Second-hand knowledge of the self gathered from
books or gurus can never emancipate a man until its truth is rightly
investigated and applied; only direct realisation will do that. Realise
yourself, turning the mind inward. – Tripura Rahasya,
18: 89
In this Hi Fi world many self-declared Spiritual
Gurus are born like mushroom amidst us and they are looked upon as great solace
by the mass of gullible people, who are more ‘peace and wisdom hungry. Most seekers are looking for something beyond
their inherited belief system. Most of this dollar hungry gurus hankering
after titles and honours and enjoying it like these modern day self-styled
gurus and they are connected one or other controversies and scandals.
People get stuck with these modern self-proclaimed gurus who
claimed to be enlightened. Many of these
Gurus have taken many new “avatars” like Corporate Gurus, Universal Gurus, online
Gurus, Global Gurus, one name it, he will find them. The honest gurus and swamis never come
to limelight and they remain minding their own inherited divine business
remains aloof from the publicity.
There are so many gurus
who have overnight become Global Gurus. They only play with the feelings of
people. Most of them are propagating ancient yogic practices as if it is their
own great new invention and branding them or getting them patented, this
is the height of the mockery of spirituality. As long as innocent and ignorant
people are there, these kinds of Gurus can flourish their business to a peak
height. They cannot only fool the mass of people but also the people at political
power.
Religion needs a guru to propagate its belief system, whereas in pursuit
of truth there is no need for a guru. The ultimate truth has to be ascertained
by him alone. Yoga needs guru to guide
its student to practice Samadhi.
Religion encourages one who can
induce himself to feel convinced that he has realized the Self, or has an admirer who believes that he has done so,
the it opens up for him the way for the founding of a new sect
based on Guru-worship. People, too, have developed curious credulousness. Often
they would install an earnest seeker and devotee, or a pious saint, on the
throne of God and begin to offer him worship and homage even if he protested
and resisted such acts. They would lay prostrate, sing hymns, wave lights
(arati) and burn incense before him, and present to him food which was to be
returned by him as prasada, wash his toes and sip the wash. At times the
disciple would go to the length of getting food, fruit or a betel-nut leaf
chewed by him, and taking the morsel back from it.
They would place his photo in the private temples of their homes and
perform all these rites and ceremonies which are usually offered to
temple-idols. In this way there might be
at present in our country scores of individuals who are worshipped as living
God, with a following varying in numbers.
If one is seeking truth one has to drop all religious based dogmas and
blind beliefs ritualistic baggage and move forward in their pursuit of
truth.
Chandogya Upanishads says :-
This universe comes forth from Brahman and will return to Brahman.
Verily, all is Brahman. A person is what his deep desire is. It is our deepest
desire in this life that shapes the life to come. So let us direct our deepest
desires to realize the Self.
If one is
seeking truth then it is necessary to bifurcate and drop the traditional
Advaitic path which is not the means to self-knowledge and move ahead without
the traditional baggage to get direct realization on his own as suggest by the
great sages.
Thus
seeker of truth has to know what this universe? What is this ultimate truth or Brahman?
in order to realize the non-dualistic or
Advaitic truth?
No one can
escape the waking experience which is the very basis of the physical existence.
What was the waking experience before it appeared? Was their existence before
the appearance of the waking experience?
When the waking perishes, does the soul or consciousness survive
alone? Is there a self or soul? The seeker has to find answers for all these
doubts in order to realize ‘what is truth’ and ‘what is untruth’.
As one
goes deeper in self-search one becomes aware of the fact that the self is
neither the waking entity not self is the dream entity but self is formless
substance and witness of the three states. And the formless substance and
witness of the three states are one in essence. And that essence is
consciousness. If the formless substance
and witness are one in essence, than there is second thing can exist, other
than consciousness? Thus consciousness
alone is real and all else is mere illusion created out of consciousness, which
is the innermost self.
People who
argue there is nothing beyond the universe; there is nothing other than the
matter; that the body was the man; and death was end of all. According to them there is no truth other than
the practical life within the practical world, which they hold as reality.
Their only agenda is as long as they live in the world live happily with all
the pleasant things of life, who can demonstrate that there is something left
after the physical death. Beg, borrow or
steal – but live happily is their mantra.
There are
also people who believe strongly there was a sprit which defied the ravages of time,
which cannot be confined in space; that sprit transcends the limits of this
universe in which the body exists.
When one is
bound by birth, life and death or form, time and space how can he decide what is truth without deciding first, whether the self is form or self is formless. If the self is form than he has to decide ,judge and conclude on the base of form but if the self is formless than he has to decide, Judge and conclude on the base of the formless self.
The
consciousness is the innermost self. And nature of the consciousness is
formless and non-dual. One should realize
the consciousness as whole universe without parts. To describe non-duality as a system is
erroneous because the dual and non-dual is the nature of the self. Duality is
illusory nature of the self and non-duality is real nature of the innermost
self, which is consciousness. Ultimate
truth cannot be confined into a narrow
set of ideas.
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.
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 theories, 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.
