Patanjali warns against sleep as a hindrance to yoga, he means when it occurs in the early stages of the practice.+

Patanjali warns against sleep as a hindrance to yoga, he means when it occurs in the early stages of the practice. Yogi is unaware of the ‘Self hidden by the world in which he exists.

Only when all is known can all be known to be but ideation. Hence yogis blotting all out in samadhi cannot lead to Advaitic Gnana.

The fact that Samadhi is deep sleep is kept secret because people would not be tempted to take up yoga. Then what is the value of it? Why, to sharpen the mind, to enable it to keep away all extraneous thoughts when one gets out to reason in the practice of the next higher stage, i.e. Gnana.

Manduka Upanishads: - yoga can no more succeed than the ocean can be emptied with a blade of grass.

Yoga is thus simply a sharpening stone for the intellect to enable it to take up Gnana. People think that the yogis can live without thoughts but it is impossible to live without thoughts. How can he walk from one spot to another without thought? He does not know the Gnanic or Advaitic truth if he says thoughtlessness is the nature of the self. Yoga has its place rather than its value and its value is for a certain type of mindset. Yoga will give steadiness of mind, education of mind, but never Truth because it ignores the external world.

Brihad Upanishads: -Even yoga cannot give perfect concentration and the only way to gain it is philosophical realization. (Page 133 1st para)

Patanjali takes for granted that there is an Iswara--God, gives it to the students for concentration purposes, and then they naturally find God in their meditations. But it is only their imagined God. Mystics see what they are looking for or whose existence they presuppose. Therefore, Patanjali Yoga belongs to religion, not the truth. Belief in Yoga is a self-mesmeric condition out of which it is extremely difficult to escape.

Religion and Yoga are useful from utilitarian viewpoints but from the point of view of seeking the truth, they are useless. Religious believers have not proved that there is a God because the religious gods are based on blind belief. Personal experience which is not universally valid is no proof, neither is an ecstatic feeling.

All philosophical, yogic, and cosmological teachings but at the end, it finally says "All is imaginative and based on the false self (ego or waking entity) within the false experience(waking)."

Sage Sankara says: - Yoga is not the means of liberation. (P -132-133 of his commentary on Brihadaranyakopanishad).

The seeker requires to be active to examine the universe and discriminate. 

Ashtavakra says:~"This is your bondage, that you practice Samadhi or meditation.”

Remaining thoughtless in the waking experience is yogic Samadhi. Yogic Samadhi is not the Advaitic wisdom

Brih Upanishad: page 32. "Yoga does not yield truth or liberation."

                                                                 

One who is in Samadhi will not know that this universe as the consciousness; therefore yoga is not the means to Self- knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

In Samadhi the yogi knows nothing, sees no universe; so if there is nothing but blankness. The blankness is not the Advaitic wisdom.

The yogi does not know the nature of the universe. If the universe is not seen in the Samadhi then there is no need to use the word Atman and Brahman.  The yogi is unaware of the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space. 

By shutting his eyes in Samadhi, the yogi does not know the universe, which confronts him. Hence the universe can't be known as the Soul or the consciousness through yoga.

One is in a non-dual condition in deep sleep or Samadhi, One without a second, true, but he did not know it at the time. He says only in the waking experience afterward. Hence, there must be inquiry so that you find non-duality whilst you are awake so that you can see nonduality at the time not afterward. Hence, too the need of inquiring into the nature of the universe and knowing it as the Soul or the consciousness whilst one is awake, and not during sleep or Samadhi.

Advaitic truth is the ultimate truth.  Yogis, mystics, and religious teachers do not accept the path of wisdom because it pries into the truth, the source, and the validity of the knowledge they claim. Therefore, it is the most difficult part of the study of the Advaita.

That is why Sage Sankara said: ~ VC-63-“Without causing the objective universe to vanish and without knowing the truth of the Self, how is one to achieve Liberation.

The universe in which we exist will not remain as reality when wisdom dawns. The universe is a mere mirage created out of consciousness and there is conscious awareness of unity in diversity because there is no second thing that exists other than consciousness.

Lord Krishna confesses that the oldest wisdom of India (Advaitic wisdom) has been lost: people misinterpret and falsify it today as they did then. It is not yoga but philosophic truth. But nobody knows it. The teachers of philosophy and leaders of mysticism or religion do not want to inquire into truth and have no time for it. (Gita –Chap- IV-v.2)

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

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

Vedantic Nirvikalpa samadhi means knowing that there are no ideas different from myself, as the dream mountain is not different from Mind, knowing which they automatically come under control. This is different from Patanjali Yogic Nirvikalpa samadhi, which is only deep sleep.

Remember:~

Mystics who promise a Garden of Eden, a joyous outlook on life, do not see that this must be a drsyam, an object which is seen and must inevitably vanish. How long can it last? A Gnani regards peace as higher, because it is apart from joy or sorrow, ecstasy or pain, and because it belongs to the Seer and is therefore unbroken, permanent.

In the dream you know that the dream figures are also minded, not different from it; similarly, when you know that everything is Brahman, there is no need for yogic control of the mind. Control presupposes second, a duality. Hence yoga is in the sphere of duality and is unnecessary to one who knows non-duality.

Vedanta requires the mind to be active to examine the world and discriminate. Hence Vedantic Nirvikalpa samadhi means knowing that there are no ideas different from myself, as the dream mountain is not different from Mind, knowing which they automatically come under control. This is different from Patanjali Yogic Nirvikalpa samadhi, which is only deep sleep.

There is nothing to drive out. Even the yogi's ecstasies may be retained, provided you do not let yourself be deceived about them and accept them like everything else, as part of Brahman.

The mystic who sees God in vision has seen Him during the waking state: but as Reality is not in a state, therefore he is in the world of Seen.

The Yogi wants to do something, some action, even that of sitting still, to control this or concentrate that. This means he is still attached to the body. He wants his body to be quiet. He is still thinking of an illusory body. He does not start with Vedanta's idea that the body is but an idea. On the contrary, he takes it for reality.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

Mundaka Upanishad: - The study of the Vedas, linguistics, Rituals, astronomy, and all the arts can be called lower knowledge. The higher is that which leads to Self-realization.+

Mundaka Upanishad: - The study of the Vedas, linguistics, Rituals, astronomy, and all the arts can be called lower knowledge. The higher is that which leads to Self-realization. The eye cannot see it; the mind cannot grasp it. The deathless 'Self'has neither caste nor race, neither eyes nor ears nor hands nor feet. Sages say this Self is infinite in the great and in the small, everlasting and changeless, the source of life.

Even for simple crafts, such as pottery or carpentry, a preliminary course of training is required before a person is allowed to handle the instruments; but in the field of Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana, the Science of the Soul, the  Self, the highest and the most difficult of all sciences.

Most people think they are competent and entitled to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana but their egocentric intelligence and accumulated knowledge block them from acquiring Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

Katha Upanishad: ~ This Knowledge cannot be attained by common sense or by reasoning. Brahman-Atman is easy to comprehend when taught by one who knows. [1.2.9]

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

Upanishads:~ Fools dwelling in darkness, but thinking they wise and erudite, go round and round, by various tortuous paths, like the blind led by the blind. (Upanishads Nikilanada - Ch II-5 P-14)

Upanishads:~ Fools dwelling in darkness, but thinking they wise and erudite, go round and round, by various tortuous paths, like the blind led by the blind. (Upanishads Nikilanada - Ch II-5 P-14)

Manduka Upanishad has no assumptions whatever. It is an honest and bold inquiry into truth. It rises above scripture.

It all depends on seekers' capacity to grasp the Advaitic wisdom of Sage Sankara, which is above words and above "interpretation."

Remember that only a few of those who have understood Sage Sankara’s Advaitic wisdom for them contradictory interpretations will never arise.

There will be no two among them, only one. The only test of the correctness of any interpretation of Sage Sankara is whether it tends towards non-duality or not, whether its author has grasped non-duality or not.

Remember:~

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.3.28:~ “oṁ asato mā sad gamaya ~`tamaso mā jyotir gamaya~ mṛtyor mā amṛtaṁ gamaya~ oṁ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ” ~

Lead Us From the Unreal To the Real, Lead Us From Darkness To Light, Lead Us From Death To Immortality, Let There Be Peace, Peace, Peace.

The Advaitic truth is very simple. It is very difficult to realize because it is lost in the dualistic knowledge we inherited, collected from different sources, different masters’ different gurus, different philosophies, different ideologies, different books, and scriptures. All this accumulated knowledge is a mere hill of mental garbage.: ~ Santthosh Kumaar 

Manduka Upanishad Brahman and Atman are defined as same.+

In Manduka Upanishad Brahman and Atman are defined as same:~ सर्वं ह्येतद् ब्रह्मायमात्मा ब्रह्म सोयमात्मा चतुष्पात् / sarvam hyetad brahmaayamaatmaa brahm soyamaatmaa chatushpaat –

Manduka Upanishad, verse-2:~All indeed is this Brahman; This Atman is Brahman; God, this Atman has four steps/quarters.

While Brahman lies behind the sum total of the objective universe, some human minds boggle at any attempt to explain it with only the tools provided by reason. Brahman is beyond the senses, beyond the mind, beyond intelligence, beyond imagination. 

Indeed, the highest idea is that Brahman is beyond both existence and non-existence, transcending and including time, causation, and space, and thus can never be known in the same material sense as one traditionally 'understands' a given concept or object. 

Rig Veda: ~ 'Prajnanam Brahma'- Consciousness is the ultimate reality or Brahman or God in truth.

Do not accept any other God other than the Soul. The Soul is God in truth,  Nothing is real but the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. Nothing matters but realize  God in truth. God in truth is everywhere and in everything. Let these words be inscribed in your subconscious.

God in truth is hidden by the illusory universe. God in truth alone is real and eternal and all else is an illusion.

Brahman is merely a word to indicate the ultimate truth or God in truth.  The ultimate truth itself is God in truth. 

Remember:~

When the Soul, the 'Self' remains in its own awareness: ~

What is this body?

What is the ego?

What is this world?

What is the 'I'?

What is duality?

What is existence, nonexistence, unity, or duality?

What needs us there to say more?

Noting from the Soul because whatever seems to emanate from it, is non-different from itself. There is no second thing other than the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

One should not mistake Self, which is the Soul for the ‘I’.

Those who assert the world is a reality, are still in the elementary stages of the preliminary analysis. The world is a reality within the waking experience, but the waking experience is merely an illusion. The same way the dream world was a reality within the dream experience. The dream became unreal when the waking took place. The same way the waking becomes unreal when Advaitic wisdom dawns. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar 

Ashtavakra Gita was misinterpreted based on the dualistic perspective by many people and published in the past.+

Some people think they have read the Ashtavakra Gita and mastered the knowledge. Ashtavakra Gita was 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 that the Self is hidden by the dualistic illusion or Maya.

Ashtavakra or any other book 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 the 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 book after book. 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 is Advaitic Gnana.

No books can do more than help us to find it, and even without them, we can get all the truth if we search for the truth that is hidden by the world in which we exist. You have a love for books without bondage to them, and read the books, but do not believe blindly because it is 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.

Remember:~

Ashtavakra Gita: ~ It is not the absence of Buddhi (Reason) that can grasp Advaita but the man who possesses the highest intellect. Brains are necessary. Such a man, by merely hearing the truth mentioned will know it. (Page~ 224).

There is no need to buy books to realize the truth which is beyond form, time, and space.

Sage Sankara: ~ 'Like a servant who carries a lamp in front of you to find your way, and you have found it, so becomes the Veda to that person. What is the Veda? ~ utterances of those who have known the Truth. Here is one who has known the Truth; why should he or she depend upon the Veda further? Actual realization takes you beyond books. At a certain stage, books become a botheration.

The Upanishad itself says that the 'words are only so much of distraction for such minds'

There is no need to study scriptures to acquire Advaitic wisdom,

To realize the ultimate truth or Brahman no scriptures are needed. I am highlighting only the rational views of the sages of truth.

People think that by studying Vedas one will be able to get self-realization, but it is not so. Vedic studies lead one to nowhere. What is the use of studying scriptures when the Upanishads itself says: ~

Katha Upanishad:~ This Atman cannot be attained by the study of the Vedas, or by intelligence, or by much hearing of sacred books. It is attained by him alone whom It chooses. To such a one Atman reveals Its own form. (Katha Upanishad Ch-II -23-P-20)

Mundaka Upanishad:~ This Atman cannot be attained through the study of the Vedas, nor through intelligence, nor through much learning. He who chooses Atman—by him alone is Atman attained. It is the Atman that reveals to the seeker Its true nature. (3 page-70 - Mundaka Upanishad- Upanishads by Nikilanada)

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.

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

Ashtavakra: ~ “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 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.

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."

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

 

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

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

Instead, read, reason, and reflect on the subject, which is the Advaitic wisdom of Sage Sankara to get rid of ignorance. :~Santthosh Kumaar

The pundits saw Ashtavakra as he entered the royal court. They were all learned scholars. His body was bent and deformed in eight places.+

 Ashtavakra: ~

When Ashtavakra was twelve years old, Janak hosted a huge debating conference. Janak was an emperor, and he invited the pundits of the whole country to debate on the scriptures. He had one thousand cows placed at the palace gate and had the horns of the cows plated with gold and decorated with jewels. He proclaimed, “Whoever is victorious, shall take possession of these cows.”

It was a great debate. Ashtavakra’s father also participated. As dusk was falling, the message came to Ashtavakra that his father was losing. He had already defeated all the others, but he was about to be defeated by a pundit named Vandin. Receiving this message Ashtavakra went to the palace. The hall was decorated. The debate was in its final stage and the decisive moment was fast approaching. His father’s defeat was a complete forgone conclusion – he was on the very edge of defeat.

The pundits saw Ashtavakra as he entered the royal court. They were all learned scholars. His body was bent and deformed in eight places: he had just to move and anyone would start laughing. His very movement was a laughing matter. The whole meeting broke into laughter.

Ashtavakra also roared with laughter. Janak asked, “Everyone else is laughing. I can understand why they laugh, but why did you laugh, my son?”

Ashtavakra said, “I am laughing because the truth is being decided in this conference of butchers” – the man must have been extraordinary. ”What are all these skinners doing here?”

A deep silence fell over the meeting. Butchers? Skinners? The king asked,

”What do you mean?”

Ashtavakra said, “It is simple and straightforward: They only see skin, they don’t see me. It is difficult to find a man more pure and simple than me, but they don’t see this; they see a bent and deformed body. They are skinners, they judge by the skin. Your Majesty, in the curve of a temple, is the sky curved? When a pot is smashed, is the sky smashed? The sky is beyond change. My body is twisted, but I am not. Look at the one within. You cant find anything more straight and pure.”

It was a very startling declaration. There must have been pin-drop silence.

Janak was impressed, astounded: “Absolutely right, why had he gathered a crowd of skinners there?” He became repentant, he felt guilty that he too had laughed. That day the king couldn’t manage to say anything, but the following day when he was out on his morning ride he saw Ashtavakra on the way. Janak dismounted from his horse and fell at his feet. The day before, in front of everyone, he couldn’t find the courage.

The day before he had said: “Why do you laugh, my son?” Ashtavakra was a boy of twelve years, and Janak had considered his age. This day he didn’t notice the age. This day he got down from his horse and fell at Ashtavakra’s feet, spread-eagled in prostration.

He said, “Please visit the palace, and satisfy my eagerness for the truth.

Oh, lord, be so gracious as to come to my home. I have understood! I couldn’t sleep the whole night. You spoke truly: what depths of understanding have those who recognize only the body? They are debating the being, but attraction and repulsion for the body still arise; hate and attraction still arise. They are looking at death while talking of the deathless! I’m blessed that you came and disturbed me, that you broke my sleep. Please come to the palace!”

Janak had the palace decorated magnificently. He welcomed Ashtavakra and seated him on a golden throne – this twelve-year-old Ashtavakra. Then he put his questions to him. The first sutra is Janak’s inquiry. Janak asked and Ashtavakra explained. Beyond this, nothing is known about Ashtavakra. And there is no need to know more, it is more than enough! Diamonds are not many; only pebbles and rocks are so common. A single diamond is enough. ~ Osho