Freedom is becoming free from experiencing the illusion or duality
as reality by realizing the fact that, the self is not the form but self is formless. It is possible to realize this without realizing the fact
that, the individual self or ego is reality within the false experience. Thus all the knowledge accumulated by judging
on the base of false self, is false knowledge.
The ‘I’ or ‘I AM’ is physical prison.
If ‘I’ is not the physical body, what is it?
Since the sense of ‘I’ is present only when the
mind is present and it disappears along with mind. The seeker will come to
conclusion after thoroughly verifying this fact through inquiry, analysis and
reasoning and then come to firm conviction that ‘I’ is mind.
‘I’ is mind and mind is universe and universe
appears as waking or dream are one and the same thing.
It is wrong to identify the self as he or she
because it refers to physicality. The self is genderless because it is
formless. Identifying “Self” as he or she, leads to all sorts’ of doubts and confusion. When
the self is identified as he or she it becomes physical self /ego.
When the ego is not the self, it is erroneous to
judge the truth on the base of ego/physical self and come to some conclusion of
finality on the physical base is erroneous because the truth is prior
appearance of the physical existence. Thus, the truth has to be judged on the
ultimate point of view, not on the base of what appeared later on.
Man has been conditioned to think and be and behave
and believe and live as an individual separate from the world. Therefore, the self
has been identified with physical body with the name within the waking
experience.
The ‘mind’ is the Waking or dream experience. The
Waking or dream is not the experience of the physical body but of the
Soul/Self. The man and his world are within the mind; therefore mind is not
within the brain. This has to be understood to assimilate the self-knowledge.
Without understanding this fact the assimilation is impossibility.
The nature of the Self is formless non-dual.
The nature of the mind is duality or diversity. The self is the formless
substance of the mind /duality /diversity. Therefore, the whole experience of
the diversity created out of single stuff. Therefore, there is no
division in ultimate standpoint is the self ,which in the form of consciousness.
Viewing the worldview on the base of the physical self is the cause of division
and separation.
When the seekers become aware of the
fact that the true self is not physical but the soul, he becomes aware of the
fact that the mind is mere illusion. The one who is ignorant of the true
self experiences the duality as reality.
A person perceives the world within the mind.
Absent of mind is absent of waking or dream. Thus waking or dream is
mind.
One thinks he is an individual separate from the
world within the mind. He is unaware of the fact that the mind is not within
his brain, but he and his experience of the world are within the mind.
Thus, he thinks he is born in this world and world existed prior to him.
Thus this conviction makes him believe the birth, life and death as
reality. Until this conviction is thee he will views
and judges the worldview on the physical base, which is the cause of ignorance
of the fact that, the true self is the soul.
This ignorance of the true self is the main hurdle
in pursuit of truth. Therefore, it is very much necessary to rectify the
seeking base from physical [form] to spirit [formless] before proceeding
further in pursuit of truth.
If the seeking base is not rectified it will lead
one towards hallucination. When the mind itself is myth then the man and his
experience of the world is bound to be myth. Therefore perfect understanding of
the mind will help one to unfold the mystery of the mind. It is
impossible to unfold the truth on the base of false self within the false
experience, because the truth is prior to the appearance of the
falsehood. And falsehood creates ignorance.
Seeker has to burn down the ignorance by rectifying
the base of reasoning by realizing the fact that self is not physical but it is
the formless consciousness.
THE ‘I’ OR ‘I AM’ IS CAUSE OF THE IGNORANCE. Thus one
has to get rid of the ignorance by overcoming the intoxication of ‘I’ or I AM
which intoxication stuff in pursuit of truth is.
That is why Sri, Sankara says in VivekaChudamani :-
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.
People who are yearning for spiritual truth will not find it through
intellectual speculation and assumption. Intellectual truth is individual
truth. Love implies duality and love is individual feelings within the falsehood.
Love is necessary and valuable in the stated of ignorance but it is not the
means to acquire wisdom. Love is
religious tool to lead life in practical world.
And Religious truth is individual truth and it is not universal truth
because the religion is based on individuality.
