To get Self- realization no qualification is actually needed.+*****

To get Self- realization no qualification is actually needed. It is possible to have the realization of the Advaitic truth here, in this very life.

The universe appears as waking, dream (duality) and disappears as deep sleep (nonduality). Gaining knowledge of the knower of the three states is the only way one can transcend the triad of states.  To gain this knowledge by perfectly analyzing the very states of dream and sleep in the waking to benefit from the states rather than becoming victims of the states.

A Gnani knows that the enjoyment of desires within the waking also is as unreal as in the dream, because he is fully aware of the fact that, the self is neither the waking entity nor the dream entity but self that which witnesses the three states.  Thus, the universe, which appears as waking or dream is merely an illusion created out of the consciousness, which is the substance and witness of the three states.  

The pain and pleasure are part of the waking or dream. The waking or dream is an object to the true self, which is consciousness.

When awake, one should, the first picture to himself vividly what he has seen in a dream and then carefully and constantly think over the conditions of dreaming and wakefulness and analyze and realize the fact that the witness of the three states is formless and part. The witness is nothing to do with the individual happenings within the universe, which appears as waking or dream.   The dream entity and dream universe is nothing to do with the waking entity. The waking entity and the waking universe is nothing to do with a dream entity. 

 In deep sleep, the witness remains without the waking or dream experience.  In waking alone experience the waking entity is aware of the dream or deep sleep experiences but the waking entity was absent in dream or deep sleep. Thus, one which is aware of the three states is neither the waking entity,  not the dream entity because the deeper inquiry reveals the fact that the self is not physical, but the Self is formless the consciousness.   The one which witnesses the waking or dream is not the form,  but it is the formless Spirit because the form is limited to the waking or dream.  Thus, the witness is that which witness the waking or dream experience as a whole without the physical apparatus.

The seeker must observe deeply and find out the essential similarity of the dream and waking experience. He should realize the fact that the witness of the three states is formless and apart.  He should then give up the notion of the reality of the waking experience, the same way he gives up the dream realities, when the waking takes place and cease to be attached to both waking or dream, by holding mentally the formless witness as real and eternal.

Remember:~

If you emotionally stick to the ‘I’-centric Gurus and their teaching you will never reach anywhere.

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.

Bhagavan Buddha: - There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth: not going all the way... and not starting

If you are seriously seeking truth you must complete your journey. Your emotions and sentiments towards the physical Guru keep you permanently in the mental asylum of the prison of ignorance.

Jesus said: ~ “Those who seek should not stop seeking until they find. When they find, they will be disturbed. When they are disturbed, they will marvel and will reign over all. [And after they have reigned they will rest.]"

Meher Baba: ~ “When the reality appears this ignorance which one thinks as reality becomes unreal.

Sri Swami Vivekananda says: ~ Advaita encompasses everything. Advaita requires heavy-duty intellectualism. From 'The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda'...

 ‘I’, me and mine belong to you, not to the Soul, which is ever formless, timeless and spaceless existence.

‘I’, me and mine are a reality within the domain of the form, time, and space.

Remember the ‘Self’ is not ‘I’ but the ‘Self’ is the Soul, the witness of the ‘I’.

Without the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, there is no ‘I’

There is no truth in ‘I’, me and mine because ‘I’, me,  and mine belong to the dualistic illusion.

‘I’, me and mine are nothing to do with the Soul, the Self because the Soul is the fullness of the consciousness without the division of the form, time, and space.

The ‘I’ is present in the form of the mind. The mind arises from the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

 The ‘I’ rises as the mind.

 The mind is in the form of the universe.

 Thus, ‘I’ is the mind or universe.

The seeker has to divert his attention to the source from where the mind (universe) rises and subsides.

The universe appears as waking or dream (duality) and disappears as deep sleep (nonduality).

Ashtavakra Gita: ~ “The universe raises from the Soul, the innermost ‘Self’ like bubbles from the sea. Thus, know the Self to be one and in this way enter into the state of dissolution."

First, find out how this world, in which you exist, has come into existence. If you know the answer then all your doubts will vanish.

Taittiriya Upanishad: ~ “The Self in man and in the sun are one. Those who understand this see through the world and go beyond the various sheaths of being to realize the unity of life.

The truth is very simple. It is only to realize the world in which we exist is created out single stuff. Knowledge of single stuff is Self-knowledge. Self-knowledge frees us all from the ignorance.

Swami Vivekananda “The wicked are always looking for defects. Flies come and seek for the ulcer, and bees come only for the honey in the flower. Do not follow the way of the fly but that of the bee.

The seeker has to have to discard all accumulated knowledge accumulated from different Gurus and teachers.

Sage Sri, Sankara says: ~ VC-162- There is no liberation for a person of mere book knowledge, howsoever well-read in the philosophy of Vedanta, so long as one does not give up the false identification with the body, sense organs, etc., which are unreal.

People dwelling in ignorance, but thinking themselves wise and erudite, go round and round by various blind beliefs and tortuous paths and practices, like the blind led by the blind.

Arise! Awake!

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.”

The Soul is the ultimate truth or Brahman. The Soul only held in the illusory bondage of matter; perfection will be reached when this bond will burst, and the word they use for it is, therefore, Mukthi - freedom, freedom from the bonds of imperfection, freedom from ignorance."

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.

In reality, three is no scope for two. Advaita means one without the second. Advaita means the Soul. The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, is one without the second.

The consciousness is one without the second because the world in which you exist is created out of consciousness. Thus, everything is consciousness. No second thing exists other than consciousness. Consciousness alone is real and eternal.

Advaitic truth has to be grasped mentally by realizing the form, time and space are nothing but an illusion created out of the single clay, and that single clay is the Soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness. Knowledge of the single clay is Advaita, the one without the second. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

The consciousness is the ultimate reality exists both in the manifest and the unmanifested.+*****

In reality, three is no scope for two. Advaita means one without the second. Advaita means the Soul. The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, is one without the second.

The consciousness is one without the second because the world in which you exist is created out of consciousness. Thus, everything is consciousness. No second thing exists other than consciousness. The consciousness alone is real and eternal.

Advaitic truth has to be grasped mentally by realizing the form, time and space are nothing but an illusion created out of the single clay, and that single clay is the Soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness. Knowledge of the single clay is Advaita, the one without the second. 

Remember:~

The waking and the dream emerge from the Soul, the innermost ‘Self’. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. The emergence of the waking or the dream does not make any difference to the consciousness. The consciousness remains unchanged and unaffected by the waking or the dream, even though both the waking or dream objects and the waking or dreams are aspects of the consciousness.

The dreamer would not realize that dream objects and the dreams are simply aspects of the consciousness unless he wakes up from the dream. Once the waking takes place the dream becomes unreal, the same way when wisdom dawns the waking becomes unreal.  The unchanging reality behind the waking or dream experience is consciousness.

 The waking or dream experiences are the external manifestation of consciousness. As long as a person is caught up in the phenomenal existence, he does not see the unity behind the multiplicity. When one wakes up to the consciousness as it is in itself, not perceived or interpreted, or noumenal level he becomes aware of the one, non-dual the consciousness, which was the cause of the three states.  

Thus, consciousness is supreme. It is a reality. It has no beginning and end. It is eternal and beyond the reach of pain and pleasure. The consciousness is indivisible, immeasurable, without names and forms. It cannot be avoided, as it is present everywhere. The consciousness cannot be grasped, as it is transcendent. It cannot be contained in anything, as it contains everything. The consciousness is indefinable, for it is beyond the range of action and speech. Thus, the consciousness is reality itself, pure and absolute consciousness.

Remember:~

The consciousness is the ultimate reality is defined as that which persists. The consciousness exists in all periods of time and remains the same in the past, present, and future.

The consciousness is ultimate reality exists both in the manifest and the unmanifested. The mind, which is in the form of the universe arises out of the consciousness. The consciousness exists in all three states. The mind rises from it and Merges back into consciousness.

The consciousness is the substratum and the three states. The consciousness is like the ocean and the mind is like a wave. The wave exists in the ocean and merges back into the ocean. Similarly, the mind or the universe is nothing but consciousness. Everything is consciousness. 

Therefore, consciousness is a principle of utter simplicity. There is no duality in the consciousness for no qualities are found in the concept of consciousness. It is also simple in the sense that it is not subject to inner contradictions, which would make it changeable and transitory. To understand the nature of the consciousness and to speak of it, the consciousness in its reality is not a metaphysical postulate that can be proved logically, but it must be grasped and realized mentally not through argument or logical conclusions but perfect reasoning. Thus, the consciousness is one: It is not a `He or She ', a personal being; nor is it an `It', an impersonal concept. It is that state which comes about when all subject-object distinctions are obliterated.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

Mundaka Upanishad condemns rituals.+*****

 

Upanishads ridicules the worshipper of deities as a dim-witted person no better than a beast.

Mundaka Upanishad condemns rituals:~ The Para or Higher knowledge is the knowledge of the Supreme Being while the Apara or Lower Knowledge is that of following sacrificial rites and ceremonies. (1/2/ 1 – 6)

Sage Sri, Sankara: ~ "Though I wear these robes of a Sanyasin,  it is only for the sake of bread."

~ This shows he was wearing the religious robe only for the sake of bread." Thus, it means those who are wearing a religious robe for the sake of bread.

All the rituals based on the false belief of Gods will not yield any fruits and they are meant for the ignorant populace who are unable to grasp God beyond the form, time and space.

Sage Sri, Sankara criticized severely the ritualistic attitude and those who advocated such practices

Ceremonials and sacrifices lead men round and round, and not to the ultimate goal to which an understanding of the Self alone can lead.

Worshipping of the non-Vedic Gods will not yield any fruit.  The Vedas confirms God is Atman (spirit), the innermost Self.

The religion of the Veda knows no idols, then why so many Gods and Goddesses with different forms and names are being propagated as Vedic Gods. Why these conceptual Gods are introduced when the Vedic concept of God is free from form and attributes.

Rig Veda: ~ The Atman is the cause; Atman is the support of all that exists in this universe. May ye never turn away from the Atman the innermost self. May ye never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman?" (10:48, 5)

God and Goddesses worshipped in India today are non-Vedic Gods.   Such Gods and Goddesses cease to exist without the dualistic illusion. Whatever belongs to the dualistic illusion is bound to be a falsehood.

Rig Veda clearly declares the God is Atman and never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman.   Then why worship any other God in place of the Atman, the real God.

The Bhagavad Gita: ~ Brahmano hi pratisthaham ~ Brahman (God) is considered the all-pervading consciousness (Spirit), which is the basis of all the animate and inanimate entities and material. (14.27).

When Bhagavad Gita says, God is considered the all-pervading consciousness (Spirit) which is the basis of all the animate and inanimate entities and material then nothing has to be accepted  as God other than consciousness. 

Lord Krishna Says Ch ~V: ~ “Those who know me in truth.". The last two words (tattvataha) are usually ignored by pundits, but they make all the difference between the ordinary concept of God and the truth about God.

The dualistic worship of "God” is only for the ignorant populace. The God in truth is only Atman, the innermost Self.   In reality, there is no duality, no differentiation. Only Atman exists.

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: ~ Brahman (God) is in the form of the Athma, and it is indeed Athma itself.

In Yajurveda – chapter- 32:~   It has been said that God Supreme or Supreme Spirit has no ‘Pratima’ (idol) or material shape. God cannot be seen directly by anyone. God pervades all beings and all directions. Thus,   Idolatry does not find any support from the Vedas.

Yajurveda says  God is Supreme Spirit has no idol or material shape. God cannot be seen directly by anyone. God pervades all beings and all directions. Thus,   Idolatry does not find any support from the Vedas. Therefore, why worship the Gods when they cease to exist without the dualistic illusion.

Yajurveda warns  people those who worship  non~Vedic Gods  in place of  Vedic God are enveloped in still greater darkness, in other words, they are extremely foolish, fall into an awful hell of pain and sorrow, and suffer terribly for a long time." (Yajur Veda 40:9.)

The rituals mentioned in the karmakanda of the Vedas are sought to be negated in the jnanakanda which is also part of the same scripture. While the karmakanda enjoins upon you the worship of various deities and lays down rules for the same, the jnanakanda constituted by the Upanishads ridicules the worshipper of deities as a dim-witted person no better than a beast.

This seems strange, the latter part of the Vedas contradicting the former part. The first part deals throughout with karma while the second or concluding part is all about jnana. Owing to this difference, people have gone so far as to divide our scripture into two sections: the Vedas (that is the first part) to mean the karmakanda and the Upanishads (Vedanta) to mean the jnanakanda.

Dogmas and beliefs, rituals and ceremonies are the essences of the religion, not of the spirituality. Religion has become merely a matter of external rituals and ceremonies. The religion hides the truth beyond the form, time and space.  Till the form, time and space are present the duality is present. The duality creates the illusory prison to the Soul, the innermost Self.

Religious rites and rigid ceremonies were passed down from one generation to the next as a practice or set customs and tradition and performed automatically with blind faith. Such worship based on the belief of God does not reach God.

Religious rites and ceremonies, yagnas and homas, havans or any other forms of ritual are meant for the ignorant populace.

Belief in God without knowing God in actuality holds the worshiper more firmly in the grip of ignorance. 

All worship and the ceremonies rituals performed on the base of non-~Vedic Gods will not yield any fruits.  Deeper self-search reveals the fact that worshiped, the worship and the worshiper and the world are merely an illusion created out of the consciousness.

Religious rites and ceremonies, yagnas and homas, havans or any other forms of rituals formal observance have long since set in. 

Religious rites and ceremonies, yagnas and homa, havans or any other forms of ritual are meant for the ignorant populace. In the Atmic path, the seeker has to discard what is not needed to realize the truth, which is beyond the form, time and space.

Religious rites and ceremonies, yagnas and homa, havans or any other forms of rituals formal observance have long since set in.

Sage Sri, Sankara says:~ The scriptures dealing with rituals, rewards are therefore addressed to an ignorant person. Thus, the rituals are meant for ignorant people.

One of Sage Sri, Sankara’s missions was to wean people away from a ritualistic approach advocated by Mimamsakas and to project wisdom (jnana) as the means of liberation in the light of Upanishad teachings.

Sage Sri, Sankara criticized severely the ritualistic attitude and those who advocated such practices. However, the orthodox texts that combined rituals with wisdom (jnana_karma_samucchaya) more in favor of the Mimamsaka position came into vogue, projecting Sage Sri, Sankara as the rallying force of the doctrine.

Sage Sri, 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.

That is why Sage Sri, Sankara:~ (11) As regards the rituals, Sage Sri, Sankara says, the person who performs rituals and aspires for rewards will view himself in terms of the caste into which he is born, his age, the stage of his life, his standing in society, etc. In addition, he is required to perform rituals all through his life. However, the Self has none of those attributes or tags. Hence, the person who superimposes all those attributes on the changeless, eternal Self and identifies the Self with the body is a confusing one for the other; and is, therefore, an ignorant person. The scriptures dealing with rituals, rewards, etc. are therefore addressed to an ignorant person.  -Adhyasa Bhashya 

Adhyasa Bhashya of Sage Sri, Sankara:~ (11.1) This ignorance (mistaking the body for Self) brings in its wake a desire for the well-being of the body, aversion for its disease or discomfort, fear of its destruction and thus a host of miseries(anartha).This anartha is caused by projecting karthvya (“doer” sense) and bhokthavya (object) on the Atman. Sankara calls this adhyasa. The scriptures dealing with rituals, rewards, etc. are, therefore, he says, addressed to an ignorant person. -Adhyasa Bhashya 

Adhyasa Bhashya of Sage Sri, Sankara:~ (11.2) In short, person who engages in rituals with the notion “I am an agent, doer, thinker”, according to Sage Sri, Sankara, is ignorant, as his behavior implies a distinct, separate doer/agent/knower ; and an object that is to be done/achieved/known. That duality is Avidya, an error that can be removed by vidya.  -Adhyasa Bhashya 

Adhyasa Bhashya of Sage Sri, Sankara: ~ (12) Sage Sri, Sankara affirming his belief in one eternal unchanging reality (Brahman) and the illusion of plurality, drives home the point that Upanishads deal not with rituals but with the knowledge of the Absolute (Brahma vidya) and the Upanishads give us an insight into the essential nature of the Self which is identical with the Absolute, the Brahman. -Adhyasa Bhashya 

No conceptual God can exist, apart from the consciousness.  People are not aware of the fact that there is no individual God can exist, apart from Soul, which is in the form of consciousness. Thus the Soul or the consciousness is the innermost Self.   If there is no consciousness, then there is no physical body, no ego, no universe, no religion, and no conceptual God. :~Santthosh Kumaar 

Adyathmic Discussion - 414 ( Universe as a whole not as a part)

Trev Light Bown: - You say "we" must see the Universe as a whole not as a part. But the "we" are the duality as many "I" thoughts.

SK:- Please do not hold your dualistic yard stick based on the accumulated knowledge. When you are able to understand and assimilate what I am saying then you will get Non-dualistic yardstick to realize ‘what is truth’ and ‘what is untruth. 

Just understand what this ‘I’ is first. The ‘I’ is not a thought. Till one holds ‘I’ as a thought he will not be able to understand and assimilate Non-dualistic truth.  As one goes deeper in self-search he becomes aware of the fact that, the ‘I’, mind, duality, universe, illusion, waking and dream. 

Thoughts arise to the person within the waking or dream. Thinker is the form. Without the form the thinking is an impossibility. Thus thinker and the thoughts are part of the known. The witness of the knower and the known including the world is formless soul.

Thoughts and thinker are present only when the world is present. The world is present only when the waking experience is present. Waking experience is mere illusion from ultimate standpoint. If the waking experience is mere illusion then the thought, thinker and the world are mere illusion. 

Thought, thinker and the world are nothing to do with the formless witness. The witness is that witnesses the thoughts, the thinker and the world together. The thoughts, thinker and the world are one in essence. And also the three states are one in essence. That essence is consciousness. The consciousness (soul) is the innermost self. The consciousness is the ultimate reality or Brahman or God.

’I’ is not self and self is not 'I '. 'I ' is bound by form, time and space. Without the form, time and space 'I' cease to exist. Holding, ‘I’ as self, one remains in the clutches of duality. When there is duality then there is ignorance. Ignorance is cause of experiencing the duality (illusion) as reality. One, who identifies the Self as 'I', will not be able to cross the threshold of duality. There is no point in saying 'I ' or 'I AM THAT' because the 'self' is that which witnesses the 'I ' and the world together without the physical apparatus.

The illusion is present in the form of ‘I’. ‘I’ is present in the form of mind. The mind is in the form of the universe. The universe appears as waking or dream and disappears as deep sleep.  The individual experiences of birth, life, death and the world are within the waking experience.  The dream is a parallel waking experience and waking is parallel dream.

Deeper self-search reveals the fact that the, self is neither the waking entity nor the self is the dream entity but the self is formless soul, which witnesses the coming and going of the three states in succession without the physical apparatus.  This has to be mentally grasped and assimilated to realize the formless soul, the innermost   self is nothing to do with the three states. On the standpoint of the formless soul, the innermost self, the three states are mere illusion.

Think  and reflect deeply and realize:- 

The Self is not the ‘I’. The ‘I’ is present in the form of mind.  The mind (I) is present in the form of the universe. And the universe (I) appears as the waking (I) or the dream (I) and disappears as deep sleep.  The duality (I) is present only in waking or dream. The duality (I) is absent in deep sleep. That is the duality (I) is present when the nonduality is absent. The nonduality is the nature of the soul. Therefore, the soul becomes mind (I). And mind (I) becomes the soul. The soul and mind (I) are one in essence. That essence is the soul which is present in the form of consciousness. The consciousness is ultimate truth or Brahman. 

Non-dualistic truth is the supreme truth.  All dualistic systems hold ‘I’ as self. They limit the ‘I’ to the waking entity (ego), which is the false self.  Thus they hold the false self as real self and false experience (waking) as reality. 

 Non- dualistic wisdom is the culmination of all systems including theistic non-duality.  A Gnani will not quarrel and argue with any theoretical philosophy because he is fully aware of the fact that, this orthodox theistic non-dualistic scholars or pundits like Dualist sages could not distinguish between ‘I’ and ‘formless witness.’ The 'I' was the witness. Their highest was the Jiva. They are so much attached to the 'I' that they do not want to think that 'I' does not exist. Again they are unable to detach the ‘I’ from the Real witness.  

The earliest ancient sages used the word ‘I’ to the witness of the three states not to the ego as moderns use it and think the ‘I’ without the body is self. The seeker has to understand the fact that the fact that ‘i’ is not the self but the witness of the ‘I’ is the true self, which is eternal. 

People think that the ‘soul’ or ‘spirit’ is something different from the mind. They believe that the mind is really two. This is the confusion among religionists and intellectuals. If ‘Soul’ has any meaning, if ‘spirit’ has any meaning, so long as one thinks of them, they are merely ideas. No, Mind is the highest: it is consciousness, non-dual wisdom.

The individual is a bundle of memories, desires within the waking or dream. The memories and desires are part of the duality. Therefore the individual self is entirely part and parcel of the mirage. Peoples ideas of that they will go to some world after death, some astral plane or religious heavens will disappear as nonsense with the disappearance of belief in the reality of the ‘I’.  

 “From the standpoint of the waking entity the universe is a reality from the standpoint of the soul, the innermost self, the universe is mere illusion created out of consciousness. When wisdom dawns then one realizes the whole universe is consciousness. The dualistic view is possible only in ignorance. At the dawn of Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana there is only non-dualistic view in the midst of duality because the whole universe is consciousness. Thus all the contents of the universe are also consciousness. Thus form, time and space are mere illusion created out of consciousness. If the form time and space are consciousness than the experience birth, life and death also consciousness.   

The soul is the formless substance and the 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 ignorance is the cause of the forgetfulness. Ignorance is cause of experiencing the three states as reality. The three states are the cause of experiencing the individuality as reality.  Individuality is cause of experiencing the birth, life, death and the world as reality.  The witness and 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.