Physical & mental discipline such like Karma, Dyana, Mantra Yaga, Yajna, Puja
Japa blind devotion to deity or guru is not a means to for liberation or freedom
from experiencing the duality as reality. It is dualistic cult including
tradition Advaitic orthodoxy propagate this discipline has no value if one is seeking
ultimate truth or Brahman to get nondual moksha.
Swami Vivekananda:- Knowing this, stand up and fight! Not one step back that is the idea. ...
Fight it out, whatever comes. Let the stars move from the sphere! Let the whole
world stand against us! Death means only a change of garment. What of it? Thus
fight! You gain nothing by becoming cowards. ... Taking a step backward, you do
not avoid any misfortune. You have cried to all the gods in the world. Has
misery ceased? The masses in India cry to sixty million gods, and still die like
dogs. Where are these gods? ... The gods come to help you when you have
succeeded. So what is the use? Die game. ... This bending the knee to
superstitions, this selling yourself to your own mind does not befit you, my
soul. You are infinite, deathless, birthless. Because you are infinite spirit,
it does not befit you to be a slave. ... Arise! Awake! Stand up and fight! Die
if you must. There is none to help you. You are the entire world. Who can help
you?
- Swami Vivekananda
(Delivered In San Francisco, on May 28, 1900)
The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda/Volume 1/Lectures And Discourses/The
Gita II
Nisargadatta Maharaj:- If you seek reality you must set yourself free of all backgrounds, of all
cultures, of all patterns of thinking and feeling. Even the idea of being man
or woman, or even human should be discarded.
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.
Atman or consciousness, the
One and Undifferentiated, which by the manifold application of its powers
produces the dual and non-dual experiences (waking/dream/deep sleep) and, in
the end, withdraws the three states into itself, is indeed the self—luminous.
The Maker of all the three states, self—luminous and all—pervading,
Atman dwells always in the three states as its formless clay and witness. Atman
is revealed by the negative way, discriminative wisdom and the Knowledge of
Unity based upon reflection. The one who know Atman is the true self becomes
one with the immortal self.
When there is no ignorance, there is no day or night, neither being nor
none—being; the pure Atman alone exists. That immutable Reality is the meaning
of "Atman. From it has preceded the non-dual wisdom.
No one can grasp
Atman ,which is in the form of consciousness as separate entity apart
from duality because it is the formless clay and the witness of the experience
of duality thus it cannot be grasped as above, across, or in the middle.
Its form is not an
object of vision; no one beholds it with the eyes. They who, through pure
intellect and the Knowledge of Unity based upon reflection, realize Atman as
the true self becomes one with the immortal.
Not by intellectual speculation but only by an awakening to the
reality of his true existence he gets soulcentric vision. Soul, the innermost
self’s nature is like state of deep sleep.
Religion, yoga and intellectualism
are not the means to acquire self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. Without getting rid of the ignorance and
trying to get self-awareness through religion and yoga is like a sleeping man
trying to know what he is about, without waking up. As sleep is to waking, so
is ordinary life to the state of realization.
Mysticism, scriptural knowledge, penance
based Scholasticism are great are great hindrance to self-realization.
Inherited blind belief with corresponding actions based on scriptures,
worship, ritual faith which imply certain mental and physical discipline, or
scripture supporting belief, faith, creed, ritual, theological knowledge personal
or opinion leads to hallucinated knowledge. All these become great hindrance in grasping
understanding, assimilating and realizing the Advaitic or nondual truth.
Scriptural mastery including ancient
Sastras, Tarka, Samkhya disciplines to support Karmas & belief Bhakti
Argument & interpretation with help of logic, grammar etc.to support
beliefs, revelations, prayers etc. Also dogmas, theological or other based on
authorities.
Buddha said:-
Believe nothing because a
wise man said it,
Believe nothing because it is generally held.Believe nothing because it is written.
Believe nothing because it is said to be divine.
Believe nothing because someone else said it.
But believe only what you yourself judge to be true.
Yoga, Silence, meditation, rituals and devotion are based on the false self and false experience does not yield truth one seeking for, because the truth is beyond false self (ego) and false experience (universe). Mysticism is based on individual experience. The self is not individual because the self, which s in the form of consciousness, pervades in everything and everywhere in all the three states. Blind beliefs without verification and argument and interpretation on the base of false self are not verified knowledge therefore it is not truth.
Deeper self-search revels the fact that, The soul(consciousness) ,body and world are one in essence therefore no second thing exists other than soul , which is in the form of consciousness. Thus realizing all the three states as consciousness leads to self-awareness.
We have to grow from the inside out. None can teach us, none can make us spiritual. There is no other guru but our own soul.”
Self-knowledge or Atma Gnana or Brahma
Gnana cannot be attained by one who is without strength or earnestness or
without the receptiveness and courage to accept the truth and reject the
untruth. If a serious seeker strives sincerely by means of inquiry, analysis
and soulcentric reasoning, he will be able to realize it.
It is only seekers sincerity and
earnestness in his spiritual pursuit, the knowledge started revealing on its
own. Anyone who has humility and
patience and is sincere and ready to drop their accumulated dross and receptive
to accept the truth will enter nondual Self-Awareness when his conviction
becomes firm.
