Teachers, interpretations of sacred texts, the force of religious merit--none of these lead to the realization of that Ultimate Truth

Non-dualistic truth is supreme truth; all dualistic systems hold false self as real self and false experience as reality.  Non- dualistic wisdom is culmination of all systems including theistic non-duality.   The true non-dualist will not quarrel and argue with any theoretical philosophy because he is fully aware of the fact that, this orthodox theistic non-dualistic scholars or pundits like Dualist sages could not distinguish between ‘I’ and ‘formless witness.’ The 'I' was the witness. Their highest was the Jiva. One is so much attached to the 'I' that he do not want to think that 'I' does not exist. Again one is unable to detach the ‘I’ from the Real witness.  

There is need to study the scriptures. One has to self-search the truth and realize it without the scriptures. And then when he reads the scriptures he becomes aware the scriptures are also saying the same thing but everything is misinterpreted.  

 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 page70upanhsds by Nikilananda

Yoga Vasishtha :- "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."

Why Sage  Sri, Sankara says in commentary in Vedanta sutra that what is accepted without proper enquiry will not lead a person to the final goal. On the contrary, such acceptance will result only in evil, in something which is detrimental to our spiritual progress.   Seeker of truth should not believe blindly in traditional orthodox non-duality without verifying all the facts from every angle. One has to reflect through reasoning over and over again without getting tired of the process.

That is why Sage  Sri, Sankara says:- (VC)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.

There is nothing more rational, more intelligible and more un-dogmatic insights of Sri, Sankara, is to drop all the theistic non-duality or Advaita which is meant for those who are incapable and not receptive to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman.

 If one merely theorizes, tries to understand through his intellect and there contended he cannot become a Gnani but he becomes a scholar or pundit.   Seeker of truth must make what he has understood and assimilated has to be  realized, to get firm conviction of the non- dualistic truth or ultimate truth or Brahman,   than only it is possible for him to transcend all the limitations of the experience of form, time and space.    

The existence beyond limitations of form, time and space is known as Moksha or Nirvana. Spiritual freedom or self-realization is the goal of every seeker of truth.  

There is nothing more rational, more intelligible and more un-dogmatic insights of Sri, Sankara, is to drop all the theistic nonduality or Advaita which is meant for those who are incapable and not receptive to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman.

 If one merely theorises, tries to understand through his intellect and there contended he cannot become a Gnani but he becomes a scholar or pundit.   Seeker of truth must make what he has understood and assimilated has to be  realized, to get firm conviction of the non- dualistic truth or ultimate truth or Brahman,   than only it is possible for him to transcend all the limitations of the experience of form, time and space.    

The existence beyond limitations of form, time and space is known as Moksha or Nirvana. Spiritual freedom or self-realization is the goal of every seeker of truth.  

From the ultimate standpoint the experience of birth, life,death and the world are mere mirage created out of conciousness

Self-knowledge or Brmha Gnana or Atma Gnana  destroys ignorance and makes one free from experiencing duality as reality. The subject-matter of the  Self-knowledge or Brmha Gnana or Atma Gnana is the formless  Soul (Spirit or consciousness), the innermost self   is the only Reality. The formless soul is present in the form of consciousness.  Deeper self-search is required to unfold the mystery of the mind,which is present in the form of the universe.

The transmigrating the soul, the innermost self is indeed ultimate reality. The one who knows the “Soul” as self , which is beyond form,time and space  becomes one with it. Through Self-Knowledge or Brmha Gnana or Atma Gnana one becomes aware of the fact that the idea creator and creation is mere mirage.

From the ultimate standpoint the experience of  birth, life,death and the world  are mere mirage created out of conciousness.  By discovering the fact that, the the self is neither the waking entity nor the self is dream entity but the self formless soul which witnesses the coming and going of the three states.

One cannot live without the physical world; it is the basis of one’s life, but the physical world one lives is within the waking experience.   The same way the dream world and dream entity exists within the dream.  The dream entity and dream world are reality within the dream. Similarly the waking entity and waking world are reality within the waking experience.  The dream becomes unreal when waking takes place and waking remains as reality till the ignorance is there. The ignorance will prevails till the waking entity remains unaware of the existence of the formless witness.  Thus one has to trace the formless witness of the three states in order to realize the self is neither the waking entity nor the self is dream entity but the self is that which witnesses the coming and going of the three states without the physical apparatus.   

So it is the starting point of his pursuit of truth. Proof, not imaginations, must be the seekers’ material. 

The ultimate truth cannot be directly described by words because it is not and entity or identity within the waking or dream. It is the within the three states but it is without the three states,  because it is apart from the three states. It is within the three states as their formless substance and it is apart from the three states as their formless witness. Therefore, the substance and witness of the three states is one and the same.

The three states appear to be real, because of our ignorance of its real nature, to be limited by the body, the world. The limiting the mind to the physical entity is cause of experiencing the duality as reality

Because of the soul all the activities in the waking or dream takes place.  The soul is the main power behind the physical existence that is man along with his experience of the world.

From the point of view of absolute reality, since soul alone exists, it can have no association with the mind which appears and disappears as waking or dream.

 The three states are unreal from the absolute point of view, just as an object experienced in dream cannot have any association with an object known in the waking experience.  The world, form, time and space are reality within the waking and dream. The dream becomes unreal when waking takes place similarly the waking becomes unreal when the nondual wisdom dawns. 

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

When nondual wisdom dawns, then the universe (duality) becomes a mere mirage created out of consciousness.  The duality is present only when the universe is present.  If the universe is a mere mirage than the duality also is mere mirage.   Thus all the illusory bonds of duality brakes and the ‘self’ is liberated from the clutches of duality which was experienced as reality. Same way as the dream becomes unreal when waking takes place the duality becomes unreal when wisdom dawns.

Many think that it is worthwhile to acquire the miraculous powers through the practice of yoga and mysticism which in turn help him to create whatever they want wants in practical life.

When the waking experience itself is an illusion then what is the use of miracles performed within the illusory experience. Whatever is based and performed on the base of waking entity or ego is bound to be part of the falsehood. Hence miracles are part and parcel of illusion.

Those who are wedded to philosophical and scriptural knowledge will permanently remain in illusion believing their philosophical knowledge as real wealth.

Until and unless they make sure 'I' is not self and the world is unreal through deeper self-search they are bound to believe their intellectual accumulated knowledge as wisdom. The wisdom is knowledge of the reality which is beyond the form, time and space. 

Philosophical and scriptural knowledge which are based on ego as self are not useful in pursuit of truth

Lectures consisting of a shower of ornamental words, the skill in expounding the Scriptures or intellectual theories, and likewise erudition - these merely bring on a little personal enjoyment to the intellectuals, but are no good for freedom.

By discussing philosophy or by indulging rituals, prayers and worship or by glorifying gurus or gods, freedom from duality will never come because the conviction of duality grows stronger and stronger. If one has the strong conviction that, the practical life within the practical world as reality, then there is no freedom from experiencing the birth, life, death and the world as reality. Until one believes the experience the birth, life, death and the world as reality the duality will prevail as reality. 

Truth realization takes place when one becomes aware of the fact that, ‘I’ is not the true self, and start identifying with the formless Self. Giving up one physical identity such as ‘I am this and replacing it with another ‘I am that, does not get to the root of the problem of false identification:

Thinking, ‘I am a person who has realized the Brahman’ is only a mental imagination. In the realm of truth transcends such imagination. Only discovering the knowledge of the formless nondual substance, and realizing it as true self, is true liberation from experiencing duality as reality.

 It is not thinking repeatedly, ‘I am someone who has self-realized. Therefore, the thought, ‘I am a bondage’; the thought, ‘I am’ is a prison’.  The thought I am is the cause of ignorance.  

‘I’ am ‘indicates the self as being limited to the physical body. When that delusion ‘I am ‘is destroyed, along with it, the duality will cease. Unless the ‘I am the body’ belief is present the duality prevails as reality.

So long as one thinks “I am” is the self”, thoughts of liberation and bondage will remain. When a seeker sees the true self through the inquiry and becomes aware of the fact that, “Ataman is the true self”, and the Ataman alone remains, eternally attained and eternally free.  The one who realizes the ‘I is not the self but Ataman is the true self for him the thought of bondage ceases to exist.’

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 renunciation is more important than outer renunciation which is base on the body.

One should not 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.

Nondual self-awareness can never be attained by one who subjects himself to ignorance by embracing the body and the world, regarding them as enduring and beneficial. Equally, suffering or fear will never be experienced by one who renounces this ignorance and reaches the permanent resting place of the mind which is Ataman.

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

Adyathmic Discussion -322

Sage Sri, Sankara declares: - the world is a myth and Brahman alone is real then why to worship the guru and Gods based on the ego, which is false self of this false world.

When Sri, Sankara says: world is unreal. He never said body is unreal. He would have said only birth and death is unreal but he did not say that, he said the world is unreal. He meant the world including the body, because the body and the world appear together and disappear together (waking or dream). Then we have to think, what remain without the body and the world as reality.

How can the birth, life, death, rebirth, and reincarnation, which take place in an unreal world (waking or dream), can be true. The experience of birth, life death, rebirth, reincarnation takes place within the unreal universe, which appears as waking or dream (duality) and disappears as deep sleep (non-duality). The one which appeared as waking or dream diapered as deep sleep is formless consciousness (soul), the innermost self.

The soul or consciousness is the innermost self. The soul  is birthless and deathless. The formless soul  is the witness of the coming and going of the three states.

When the whole world is unreal than one has to realize the fact that, the body and ego are reality within the unreal world therefore, the body and the world are part of the falsehood, then what is the use of thinking on the body base when the self is not physical.

If dream entity imagines in the dream that: - The self’s manifestation is in the brain. The passage from the Heart to the brain might be considered to be through the sushumna, or nerve (nadi) with some other name. The sushumna or such nadis are all comprised in Para, i.e. the Atma nadi. --

– the dream becomes unreal when waking takes place.

Therefore if the waking entity thinks the same way in the waking experience that:- The self’s manifestation is in the brain. The passage from the Heart to the brain might be considered to be through the sushumna, or nerve (nadi) with some other name. The the sushumna or such nadis are all comprised in Para, i.e. the Atma nadi. ---

–--- the waking also becomes unreal when the waking entity realizes, it itself is not the self. If the self is neither the waking entity, nor the self is dream entity, but the self is the formless soul, which is the witness of the coming and going of the three states. On the standpoint of the soul, the innermost self, the three states are non-existent as reality.

The scientists now concluded that you are not the brain (body or form). Consciousness requires the joint operation of brain, body and world. "You are not your brain. The brain, rather, is part of what you are."

The Biology of Consciousness

by Alva Noë. Hill and Wang, 2009

Alva Noe, a University of California, Berkeley, philosopher and cognitive scientist, argues that after decades of concerted effort on the part of neuroscientists, psychologists and philosophers "only one proposition about how the brain makes us conscious ... has emerged unchallenged: we don't have a clue." The reason we have been unable to explain the neural basis of consciousness, he says, is that it does not take place in the brain. Consciousness is not something that happens inside us but something we achieve it is more like dancing than it is like the digestive process. To understand consciousness the fact that we think and feel and that a world shows up for us we need to look at a larger system of which the brain is only one element. Consciousness requires the joint operation of brain, body and world. "You are not your brain. The brain, rather, is part of what you are."

Thus, it is going in the right direction in its invention and one day it will declare that everything is consciousness, which Sage Sri Sankara declared 1200 years back –everything is Atman because Atman is in the form of consciousness.  Thus we have to know the fact that the Buddha, Goudpada and Sri, Sankara are not only reformers but also the greatest sage scientists. Since there original thesis have been lost in the labyrinths of philosophy and mutilated by orthodoxy, it becomes very difficult understand and assimilate the wisdom expounded by the great masters. In addition, the conservativeness of the scholars will not allow any research other than playing with the words, which suits the mass mind sets, because of their egocentric outlook.

The seeker has to do his own homework in order to understand and assimilate the real fragrance of the wisdom expounded by the great masters. It is a 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, which lesser time and effort.

 ·  ·  · Share · Edit

• 
  

  Gorakshnath Gurukul Ashram, Chris Waller andDhritisundar Mazumder like this.
• 6 shares
• • 
    

    Dhritisundar Mazumder Brain is the container of the consciousness; so it is called kaAla [ka=water (resembling the flow of spiritual consciousness); pAla= that which protects/ keeps/ contains].... and kapAla>kephalo[Gk], cephalos[L] ...
    

    January 23 at 7:38pm · 
  • 
    

    Dhritisundar Mazumder brahma satya jagat mithyAmay be interpreted as:
    only the expansive urge of existence is Truth; and the mobility of the environment deficient of the expansive urge is destructive/ degenerative [mithyA = that which is/causes death of existence.
    

    January 23 at 7:43pm · 
  • 
    

    Dhritisundar Mazumder Thus, Sankara conveys to us that if life is deficient of following of Truth/ True Guide, it is useless, and equivalent to nought.
    

    January 23 at 7:45pm · 
  • 
    

    Santthosh Kumaar When the body is not the body , the ego is not ego, the world is not world everything is created out of single stuff . That single stiff is consciousness(soul or Atman) , the innermost self. on the standpoint of the innermost self , the universe is mere illusion. The consciousness alone is ultimate truth or Brahman. There is no second thing exist other than consciousness. hence Non-dual.
    

    January 23 at 8:41pm ·  · 1
  • 
    

    Santthosh Kumaar 
    
    

    Formless soul (Atman) or Consciousness is the witness that experiences the action, the actor, and the world of separate things. It is like a light that illuminates everything in a theatre, revealing the master of ceremonies, the guests, and the dancers with complete impartiality. Even when they all depart, the light shines to reveal their absence.
    
    What is not consciousness (formless) in the experience of diversity [waking]? The waking and the dream cease to exist without consciousness. The seeker, seeking and his destination all are one in essence.

    
    

    January 23 at 8:44pm ·  · 1
  • 
    

    Santthosh Kumaar 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 ]
    

    January 23 at 8:56pm ·  · 1
  • 
    

    Santthosh Kumaar 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 consciousness. thus it is erroneous to limit the self(consciousness) only to the body, because the formless consciousness pervades in everything and everywhere in all the three states.
    

    January 23 at 9:01pm ·  · 2
  • 
    

    Chris Waller Always a simple and enduring truth is reflected. Thanks.
    

    January 23 at 10:14pm ·