By worshiping God in human form and repeating mantras without knowing what God suppose to be in actuality is like watering a barren soil.+

By worshipping God in human form, repeating mantras without knowing what God suppose to be in actuality is like watering a barren soil.  

The seeker of truth should not waste life in empty formalities. Without realizing the world in which he exists is an illusion it is impossible to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. 

The mantra-yoga consisting of repeating the name of God, or even the AUM; thousands of times yield 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.

Mantras and prayers can do nothing. If they really had any power why did not religious heads use one to stop the wars, violence, terrorism which is going on in the name of religion and God?   

All the magical power of mantras are religious fable because religion is based on the false self (ego) and false experience(world). 

Without causing the ignorance to vanish and without knowing the truth of the Self, how is one to achieve Liberation by the mere utterance of the mantras  — It would result merely in an effort of speech.

The religion is based on personal God whereas Sage Sankara’s Supreme Brahman (God) is impersonal, Nirguna (without Gunas or attributes), Nirakara (formless), Nirvisesha (without special characteristics), immutable, eternal and Akarta (non-agent). God is above all needs and desires. God is always the Witnessing Subject. God can never become an object as God is beyond the reach of the senses. God is non-dual, one without a second. God has no other beside it. God is destitute of difference, either external or internal. God cannot be described because the description implies a distinction. God cannot be distinguished from any other than God. In God, there is not a distinction between substance and attribute. Sat-Chit-Ananda constituted the very essence or Svarupa of God, and not just God's attributes. The Nirguna Brahman of Sage  Sankara is impersonal.  

God has no name what is the use of repeating the nameless God with forms and names.

God has no name there is the use of repeating the nameless God with forms and names, which is not God in truth.  The forms and names belong to form, time and space. 

Form, time and space belong to the dualistic illusion.  The dualistic illusion hides the Soul, which is the real God. Thus, it is necessary to realize ‘what God supposed to be in actuality.

Religion breeds superstition because religion is based on blind belief. Whatever is based on the blind belief is superstition.

God in truth is not a belief. One must know God in truth. Without knowing what God supposed to be in actuality worshipping belief of God is superstition.

Worshipping superstitious Gods barred by Vedas. Know what God supposed to be according to Vedas Upanishads Bhagavad Gita and Bible. 

Yajurveda – chapter- 32:~  God is Supreme Spirit has no ‘Pratima’ (idol) or material shape. God cannot be seen directly by anyone. God pervades all beings and all directions. Thus, Idolatry does not find any support from the Vedas.

The 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. 

Even Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: ~ Brahman (God in truth) 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 Self. May ye never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman?" (10:48, 5)

The world in which you exist is a dualistic illusion created out of the ‘Self’ which not you but the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.   Whatever you have seen, known, believed and experienced is within the world, which is a dualistic illusion.   Thus, your existence is bound to an illusion created out of consciousness, which is real and eternal. 

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 realizing 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.

People are not aware of the fact that there is no individual God exists, apart from the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Like an ornament made from gold is Gold, which is born out of consciousness is consciousness. Like gold is the permanent thing, in ornaments made of gold, similarly, the mind, which is in the form of the universe is born out of consciousness, is consciousness in its essence.

The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad declares: "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:~ All those whose intelligence has been stolen by material desires, they worship many God s. (7- Verse -20)

Sage 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.

God in truth has no name because God in truth is the invisible Soul, the Self. The nature of the  Soul is ever nondual because it is a formless, timeless spaceless existence.

There is the use of the repeating the God which keeps one in permanently remains in the state ignorance.

The God with name and form is not God in truth.  You must realize God in truth.

Only when ignorance vanishes and the truth, which is hidden by form, time and space, will be revealed.

The sickness of not cured by saying the word “medicine.” You must take the medicine. Ignorance does not vanish by merely repeating the name of God, which is not God in actuality.  .God must be realized.

Until you allow this apparent universe to transcend from your consciousness until you have realized the truth, which is hidden by form, time and space, how can you find God just by repeating the name of God, which is not God in actuality?

Until you realize the ‘Self’ is not you but the Soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness you will never be able to cross the domain of the dualistic illusion.  

You cannot become a Gnani by repeating the name of individual God repeating ‘OM’ or repeating the ‘I’ as propagated by some Gurus.

A buried treasure is not uncovered by merely repeating mantras. Without a perfect understanding of ‘what is what’,   the truth will not be revealed.

You must remove all the obstacles, which is blocking your realization. The truth of the Soul, the only God, which is buried under the dualistic illusion, comes only through Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

If you are desirous to realize the truth, which is hidden by the dualistic illusion then mentally, burn your accumulated knowledge by realizing the ‘Self’ is not you but the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Sage Sankara’s Advaitic wisdom is a hidden treasure of the spiritual truth.+

Sage Sankara is one of the greatest geniuses of all time. This world owes him a deep debt of gratitude. He not only consolidated the classical values of life but also spiritual wisdom. 

Sage Sankara is the only Sage who has final authority on the Advaitic truth. The Advaitic truth is rational truth and scientific truth without dogmas.

Unfortunately, few philosophers in the world are as misunderstood and misinterpreted as Sage Sankara. Ironically, most of the harm came from his admirers and followers of Advaitic orthodoxy because they propagated rituals as a means to attain lower knowledge which is meant for those who believed in the physical existence (universe or waking) as a reality.

The Advaitic orthodoxy is dualistic and it is not the means to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. Advaitic orthodoxy is meant for the ignorant mass that is unfit to grasp the highest truth. Thus, the Advaitic orthodoxy is nothing to do with the ultimate truth or Brahman. Those who have chosen the Atmic path have to discard orthodoxy in order to get the pure essence of Advaita.

Sage Sankara disagrees with Buddhists who say, there is nothing - a nonentity.

Sage Sankara believes there is some reality, even though things are not what they appear to be. If one knows the truth, he will know what to do to find inspiration for action. The seeker of truth‘s subject is to know what is it that is Real.

Buddhism says ~ “All things are illusory and nothing exists. However, Sage Sri Sankara avers that it is not so. It says that the universe, of course,  is illusory, but there is Brahman (consciousness), that exists forming the very substratum of all things (illusion or universe)”.

In the context of Advaita Vedanta: ~ Jagat (the world) is not different from Brahman; however, Brahman is different from Jagat

It has not been possible to preach Advaitic Truth entirely free from the settings of dualistic weakness it has not been more operative and useful to mankind at large because only a few will be able to grasp and realize it.

'To realize the Advaitic Truth a freer and fuller scope the seeker has to realize the form, time and space are one in essence. And that essence is consciousness. And the Soul, the innermost Self is present in the form of consciousness.

To realize the Advaitic truth the seeker has to be free from all superstitions and orthodox contaminations. The seeker  dedicated himself  to acquiring Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana alone:

Remember:~

The Advaitic Sages have received their wisdom through inner revelation.   They hold that existence is without beginning and without end. 

Sage Sankara’s Advaitic wisdom is a hidden treasure of the spiritual truth. 

Sage Sankara says: ~ 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”.

People who are stuck with the idea that the Soul is within their physical body will never be able to grasp the Advaitic truth, which is beyond form, time, and space.  Without form, time, and space the ‘I’ cease to exist.  Without the ‘I’ the form, time and space cease to exist. Without form, time, and space, the world in which we exist ceases to exist.  Without the world, in which we exist the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness alone exists.

The Soul is not limited to an individual. The individuals are many but the Soul is one.  The individual exists within the universe.  The Soul is the cause of the universe and it itself is uncaused.  

The Soul is not within the human body.  The universe is created out of single stuff.  That single stuff is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. Thus, whatever the universe contains is bound to be the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

All the Gurus of the east and the west are based on the dualistic perspective. Dualistic knowledge is egocentric knowledge. All egocentric Advaita or nonduality is based on the imagination. All imagined Advaita is will not help to cross the domain of form, time, and space.

The egocentric knowledge keeps the Soul in the intoxication of the ‘I’. The ‘I’ hides the whole truth.  The Gurus and the teachers of the nonduality of the east and west are stuck up with their own accepted truth gathered from here and there and their egoic attitude blocks than from realizing the Advaita hidden by the dvaita, which is present in the form of the ‘I’.

Mundaka Upanishads: ~ So-called spiritual pundits and learned are called children because a child takes whatever it thinks as truth. The question never occurs to children “Is what I have seen or thought really the truth?" (P.334 line 9)  

Advaita is the nature of the Soul. Advaita is second to none. Sage  Sankara’s Advaita is universal wisdom revealed on its own to all the serious and sincere seekers of truth.

The real Advaitic wisdom of Sage Sankara is soulcentric knowledge.  Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is soulcentric knowledge that destroys ignorance.  : ~ Santthosh Kumaar 

Sage Sankara indicated the 'Self' is beyond the religion, scriptures, personal Gods and yoga.+

Actual realization takes you beyond religion and yoga. Religion and yoga become a botheration. Religion and yoga create a distraction from the reality hidden by ignorance. 

People think religion is the stepping stone for Self-realization but it is not so. The religion is based on ignorance and it keeps the seeker permanently in ignorance by hiding the truth with its mythical beliefs and dogmas and superstition. According to Vedas and Upanishads, all religious propagated beliefs are a myth.

Whereas Spirituality is based on the Soul, the  Spirit, which is the cause of the world in which we exist.

The religion is based on blind belief whereas Advaitic wisdom (Spirituality) is based on Spirit, the truth, which is the existence itself.

Spiritual truth is universal whereas the religious truth is the individualized truth. Religion is based on the dualistic perspective whereas spirituality is based on the nondualistic perspective. Whatever is based on the dualistic perspective egocentric and nondualistic perspective is soulcentric.

Advaita is pure spirituality nothing to do with Yoga, religion, sect or dualistic based spirituality. That is why Bhagavan Buddha rejected the religion, scriptures and religious Gods and Sage Sankara indicated the 'Self' is beyond the religion, scriptures, personal Gods and yoga.

Sage 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.

Religion is regarded as sacred and real by the common people, by the wise as false and by the political class as useful.

Comparing Vedas with Koran or Bible or any other scriptures will not yield the truth, which is beyond form, time and space. 

The religion was introduced in the past for the benefit of the populace which is incapable of grasping the ultimate truth, which is hidden by the illusory form, time and space.  

All the religions of the world are based on the form, time and space. Thus, religion is nothing to do with the pursuit of truth, because the truth is not belief and religion is based on belief.  

 The belief is based on the individual whereas the Soul, the Self is not an individual because the Soul is ever formless, timeless and spaceless existence.  

The scriptures are not necessary to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman or God or Spirit.  The scriptures are meant for the ignorant populace.

Sage Sankara said:~ Neither by the practice of yoga nor philosophy, nor by good works nor by learning, does liberation come, but only through the realization that Atman and Brahman are one in no other way. (1) VivekaChudamani v 56, pg 25

Sage Sankara said: The world is unreal and Brahman alone is real.  It means the birth, life, and death, which happens within the world, has to be unreal.  If birth, life, and death are unreal, then the rebirth and reincarnation and Avataric concept have to be unreal. Thus, it is for the seeker to find out, on what standpoint the world becomes unreal, to know the Brahman, which is the ultimate truth or God in truth.

By studying Vedas or Koran or Bible or any other scriptures will not yield the truth, which is beyond form, time and space.  The truth beyond the form, time and space is the Spirit or God.  

One must know God in truth, not God based on blind belief.  Gods based on blind belief are not God in truth. The diverse beliefs have diverse ideas of God.  The beliefs have no value in the domain of the truth.

That is why 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.

Rig-Veda 1-164-46 and Y.V 32-1 clearly mention that God is “One”.

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)

Yajur Veda also says:~  God has no image and His name is Holy.  (32.3)”

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 (Gita 14.27)

 The rituals based on belief are meant for the ignorant populace.

That is why Mundaka Upanishad condemns rituals.  The Para or Higher knowledge is the knowledge of the Supreme Being while the Apara or Lower Knowledge is that of following sacrificial rites and ceremonies. (1/2/ 1 – 6)

The scriptures are meant for the ignorant mass, which strongly believes, the experience of the world in which they are born, live and die as a reality.

The ultimate truth or Brahman or God cannot be attained by the study of the scriptures of any religion, or by intelligence, nor by much hearing of sacred books then why to compare Vedas with Bible or Koran or any other religious scriptures to realize the ultimate truth, which is beyond form, time and space. 

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

The above passages further prove that: Self-knowledge cannot be attained by the study of the Vedas and intellectual understanding or by bookish knowledge. 

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 Sage  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 are for religious people only.  Religion is only for those who are unable to understand the truth beyond the 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 the birth, life, death, and 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.

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

Sage Sankara is the finality in the Advaitic Wisdom.+

Swami Vivekananda aptly described Sage Sankara’s Advaita as the fairest flower of philosophy that any country in any age has produced.

The Advaitic truth is a rational or scientific truth declared by Sage  Sankara centuries back, but unfortunately, the original essence of the rational Advaita is lost mainly, because of orthodox adulteration and add-ons, which are based on the ego, which is the false self within the universe, which is the dualistic illusion or Maya.

Swami Vivekananda:~ Advaita encompasses everything. Since Advaita requires heavy-duty intellectualism, it had to be progressively simplified.

The seeker has to first indulge in deeper self-search without scriptures and understand and assimilate the Advaitic truth, which leads to self-awareness. Thus, soulcentric thinking, reasoning, and judgment are very much necessary in pursuit of truth.

Sage Sankara ’says:~ "Kuruthe Ganga sahar gamanam Vratha paripal mathva dhanam. Gyana Vihine.Sarva Mathene.”

Gnana is common to all religions. 

There is nothing like One Gnana for a Hindu and another for a Christian.

The entire philosophy of Sage Sankara can be summed up in the following statement:-

Brahma Satyam, jaganmithya, jivobrahmaivanaparah: - Brahman alone is real; the world is non-real and the individual Self is essentially not different from Brahman.

This is the quintessence of Sage Sankara’s Advaitic wisdom.

Consciousness is the one single reality or Brahman. The individual self is a reality within the duality. There is no individual in the realm of the nondual reality.

Sage Sankara says:~ One alone exists, and the rest is all superimposition on that One, due to ignorance.

Through a systematic inquiry into the nature of the mind, which is present in the form of the universe, one arrives at the position that the Soul, the Self, which is present in the form of consciousness, is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.

The Soul, the Self is constant and, therefore, real, while the phenomena constituting the universe are constantly changing and, therefore, unreal. The final conclusion is that the form, time, and space or the universe are one in essence. That essence is consciousness. Thus, no second thing exists other than consciousness.

The seeker of truth has to take into account all three states of our existence, which are waking, dream, and deep sleep ~ in waking or dream one experiences duality, and in deep sleep, there is only non-duality. To obtain a complete picture of our existential reality, we need to include evidence from all three states. This is the phenomenology of consciousness.

The consciousness is one only, without a second. One experiences the manifold universe ignorance ~ led illusion “covers" the One and "projects" the Many. The illusion is the veil on consciousness. In truth, only One, non-dual Reality is all there is. Consciousness is all-pervasive. It is intrinsically Real, self-effulgent, infinite, undifferentiated Pure.

When the Soul, the Self, wakes up to its own formless nondual true nature, ignorance ceases, and the illusion, which is present in the form of duality never again experienced as reality.

The show of the illusory duality, however, continues, as before. Only our identification with a particular actor's role is gone forever because the Self is in its own awareness.

Self-awareness is Brahmic Bliss! This state is already ours always in deep sleep in a "general" way. When the Self-Knowledge dawns then one is awake to it in a "special" way in the midst of duality.

Atman=Brahman or the Self, capture the essence of the immanent (Self) and the transcendent (Brahman) Reality. Humanity has not yet conceived a more lofty conception of its position in the universe.

Advaita only means the negation of duality. The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth. 

Consciousness is the cause of the origin, maintenance, and withdrawal of the universe is Advaita (i.e. non-dual), which means that consciousness transcends all conceptions, positive and negative. Nothing positive can ever be imagined or said about it.

The consciousness is existence absolute, awareness absolute. Existence absolute means that consciousness is not unreal or nonexistent. And it is not unconsciousness. Nothing positive can be stated about consciousness.

Remember:~

It is not you who is in ignorance because the world in which you exist is a product of ignorance. It is the Soul that has to wake up from its sleep ignorance. All the non-dualistic teachings of modern authors are based on the dualistic perspective and intellectual speculations and logical conclusions.  

One must keep in mind only Sage Sankara is the finality in the Advaitic  Wisdom.  All other Gurus and teachings have stopped in the preliminary stages of Advaitic teaching ‘Who Am ‘I’? and ‘I AM THAT’.

So many centuries have passed since Sage  Sankara appeared, yet it is very hard to find his true wisdom understood anywhere in the world today. It is because so few could rise to his level.

Sage Sankara‘s doctrines spread after his lifetime.  Very few were capable of understanding his wisdom.  The orthodox pundit’s followers are not Gnanis or have grasped the Advaitic wisdom.

The Advaitic orthodoxy is meant for the ignorant populace. 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.

 The more advanced seeker who seeks to know the ultimate truth or   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 emphasis on the JNANA KANDA is meant for those who wish to go beyond such transient pleasures.

Sage Sri, Sankara said:~Neither by the practice of yoga nor philosophy, nor by good works nor by learning, does liberation come, but only through the realization that Atman and Brahman are one in no other way.

(1) VivekaChudamani v 56, pg 25

The seeker should never stick to any Guru or his teaching if he is seeking the ultimate truth.  Scriptural knowledge is conceptual divisions invented by some past and modern authors of Advaita by their excessive imaginary analysis.  

All the imaginary analyses are a great obstacle in the Atmic path.    They create more confusion and try to satisfy their imaginary explanations based on the dualistic perspective. Fortunate are people who do not lose themselves in the labyrinths of such bookish knowledge, but they will never be satisfied until they find ‘what they are seeking.

Most thinkers hold views of Maya (illusion) which are entirely incorrect and untenable because they do not know Sage  Sankara'sUpanishad Bashyas, but only the Brahma Sutra Bashya.

When one is unaware of what illusion is, then there is ignorance. From the standpoint of the Soul, the innermost Self, The duality is merely an illusion.   The illusion is a reality only from the standpoint of you (ego).   The world in which you exist is the product of ignorance. Till ignorance is there, the world in which you exist prevails as a reality.

"One may recognize a fool by the fact that he talks too freely"…Sunyavadins Buddhists say everything is non-existence but their judgment is based on the dualistic perspective.

As one goes deeper and deeper he realizes; how can one see, hear, and think? …All these differences, all this multiplicity, all this ignorance which regards the multiplicity as real, is caused by ignorance of the Soul, the innermost Self.

The Soul is the witness of the world in which you exist.   Your youth, maturity, and old are happening within the dualistic world.   The Soul remains unchanged amid these changes.

All these experiences as the father, son, owner, and pupil and all the contents of the world were one and the same the Soul or consciousness appearing differently. All these distinctions disappear in the Soul wakes up from its sleep of ignorance.

Dream the mountain which is apparently insentient and material, is nevertheless still the Soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness alone. Whether living or dead, conscious or unconscious thought or matter; all things are appearances of one and the same consciousness. All these distinctions are seen by Gnani as only the Soul or consciousness. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Whatever is based on the Soul is the ultimate Truth or Brahman or God in truth. Whatever based on the ego is the dualistic illusion or Maya.+

There is a need to bifurcate religion from spirituality. People think religion is the stepping stone for Self-realization but it is not so. 

The religion is based on ignorance and it keeps the seeker permanently in ignorance by hiding the truth with its mythical beliefs dogmas and superstition. According to the Vedas and Upanishads, all religious propagated beliefs are myths.

Whereas Spirituality is based on the Soul, the Spirit, which is the cause of the world in which we exist.

Whatever is based on the Soul is the ultimate Truth or Brahman or God in truth.  Whatever is based on the ego is the dualistic illusion or Maya. 

Comparing  Sage Sankara’s Advaitic wisdom with the dualistic wisdom of religious Saints, Gurus, and yogis is erroneous. 

Sage  Sankara’s Advaitic wisdom is nothing to do with religion or yoga. 

There are two kinds of audiences: ~

1. The ordinary ones who desire the transitory heaven and other pleasures obtained as a result of ritual sacrifices.

2. The most advanced seeker who seeks to know the truth beyond form, time, and space.

The Advaitic orthodoxy is meant for the first audience, to help lead its followers along the way. The path of wisdom with its emphasis on Advaitic wisdom is meant for those who wish to go beyond such transient pleasures.

Sage Sankara’s Advaitic wisdom has nothing to do with religion religious Gods and the scriptures.

Sage Sankara: ~ “VC ~ “Neither sacred baths nor any amount of charity nor even Hundreds of pranayamas* can give us the knowledge of our own Self. The firm conviction of the nature of the Self is seen to proceed from inquiry along the lines of the salutary advice of the wise.

Sage  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.

The fortunate is the one who does not lose himself in the orthodoxy. Fortunate is the man who does not lose himself in the labyrinths of philosophy, but goes straight to and realizes the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space by realizing that form, time, and space are created out of single clay and that singles clay is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. Knowledge of the single clay is Advaita.

Upanishad says ~ “The human goal is to acquire Self-Knowledge and they indicate that belief in the personal Gods, yoga scriptures, worship, and rituals are not the means to Self–Knowledge, then why anyone should indulge in it. The religion, concept of individualized god and scriptures are the greatest obstacle to realizing non-dual truth or Self-realization because they are based on false self. The seeker of truth has to search for the ultimate truth without losing himself in the labyrinths of philosophy, through deeper Self-search, and assimilate and realize it.

That is why Sage Sankara says: ~ “One without knowledge does not obtain liberation even in a hundred births, no matter which religious faith he follows. (Bhaja Govindam)

Thus, the path of wisdom is the only means. Then it is no use going a roundabout way, trace the Brahman which is the formless substance and the witness of the universe (mind). By tracing the source of the mind or the universe, one will be able to realize the Brahman.

Yoga Vasistha says: ~ “Self-knowledge or knowledge of truth is not had by resorting to a Guru (preceptor) nor by the study of scripture, nor by good works: it is attained only through inquiry inspired by the company of wise (Gnani). One’s inner light alone is the means, naught else. When this inner light is kept alive, it is not affected by the darkness of inertia.

Sage Sankara himself has warned us not to use ambiguous words and to practice semantic analysis in his book "Definition of one's own Self. (" Page 199, v.24 of "Sankara's Selected Works)

Sage Sankara: - Loud speech, the profusion of words, and skilfulness in expounding scriptures are merely for the enjoyment of the learned. They do not lead to liberation."

Perfectly tame your own self by knowing ‘what is the truth’ and ‘what is the truth’ to have a mental yardstick to discard the untruth.  The seeker must know what is the truth? and what is the untruth?.

Sage Gaudapada: ~ To establish the truth of Non-duality by sheer reasoning alone. He begins by defining "What is real?" "What is unreal?" etc, because that is the right way to discuss or teach. People must first know what they are talking about. (Manduka Karika)

Sage Sankara says you must first know what is before you. If you cannot know that, what else can you know or understand? If you give up the external world in your inquiry, you cannot get the whole truth.

Swami Vivekananda: ~ “Oneness is the Secret of Everything”.

Nothing is needed for acquiring Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana other than perfect understanding, assimilation, and realization of ‘what is what”

The dualistic illusion is present only when the form, time, and space are present. The form, time, and space are one, in essence. The ego, body, and the world are one, in essence. The birth, life, death, and the world are one, in essence. The three states are one, in essence. That essence is consciousness. The thinker,  thoughts, and the world are one, in essence. Thus, there is no division in consciousness in reality.

The look of an object will depend upon the medium through which the observer views it. In fact, our mental and intellectual conditions determine the life observed and experienced. The commoner viewing life will see differently from a Gnani viewing the same life. Each one interprets the life that they see in terms of their existing knowledge. The commoner sees everything based on the ego therefore the life he experiences as a reality, whereas a Gnani sees life as an illusion created out of consciousness and he is fully aware of the fact that, there is no second thing exists other than the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness (subject). 

Thus, all the objective observation is based on the false self and has to be bifurcated to realize what I am saying. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar