The real love is the love for the innermost self. Thus ‘Love Thyself'.

People who are incapable to inquire and reason are tending to follow some philosophy without verification. Therefore the more ignorant they are easier to get them into a religious fold. Religion is so strong and popular because it makes no demand on the most intelligent; it simply requires belief in guru and his teachings. 

It never strikes believer to doubt whether his inherited belief system is true. They never use their reason because they start and conclude that their belief system   alone is true, because they never question the validity of their inherited belief.  

For religion one can interpret texts as he likes, in whatever way that pleases him, he simply imagine away.  The idea of god injected in the past and inherited by people and they refuse to verify the facts, because they think it blasphemy even to question their inherited belief system.  

Vivekananda :-

Creeds and sects have their parts to play, but they are for children, they last but temporarily. Books never make religions, but religions make books. We must never forget that. No book ever created God, but God inspired all the great books. And no book ever created a soul. We must never forget that. -Talk given at Unity Hall, Hartford (Connecticut), USA, on March 8, 1895, as reported in "Hartford Times" (March 11, 1895). Complete Works, 1.324.

In pursuit of truth the ultimate truth has to be proved, not assumed. Pundits who take scriptures for granted are not Gnanis.

Pundits teach that all is your-self, but none of them can show that this is so, none has analyzed it scientifically, and none can prove it. Rational proof is needed, so that one arrive at knowing truth i.e. Wisdom; punditry is mere dogma, parrotism, a repetition of what they read in scripture. The scriptures are not yardstick and scriptural truth is not proof.   Pundits take the scriptures as authority.   Authoritarianism merely assumes as true what another says, but what has yet to be proved.

Jesus said, "Know what is in front of your face, and what is hidden from you will be disclosed to you. (THE GOSPEL OF THOMAS- Saying 5)

It means one has to know the world which confronts him confronts to realize his body and the world are made of the same essence and that essence is Spirit [father].  

Sri, Sankara says: one must first know what is before him. If he cannot know that, what else can he know or understand? If he gives up the external world in his inquiry, he cannot get the whole truth.

[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.[ Sri, Sankara says in Viveka Chudamani ] 

 Buddha said:- Work out your own salvation. Do not depend on others.

  

"Jesus said:-"Those who seek should not stop seeking until they find. When they find, they will be disturbed. When they are disturbed, they will marvel, and will reign over all." (Gospel of Thomas 2)

"The Kingdom of God is inside you and all around you, Not in a mansion of wood and stone.  Split a piece of wood and God is there, Lift a stone and you will find God." (Gospel of Thomas)

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 the seeker indulges in deeper self-search becomes aware of the fact that, the experience of birth, life, death and the world are mere illusion created out of spirit [consciousness], which is the innermost self     

Meher Baba said: - give no importance to creed, dogma, caste or the performance of religious ceremonies and rites.

The only Real Existence is that of the One and only God Who is the Self in every (finite) self.

The only Real Love is the Love for this Infinity (God), which arouses an intense longing to see, know and become one with its Truth (God).

The only Real Sacrifice is that in which, in pursuance of this Love, all things—body, mind, position, welfare and even life itself—are sacrificed.

The only Real Renunciation is that which abandons, even in the midst of worldly duties, all selfish thoughts and desires.

The only Real Knowledge is the Knowledge that God is the inner dweller in good people and in so-called bad, in saint and in so-called sinner. This Knowledge requires you to help all equally as circumstances demand without expectation of reward, and when compelled to take part in a dispute, to act without the slightest trace of enmity or hatred; to try to make.

The real love is the love for the innermost self. Thus ‘Love Thyself'. 

The self cannot be experienced, because the experience is possible only in the realm of duality.   There is neither experience nor experincer in reality.  In self-awareness the body, ego and the world are not considered different from consciousness.

Jesus said, "Know what is in front of your face, and what is hidden from you will be disclosed to you.

Love implies duality. Without the lover there is no love. Wherever there is duality there is ignorance.  Wherever there is ignorance the illusion is experienced as reality.   Thus the lover and the love are part of the illusion. 

In reality love and lover are one in essence. That essence is consciousness.  The consciousness or soul is the innermost self.  The innermost self is God. Call it Self, God, Christ, Brahman, inner Buddha or Emptiness or Nothingness or Sprit or Love it is all the same. 

When one becomes aware of the ultimate truth as a person of the world he sees that the self or God [consciousness] pervades in everything everywhere   in all the three states.  Thus it is necessary realize the innermost self or God or Buddha or Christ, is the lover and love together.   

Thus our conditioned love conditioned by physicality will not be able to recognize unconditional love the innermost self.  

The love within the physical existence [practical world]   is very valuable in practical life.  Great master Paramahanasa Yogananad and many other sages in the past prescribed unconditional love to the humanity.   And unconditional love is very valuable tool for the humanity which is immersed in practical life and practical world.  We have to respect every sage for their service contribution to the humankind.  

The path of love, path of humanity are limited to the practical life within the practical world. Path of love and path of humanity are the best tool to serve the human kind within the practical life with in the practical world. 

Gnani loves humanity in the practical world but inwardly he is fully aware of the truth that the practical life within the practical world is mere illusion from ultimate standpoint.

 Thus path of love should not be mixed with path of wisdom because the path of love is based on the duality and path of wisdom is based on nonduality. 

Jesus said, "Know what is in front of your face, and what is hidden from you will be disclosed to you.

It means one has to know the world which confronts him confronts to realize his body and world are made of the same essence and that essence is Spirit [father].  

Sri, Sankara says: one must first know what is before him. If he cannot know that, what else can he know or understand? If he gives up the external world in his inquiry, he cannot get the whole truth.

[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.[ Sri, Sankara says in Viveka Chudamani ]

 

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

When the seeker indulges in deeper self-search becomes aware of the fact that, the experience of birth, life , death and the world  are mere illusion  created out of spirit [consciousness], which is the innermost self    

Meher Baba said: - give no importance to creed, dogma, caste or the performance of religious ceremonies and rites.

The only Real Existence is that of the One and only God Who is the Self in every (finite) self.

The only Real Love is the Love for this Infinity (God), which arouses an intense longing to see, know and become one with its Truth (God).

The only Real Sacrifice is that in which, in pursuance of this Love, all things—body, mind, position, welfare and even life itself—are sacrificed.

The only Real Renunciation is that which abandons, even in the midst of worldly duties, all selfish thoughts and desires.

The only Real Knowledge is the Knowledge that God is the inner dweller in good people and in so-called bad, in saint and in so-called sinner. This Knowledge requires you to help all equally as circumstances demand without expectation of reward, and when compelled to take part in a dispute, to act without the slightest trace of enmity or hatred; to try to make.

The real love is the love for the innermost self. Thus ‘Love Thyself'. 

The self cannot be experienced, because the experience is possible only in the realm of duality.   There is neither experience nor experincer in reality.  In self-awareness the body, ego and the world are not considered different from consciousness.

So long as one thinks “I am” is the self”, thoughts of liberation and bondage will remain.

So long as one thinks “I am” is the self”, thoughts of liberation and bondage will remain. When seeker realizes through deeper self-search  the self is neither the waking entity nor the self is the dream entity but the self is the formless witness of the three states.  The formless soul or consciousness is the formless substance  and witness of the three states. ”soul or consciousness  alone remains, eternally attained and eternally free.  The one who realize the ‘I is not the self but soul  is the true self for him the illusory  thought of burden  bondage ceases to exist as reality. 

The general supposition amongst most seekers is that sannyasa demonstrates one’s commitment to following the spiritual path full time, and by extension, somehow makes it easier to meditate and realize the Self. But it is not so that the inner(mental)  renunciation is more important than outer(physical)  renunciation which is based on the body or ego.  

One need accept the generally accepted premise that sannyasins were in a better position to realize the Self than householders. Living a normal life in the world is not a disadvantage when it comes to making spiritual progress.

Nondualistc  Peace can never be attained by one who subjects himself to ignorance by embracing the illusory  body and the world(waking), regarding them as enduring and beneficial. Equally, suffering or fear will never be experienced by one who renounces  ignorance and reaches the permanent resting place of the mind, which is soul or consciousness. 

What is it that remains as impossible to renounce after all that can be renounced has been renounced? It is the  Soul or consciousness the true Self, which cannot be renounced.

Buddha rejected religion, concept of god and scriptures, no one called the Buddha an atheist, instead the Hindus accepted him as an Avatar.

Buddha rejected religion, concept of god and scriptures, no one called the Buddha an atheist, instead the Hindus accepted him as an Avatar. J.Krishnmurthy with all his theosophical grooming and upbringing openly condemned priest craft, but accepted by the seeking  world, as man of wisdom. There is no need to condemn any religion or god or scriptures, but there is a need to know the truth, and reject the untruth, after verifying thoroughly. Seeker of truth should never accept anything as truth without verifying the validity of any claim, and accept only the un-contradictable truth.  

That why Buddha said:- 

Do not believe a spiritual teaching just because:-

1. It is repeatedly recited,
2. It is written in a scripture,
3. It was handed from guru to disciple,
4. Everyone around you believes it,
5. It has supernatural qualities,
6. It fits my beliefs anyway,
7. It sounds rational to me,
8. It is taught by a respectable person,
9. It was said to be the truth by the teacher,
10. One must defend it or fight for it.

However, only when it agrees with your experience and reason, and when it is conducive to the good and gain of oneself and all others, then one should accept the teachings, and live up to them." ....Buddha.

People read so many scriptures and indulge in tedious meditation. Finally they come to know that the true self is formless soul or consciousness (Atman).  Consciousness is ultimate truth or Brahman. Soul or consciousness, the innermost self was already present in him even before reading scriptures and before doing the meditation.

In pursuit of truth one becomes aware of the fact that the true self is not the body [I], but the soul or consciousness, which was already, was before all this practice or effort. And all these practice based on the false self is a waste of time and effort.  And by practicing   all these egocentric practices he did not achieve anything other than hallucinated realization.

When Upanishad itself declares:-   sarvam khalvidam brahma - all this (universe) is verily Brahman. By following back all of the relative appearances in the world, we eventually return to that from which it is all manifest – the non-dual reality [ Chandogya Upanishad].  

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

 The true Self is not perceptible to the senses. It is perceived by Reason. It is not perceptible as a thing with form and attributes. To those whose attention is fixed on the body and the world, it is very difficult to attain Self-knowledge. It is also very difficult for them to see the consciousness as self. The attention towards the universe [mind] should be lessened by realizing the self is not the body. The attention has to be focused on the formless substance and witness of the universe [mind] should be increased. So long as the attention is directed towards the universe, the experience of birth, life and death will prevail as reality. But when the attention is directed towards the formless witness, the ignorance vanishes and sense of duality will disappear. Then there is unity in diversity. 

What is the state of the ego or physical self when it has realized that the self is not the body? Such souls have attained their pristine condition. “Self” is not visible to the physical eyes. “Self” is not to be found in the world as a thing, entity or an object. Self is above these, has neither beginning nor ending.

 A waking or dream has a beginning and an ending. Since soul is in the form of consciousness is invisible to the physical eyes; soul or consciousness is without beginning and ending. Soul or consciousness   is always constant. Just as space is homogeneous everywhere, so is the consciousness the same everywhere.