Advaitic wisdom of Sage Sankara is an attempt to transcend the limitations of intelligence and thought.+

As one goes deeper in the annals of history, it indicates the fact that somewhere someone has added the Puranas in the name of Veda Vyasa the grandmaster of Vedas. It is impossible to accept and believe that Veda Vyasa authored and introduced Puranas which has all conceptual gods because:-

Genuine philosophy must be independent of religion, that in Sage Sri, Sankara himself the Saguna Brahman or a personal God is only a part of the phenomenal (if not illusory) world, and the Nirguna Brahman is the only reality and has nothing to do with religion. The main hurdle in his way of thinking is the fact that Sage Sankara did not claim to be an original thinker at all, and his philosophy took the form of commentaries on the generality of Hindu scriptures, particularly the Upanishads and the Gita. Sage Sankara was an independent thinker. His philosophy has not been taken seriously by many in India because most of the followers of Sage Sri, Sankara are orthodox. It is that philosophy in India was for centuries more an exposition of the ancient classics than the independent thought of individual thinkers as in ancient Greece or modern Europe and America. 

Sage Sankara and  Sage Gaudapada are independent thinkers, other schools of Indian philosophy are mere theologies. Advaitic philosophy is real philosophy. The dualistic philosophy cannot escape the charge of dogmatism. 

Intelligence and thoughts are not applicable to Advaitism.  Intelligence and thought are based on the false self (waking entity) within the false experience (waking).   The whole Advaitic philosophy is an attempt to transcend the limitations of intelligence and thought. 

The two points of view A Gnani is not cut off from the experience of practical life within the practical world because Advaitic truth is neither realism nor idealism; it is beyond both these. 

Sage Sankara said:~ Talk as much philosophy as you like, worship as many gods as you please, observe ceremonies and sing devotional hymns, but liberation will never come, even after a hundred aeons, without realizing the Oneness.

Philosophy does not begin with the ultimate truth. The ultimate truth has to be proved, not assumed. Hence, so-called philosophers who take Brahman for granted, are not philosophers at all.

Lots of Advaitin scholars will teach that all is yourself, but none of them can show that this is so, none has analyzed it scientifically, and none can prove it. 

The rational proof is required so that one arrives at knowing the ultimate truth or Brahman i.e. Gnana.  Theirs is mere dogma, parrotism, repetition of what they read in scripture.  Authoritarianism merely assumes as true what another says, but what has yet to be proved.

The Soul or the consciousness is that which knows everything, that which sees. The consciousness alone remains after one gets rid of all thoughts and ideas by identification with self. Consciousness is only the seer; it is not Brahman that is an error. It becomes Brahman only after inquiry and reasoning.

Remember:~

The ‘I ‘or the mind, or the universe, waking or dream, or the duality is one and the same thing. Since the  ‘I’ is identified as self all the confusion. Holding the   ‘I’ or ‘I AM’   as the self is the cause of confusion. Holding the Self is  ‘I’ or ‘I AM’ is blocking the realization of ultimate truth.  

The ‘I’ or universe is an object to the formless subject. Thus, it is necessary to include the universe in the inquiry to realize the unreal nature of the ‘I’, or the universe.  

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

Without causing the objective universe to vanish and without knowing the truth of the Self, how is one to achieve.

Remember:~

Religious or yogic gurus propagate that, 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 of 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, which 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 energy in defying him. Let us remember that to deify a Gnani is to defy the wisdom.

Remember:~

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 is founded by some gurus, thus the 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, the 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 an inner urge to know the truth and it is not for those who are immersed in earthly desires. 

Remember:~

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 Atman reveals Its own form. (Katha Upanishad Ch-II -23-P-20)

                                                                                                                         
Mundaka Upanishad:~ This Atman cannot be attained through the study of the Vedas, nor through intelligence, nor through much learning. He who chooses Atman—by him alone is Atman attained. It is the 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 the greatest obstacle to realize,  the non-dualistic or Advaitic truth because they are based on the 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.   

The seeker's goal is towards Self-knowledge and noting other than it. Therefore, the 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 losing their physical identity and all that is connected to their physical identity. 

Remember:~

When one realizes the physical identity (ego) is the 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 a mere mirage created out of consciousness.

 Therefore, Self-Knowledge is necessary to know the fact that, the universe, which appears is in the form of mind and disappears as nothingness (formless) is a mere mirage created out of nothingness, which is consciousness.  

Thus, 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 merely an illusion, 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 merely an illusion.

The body and the world are reality within the waking experience, but the waking experience is merely an illusion, the same way as the dream body and the dream world were reality within the dream. 

Remember:~

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 a guru and the one who thinks himself as chela (disciple) will not be able to get Self-Knowledge because both of them accepted themselves as the body. And all their understanding, practices, knowledge are based on the false self.  Therefore, the Guru –Shisya concept is a great obstacle in the pursuit of truth.  

Surrendering to any guru or godmen is not the means to Self-knowledge.  The self is the true guru. The seeker has to surrender to the self by realizing the fact that, the self is not physical. 

By realizing the self is not physical, he will be able to drop all the accumulated knowledge and the inherited conditioning in the midst of duality and he finds freedom from experiencing the duality (waking) as a  reality.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

The universe and the idea of God are dependent on the man for their existence***

People think, by visiting gurus, saints and sages and yogis, by  indulging in  glorifying  God and Guru, by   yogic practice  or by meditation they get enlightenment. But all these are only for the people who are unable to investigate through deeper self-search. 

·         How the god and the universe can exist without the man?

The universe and the idea of God are dependent on the man for their existence. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate one’s own existence to verify the existence of  the universe and God.

Man ceases to exist without the mind. Therefore, it proves that  the Man, God, and the universe cease to exist without the mind. And it also it proves that all these things together is mind.  Thus,  the experience of duality which present as the waking state is mind. The mind which appears and disappears, means it becomes dual and non-dual. Therefore, it is for the seeker to discover and realize what is the mind in order to unfold the mystery of his own existence.

People are thinking,  by killing the ego one can get enlightenment,  therefore they involve in all types of acrobats prescribed by the religious scriptures, gurus and yogis.  But is it is impossible to overcome the ego. Ego man and the world,  the  idea of god and whatever known and seen are within the mind. And the mind is Waking experience. Therefore, one has to overcome the mind or experience of duality in order to realize the true identity which is non-dual Ataman or the Spirit.

All these experiences as father, son, guru, and pupil were one and the same consciousness appearing differently. All these distinctions disappear when one realizes the ultimate truth.

In the dream the mountain which is apparently insentient and material, is nevertheless still your mind alone. Whether living or dead, conscious or unconscious thought or matter; all things are appearances of one and the same consciousness. All these distinctions are seen by Gnani as only the consciousness. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Man has to make sure whether he is man or mind through inquiry and reasoning, then only he will become aware of the fact that he is not a man but the mind. Therefore, his physical identity that is ‘I’ is not the Self. Therefore, searching the self by inquiring who am ’ I ’ not yielding results, until and unless one knows what ‘I’ really is? Therefore, searching truth as a person on the base of ‘my’ is erroneous.

The ‘I’ is the ignorance. Till one hold the ‘I’ as self it is impossible to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.  Thus,   the seeker has to get rid of the ignorance, which is present in the form of ‘I’, in order to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

It is very much necessary to know what mind is in order to know the man and his experience of the universe and his idea of god and religion and whatever seen and known are part of the illusory experience which is present as Waking state. The witness and the substance of the illusory waking experience is formless and non-dual that is Ataman or Spirit. To realize the Ataman or  the Spirit, the  soulcentric reasoning is only the tool.



The Man within the illusory duality recognizes his body as body, his ego as ego, his experience of the world as the world, he is unaware of the fact that, he is the product of the ignorance. Once the ignorance vanishes through the wisdom, then the body will not remain as a body, the ego will not remain as the ego, the world will not remain as the world, because everything merges into the substance from which they are created. That substance is the soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness. The consciousness is ultimate reality or Brahman. It is necessary to drop all accumulated knowledge which is blocking our realization.   Only through perfect understanding of ‘what is what’ leads to the  nondualistic or Advaitic self-awareness.

Embark on the journey of the truth; it frees the Soul from the illusion of the form, time, and space*****

Embark on the journey of the truth; it frees the Soul from the illusion of the form, time,  and space.

The Truth is very simple but it is a very difficult grasp because of the ignorance. You have to only realize the world in which you exist is created out of single clay. And that single clay is the Soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness.

Thus,  you and your body and the world in which you exist are nothing but consciousness because they are mere an illusion created out of the consciousness. Perfect understanding of ‘what is what’ is needed. Perfect understanding and assimilation of ‘what is what,’ leads to a perfect conviction of ‘What is truth?” and ‘What is the untruth?.  Perfect conviction of the truth leads to Advaitic self-awareness.

I can point at the sky, but the seeing of the star is the seeker's own work. It is necessary to reflect on the same truth again and again till it becomes reality. One needs to a constant reflect on the subject until he gets a firm conviction of what is what. Words are needed until one gets a firm conviction of ‘what is what’. People need reading and hearing the words, to think reason and reflect deeply and reach the ultimate end

When you finally realize the  ‘Self ‘ is not you  but the ‘Self’ is the Soul then you will realize the world in which you exist is mere an illusion created out of the Soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness.

 Thus, you, your experience birth, life, death and the world mere an illusion created out of the consciousness, the consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God.

 You are not the witness because the ‘Self' is not you.  The Self is the Soul, which witnesses the world, in which you exist. The world is mere an illusion thus, you are part of the illusion. 

 In reality, the Soul and the world in which you exist are one, in essence.  Thus, there is no second thing exists other than the Soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness.

Perfect understanding and assimilation of ‘what is what,’ leads to a perfect conviction of ‘What is truth?” and ‘What is the untruth?.  Perfect conviction of the truth leads to Advaitic self-awareness. :

It is not you, who has to be free, but it is the soul, the innermost Self has to be free itself, by realizing it is not the man perceiving the world. People want to get freedom, but the freedom comes only when the soul wakes up without the illusory body and the illusory world (duality).

 It is the soul, the innermost self is in the cage of illusion. It is the soul that wants to get out of the illusion because the illusion and the reality are one in essence. That essence is the soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness.  Thus, all that man experiences within the dualistic illusion of practical life within the practical world  as a reality is  a falsehood.

 On Nondualistic perspective, there is no second thing exist other than the consciousness (spirit). Thus, the consciousness is ultimate truth or Brahman or God. On the standpoint of Brahman or God, everything is Brahman or God or  the Spirit. 

The pursuit of truth is a very personal journey.  The Soul, the innermost Self is nothing to do with the individual life, because the individual is one who is born,lives and dies, whereas  the soul is birthless and deathless. 

The burden and bondage of life within the dream become unreal   when the waking takes place. Similarly,  the  burden and bondage of life within the  waking experience becomes unreal, when wisdom dawns. 

The Soul, the innermost self is neither waking entity nor the dream entity but the soul is the witness of the coming and going of the three states. When the Soul, the innermost Self wakes up than  the three states are mere an illusion. all the three states are created out of single stuff. that single stuff is the soul,which is present in the form of the consciousness. 

Realizing the ultimate truth will not bring the remedy for our present situation in our practical life within the practical world,  but it definitely brings freedom from experiencing the illusory practical life with the practical world as reality.
A Gnani  knows his body, his  ego and his experience of the world are  nothing but mere an illusion created out  of the consciousness.  Thus,  for him, the forms and names are merely an  illusion created out of the  consciousness.  A Gnani  has become  one with the nature of the Soul ,which is present in the form of the Spirit or the consciousness.     
The universe is physical existence. The physical existence is  a reality on the base of  the physical self ( ego or you).  Whatever  is based on the ego  is a  reality within the physical existence.
If physical existence is taken as reality,  then there is no meaning in seeking the  truth, because he has accepted the physical existence as truth.  Once physical existence is accepted as a  reality then the experiences within the physical existence prevail as a reality. 
The seeker has to learn to view and judge the three states on the standpoint of the soul, which is the witness of the three states.  deeper self-search reveals the fact that,  man (waking entity)  is not the self  but the soul is the innermost self.  
We are within the illusion. Whatever we see,  feel, known, believed and experienced are also within the illusion. The formless substance and witness of the illusion are the Soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness. 
In self-awareness,  the substance and witness are one in essence. That essence is the soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness (Spirit).      
The dream entity and the dream world are within the dream. Similarly, you and your experience of the world are within the waking experience.  The witness of the dream is not the waking entity.  Similarly, the witness of the waking experience is not the waking entity. The Soul is the witness of the coming and going of the three states.   The three states are nothing to do with the Soul, the innermost Self, because on the standpoint of the Soul, the innermost Self,   the three states are non-existent as a reality.

Self-discovery is the only way, towards non-dual Absolute*****

Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atama Gnana  cannot be attained by the study of the scriptures and intellectual understanding or by bookish knowledge.  Therefore,there is no use of studying the scriptures and other scriptures in order to acquire the non-dual wisdom.  

That is why Bhagavan Buddha rejected the scriptures, and even Sage Sri, Sankara indicated that  the ultimate truth lies beyond religion, concept of god and scriptures. 

Scriptures are being added to from time to time. This process will go on. There is the final authority among them? One contradicts the other: duality reigns supreme.
I quote Scriptural citation only after   verification reality and proved the truth, to point out that the scriptures teach the same thing. If one quotes them before having demonstrated truth, then it is scholasticism.

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.

Bhagavan 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.

Many people quote Advaita without understanding it really in its highest aspect. One who follows the path of Advaitic orthodoxy is  taken the path of ignorance. "How does he know that what Sage Sri, Sankara says is true?  There are  conflicting teachings. People get  confused as to which are true?" People  will be unable to prove because they  do not know the proper test of truth.The Veda serves only as the starting point. What one has to learn from Veda must be understood through the exercise of reason, as far as reason might go. And what one has understood must be realized in one’s life.

Only pretenders show such external works or claims. People who do not understand the scriptures generally misinterpret all scriptures references to the ‘indifference’ of the sage as meaning sitting idle, remote from worldly concerns. "Though the scripters speak of a direct knowledge of ultimate truth by a study of the holy texts it does not become established..." It is therefore not enough to say one understand the theories of Advaita; he may grasp idealism and Manduka, but it is not enough.

The citations from scriptures are not proofs.  The ultimate truth has to be proved without the scriptures.  The ultimate truth is the universal truth, and it does not belong to any religion.  The religion causes diversity in unity, whereas, the ultimate truth brings unity in diversity. 

It is not that one should pore over the ancient scriptures.  There is no need to study first then realize. One has to realize first then only he will know ‘what is truth’ and ‘what is untruth’.  One has to make his discoveries through the process of rational thinking. 

That is why Sage Sri, Sankara says: -V-C :-65. As a treasure hidden underground requires (for its extraction) competent instruction, excavation, the removal of stones and other such things lying above it and (finally) grasping, but never comes out by being (merely) called out by name, so the transparent Truth of the self, which is hidden by Maya and its effects, is to be attained through the instructions of a knower of Brahman, followed by reflection, meditation and so forth, but not through perverted arguments.
It means-  search the truth  independently on your own, therefore,  there is no need of any teacher or teaching the truth has to be  ascertained by the seeker himself. Until the seeker realizes the truth,  how can he know what is the untruth?  How can one know the teacher knows the truth or teaching speaking of the truth? The seeker should not accept anything as truth without deeper introspection. Only uncontradictable truth has to be accepted as the ultimate truth of Brahman. The path of truth is the path of verification. Nothing has to be accepted as truth without verification.

The Guru is useless so long as the ultimate truth is unknown, and guru is equally useless when the ultimate truth or Brahman   has already been known.  Guru is needed in the religious and yogic path.  There is no need of the guru in to acquire self-knowledge.

That is why Sage 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 realization 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.

Self-Knowledge is achievable without the grace of any guru or conceptual god or the mercy of some god men. Seeker has to simply wake up to the Reality (consciousness), which is the formless substance and witness of the unreality (universe of mind). At the end of the quest, the seeker becomes aware of the fact that, the true self is consciousness.  There is nothing exists other than consciousness. Thus consciousness is Ultimate Reality.

The consciousness is being identified by another name "Nothingness", because truly if there was Nothingness, in the end, there must be one "final witness" to that Nothingness.