The experience implies
a second thing, i.e. duality. Unless one rise to a unity, he has no peace. The
duality is the state of restlessness. The duality is the state of ignorance.
The duality is mere an illusion.
Absence of the experience is absence of the duality.
Absence of the duality is the absence of the form, time and space. Absence of
the form, time and space is absence of the mind. Absence of the mind is absence
of mind is absence of the universe. Absence of the universe is absence of the
waking. Absence of the waking is present
of the nondual reality. –FORMLESS PATH
The seeker has to
focus his attention on the self or Atman, which is in the form of
consciousness. Thus glorifying gurus’ form is erroneous,
because the body and the universe are myth on the ultimate standpoint. Thus
indulging glorifying and worshiping of myth becomes the greatest obstacle in the
pursuit of truth. Thus the seeker has to identify the soul, the innermost
self as guru and proceed in his spiritual endeavour. The inner
grace of the inner guru (self) will guide until the ignorance disappears and
one realizes the body and the universe are a mere mirage created out of the
consciousness, which is the true self.
Religious or yogic
gurus propagate that, once a seeker identifies a Guru, he must totally
surrender to the Guru and then from there onwards, the spiritual journey is
fully the Guru's responsibility, not his... Hence the importance to choosing
the right Guru is necessary, but in pursuit of truth the guru is not necessary,
because the truth is not theoretical. Truth has to be ascertained by
the seeker on his own through a well-directed inquiry, analysis and reasoning
based on the true self, which will lead the seeker to his
destination.
People who worship
the guru as God in human form and there is a danger that they might establish a
regular religious sect in his name. This is an unhappy development
of the religious movement.
It is better to
take guidance from a Gnani and try to attain the same realization which he had,
rather than spend their energy in defying him. Let us remember that to deify a
Gnani is to defy wisdom”
Hindu religious
literature is full of such aphorisms as ' there is no higher deity than the
Guru; the Guru is the ultimate Truth and Deity. God and Avatars
(incarnations) are secondary to the Guru in importance ;there is no higher
refuge, no higher target, no higher destination than the Guru ; the Guru is God
Himself ; God and the Guru are one ; he who makes a distinction
between the Guru and God is ignorant and stupid ; and scores
of similar others. They abound both in Sanskrit and in modern Indian
languages.
People born in the
different sect and they remain as its follower. Most of the sect is founded by
some gurus, thus the Indian belief system is a Guru Cult, i.e. believes in the
worship of the Guru as the Supreme Deity.
When a seeker
could not get full enlightenment from his inherited belief system, then only he
searches elsewhere. And tries to get enlightened himself further to clear the
cobwebs of his understanding and seeks guidance to his progress.
The path of
religion, the path of yoga and the path of wisdom were intended for different
classes of people. The wisdom is for the advanced seekers of truth. It deals
with the nature of the ultimate Truth and Reality. It is meant for superior
aspirants who have an inner urge to know the truth and it is not for those who
are immersed in earthly desires.
Katha
Upanishad:- This Atman cannot be attained by the study of the Vedas, or by
intelligence, or by much hearing of sacred books. It is attained by
him alone whom It chooses. To such a one Atman reveals Its own form. (Katha Upanishad Ch-II -23-P-20)
Mundaka
Upanishad: - This Atman cannot be attained through the study of the Vedas, nor
through intelligence, nor through much learning. He who chooses Atman—by him
alone is Atman attained. It is the Atman that reveals to the seeker Its true
nature. (3 page-70 - Mundaka Upanishad- Upanishads by Nikilanada)
When the Upanishad
says: the human goal is to acquire Self-Knowledge and they indicate
the personal gods, scriptures, worship and rituals are not the means to Self
–Knowledge, then why anyone should indulge in it. The religion, concept of
individualized god and scriptures are the greatest obstacle to realize non-dual
truth or self-realization, because they are based on false self. Therefore,
one has to search the ultimate truth without losing himself in the labyrinths
of philosophy, he should indulge in deeper self-search and assimilate and
realize it.
The seeker's goal
is towards Self-knowledge and noting other than it. Therefore, guru is needed
in religious and yogic paths which are meant for the people who are not
searching for truth but they are searching for worldly comforts and temporary
peace in this physical existence. They fear of losing their physical
identity and all that is connected to the physical identity. When one realizes
the physical identity (ego) is false self and the true identity is the soul,
which is in the form consciousness, then he realizes that the fear factor is
limited to the false self within the false experience. When the self is not
physical all the burden and bondage of the duality is a mere mirage created out
of consciousness.
Therefore,
Self-Knowledge is necessary to know the fact that, the universe, which appears
is in the form of mind and disappears as nothingness (formless)
is a mere mirage created out of nothingness, which is
consciousness. Thus the consciousness is the source and witness of
the universe or mind, which comes and goes. Thus it is necessary to
know the formless witness of the three states in order to know the fact that,
the true self is apart and free from the mirage , which is in the
form of birth, life, death and the universe. Therefore, it is
necessary for the seeker to make sure how the three states are mirage.
The body and the
world are reality within the waking experience but the waking experience is
mere illusion, same way as the dream body and the dream world were reality
within the dream. The dream becomes unreal when the waking takes place;
similarly the waking experience becomes unreal when the non-dual wisdom
dawns.
The one who thinks
himself as guru and the one who thinks himself as chela (disciple) will not be
able get Self-Knowledge because both of them accepted the self as body. And
all their understanding, practices, knowledge are based on the false
self. Therefore, the Guru –Shisya concept is a great obstacle in the
pursuit of truth. That is why Sri, Ramana Maharishi never accepted
himself as a guru or accepted anyone as his disciple, because he was fully
immersed in his true self, which is formless consciousness. There was
no division in his consciousness even though he was in the midst
of division or duality.
Thus by
surrendering to any guru or god men is not the means to
self-knowledge. The self is the true guru. The seeker has to
surrender to the self by realizing the fact that, the self is not physical. By
realizing the self is not physical, he will be able to drop all the accumulated
knowledge and inherited conditioning in the midst of duality and he finds
freedom from experiencing the duality (waking) as reality.
