explanation is that he expects certain experiences and gets them, or else the Guru suggests them; the mind of the follower creates the entire experience. It is precisely the same as experiences of a hypnotic subject, which are the consequences of a stronger mindset working on a weaker one.

Without a prior suggestion, it is impossible to impress, people. So, there must be the prior suggestion strongly felt and accepted that one is entering the presence of a powerful yogi. Otherwise, the words or person of a yogi will fail to impress the visitors; all the visions, experiences, etc., which afterward occur are a matter of suggestibility.

Believers of religion and mysticism who are anxious for a mystic or occult experience often get it. But it is only a mental construction of their own, suggested originally from outside.

Suggestions may even come to one from a book or someone or read or seen, and thinking of them many times; then when he meets and sit before a yogic Guru for the first time, the suggestion comes up from the past or subconscious and gives you a vision or mystic experience. The whole thing is superimposition. So, he is led by a constant dwelling on a thought, to the manufacture of it as a projected experience. The complex overcomes them. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

What happens when thoughts are stilled? It is not the ultimate truth that is found.+

When you realize the words, thoughts, and the world in which you exist are created out of single stuff and that single stuff is consciousness, then you will realize the truth. 

The Soul, the inner Guru reveals ‘what is real’ and ‘what is unreal” when the seeker is receptive and ready.

What happens when thoughts are stilled? It is not the ultimate truth that is found. Thoughtlessness is not wisdom or Gnana. It is only ignorance.

Patanjali yoga is not Atma Gnana and, therefore, yoga does not know the highest truth. Yoga is good to give peace and concentration, but only to start reasoning, i.e. thinking again and again to find the truth, which is beyond the form, time, and space.

Yoga and Samadhi are not a goal, but a means to an end, i.e. Gnana. Samadhi in itself’ is useless, because the mind is withdrawn and there is no memory of it until after it is over and one returns to waking state. A yogi who attains mind control: it is similar to deep sleep.

In Gita Chap.IV where Lord Krishna says: ~ "This yoga has been lost for ages" the word yoga refers to Gnana yoga, not other yogas: the force of the word this is to point this out.

Lord Krishna describes some of the other yogas but devotes this chapter separately to Gnana Yoga. So one sees even in those ancient days people did not care for Advaita; they wanted religion; hence Gnana got lost. That is why Krishna calls it "the supreme secret." Krishna points out that the yoga must-see is "Brahman in action.” 

Remember:~  Some Gurus say reject all the thoughts. It is not possible to reject the thoughts. By rejecting all the thoughts, ignorance will not vanish. Without getting rid of ignorance wisdom will not dawn.

Remember, the thoughts come to the thinker within the world in which the thinker exists. The thinker and the thoughts and the world appeared together and disappear together. So, it is foolish to say reject the thoughts alone because you must get rid of the thinker and the world in which he exists.

The world in which the thinker exists is the product of ignorance. Until ignorance is there the world in which thinker exists prevails as a reality.

Remember: You and your world are merely an illusion created out of consciousness. In reality, you and your world are nothing but consciousness.

Thus, it is time to realize the world in which we exist is created out of the Soul, which is the innermost ‘Self’. The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness is the cause of the world in which we exist and it, itself is uncaused. The Soul alone is real and eternal. The eternal Soul itself is God. There is no other God other than the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Realize the Soul, the Self is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God. The Soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness itself is God. Consciousness is the cause of the world in which you exist. And the consciousness itself is uncaused.

Thus, the truth realization itself is God-realization because the ultimate truth is Brahman or God. The ‘Self’-realization is God-realization and God-realization is real worship.

Nothing has to be accepted as God other than the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. Atman is Brahman means the Soul alone is God. Atman is the Advaitic God. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Science cannot solve the ultimate mystery of the universe.+

Max Planck ~Father of quantum physics says: ~ Science has no answer to it. Science cannot solve the ultimate mystery of nature. And that is because, in the last analysis, we are part of the mystery that we are trying to solve.

The truth of the universe cannot be got under the microscope. When all their invention fails to yield the truth they have to use their reason to reach the ultimate core of their existence.

Mundaka Upanishad 1.3:~ Complete knowledge includes knowledge of the phenomenal world, the spirit behind it, and the source of both of them. When the cause of all causes becomes known, then everything knowable becomes known, and nothing remains unknown is Gnana.”

Both modern science and religion offer hypotheses and theories, but there is one vital difference--science begins with facts which it collects; religion begins with fancies. Science evolves its hypotheses from such facts, religion from fancies.

Science declares that oxygen combines with hydrogen to give water. And it also declares oxygen is protons or electrons. But in pursuit of truth, the whole physical existence (universe or mind) is considered as an illusion, and science and its inventions, which are based on physical existence are limited to physical existence. The truth is within, but it is beyond physical existence. Science demands physical proof. But the physical proof is part of the illusion. Hence, science cannot go beyond physicality because the truth cannot be traced in laboratory conditions. Deeper self-search is required if one wants to push its quest deeply enough.

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 the 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.

Dualists Gurus believed in a plurality of minds or selves and also in Prakriti matter. The Dualist Gurus thought ultimately existed in the form of particles similar to our atomic theory. But recent science has killed the atomic theory and matter has vanished with it. Hence modern dualists fear science and try to avoid it.

The scientists say they do not know the mysteries beyond. In the future, they may discover something new.” The mystics say: That mystery unknown to science is known to them. the Mystic truth is the individual truth, not universal.

How do the mystics know they have experienced the whole? There is no proof they have seen it because the truth of the whole is beyond any experience. The experience implies duality. The duality is not a reality.

When mystics say: “I know from experience” they merely mean I think so.” If mystics experience joy, they cannot be egoless, for who is having the joy? And if they are egocentric they cannot know the Universal truth or Brahman, the whole.

Mystics may say that the Spirit is the source of all good, but the question of questions is how do they know that it is the source? That is mere scholastic dogma until an attempt to show, analyze, and prove that it is the source, is made when it becomes spirituality.

When one does not know the truth, he can only guess, imagine, hence doubts and questions and urge to realize the ultimate truth arises.

Disappointments in religion or mysticism or yoga or even science imply error or ignorance. And it creates doubts and confusion. The seeker is unsure whether he is treading on the right path? There is no certainty that he is proceeding on the right path. The doubts arise and the inquiring spirit comes and impels us to search elsewhere for the truth.

The seeker searches for the path, where it will not be possible even to have any doubts and confusion. The test is therefore in realization. And only in the non-dualistic perspective, where there are no two to argue about views or to have the difference of opinion can such doubtlessness be possible. Belief depends on the ego, which is unreal and impermanent, whereas certainty depends on the Soul, the ‘Self’, which is real and eternal.

People must indulge in deeper ‘Self’-search, everybody will not be able to grasp the Advaitic truth. The Advaitic truth cannot be assumed, it has to be realized. “What the majority believes as truth cannot be accepted as truth without deeper verification." People stop with their imaginations about God, Reality, Truth, and do not go to the bitter end.

One cannot get rid of ignorance. It is only by deeper self-search, he knows what is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.

The seeker has to get rid of all his doubts. The seeker should not simply go on believing everything he is been told or heard or read. The seeker of the truth the doubt is to be got rid of "by the sword of ‘Self’- knowledge or Brahma Gnana. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Sage Sankara does not believe in the book. Sage Sankara denies the authority of any book over any other book.+

Sage Sankara does not believe in the book. Sage Sankara denies the authority of any book over any other book. 

Sage Sankara denies emphatically any one book containing all the truths about God, Soul, and the ultimate reality.

Those of you who have studied Upanishads remember that again and again, “Not by studying scriptures  can we realize the Self”

Second, it finds veneration for some particular person still more difficult to uphold. If you are seeking the truth then you should not cling to any particular scripture or  Guru or Godmen or their teachings. Not one man or woman has become object worship. 

No man has to worship as God because he is part of the Maya. by worshipping holy books, or holy man Self-realization or   God-realization is an impossibility.

Sage Sankara strongly advocated the study of Upanishads, and at the same time cautioned that the study of Upanishads alone would not lead to moksha. In matters such as spiritual attainment, one’s own realization was the sole authority and it cannot be disputed

Sage Sankara also said the study of Upanishad was neither indispensable nor a necessary prerequisite for attaining the human goal, the moksha.

Sage Sankara pointed out; that even those who were outside the Upanishad fold were as eligible to moksha as those within the fold were. He declared that all beings are Brahman, and therefore the question of discrimination did not arise. All that one was required to do was to get rid of ignorance (Avidya or duality).

That is why Sag Sankara says: ~ VC 56- Neither by Yoga, nor by Sankhya, nor by good work, nor by learning, but by the realization of one's identity with Brahman is Liberation possible, and by no other means.

There has never been a single scripture, which has the whole wisdom in it.

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

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

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

The Scriptures are of value only when dealing with persons who are incapable of understanding truth. They have no value as authority for those who use reason.

I quote only verified citations from the scriptures. I need no scriptures but I quote them to help the seekers to realize that religion, scriptures, and  Gods based on blind faith or blind belief is nothing to do with the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.

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

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

That is why Sage Sankara says in Vivekachudamani:~

58. Loud speech consisting of a shower of words, the skill in expounding the Scriptures, and likewise erudition - these merely bring on a little personal enjoyment to the scholar but are no good for Liberation.

59. The study of the Scriptures is useless so long as the highest Truth is unknown, and it is equally useless when the highest Truth has already been known.

60. The Scriptures consisting of many words are a dense forest that merely causes the mind to ramble. Hence men of wisdom should earnestly set about knowing the true nature of the Self.

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?

62. A disease does not leave off if one simply utters the name of the medicine, without taking it; (similarly) without direct realization one cannot be liberated by the mere utterance of the word Brahman.

63. Without causing the objective universe to vanish and without knowing the truth of the Self, how is one to achieve Liberation by the mere utterance of the word Brahman? — It would result merely in an effort of speech.

64. Without killing one’s enemies, and possessing oneself of the splendor of the entire surrounding region, one cannot claim to be an emperor by merely saying, ‘I am an emperor’.

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.

Religion is based on the body (form) as the Self since it is based on birth. Spirituality is based on the soul (formless). Thus,  there is a need to bifurcate religion from spirituality.

Religion views and judges from the standpoint of the physical self/ego, whereas in the path of wisdom,   everything is viewed, judged, and concluded,  on the base of the Soul, the  Self.  

Whatever is based on the physical entity (ego or you)  is not spirituality,  because the soul, the  Self has no form, so it has no religion.  Therefore, the seeker of truth has to rectify the reasoning base, from form to formless, to understand and assimilate the Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.   :~ Santthosh Kumaar 

My postings and blogs are meant only for those who are in the quest of the truth of their true existence. It is not suited for religious believers.+

My postings and blogs are meant only for those who are in the quest of the truth of their true existence. It is not suited for religious believers.

Religious Gods are nothing to do with the Spiritual God. Religious God is belief whereas spiritual God is the Spirit. Spirituality is nothing to do with religion. If you want to realize God, then you have to discard all religious propagated beliefs, dogmas.

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.

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.

What is the use of arguing with religious believers? They think 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 Self.

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

Even Bhagavad Gita says: ~ Brahmano hi pratisthaham ~ Brahman (God) is considered the all-pervading consciousness, which is the basis of all the animate and inanimate entities and material. (14.27).

When Bhagavad Gita says, God is considered the all-pervading consciousness which is the basis of all the animate and inanimate entities and the material then nothing has to be accepted as God other than consciousness.

Those who indulge in a perverted argument from their own standpoint and opinion are not seeking the truth, which is beyond form, time and space. They just want to exhibit their accumulated knowledge accumulated from here and there. They think what they know is the ultimate truth.

Even 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)

They think whatever they propagate is the ultimate truth. The question never occurs to them, “Is what I know is really the truth?

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

~ Jesus meant knowledge of Spirit or God or Self-knowledge or Advaitic wisdom.

The birth, life, and death happen within the illusory world, which is created out of Christ, which is present in the form of the Spirit.

Spirituality is nothing to do with religion. Spirituality is based on the Spirit, the real God whereas the religion is based on the false self within the false experience.

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

God is not physical. God is the Spirit. God the Self. God is birthless and deathless because God is the formless, timeless and spaceless existence. 

Remember:~ Vedic God is the Spirit or the Athma.

People say God is everywhere, but they do not know because they are holding their religious propagated belief of God. The religious propagated God is limited to a particular religion, community sect and creed cannot be universal. The believers of the other religion, community sect and creed will not accept any other God as their own other than their inherited accepted idea of God.

Even Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: ~ Brahman or 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 ideas of what not to worship as God in place of real God.

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

What is God in actuality? “Where is God?”

The world in which you exist is not separate from God because the world in which you exist is created out of God. God is not imagination whatever you think of God is imagination based on the false self within the false experience.

Perfect understanding of ‘what is what’ unfolds the mystery of God. Religious Gods are mere beliefs. Belief is not God. Religious God cannot be considered as the center, because, the Soul and the Self is the center of all that exists. Without the Soul the world in which you exist cases to exists, 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.:~Santthosh Kumaar