Sage Sri, Sankara believed that those of superior intelligence, have no need of this idea of divine causality, and can therefore dispense with Sruti and arrive at the truth of Non-Dualism by pure reason.

Sage Sri, Sankara believed that those of superior intelligence, have no need of this idea of divine causality, and can therefore dispense with Sruti and arrive at the truth of Non-Dualism by pure reason. 

Sage Sri, Sankara’s supreme Brahman is Nirguna (without the Gunas), Nirakara (formless), Nirvisesha (without attributes) and Akarta (non-agent). He is above all needs and desires. Sankara says, "This Atman is self-evident. This Atman or Self is not established by proofs of the existence of the Self. It is not possible to deny this Atman, for it is the very essence of he who denies it. The Atman is the basis of all kinds of knowledge. The Self is within, the Self is without, the Self is before and the Self is behind. The Self is on the right hand, the Self is on the left, the Self is above and the Self is below".

Sage Sri, Sankara himself had often said that his philosophy was based on Sruti, or revealed scripture.  This may be because Sri, Sankara addressed the ordinary man, who finds security in the idea of causality and thus in the idea of God—and Revelation is indispensable to prove the latter. 

 Sage Sri, Sankara  believed that those of superior intelligence, have no need of this idea of divine causality, and can therefore dispense with Sruti and arrive at the truth of Non-Dualism by pure reason. 

Sage Sri, Sankara's commentary to Brahma Sutras (Chap.3.4.50) shows that the Gnani "should pass through life", not run away from life and should take a middle course between seeking worldly honor and worldly abasement. 

Sage Sri, Sankara varied his practical advice and doctrinal teaching according to the people he was amongst. He never advised them to give up their particular religion or beliefs or metaphysics completely; he only told them to give up the worst features of abuse: at the same time he showed just one step forward towards the truth.  Sri, Sankara was extremely precise and careful in his choice of words. 

Sage Sri, Sankara' gave religious, ritual or dogmatic instruction to the mass but pure philosophy only to the few who could rise to it. Hence the interpretation of his writings by commentators is often confusing because they mix up the two viewpoints. Thus they may assert that ritual is a means of realizing Brahman, which is absurd. 

Sage Sri Sankara:- VC--"All this universe which through ignorance appears as of diverse forms, is nothing else but Brahman which is absolutely free from all the limitations of human thought

The objective world-the world of names and forms-has no independent existence. The Atman alone has real existence. The world is only phenomenal.

A permanent view of world as unreal can come only after soul centric reasoning; such knowledge cannot change. Were the seeker who is sufficiently sharpness he could grasp the unreal nature of the world by soul-centric reasoning alone.  To know whole truth, one must know the whole universe, otherwise he gets only half-truth. 

Just as the snake is superimposed on the rope, this world and this body are superimposed on Brahman or the soul, the innermost self.  If one gets knowledge of the rope, the illusion of the snake will vanish. Even so, if he gets knowledge of Brahman, the illusion of the body and the world will vanish.

Sage Sri, Sankara says:- the world is illusion, it includes birth, life and death, which happens within the world.  Thus the seekers main aim is to mentally trace the formless substance of the illusion, which is also the witness of the illusion. The formless substance and witness of the illusion (world) is the Atman, and this Atman itself is Brahman.

This Brahman cannot be attained by indulging in egocentric religious orthodoxy. The one who knows Brahman knows his body and his experience of the world are mere illusion and also he knows his body and his experience of the world are also as Atman (consciousness), which is Brahman. 

Deeper self-search reveals the fact that,  it is not the waking entity (you) which witnesses the three states.  The formless soul is the witness of the coming and going of the three states. The soul is immutable. The soul is unaffected by the happening within the three states because the three states are mere mirage created out of the formless soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. The soul or consciousness is the innermost self.

The self is neither the waking entity nor the self is dream entity but the self is the formless soul. The on the standpoint of the soul, the innermost self the three states are non-existent as reality.     

The three states have no separate existence apart the source from where they arise and subside.  The source itself is the true self, which is the formless knower of three states which comes and goes in succession.   

The soul,which is present in the form of conciousness  is the formless substance and witness of the three states. If the formless witness witnesses the waking experience and its attention is fixed to the waking experience than the waking experience is experienced as reality. If the formless witness witnesses the dream and its attention is fixed to the dream than   the dream is experienced as reality. If the attention of the soul is on itself than it is called deep sleep in waking experience, which is the states of ignorance. If the soul consciously remains in its formless non-dual true nature in the midst of waking experience through wisdom it is called self-awareness. 

The three states are an object to the formless soul, is the subject.  The three states are state of ignorance. In all the three states the soul, the innermost self is in ignorance of its own formless non-dual true nature.   This forgetfulness is cause of the ignorance. Ignorance is cause of experiencing the three states as reality. The three states are cause of experiencing the individuality as reality.  Individuality is cause of experiencing the birth, life, death and the world as reality.  The three states are one in essence. In the realm of truth the three states are non-existent.  In self-awareness, the three states are non-existent because they are one in essence.  

The ‘I is present in the form of mind. The  mind is present in the form of universe. the universe  appears waking or dream(duality and disappers as deep sleep (non-duality). The formless knower of the ‘I’  (universe or mind or  waking or dream)  is the soul, the innermost self . 

The soul, the innermost self has to be free from experiencing the duality as reality.  To overcome the duality, the waking entity has to know it itself is not the self but the self is the soul, which witnesses coming and going of the three states.  Thus self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is necessary to realize ‘what is truth’ and ‘what is untruth’ to reject the untruth by accepting the truth. –FORMLESS PATH   

Since people think whatever is propagated by the guru/yogi as ultimate truth and blindly accept it as truth, without verifying the validity of their preaching. This blind acceptance becomes a big hindrance in pursuit of truth. If one is seeking truth, one has to verify the validity of any claim through inquiry, analysis and reasoning on the true base, and accept only un -contradictable truth.

Self-knowledge or Bramha Gnana or Atma Gnana  when shared by an unqualified person is not easily comprehended, because it is diversely regarded by disputants. But when it is shared by him who has become one with Consciousness, there can remain no more doubt about It. Consciousness is subtler than the subtlest and not to be known through argument.

Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana cannot be attained by egocentric reasoning. Consciousness becomes easy of comprehension, soul-centric reasoning. One has to attain self- Knowledge right now in this very life not in the next world or the next life.

A Gnani, by means of concentration on the soul, the innermost self, realizes that ancient, effulgent hidden and which dwells and pervades in everything and everywhere in all the three states as its formless substance and witness.

The knowing the  soul (consciousness), the innermost self  is not born; It does not die. It has not sprung from anything; nothing has sprung from It. Birthless, eternal, everlasting and ancient, it is not killed when the body is killed or when the world disappears.  If the murderer thinks he kills and if the killed man thinks he is killed, neither of these apprehends aright. The soul,  the innermost self kills not, nor is it killed.

The consciousness exists in smaller than the small, greater than the great, and is hidden in the three states as its formless substance and witness. A man who is free from viewing and judging the worldview on the base of ‘I’ beholds the  through self- awareness  and becomes free from experiencing the duality as reality.

A Gnani, having realized  the cconsciousness as dwelling within impermanent states is bodiless, pervades the three states as its formless substance and witness and permanent and eternal.

Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana cannot be acquired by the study of the scriptures, or by intelligence, or by much hearing of sacred books. It is attained by him alone whom It chooses. To such a one the  soul ( consciousness), the innermost self  reveals its own form.

He who has not rectified his reasoning  base from the ‘I’(form) base to the soul (formless) base , who does not have the intense urge to know the non-dualistic or Advaitic  truth and who is not tranquil and subdued and whose mind is not receptive,  cannot acquire Self-Knowledge . It is realized only through soulcentric  reasoning .

The consciousness is not known by those who know it; it is known by those who do not know it.  That is when one says he knows the consciousness; he is saying it as a person. The Consciousness cannot be applied only to the individuality but to the whole experience (three states). But in reality the person and world created out of the consciousness, thus nothing exits other than consciousness. Thus if one says he knows the consciousness as a person, he is making a wrong statement. One must know  the consciousness as the formless clay of the three states (whole).

The consciousness is known when it is realized in every state of mind; for by such Knowledge one attains Immortality. By  the consciousness one obtains strength; by Knowledge, Immortality -