Orthodoxy says the classical tradition has a well-evolved method and
it has to be learned from a skillful teacher. And There is no shortcut. Orthodoxy propagates without
guru it is impossible to get non-dual wisdom. The orthodoxy recommends
scriptural studies , god and guru glorification , rituals and individual conduct as means to acquire wisdom. And they hold scriptural masters or religious swamis as gurus.
Whereas Sri Sankara
himself says: - [VC] 59. The study of the Scriptures is useless so long as the
highest Truth is unknown, and it is equally useless when the highest Truth has
already been known.
60. The Scriptures consisting of many words are a dense forest
which merely causes the mind to ramble. Hence men of wisdom should earnestly
set about knowing the true nature of the Self.
61. For one who has been bitten by the serpent of Ignorance, the
only remedy is the knowledge of Brahman. Of what avail are the Vedas and
(other) Scriptures, Mantras (sacred formulae) and medicines to such a one?
62. A disease does not leave off if one simply utter the name of
the medicine, without taking it; (similarly) without direct realisation one
cannot be liberated by the mere utterance of the word Brahman.
63. Without causing the objective universe to vanish and without
knowing the truth of the Self, how is one to achieve Liberation by the mere
utterance of the word Brahman? — It would result merely in an effort of speech.
Thus the study of
the scriptures is useless. Accepting the
scriptural masters as gurus in path of wisdom or pursuit of truth will lead one
to pursuit of doubts and confusion. Path of wisdom is nothing to do with Orthodoxy.
That is why Swami Vivekananda said: - “You have to grow
from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is
no other teacher but your own soul.”
Sri Ramana Maharshi
said:-"Jnana is given neither from outside nor from another person. It
can be realised by each and every one in his own Heart. The jnana Guru of
everyone is only the Supreme Self that is always revealing its own truth in
every Heart through the being-consciousness 'I am, I am.' The granting of true
knowledge by him is initiation into jnana. The grace of the Guru is only that
Self-awareness that is one's own true nature. It is the inner consciousness by
which he is unceasingly revealing his existence. This divine upadesa is always
going on naturally in everyone."
Thus guru is not necessary in path of wisdom and pursuit of truth.
Sri
Sankara, in Bhaja Govindam said:
- [Jnana
Viheena Sarva Mathena Bajathi na Muktim janma Shatena] - one without knowledge does not obtain liberation even in
a hundred births, no matter which religious faith he follows.
Thus
it proves that religion is not the means to self-knowledge.
Every human being is qualified for path of wisdom not particular sect or religion.
Meher baba said : - There is no
difference in the realization of the Truth either by a Muslim, Hindu,
Zoroastrian, or a Christian. The difference is only in words and terms. Truth is
not the monopoly of a particular race or religion.
Swami Vivekananda said :- Creeds and sects have their parts to play, but
they are for children, they last but temporarily. Books never make religions,
but religions make books. We must never forget that. No book ever created God,
but God inspired all the great books. And no book ever created a soul. We must
never forget that. (Talk
given at Unity Hall, Hartford (Connecticut), USA, on March 8, 1895, as reported
in "Hartford Times" (March 11, 1895). Complete Works, 1.324.)
Buddha said : - Believe
nothing just because a so-called wise person said it. Believe nothing just
because a belief is generally held. Believe nothing just because it is said in
ancient books. Believe nothing just because it is said to be of divine origin.
Believe nothing just because someone else believes it. Believe only what you
yourself test and judge to be true.
Buddha, Sri, Sankara and Sri, Goudpada have declared non-dual truth
centuries back but one has to reach the destination with scientific [rational]
investigation not through punditry. Until one mentally reaches the conclusion,
the conviction will not arise. Without the firm conviction the wisdom will not
dawn. Therefore, there is a need to know consciousness is real all else is
myth, which Sri, Sankara declared as the world is myth Brahman alone is real.
Sri, Sankara says Atman is Brahman and everything is Brahman is scientific
declaration not religious or yogic. Sri, Sankara and Goudpada are more
scientific than anyone else in the world. Since, the real Advaitic essence is
hidden it cannot be got without the inner [mental] journey.
Buddhism says: all things are illusory and noting exists. However, Advaita avers that it is not
so. It says that the universe of course
is illusory, but there is Brahman, that exists forming the very substratum of
all things.
Sankara was criticized for his views
on Maya [illusion] without understanding him. He said that (1) Brahman
[the Self] is real (2) the universe is unreal, and (3) Brahman is the
universe. He did not stop at the second because the third explains the other
two. It signifies that the universe is real if perceived as the ‘Self’ and
unreal if perceived as apart from the Self. Hence Maya or illusion and
reality are one and the same.
The realists criticize the concept of
illusion without understanding it. He said that:-
(1) Consciousness [the Self] is real
(2) The universe or mind is unreal, and
(3) Consciousness is the mind or universe, because universe or mind
is mere illusion created out of consciousness.
One need not stop at the second because the
third explains the other two. It signifies that the universe is real if
perceived as the Self [consciousness] and unreal if perceived as apart from the
Self [consciousness]. Hence illusion and
reality are one and the same because both are one in essence. Realizing the
essence, which is consciousness as the innermost Self, is Self-Realization or
Truth- Realization of GOD- Realization. Thus Sri, Sankara‘s declaration is
rational truth, scientific truth and also ultimate truth.
One should not
judge truth holding religious or yogic doctrine as a yardstick. Religion and yoga is not the yardstick to
judge the ultimate truth because they are practiced on the base of
physical self. The physical self or ego
is false self within the false experience.
The nondual truth has to be
viewed and judged without scriptures, and on the base of the soul, the
innermost self. This formless path is
inner path is without the religion or scriptures or god or yoga. The formless path
is pathless path is without guru and self – treading towards direct
realization.
Ultimate truth is based on the soul therefore whatever
practiced on the base waking entity will not yield any fruit, because the waking entity is the false self
within the false experience. The religion and yoga are based on the form
therefore they are based on the matter (form) whereas the
spirituality is based on the spirit (formless). Thus religion and yoga are not spirituality,
hence there is need to bifurcate spirituality from matter (form) based religion
and yoga.
Advaita refers to non- duality. Non -duality is not a
theory or concept it is the nurture of the innermost self, which Atman (soul or
spirit or consciousness). Thus whatever
is based on the soul is spiritual. The soul is eternal identity which has no
birth, life and death, because it is the formless. Soul, which is in the form of consciousness,
is the formless substance and witness of the illusory experience of birth, life,
death and world.
The religion is based on the form. Without the form there
is no question of religion. The religion accepts the concept of god, and
believes the body itself as self, and injects theoretical code of conduct to
live in the world, whereas in spirituality, the soul or consciousness is the
true self and body, ego, world, conceptual god are part of the illusion created
out of consciousness.
The person, who stamped
their foot on the ground to refute to show the world, is real, ignore that in
dream he would do exactly the same--stamp his dream foot on the ground and
assert it to be real.
Upanishads clearly
declare:-
Katha Upanishad 1:2:23 The Soul cannot be realized through hearing scholarly
explanation of the discourses, not even by the intellect.
Katha Upanishad 1:3:6 “Through the knowledge of the Soul, God, one is pure and
clean constantly.” Neither by reading the book, nor by taking a bath at holy
place has one become pure. Inner purity is possible when one remains in
constant touch with the Soul. Constant Soul-Consciousness is the real purity.
Kena Upanishad 2:4 When it is known
through every state of cognition, it is rightly known, for (by such knowledge)
one attains life eternal. Through one's own self one gains power and through
wisdom one gains immortality.
Kena Upanishad 2:5
If here one knows it, then there is truth, and if here one knows it not,
there is a great loss. Hence, seeing the Real in all beings, wise men become
immortal on departing from this world.
Mundaka Upanishad 1:2:8
“Remaining in the fold of ignorance
and thinking “we are extremely wise and learned,” the fools with boastful
nature ramble about like the blind led by the blind alone.”
Mundaka Upanishad 3:2:3
“The weak and timid cannot realize
the Self. Self-Realization is not possible through intellect or hearing
spiritual discourse. One who welcomes God in every activity, through a thorough
controlled and disciplined life, to him also the Soul is revealed."
Mundaka Upanishad 3:2:3
The Soul cannot be realized by the weak and timid.
All the
penances are external because they are based on the individuality.
Investigating the mind, alone leads to self-realization. To know what is mind,
profits much rather than searching the truth in external world moving from one
ashram to another and one guru to another and one mountain to another. When one starts investigating the universe
that confronts him will mentally move inwards and will reach the ultimate end
and become fully aware “What is truth?”
and “What is untruth?” in his own home or city and establish in truth by realizing what is
untruth.
The truth is
beyond all philosophy. When one realizes all our accumulation of knowledge from outer
sources is inadequate and useless in quenching our spiritual thirst, we will
start our inner [mental] journey on our own.
The journey is full of obstacles because we have to drop all the
accumulated dross and all the conditioning [samskaras] to cross the ocean of
duality or samsara.
As one
indulges in deeper self-search he will know somewhere he is going wrong, and it
is for him to overcome the entire obstacle on his own by
knowing what is obstructing his realization.
The greatest hindrance is mixing religion, god, scriptures, and yogic
theories and intellectual speculations and logical conclusions. Moreover,
attachment to scriptures, personal god and religious code of conduct keeps one
permanently in the grip of duality.
The religion, concept of god and scriptures are greatest
obstacle to acquire self-knowledge. The
scriptural knowledge fuels the ego. And ego makes one experience the duality as
reality. Duality makes one blind to the
truth, and makes one accept, the egocentric theories based on the false self as
authority.
Buddha said:-
Do not believe a spiritual teaching just because:-
1. It is repeatedly recited,
2. It is written in a scripture,
3. It was handed from guru to disciple,
4. Everyone around you believes it,
5. It has supernatural qualities,
6. It fits my beliefs anyway,
7. It sounds rational to me,
8. It is taught by a respectable person,
9. It was said to be the truth by the teacher,
10. One must defend it or fight for it.
However,
only when it agrees with your experience and reason, and when it is conducive
to the good and gain of oneself and all others, then one should accept the
teachings, and live up to them." ....Buddha.
Gaudapada says that:-
The merciful Veda teaches karma and Upasana 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.
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)
If Brahman is considered the all-pervading consciousness then,
it is necessary to realize, the consciousness as self, which pervades all the
three states to realize the fact that there is no second thing exists other the
consciousness. Thus, consciousness [Atman] is ultimate truth [Brahman].
ISH Upanishads indicates : - 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 and goddesses 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.
The Vedic pantheon
of gods is said, in the Vedas and Upanishads, to be only higher manifestations
of Brahman. For this reason, "ekam sat" (all is one), and all is
Brahman.
Thus, the goal is to realize Atman [consciousness]. If Atman [consciousness] is nothing but
Brahman and by realizing Atman [consciousness] as Brahman [ultimate truth] is
truth realization or Self-Realization , then there is no need to follow
religion, study scriptures or glorifying gods and gurus and follow the path of doubts and confusion by
losing oneself in the labyrinths of philosophy, when there is an easier
path. By mentally tracing the source of
the mind from where it rises and subsides one becomes aware of the fallacy of
the mind, which rises as waking or dream and subsides as deep sleep. The mind raises form consciousness and
subsides as consciousness.
They alone in this world are endowed with the highest
wisdom who are firm in their conviction of the sameness and birthlessness of
Ataman. The ordinary man does not understand their way. [Chapter IV — Alatasanti
Prakarana 95-P-188 in Upanishads by Nikilanada]
Therefore, if one is seeking truth he has to know his true
self is not physical but is the consciousness, which is in the form of
consciousness.
Self-knowledge cannot be attained by study of the Vedas and
intellectual understanding or by bookish knowledge. Therefore there is no use of studying the
Vedas and other scriptures in order to acquire the non-dual wisdom. That is why Buddha rejected the scriptures,
and even Sri, Sankara indicated that, the ultimate truth lies beyond religion,
concept of god and scriptures.
Thus it is necessary to follow the path of wisdom dropping
all the accumulated baggage and move forward to reach the destination in lesser
time and effort.
