Buddhist sutras limited to physicality, the seeker has to go beyond physicality by a perfect understanding of 'What is what'.+

Heart Sutra is a great sutra.  Yes, it takes us to the inner realm but all the Buddhist sutras limited to physicality, the seeker has to go beyond physicality by a perfect understanding of 'What is what'.  Since the Self is not the form the Self is formless. 

All the skandas are in the physical realm (Form, feeling, perception, mental formation, and consciousness).   The Self has not limited the physicality but it pervades in everything and everywhere in all the three states.  Thus, the heart sutra yields only half-truth. 

Remember:~ 

The Buddhist scriptures were completely distorted by the time of Sage  Sankara. Sage Sankara had to criticize the Buddhist literature prevailing then as the Buddhists themselves were confused as to what Shunyata is. Vasubandhu and his disciple Dignaga (the latter lived about a couple of centuries before  Sage  Sankara) could not retain the original teachings of Lord Buddha. At first Vasubandhu did not agree with his half-brother Asanga and wrote one book on Abhidharma and later on, he went to the side of Asanga and wrote a second book, where? he opposed his own earlier views on Abhidharma.  Sage  Sankara? had to criticize Buddhist knowledge? and literature of his time as he wanted to bring to us back the Pure Vedantic knowledge through his work on the Prasthanatraya. That is why there is a reference to the writing of Dharmakirti in Sutrabashya.

There is another aspect also.  Vishnu Purana also says that Lord Buddha created confusion. In Sarnath, he first taught about the Moral code which is basic. He talked about Anatma. Then? two decades later he taught the concept of Shunyata and? the tenets of Mahayana Buddhism.? In spite of Nagarjuna's telling that Shunyata is not Nihilism and that Parajanaparamita also mentions the Shunyata after one leaves? the five? skandhas, there are and there will always be people who will go on calling Buddha's philosophy as Nihilism. About the origin of them? Tantric Buddhism also? there are controversies.

Remember:~

The most valuable contribution of  Sage Sankara is that he gained general consciousness on the issue that the authoritative explanation of Upanishads, Gita and Brahma Sutra was the final say in the matter of religion. Anything that goes contrary to the trio is not authentic. He also made a clear distinction between Vedas and Upanishads in his commentary on Gita. He stated that the Karma Kand of the Vedas deals with the injunctions relating to the performance of duties and actions. These are for ordinary householders.

  

The path of religion, the path of yoga and the path of wisdom were intended for different classes of people. 

The Advaitic wisdom is for the advanced seekers of truth. It deals with the nature of the ultimate truth and the ultimate reality. It is meant for superior aspirants who have the inner urge to know the truth and it is not for those who are immersed in earthly desires.

Sage Sankara’s whole teaching can be summed up in one sentence, ‘There is nothing else but Brahma  He says that the Absolute Existence, Absolute Knowledge, and Absolute Bliss is Real. The universe is not real. He says that Brahma and Atman are one. The ultimate and the Absolute Truth is the Self, which is one though appearing as many in different individuals. The individual has no reality. Only the Self is real; the rest, mental and physical are but passing appearances.

In fact, Sage Sankara states a paradox- the world is and is not. It is neither real nor unreal. It leads us to recognize the existence of Maya. He thinks that the world is illusory from one perspective and from the second it is nothing but Brahma  Itself in manifestation. This apparent world is Maya and has its basis in Brahman, the Eternal. It looks as real. It has names and forms and actually, it is not real In the light of true knowledge, it disappears and Self-alone shines as real. However, Sage  Sankara's  Mayavad has not been accepted by many preachers and philosophers.

When  Sage Sankara says clearly, the universe is not real. He says that Brahman and Atman are one. The ultimate and the Absolute Truth is the Self, which is one though appearing as many in different individuals. 

The individual has no reality. Only the Self is Real; the rest, mental and physical are but passing appearances, then it indicates the form (waking or duality or mind) is unreal the formless witness is real (Soul).  Therefore, only Atman is real because there is no second thing other than Atman.

Sage  Sankara also clearly mentions:~ The path of religion,  the theory of karma, the path of yoga and the path of wisdom were intended for different classes of people.

Thus,  we have to know the fact that Lord  Buddha,  Sage  Goudpada, and Sage  Sankara are not only reformers but also the greatest scientists. Since their original thesis on the path of wisdom has been lost in the labyrinths of philosophy and mutilated by pundits and priestcraft, it becomes very difficult to understand and assimilate the wisdom expounded by the great masters. In addition, the conservativeness of the orthodox scholars will not allow any research other than playing with the words, which suits the mass mindset, because of their egocentric outlook.

All the add-ons have to be deleted, in order to understand and assimilate the real fragrance of the wisdom expounded by the great masters of Advaita, but it is hurricane task.  

Thus, it is no use going through all the scriptures, when there is a direct path to non-dual truth.  The same time and effort can be used to reach the non-dual destination, in lesser time and effort.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

It is not you who is in ignorance because the world in which you exist is the product ignorance. It is the Soul that has to wake up from its sleep ignorance.+

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

One must keep in mind only Sage  Sankar and Sage Goudapada,  are the finality in the Atmic path.  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 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, with its emphasis on the JNANA KANDA, is meant for those who wish to go beyond such transient pleasures.

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

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 these 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's Upanishad 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  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  Self.

The Soul is the witness of the world in which you exist.   Your youth, maturity and old age are happening within the dualistic world (Maya).   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 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 

Eradication of ignorance is possible only through the Advaitic wisdom of Sage Sankara.+

Eradication of the ignorance is possible only through the Advaitic wisdom of Sage  Sankara.  Advaitic wisdom is not any type of teaching or philosophy. Advaitic wisdom is not body-based knowledge but the knowledge of the true existence. Advaita is the nature of the Soul, the ‘Self’ which is present in the form of consciousness. Advaita is the ultimate reality, Brahman, or God in truth. 

That is why 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. 

When the ‘Self’ is not the body (you) but the Soul then the question of wife, children, or whatever connected to the body will not arise. 

All these experiences as a father, son, Guru, and pupil the world in which they all exist were one and the same consciousness appearing differently. All these distinctions disappear when one realizes Self is not ‘I’ but the Soul. The Soul is the cause of this world in which we exist and it itself is uncaused. 

A perfect understanding and realization of ‘what is what’ leads Self-awareness. By holding on to theories one remains in the realm of duality. 

One has to mentally go on dropping what is not the truth through deeper self-search. Finally when one becomes aware of the fact that, his ego, his body, and the world are one in essence then there is Self-awareness in the midst of duality.  

Remember:~  

There are so many Godmen and Gurus with all their accumulated knowledge will not get the realization of the Soul. 

Many are good at acrobatics with words, but their knowledge is limited to the physical Self.  

The inner work is in progress in every serious seeker of truth and the realization will happen as his conviction of the Soul, the innermost 'Self' becomes firm.  

Everyone’s individual experiences are not the same.   Some are so much immersed in materiality, religion, and duty-bound towards their family and society, and they do not have an inner urge because they have accepted their present experience of birth, life, death, and the world as a reality. Because of this deep-rooted conviction,    they are not attracted to the path of the Advaitic wisdom. Some are interested intellectually knowing the truth.

Many are interested in arguing on the base of accumulated knowledge, but they do not understand the fact that, neither by arguing nor by provoking the wisdom will not dawn. 

The Path of wisdom does not need any support from any scriptures, philosophy, and words of the great people of the past because the path of wisdom is the path of verification, not the path of argument.  

The seeker has to get all his doubts and confusion cleared by discussing.  The seeker should not hold his accumulated knowledge as a yardstick. The ultimate truth or Brahman cannot be compared with any other knowledge because it is not based on form, time, and space.  

Ignorance has to be eradicated.  Eradication of ignorance is possible only through Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.   There is no other road to freedom other than  Advaitic Gnana.  

There is no other entrance other than except Advaitic  Gnana.  The ignorance will vanish only when the  Advaitic wisdom dawns.

That is why 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.

 It is no use going a roundabout way, trace the Brahman which is the formless substance and the witness of the  ‘I’. The ‘I’ is present in the form of the mind. The mind is present in the form of the universe the universe appears as waking or dream (duality) and disappears as deep sleep(nonduality).

By tracing the source of the mind,  you will be able to realize the source of the mind is the Soul. The Soul is the ‘Self’. 

The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. The substance and the witness and the source of the mind are one, in essence.  That essence is consciousness. Thus, the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.

Self-knowledge is or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana 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 accumulated knowledge from different sources,  it becomes impossible to assimilate and realize the  Advaitic truth.

Religion and yoga and all theories are nothing to do with Advaita.  Religion and yoga and all theories are egocentric knowledge based on the form, time, and space, whereas the Advaita is based on the Soul which is formless timeless and spaceless. Mixing religion and yoga with Advaita is like mixing oil and water.  

There is no need to convince anyone other than our own selves to get a firm conviction about the Advaitic truth, which is beyond form, time, and space.

Remember:~ 

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." 

Anybody can write a commentary on the Upanishads and other great philosophic texts, all they need to do to pour out words. Some westerners along with some orthodox pundits translated and published books. The influence of Sage  Sankara’s wisdom is nothing to do orthodox belief systems. 

Some philosophers in the past dissented from this interpretation of Vedanta philosophy, holding that the Incarnated Souls were separate from the Divine Essence and only finally merged with it after the cycles of birth. 

All these theoretical philosophies are based on the imagination based on the false self (ego or you) within the false experience (waking). 

It is quite easy to do this even by those who have never understood the Upanishads but think they have. Thus, the dualists and their disciples have written commentaries on scriptures: But all these have written to satisfy themselves, not to get the truth because all their interoperation are based on the dualistic perspective. The truth will reveal only when one is able to reason on the nondualistic perspective. 

Likewise, thinkers and poets of the Age of Devotion (Bhakti) of the 16th century believed in a God with attributes who became very tangible when incarnating as God and was attainable simply through love and devotion rather than scholastic and intellectual meditation. 

For them, the Bhagavad Gita became the main vehicle of inspiration with its qualified and deistic Monism, rather than the scholastic and esoteric path shown by Sage Sankara.:~Santthosh Kumaar

Thoughtlessness is not Advaitic wisdom. The thinker thought and the world are part of the illusion.+

The world is the same in the case of a Gnani and in the case of the ignorant.  A Gnani has realized the world in which he exists is merely an illusion created out of the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness whereas an ignorant thinks the world, in which he exists is a reality. 

The look of the world in which we exist depends upon the medium through which the Seer views it. In fact, our mental and intellectual condition will determine the world that confronts us observed and experienced. A Gnani viewing the world in which he exists see differently for the ignorant viewing the same world.   Each one of them interprets the world that confronts them in terms of their existing knowledge.  A Gnani sees the world, in which he exists as the illusory play of the Soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness whereas the ignorant see the world in which he is born, lives, and dies as a reality. A Gnani is one who gained Self-knowledge and has realized the truth, which is hidden by the illusory form, time, and space.  

A Gnani is fully aware of the fact that the Soul is the  ‘Self’. The Soul is the fullness of consciousness without the division of the form, time, and space. in the realm of the Soul, the Self, the form, time, and space are one, in essence. That essence is consciousness.  

The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, is second to none. The Soul is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God. 

Chandogya Upanishads:~  This universe comes forth from Brahman and will return to Brahman. Verily, all is Brahman. A person is what his deep desire is. It is our deepest desire in this life that shapes the life to come. So let us direct our deepest desires to realize the ‘Self’. 

The world is both real and unreal. It is real because it is a manifestation of the consciousness, but is unreal, in the sense, that it is not absolute and eternal like consciousness itself’.

People's approach is more practical, and they stuck with the reality of the world, they take it as real. That is why all the confusion.

That is why Sage Sankara says: ~ 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.

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. 

Sage Sankara says: ~ V.63 ~ "Without knowing and examining the external world, one can’t know Truth, as the idea that the external world exists, won't go. It can go only by an inquiry into the nature of the external world.

To say the universe is an illusion without first examining it and inquiring into its nature thoroughly is to delude oneself. This world is common to every one of us; therefore the seeker of truth must begin his inquiry with it. It is only after he has inquired into the nature of the objective world, he realizes the universe which through ignorance appears as of diverse forms, is nothing else but the Soul which is present in the form of consciousness is absolutely free from all the limitations of human thought.

 It is erroneous to believe the general impression is that the universe disappears to a Gnani, that he sees nothing in Samadhi. Only by deluded persons will have such an impression?   Nothing is destroyed. Only ignorance disappears and the unreal nature of the universe is exposed.  The universe which appears as waking experience is the dualistic illusion.

A Gnani has the full and firm conviction that everything is consciousness in the midst of dualistic illusion.  The Soul, Self being aware of its true nature in the midst of dualistic illusion is called Self-awareness.  

The universe or the waking experience will not disappear.  It is there always but the unreal nature of the waking experience is exposed in the midst of dualistic illusion through Advaitic wisdom.

If one thinks its mere disappearance in yogic Samadhi is the ultimate truth or Brahman, then he would get it in deep sleep.  Thus, the yogic Samadhi is not the Advaitic wisdom. Thoughtlessness is not Advaitic wisdom.

Thoughtlessness is not wisdom. The thinker thought and the world are part of the illusion. The thought will not arise without form, time, and space. The form, time and space will not arise without the mind. 

The mind ceases to exist without the Soul which is in the form of the Spirit. Therefore, there is a need to know the 'Self' is not limited to the physical entity (you), but it pervades in everything and everywhere in the experience of diversity (waking or dream).  

The deep sleep is the state of thoughtlessness, silence, wordlessness, and silence but it is not considered as a state of oneness because anyone can take a sleeping pill and will be able to get the state of the Oneness. 

Thus, trying to imitate the state of oneness in duality by observing silence, thoughtlessness, wordlessness, or by yogic Samadhi or surrendering to the physical Guru, the Advaitic wisdom will not dawn. Without the Advaitic wisdom, ignorance will not vanish. Thus, getting rid of ignorance through wisdom is the only way to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman.   

Remember:~ 

Manduka Upanishads: ~    Even the Gods cannot find out who is a Gnani because he bears no external mark. Neither nudity nor the religious robe has anything to do with him. 

Sage  Sankara clearly indicates in the Viveka Chudamani (2) that the Knower of the Atman (A Gnani) "bears no outward mark of a holy man" (Stanza 539).  

Sage  Sankara page 482: On Gnani:~ "The knower of Brahman wears no signs. Gives up the insignia of a monk's life…his signs are not manifest, nor his behavior." 

Sage Sankara says that the Knower of the Atman or the knower of Brahman or Brahma Gnani.

When the knower of Brahman (Gnani) wears no signs it means he does not identify himself as Guru or yogi or teacher or Swami because a Gnani sees the form, the time and space are one in essence. Thus, there is unity in diversity in his realization. :~Santthosh Kumaar 

Bhagavan Buddha gave up his austerities of yoga as impossible and useless. Thus, Buddha got enlightenment only after he gave up Yoga.+

Sage Sankara says:~  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. 

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 the 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 afterwards. Hence, there must be an inquiry so that you find non-duality whilst you are awake so that you can see nonduality at the time not afterwards. 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 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 the conscious awareness of unity in diversity because there is no second thing 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 the philosophic truth. But nobody knows it. The teachers of philosophy and leaders of mysticism or religion do not want to inquire into the 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 the yoga must-see "Brahman in action."

Neither Yogic Samadhi or bliss or worldly pleasure should be allowed to draw one away from evenness; for neither can give the ultimate truth or Brahman. When the one is distracted by either, either internal or external bliss, it should by effort be drawn back to steadiness, evenness. This state alone yields the ultimate truth or Brahman.  Intellectually knowing the truth is only an imagination, whereas realizing the truth knows it as such.

Yogis assume that thoughtlessness is wisdom. And the Samadhi is the bliss.   Bliss is the ultimate experience.

Yogic theories are based on the false self (you) within the dualistic illusion (waking). The ‘Self is not the ‘I’,  but the ‘Self’ is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.   

If the ‘Self’ is not ‘I’  but the formless, timeless and spaceless  Soul, then whatever experienced on the base of ‘I’ is bound to be a hallucination within the dualistic illusion.

The yogic Samadhi is a reality within the domain of the form, time,  and space, but from the standpoint of the Soul, the innermost self, yogic Samadhi is merely an illusion.

The yogi cannot keep out a portion of the consciousness.  It is utterly impossible. It thoughtlessness is not Self-realization.   The thoughts come to the thinker within the illusory dualistic world.   The thoughts, thinker, and the world in which the thinker exists are created out of single stuff. That single stuff is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. Knowledge of the single stuff is Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is the only tool to get rid of ignorance.  Without getting rid of ignorance,  Self-realization is impossible.  Self-realization is possible only through Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

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.

Yogic Samadhi is an egocentric practice based on the false self within the dualistic world, which is an illusion created out of the consciousness.

Bhagavan Buddha gave up yoga after practicing it for six years. He saw it could not yield truth.

Bhagavan Buddha gave up his austerities of yoga as impossible and useless. Thus, Buddha got enlightenment only after he gave up Yoga. (Page.70/71 "Buddhism In Translation” by Warren)

Unless one exercise his Buddhi--reason--there is no chance of getting the ultimate truth or Brahman

Buddhism has not proved the truth of Nonduality. Bhagavan Buddha pointed out the unreality of the world, we agree. He told people they were foolish to cling to it. But he stopped there. He came nearest to Vedanta in speech but not to Vedanta fully.

Only when we independently search the truth without religion and its doctrine then we will be able to realize the truth beyond form, time,  and space. :~Santthosh Kumaar