Science has begun to admit that the world of the spirit and the world of matter are not two antipodes.+

Science has begun to admit that the world of the spirit and the world of matter are not two antipodes... A leading British astronomer, Sir James Jeans, confessed that the scientific conception of the universe in the past was mistaken and that the borderline between the objective world, as it is manifested in nature, and the subjective one, as it expresses itself through the mind, hardly exists. In [a 1934 address at Cornell University], he said: “ Nature we study does not consist so much of something we perceive as of our perceptions, it is not the object ... but the relation itself. There is, in fact, no clear-cut division between the subject and object.” Twenty years earlier, such a statement would have been sheer heresy. Likewise, a search for the Ultimate Reality that we usually call, "God," a search along both intellectual and unorthodox lines, need not be regarded as either heresy or sacrilege.

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Why You Are Not Your Brain, and Other Lessons from the Biology of Consciousness

by Alva Noë. Hill and Wang, 2009

Alva No, a University of California, Berkeley, philosopher, and cognitive scientist, argues that after decades of a concerted effort on the part of neuroscientists, psychologists, and philosophers "only one proposition about how the brain makes us conscious.

.. has emerged unchallenged: we don't have a clue." The reason we have been unable to explain the neural basis of consciousness, he says, is that it does not take place in the brain. Consciousness is not something that happens inside us but something we achieve it is more like dancing than it is like the digestive process. To understand consciousness the fact that we think and feel and that the world shows up for us we need to look at a larger system of which the brain is only one element. Consciousness requires the joint operation of the brain, body, and the world. "You are not your brain. The brain, rather, is part of what you are."

Sage Sankara:~ VC "All this universe which through ignorance appears as of diverse forms, is nothing else but Brahman which is absolutely free from all the limitations of human thought.

This universe is common to all of us, therefore one must include the universe in his investigation in order to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman. It is only after one has inquired into the nature of the objective universe, that he should inquire into who is the knower. If, however one, inquiries into the knower before the inquiry into the universe, then it is mere mysticism. One must have a perfect understanding of what is what.

               v “What is the universe?”

               v “What is this ‘I’?”

That is why Sage Sankara indicated:~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.

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."

Eradicating ignorance completely is necessary. And this is possible only through ‘‘Self’’-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. Thus, there is no other road to freedom other than Gnana. There is no other entrance other than Gnana. The ignorance will vanish only when the nondual wisdom dawns.

Gnana here is knowledge uncontradictable truth or scientific truth. This scientific truth of the whole, not a part is declared by Sage Sankara1200 years back.

Sage  Goudpada  Advaitic wisdom is shared only to those of higher intellect who are receptive. Thus karma and Upasana, yoga, and orthodoxy have to be bifurcated in order to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman.

That is why Sage Sankara indicated in Bhaja Govindam says: ~ (Jnana Viheena Sarva Mathena Bajathi na Muktim janma Shatena) - One without knowledge does not obtain liberation even in a hundred births, no matter which religious faith he follows.

Then it is no use going a roundabout way, trace the Brahman which is the formless substance and witness of the universe, which is in the form of the mind. By tracing the source of the mind or universe, one will be able to realize the Brahman or God in truth.

Thus, Self-knowledge is meant only for those who have an intense urge, and courage to accept the truth with humility and reject the untruth. Since people start comparing their scriptural knowledge, it becomes impossible to assimilate and realize the non-dual truth. Therefore, there is no need to convince anyone other than our own selves to get a firm conviction. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar