As indicated in Isa Upanishad:- the
human goal is to acquire Self-Knowledge therefore why one has to indulge in
rituals and glorifying the conceptual gods, goddesses and gurus to go in to
deeper darkness. Instead spend that
time moving forward towards Self-knowledge, which is one’s prime goal.
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 to know and realize the ultimate truth,
which is Brahman. Therefore, if one is seeking truth
he has to know his true self is not physical but it is the Atman, 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.
There is only one Reality to be
known, the same for all seekers, but the ways to it, are hidden by the religion. Self-discovery is the only way, towards non-dual
Absolute without any religious doctrines, which will help the seekers to unfold
the mystery of the illusion in which we all are searching the truth of our true
existence.
The beliefs of god, religion, yoga
are based on the false self, is nothing to do with the mental [inner]
journey. The religious, rituals,
worships, prayers god and guru glorification may be useful in the worldly life,
for those who believes in the birth,
life, death and the world as reality, but they are not useful tools in
realizing the ultimate truth. On the base of consciousness [soul] as self,
everything other than the consciousness is mere mirage. Thus, man and his experience of the world and
his belief of god and religion are part and parcel of the mirage created out of
consciousness.
Ramana Maharshi: - It is not
necessary to study the Vedas (in page 111/112- practical guide to
know yourself)
Raman Maharshi:- fortunate are the
one who do not lose themselves in the labyrinths of philosophy. Bhagwan says:
Take Vedanta, for instance: it speaks of 15 pranas the names and functions of
it which the student is asked to commit
memory. Will it not be sufficient if he thought only one prana does the whole
work of maintaining the body? Again the antakaran is said to think, to desire,
to will, to reason etc. Why all these details? Has anyone seen antakarana, or
all these pranas? Do they really exist? They are conceptual divisions invented
by teachers of philosophy by their excessive analysis. Where do all these
concepts end? Why should confusion created and then explained away? Fortunate
is the man who does not lose himself in the labyrinths of philosophy, but goes
straight to the source from which they all arise. (GURU RAMANA .By S.S Cohen -vii
Danger of philosophy-Page -58-59)
Therefore, there is no use of taking
strain to understand assimilate the conceptual divisions invented by teachers
of philosophy by their excessive analysis. There are more and more doubts and
confusions, if one tries to understand and assimilate the ultimate truth
through scriptures.
Why to follow the path of doubts and confusion
by losing oneself in the labyrinths of philosophy, when one can realize the
ultimate truth without them. 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.
Therefore, there is a need for perfect understanding assimilation of non-dual truth.
There is no need to renounce the
worldly life to get Self-Realization. Any householder can attain it if he has
the inner urge.
The existence beyond limitations of form, time and space is known as
Moksha or Nirvana. Spiritual freedom or self-realization is the goal of every
seeker of truth.
As one goes deeper in
self-search one becomes aware of the fact that, the self is neither the waking
entity not self is the dream entity but the self is formless substance and witness of the
three states. And the formless substance and witness of the three states are
one in essence. And that essence is consciousness. If the formless substance and witness are one
in essence, than there is second thing can exist, other than
consciousness? Thus consciousness alone
is real and all else is mere illusion created out of consciousness, which is
the innermost self.
There is need to study the scriptures. One has
to self-search the truth and realize it without the scriptures. And then when
he reads the scriptures he becomes aware the scriptures are also saying the same
thing but everything is misinterpreted.
That is why Sri,
Sankara says in VivekaChudamani :-
58. Loud speech consisting of a shower of words,
the skill in expounding the Scriptures, and likewise erudition - these merely
bring on a little personal enjoyment to the scholar, but are no good for
Liberation.
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.
There is nothing more rational, more
intelligible and more un-dogmatic insights of Sri, Sankara, is to drop all the
theistic non-duality or orthodox Advaita which is meant for those who are incapable and
not receptive to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman.
If one
merely theorizes, tries to understand through his intellect and there contended
he cannot become a Gnani but he becomes a scholar or pundit. Seeker
of truth must make what he has understood and assimilated has to be realized, to get firm conviction of the non-
dualistic truth or ultimate truth or Brahman, than
only it is possible for him to transcend all the limitations of the experience of
form, time and space.
When Chandogya Upanishads:-
This universe comes forth from
Brahman and will return to Brahman. Verily, all is Brahman. A person is what
his deep desire is. It is our deepest desire in this life that shapes the life
to come. So let us direct our deepest desires to realize the Self.
If one is seeking truth then it is necessary to
bifurcate and drop the traditional Advaitic path which is not the means to
self-knowledge and move ahead without the traditional baggage to get direct
realization on his own as suggest by the great sages.
Thus seeker of truth has to know what this universe?
What is this ultimate truth or Brahman? in order to realize the non-dualistic or
Advaitic truth?
No one can escape the waking experience which
is the very basis of the physical existence. What was the waking experience
before it appeared? Was their existence before the appearance of the waking
experience? When the waking perishes,
does the soul or consciousness survive alone?
Is there a self or soul? The
seeker has to find answers for all these doubts in order to realize ‘what is
truth’ and ‘what is untruth’.
