Religious and yogic paths are not the Gnanic path or Atmic path. Never mix religious and yogic idea in the Atmic path.+

There is no need to take sanyasa and renounce worldly life to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. All the Guru-propagated knowledge is not Gnana. 

All guru-propagated knowledge is meant for the ignorant populace. If you are stuck up with religion and yoga you are unfit to tread the Atmic path.

If you are seeking the truth of your true existence then you must set yourself free of religious background and cultures, of all accumulated should be discarded.

The seeker has to have the courage to accept the truth and reject the untruth because most people will not be able to subscribe to the path of truth, because, they are sentimentally and emotionally involved with their inherited belief system, and even if one does he has to overcome all his doubts, confusion, and despair. These are problems for the seekers who are from a religious background because of their conditioning and they are made to accept their blind belief as truth and their interest or insight is not deep.

Thus, all my blogs are useful in analyzing these problems because they highlight what is not the truth according to their own religious scriptures and make them accept the truth reject all the false conditioning, and move ahead in the pursuit of truth.

Religious and yogic paths are not the Gnanic path or the Atmic path. Never mix religious and yogic ideas in the Atmic path.

The guru & disciple concept is meant for the religious and yogic path. In the Atmic path, the guru and disciple concepts have no value.

A person who realizes 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 as 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.

Sage Sankara says - VC-162- There is no liberation for a person of mere book-knowledge, howsoever well-read in the philosophy of Vedanta, so long as one does not give up the false identification with the body, sense organs, etc., which are unreal.

The Gurus, yogis identify themselves with their body and sense-organs which are illusory.

The Guru and disciple and the world in which Guru and disciple exist are created out of single stuff. That single stuff is consciousness. Consciousness is the ultimate truth of Brahman.

Identifying as a Guru or some Guru’s disciple keeps one in the cage of ignorance. A person who identifies himself as a Guru or disciple will never be able to get Advaitic Gnana.

The Guru and disciple and the world in which Guru and disciple exist are created out of single stuff. That single stuff is consciousness. The consciousness is the ultimate truth of Brahman.

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.

A Gnani can point at the sky, but the seeing of the star is the seeker's own work.

The truth-seeker seeks only truth. The inner Sage will guide you with love. Your sincerity and seriousness lead you to your inner core. Sincere and serious seekers are not excluded.

All the chosen ones will get freedom from experiencing the illusion (duality) as a reality. All the seekers of truth are chosen ones.

Katha Upanishads: ~ This Atman is attained by him alone whom It chooses. To such a one Atman reveals Its own form. ( II -23-P-20)

All the chosen ones will get freedom from experiencing the illusion (duality) as a reality. All the seekers of truth are chosen ones.

Sage Sankara: ~ "Though I wear these robes of a Sanyasin, it is only for the sake of bread." (Select Works of Sage  Sankara" also his commentary on Brihad)

Thus, the above passage proves that all those who wear the sanyasin robes are wearing it for the sake of bread belong to the religion; they are nothing to do with 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 the ignorant masses in the dualistic world.

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)

~ Then why you are sticking a Guru who is not a Gnani.

That is why Swami Vivekananda 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.”

Yogis and Gurus are not Gods.

This idea of worshiping Guru as God is not a Vedic idea but adopted from Jainism and Buddhism.

Vedas bar human worship: ~

"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.)

Then why worship and glorify the Gurus and Yogis (human form) in place of God when Veda bars such activities and also warns people who indulge in such activities to 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.

No one has ever seen God by practicing religion or yoga or indulging in glorifying the religious God and Goddesses because God exists prior to the form, time, and space. The form, time, and space cease to exist as a reality when wisdom dawns. Thus, the Gods and Gurus have no place in the domain of the Advaitic reality. Advaita is the nature of the Soul, which is the real God. Thus, the Self-realization is the only way to God-realization.

By worshipping the religious Gods and Gurus one will not get Self-realization or God-realization.

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

Both Gnani and ignorant see the multiplicity, but Gnani does not take the differences which he sees as being real. That is the difference between them.+

A Gnani is a rational thinker. A Gnani will not be so foolish as to argue with an irrational man; the latter will put great warmth of feeling into his words, whereas the other will remain cool and calm headed, not wasting his time in attempting to reason with someone who is incapable of reasoning calmly, but can only rationalize his emotions.

The Gnani will always concern about humanity within the practical world; but same time he is fully aware of the fact that the universe in which he exists is merely an illusion. 

Gnani, by means of concentration on the true Self, realizes that ancient, effulgent hidden and which dwells and pervades in everything and everywhere in all the three states as its formless substance and witness.

A crowd in the public place will contain men of varying capacities to understand, of whom only one or two might be ripe for truth, therefore, a Gnani will not indulge delivering public lectures or indulge in public debate for propagating the Nondualistic or Advaitic truth; people can only lecture for giving out falsehood, the illusions that appeal to the taste of the audience.

A crowd in the public place will contain men of varying capacities to understand, of whom only one or two might be seekers for truth or ripe for truth.

If anyone is ripe for truth a Gnani will guide to reach the ultimate end of understanding.

Bhagavad Gita says: - “Don't unsettle the minds of ignorant by revealing the esoteric truth."

The Gnani is neither a Sanyasi, nor a swami, nor a guru, nor a yogi. He is above all stages. He is beyond form, time, and space. Gnani, having realized Atman as dwelling within impermanent states is bodiless, pervades the three states as its formless substance and witness and permanent and eternal.

Both Gnani and ignorant see the multiplicity, but Gnani does not take the differences which he sees as being real. That is the difference between them. A Gnani sees the unity behind the differences and considers the form, time and space are one in essence.

A true Gnani can never renounce anything. It is impossible. He has only renounced ignorance. For Gnani, the world is an illusion. Viewed from the absolute there's neither birth nor life nor death, neither appearance nor disappearance, neither production nor destruction, neither bondage nor liberation. There's none who seeks for freedom nor is there any who is liberated - this is the highest truth.

A Gnani knows that there's neither unity nor plurality - the world is neither one nor many. Just as a piece of rope is mistaken for a snake, the Atman is mistaken for this diverse world. Duality is an appearance and the non-dual Atman is the real truth.

Gnanis are one in millions for they have ignored the opinions of whole peoples in their independent search for truth and questioned all beliefs, all scriptures, all authorities until they could be proved to be true.

Even the arguments that religions have been followed since time immemorial make no difference to a Gnani because if people have believed a false thing over thousands of years, the length of time does not prove it true.

Remember:~

The Gnani’s position is that if enjoyment comes, he accepts it; if it does not, he keeps quiet. Even when he is taking pleasures, however, he is not deluded by them and he regards them as a passing show he knows their unreality: he does not take them seriously. Clouds do not affect the sky, although they appear to; so the pleasures do not change a Gnani because he is fully aware of the fact that the pleasure, pain, and the world are one in essence and that essence is consciousness.

The Gnani will live according to circumstances. There are no prohibitions for him. He may be a cab driver or a president.

Gnanis do not perform miracles to attract attention to the truth because they are fully aware of the fact that, the universe in which they exist is merely an illusion created out of consciousness.

Even whilst in the stage of imagined experience of objects, a Gnani has his realization of the ultimate truth or Brahman. A Gnani is fully aware of the fact that the form, time, and space are one in essence. There is no division in consciousness.

One who realizes his own soul, as in deep sleep, is indifferent to pleasure or pain, whereas one who realizes the ultimate truth or Brahman i.e. the whole world, feels the pleasure and pain but they are transient.

A Gnani is of no special use to the ordinary ignorant man as the latter cannot understand him nor grasp the truth propagated by him. Hence such men do not need Gnanis to teach them. Only those seekers, who have doubts and questions of the highest order, should follow Gnanis. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Among million people, scarcely one strives for perfection; and of those who strive and succeed, scarcely one knows the ‘God’ in truth.+*****

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

Among million people, scarcely one strives for perfection; and of those who strive and succeed, scarcely one knows the ‘God’ in truth.

The Upanishads say in effect that ~ If you believe that the ‘the Soul, the innermost Self’ is one and God (Brahman) is another you cannot understand 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.

Sage Sri, Sankara’s wisdom reveals: ~ Atman is the only one ultimate reality or Brahman. Brahman is God.

Sage Sri Sankara:~ “As fire is the direct cause of cooking, so knowledge, and not any other form of discipline, is the direct cause of Liberation; for Liberation cannot be attained without Self-Knowledge."

In fact Sage Sri, Sankara states a paradox- the world is and is not. It is neither real nor unreal. It leads us to recognize the existence of Maya (illusion). He thinks that the world is illusory from one perspective and from the second it is nothing but Brahman(God), Itself in manifestation. This apparent world is Maya and has its basis in Brahman, the Eternal. It looks as real. It has names and forms and actually, it is not real In the light of true knowledge, it disappears and Self-alone shines as real. However, Sage Sri, Sankara's Mayavada has not been accepted by many preachers and philosophers.

When Sri, Sankara says clearly, the universe is not real. He says that Brahman and Atman are one. The ultimate and the Absolute Truth is the Self, which is one though appearing as many in different individuals. The individual has no reality. Only the Soul, the innermost  Self is Real; the rest, mental and physical are but passing appearances, then it indicates the form (waking or duality or mind) is unreal and the formless soul (consciousness or soul) is real.  Therefore, only Atman is real because there is no second thing exist other than Atman, which is in the form of consciousness.

 Sage Sri, Sankara says: ~ “What is accepted without a proper inquiry will not lead a person to the final goal. On the contrary, such acceptance will result only in evil, in something which is detrimental to our spiritual progress. 

Advaita means the Soul, the innermost Self, which is second to none. The Soul, which is present in the form of the Spirit or the consciousness, is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God.

Advaita is the nature of God, the innermost Self. Advaita is God. Advaita is the fullness of consciousness.

In Yajurveda – chapter- 32:~ It has been said that God Supreme or Supreme Spirit.

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 other than consciousness a God.

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

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)

One should not accept any belief, philosophies or theories as truth without verification. If one says it may be true, then he is only imagining. The seeker must go as far as he can, never stop at a doubt; he should not get disheartened by it. The seeker has to try to overcome all the doubts and confusions. The seeker should not kill it without verifying. Let the entire doubts sprout, but the seeker must try to overcome them fearlessly until he reaches the ultimate truth.

The religion preaches that God is one and the ways to God are many. It simply tries to lead them to darkness with its dogma and idea of many Gods, which is apart from the Self.

All the physicalized Gods and belief based Gods are a reality within the dualistic illusion.

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)

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

If one says he has not seen Gods' face. If he says that he did this or went there, it will only be his imagination. This applies to all learned theorists.

Vedas and Upanishad confirm the Soul, the Self, is present in the form of the Spirit or the consciousness.

If God is the formless Spirit, then how does the man know God created the world? There is no proof. 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? (i.e. were created).

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

 The Spirit is present in the form of the consciousness. Everything is consciousness. All the moments are within the dualistic illusion. Whatever happens, within the dualistic illusion is bound to be an illusion created out of the consciousness. Thus, the consciousness alone is real and all else is merely an illusion.

Thus, the consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman or GOD. : ~Santthosh Kumaar

Zen is the nearest to Advaita, but it is still inferior because it fails to prove non-duality.+

Thoughts arise in a person within the waking or dream. The thinker is the form. Without the form, the thinking is an impossibility. Thus, thinker and thoughts are part of the known. The witness of the knower and known is formless and nondual.

Thoughts and thinker is nothing to do with the invisible witness. The invisible witness witnesses the thoughts, thinker and the world together and remains always in the within the waking or dream as their formless substance.

People think that more they think, the more they will get; but it is really an error. It remains only a thought and gives them back only thoughts. Anything seen, or observed, cannot be the Soul, the Self, which is the witness.

Thoughtless awareness comes only when there is oneness in awareness in the midst of dualistic illusion. The dualistic illusion exists as a reality until the ignorance is there. Ignorance will vanish only when the nondualistic or Advaitic wisdom dawns. 

The Advaitic wisdom dawns only when one becomes aware of the fact that the world in which you exist is a dualistic illusion created out of single stuff that is the consciousness.

Thus, realizing consciousness alone is and all the three states are merely an illusion created out of consciousness leads to nondual self-awareness.

Buddhist Sunyavada is incongruous because every thought has its opposite every word is tied to its coordinate for all thought and speech can only operate under such dualism. Hence, taking the most fundamental word, existence its implied opposite non-existence is also there, and vice versa. Therefore, the Sunya "non-entity" is meaningless without "entity". Both are there.

Buddhist Idealism speaks only of ideas.

What about the knower of these ideas?

Buddhist Nihilism does not ask "What is meant by Nihilism?

It is a thought. There must be a thinker of this thought.

Bhagavan Buddha kept silent, refusing to answer questions on the ultimate. Therefore, he was the wisest man in refusing to commit himself.

Zen is quite OK in mentioning non-duality: it is the nearest to Advaita, but it is still inferior because

(1) It fails to prove non-duality,

(2) It illogically gives ‘Koan’ exercises as a means of attaining that which is beyond attainment, because always here,

(3) It talks of insight or intuition to see Reality when sight involves a second thing, duality.

When you say "Nothing is" what is the meaning of "is"? "Sunya" is something which exists: you cannot prove that consciousness does not exist.

Zen Buddhism gives a high important place to meditation practice. The truth is that Zen advocates the necessity of meditation for those of its adherents who cannot grasp the absolute truth.

Zen Buddhism is also on this lower stage of Yoga because it depends on flashes of Intuition gained by meditation, not by reasoning.

Has the Void a meaning? If so then it is only your imagination.

Bhagavan Buddha gave up yoga after practicing it for six years. He saw it could not yield truth.

Bhagavan Buddha gave up his austerities of yoga as impossible and useless. (Page.70/71 "Buddhism in Translation” by Warren)

Bhagavan Buddha got enlightenment only after he gave up Yoga. Unless you exercise your Buddhi--reason--there is no chance of getting the truth, which is beyond the form, time and space. Buddhism is based on the form alone, and it does not include time and space in its investigation.

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

Zen Buddhism Satori is not Advaitic wisdom because it comes as flashes, it does not depend on seeing the world and does not depend upon mental sharpness so much as intuition.

Zen Buddhists are only mystics ~ they do not offer proof. How is their main method different from that of Christian mystics, Hindu mystics, all of whom do not seek to prove by reason, but by "I know," intuition? : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

By worshipping the religious Gods and Gurus one will not get Self-realization or God-realization.+

There is no need to take sanyasa and renounce worldly life to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. All the Guru-propagated knowledge is not Gnana. 

All guru-propagated knowledge is meant for the ignorant populace. If you are stuck up with religion and yoga you are unfit to tread the Atmic path.

If you are seeking the truth of your true existence then you must set yourself free of religious background and cultures, of all accumulated should be discarded.

The seeker has to have the courage to accept the truth and reject the untruth because most people will not be able to subscribe to the path of truth, because, they are sentimentally and emotionally involved with their inherited belief system, and even if one does he has to overcome all his doubts, confusion, and despair. 

These are problems for the seekers who are from a religious background because of their conditioning and they are made to accept their blind belief as truth and their interest or insight is not deep. 

Thus, all my blogs are useful in analyzing these problems because they highlight what is not the truth according to their own religious scriptures and make them accept the truth reject all the false conditioning, and move ahead in the pursuit of truth.

Religious and yogic paths are not the Gnanic path or the Atmic path. Never mix religious and yogic ideas in the Atmic path.

The Guru & Disciple concept is meant for the religious and yogic path. In the Atmic path, the Guru and Disciple concepts have no value.

A person who realizes 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 as 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.

Sage Sankara says:~ VC-162- There is no liberation for a person of mere book-knowledge, howsoever well-read in the philosophy of Vedanta, so long as one does not give up the false identification with the body, sense organs, etc., which are unreal.

The Gurus, yogis identify themselves with their body and sense-organs which are illusory.

The Guru and disciple and the world in which Guru and disciple exist are created out of single stuff. That single stuff is consciousness. Consciousness is the ultimate truth of Brahman or God in truth.

Identifying as a Guru or some Guru’s disciple keeps one in the cage of ignorance. A person who identifies himself as a Guru or disciple will never be able to get Advaitic Gnana.

The Guru and disciple and the world in which Guru and disciple exist are created out of single stuff. That single stuff is consciousness. Consciousness is the ultimate truth of Brahman.

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.

A Gnani can point at the sky, but the seeing of the star is the seeker's own work.

The truth-seeker seeks only truth. The inner Sage will guide you with love. Your sincerity and seriousness lead you to your inner core. Sincere and serious seekers are not excluded.

All the chosen ones will get freedom from experiencing the illusion (duality) as a reality. All the seekers of truth are chosen ones.

Katha Upanishads: ~ This Atman is attained by him alone whom It chooses. To such a one Atman reveals Its own form. ( II -23-P-20)

All the chosen ones will get freedom from experiencing the illusion (duality) as a reality. All the seekers of truth are chosen ones.

Sage Sankara: ~ "Though I wear these robes of a Sanyasin, it is only for the sake of bread." (Select Works of Sage Sankara" also his commentary on Brihad)

Thus, the above passage proves that all those who wear the sanyasin robes are wearing it for the sake of bread belong to the religion; they have nothing to do with 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 the ignorant masses in the dualistic world.

Sage Sri, 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)

~ Then why you are sticking a Guru who is not a Gnani.

That is why Swami Vivekananda 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.”

Yogis and Gurus are not Gods.

This idea of worshiping Guru as God is not a Vedic idea but adopted from Jainism and Buddhism.

Vedas bar human worship: ~

"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.)

Then why worship and glorify the Gurus and Yogis (human form) in place of God when Veda bars such activities and 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.

No one has ever seen God by practicing religion or yoga or indulging in glorifying the religious God and Goddesses because God exists prior to the form, time, and space. The form, time, and space cease to exist as a reality when wisdom dawns. 

Thus, the Gods and Gurus have no place in the domain of the Advaitic reality. Advaita is the nature of the Soul, which is the real God. Thus, the Self-realization is the only way to God-realization.

By worshipping the religious Gods and Gurus one will not get Self-realization or God-realization.

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

People claim meeting Buddha, Jesus, Krishna and Devi in their vision but such claims are reality +

Some Gurus describe perfection is the awakening to Reality. This awakening effectively happens in an instant. But in order to get Self-awareness resulting in a firm and unshakable certitude, long labor is necessary, which they seem to underestimate.

Many Gurus breaks the seeker’s’ bonds but then leads them to a vast desert where they abandon them. The ultimate state reality they describe is that of the fully enlightened being, but they do not show them the process leading to the realization of the ultimate truth or Brahman. They describe marvelously the goal but do not indicate any road-map.

Most Gurus and teachers approach is more practical, and they are stuck with the reality of the world, they take it as real. Therefore, they are unable to beyond the form, time and space so they promise instant bliss within the illusory world. Such a claim of instant enlightenment is false enlightenment.

People claim meeting Buddha, Jesus, Krishna, and Devi in their vision but such claims are a reality within the dualistic illusion. Whatever happens, within the dualistic illusion in any form is not a reality. 

Remember:~

How can you see and meet God without knowing what God is in actuality? By praying and meditating on God without knowing what God really is, leads to hallucination. The world in which you exist hides God. Thus, Self-realization is necessary to realize ‘what God is in actuality.

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

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

Swami Vivekananda: ~ “Stick to truth”

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

Religious Gods are based on belief. Belief is not God. Religious God cannot be considered as the center because the Soul, the Self is the center of all that exists. 

Without the Soul the world in which you exist ceases to exist, it means the religious God is dependent on the Soul for his existence. God in truth is only the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

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 other than consciousness a God.

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

Religious Gods are based on blind belief. Religious God cannot be considered as the cause of the universe because the Soul, the Self is the cause of the universe. 

Without the Soul, the Self, the universe in which you exist ceases to exist, which means the religious Gods with form and names are dependent on the Soul for their 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)

The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad:~ "He who worships the deities as entities entirely separate from him does not know the truth. For the Gods, he is like a pasu (beast)". (1. 4. 10)

No mantras help to get rid of ignorance. All the mantras and rituals are meant for the ignorant populace, which strongly believes, the world in which he exists as a reality. 

For one who wants to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana, the mantas will not help to realize the truth, which is beyond the form, time, and space.

That is why Sage Sankara:~ VC~.61. For one who has been bitten by the serpent of Ignorance, the only remedy is the knowledge of Brahman. Of what avail are the Vedas and (other) Scriptures, Mantras (sacred formulae) and medicines to such a one?

VC- v6~ Let erudite scholars quote all the scripture, let Gods be invoked through sacrifices, let elaborate rituals be performed, let personal Gods be propitiated---yet, without the realization of one‘s identity with the Self, there shall be no liberation for the individual, not even in the lifetimes of a hundred Brahmas put together

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

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

As indicated in ISH Upanishads: ~ “By worshipping Gods and Goddesses you will go after death to the world of Gods and Goddesses. But will that help you? The time you spent there is wasted because if you were not there you could have spent that time moving forward towards Self-knowledge, which is your goal. In the world of Gods and Goddesses you cannot do that, and, thus, you go deeper and deeper into darkness.

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

The Self is not I and the I is not the Soul.+

People whose intelligence has been stolen by holding the ‘I’ as the ‘Self’ will never be able to realize the reality, which is beyond form, time, and space.  

The Self is not ‘I’ but the ‘I’ is not the Soul. The Soul is a formless, timeless, and spaceless existence. the ‘I’ exists only in the domain of form, time, and space. 

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

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 it as real because some Gurus have propagated that the Self is the ‘I’. There is no need to convince such a mindset. The seeker of truth accepts only the truth nothing but the truth. 

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.

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

The ultimate reality is not an experience but it is the existence itself. The Soul itself is existence. The Soul is the fullness of consciousness without the illusory division of form, time, and space.

There is nothing that exists prior to consciousness. The ‘I’ ceases to exist without consciousness. The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, is the ultimate truth or Brahman.

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

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

The ‘I’ hides the reality of the whole. 

Bhagavad Gita says: ~ 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. 

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

Remember  this:~

What is this ‘I’? 

The ‘I’ is not a thought. The ‘I’ is the mind. The mind is the whole universe. The universe appears as waking or dream (duality) and disappears as deep sleep (non-duality).  

The one that appears as waking or dream (duality) and disappears as deep sleep (nonduality) is the Soul, the Self. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. Consciousness pervades everything and everywhere in all three states.

Without knowing what the mind is, it is impossible to realize the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space. 

People think the mind is within the body, but deeper self-search reveals the fact that the world in which you exist itself is the mind. 

When the ‘I’ is there then only the mind is there. If the mind is there then only the universe is there. If the universe is there then only the waking is there. 

Thus, it is very much necessary to realize the ‘what ‘I’ is in actuality. Without knowing ‘what is this ‘I’ it is impossible to realize the ‘I-less’ truth, which is beyond form, time, and space. 

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. 

But 

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, the Self, which is present in the form of consciousness. The ‘I’ hides the truth.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

A Gnani never knows any mantra in Vedic meter or any Tantra not he indulges in religious rituals or worship of religious Gods.+

A Gnani: ~

Having realized the truth, beyond the form, time, and space Gnani sees the world in which he exists as the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. For a Gnani, the whole world is nothing but consciousness.

A Gnani never knows any mantra in Vedic meter or any Tantra nor does he indulge in religious rituals or worship of religious Gods. 

A Gnani sees no difference between happiness and misery, man and woman, Adversity and success. Everything is seen to be the same.

A Gnani is not conflicted by the dualistic illusion. He is fully aware the Self is the fullness of the consciousness.

Knowing for certain that all is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, the Gnani has never said: “I am this” or “I am not that.”

The sage who finds stillness is neither distracted nor focused. He knows pleasure, pain, and the world are one, in essence. Ignorance is dispelled, he is free of knowing.

Select Works of Sage Sankara" also his commentary on Brihad: ~ “Though I wear these robes of a Sanyasin, it is only for the sake of bread."

Guru‘s interpretations of sacred texts, and the force of religious merit ~ none of these lead to the realization of the ultimate truth which is revealed in the clear reflection of the Soul, the  Self.

Even the best of the world’s Guru cannot transmit wisdom. Loud sermons consisting of a shower of ornamental words, the skill in expounding the egocentric knowledge, and likewise erudition ~ these merely bring on a little personal enjoyment to the Guru but are no good for Self-realization.

A Guru is useless so long as the ultimate truth is unknown, and it is equally useless when the ultimate truth has already been known. By sticking to some Guru and surrendering to him, the Advaitic wisdom will not dawn. 

Surrendering is a religious fable. Surrendering is nothing to do with the ultimate truth or Brahman. Surrender implies the duality. There is no duality in reality.

Simply saying surrender without realizing the ultimate truth is like trying to sweeten the seawater by putting in a spoonful of sugar.

Guru’s sermons consisting of ornamental words merely please the taste of the religious mindsets. Hence, the seeker of truth should earnestly set about realizing the truth beyond form, time, and space.

People are unaware of the fact that the world in which he exists is a product of ignorance. Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is the only remedy to get rid of ignorance. There is no use of religion, the religious Gods, Gurus, Yogis, and the Scriptures, rituals to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

Ignorance does not leave off if one simply utters the name of Guru's name. Without direct realization, the Soul cannot be liberated by the mere repeating the name of the Guru or God. The seeker has to remember the name belongs to the domain of the illusory form, time, and space.

Remember:~

The easiest means to get self-awareness is knowing what God is supposed to be in actuality. All the belief-based Gods are not God in truth.

Repeating the name of God was given by the religious god by some saints in the past is for the ignorant populace who are incapable of grasping the truth of the real God.

The mantra-yoga consisting of repeating the name of God, or even the AUM; thousands of times yields nothing. It can appeal only to the ignorant, to those who cannot think deeper. It is a mere religious fable. 

The real exercise is to discriminate between real and unreal and then only do you get the truth of God which is hidden by the illusion.

Sage Sankara:~ 'Actions help to purify the mind but they do not, by themselves, contribute to the attainment of Reality. The attainment of reality is brought about only by Self-Inquiry and not in the least by even ten million acts. (11)

Sage Sankara:~ 'A firm conviction that Brahman alone is Real and the phenomenal world is unreal is known as discrimination between the Real and the unreal. (20)

Sage Sankara:~ '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)

Sage Sankara:~ 'Neither sacred baths nor any amount of charity nor even Hundreds of pranayamas* can give us the knowledge of 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)

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

Without knowing what God is supposed to be in actuality worshiping, glorifying, and repeating the nameless God with a form and name with blind devotion to non-Vedic Gods leads to hallucination.

Sage Sankara:~ 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. (12)

Some Saints recommended repeating God’s name as a spiritual practice but what is the use of such practice without knowing ‘what God is in actuality. Such practices are based on religious God. 

God in truth is without form, without time and space, and without name. Religious Gods are not God in truth.

If you repeat the name of nameless God you will remain in the prison of ignorance. Thus, it is necessary to realize ‘what God is supposed to be in actuality. All priestcraft prescriptions are kees one in the prison of ignorance.

The 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, that 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 the 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 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)

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

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 (God in truth), which is present in the form of consciousness.

The dualistic worship of "God” is only for the ignorant populace. God in truth is only Atman, the  Self. In reality, there is no duality, no differentiation. Only Atman the real exists.

The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: ~ "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)

That is why 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 mantra-yoga consisting of repeating the name of God, or even the AUM; thousands of times yields nothing. It can appeal only to the ignorant, to those who cannot think deeper. It is a mere religious fable. The real exercise is to think of the meaning of the name or the AUM and then only do you get something.

That is why 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.

The religion preaches that Gods have forms of attributes and the ways to God are many. It simply tries to lead them to darkness with its dogma and idea of many Gods, which are apart from the Self.

People all over the world in the past and present accepted the idea of the existence of God. The fear of God injected by religion was the root cause of worship, superstitions, and dogmas. The religious belief is passed on to the populace from one generation to the next generation

God in truth we do not see is real. God in truth is hidden by the illusory world in which we exist because the world in which we exist is created out of God. From the standpoint of God, the world, in which we exist, is false.

In reality, the world in which we exist does not really exist; and what does not exist for us, really exists.

By worshipping God in human form, repeating mantras is like watering barren soil. The seeker of truth should not waste life in empty formalities. 

Without realizing the world in which he exists is merely an illusion it is impossible to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

God in the human form, Yogis and Gurus are not Gods.

This idea of worshiping God in human form, Gurus as God is not a Vedic idea but adopted from Jainism and Buddhism.

Vedas bar human worship: ~

"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.":~ (Yajurveda 40:9.)

Why worship and glorify the Gurus and Yogis (human form) in place of God when Veda bars such activities and 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.

No one has ever seen God by practicing religion or yoga or indulging in glorifying the religious God and Goddesses because God exists prior to the form, time, and space. 

Form, time, and space cease to exist as a reality when wisdom dawns. Thus, the Gods and Gurus have no place in the domain of the Advaitic reality. Advaita is the nature of the Soul, which is the real God.  Self-realization is the only way to God-realization.

By worshipping the religious Gods and Gurus one will not get Self-realization or God-realization.

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

People of small intelligence follow religion and believe that the world was created by God. But how do they know that He did so? When a pot is created, one can see both the pot and its maker, but not in the case of the world.

By believing and worshiping what is not truth (God in truth), one is in the prison of the dualistic illusion. Truth realization or Self-realization is God-realization. Self-realization itself is real worship. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar