Whatever gives temporary satisfaction and peace is not wisdom. The religion and yoga may give temporary satisfaction and peace.

 

Buddha gave up his austerities of yoga as impossible and useless. [Page.70/71 "Buddhism in Translation” by Warren]

Thus Buddha got enlightenment only after he gave up Yoga. Unless one exercises his reason--there is no chance of getting truth.

Buddhism has not proved the truth of Non-duality.  There is no doubt Buddha pointed out unreality of world. He told people they were foolish to cling to it. But he stopped there. He came nearest to Advaita in speech but not to Advaita fully.

The yogic chakras in Raja yoga is based on fact and fiction and physical based. It was noted that there were nervous plexuses and nodules at intervals in the spine and other parts of the body. Upon this basis, the Yogis started imagining that if the mind were concentrated on each one a different mystic result would be obtained. Yoga is mere individualized practice is not the means to acquire non dual wisdom.  

People are suffering from sickness of ignorance. Every moment they says, "They did not know, but now they know, after by test and verification. If ignorance were permanent, nothing could be known. Removal of ignorance by knowledge of the true self is the purpose of pursuit of truth.  Most people are sentimentally and emotionally involved with their inherited religion and beliefs, and they refuse to accept anything else other then their accepted truth. Thus truth pursuit is not suited for those who are stuck up with their inherited religion and beliefs and accepted truth.  Whatever is imagined is not truth. All imaginations are part and parcel of the Waking or dream.

Doubts arise when one meets with suffering and disappointment after sincerely following and worshiping gods and gurus. He finds religious way cannot get him out of his restlessness and permanent remedy to get permanent peace. 

Suffering is necessary to make one inquire. Thus when one gets an internal pain he begins to question whether it has eaten something bad. Pursuit of truth is the getting rid of all doubts. The pursuit of truth begins with doubt that means doubting one’s own self, one’s own beliefs. 

There are  so many conflicting Religions, or so many changes, divisions and subdivisions of Religion, created by the founders of religion on the base of there own imagination to help the ignorant mass to regulate their life with ethics and code of conducts to live with love and harmony in society.   

The Seeker of truth never quote scriptures and become their slaves. Seeker of truth has to verify for himself what they say is truth or not. They are not to be used as authorities, therefore. The seeker of truth, who wants self-knowledge, will not practice Yoga which is for ignorant. 

The seeker   will inquire and practice discrimination. Truth has to be attained, not by intuition but by reason, which is superior to it. Not even a combination of intellect and intuition will find truth.

Everything is made of the same substance, whether it be inside--as in dreams--or outside as in waking. Whatever is seen as object, heard as sound or name is of the same substance. Many have   begun to suspect this truth. This is the great lesson to be learnt. Consciousness is all this." 

Reason should not be interpreted to mean intellect. Reason is that which finally distinguishes between real and unreal, false and true, and therefore it takes all the three states into account.

Until that is attained people generally use only intellect which is confined to waking state only. Intellect evolves into Reason as man realizes that study of the waking world is not enough, and that study of all the phenomena of mind, consciousness is required. Such study must embrace dream and sleep; hence there is no perfection of reason without analyzing the three states of consciousness.

Reason literally means 'that which distinguishes the ultimate reality from the rest.' When such discrimination between truth and falsehood by the method of reasoning is confined to the physical plane, it is intellect, logic, but when extended to the spiritual plane it is reason.

Spiritualistic reason is not based on ego but the formless soul, which is the innermost self. Soul-centric Reason is that which enables one to distinguish the real from the unreal, true from false. The intellectuals do not clearly know the difference between intellect and reason.

Knowledge derived from wisdom or Gnana is content less existence, whereas intellectuality is the ordinary dualistic knowledge. Intellectuals have no idea of the first definition of it as yet because they are not aware of the existence of the formless witness of the three states. 

And they refuse accept anything other than their accepted truth which are based on the false self [ego] within the false experience [waking].  "Intellectuality” is a nothing to do with Brahmic – Gnana or non-dualistic wisdom. Intellectuality is useful   in practical life within the practical world. And its judgment is based on logical conclusions based on the ego which is not the self.   

Many intellectuals have a tremendous intellect; most will agree with their theories based on the ego, which is false self within the false experience. It does mean possesses Self –knowledge or non-dualistic Gnana? And knowledge based on the false self within the false experience is limited to false experience [waking] therefore it is certainly not self-knowledge.

Gnana is usually translated as "knowledge" but that is because there is no equivalent word in English. It is more accurately "content less consciousness" or “self-awareness”.

Most think Consciousness usually implies something, thoughts or things, but it is the formless non-dual nature of the Atman or the soul. 

The consciousness exists with or without the matter because without the consciousness the matter ceases to exist because the matter is created out of consciousness. It exists as matter in waking or dream.   And when wisdom dawns it is consciously aware of its formless non-dual true nature in the midst of matter, as in deep sleep.

Proof is the main thing in pursuit of truth, "How can God exists without man’s existence?” how can the world exist without man’s existence. Thus man has to exist first to say god and world exists.  Thus seeker has to verify about his one existence to realize the fact that, all the three states are unreal, on the standpoint of the formless witness, which is the soul/true self. 

If the God men had real occult power stops the violence, wars and terrorism which is going on in the name of protecting the religion and god. They merely say, "It is Karma, we can’t do any thing." This is a trick. They benefit by coincidences and explain failures by Karma.  They have no such magical powers to stop the happening in the world. Seeking mind must think and verify the facts. The scientists think only of the world, they never investigate about their own physical existence, which is needed to unfold the mystery.

If one feels ecstatic or exalted peace in the presence Yogi’s or God men is not wisdom.  People with disturbed and troubled or unhappy find tranquility in Ashrams or in presence gurus/yogis, because there are in uneasy disturbance of the mind, probably over health, wealth or women. This is because they do not know truth, and they mistake this peace as Atamic peace. It merely indicates the state of mind possessed on arrival at Ashram; they had a mental disease and the ashram cured it for the time. There was no permanent cure however without non dual Wisdom.  Yoga/religion does not yield non dual Wisdom. 

Practicing yogic Samadhi up to the limit and extent of getting a strong and concentrative mind, and to be able to think of particular subjects, it is good; beyond that if, they begin to weaken their mind and accept what they imagine as real, they begin to get hallucinated. 

Scriptures are for those who are incapable inquiring. They have no value as authority for those who use reason. If one is in imaginative or poetic mood he has to adopt mysticism, but not the path of truth. Answers to prayers are imagination, due to chance. 

Religion and Yoga are useful from utilitarian viewpoints, but they are not the means to acquire non dual wisdom.  They are inadequate and useless. There is in Religion the element of imagination. Religion gives them satisfaction, which pleases their taste; such is the limited view of common people. 

Whatever gives temporary satisfaction and peace is not wisdom.  The religion and yoga may give temporary satisfaction and peace.   The impermanent   peace and satisfaction is not truth. Seeker  must inquire to know the truth about his true  existence.