Waking and dream disappears , but Consciousness[formless witness] remains forever

If one holds  ‘I’ as self,  than  he  remains in the world of  thoughts and words  and thinks  the thoughts and words  as reality but when one holds the formless  soul as self , than  the  ‘I’ or  mind or universe or waking  is mere illusion . 

Soul is in the form of consciousness. Formless consciousness is the  is the witness of the appearance and disappearance of the ‘I’ or mind. Mind  is in the form of  universe .Universe appears as  waking  or dream.  Universe or waking  is like a cinema-show.  The consciousness  is   the formless witness of that  cinema show .  When there is no universe or waking  than  there is only the  formless consciousness prevails.  Consciousness is  the  ultimate truth. The ignorance disappears in the light of the Consciousness,which ultimate truth or Brahman. 

Consciousness  is permanent, am ever present and only the three states changes. There are no two self.  The permanent ‘self is formless consciousness. And the ego is the false self within the false experience [waking/dream]. The way to the Real self is through inquiry and reasoning.

consciousness is ever-present, like the screen on which all three states moves like cinematographic pictures e. While the pictures appear on it, it remains invisible. Stop the pictures, and the screen, which has all along been present, in fact the only object that has existed throughout, will become clear.

All these universes, humans, objects, thoughts and events are merely part of the waking or dream.  Waking or dream moving like pictures on the screen of  Consciousness, which alone is real.

Waking and dream disappears , but Consciousness[formless witness]  remains forever. Seeker must distinguish between the ‘true self, and the ego. ‘I’ am merely an object to the formless consciousness,which is the subject . The formless  consciousness  is the subject, which witnesses the ‘I’ or universe  or waking or dream or duality.

One is born, lives sleeps, wakes up, eats and thinks, dies within the waking or dream. But the consciousness  the true self  and is eternal existence, free from ignorance  and free from  illusory  form,time and space.

Soul or true self has no karma because it is formless.

Many people know that the pleasures of this world are useless and even painful, yet they long for them. The only way to end this longing is to become aware of the truth of the true existence, and realize the physical existence is mere illusion then only all attachments to the physical existence will gradually drop away.

If one waits till all desires disappear to start his pursuit of truth, he will remain ignorant and become one with the truth unconsciously when the duality melts way on its own (death).

Why there was so much evil in the world, and why should evil-doers be more successful than good doers? If it were due to Karma, who made that Karma, and why should it be so arbitrarily dispensed – various karma to various individuals, which become the cause of so much misery and turmoil?

Soul  or true self has no karma because it is formless. Man and the world are creation within the mirage [waking/dream]. Thus the theories created by within the mirage have no value.  


 The soul or true self is free from karma. The karma is reality only for those who think the ‘I’ as self and waking as reality. If one becomes free from the ignorance of the true self, there will be no varied individuals and no varied karmas; misery will thus disappear. He who kills man’s creation sees heaven of non-duality only; the others see only hell of duality.

“It is every religionists experience that evil-doing recoils on the doer sooner or later. Because he is not aware of the fact that, the soul is the true self and thinks the religious theories are true which are based on the false self or ego. Thus religion views and judges the worldview on the base of the body not the soul. Religion becomes a false notion on the base of the soul as self. Thus it is necessary to know the fact and realize the ‘ego’ is not the self, but the soul is the true self, to overcome the duality which we are experiencing it as reality.

So long as there is the sense of doership, there is the sense of enjoyment and of individuality. But if this sense of doer ship is lost through the practice of inquiry, analysis and reasoning on the true base, one become aware of the fact that the soul is the true self and the authorship of all the action is on the soul not on the body. Duality is overcome by nondual wisdom, Self-knowledge, which is the knowledge of beyond.

Seeker of truth should work without taking himself to be the author of his action, that is he should work remembering the soul is the true self and true author of the whole experience of duality. The waking experience which consists of man and the world has appeared without previous planning.

No one can remain inactive in duality because even inaction is also an action, in the experience of duality.  Whether one wills it or not the duality which consist of birth, life and death appears and disappears. It is therefore wise to learn to view and judge the worldview on the base of the soul, which is the true self to unfold the mystery of the mind.  Seeker has to realize the fact that, duality is mere mirage on the standpoint of soul as self.

Karma theory is reality only on the base of false self, where one thinks body and the universe as reality

Essence of scriptures: - Dehum- Nahum-Kohum –Sohum – which indicates the body is not the self – the self is that. Which clearly indicates the self is without the body. Therefore, the self is the formless knower of the body and the world. Without the body and the world, the self is free from birth life and death.  Therefore, karma theory, which is based on the idea of birth, life, death and rebirth, is a mere religious fable    

Karma is universal principle only on the base of false self (waking entity or ego), within the illusion. The cause and effect is reality, only on the base of false self.  The fact is Atman or the soul is the true self, which is in the form of consciousness and Atman or soul is uncaused.   Buddhism says, there is nothing - nonentity. Advaita says there is some reality, even though things are not what they appear to be. 

When the self is neither the waking entity nor the dream entity but the self is the formless seer of the three states and is apart. Thus the karma done is the dream becomes unreal when waking takes place so its effect also is unreal. Similarly, the waking experience also becomes unreal after self - Realization, then how the karma theory, which is based on false self within the false experience, will affect anyone. When the true self is birthless and deathless then the question of rebirth does not arise.  

Brahman is considered the all-pervading consciousness, which is the basis of all the animate and inanimate entities and material. (brahmano hi pratisthaham, Bhagavad Gita 14.27)

Atman is Brahman:- the self is Atman ,which is in the form of consciousness is ultimate reality or Brahman.  Thus on the base of formless self or consciousness the Karma theory is mere illusory theory created within the false experience on the base of the false entity.

  Thus karma which is done within false experience with false identity is bound to be falsehood. Thus the karma theory is mere imagined theory created by the sages in the past for the general mass who are unable to think beyond physicality to judge their own action to indulge in good karma, which in turn helps the society in live in peace and harmony.  Desire of getting good life and benefits in next world and next life people indulge in doing good deeds and by fear of going to hell and bad life in next life and next world they avoid indulging in bad deeds in this practical world.

      

Karma, Bhakti, Raj yoga are not the means to path of wisdom. And mixing them up and trying to assimilate ultimate truth is impossibility. 

There is no need to practice to devotion, karma and raja yoga because they are not the means to acquire non-dual wisdom.   There is no practice as such but perfect understanding is needed.   Deeper inquiry, analysis and reasoning revels the fact that, the self is not physical but the self is formless consciousness. Therefore, all the accumulated knowledge, experiences and understanding based on physical self (ego or waking entity as Self) are falsehood based on the false self, within the false experience (waking).   Thus, whatever is based on the waking entity is bound to be falsehood because waking experience itself is false hood.   Since many teachers and teachings are based on the false self (ego or waking entity  as Self) and they consider the false experience (three states) as reality, they are incapable of grasping the witness, which is within the three states, but it is without the three states.

As per the scriptures the three "Ashrams" or stages in life were originally intended for three grades of intelligence thus:- 

             Religion: low intellects had to do 'karmas' works, ritual actions, chanting of mantras and indulging in bajans and prayers etc.

             Middle intellects:  Yoga: taking yellow robes, going to caves, ashrams etc.

             High intellects: Philosophy: who wanted truth are concerned with no external rites or sanyas but depend solely on intelligent inquiry for their path.

Gaudapada says that:- The merciful Veda teaches karma and Upaasana to people of lower and middling intellect, while Jnana is taught to those of higher intellect.

This clearly indicates that religion, which is based on individual conduct, prescribes karma and Upaasana to people of lower and middling intellect, therefore religion is for the lower intellect. And wisdom is for those are capable of inquiring into their own existence to know and realize the ultimate truth, which is Brahman.

As indicated in ISH Upanishads: - By worshiping 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.

It clearly indicates that:-If the human goal is to acquire Self-Knowledge then why one has to indulge in rituals and glorifying the conceptual gods, goddesses and gurus[which is karma]  to go in to deeper darkness. Instead   spend that time moving forward towards Self-knowledge, which is one’s prime goal.  

Since it is eternal and infinite, it comprises the only truth. The goal of Vedic religion, through the various yogas, is to realize that the consciousness (Atman) is actually nothing but Brahman.

If one knows the ultimate truth, then he will know there is neither cause nor effect.  Non-dual Wisdom is to know, what is it, that is real, and base the reasoning on that real.

When reasoning is done on true base, then one has the yardstick to know what is truth, and what is untruth, and he will be able to reject the unreal or untruth mentally.  Therefore, one has to make sure whether the true self is body/ego/I, or the true self is soul/Atman, which is in the form of consciousness.

 If one accepts the self as body, then the karma becomes universal principal. If one accepts the soul/consciousness as self, then the physical body, ego, world and whatever one has seen known and believed and experienced as a person becomes unreal[mirage] on the standpoint of the soul as self.

 By accepting karma theory, one is accepting the unreal as real, and permanently remains in the clutches of duality thinking the cycle of birth, life and death as reality.  Therefore, to overcome the illusory cycle of birth, life and death, one has to know the fact that, the body/ego /I is not the self, but the formless soul is the true self. Thus the self is within the mind [universe] but it is without the mind [universe].   Thus the self is within the ‘I’ but it is without the ‘I’.

Thus karma theory is a hindrance in the path of truth because one accepts the false self as real self and false experience as real experience and he thinks all his action will yield fruits. Thus he will remain permanently in the realm of unreality or ignorance.  Without getting rid of ignorance truth realization or Self-realization is impossibility.

When the self is genderless then it is impossible to get enlightenment through sexual intercourse or tantric sex.  It is impossible to get freedom by taking sanyasa or renouncing the worldly life which is mere body based theories. When the self is not physical then what value is there to take sanyasa or renouncing the worldly life? One has to renounce the ignorance, which is the cause of experiencing the illusion [body+ universe] as reality.

If one thinks non-dual truth is the ultimate truth, then one has to drop all theories based on the physical body [I] as self, because non-dual truth is based on the consciousness [soul], which is the true self. 

By accepting karma theory one is  accepting the false self, as real self, and world as reality, therefore there is no need for Self-inquiry “Who am ‘I’ “, because one has  accepted the present physical identity and world as reality.  Self-inquiry makes one realize the fact that self is not the body. After knowing the fact that self is not the body, then it is erroneous to think again as the body as self, and holding the body based theories as reality.  Thus karma theory becomes a biggest obstacle in the path of inquiry and truth, because it does not allow the seeker to cross the threshold of duality.

 The physical body and the world which exist only in waking/dream/duality are impermanent and illusory in nature, because they appear and disappear as mind. The soul which is the formless substance and witness of the duality is permanent. Therefore, whatever is seen known and believed and experienced as real within the waking also is as real as dream.

Sage Sri Sankara declares  in Aparokshanubhuti:-

   88. When the whole universe, movable and immovable, is known to be Atman, and thus the existence of everything else is negated, where is then any room to say that the body is Atman?

  89. O enlightened one; pass your time always contemplating on Atman while you are experiencing all the results of Prarabdha; for it ill becomes you to feel distressed.

90. The theory one hears of from the scripture, that Prarabdha does not lose its hold upon one even after the origination of the knowledge of Atman, is now being refuted.

91. After the origination of the knowledge of Reality, Prarabdha verily ceases to exist, inasmuch as the body and the like become non-existent; just as a dream does not exist on waking.

92. That Karma which is done in a previous life is known as Prarabdha (which produces the present life). But such Karma cannot take the place of Prarabdha (for a man of knowledge), as he has no other birth (being free from ego).

93. Just as the body in a dream is superimposed (and therefore illusory), so is also this body. How could there be any birth of the superimposed (body), and in the absence of birth (of the body) where is the room for that (i.e., Prarabdha) at all?

94. The Vedanta texts declare ignorance to be verily the material (cause) of the phenomenal world just as earth is of a jar. That (ignorance) being destroyed, where can the universe subsist?

 95. Just as a person out of confusion perceives only the snake leaving aside the rope, so does an ignorant person see only the phenomenal world without knowing the reality?

    96. The real nature of the rope being known, the appearance of the snake no longer persists; so the substratum being known, the phenomenal world disappears completely.

     97. The body also being within the phenomenal world (and therefore unreal), how could Prarabdha exist? It is, therefore, for the understanding of the ignorant alone that the Shruti speaks of Prarabdha.

     98. “And all the actions of a man perish when he realizes that (Atman) which is both the higher and the lower”. Here the clear use of the plural by the Shruti is to negate Prarabdha as well.

   99. If the ignorant still arbitrarily maintain this, they will not only involve themselves into two absurdities but will also run the risk of forgoing the Vedantic conclusion. So one should accept those Shrutis alone from which proceeds true knowledge.

The above proves that the Karma theory  is reality only on the base of false self, where one thinks body and the universe as reality. When one becomes aware of the fact that, the true self is formless soul, then the karma becomes part and parcel of illusion.   My point is that, if one accepts the karma theory as reality, he will never be able to come out of the ignorance. And ignorance makes him believe the cycle of birth, life and death as reality.  Thus the freedom which one is seeking will remain distant dream. For the one who accepts the birth life and death as reality, Self-knowledge is impossible.

Thus it is necessary for the seeker of truth to know the fact that, the body which is born, lives and dies is not the self. Since he is taking the body to be the self, he is experiencing the duality as reality.

As Sage Sri, Sankara says:-  When the whole universe, movable and immovable, is known to be Atman, and thus the existence of everything else is negated, where is then any room to say that the body is Atman.

 If body is not the Atman/self, then the karma theory has no meaning on the standpoint of the truth. Thus no second thing exists other than Atman, therefore why to view the worldview on the standpoint of the body as self (ego or waking entity)  when the body(ego or waking entity) is the false self, and the soul or Atman is the true self.

 If body is not the self, then the birth, life, death and the universe are bound to be illusion.  If birth, life and death are illusion then all conducts actions and their fruits are mere illusion. If body is not the self, then the existence of god, heaven and hell is mere illusion.  If body is not the self then all religious beliefs of god is mere illusion.  If body is not the self but the Atman (soul) which is in the form of consciousness is the true self, then there is no scope for second thing other than consciousness,    therefore consciousness, which is Atman is Brahman or ultimate truth.  The Brahman alone is real and eternal.  Thus whatever is real eternal has to be identified as god. To identify the real and eternal, one has to overcome the ignorance caused by the illusion. To overcome the ignorance one has to acquire the Self-Knowledge.      

The formless witness is beyond any bondage or liberation

Love and hate propel one to action and I am the doer-notion also arises when one propel himself to do the action to gain or to get rid of those objects of likes and dislikes. The notion of doer-ship arises in the resulting actions - the binds one further since it leaves with him with some more ingrained impressions which propel him into further actions, etc - thus becoming a vicious circle. The one who has all the above notions is - is bound himself to his notions.

These transactions are possible when one has the notion that what he sees as a person of the world is real - - That is worldly truth is taken as real due to lack of the knowledge of the non-dual truth or lack of knowledge of the true self.


The formless witness is beyond any bondage or liberation. One can also understand as the formless witness appears to be bound since bondage is notional and not real due to false identification with the false; but which is taken as real.

When the false- hood of the false is understood when one realize that `I' is not the true self but the formless soul or consciousness  is the true self,  then false remain as false only, but a notion that  false is real is gone for good.

The one who thinks `I' is the self is bound by illusory duality. The sense of `I' - 'I am' the notion - that is I am the Self - it is a notion since it is not true, but one who feels it is true is bound by that feeling, since all his actions are colored by that notion that I am is the self – `I' is the false entity within the false experience.

The mind includes body and the whole universe.  Limiting the mind to the physical entity is the cause of the ego. Because of the identification with false self, the ego becomes dominant. When ego is dominant the illusory duality becomes reality. The only way is through realizing the soul or consciousness as true self.

‘I know’ attitude blocks one from realizing the nondual reality

The formless soul is the true self. The soul is in the form of consciousness. Consciousness cannot become what it already is. And what self already is,  is what it wants to become.

Within the illusion, which appears as mind or universe, the self is in ignorance, so it does not know its own formless nondual true nature. However, that 'ignorance' can end.

 In waking experience or dream soul  or true self  is not aware of itself due to ignorance.  Thus there is no self-awareness in waking or dream. ‘I’   and ‘I AM’ is the seed of ignorance.  Thus one will not get self-awareness until they stick to ‘I’ or ‘I am’ and think it as self.  The self-awareness is conscious existence of without ‘I’ or ‘I AM’.

 Self has to know itself by dropping the seed of ignorance, which is ‘I’ or ‘I AM’. It exists with or without the ‘I’ or ‘I AM’.  Thus it is necessary to realize the formless substance and witness of the ‘I’ or ‘I AM’ is the self.  The formless substance and witness are one in essence and that essence is consciousness. Consciousness is the true self and ultimate truth or Brahman. One has to   know that his existence is dependent on consciousness.

Mind is form. Mind is time. Mind is space. The knower of the mind is not mind but consciousness. All feeling, revolving, growing are within the mind ,which is mere illusion from the standpoint of the formless knower of the mind, which is consciousness. The mind is dependent on consciousness for its existence whereas the consciousness is independent. It can exist with or without the mind.

Physical awareness is not self-awareness, because the self is not physical. The physical awareness is mere illusion from the ultimate standpoint. The physical awareness is present when the universe is present. The universe is present when the mind is present. The mind is present only in waking or dream. And mind is absent in deep sleep. The knower of the coming and going of the three states is neither the waking entity nor the dream entity, therefore it is not physical. The true self is within the three states but it is without the three states. Thus mentally tracing the formless knower of the three states and realizing it as the self, leads one to self-awareness.

When the self is in intoxication of ‘I’ or ‘I AM’ it is in physical awareness, which is in the form of mind. The mind is in the form of universe. The universe appears as waking or dream. Thus it is necessary to realize the fact that, ‘I’ or ‘I AM’ is not the self.

  Some sages in the past have prescribed ‘I’ or ‘I AM’ as self in the past,    to help the seekers to realise the illusoriness of the ego or physical self.  But ‘I’ or I AM’ will reveal only half-truth and the inner journey is incomplete.  People who are stuck with ‘I’ or ‘I AM’ concept are like stagnant water in the pond. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate “What is mind?” and “What is the substance of the mind?” in order to understand,    assimilate and realize the nondual truth.

‘I know’ attitude blocks one from realizing the nondual reality. Seeker has to know consciousness as true self, and then only the truth will be revealed. Thus bookish knowledge, intellectual speculation, scriptural mastery, logical conclusion are not the means to acquire self-knowledge. Academic merits, virtues, love, service are valuable in practical life within the practical world.  But they are not qualification in acquiring Self-Knowledge.

One is aware of his body and his experience of the world because of consciousness but he is unaware of the consciousness because he thinks his body and the world as reality within the illusion. But as he goes in deeper self-search he becomes aware of the fact that there is neither body nor the world but everything is consciousness. Thus consciousness alone is all else is mere mirage created out of consciousness. Thus it is necessary for the seeker to sure his body and his experience of the world is mere mirage created out of the consciousness. The consciousness is the cause of everything and it itself is uncaused.      

The individual experiences within the waking experience are as real as dream. The dream is parallel waking experience and waking experience is parallel dream. Thus judging the truth on the base of waking entity is erroneous, because waking entity is not the self. Thus realization of true self is necessary in order to get freedom from experiencing the duality as reality.  The clarity of understanding and assimilation of nondual arises only when one drops all inherited conditioning of reasoning on the base of ego or false self. 

The true self exists as formless substance and witness of the three states.

WE can only sympathies with a person who has severe stomach pain, but we cannot experience that person's pain. This can be applied to all experiences of personal nature, such as dream, vision and astral. As one cannot deny the fact of another person's stomach pain [since he personally do not experience it], similarly one cannot deny validity of any person's personal experience.  

All the experiences such as dream/vision/ astral experiences are true, and no one can deny the fact. However, one has to realize the fact that the waking is also is similar to a vision or dream or astral experience.   The point is waking or  dream or  vision or  astral are witnessed by one and only formless witness.   In absence of waking entity the dream or vision or astral are witnessed. The one which is aware of all experiences,   which appeared and disappeared is not the form but formless.

  Thus, it is necessary to know the formless witness, which is apart from the waking or dream or  vision and astral world.  This is hard to digest in the beginning, but through deeper thinking through inquiry, analysis and reasoning, one will be able to assimilate it. Once one becomes aware of the existence of  formless witness, he realizes the fact that, waking or dream or  vision or astral world , all are mere mirage created out of consciousness.  on the standpoint of formless witness the  waking or dream or  vision or astral world are myth .

The true  self exists as formless substance and witness of the three states.

As the witness of the waking experience.

As the witness of the dream.

As the witness of deep sleep.

In deep sleep when there is no determinate knowledge, but pure consciousness and pure bliss. One which witnesses these three states is one, and it is never attached to these experiences and it is apart and it is eternal.

Thus the waking entity and dream entity is not the true self. Therefore, judging the truth on the base of false entity will lead only to imagination and hallucination. Thus, seeker has to learn to view and judge the truth on the base of the formless witness of the three states,  to overcome the duality which he experiences as reality.

Living in the present is just an intellectual theory based on individuality.

Form ,time and space are part of the illusion. The past, present and future  are based on the form,time and space.  The ultimate truth or Brahman  is beyond form,time and space  because it is formless,timeless and space less existence. Without the form there is no past ,present and future. the form belongs to the past ,therefore how can it experience the present without its past identity .  Thus to live in the present  without the past is impossible. 

Living in the present is just an  intellectual theory based on individuality. The one which witnesses,  the past,  present and future is not the form but the soul or   formless consciousness,which is the innermost self. On the standpoint of the innermost self,  the past present and future are mere illusion. Therefore it is necessary to realize the fact that,  the past, present and future are one in essence. And that essence is consciousness. Thus no second thing exists other than consciousness. Consciousness alone is real and all else is illusion.

Living in the present means living in the myth and experiencing the myth as reality. The past, present and future is based on the ego which is the false self within the false experience. There is neither past nor present, nor future in reality. Thus the seeker of truth has to realize the fact that the past, present and future is part and parcel of the illusion, which comes and goes as waking or dream. The one which is aware of the coming and going of the three states is apart and eternal. Thus, it is necessary to overcome the myth that we must live in the present.

Living in the past and living in the present and living in future means living in duality. Duality is mere illusion on the standpoint of the true self, which is the soul.

There is a necessary to understand what mind is, and then only it is possible to assimilate the self-knowledge. If one limits the mind to the physical entity then he will remain believing in the idea that mind is bundle of thoughts. This mind is bundle of thoughts idea keeps one in the grip of duality and makes one experience duality as reality. 

The thoughts are part of the myth. The thoughts, memory and experience have no relevance in pursuit of truth, because the individuality itself is myth. Thus, individual experiences’ happening within the waking is as real as dream. The waking is parallel dream and dream is parallel waking experience. 

Thus, the truth is not based on individuality but the totality of the three states, which appear and disappear in succession. Thus the intellectuality, which is based on the physicality, will yield only the understanding based on the ego, which is the false self. The non-dual wisdom will not dawn by studying the scriptures, or intellectual arguments but it will dawn only indulge in deeper inquiry, analysis and reasoning. 

The true self is not the ego. Basing one-self on the ego and trying to understand and assimilate the self-knowledge is impossibility. The true self is the soul, 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. It is apart because it is not an entity or identity within the three states. This formless witness has to be grasped mentally by constant reflecting on the subject, which is formless soul and realize the fact that the true “Self” is not an individual. Thus, it is necessary to rectify the seeking base from form to formless to understand, assimilate and realize the non-dual truth.