If one is seeking truth but
practicing yoga or Kundalini or any other practice for long years and finding
them inadequate and useless quenching his inner thirst has to drop them by
realizing they are only useful in preparatory stages to make him more receptive
to grasp the ultimate truth and they cannot transport him to the ultimate end
of understanding.
Sage, Sri, Sankara' gave religious, ritual or dogmatic
instruction to the mass but pure philosophy only to the few who could rise to
it, hence the interpretation of his writings by commentators is often confusing
because they mix up the two viewpoints. Thus they may assert that ritual is a
means of realizing Brahman, which is absurd.
In commentary to "Brahma Sutras Sage Sri, Sankara indicates:-."
"The
highest beatitude is not to be attained by Yoga." (Sacred Books of East
Series page 298 Vol.1.) And he also says Samadhi is the same as
sleep (p.312).
---this clearly indicates that yoga is not the means to self realization. And
yogic Samadhi is not non dual wisdom.
The seeker has to follow up his deeper self-search and get rid
of the inborn samskara or conditioning, which is present as ‘I’ or ‘I AM’.
There is no need of buying reading material or hearing the sermons and running
to one place to another or one guru to another or surrendering to any guru or
glorifying any guru in order to acquire self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.
Sri, Sankara says in Viveka Chudamani indicated that:-
56. Neither by Yoga, nor by Sankhya, nor by work, nor by
learning, but by the realisation of one's identity with Brahman is Liberation
possible, and by no other means.
58. Loud speech consisting of a shower of words, the skill in
expounding the Scriptures, and likewise erudition - these merely bring on a
little personal enjoyment to the scholar, but are no good for Liberation.
59. The study of the Scriptures is useless so long as the
highest Truth is unknown, and it is equally useless when the highest Truth has
already been known.
60. The Scriptures consisting of many words are a dense forest
which merely causes the mind to ramble. Hence men of wisdom should earnestly
set about knowing the true nature of the Self.
61. For one who has been bitten by the serpent of Ignorance, the
only remedy is the knowledge of Brahman. Of what avail are the Vedas and
(other) Scriptures, Mantras (sacred formulae) and medicines to such a one?
62. A disease does not leave off if one simply utter the name of
the medicine, without taking it; (similarly) without direct realisation one
cannot be liberated by the mere utterance of the word Brahman.
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.
64. Without killing one’s enemies, and possessing oneself of the
splendour of the entire surrounding region, one cannot claim to be an emperor
by merely saying, ‘I am an emperor’.
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.
Sage Sri Sankara clearly indicated that: - yoga,
intellectualism, scriptural mastery is not the means to Self-Knowledge or
Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. But by the realization of one's identity with consciousness, which is ultimate truth or
Brahman, freedom from experiencing the illusion as reality is possible, and by
no other means.
Seeker of truth
has to get rid of his doubts through deeper inquiry, analysis and reasoning on
his own, to realize the fact that, the self is not the form but self is formless.
Thus his analysis and reasoning has to be based on the formless not on the
form. By simply go on believing and
accepting whatever said by the punditry and intellectuals will not lead one
towards path of wisdom. All the doubt has to be got rid of "by the sword
of Self - Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana." The scriptures, yoga are not necessary if one
follows the inner [formless] path.
Religion and yoga are not the means to path of wisdom.
