It is impossible to acquire self-knowledge through theoretical philosophy.

H.H. Dalai Lama said:  Buddhism need not to be the best religion though it is most scientific and religion and inquisitive. But Buddhism has no answer to certain questions like existence of Atma (soul) and rebirth.   Dali lama said that as an individual he believes in rebirth as he had come across a few cases of rebirth.  Modern science, Dalai Lama hoped would unearth the mystery behind the rebirth. (In DH –dec-21-2009-Gulburga).

Same way all religions of the world and all philosophies of the world are based on the individuality or ego, find no answers for many questions. Truth seekers all over the world are trying to find answers for themselves, and they imagine and write articles and books of their ideas and others will read and blindly accept them as truth.

 There is no need to condemn anyone's’ views and ideas or writing, but without being judgmental, seeker has to verify whether the author is speaking on the standpoint of ego, or whether he is speaking on the standpoint of soul, the innermost self.  If his views are based on the standpoint of the physical self or ego, then there is many doubts and confusion. If his views are based on the soul as self then there is no confusion and doubts of any sort.   

Nothing has to be accepted without verifying the validity of any claim in pursuit of truth. 

Only un-contradictable truth has to be accepted as truth.  There is no need to condemn any religion or any saints or sages, but seeker has to think beyond religion, scriptures and individualized gods.   

The religious, yogic and worldly truths are individual truth based on the ego.  The spiritual truth is universal truth, which is based on the soul or consciousness or spirit. The truth which is based on the soul, the innermost self is the ultimate truth or Brahman or Emptiness.  

The religion is based on the body (form) as self, since it is based on the birth. Spirituality is based on the soul (formless). Thus there is need to bifurcate the religion from spirituality. Religion views and judges on the standpoint of the physical self or ego, whereas the in pursuit of truth everything is viewed, judged and concluded on the base of the formless  soul, the innermost  self.  Whatever is based on the physical entity(ego or waking entity) is not spirituality because the soul has no form, so it has no religion.  Therefore, seeker of truth has to rectify the reasoning  base, from form to formless, to understand and assimilate the Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.    

Thus, viewing judging the ultimate truth on the base of ego or false self or accumulated knowledge will not unfold the mystery of the mind or universe or duality.  There is no need of religion, god glorification and scriptures in pursuit of truth, since the Soul, the innermost Self is  the cause of our dual and non-dual experiences.

Experience of diversity (universe or form) becomes oneness in deep sleep and Oneness (formless) becomes diversity in waking or dream. Therefore, that which becomes diversity (form), and that which becomes Oneness (formless) is not our physical entity, because the physical entity is present only in waking and dream. The one, which is aware of all the three states, is formless, apart and eternal which is the soul. The soul, which is consciousness itself, is ultimate truth or Brahman or Buddha's nature.   

To realize this truth one has to realize first “What is truth? and “What is untruth?” between the dual (waking or dream) and non-dual experiences.  Searching the truth on the base of inherited religious conditioning and accumulated bookish or scriptural knowledge is not the means to Self-Realization. 

It is very difficult to talk to people about ultimate truth or Brahman because everyone thinks he knows the ultimate truth or Brahman. This- I know business is dangerous.  And whatever his reached conclusion is second hand stuff.  Therefore, accepting accumulated knowledge without verification will lead the seekers to hallucinated realization based on the ego. 

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.  Realize yourself, turning the mind inward. – Tripura Rahasya, 18: 89

The pursuit of truth is a mental journey. Deeper inquiry, analysis and reasoning makes one aware of what truth is and what is untruth and the subconscious  will be able to reject the untruth after knowing, what is Truth. Whatever prevails after rejecting the untruth is the ultimate truth.

Seeker has to overcome all the obstacles in pursuit of truth on his own .  They are so many scholars who mastered philosophy.  It is impossible to acquire Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana  through theoretical philosophy. Because their preaching is based on spirit and practices is based on ego or physical entity.

Experience of diversity (form) becomes oneness in deep sleep and Oneness (formless)becomes diversity in waking or dream. Therefore, that which becomes diversity (form), and that which becomes Oneness (formless)is not our physical entity, because the physical entity is present only in waking and dream. The one, which is aware of all the three states, is formless, apart and eternal which is the soul. The soul itself is ultimate truth or Brahman or Buddha's nature.  

  

The Soul or consciousness, the innermost Self is neither the waking entity , nor the dream entity ,  but the self is formless soul, which witnesses the coming and going of the three states without the physical apparatus. 

 The Soul, the innermost self is neither the breath, nor the heart because it is ever formless. Soul or consciousness, the innermost Self is in the form of the spirit  or  Consciousness.  The experience of duality is mere mirage created out of the Soul or consciousness or spirit.  Thus there is no second thing other than the  consciousness . Therefore, holding anything else other than the formless soul or consciousness  as God is ignorance caused by illusion.

  The one which powers the illusion is the soul or spirit  is  ultimate truth and ultimate truth is Brahman or  GOD.  We are talking of truth or god in illusion. We argue discuss about the ultimate truth or Brahman within the illusion. In reality there is nothing to argue, nothing to judge, because there is nothing exists other than Consciousness or Brahman or Spirit.

Blinded with the illusion very few grasp the non-dual truth. Only few escape from the web of illusion, only few seekers are able to acquire non-dual wisdom.

Consciousness is ultimate truth. Consciousness  is  Absolute is alone and  real. the waking is unreal; and the three states are non-different from Consciousness because they are created out of consciousness.

Whatever is, is Consciousness. Consciousness itself is absolutely homogeneous. All difference and plurality are illusory."  Consciousness is not a person. But if one wants to call it God or Paramataman , then fine but it is neither  a person nor an entity nor thing.

Pursuit of truth is nothing to do with the religion and individual life.

Pursuit of  truth  is nothing to do with the religion and individual life. Thus Religion is concerned with belief in the claims to salvation of one faith tradition or another--an aspect of which is acceptance of some form of meta-physical or philosophical reality, including perhaps an idea of heaven or hell. Connected with this are religious teachings or dogma, ritual, prayers and so on.

Religion is also concerned with the human attributes such as love and compassion, patience, tolerance, forgiveness, contentment, a sense of responsibility, a sense of harmony, which bring harmony within the society. Thus religion is good only for physical living (illusion) and it is a great obstacle in pursuit of truth. 

Love and compassion, patience, tolerance, forgiveness, contentment, a sense of responsibility, a sense of harmony are part of the diversity. Without the sense of duality the Love and compassion, patience, tolerance, forgiveness, contentment, a sense of responsibility, a sense of harmony ceases to exist. 

Thus, holding the Love and compassion, patience, tolerance, forgiveness, contentment, a sense of responsibility, a sense of harmony as the means to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana  is erroneous, because the individuality has no place in pursuit of truth.  It is only to discover what becomes dual (waking or dream) and what becomes non-dual (deep sleep) experiences.  Religion is greatest obstacle to get unity in diversity, because it is based on the individual self or waking entity or ego.  

 Soul or Consciousness, the innermost self  is the ocean; we all think we are individual waves in the ocean.  When we become aware of our true identity is Ocean (Consciousness), the waves (duality) disappear and remains as Ocean. When we become aware of the all our human attributes such as love and compassion, patience, tolerance, forgiveness, contentment, a sense of responsibility, a sense of harmony part of the wave, and is mere illusion on the standpoint of the Ocean (Consciousness). Thus we all are heading towards the ocean (Consciousness) inspiring and encouraging each wave [individual] to realize it is not the wave but the Ocean (Consciousness). Thus let us hold each others hand move a head in this pursuit of truth until we become one with the ocean (Consciousness) which is non-dual.

The spirituality is concerned with the soul or consciousness or spirit, which holds the whole experience of diversity in which man and the universe exists.  Thus, spirituality brings unity in diversity . the religion  is based on the waking entity  or ego ,which is the false self within the false experience is the greatest obstacle  in pursuit of truth.

The nature of the self is emptiness

Deeper thinking is the only tool to reach non-dual destination. The thoughts arise only when one is a person. Thoughts cannot rise without the form. Without the duality the thoughts will not form.  The duality will not form without the ignorance of the soul, which is the true self. 

Till man thinks himself as the doer he will remain in ignorance. Till he is ignorant he will not be able to believe the birth, life and death is illusion.  Till he realizes the three state are unreal he will not be able to accept the birth, life and death as illusion. Till he thinks illusion or duality as reality he will not be able to assimilate Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.  

People who stuck to their religious belief and think scriptural authorities as ultimate truth will not be able to assimilate Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. 

The formless Soul, is the innermost self, is nothing to do with religion and its code of conducts. Observing and following orthodoxy or religious code of conducts is accepting the false self as true self. 

Accepting so-called spiritual laws is accepting the illusion as reality. The laws are reality within the duality.  The one who thinks of existence spiritual laws is accepted himself as a person perceiving the world that is accepting himself as the doer. When the man is not the doer, how the actions done on the base of false identity can yield fruits.

Seeker has to think, when he himself is a false entity within the false experience, the religion he follows, the belief he is believes, the truth he has accepted, the knowledge he has accumulated, whatever he has seen known, experienced as a person bound to be falsehood.

Freedom is becoming free from experiencing the illusion or duality as reality by realizing the fact that, the self is not the form but self is formless.  It is possible to   realize this without realizing the fact that, the individual self or ego is reality within the false experience.  Thus all the knowledge accumulated by judging on the base of false self, is false knowledge.      

Sri, Sankara said: - Without causing the objective universe to vanish and without knowing the truth of the Self, how is one to achieve Liberation. -63- (VC)”

Universe will not remain as reality when wisdom dawns. Universe is mere mirage created out of consciousness and there is conscious awareness of unity in diversity because there is no second thing exist other than consciousness.

One thinks he is imprisoned within this body; whereas the body and his experience of the world are within the mind. The consciousness is hidden within the three states but it is without the three states.  The one, which has the awareness of the three states, is not the body but the soul, which is in the form of consciousness. Thus consciousness is not limited to waking experience alone because it pervades all the three states. Till one views and judges the world-view on base of ego or waking entity, he is in the grip of individuality or intellectuality.  The self is not an individual because it is universal. And it pervades in everything and everywhere in all the three states. Thus individualized judgment will not lead one non-dual destination.  

 That is why Sri,Sankara says:- (V C) :-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.

Thus one has to know what is real by realizing our body and his experience of the world is mere illusion created out of consciousness, which the inner most self.  The nature of the self is emptiness. And it is identified by different masters with different name, such as God or Brahman or Buddha’s nature or Christ consciousness or Self or Ultimate Truth.

 

Devotional or Bakthi path is religious path not the path of Wisdom or Gnana.

 

Devotional or Bakthi path is religious path not the path of Wisdom or Gnana. Devotion towards an inherited belief cannot transport the seeker of truth towards the non-dual destination.  

 Devotion is between the person and his belief.  The devotion is based on the belief system. The person who has inherited some belief system believes in the individualized God and indulges in the devotional path. The devotion makes one believe that he is person and god has created this world.  Therefore he believes that he is born in this world and world existed prior to him, this conviction makes him feel he is the doer.  Since, he accepts himself as the doer he will remain ignorant of the true self, which is the soul.    The ignorance makes him feel the illusion as reality.

People are unaware of the fact that, there is no God can exist, apart from  the formless soul or consciousness , the innermost self . If there is soul or consciousness , then there is no body, world and their belief of god. They think that there must be a creator of this universe. If one thinks 'body or ego  or waking entity ’ as self, then there is a creator, but if one thinks the soul as the true Self, then there is nothing exists other then the formless  soul or consciousness, the innermost self. Thus consciousness is ultimate truth and ultimate truth is Brahman.

If one objectifies and sees a universe, then he is bound to see many things beside himself and postulate a God, the creator. Body, God and world rise and set together from, and into, the  soul or consciousness, the innermost self . If God is apart from the soul or consciousness, the innermost self , then He would be Self-less, that is, outside existence, that is, non-existent.

In Isa Upanishad says:

MANTRA 10

Scholars say that the path of Avidya [performing Aganihotra and other sacrifices] and the path of vidya [worshipping gods and goddesses] produce different results. Wise men confirm this. [X]

Vidya and Avidya both are hindrances to Self-knowledge, but Vidya is even worse than Avidya. The word Vidya is used here in a special sense; here it means worshipping gods and goddesses. By worshipping 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.

Avidya is Karama and therefore a hindrance. You perform Avidya - i.e., you perform Agnihotra and other sacrifices. This is a roundabout way of purifying the mind, and it is also groping in the dark. But it may not have as heavy a toll on your time and energy as the other.

MANTRA 11

He who worships gods and goddesses [Vidya] and also performs sacrifices [Avidya] attains immortality by sacrifices [Avidya] and attains bliss by worshipping gods and goddesses [Vidya]. [XI]

The condition in both cases worshipping gods and goddesses and performing sacrifices is that the person should have no motive for personal gain. He should not desire the fruits of his actions, such as going to the heaven of gods and goddesses.

As earlier explained, the word Vidya ¸ has a special meaning here. It means worship of gods and goddesses. Similarly, Avidya ¸ also has a special meaning. It is Karma that is, performing Aganihotra and other sacrifices. Such karamas are obligatory, but if they are done without any attachment to their fruits, they help purify the mind. Combining karama and worship is a path to gradual liberation. Sankara approves this for those who are not yet ready to renounce.

But suppose you follow the two paths separately. If you perform Avidya ¸ you will go to Pitra loka (the world of your ancestors). This is a dark region, because it is far removed from Self-knowledge. In fact, you will have to wait a long time to attain Self-knowledge. But if you worship Vidya ¸ - that is, gods and goddesses you go into still darker regions, and your attainment of Self-knowledge is even further delayed.

True, you go to Dev loka (the heaven of gods and goddesses), but you are caught in the pleasures there, and you remain there until the fruits of your worship are fully exhausted. You are then reborn as a human being, and your struggle resumes from where you left off. This is why Vidya ¸ is considered worse. But if you combine the two that is, perform the obligatory karmas without any attachment to the fruits and at the same time worship gods and goddesses, again without any desire to go to heaven - then you can get the benefit of both, liberation and bliss. For those who are not yet ready to renounce, this path is recommended.

It proves that the concept of god, karma, heaven and hell are ideas created by religion, to help for those who are incapable of grasping. The concept of god and goddesses and karma are part of the ignorance. By worshiping god and goddesses one accepts the false self as true self, thus he is unfit for self-knowledge. Therefore concept of god is not the means to acquire the self knowledge. That is why Buddha rejected concept of God.

Devotion(Bakthi)  is meant for those who are unable to think deeply and more interested in worldly life  to manipulate  the worldly life with the belief of individualized god.  Thus the belief is part of the illusion. Therefore, the devotional path is limited to  duality or illusion or mind.  

If the meditator thinks he is the doer of the meditation and takes the authorship of meditation then it is not meditation.

The one which wakes up dreams and sleeps is not the soul, the innermost self. The one which is aware of the waking, dream and deep sleep is the soul the innermost self. The soul is present in the form of consciousness. Thus the waking or dream and deep sleep is mere mirage on the standpoint of the soul or consciousness, the innermost self.  The soul or consciousness  is ever aware and  it is aware of the three states (illusion)which comes and goes in succession.

 The waking or dreams are unreal on the base the soul or consciousness, the innermost self . The reality will  not the reveal until one becomes mentally aware  of the  existence of the formless witness  of the three states.  The formless  witness,which is   soul or consciousness is also the substance of the three states.   The three states are an object to the formless witness.  the formless witness and substance are one in essence.

Therefore, the practices and theories based on the waking entity  or ego are not the means to self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana . If the meditator thinks he is the doer of the meditation and takes the authorship of meditation then it is not real meditation. Meditation is the nature of the soul , the  innermost self.  Realizing the self is neither the waking entity nor the self is dream entity but the self is the formless soul, which witnesses  the coming and going of the three states leads to non-dual Self-Awareness. 

 The self is not the doer. The self is witness  of the doer ,doing and the world.  the doer is the waking entity,which is false self within the false experience.   Without the soul the the three states are  non-existent. The soul, the innermost  self can exist with or without the waking or dream , the illustration is deep sleep.(In deep sleep the soul witnesses its formless non-dual true nature).

  Thus consciously being aware  soul , the innermost self in the midst of  waking experience leads to non-dual self- awareness .   Thus all meditation practiced on the  base of waking entity or ego  ,which is false self  is preparatory practices to reach the ultimate state, which is frees one from experiencing the duality (birth, life death and the world ) as reality. 

When one realizes his present practice of meditation is inadequate and useless after years and years of meditation practice than it is time for him to take path of wisdom. 

 Even Sage Ramana Maharishi :-

 

Q: Which meditation will help me?

Maharishi: Meditation on an object is not helpful. For this reason, you must learn to realize that the subject and object are one. In meditating on an object, you are destroying that sense of oneness and creating duality. Meditate only on the Self. Try to realize that the body is not you, the emotions are not you, the intellect is not you. When all these are still

ed, you will find something else is there; hold onto that and it will reveal itself.

Q: But when I have stilled everything, I almost fall asleep!

Maharshi:- That does not matter. Put yourself into the condition as deep as sleep, and then watch: be asleep consciously; then there is only the one Consciousness.

Sri Ramana Maharishi :-  The self is fullness of consciousness. Therefore, there is nothing apart from it. Ramana would humorously say that if god were to be separate he would be self-less. As for Sadguru his individuality is dead. It is merged in the self like waves in the sea. so, he is the Self. The guru and god are not different for their essential nature as unlimited consciousness is the same. (Page-8 – Practical Guide To Know Yourself).