Shankara'says :-
"The knower of Brahman wears no signs. Asks in effect "Tell us what you know, show it, and let us examine it under the mental microscope." It means we must bring notions and beliefs out of vagueness into clearness. It also criticizes the mystics who claim superior knowledge but who cannot communicate it for purposes of verification.
On Gnani: "The knower of Brahman wears no signs. Gives up the insignia of a monk's life,…his signs are not manifest, nor his behavior."
It is no use seeing God everywhere. One must see consciousness, the same soul, the same self, everywhere, and then he will treat all people alike, with equal beneficence.
Seeker has to do his duty, work to set society right, and he should not remain inactive in practical life within practical world. Those who sit in a cave and ashrams will no doubt be happy but it is their personal happiness limited to their individuality, whereas Gnana seeks welfare of all because it leads to self-awareness and brings unity in diversity in everyone’s understanding. .
The individual life is nothing to do with self because the individual life is reality within the waking experience, which is a mere object to the formless subject.
Monkhood or orthodoxy which prescribes certain way of discipline and wearing religious robe and indulging in religious rituals and celibacy are not qualification for acquiring self-knowledge because the individual conducts and deeds are not based on the false self within the false experience whereas the self is not an individual but it is universal because it pervades in everything and everywhere in all the three states.
There is no wisdom realizing the ultimate Truth. By realizing the self is not and individual perceiving the world within the waking experience but self is the formless witness of the three states, which is beyond the sense of form, time and space. The self is formless consciousness which exits prior to the appearance of the mind also it prevails after the disappearance of the mind, which is in the form of universe or waking.
Yoga may alleviate one's individual trouble because it is based on individuality, but it is not concerned with the whole. It is concerned only with the part. One will not get the truth without inquiring in to the world confronts him. Yoga leads to hallucinated fixed ideas or delusions.
The very purpose of analyzing the world confronts one is to discover that it is part of the ultimate reality and thus to enable one to carry on with activity from the highest possible viewpoint; where people fail to make this analysis, as with so many religious, yogic and intellectual minded seekers, they fail to do anything worthwhile in the material universe.
To effect this discrimination, one must be receptive and sharp enough to grasp the existence of formless witness which is ever apart from the three states, which comes and goes in succession the . Religious and yoga are based on individuality whereas the wisdom is based on universality.
Nothing is to be renounced in order to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman because the practical life within the practical world itself is falsehood form the ultimate standpoint. The self-knowledge is the knowledge of the whole not the part. Therefore universe, which confronts one, has to be included in the inquiry to get the truth of the whole. Thus ‘WHO AM ’I’ inquiry is helpful in unfolding the half. Thus WHO AM ‘I’?, inquiry is helpful in the first stage but seeker has to go much beyond ‘WHO AM’I’ ?. Seeker has to do his own homework to realize the truth of the whole.
If one ignores the world confronts him, then he will not get wisdom. The whole world confronts him must be known; if he gives up the world, what and how can he understand the truth of it? Weak minds cannot take a comprehensive view and so decry what they cannot understand.
As the ascetics and yogis, there is no need for getting aversion to practical world; on the contrary one should go on living in the world, acting, working, etc. that he should accept life as it presents.
There is no need to renounce the practical life to realize ultimate truth or Brahman. To realize the inner most self, which is consciousness is nothing to do with practical life because it is neither the waking entity nor the dream entity but is the formless substance and witness of all the three states. And all the three states are one in essence. Thus limiting the self to the waking entity and waking experience is cause of the ignorance. Ignorance makes one feel the waking entity is the real self and waking world as reality.
Until one holds the waking entity and waking world as reality the truth realization is impossibility.
Preliminary inquiry reveals the fact that, self is not the body than how can one get truth on the base of the false self. When the body is not the self than it is erroneous to view, judge and conclude the truth on the base of the body or waking entity is erroneous. The truth has to be based on the self, which is bodiless or formless. Thus whatever seen, known, believed and experienced as person of the world within the waking experience is bound to be false hood because the waking experience itself is falsehood. Thus it is necessary for the seeker to become aware of the formless witness of the three states which comes and goes in succession. The witness only witnesses the coming and going of the three states, it is nothing to do with individual experiences happening within the waking or dream. When the self is formless than what is it that sees the waking, dream and deep sleep state?
The dream is witnessed as a whole the dream entity is not the experience of the dream entity because the dream entity was within the dream world. Likewise the waking experience also witnessed as a whole and the waking entity is within waking world thus it is necessary to realize the existence of the formless witness which is within the three states but it is apart from the three states. It is within the three states as their formless substance and it is apart from the three states as their formless witness. The formless substance and witness are one in essence. Thus that essence is consciousness. Therefore the three states are mere mirage created out of consciousness. Thus consciousness alone is real and all the diversities within the waking experience is as falsehood as of the dream. Thus the three states are product of ignorance. Until the ignorance dominates they prevail as reality. When the ignorance vanishes through wisdom their unreal nature is exposed.
WHO AM ‘I’ AND ‘I AM THAT’ is only for a lower stage where one gives up externally in order expose the false nature of the ego, which is not full truth. To get ultimate truth one has to inquire into the nature of the mind, which is in the form of universe. Inquiring into the nature the mind or universe is higher. Thus ‘WHO AM ‘I’? or ‘I AM THAT’ is not complete and the journey is incomplete.
First one has to mentally detach the three states from the formless witness, as unaffected by coming and going of the three states. And then – the formless witness and the three states are one in essence. That essence is consciousness. Thus everything is consciousness and nothing exist other than consciousness.
People stop their pursuit of truth at the ‘WHO AM ‘I’? or ‘I AM THAT’ , which is incomplete and keeps them in the grip of individuality and individuality leads then to intellectuality.
Seeker will complete his pursuit of truth only when realize the truth of the whole that is inquiring in to the nature of the mind or universe.
Others Blessings are not the means for realizing the truth; blessings are religious fable nothing to with the ultimate truth. A Gnani neither blesses nor curses.
That the ancient sages had miraculous occult power and books relate stories of their feats, are fairy tales were meant for children, women and those whose minds had not developed. Mythological contains stories of people with 10 with seven heads etc., which are fables, yet are taken seriously by pundits. All these stories are reality within the waking experience and waking experience itself falsehood from ultimate standpoint.
The yogi in Samadhi fails to see non-duality? Because he believes there is happiness to come to him from Samadhi. That shows he does not know truth, but still seeks bliss as something apart from his-self.
The common people draw a wrong inference in thinking a Gnani must ascetically reject the world; this is only for those religious or yogic minds in the lower rungs of the ladder.
Yoga is to be practiced only until one attains equilibrium of mind; when this is established, the continuance of yoga is foolish. The indifference practiced by a seeker is external to the self, is formless; the indifference practiced by a Gnani is purely internal, is mental.
The greatest mistake is to think that a Gnani sees nothing. This blind reverence for Samadhi is as valuable as revering a man who has taken a dose of chloroform.
The Gnani sees the essential universal unity and the multiplicity of objects simultaneously. The person in deep sleep or Samadhi leaves out the objects and sees the essence; hence he has not full Gnana.
One must be soul centric to give all knowledge based on egocentric, which is cause of the ignorance.
One knows of dream that the dream-figures are also created out of consciousness, not different from it; similarly when he know that everything that exists in waking experience is consciousness and consciousness is ultimate truth or Brahman, there is no need for yogic control of mind; control presupposes a second thing, duality. Hence yoga is in sphere of duality and is unnecessary to one who knows non-duality.
It is erroneous to believe the general impression is that the universe disappears to a Gnani, that he sees nothing in Samadhi. Only by deluded persons will have such impression? Nothing is destroyed. Only ignorance disappears and the unreal nature of the universe is exposed. A Gnani is fully aware of the fact with firm conviction that everything is consciousness in the midst of duality. Being aware of the reality in the midst of duality is called wisdom.
The universe or waking experience will not disappear. It is there always but its unreal nature is exposed in the midst of duality or waking experience through wisdom?
If one thinks its mere disappearance in yogic Samadhi is ultimate truth or Brahman then he would get it in deep sleep. Thus yogic Samadhi is not wisdom.
Most people think what he knows ultimate truth. And also they have attitude that “What they know is right, what others know is wrong.” This unfortunate vanity is common to all men and prevents realization. One must begin by doubting his own knowledge, and then only he is fit for pursuit of truth.
Only when doubts begin to arise the quest of truth begins. And such doubts usually first start verifying the validity of all his accumulated knowledge.
With the ancients truth seeking began with wonder, with moderns it begins with doubts. How one has to know that his estimate of life is a correct one?
Everything has to be investigated on reason based on facts, and then only may one accept it as truth in order to know that others have reached the same conclusion. But when a man depends on scriptures and opinions and uses it as proof very extensively it is because of his inferiority complex. Only one has to highlight the scriptural citation which will help the seeker in his inner journey after deeper verification.
Seeker must go to the very fundamentals, to the root of thinking, to “grasp the principles and not merely repeat the words of scriptures or intellectual’s opinion. Since the scriptures an intellectual base their theories on the waking entity or ego, which is the false self, whereas the ultimate truth is based on consciousness, which is the innermost self “Self”. Thus physical based opinions have no value in pursuit of truth. Whatever is based on consciousness as self has to be accepted as truth.
• How do seeker know what others says is true?
This question must come to the seekers mind whenever a doctrine is presented. That truth is known only by intuition is wrong. It is known by soulcentric Reason.
Whatever one knows that what he has seen by the intuition which he praise as the highest faculty, to accept as true that is a difficult question. That all his doubts are cleared, he means his doubts on every question about his true existence. Ultimate truth cannot be realized if one not begun by having doubts about the physical existence.
Doubts and confusions can be overcome by the sword of wisdom; it does not mean that one should give up his doubt and believe, as the religionists interpret it, since the religionists and yogis interpret it on the base of waking entity or ego.
The truth has to be verified on the base of soul as “Self”. But that if one keeps on thinking about his doubts on the base of waking entity or ego as self he never be able to solve. The seeker has to mentally rectify his reasoning base then only trying to discriminate. Seeker should cultivate to view and judge the worldview on the standpoint of consciousness, which is the innermost self. He should inquire and reason on the standpoint of consciousness as self and should not stop until this point is reached.
One has to realize the fact that, the whole universe that confronts him is consciousness. Unless the world is there in one’s realization, there is no ultimate truth or Brahman.
Ignorance cannot go through merely knowing the consciousness, for it is known in sleep and Samadhi. It can go only by knowing consciousness. If one can say that in his yogic Samadhi he saw the universe and knew it as consciousness , than one could agree that Yoga leads to truth, but in Samadhi one is unaware of the universe, and hence of consciousness.
To talk of ultimate truth without knowing the meaning of the word is utterly meaningless. How does the yogi know that what he finds in Samadhi is consciousness? He can know it only by soul centric inquiring and reasoning. He may see a beast in his Samadhi, but how does he know that beast is consciousness because he still in the realm of duality? He has not aware of the fact that, his body and ego and his experience of the world too is consciousness, because he takes them to be real. Thus his body based Samadhi is mere an experience based on false self within the false experience.
When the waking experience itself is as false as dream then how the yogic Samadhi experienced within the falsehood can be true. Whatever experienced as a person within the falsehood bound to be falsehood. First of all he must give the meaning of consciousness! There is the evidence? Until he defines his body, ego and his experience of the world he cannot say what he means.
It is not enough to see a mere blank yogic Nirvikalpa. One has to see the consciousness, which the innermost self is the universal self. The innermost self is free from ignorance not when one see nothing at all, as in yogic Samadhi but only when one see all this universe is consciousness, which is innermost self. Hence seeker must ask the question “What is this universe?” The attention must be drawn to the practical world. Thus Gnana will make one feel for the universal welfare. Ultimate truth is universal truth and universal truth will help to eradicate the war, violence ,terrorism going in the name of god and religion.
There is no form, time and space in the realm of Reality: Time and space is only limited to the physical realm
One comes to the conviction, on the strength of deeper self-search, that the universe is, after all, not absolutely real; it has only a parlance, practical reality. The individual experience of birth, life, death and the world are reality within the waking experience but the waking experience itself is mere illusion form the standpoint of the formless witness of the three states. The formless witness is consciousness. And Consciousness is the innermost self and it is not an individual. Holding the self as an individual is cause of experiencing the birth, life, death and the world as reality.
The delusion that the world is endowed only with a parlance, practical truth goes when one gets the direct realization of the consciousness, which is the innermost self and ultimate truth or Brahman.
Deeper self-search reveals the fact that the universe or waking does not enjoy any reality. Consciousness alone is the ultimate truth and the perceived world is only a dependent, reality.
The perception of the world as just an appearance, like the mirage water appearing to give an impression of water, yet known to be just an appearance, ends when the ignorance comes to an end and the Gnani no longer has the egocentric worldview because he has the soul-centric worldview. A Gnani uses the egocentric worldview for the practical purpose in practical life but he is fully conscious of the fact that, the experience of birth, life, death and the world are mere illusion created out of consciousness.
As flowing rivers disappear in the sea, losing their names and forms, so a Gnani, freed from name and form, attains the Gnana or nondual wisdom.
Self –knowledge brings unity in diversity in perfect understanding of the nondual truth in the midst of diversity and conscious total merger of matter in the spirit. All names and forms within the waking experience loses their sense of reality same way the dream experience loses its sense of reality when waking takes place.
Self-knowledge gives us knowledge inform us of the true nature of the ego, universe and ultimate truth. All these three are connected in such a way that the knowledge of one without the other is incomplete. Gaining this comprehensive knowledge constitutes liberation, from experiencing duality [universe] as reality.
The witness is, different from the witnessed that Consciousness is distinguished as not being the same; from the lifeless universe, which is in the form of the mind. The lifeless universe has no real existence without the consciousness. The consciousness gives sentient to the insentient universe, which is in the form of mind. The universe exists as reality, when on the standpoint of the matter as self.
Man cannot live without the physical world; it is the basis of his life, so it must be the starting point of his inquiry. Things, not imaginations, must be the seekers material.
The one who knows ultimate truth or Brahman knows the world because uses his soul centric reason.
One who loses touch with the external world and gives himself over to his thoughts alone takes his illusions to be realities and remains in realm of perverted intellectualism. Perverted intellectuality is nothing but egoic exhibition.
Both sides of experiences have to be inquired into--the duality [waking or dream or universe] and nonduality [deep sleep], i.e. matter and spirit if one wants to find truth of his true existence.
People avoid inquiry into the world, hence cannot find truth. If they think they do not see the world by shutting their eyes and omitting it from their thought, he is still a ignorant and not a Gnani. If there is nothing to be seen, if mere absence of the external world from cognition gave ultimate truth or Brahman, then every living creature would attain Gnana or wisdom because it loses the world in deep sleep.
Seeker must begin Inquiry with duality, i.e. with a universe to inquire into. It will end with unity. People try to avoid this duality by ignoring the world. Hence they get a false unity based on the ego. Whatever is based on ego is mere hallucination based on the imagination.
There is a need to indulge in deeper self-search in order to explore the causes, characteristics and nature of universe. There is no need to go to run to the mountain or monastery or lead a religious regulated life in order to get ultimate truth or Brahman.
There is no running away from consciousness, which is the innermost self. It is the only reality. Hence running away from world is not only illogical but also foolishness because without the consciousness the world ceases to exist. Thus it is necessary to know the universe as whole in order to understand the whole universe is formless consciousness.
Gnana cannot come if world confronts one is left out. The whole universe must be included in his inquiry. Only when all is known can all be known to be but ideation. Hence yogis blotting all out in Samadhi cannot lead to Gnan. And yogic Samadhi is not wisdom. And it is foolish to accept the thoughtlessness is Gnana because in deep sleep is the state of thoughtlessness but it is not considered as Gnana or nondual wisdom.
The ‘I’-thought, the ego, belongs to the duality as does the universe thought. Intellectuals may get the knowledge that the witness is separate from witnessed , but they will never know ultimate truth or Brahman without inquiring into the universe , because they are giving up the universe , and hence cannot discover their unity with the universe . The Gnani regards everything in the universe as consciousness; the intellectuals reject the universe because intellectuals base themselves on individuality. The individuality is greatest hindrance in pursuit of truth because they base themselves on ‘I’ as a witness, which is not a witness but ‘I’ is mere an object to the formless witness.
Consciousness cannot be known in the sense in which one knows objects of thought. It can be known only to the extent to which he knows them, he can only think of the knower when he is in the presence of the known, i.e. objects, for the latter make him aware that a knower must exist. Thus duality makes him think of the knower, but it cannot make him know the knower. The knower is known in the world of duality only by implication, as he cannot think without him. The knower is a concept, and cannot be known in itself.
Consciousness is known only in the negative way. One cannot make it an object of knowledge. One can know that he cannot have an idea of an object unless he posit a knower, unless the knower is implied already. The Formless witness itself is Gnana, that is, it knows everything else.
The self is known only when one sees something else, for that other thing reminds him of it. The self is unknowable as an object. Knowing the ultimate truth means knowing that consciousness exists. The word knows implies duality, something known; on the other hand Gnana does imply an object. Consciousness knows the ego as an object. The knowing powers, the formless witness, the knower can have no statement made about it, other than that its existence cannot be negated. The ultimate truth which one can know is that consciousness is not something to be known.
There is no need to run from pillar to post, one ashram to another ashram, and one guru to another guru order to acquire nondual wisdom. Seeker of truth has to strive to understand the nature of the mind or universe and thus conquer it by knowledge.
Without inquiry into the nature of the mind or universe or waking and its nature i.e. matter, there can be no such thing as Gnana. Religion, yoga, concept of God is unimportant in pursuit of truth. Scriptures are not at all necessary in pursuit of truth but one can quote the citation of the scripters which indicate the ultimate truth after deeper verification.
The intellectual will not find the truth because his understanding based on individuality and individuality is not truth on the ultimate standpoint because self is not and individual because it is formless and it pervades in everything and everywhere in all the three states. Most of the intellectual say “I know” and not explain how he knows the consciousness is ultimate truth. But his egocentricity makes him more and more egoic and he indulges in perverse argument, which is not needed in pursuit of truth.
People think yogic Samadhi is liberation because their guru’s may have told them. When the innocent and honest people blindly believe the statement and propagate the same to others. They never suspect the guru because it is irreligious to disbelieve the guru.
Neither the guru nor the disciple verified the validity of their belief if it is right. People who give lectures and write large books on religion, yoga and theoretical philosophy are good in their subject but what they know and mastered is Gnana or nondual wisdom is the question.
Some claim that, for many years they enjoyed mystic exaltation, trances, meditations and peace but this state passes away when the waking passes away. The waking experience itself is illusion form the formless witness point of view. Thus the individual experience within the waking or dream is mere illusion because the waking or dream is mere an object to the formless subject. When one thinks as an individual he has experienced nonduality then it is as good as dream. The nonduality cannot be experienced as a person because it is prior to any experience.
If one experiences nonduality as a person then this proves he had attained a yogic condition, but not Gnana. It vanished when because it is impermanent because it was not the highest insight. The Gnani, however never loses his Gnana. Dislodging a Gnani from his insight is impossibility.
Once one has thoroughly seen the truth he simply can't fall away from it. Many are enjoying a similar sort of mystic exaltation and peace, but whether it passes away soon or endures the whole of life, it is not Gnana, because it did not come through striving to investigate the nature of the world, which confront them, it came only through meditation on the self; that is the yogic reward for such meditation but it is only one half.
The Gnani not only gets such inner peace but also truth because he has turned outwards also and grasped the truth about matter, which is as much consciousness as his innermost self.
The Yogi and mystics dip into their selves but they do not understand that that is only one half of the truth and that this dipping is also a mental discipline to fit their minds to understand the true nature of the world confronts them , which understanding they must next get if they are to become Gnanis.
The knowledge of both matter [mind or universe] and spirit [soul or consciousness is the True knowledge.
Man is living in the body, which is the universe, and he has to earn to eat and live in the world within the waking experience. Man and his practical life and practical world are reality within the waking experience, but waking experience is mere an object to the formless subject.
One cannot get away from waking experience. It has appeared on its own and disappears on its own. Man is born, lives and dies within the waking experience. Therefore seeker ought to know, understand and grasp its meaning. The yogi or mystic who refuses to do so is refusing to face the whole of reality.
Those who say they have come into contact with God” merely imagine or assume. How do they know the ultimate meaning of God?
Deeper self-search requires the seeker to be sharp and active in order to examine the world and discriminate. The non-dualistic Nirvikalpa Samadhi means knowing that the man universe and its contents are not different from consciousness, as the dream mountain is not different from consciousness, knowing which they automatically come to realize everything is consciousness. This is different from Yogic Nirvikalpa Samadhi, which is only deep sleep or thoughtlessness.
If a man gets Moksha after undergoing any discipline, his moksha is only temporary: it will go again. Consciousness, which is innermost self, cannot be got because it is already there. Formless witness has never been in bondage because it is always apart from, untouched by the mind or universe waking or dream which is mere an object because consciousness is the formless subject.
Yogis and religionists regard ignorance as an integral part of the soul to be got rid of by their practices, whereas formless witness is ever pure, ever free from ignorance, being Knowledge itself, and that even all practices are within the realm of object or universe or waking , never formless witness.
The final realization is that consciousness is everything, the All; there is nothing but consciousness, whereas to say "God is in me" is mysticism.
Non-dualistic 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 non- dualistic.
A man of truth never indulges in discussion and arguments with the people who talk of god and yoga and scriptures or atheist ideology and intellectuality since they all are based on the base of waking entity or ego, which is false self within the false experience. He just listens to them with all the humility and respect their views and wisdom as a fellow human being. That is how a man of truth behaves in the company of the people who think their accepted truth is ultimate truth.
