It is no use going roundabout way, trace the Brahman which is the formless substance and witness of the universe.

Uttara mImamsa, also called Vedanta, does not consider the Upanishads and brahmanas as arthavada subservient to vidhis. Instead, they are seen to be sources of Brahman knowledge, addressed solely to those who seek moksha or freedom. The rituals enjoined in the Vedas are applicable to the realm of dharma, but the one who seeks liberation does not merely desire a place in heaven; he is in search of ultimate Reality itself. The Upanishads are viewed as those portions of the Sruti that address philosophical questions about Reality, here called Brahman. This tradition of exegesis follows the brahma sutras of badarayana. Within Vedanta, there is considerable difference of opinion on whether the Upanishads enjoin anything at all.

According to Advaita Vedanta, the Veda addresses itself to two kinds of audiences - the ordinary ones who desire the transitory heaven and other pleasures obtained as a result of ritual sacrifices, and the more advanced seeker who seeks to know Brahman. Thus, the purva mimam.sa, with its emphasis on the karma kanda of the Vedas, is meant for the first audience, to help lead its followers along the way. However, the Vedanta, with its emphasis on the jnana kanda, is meant for those who wish to go beyond such transient pleasures. 

An essential identity between Atman and Brahman is upheld in Advaita Vedanta. The personality of Sri, Sankara and the force of Advaita teaching is so strong that most post-Sankaran schools of Vedanta consciously define their doctrines against Advaita thought.

When Advaita declares Atman and Brahman then direct realization of truth is possible without the scriptures.  Know the soul to be the true self. And true self is in the form of consciousness and realize consciousness as ultimate truth or Brahman.   

 That is why Sage Sri, Sankara indicated that:- VC-56. Neither by Yoga, nor by Sankhya, nor by work, nor by learning, but by the realisation of one's identity with Brahman is Liberation possible, and by no other means. 

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?

Self-Knowledge 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.

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 non-dual wisdom is based not on the individual self (ego).  Until people hold the  waking entity (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. The universe is in the form of mind. Mind appears as waking or dream.  By tracing the source of the mind or universe one will be able to realize the ultimate truth or  Brahman.  the formless  substance, witness and the source of the mind or  universe are one in essence and that essence is consciousness(soul),  the innermost self.  

The innermost  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 acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. It is also very difficult for them to see the soul,which is present in the form of  consciousness as self. The attention towards the universe (mind) should be lessened by realizing the self is not the waking entity. The attention has to be focused on the formless substance and witness(soul)  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 waking entity  when it has realizes that, the self is not the physical? 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 because it is ever formless.

A visible object has a beginning and an ending. Since Atman(soul) , 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. 

But he who is truly wise Always sees the absolute Self. Celebrated, he is not delighted. Spurned, he is not angry. Pure of heart, He watches his own actions As if they were another's. How can praise or blame disturb him? - Ashtavakra Gita 3:9-10

 

They live in freedom who have gone beyond the dualities of life. Competing with no one, they are alike in success and failure and content with whatever comes to them. They are free, without selfish attachments; their minds are fixed in knowledge. They perform all work in the spirit of service, and their karma is dissolved.- Bhagavad Gita 4:22-23

An intense desire for truth -realization is itself the way to it. The Lord is The Soul, the innermost  Self in Advaita. Therefore,    one need not accept anything other than the self, which is consciousness. Thus consciousness alone is ultimate truth or Brahman that is free from falsehood.

Advaita (non-duality)  and dwita (duality)  is  state of  the self. It is not some intellectual theory. Religious based Advaitins believe the Atman (soul) is Brahman; and the world is illusion. Religious dwitins believes the body as self, and they believe world is reality, and they believe in creator and creation theory.   In India Advaita and Dwaita is mere a religious tradition, which they inherited from their ancestors. No one questions their validity, because it is considered blasphemy to question any guru and god-men or pundits.

 People who are attached to their religious  code of conduct and trying to preach Advaita , that is mixing the individual life, and concept of god, and all mixed up hotchpotch  religious doctrine and feed the seeking minds, are themselves not aware of the fact that,  the individuality,  and the worldly life is part of the illusion.

Buddha must have verified religion, Vedas and concept of god and found them inadequate and useless in pursuit of truth and rejected them and he got enlightened without the aid of religion, Vedas and concept of god.  

That is why Buddha:- 

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.

After studying and going through all the rigorous training from the religious scholars in Theosophical Society, J.K was confused about all these, and when he started verifying with deeper introspection, he found everything was priest-crafted hotchpotch ideologies. Thus, he refused to become the world guru, rejected it, and walked out and condemned the priest craft.   

In Advaita they accept karma theory.  If they accept the karma theory, one will not be able to reach the non-dual destination. If one accepts karma theory then it is impossible to treat the world as illusion. All the pundits’ explanation of karma theory carries no weight on realm of truth because if karma is accepted they are accepting the false self (waking entity or ego) as true self and false experience (universe or waking) as reality. 

The birth, life and death are part of the waking experience, which is mere illusion on the standpoint of the true self.  It is no use of saying that, we are not born, we do not die because, because we all were born and we all are going to die. However, the birth, life and death are part of the illusion, which comes and goes as waking experience.  The formless witness of the three states is real, which is our identity has no birth and death. That is why self-knowledge is nothing to do with the religious based Advaita, which is based on Vedas.  

A Gnani will never say we are not born; we are not going to die.   Only to the mediocre who nod their head, he will say this to inspire them to think of the formless true identity, which is birth less, deathless.   Thus, it is wrong to say we are not born and we do not die by limiting the self to the physical entity.  If one limits the self to the physical entity alone, one gets only half-truth.  The consciousness, which is the true self, pervades all the three states, as their formless substance and witness.  The formless substance and witness, which is our true self (true identity). Without knowing the true self-mere saying, we are not born, we do not die is not the knowledge, which has come from depth, it is mere bookish knowledge.

When Sri, Sankara says: world is unreal. He never said body is unreal. He would have said only birth and death is unreal but he did not say that, he said the world is unreal.   He meant   the world including the body, because the body and world appear together and disappear together (waking or dream).  Then we have to think, what remain without the body and the world as reality. How can the birth, life, death, rebirth, and reincarnation, which take place in unreal world (waking or dream), can be true.   The one, which is aware of the birth, life death, rebirth and reincarnation (illusion or unreal), is  the formless soul, the innermost self. the formless soul  is birthless and deathless but it is the witness of the birth, life and death, rebirth and the world (illusion or unreal).

On the standpoint of identity the birth, life, death, rebirth and reincarnation theory is part of the illusion or unreal.  The body cannot reincarnate, the body and the world are created out of the same formless stuff. Until one views and judges on the base of flesh, bone and blood [five elements], he will not be able to grasp the non-dual truth.  Thus, one must know on what standpoint, we are not born and we do not die thoroughly, just by hearsay views, it will not lead anyone to the non-dual destination. 

Most of the dualistic sages approach was more practical, and they stuck with the reality of the world, they took it as real.  Whereas Sage Sri, Sankara says: one must first know what is before him. If he cannot know that, what else can he know or understand? If he gives up the external world in his inquiry, he cannot get the whole truth.

Sage Sri, Sankara saysVC-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.

Yoga Vasishta, says: - that the world is both real and unreal. It is real because it is a manifestation of consciousness, but is unreal, in the sense, that it is not absolute and eternal like consciousness itself.

The seeker has to learn to view and judge on the standpoint of formless witness (Soul or consciousness) .then he will be never having any confusion.  When one thinks deeply then only the inner revelation starts and start burning the dross (confusion and doubts). One has enough material stored in one’s subconscious by reading this massages in FP blogs; all will start yielding fruits and start revealing, when he starts thinking very deeply.  This is the inner process every serious seeker experiences.  The inner dialogue will start and one will start getting answers from inner core of his existence. 

When the practical life within the practical world are part of the illusion ,than the karma theory based on the false self within the false experience is bound to be false hood.

Seeker of truth should not to become attached to words as being in perfect conformity with meaning, because Truth is not in the letters. When a man with his finger-tip points to something, the finger-tip may be mistaken for the thing pointed at; in like manner the ignorant, are unable even to the day of their death to abandon the idea that in the finger-tip of words there is the meaning itself. They cannot realize Ultimate Reality  or Brahman because of their intent clinging to words which were intended to be no more than a pointing finger. Words and their discrimination bind one to the duality or birth, life and death; meaning stands alone and is a guide to non-dual freedom. Meaning is attained by much learning, and much learning is attained by becoming conversant with meaning and not with words; therefore, seekers of truth have to avoid the sticklers for particular words."

Consciousness without division is Ultimate Reality defies all description or characterization." "All characterizations of consciousness, in short, are intended in their experiential dimension to aid those who are searching for ultimate truth or  Brahman  but have not yet realized it."

"Human language has its source in phenomenal experience; hence, it is limited in its application to states of being that are beyond that experience; logic is grounded in the duality as it relates to the phenomenal order; hence, it is unable to affirm, without at the same time denying, what extends beyond that order." Whatever is expressed is ultimately non-Brahman, is ultimately untrue."

When the practical life within the practical world are part of the illusion ,than the karma theory based on the false self within the false experience is bound to be false hood. The karma theory and individual conduct are nothing to do with self, which is ever formless. 

Panchadashi: - The Atman is the witness-consciousness that experiences the action, the actor, and the world of separate things. It is like a light that illuminates everything in a theatre, revealing the master of ceremonies, the guests, and the dancers with complete impartiality. Even when they all depart, the light shines to reveal their absence.

The karma theory is meant for those who are immersed in worldly life thinking the individual life within the particle world as reality. In path of truth the karma theory becomes a great obstacle in realizing the truth.  

The reincarnation is based on the karma theory. The karma theory is based on the birth, life and death. The birth, life and death are reality only on the base of the false self. Thus whatever based on the false self is bound to be false hood. By accepting karma theory is accepting the falsehood as reality. Thus whatever is based on the birth identity will not yield any truth. If one accepts the karma theory then it is impossible to treat the world as illusion. All the pundits’ explanation of karma theory carries no weight on realm of truth from the ultimate standpoint.

When the self is not form but the self is formless soul, how the karma will affect the birthless self.

That Karma which is done in a previous life which produces the present life is mere religious theory.  ‘Ego’ [I] is not the self, and the true self is birthless entity, because it is formless. Karma theory has no value in the realm of truth, because self has no birth. The one which is born, lives and dies is the false entity within the false experience.

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 together. 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 are part of the illusion from ultimate standpoint. Thus one has to learn to view and judge the worldview from ultimate standpoint, to realize 'what is truth' and 'what is untruth'.     

When the self is neither the body nor the ego, neither the waking entity not the dream entity, then how the karma based on the false self within the false experience can yield fruits.  Therefore, karma is a religious and yogic  fable.

The karma theory is reality only for those who believe their present physical identity [ego] as real, and world as reality. When the Sri, Sankara declares the world itself is illusion, and Brahman is real, then what value the karma theory has when the world is illusion, because man is part and parcel of the illusory world. Therefore, one has to view and judge the worldview on the standpoint of Brahman [Atman/true self] in order to overcome the duality, which he is experiencing it as reality.  The individuality is reality within the illusory world. Therefore, all the theories created within the illusion on the base of false entity, within the false experience, has to be the part and parcel of the illusion.  Thus it is necessary to realize the fact that Atman is the true self and all else is illusion, to overcome the illusory concept of cycle of birth, life and death.  Thus to understand and assimilate Sri, Sankara’s Advaitic truth, seeker  has to  do his own home work through inquiry, analysis and reasoning on the true base, without mixing religion, scriptures, theories  concept of god and yoga. 

That is why Sri Sankara says 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 Shruti alone from which proceeds true knowledge.

The above proves that the karma is reality only on the base of false self, where one thinks body and the universes 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.