Even the Upanishads are Self-contradictory. Pundits and scholars give conflicting interpretations of them. When one uses his own Common-sense he becomes aware that, the final authority, therefore, is using his own reason. One should apply his reason to the scriptures before accepting them as truth.
Astavakra: ~ “My child you may speak upon various scriptures or hear the sermons on the scriptures. But you cannot establish in the ‘Self’ unless you forget all. 16-1 – p49
Sage Sankar restrained himself from parting the Advaitic wisdom to the mass and only a selected few. The Advaitic wisdom was hidden from the people who were not qualified and receptive to it. Advaitic wisdom was not written down but was imparted orally to the chosen few. Thus, religion was given to the ignorant populace and the Advaitic wisdom was given to only a selected few. Thus, we find traces of knowledge of the spirit in the religious books in the form of parables.
Swami Vivekananda: ~ “Advaita encompasses everything. Since Advaita requires heavy-duty intellectualism, it had to be progressively simplified. (From 'The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda)
Advaitic wisdom is not based on any teaching or teacher. The Pursuit of truth is the pursuit of verification not the pursuit of an argument. Intellectual discussion is a great hindrance in the pursuit of truth.
That which is unreal, that is duality, cannot contradict the truth of non-duality. It cannot be counted as an adversary of non-duality. The illusion cannot, 'oppose' the substratum, reality. It can at best lead to the mistaking of the substratum. Perfect understanding is the only way to overcome ignorance.
Many people think they have read all the scriptures including Ashtavakra Gita and Avadooth Gita and mastered the knowledge. all the scriptures including Ashtavakra Gita and Avadootha were misinterpreted based on the dualistic perspective by many people and published in the past.
Interpretations of sacred texts, the force of scriptural mastery merit--none of these lead to the realization of that the 'Self' hidden by the dualistic illusion or Maya.
Ashtavakra or Upanishads or other books is not final because it has been misinterpreted by different authors based on their egocentric outlook. The Soulcentric knowledge cannot be grasped on the dualistic understanding.
Nothing has to be accepted as truth without verification. What is accepted without a proper inquiry will not lead a person to the final goal.
The study of Upanishad was neither indispensable nor a necessary prerequisite for attaining the human goal, the moksha. All that one was required to do was to get rid of ignorance.
There is no need to read books after books. You need to realize only the world in which you exist is created out of single stuff. That single stuff is consciousness. Knowledge of that single stuff is Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.
Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana itself is Advaitic Gnana.
No books can do more than help us to find it, and even without them, we can get all truth if we search for the truth which is hidden by the world in which we exist. You have the love for books without bondage to them; and read the books, but do not believe blindly because it well written with the ornamental world, but think for yourself. No blind belief can save you, work out on your own to find the truth, which is hidden by form, time, and space. Think the Soul is your inner Guru - that Soul is an eternal help.
There is no need to read books to realize the truth which is beyond form, time, and space.
Like a servant who carries a lamp in front of you to find your way, and you have found it, so becomes the spiritual books to that person who has realized the Truth. why should the seeker depend upon any book further?
Actual realization takes you beyond books. At a certain stage, books become a botheration.
All the books written on Advaita by eastern and western authors are based on the dualistic perspective and orthodox point of view. Thus, they do not have a Soulcentric vision of the truth.
Advaita is the nature of the Soul. There are so many books by many authors, but none will help the seeker to reach the ultimate understanding.
Advaitic Wisdom is not found in scriptures or books. There are only hidden parables here and there. There is no clear-cut wisdom whatsoever in the scriptures or philosophy. Mere words ~ are just a collection of words.
Advaitic Wisdom is hidden within the world in which we exist. The truth is not found in the world because the world is merely an illusion created out of consciousness. The Truth is hidden within the form, time, and space, but it is beyond the form, time, and space.
Sages of truth restrained themselves from parting the Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana to the mass and only a selected few. It was hidden from the people who were not qualified and receptive to it.
Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana was not written down but was imparted orally to the chosen few. Thus, religion was given to the mass, and knowledge of the spirit is given to only selected a few. Thus, we find traces of the knowledge of the spirit in the religious books in the form of parables.
Remember:~
Swami Vivekananda: Vedanta does not believe in the book. It denies the authority of any book over any other book. It denies emphatically any one book contains all the truths about God, Soul, or the ultimate reality.
Those of you who have read Upanishads remember that again and again, “Not by reading books can we realize the Self”
Second, it finds veneration for some particular person still more difficult to uphold. Those of you who are a student of Vedanta – Vedanta is always meant Upanishads- know that this is the only religion that does not cling to any person.
Not one man or woman has become object worship among the Vedantins.
You see how very little room there is in Vedanta for any man to stand ahead of us and for us to worship him. Vedanta does not give you that. No book, no man to worship nothing.
A still greater difficulty is about God. if you want to be democratic in this country. It is a democratic God that Vedanta teaches. ~ (Is Vedanta in future religion? BY Swami Vivekananda –lecture – San Francisco on April 8, 1900)
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 of 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: ~ 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.
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.
66. Therefore, the wise should, as in the case of disease and the like, personally strive by all the means in their power to be free from the bondage of repeated births and deaths.
Then there is no need for the scriptures, religion, and idea of God. One has to be more rational to realize the Advaitic truth, which is the ultimate truth or scientific truth.:~Santthosh Kumaar
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