In most of the spiritual group or discussion forums, there are no discussions on the subject matter, but most of the people indulge in making point or getting their point across to be heard and making observations from their own limited viewpoint from their accumulated knowledge based on the false self.
By getting rid of Ignorance one can acquire Self-knowledge or Advaitic truth. But he has got none but himself to remove his ignorance.
One may find solution for his worldly problems by others, but self-knowledge has to be acquired none but one's own self.
Sri, Sankara says in VivekaChudamani :-
54. The true nature of things is to be known personally, through the eye of clear illumination, and not through a sage: what the moon exactly is is to be known with one's own eyes; can others make him know it?
55. Who but one's own self can get rid of the bondage caused by the fetters of Ignorance, desire, action and the like, aye even in a hundred crore of cycles ?
405. The Shrutis themselves declare that this dualistic universe is but a delusion from the standpoint of Absolute Truth. This is also experienced in the state of dreamless sleep.
407. This apparent universe has its root in the mind, and never persists after the mind is annihilated. Therefore dissolve the mind by concentrating it on the Supreme Self, which is thy inmost Essence.
First the seeker has to realize his inherited religious conditioning (samskaras) is greatest obstacle in self-realization.
The religion of the Veda knows no idols
Max Müller says: - "The religion of the Veda knows no idols; the worship of idols in India is a secondary formation, a degradation of the more primitive worship of ideal gods."
In Vedas the God has been described as:-
v Sakshi (Witness)
v Chetan (conscious)
v Nirguna (Without form and properties).
v Nitya (eternal)
v Shuddha (pure)
v Buddha (omniscient)
v Mukta (unattached).
It indicates clearly all the gods with form and attributes are mere imagination based on the false self. And it also indicates the Atman itself is god because all these description are the nature of the Atman, which is true self. Thus Atman is Brahman and Brahman is ultimate truth. Thus the ultimate truth is god. Thus realization of ultimate truth is god realization. Therefore if one is seeking truth he has to realize all his inherited religious baggage is an obstacle in realizing the ultimate truth.
Yajurved says:
Translation 1.
They enter darkness, those who worship natural things (for example air, water, sun, moon, animals, fire, stone, etc).
They sink deeper in darkness those who worship sambhuti. (Sambhuti means created things, for example table, chair, idol etc.) [Yajurved 40:9]
Translation 2.
"Deep into shade of blinding gloom fall asambhuti's worshippers. They sink to darkness deeper yet who on sambhuti are intent." [Yajurveda Samhita by Ralph T. H. Giffith pg 538]
Translation 3.
"They are enveloped in darkness, in other words, are steeped in ignorance and sunk in the greatest depths of misery who worship the uncreated, eternal prakrti -- the material cause of the world -- in place of the All-pervading God, But those who worship visible things born of the prakrti, such as the earth, trees, bodies (human and the like) in place of God are enveloped in still greater darkness, in other words, they are extremely foolish, fall into an awful hell of pain and sorrow, and suffer terribly for a long time." [Yajur Veda 40:9.]
So, Yajur Veda indicates that:-
They sink deeper in darkness those who worship sambhuti. (Sambhuti means created things, for example table, chair, idol etc [Yajurved 40:9]
Those who worship visible things born of the prakrti, such as the earth, trees, bodies (human and the like) in place of God are enveloped in still greater darkness, in other words, they are extremely foolish, fall into an awful hell of pain and sorrow, and suffer terribly for a long time." [Yajur Veda 40:9.]
When the religion of the Veda knows no idols then why to indulge in worship of so many gods and goddesses with different form and name are being propagated as Vedic gods. These conceptual gods are introduced when Vedic concept of god is free from form and attributes.
Some sages in the past introduced concept of god with attributes and attributeless gods, when Yajur Veda says: - those who worship visible things, born of the prakrti, such as the earth, trees, bodies (human and the like), in place of God are enveloped in still greater darkness. Therefore, all these add-ons proves that the form and attribute based concepts are introduced by some sages of the past with new belief system and code of conducts in the name of Vedas. Thus devotion to such conceptual gods and goddesses are non-Vedic. By indulging in non-Vedic practices one will remain ignorant. The main aim of Vedas is to acquire self-knowledge but by indulging in Non-Vedic practice will make one remain in duality experiencing it as reality.
Therefore, all the add-ons and attribute based knowledge, which are inferior, have to be bifurcated and excluded to know the ultimate truth.
Gaudapada says that:- The merciful Veda teaches karma and Upaasana to people of lower and middling intellect, while Jnana is taught to those of higher intellect.
Mundaka Upanishad:- The rituals and the sacrifices described in the Vedas deal with lower knowledge. The sages ignored these rituals and went in search of higher knowledge. ... Such rituals are unsafe rafts for crossing The sea of samsara, of birth and death. Doomed to shipwreck are those who try to cross The sea of samsara on these poor rafts. Ignorant of their own ignorance, yet wise In their own esteem, these deluded men Proud of their vain learning go round and round Like the blind led by the blind.
According to Advaita Vedanta, the Veda addresses itself to two kinds of audiences - the ordinary ones who desire the transitory heaven and other pleasures obtained as a result of ritual sacrifices, and the more advanced seeker who seeks to know Brahman. Thus, the purva mimam.sa, with its emphasis on the karma kanda of the Vedas, is meant for the first audience, to help lead its followers along the way. However, the Vedanta, with its emphasis on the jnana kanda, is meant for those who wish to go beyond such transient pleasures.
Thus the religious Advaita based on the punditry is for the ordinary ones who desire the transitory heaven and other pleasures obtained as a result of ritual sacrifices. Advanced seeker who are capable of inquiring into their own existence to know and realize the ultimate truth, which is Brahman.
Sri, Sankara says in VivekaChudamani :-
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.
Seeker of truth has to take the direct path and avoid losing precious time and effort loosing himself in philosophical studies and glorifying gurus and gods.
Brahman is considered the all-pervading consciousness, which is the basis of all the animate and inanimate entities and material. (brahmano hi pratisthaham, Bhagavad Gita 14.27)
Sri, Sankara’s notion of Maya, the cosmic illusion, which must be transcended in order to realize the truth of Brahman, which means ultimate truth.
If Brahman is considered the all-pervading consciousness then, it is necessary to realize, the consciousness as self, which pervades all the three states, to realize the fact that, there is no second thing exists other the consciousness. Thus, consciousness [Atman] is ultimate truth or Brahman.
As indicated in ISH Upanishads: - By worshiping gods and goddesses you will go after death to the world of gods and goddesses. But will that help you? The time you spend there is wasted, because if you were not there you could have spent that time moving forward towards Self-knowledge, which is your goal. In the world of gods and goddesses you cannot do that, and thus you go deeper and deeper into darkness.
It clearly indicates that:-If the human goal is to acquire Self-Knowledge then why one has to indulge in rituals and glorifying the conceptual gods, goddesses and gurus to go in to deeper darkness. Instead spend that time moving forward towards Self-knowledge, which is one’s prime goal.
Since it is eternal and infinite, it comprises the only truth. The goal of Vedic religion, through the various yogas, is to realize that the consciousness (Atman) is actually nothing but Brahman.
The Vedic pantheon of gods is said, in the Vedas and Upanishads, to be only higher manifestations of Brahman. For this reason, "ekam sat" (all is one), and all is Brahman.
Thus, the goal is to realize Atman (consciousness). If Atman [consciousness] is nothing but Brahman and by realizing Atman (consciousness) as Brahman [ultimate truth] is truth realization or Self-Realization , then there is no need to follow religion, study scriptures or glorifying gods or gurus and follow the path of doubts and confusion by losing oneself in the labyrinths of philosophy, when there is an easier path. By mentally tracing the source of the mind from where it rises and subsides one becomes aware of the fallacy of the mind, which rises as waking or dream and subsides as deep sleep. The mind raises form consciousness and subsides as consciousness.
They alone in this world are endowed with the highest wisdom who are firm in their conviction of the sameness and birthlessness of Atman. The ordinary man does not understand their way. [Chapter IV — Alatasanti Prakarana 95-P-188 in Upanishads by Nikilanada]
Therefore, if one is seeking truth he has to know his true self is not physical but it is the Atman, which is in the form of consciousness.
Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana cannot be attained by study of the Vedas and intellectual understanding or by bookish knowledge. Therefore there is no use of studying the Vedas and other scriptures in order to acquire the non-dual wisdom. That is why Buddha rejected the scriptures, and even Sri, Sankara indicated that, the ultimate truth lies beyond religion, concept of god and scriptures.
There is only one Reality to be known, the same for all seekers, but the ways to it, are hidden by the religion. Self-discovery is the only way, towards non-dual Absolute without any religious doctrines, which will help the seekers to unfold the mystery of the illusion in which we all are searching the truth of our true existence.
The beliefs of god, religion, yoga are based on the false self, is nothing to do with the mental (inner) journey. The religious, rituals, worships, prayers god and guru glorification may be useful in the worldly life, for those who believes in the birth, life, death and the world as reality, but they are not useful tools in realizing the ultimate truth. On the base of consciousness (soul) as self, everything other than the consciousness is mere mirage. Thus, man and his experience of the world and his belief of god and religion are part and parcel of the mirage created out of consciousness. Belief in conceptual gods is greatest hindrance in realization Advaitic or non-dual truth. The pundits who prescribes rituals, worship and prayers and karma are themselves are only scriptural scholars and their knowledge is based only on scriptural mastery thus they cannot transport seekers to their non-dual destination. Punditry is for people of lower and middling intellect, while wisdom to those of wants to transcend themselves from the illusion to non-dual reality.
The scriptures and theories and teaching based on the ego are not the yardstick. Using them as yardstick to understand and assimilate the truth will lead one towards pursuit of arguments. Seeker of truth has to discover on his own, the truth of his true existence by inquiring “what is mind?” and “what is substance of the mind?” and move forward.
The ultimate truth is one without the second, the one is not in the sense half or two, but the one that remain forever One, without the second. The consciousness is all pervading; there is no place where consciousness is not.
Consciousness is in everyone, consciousness is in everything. Consciousness is one behind many. Consciousness alone is. It means the universe is the visible form of consciousness. Formless and colourless is consciousness’s creative and impulsive imagination to know itself as omnipresent, infinite and eternal. Consciousness in turn is invisible form of the universe.
When Sri,Sankara says the world is illusion, it includes birth, life and death, which happens within the world. Thus seekers main aim is to mentally trace the formless substance of the illusion, which is also the witness of the illusion. The formless substance and witness of the illusion (world) is the Atman, and this Atman itself is Brahman. This Brahman cannot be attained by indulging in egocentric religious orthodoxies. The knower of Brahman is Brahmin not the Brahmin who indulges in priest craft, which leads one to utter darkness as per Yajur Veda.
Brahmin is the one who has realized the Brahman(ultimate truth) or Gnani. A Gnani helps fellow seekers towards inner path. The one who knows Brahman(ultimate truth) knows his body and his experience of the world are mere illusion and also he knows his body and his experience of the world are also as Atman (soul or consciousness), which is Brahman. Thus, the priest craft which are crafted on the body based theories will lead one to hallucinated moksha. But real moksha or freedom is possible only through non-dual wisdom.
Thus it is necessary to follow the path of Brahman not the path of the priest- craft. Only by dropping all the accumulated priest crafted baggage, one has to move forward to reach the Advaitic or non-dual destination in lesser time and effort.
Consciousness is not different from mind or universe or waking. The substance and witness of the mind or universe is consciousness. The consciousness is the true self and when one limits the consciousness to the physical entity, it becomes ego and ego is the cause of experiencing the duality as reality. Ego is the cause of the ignorance of formless non-dual nature of the consciousness.
Prior to experience of duality (mind), there is only consciousness. The ego is part of the experience of duality. The consciousness can remain with or without the experience of duality but ego ceases to exist without the experience of duality (mind). The mind is fully dependent on consciousness, whereas the consciousness is independent. Therefore there is need to understand what is mind and what is substance of the mind in order to assimilate the Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.
Prior to experience of duality (mind), there is only consciousness. The ego is part of the experience of duality. The consciousness can remain with or without the experience of duality but ego ceases to exist without the experience of duality (mind). The mind is fully dependent on consciousness, whereas the consciousness is independent. Therefore there is need to understand what is mind and what is substance of the mind in order to assimilate the Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.
