Who am I?" this question was boldly taken up by the great Advaitic Sage Sankara who wrote commentaries on some of the spiritual treatises known as the Upanishads, which form the latter part of the Vedas, the holy scriptures. Sage Sankara addressed the scholars, philosophers, and monks of his day. +

Who am I?" this question was boldly taken up by the great Advaitic Sage Sankara who wrote commentaries on some of the spiritual treatises known as the Upanishads, which form the latter part of the Vedas, the holy scriptures. Sage Sankara addressed the scholars, philosophers, and monks of his day.

The deep inquiry into the nature of the ‘I’ ’ and free the Soul from the illusory bondage of the ‘I’. The ‘Who Am ‘I’- inquiry is for the beginners to expose the unreal nature of the ‘I’.

"Who am I?”- inquiry has no dynamic, direct, universal appeal it is just a starter in the Atmic Path.

Self-inquiry is to realize ‘the Self is not you but the Self is the Soul hidden by the 'I'. It is erroneous to limit the ‘I’ is within the body. Thinking the ‘I’ is within the body and inquiring ‘Who Am ‘I’ will not help to unfold the mystery of the ‘I’.

The ‘I’ hides the reality of existence. The nature of existence is a formless, timeless, and spaceless existence. There is no ‘I’ in reality. The ‘I’ is merely an illusion. Whatever belongs to the ‘I’ is merely an illusion.

The ‘I’ is merely an illusion created out of the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. ‘I’ is not the subject. The ‘I’ is an object to the Soul, which is the formless, timeless, and spaceless subject.

If the ‘I’ is an illusion then the world in which you exist is bound to be an illusion.

If the ‘I’ is an illusion then three states, are bound to be an illusion.

If the ‘I’ is an illusion then the form, time, and space are bound to be an illusion.

If the I’ is an illusion then the individual experience of birth, life, death is bound to be an illusion.

If the ‘I’ is an illusion then the words and thoughts are bound to be an illusion.

If the ‘I’ is an illusion then the duality is bound to be an illusion.

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 in order to realize the truth, which is beyond 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 truth of the whole.

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 'I' as real because some Gurus have propagated the Self is the ‘I’. is no need to convince such mindsets. The seeker of truth accepts only the truth nothing but the truth.

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 Guru's words. For them, their Guru's 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 mindsets are 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.

That is why Sage Sankara says: ~ VC-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.

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.

The Advaitic wisdom of Sage Sankara has a dynamic, direct, universal appeal. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

From the standpoint of the Soul, the Self: ~There is no birth, No death, No world ~. This is the truth.+

 

Sage Sankara says: ~ 'World is unreal. He never said the body is unreal. He would have said only birth and death are unreal, but he did not say that he said the world is unreal. He meant the world, including the body because the body and the world appear together and disappear together (waking or dream). Then we have to think, about what remains without the body and the world as a reality.

How can the birth, life, death, rebirth, and reincarnation, which take place in the unreal world be true?

The one, which is aware of birth, life, death, rebirth, and reincarnation (illusion), is the Soul, the Self.

The Soul is birthless and deathless, but it is the witness of the birth, life and death, and rebirth, which takes place within the illusory world.

Remember:~

Only the birth entity believes in rebirth and reincarnation. The one which is born, lives, and dies within the illusory world is not the Self.

The Self is the Soul, which is unborn eternal.

The Self is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. The Soul is the formless substance and witness of the three states.

The Soul is birthless and deathless because it is an ever-formless, timeless, and spaceless existence. The Soul is the fullness of consciousness.

The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, is the changeless reality itself. The emptiness and awareness are the nature of the Soul.

It is very difficult to understand and grasp the Advaitic truth, which is beyond the form, time, and space in the beginning but repeated reading my blogs and posts umpteen time makes you understand assimilate the Advaitic truth gradually but surely.

To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like injecting medicine into a corpse. :

Remember:~

In the early Vedic literature, there is no express mention of the doctrine of transmigration.

In the entire Rig Veda~consisting of about 10,500 verses ― there is only one occasion where there is mention of a return to this world after death. What is implied here is that it cannot be taken as important teaching of the Rig Veda.

Reincarnation was not a Vedic belief. Belief in reincarnation which is central to Hinduism of today is not really attested in the Vedas though they hint at life after death. The doctrine of transmigration as elaborated in Hinduism has no place in the Vedic hymns”.

It is in the Upanishads that it appears for the first time. The Rig Veda speaks of two paths for the Souls of the deceased, namely, the path of the God s (devayana) and the path of the fathers (pitriyana). Those who go by the former enjoy immortality and there is no return to physical life after that.

In fact, the Vedic man longed for this state of life. Whereas those who go by the latter path, unite with the fathers and then return to earth, after having enjoyed the fruits of his deeds.

People who are caught up with the idea of reincarnation and rebirth theories are not qualified for Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana because they accepted the duality as reality

People who believe in reincarnation and rebirth theories are unaware of the fact that their belief is based on the waking entity, which is the false Self within the false experience. The waking entity itself is false Self within the false experience, it means the present experience of birth, life, death, and the world is a falsehood.

Whatever is seen, known, believed, and experienced as the waking entity is bound to be a falsehood because, the Soul, the Self is birthless because it is formless, timeless, and spaceless existence.

The rebirth and reincarnation theory based on the false self (ego) is bound to be a falsehood because the birth and death take place domain of the form, time, and space whereas the 'Self is birthless and deathless. The one, which is born, lives, and dies within the world is not the Self.

A deeper self-search reveals the fact that the waking experience itself is an illusion. It means the present experience of birth, life, death, and the world is an illusion. Thus, the reincarnation theory based on the false Self within the false experience is bound to be a falsehood. When the waking entity is not the Self then whatever theories are based on the waking entity imagined theory.

This imagined theory of reincarnation based on the waking entity or ego is for those lower mindset who are incapable of grasping the ultimate truth or Brahman.

People who are caught up with the idea of reincarnation and rebirth theories are not qualified for Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana because they accepted the duality as reality. Birth implies duality, and the duality is falsehood from the ultimate standpoint.

From the standpoint of the Soul, the Self: ~

There is no birth, No death, No world ~. This is the truth.

From the standpoint of the Soul, the Self, there is neither birth nor death nor the world. From the non-dualistic perspective, the present birth itself is an illusion because, the Soul, the Self is birthless and deathless.

The one which born, lives, and dies in this world is not the Self. If the ‘Self’ is not the birth entity then whatever is seen, known, believed, and experienced as a birth entity is bound to be an illusion. Thus, the reincarnation theory is based on the birth entity (you or ego), which is the false self within the false experience (waking).

Rebirth and reincarnation theories are based on the birth entity whereas the Soul the Self is unborn eternal because the Soul is formless, timeless, and spaceless existence.

From the standpoint of the Soul, the Self, The world in which we exist is merely an illusion. If the world in which we exist is an illusion then the birth, life, death and rebirth, and reincarnation that happens within the illusory world are bound to be an illusion.

Accepting rebirth and reincarnation theory as reality is accepting false Self (ego) as real Self and false experience (waking) as reality.

Self-realization is impossible if one accepts the present waking entity as the real Self because the Self is neither the waking entity nor the Self is the dream entity, but the Self is formless Soul, which witnesses the coming and going of the three states. : ~Santthosh Kumaar

The experience of birth, life, death, and the world is happening within the ‘I’. The ‘I’ is extraneous to the Soul, the Self.+

The experience of birth, life, death, and the world is happening within the ‘I’. The ‘I’ is extraneous to the Soul, the Self.

Remember the Self is not the ‘I’ but the ‘Self’ is the Soul the witness of the ‘I.

Until you hold the ‘Self ‘as the ‘I’ you will never be able to get Self-realization. ‘I’ hides the Soul, which is the Self.

'I’ is ignorance.

‘I’ is the duality.

‘I’ is form, time, and space.

‘I’ is the universe.

‘I’ is the waking.

‘I’ is the dream.

‘I’ is the illusion.

‘I’ is the experience of birth, life, death, and the world.

Remember:~

Without the ‘I’ there is no ignorance.

Without the ‘I’ there is no duality.

Without the ‘I’ there is no form, time, and space

Without the ‘I’ there is no universe.

Without the ‘I’ there is no waking.

Without the ‘I’ there is no dream.

Without the ‘I’ there is no illusion.

Without the ‘I’ there is no experience of birth, life, death

and the world.

The ‘I’ hides the Soul or consciousness. The ‘I’ hides the truth.

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.

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

It is time to discard the ‘I’. Never use the word the ‘I’ or I AM for the Self.

The Soul is not within your body but the Soul pervades the whole world in which you exist.

Those gurus who think the ‘Self’ is within the body propagated the Self is to be ‘I AM and they also propagate consciousness is limited to the physical body. They think consciousness is not permanent because it disappears along with physical death.

When the Self is not the body but the Soul, which is birthless and deathless how can you relate the 'I' to the Soul, which is the ever formless, timeless, and spaceless existence.

The ‘I-centric’ teachings are mere imagination based on the dualistic perspective whereas the truth is based on the nondualistic perspective. : ~Santthosh Kumaar

The influence of Sage Sankara’s wisdom is nothing to do with orthodox belief system.+

Yoga Vasistha:~ "Teachers, interpretations of sacred texts, the force of religious merit--none of these lead to the realization of that Ultimate Truth which is revealed in the clear reflection of the heart, engendered from contact with the good."

Anybody can write a commentary on the Upanishads and other great philosophic texts, all they need to do to pour out words. Some westerners along with some orthodox pundits translated and published books.

The influence of Sage Sankara’s wisdom is nothing to do with orthodox belief systems.

Some philosophers in the past dissented from this interpretation of Vedanta philosophy, holding that the Incarnated Souls were separate from the Divine Essence and only finally merged with it after the cycles of birth. All these theoretical philosophies are based on the imagination based on the false Self (ego or you) within the false experience (waking).

It is quite easy to do this even by those who have never understood the Upanishads but think they have. Thus, the dualists and their disciples have written commentaries on scriptures: But all these have written to satisfy themselves, not to get the truth because all their interoperation are based on dualistic perspective. The truth will reveal only when one can reason from the non-dualistic perspective.

Likewise, thinkers and poets of the Age of Devotion (Bhakti) of the 16th century believed in a God with attributes who became very tangible when incarnating as God and was attainable simply through love and devotion rather than scholastic and intellectual meditation.

For them, the Bhagavad Gita became the main vehicle of inspiration with its qualified and deistic Monism, rather than the scholastic and esoteric path shown by Sage Sri, Sankara.

The truth-seeker has to reject the devotional path it wants to realize the truth beyond the form, time, and space. The path of Bhakti is for the ignorant populace.

The Vedas talk about Brahman which refers to the ultimate truth or ultimate reality. The consciousness is the ultimate truth, therefore, the consciousness is Brahman and Brahman is God.

Vedas do not permit idol worship. All the idols are of the Puranic Gods priests are referring to the Puranic Brahma as God they are ignorant of the God in Vedas even though they speak of Vedas.

Priests do not understand the meaning of the Brahman, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Bhagavad Gita: ~ ‘All those whose intelligence has been stolen by material desires, they worship many God s. (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 Self. In reality, there is no duality, no differentiation. Only Atman exists.

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

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 the form of the Athma, and it is indeed Athma itself.

People, who worship the belief of God, are hallucinating that they become one with such God.

Vedas itself declares: May ye never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman? Thus, to know the real God Self-realization is necessary. Self-realization is God-realization. Self-realization is real worship.

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)

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

When Upanishads and Vedas declare that, “God is the form of the Athma, and God is indeed Athma itself” then why accept another God in place of the Atman or worship other than the Atman. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Those who come to India in search truth must know the truth they are seeking for is not available in Himalayas or Ashrams or with any Gurus or yogis, but it is hidden by the universe in which they exist.

The religious people think that Vedas as the final authority and they strictly follow the Vedas, but they are indulging in worshipping the non-Vedic Gods, non-Vedic rituals, and activities, Vedas bars such activities.

Vedas bar indulging in worshipping the non-Vedic Gods and non-Vedic rituals.

Those who come to India in search of truth must know the truth they are seeking is not available in Himalayas or Ashrams or with any Gurus or yogis, but it is hidden by the world in which they exist. All the paths and practices available in India are not meant for those who are seriously seeking the truth of their true existence.

Sage Sankara says: ~ “Atman is Brahman. The Atman alone is real is not religious truth. Sage Sankara declared this Advaitic truth, which is the ultimate truth to the whole world, many centuries back is the rational truth, scientific truth, and ultimate truth.

Thus, the Atman which is present in the form of the consciousness is real and eternal, the world in which we exist is merely an illusion.

Sage Sankara already declared ‘what is truth’ and ‘what is untruth’.

Atman is Brahman ~ “That is the Soul the innermost ‘‘Self’’ is the ultimate truth”.

The world is unreal ~ “The unreal hides the truth because the world is created out of the real.

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 come 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.

Sage Sankara: ~ “VC~ 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.

Atman which is present in the form of the consciousness is real and eternal, the world in which we exist is merely an illusion.

Sage Sankara says the transparent Truth of the ‘Self’, which is hidden by the illusion, is to be attained through the instructions of a knower of Brahman, (Gnani)

Sage Sankara clearly indicates in Viveka Chudamani (2) that the Knower of the Atman (A Gnani) "bears no outward mark of a holy man" (Stanza 539).

Vedas say not to accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman but people are unaware of their own sacred Vedas and worship non-Vedic Gods as real Gods.

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

Even 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 as God other than consciousness.

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

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

God in truth is the Soul, the ‘Self’. God in truth becomes universe (duality) in waking and the universe becomes God in truth in deep sleep (nonduality).

The universe is nothing but an illusion created out of God. When you realize the ‘‘Self’’, not you but the ‘‘Self’’ is the Soul, the God then there is no second thing that exists other than God, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Only when you realize God in truth you will realize the universe is nothing but God because the universe is an illusion created out of God the consciousness.

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, 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.

That is why 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.

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

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)

The Gods worshiped in India today are not God in truth. Believing and worshipping in non-Vedic Gods barred by Vedas.

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

Be aware of what you are searching for. Be aware of what you are seeking. The truth will reveal itself to you if you move in the right direction. You are making it complicated by accepting the untruth propagated as truth.

There is nothing but water in the Holy Rivers. Even if you dip million times and by indulging in performing pranayama, your ignorance will not vanish.

Sage Sankara: ~ “VC 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. (13)

All the Gods sculpted of stone and metal will not be pleased with your devotion and offerings. People are praying out to them.

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. (verses-6)

The Sacred Books of the East is nothing but words you will not find the truth in it.

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

Mundaka Upanishads: ~ “So-called spiritual pundits and learned are called children because a child takes whatever it thinks as truth. The question never occurs to children “Is what I have seen or thought really the truth?" (P.334 line 9)

People have lived through indulging in all these priests crafted beliefs dogmas and superstitions, something, that is not true.

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.

Mundaka Upanishad says: ~ “The rituals and the sacrifices described in the Vedas deal with lower knowledge. The sages ignored these rituals and went in search of higher knowledge. ... Such rituals are unsafe rafts for crossing The sea of samsara, of birth and death. Doomed to shipwreck are those who try to cross The sea of samsara on these poor rafts. Ignorant of their own ignorance, yet wise In their own esteem, these deluded men Proud of their vain learning go round and round Like the blind led by the blind.

If you are seeking truth and you are trying to get it from yoga and following some teaching and following some Guru and other paths then you are dwelling in ignorance and go round and round, by various tortuous paths, like the blind led by the blind. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar