When one realizes
fact that, self is not form (body or ego) but formless (consciousness), then
whatever believed and worshiped as god has no value. Whatever known, seen, believed and
experienced as person is part of the mirage, which appears as universe or
mind. On the ultimate standpoint the
consciousness alone exists therefore the individual gods are non-exiting in
reality. Thus, the universe is unreal
and consciousness alone is real, because the universe is mere mirage created
out of consciousness on the standpoint of consciousness as self.
Religious or
yogic gurus propagate once a seeker identifies a Guru, he must totally
surrender to the Guru and then from there onwards, the spiritual journey is
fully the Guru's responsibility, not his... Hence the importance to choosing
the right Guru is necessary but in pursuit of truth the guru is not necessary,
because the truth is not theoretical.
Truth has to be ascertained by the seeker on his own through a well-directed
inquiry, analysis and reasoning based on the true self will lead the seeker to
his destination.
People who
worship the guru as God in human form and there is a danger that they might
establish a regular religious sect in his name.
This is an unhappy development of the religious movement.
It is better to
take guidance from a Gnani and try to attain the same realization which he had,
rather than spend their energies in deifying him. Let us remember that to deify
a Gnani is to defy wisdom”
Hindu religious
literature is full of such aphorisms as ' there is no higher deity than the
Guru; the Guru is the ultimate Truth and Deity God and Avatars (incarnations) are secondary to the
Guru in importance ;there is no higher refuge, no higher target, no higher
destination than the Guru ; the Guru is God Himself ; God and the Guru are one
; he who makes a distinction between the
Guru and God is ignorant and stupid ; and scores of similar others. They abound both in Sanskrit
and in modern Indian languages.
People born in
the different sect and they remain as its follower. Most of the sect are
founded by some gurus, thus Indian belief system is a Guru Cult, i.e. believes
in the worship of the Guru as the Supreme Deity.
When a seeker
could not get full enlightenment from his inherited belief system, then only he
searches elsewhere. And tries to get enlightened himself further to clear the
cobwebs of his understanding and seeks guidance to his progress.
The path of
religion, path of yoga and the path of wisdom were intended for different
classes of people. The wisdom is for the advanced seekers of truth. It deals
with the nature of the ultimate Truth and Reality. It is meant for superior
aspirants who have inner urge to know the truth and it is not for those who are
immersed in earthly desires.
Katha Upanishad:-
This Atman cannot be attained by the study of the Vedas, or by
intelligence, or by much hearing of sacred books. It is attained by him alone
whom It chooses. To such a one Ataman reveals Its own form. (Katha Upanishad
Ch-II -23-P-20)
Mundaka
Upanishad :-
This Atman cannot be attained through study of the Vedas, nor
through intelligence, nor through much learning. He who chooses Atman—by him
alone is Atman attained. It is Atman that reveals to the seeker Its true
nature. (3 –page-70 Mundaka
Upanishad Upanishads by Nikilanada)
When the
Upanishad says: the human goal is to
acquire Self-Knowledge and they indicate the personal gods, scriptures, worship
and rituals are not the means to Self –Knowledge, then why anyone should
indulge in it. The religion, concept of individualized god and scriptures are
greatest obstacle to realize non-dual truth or self-realization, because they
are based on false self. Therefore, one
has to search the ultimate truth without losing himself in the labyrinths of
philosophy, he should indulge in deeper, inquiry, analysis and reasoning and
assimilate and realize it.
Seekers goal is
towards Self-knowledge and noting other then it. Therefore, guru is needed in
religious and yogic paths which are meant for the people who are not searching
for truth but they are searching for worldly comforts and temporary peace in
this physical existence. They fear of
losing their physical identity and all that is connected to the physical
identity. When one realizes the physical identity (ego) is false self and the
true identity is the soul, which is in the form consciousness, then he realizes
that the fear factor is limited to the false self within the false experience.
When the self is not physical all the burden and bondage of the duality is mere
mirage created out of consciousness.
Therefore, Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is necessary to know
the fact that, the universe, which appears is in the form of mind and
disappears as nothingness (formless) is
mere mirage created out of nothingness, which is consciousness. Thus the consciousness is the source and
witness of the universe or mind, which comes and goes. Thus it is necessary to know the formless
witness of the three states in order to know the fact that, the true self is
apart and free from the mirage ,which is
in the form of birth, life, death and the universe. Therefore, it is necessary for the seeker to
make sure how the three states are mirage.
The body and the
world are reality within the waking experience but the waking experience is
mere illusion same way as the dream body and the dream world were reality
within the dream. The dream becomes unreal when the waking takes place;
similarly the waking experience becomes unreal when the non-dual wisdom
dawns.
The one who
thinks himself as guru and the one who thinks himself as chela (disciple)will
not be able get Self-Knowledge because both of them accepted themselves as
body. And all their understanding, practices, knowledge are based on the false
self. Therefore, the Guru –Shisya
concept is a great obstacle in pursuit of truth. That is why Sri, Ramana Maharshi never
accepted himself as guru or accepted any one as his disciple because he was
fully immersed in his true self, which is formless consciousness.
Thus by Surrendering to any guru or god men is not the means to self-knowledge. The self is the true guru. Seeker has to
surrender to the self by realizng the fact that the self is not physical. By
realizing the self is not physical one becomes all the accumulated knowledge
and inherited conditioning in the midst of duality and he finds freedom from
experiencing the duality (waking)as reality.
There is no fear
of losing anything because only ignorance vanishes and one becomes fully aware
what is real and what is unreal in the midst of the unreal waking experience.
This will ensure
that one has reached the right path of progress and will eventually get the
knowledge of the true self. A true
seeker should seek only truth nothing but truth, his sincerity and urge to know
the truth will lead him, not his mental decisions.
If one takes the
religious based non-dual path or yogic path, then the seeking is not spiritual
but rather superficially mental for academic and self-aggrandising pursuits
driven by the ego. There can be no two thoughts about it.
The path of
wisdom needs a deep study of the mind and its substance, so one can resolve the
conflicts that a seeking mind has. Such deeper leads on towards better grasping,
understanding, assimilation and realization. Only if one has proper grasping he
can have proper understanding.
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]
This passage
indicates the fact that everything is Atman/spirit. The one who views and
judges the worldview on the base of his birth /body will not realize the fact
that, the man including the world is created sustained and finally dissolves as Atman. Thus Atman alone is, and all else is mirage.
Thus
self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is the aim of every human being. Since everyone thinks the
physical body is the self their aim is misdirected and they focus their
attention on materiality which makes one feel the duality [waking] as reality.
Nisagadutta
said: Millions are in search of the
ultimate truth, and only one in million will be able to grasp and realize it.
By focusing more attention on Atman by talking, writing, discussing only of Atman, the conviction grows and becomes firmer and the duality will fade away
as reality. Atman/sprit which is one’s
true identity will prevail as birth-less and deathless, eternal
substance and witness of the mirage called duality.
Therefore there
is no need to study scriptures, or indulge in god and guru glorification or
performing religious rituals. Since,
they are not the means to acquire non-dual wisdom. It is only waste of time and
effort to indulge in those things.
The individual
self is not real, is not accepted by many.
The nondual wisdom is based not on the individual self [ego]. Until people hold the ‘I’ [ego] as witness,
they will not reach the ultimate understanding.
When Upanishad
itself declares:- sarvam khalvidam
brahma - all this (universe) is verily Brahman. By following back all of the
relative appearances in the world, we eventually return to that from which it
is all manifest – the non-dual reality [ Chandogya Upanishad].
Then it is no use
going roundabout way, trace the Brahman which is the formless substance and
witness of the universe, which is in the form of mind. By tracing the source of the mind or universe
one will be able to realize the Brahman.
The true Self is not perceptible to the
senses. It is perceived by Reason. It is not perceptible as a thing with form
and attributes. To those whose attention is fixed on the body and the world, it
is very difficult to attain Self-knowledge. It is also very difficult for them
to see the Atman as self. The attention towards the universe (mind) should be
lessened by realizing the self is not the body. The attention has to be focused
on the formless substance and witness of the universe [mind] should be
increased. So long as the attention is directed towards the universe, the
experience of birth, life and death will prevail as reality. But when the
attention is directed towards the formless witness, the ignorance vanishes and
sense of duality will disappear. Then there is unity in diversity.
What is the state
of the ego or physical self when it has realized that the self is not the body?
Such souls have attained their pristine condition. “Self” is not visible to the
physical eyes. “Self” is not to be found in the world as a thing, entity or an
object. Self is above these, has neither beginning nor ending.
A visible object has a beginning and an
ending. Since Atman, which is in the form of consciousness is invisible to the
physical eye; Atman or consciousness is without beginning and ending. Atman is
always constant. Just as space is homogeneous everywhere, so is the Atman the
same everywhere.
