There is no need to be critical of religion and theism. The religion has been a powerful force for violence and xenophobia in history. Religion and theism are not the means to Self –Realization. Religion and theism are biggest barricade in pursuit of truth.
Freedom from theism and religion are necessary for to know and realize the the ultimate truth . supernatural beliefs retard spiritual progress, and that supernatural religions have outlived their usefulness.
Religious and yogic Teaching" has no value in pursuit of truth , because the truth cannot be found in the diversity but one gets it, only when there is unity in diversity. Truth cannot be thought by teachings, because one is not sure that, the teachings takes him to his ultimate destination. The truth has to be discovered and the teaching has no value in pursuit of truth, because the truth cannot be got in fragments because it is the whole. The seeker has to verify , the validity of every claim and only un-contradictable truth has to accepted as truth.
That is why Buddha said:-
Do not believe a spiritual
teaching just because:-
1. it is repeatedly recited,
2. it is written in a scripture,
3. it was handed from guru to disciple,
4. everyone around you believes it,
5. it has supernatural qualities,
6. it fits my beliefs anyway,
7. it sounds rational to me,
8. it is taught by a respectable person,
9. it was said to be the truth by the teacher,
10. one must defend it or fight for it.
However, only when it agrees with your experience and reason, and when it is conducive to the good and gain of oneself and all others, then one should accept the teachings, and live up to them."
....Buddha.
That is why Sankara said :-
Neither by the practice of yoga nor philosophy, nor by good
works nor by learning, does liberation come, but only through the realization
that Atman and Brahman are one in no other way.(1) VivekaChudamani v 56, pg 25
Sri, Sankara goes on to saying (VC):
A sickness of not cured by saying the word “medicine.” You must
take the medicine. Liberation does not come by merely saying the word
“Brahman.” Brahman must be experienced. Until you allow this apparent universe
to dissolve from your consciousness, until you have experienced Brahman, how
can you find liberation just by saying the word Brahman? The result is merely a
noise. Until a man has destroyed his enemies and taken possession of the
splendour and wealth of the kingdom, he cannot become a king by simply saying
“I am a king.”
A buried treasure is not uncovered by merely uttering the words:
“Come forth.” You must follow the right directions, dig, remove the stones and
earth from above it, and then make it your own. In the same way, the pure truth
of the Atman, which is buried under Maya and the effects of Maya, can be
reached by meditation, contemplation, and other spiritual disciplines but never
by subtle arguments. (2)
What
is the use of doing meditation on the base of waking entity, which is false
self within the false experience? Meditation is not the means to Self
–Knowledge. Meditation is not the goal itself because it practiced on the base of false
self(ego or waking entity) within the false experience(waking) .
Wisdom
dawns only when ignorance vanishes. Ignorance vanishes only when the waking
entity (ego) becomes aware of the fact that, it itself is not the self. Thus by
practicing meditation on the false self within the false experience is like try
to catch fish in desert sand.
If a man gets freedom after undergoing any discipline, his freedom is only temporary: it will go again. Soul or consciousness, the innermost self cannot be got because it is already there. The formless witness of the three states has never been in bondage because it is always apart from, untouched by the three states. This argument cannot be turned against non-dualist by yogis and religionists, because they regard ignorance as an integral part of the soul to be got rid of by their practices, whereas non-dualist say the formless witness of the three states is ever pure and ever free from ignorance, being Knowledge itself, and that even all practices of wisdom is within the realm of illusion, never the formless witness of the illusion .
Liberation is mere idea. The idea is part of the illusion. Those philosophers who are so confused as to be unable to separate the formless witness from the illusion , speaks of gaining liberation. But all such ideas are only illusion , which come and go, the formless witness needs no liberation. When the ignorance vanishes only the truth prevails as non-dual existence.
The final stage is that soul or consciousness , the innermost self is everything, the whole, there is nothing but consciousness , whereas to say "God is in me" is mysticism.
Spiritualistic bliss is non-dual; there is no enjoyer present to enjoy it, or to distinguish it from misery. The mystic revels only in 'bliss' that is experienced i.e. that comes and goes, but his is not spiritualistic.
Only if one recognizes self as physical then the peace will be disturbed. Hence the mystic's peace is temporary because it is based on the physical self(ego or waking entity) : the only enduring peace belongs to the Gnani for it is non-dual.
