Advaitic truth is the ultimate truth or Brahman then it is high time to discard the lower knowledge and move ahead to realize the ultimate truth, which is Brahman or God.+*****

If the ‘Self ‘is not the body but the ‘Self’ is formless Soul then there is no need for Pada Pooja (feet worship) of Gurus and Yogis to get freedom.

A Guru, who preaches conduct as the means to freedom, believes in birth, life, death, and the world as a reality, whereas the Advaitic Sage Sri, Sankara declares the world as unreal.  Therefore, how actions performed in the unreal world can get moksha or freedom. Therefore there is a need to know the fact that, the ‘Self’ is not the form but the ‘Self’ in order to understand and assimilate and realize the truth beyond the form, time and space.

Vedas bar human worship: ~

Translation 3

"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  it 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.

That is why Sage Sri, Goudpada said: ~ “The merciful Veda teaches karma and Upaasana to people of lower and middling intellect, while Jnana is taught to those of higher intellect.

Thus, Sage Sri, Goudpada suggest that the religious paths and worship of Guru and conceptual God are lower and middling intellect.  But in this modern world, people are sharp enough to understand and assimilate the ultimate truth or Brahman or God. Thus, people who want the Advaitic truth then it is high time to discard the lower knowledge and move ahead to realize the ultimate truth, which is Brahman or God.  

That is why Sage Sri, 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.

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.

When one realizes the fact that, the whole universe and its contents, movable and immovable, is known to be consciousness, and thus the existence of everything else is negated, where is then any room to say that the universe is the universe.  The universe and its contents bound to be the consciousness.  

The Upanishads are the only scriptures in the world that declare: ~ It is impossible to find and realize the truth via religion and scriptural study.

The 'Self' do not grow by acquiring something nor wither away by losing it. The 'Self' remains what it always is.

Most people will not understand what I am driving at because they are seeking something which they can enjoy.  The ambition of the true spiritual seeker is to realize the Self, which is hidden by the illusory form, time and space.  People are looking for an advantage in the practical world, to take care of their practical life~ that is the maximum they expect out of spirituality.

Sage Sri, Sankara: ~ "Though I wear these robes of a Sanyasin, it is only for the sake of bread."

Sage Sri Sankara: ~   “The Knower of the Atman (i.e., a Gnani) "bears no outward mark of a holy man" (VC ~Stanza 539).

 Sage Sri, Sankara writes: ~ “Sometimes he appears to be a Fool, sometimes a wise man. Sometimes he seems splendid as a king, sometimes feeble-minded. Sometimes he is calm and silent. Sometimes he draws men to him. Sometimes people honor him greatly, sometimes they insult him. Sometimes they ignore him.

"Unless one realizes the Soul as the ‘Self’ as it really is” it is impossible to realize the nondualistic or Advaitic truth. The so-called Gurus and Yogis focus their ambition on seeing that their daily life goes on comfortably. Nobody is ready to inquire about the truth of their true existence.  : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Do not keep on glorifying the ‘I’. The ‘I’ is not within your body. Remember the ‘I’ is the whole universe.+

Do not keep on glorifying the ‘I’. The ‘I’ is not within your body. Remember the ‘I’ is the whole universe. The universe ceases to exist without the ‘I’.

If you are caught in the grip of the ‘I’ then you will remain permanently in the grip of ignorance. if you hold the Self as ‘I’ you will never be able to cross the dualistic illusion.    If you follow the ‘I’ based teaching it is like the blind leading the blind

If you inquire   “Who am ‘I’?  “The ‘I’ will not disappear. You must know the nature of the ‘I’, which appears and disappears.

The Soul is the witness of the ‘I’ which is permanent and eternal. The Soul is the subject and the ‘I’ is an object.

The ‘I’ hides the Soul. Therefore, the seeker has to realize ‘what is this ‘I’ supposed to be in actuality

If the Self is not ‘I’ but the Self is the Soul then from the standpoint of the Soul, the Self: ~

Where is the ‘I’?

Where is the ego?

Where is the body?

Where is the mind?

Where is the world in which you exist?

Where is the form, time, and space?

Where is the waking experience?

Where is the duality?

Where is void?

They are or have become one with the Soul which is present in the form of consciousness. Consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman.

The ‘I’ is present only when the mind is present. The mind is present only when the world is present. The world is present only when there is a waking experience.

Deeper self-search reveals that the waking experience is not considered different from the world. The world is not considered different from the mind. The mind is not considered different from the I’. This truth has to be assimilated.

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 'I’ is an illusion then the individual experience of birth, life, and 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 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 realize 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 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.

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 a mindset is 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. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Orthodox Advaita, Dvaita, and Vishista Advaita are nothing to do with the Advaitic wisdom of Sage Sankara.+

The Religious paramparas like Advaita, Dvaita, and Vishista Advaita are orthodox paths meant for the ignorant populace. Orthodox 

Advaita, Dvaita, and Vishista Advaita are nothing to do with the Advaitic wisdom of Sage Sankara.  Mixing orthodoxy with the path of wisdom is like mixing oil with water.  Advaitic wisdom is pure Spirituality based on the Soul, the Spirit.  

Sage Sankara says:  The orthodoxy is meant for ignorant people.

Sage Sankara says the scriptures dealing with rituals are addressed to an ignorant person.

 Upanishad aspiration is best expressed in the following sutra:~

OM Asato ma sad gaMaya, tamaso ma jyotir gaMaya, mrityor ma aamritaam gaMaya. Shanti, Shanti, Shanti

"OM Lead me from ignorance to truth, from darkness to light, from death to immortality. Peace, Peace, Peace" (Brhadaranyaka Upanishad (1/3/28)).

According to Advaita Vedanta, the Veda addresses itself to two kinds of audiences - the ordinary ones who desire the transitory heaven and other pleasures obtained as a result of ritual sacrifices, and the more advanced seeker who seeks to know Brahman. Thus, the Purva mimam. sa, with its emphasis on the Karma kanda of the Vedas, is meant for the first audience, to help lead its followers along the way. However, the Vedanta, with its emphasis on the jnana kanda, is meant for those who wish to go beyond such transient pleasures.

Those who lack the intelligence to discriminate between formless witness (subject) and three states (object) will not be able to grasp what is real and what is unreal. Both subject and object are consciousness, not subject alone. 

Ish Upanishad declares: - Those people who have neglected the attainment of ‘Self’-knowledge and have thus committed suicide ~10/11/12

Those people who have neglected the attainment of ‘Self’-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana and have thus committed suicide, as it were, are doomed to enter those worlds after death.

This is a condemnation of people who do not try to attain ‘Self’-knowledge. They are, in a real sense, committing suicide, for what can be worse than being a slave to sense enjoyment, completely oblivious of the real purpose of life, which is to be one's, own master?

The Brahma Sutras together with Sage Sankara's commentary thereon do not contain higher Vedanta. They are intended for duffers.

Sage  Sankara's commentary on Brahma Sutras is not on the philosophical basis, but on a religio-mystic one, with an appeal to Vedas as a final authority.

In Brahma Sutra Sage Sankara takes the position that there is another entity outside us, i.e. the wall really exists separately from the mind. This was because, Sage Sankara explains in Mandukya that those who study the Sutras are religious minds, intellectual children, hence his popular viewpoint to assist them. These people are afraid to go deeper because it means being heroic enough to refuse to accept Sruti, and God's authority, in case they mean punishment by God.

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

In Brahma Sutras Sage Sankara takes for granted, assumes that a world was created: He there mixes dogmatic theology with philosophy.

That God created the world is an absolute lie; nevertheless, you will find Sage Sankara (in his commentary on Vedanta Sutras) clearly says this! He has to adapt his teachings to his audience, reserving the highest for philosophical minds.

The text of Brahma Sutras is based on religion, dogmatism, but in the commentary Sankara cleverly introduced some philosophy. If it is objected that a number of Upanishads are equally dogmatic because they also begin by assuming Brahman, but a few Upanishads do not but prove Brahman at the end of a train of proof.

The causality and creation, but these are for religious people only.  Religion is only for those who are unable to understand truth beyond form, time, and space. Religion is not final. It only gives satisfaction to the populace. Self-knowledge is for the whole of humanity to free them from experiencing birth, life, death, and the world as reality.

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 pot and its maker, but not in the case of the world.

This is the following prescription prescribed by orthodoxy in the name of Sage  Sankara.  The orthodoxy has listed down in 5 verses, 40 steps of Sadhanas (discipline) to be followed to achieve the (only meaningful) goal of human life Moksha, liberation.  Use it every day as contemplative prayer.

1. Study the scriptures (Vedas) daily

2. Perform diligently the duties (sva dharma) ordered by the scriptures

3. Dedicate all the actions thus performed (as above) to Ishvara (IshvarArpanna Buddhi)

4. Gradually give up the performance of Selfish actions

5. Filter sinful/adharmic likes and dislikes

6. Recognize the inherent defects of material pursuits

7. Seek moksha with the consistent endeavor

8. Get out from the bondage of activity (specified to the ones which end up entangling us)

9. Seek companionship with men of wisdom

10. Be established in firm devotion to Ishvara and perform Upasana

11. Gain mind control, sense control, withdrawal, forbearance, faith, and focus

12. Give up Karma and Upasana when they are not required any longer for spiritual growth

13. Seek Knowledge from a Satguru

14. Serve his lotus feet

15. Ask for brahma Vidya

16. Listen in-depth, to the Upanishadic declarations

17. Analyze the meanings of Upanishadic commandments

18. Perform such analyses by sticking to scriptures

19. Get away from the logic-based system (logic is good when it corroborates scripture, in the sense, don't try to substitute it)

20. Dwell upon the discriminative rationale of Shruti (basically, develop Viveka)

21. Constantly remain steeped in the fact that you are Brahman

22. Renounce pride/vanity/arrogance

23. Give up the delusionary misconception- "I am the body"

24. Do not argue with wise men

25. Consider hunger as a disease

26. Treat hunger, the disease, by taking bhiksha food

27. Beg no delicious food

28. Live contentedly with whatever comes your way as prasadam

29. Endure all pains of opposites- heat/cold, likes/dislikes, pleasure/pain. 

30. Avoid wasteful talk

31. Be indifferent and avoid groupism

32. Don't get attached to either someone's love or criticism

33. In solitude also, live joyously

34. Quieten your mind in Ishvara

35. Realize and see the ‘Self’ in everything, everywhere

36. Recognize the universe as a finite projection of the ‘Self’

37. Destroy the effects of deeds done in earlier lives (sanchit karma) through the strength of knowledge

38. Through wisdom, become detached from AgAmi karma (give up doership/enjoyership)

39. Experience and exhaust the prarabdh, fruits of past actions

40. Thereafter, live eternally as Brahman

But remember:~

 Sage Sankara Says,   that, orthodoxy is meant for ignorant people.

Sage Sankara: ~ "Though I wear these robes of a Sanyasin, it is only for the sake of bread."

~ This shows he was wearing the religious robe only for the sake of bread."

All the rituals based on the false belief of Gods will not yield any fruits and they are meant for the ignorant populace who are unable to grasp the God beyond the form, time, and space.

One of Sage Sankara’s missions was to wean people away from a 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. However, the Orthodox texts that combined rituals with wisdom (jnana_karma_samucchaya) more in favor of the Mimamsaka position came into vogue, projecting Sage Sri, Sankara as the rallying force of the doctrine.

That is why Sage Sankara:~ (11) As regards the rituals, Sage Sankara says, the person who performs rituals and aspires for rewards will view himself’ in terms of the caste into which he is born, his age, the stage of his life, his standing in society, etc. In addition, he is required to perform rituals all through his life. However, the ‘Self’ has none of those attributes or tags. Hence, the person who superimposes all those attributes on the changeless, eternal ‘Self’ and identifies the ‘Self’ with the body is a confusing one for the other; and is, therefore, an ignorant person. The scriptures dealing with rituals, rewards, etc. are therefore addressed to an ignorant person. -Adhyasa Bhashya

Sage  Sankara:~ (11.1) This ignorance (mistaking the body for ‘Self’) brings in its wake a desire for the well-being of the body, aversion for its disease or discomfort, fear of its destruction, and thus a host of miseries(anartha). This anartha is caused by projecting karthvya(“doer” sense) and bhokthavya (object) on the Atman. Sankara calls this adhyasa. The scriptures dealing with rituals, rewards, etc. are,  therefore, he says, addressed to an ignorant person.-Adhyasa Bhashya

Sage Sri, Sankara:~ (11.2) In short, a person who engages in rituals with the notion “I am an agent, doer, thinker”, according to Sage Sankara, is ignorant, as his behavior implies a distinct, separate doer/agent/knower; and an object that is to be done/achieved/known. That duality is Avidya, an error that can be removed by Vidya. -Adhyasa Bhashya

Sage Sankara: ~ (12) Sage Sri, Sankara affirming his belief in one eternal unchanging reality (Brahman) and the illusion of plurality, drives home the point that Upanishads deal not with rituals but with the knowledge of the Absolute (Brahma Vidya) and the Upanishads give us an insight into the essential nature of the ‘Self’ which is identical with the Absolute, the Brahman.-Adhyasa Bhashya

No conceptual God can exist, apart from consciousness.  People are not aware of the fact that there is no individual God that can exist, apart from the Soul, which is in the form of consciousness. Thus the Soul or   Consciousness is the true ‘Self’.   If there is no consciousness, then there is no physical body, no ego, no universe, no religion, and no conceptual God. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

If you emotionally stick to the ‘I’-centric Gurus and their teaching you will never be able to realize the 'Self',which is hidden by the 'I' +

If you emotionally stick to the ‘I’-centric Gurus and their teaching you will never be able to realize the 'Self', which is hidden by the 'I'. 

Bhagvan Buddha said: ~ “Believe nothing just because a so-called wise person said it. Believe nothing just because a belief is generally held. Believe nothing just because it is said in ancient books. Believe nothing just because it is said to be of divine origin. Believe nothing just because someone else believes it. Believe only what you yourself test and judge to be true.

Bhagvan Buddha: - There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth: not going all the way... and not starting

If you are seriously seeking truth you must complete your journey. Your emotions and sentiments towards the physical Guru keep you permanently in the mental asylum of the prison of ignorance.

Jesus said: ~ “Those who seek should not stop seeking until they find. When they find it, they will be disturbed. When they are disturbed, they will marvel and will reign over all. [And after they have reigned they will rest.]"

Meher Baba: ~ “When the reality appears this ignorance which one thinks as reality becomes unreal.

Sri Swami Vivekananda says: ~ Advaita encompasses everything. Advaita requires heavy-duty intellectualism. From 'The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda'...

Remember:~

 ‘I’, me, and mine belong to you, not to the Soul, which is ever formless, timeless, and spaceless existence.

‘I’, me, and mine are a reality within the domain of form, time, and space.

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

Without the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, there is no ‘I’

There is no truth in ‘I’, me, and mine because ‘I’, me,  and mine belong to the dualistic illusion.

‘I’, me, and mine are nothing to do with the Soul, the Self because the Soul is the fullness of the consciousness without the division of form, time, and space.

The ‘I’ is present in the form of the mind. The mind arises from the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

 The ‘I’ rises as the mind.

 The mind is in the form of the universe.

 Thus, ‘I’ is the mind or universe.

The seeker has to divert his attention to the source from where the mind (universe) rises and subsides.

The universe appears as a waking or dream (duality) and disappears as deep sleep (non-duality).

Ashtavakra Gita: ~ “The universe raises from the Soul, the innermost ‘Self’ like bubbles from the sea. Thus, know the Self to be one and in this way enter into the state of dissolution."

First, find out how this world, in which you exist, has come into existence. If you know the answer then all your doubts will vanish.

Taittiriya Upanishad: ~ “The Self in man and in the sun are one. Those who understand this see through the world and go beyond the various sheaths of being to realize the unity of life.

The truth is very simple. It is only to realize the world in which we exist is created out of single stuff. Knowledge of single stuff is Self-knowledge. Self-knowledge frees us all from ignorance.

Swami Vivekananda “The wicked are always looking for defects. Flies come and seek the ulcer, and bees come only for the honey in the flower. Do not follow the way of the fly but that of the bee.

The seeker has to have to discard all accumulated knowledge accumulated from different Gurus and teachers.

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.

People dwelling in ignorance, but thinking of themselves as wise and erudite, go round and round by various blind beliefs and tortuous paths and practices, like the blind led by the blind.

Arise! Awake!

 Swami Vivekananda said: ~ “You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, and none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher, but your own Soul.”

The Soul is the ultimate truth or Brahman. The Soul only held in the illusory bondage of matter; perfection will be reached when this bond will burst, and the word they use for it is, therefore, Mukthi - freedom, freedom from the bonds of imperfection, freedom from ignorance."

That is why Sage Sankara says:~ “V C:~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.

In reality, three is no scope for two. Advaita means one without the second. Advaita means the Soul. The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, is one without the second.

Consciousness is one without the second because the world in which you exist is created out of consciousness. Thus, everything is consciousness. No second thing exists other than consciousness. Consciousness alone is real and eternal.

Advaitic truth has to be grasped mentally by realizing that form, time and space are nothing but an illusion created out of the single clay, and that single clay is the Soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness. Knowledge of the single clay is Advaita, the one without the second. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar