Advaita is the nature of the Soul the Self.+

The seeker should be aware of everything that is untrue: stick to the truth and he shall succeed, maybe slowly, but surely. 

If you are trying to become a Guru or Monk then you are unfit to acquire Self-knowledge. Someone posing as a Gnani because he is some Gurus’ direct disciple cannot be a Gnani. Those who pose themselves as Gnanis are not Gnanis.  A Gnani never poses himself as a Guru, a swami, a sadhu or a yogi, or some Guru’s disciple. 

Different Gurus and teachers are pointing out the understanding of the Advaitic truth from different standpoints. All such understanding of Advaita is on dualistic perspective accumulated from here and there.

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

Sage Sri, Sankara: ~ A Gnani "bears no outward mark of a holy man" (Stanza 539).

Thus, it proves that religious Gurus and yogis are not Gnanis because they identified themselves as holy people. 

A Gnani never claims himself as a Gnani, he guides the seekers, not posing himself as a Guru, and he does not force his wisdom on others.

Advaita is not a theory or a philosophy. Advaita is the nature of the Soul the innermost Self.  There is no need for any theory or philosophy or scriptures to acquire Self-knowledge. Only a perfect understanding of ‘what is what’ is needed.

Sage Sri, Sankara:~ 'Like a servant who carries a lamp in front of you to find your way, and you have found it, so becomes the Veda to that person. What is the Veda? ~ utterances of those who have known the Truth. Here is one who has known the Truth; why should he or she depend upon the Veda further? Actual realization takes you beyond books. At a certain stage, books become a botheration. The Upanishad itself says that the 'words are only so much of distraction for such minds'

Bhagavan Buddha: ~ Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders.

You need not become a Guru or a monk to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. You have not to renounce the world or to leave anything ~ your wife, children, job, responsibilities. You do not have to renounce anything! The only thing you have to realize is the truth, which is beyond the form, time, and space by realizing the form, time and space are the product of ignorance. When the ignorance vanishes, the unreality of the form, time, and space are exposed.

Upanishad's say:~  "He who thinks he knows, does not know." This means that to know anything implies a second, an object of knowledge, hence duality, i.e. no Gnana.

Tripura Rahasya: ~ Second-hand knowledge of the Self-gathered from books or Gurus can never emancipate a man until its truth is rightly investigated and applied; only direct realization will do that. Realize yourself, turning the mind inward. (18: 89) :~Santthosh Kumaar 

From the standpoint of Atman, the three states are merely an illusion then the question of the fourth state does not arise.+

Turiya is Atman, the  Self itself.  From the standpoint of the Atman, the  Self, there is no fourth state.  

From the standpoint of Atman, the three states are merely an illusion then the question of the fourth state does not arise.

The Atman, which is present in the form of consciousness alone, is real and eternal.

To realize this truth the seeker has to realize first “What is the truth? and “What is the untruth?” between the dual (waking/dream) and nondual (deep sleep)  experiences.   All accumulated bookish, scriptural knowledge is not wisdom.

Holding some Gurus' teaching as wisdom without verification blocks the realization of the Advaitic truth, which is beyond form, time, and space.

Remember:~

The Soul, the Self has no name, because it is a formless, timeless, and spaceless existence

The Soul, the Self is present in the form of consciousness. The body, ego, and the world together are the Soul.

Thus, the Soul, the Self is not an individual. The objective observation is dependent on the ego. The Soul, the Self observes both, the objective as well as the subjective.

Objective awareness is unreal and impermanent whereas subjective awareness is real and permanent. Objective awareness is dependent on the Soul, the Self whereas subjective awareness is independent and eternal.

Man and his world are within the objective awareness, which is present in the form of ‘I’. The ‘I’ is an illusion.

Thus, holding ‘I’ as real is holding the illusion as reality without knowing this truth, it is impossible to unfold the mystery of the ‘I’ or mind or universe.

That is why Sage Sankara says: ~ What is accepted without a proper inquiry will not lead to the final Goal. (Commentary on Vedanta Sutra). 

Sage Sankara:~ Vc.63: ~ Without knowing and examining the external world, one can’t know the Truth, as the idea that the external world exists, won't go. It can go only by an inquiry into the nature of the external world.  

Remember:~

Manduka Upanishad:~Atman is the highest Reality and its opposite: Note the word "and". Reality and illusion together make Brahman: nothing can be left out. Page 51.

Brahman must be realized in the waking state when all objects are present in the form of consciousness, otherwise, it is nonsense. Page 65: v.10.

"Sleep does not exist In Turiya”: This emphatically disproves the mystic use of sleep as an analogy for Brahman. Page 69.

This means that objects do not disappear, they are there, and yet they are non-dual. Disillusionment is not the same as appearance. Page 74. v. 17

The essential message of Manduka Upanishad is that the whole world, whatever is seen is only imagined. points out that even though it is harder for them, still women can attain Brahman just as men. Page 351

"From their notion": Everybody has his own imagination about facts and starts from that, instead of discarding his personal idea and looking at the fact. Page 333. V. 83:

"Soundless and of infinite sounds"; means both the waking and sleep world must be known, and both objects and non-objects must be understood before the truth of Brahman is realized. Page 96. v. 29

Manduka shows how one opinion may be used to contradict another so that both may be thrown away. Opinions are not for philosophy; they are as Ashtavakra says, mere thoughts; it wants the truth.

In deep sleep and anesthesia, you have non-duality but no Gnana. Therefore there must be discrimination along with non-duality. Otherwise sleeping dogs would be Gnanis. ~ (P.219)

Existence means existence in the sense of the Drik. When you reduce everything to consciousness, Drik, Gnana, or even Mind, giving up all imagination in truth it is unborn. You see a man's body come and go, but that is not the same as seeing him come and go, which you can never do. P.300. V.45.

Sage Goudpada 's 3rd chapter is devoted to proving the existence of Atman in order to distinguish it from the changeable objects in this world, but in the final 4th chapter P.33, verse 83, he discards that position and rejects even the idea of Atmanic existence. He then declares we may assert nothing about it. Not even existence or nonexistence i.e. silence alone is demanded by the truth.:~Santthosh Kumaar

In Gita Chap.IV where Lord Krishna says: ~ “This yoga has been lost for ages" the word yoga refers to Gnana yoga, not other yogas.+

Bhagavad Gita

There are hundreds of commentaries from different authors on the Bhagavad Gita. Each one goes on spinning yarns imagining as he likes what the meaning may be.

Bhagavad Gita has been interpreted in a thousand ways, according to the author’s capacity to understand the test of all these is the reason. Only a few understood Bhagavad Gita.

Bhagavad Gita is a hodgepodge containing everything; hence it suits the populace because there is something in it for every type of mindset. It is difficult to find any tradition whose voice is not found in the Gita. It is difficult to find anyone who does not take solace from the Bhagavad Gita. But for such people, the Advaitic path will prove very difficult. 

Once you are Soulcentric you will know what Bhagavad Gita and other scriptures really meant, you will see that there is only one possible interpretation, irrespective of diverse opinions or imagination.

The Bhagavad Gita does not contain higher wisdom. Bhagavad Gita is intended for those who are incapable of thinking rationally.

People love Bhagavad Gita because it is very easy to extract one's own meaning from it.  Reading Bhagavad Gita a religious believer extracts something of which he can make a belief because Bhagavad Gita speaks on bhakti, devotion. The karma yogi extracts his belief because Krishna has spoken on karma yoga, the Yoga of action. The believer in knowledge finds what he wants because Bhagavad Gita has spoken on knowledge as well. Somewhere Krishna calls bhakti the ultimate, somewhere else he calls knowledge the ultimate, again elsewhere he calls karma yoga the ultimate.

Lord Krishna taught the Karma and Bhakti yogis their own paths only in order to lead them up to the Gnana yoga path, which is the highest and the real object of his teaching.

Lord Krishna confesses that the oldest wisdom of India (our true Advaita philosophy) has been lost: people misinterpret and falsify it today as they did then. It is not yoga but the philosophic truth. But nobody knows it. The teachers of philosophy and leaders of mysticism or religion do not want to inquire into the truth and have no time for it. (Gita ~ Chap ~IV~ v.2)

Why is the word Yoga used in so many different senses in the Gita? Because there are grades and the highest demands concentrated brains, and not sitting mindless and imagining you are seeing God.

In Gita Chap.IV where Lord Krishna says: ~ “This yoga has been lost for ages" the word yoga refers to Gnana yoga, not other yogas: the force of the word this is to point this out.

Lord Krishna describes some of the other yogas but devotes this chapter separately to Gnana Yoga. So one sees even in those ancient days people did not care for Advaita; they wanted religion; hence Gnana got lost. That is why Lord Krishna calls it "the supreme secret." Lord Krishna points out that yoga must see "Brahman in action."

Gita Chap.IV:~ “He who achieves perfection in Yoga finds the Self in time." This means that after his yoga is finished, he begins the inquiry into ultimate truth, and in due course, this inquiry produces the realization of the universal spirit as the result.

Understanding what is God is not so easy. Religious people can only imagine God based on their beliefs.

That is why Lord Krishna says Ch ~V: ~ “Those who know the Self 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.

No dualities, no differentiation. Only Atman exists.

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

It proves that the all-pervading Atman, which is present in the form of consciousness, is God.  Thus, worshipping the form-based Gods is meant for the ignorant populace who are incapable of realizing the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space.  

Bhagavad Gita: 4: 22: ~ ".....who has gone beyond the conflicting dualities like good (happiness) and bad (sorrow)....."

Bhagavad Gita: 4: 42:~ ".....cut all such conflicting dualities (doubts) by the sword (weapon) of knowledge. ....."

Bhagavad Gita: 5: 18:~ “The learned men (who have come out of delusions (Māyā), got rid of Avidya) see no differentiation have equal vision for a revered Brahmin, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a cāndāla (outcaste, rogue, mleccha, demonic person, etc)"

Bhagavad Gita: 5: 19:~ "Those who have achieved the true knowledge i.e. the 'Self-Knowledge' or the 'knowledge of Atman' and see no difference, are free from conflicting dualities have merged in Brahman"

Bhagavad Gita: 5: 20:~ "One who does not get excited out of happiness on getting good and does not get depressed on getting bad is situated in Brahman i.e. is merged in Brahman"

Bhagavad Gita: 6: 9:~  "The one who has equal vision for a Selfless do-gooder, a friend, a foe, an unbiased, a well-wisher, a depressed and jealous man, relatives, a righteous and a sinner is the best (as he sees no duality and differentiation but sees everything as Ātman)"

Bhagavad Gita: 6: 32:~ “.....as one seeks and treats oneself with equal vision, the same way one who has an equal vision for good and evil, for everybody,  is the best of all"

Bhagavad Gita: 6: 8: ~ "For whom soil, a pebble, and gold are alike, he is merged in Brahman"

Bhagavad Gita Gita: 7: 27:~ ".....people are getting entangled in the primordial ignorance (Avidya) of the conflicting dualities like good and evil, happiness and sorrow caused due to attachments, desires, and hatred....."

Bhagvad Gita: 6: 28:~ “.....who have cut-off conflicting dualities (like good and evil) is determinedly in my service. ...."

Bhagavad Gita: 7: 19:~ "Such a man who has attained true knowledge, the knowledge of Self, the knowledge of Atman, in the last birth in the series of many births worships Me as~ Atman alone exists~ everything is Atman, there exists nothing except Atman. Such a man is extremely rare"

The earliest part of the Bhagavad Gita deals with religion because it is for mentally immature persons, but in the latter part, you get philosophy as that is intended for the intellectually evolved. You can’t make all men into genius and,  therefore, religion is provided for them.

Lord  Krishna himself says that he can do nothing to make a man intelligent straight away. The adepts give Prasad, blessings, initiations, mantrams, etc. only to confer temporary peace of mind, to help one to get rid of worries, but not to confer Gnana. The capacity to receive it must first be inborn in man by evolutionary degree.

In the statement in Bhagavad Gita which says that the path of the Unmanifest is harder than others, this path means Gnana Yoga.

The Upanishads and Gita do not give detailed explanations because the knowledge of those days was not as advanced as it as nowadays. However, there are odd words here and there which give hints.

Bhagavad Gita gives the dualistic worship of "God” only for the lower minds; it also indicates the Advaitic wisdom for the more evolved.

Likewise, thinkers and poets of the Age of Devotion (Bhakti) of the 16th century believed in a God with attributes that became very tangible when incarnated as Avatar and were attainable simply through love and devotion rather than scholastic and intellectual meditation.

For the religious people,   the Bhagavad Gita became the main vehicle of inspiration with its qualified and deistic Monism, rather than the scholastic and esoteric path shown by Sage  Sankara’s  Advaitic path. :~Santthosh Kumaar  

Vedas bar worship of human in place of God.+

Vedas bar human worship:~ 

Yajur Veda:~

Translation "They are enveloped in darkness, in other words, are steeped in ignorance and sunk in the greatest depths of misery who worship the uncreated, eternal Prakriti -- the material cause of the world -- in place of the All-pervading God, But those who worship visible things born of the Prakriti, such as the earth, trees, bodies (human and the like) in place of 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.)

Then why worship and glorify the GURUS and YOGIS (human form) in place of God when Veda bars such activities and it also warns people who indulge in such activities 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

The Guru and disciple and the world, in which they exist,  are created out of single clay. That single clay is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. Consciousness is the cause of the world and it itself is uncaused.  

From the standpoint of the Soul, the Self the world in which we exist is merely an illusion created out of consciousness.   

Worshipping whatever belongs to the illusion keeps us in ignorance. Till ignorance is there we will not be able to realize the truth, which is hidden within the form, time, and space but is beyond the form, time, and space.   

Vedas say not to worship anything, which belongs to the illusion, in place of the Soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness, which is the real God.  

The Vedas confirm God is Atman (Spirit), the Self.

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

Rig-Veda 1-164-46 and Y.V 32-1 clearly mention that God is “One”.

Rig Veda says God is ‘ONE’ and God is Atman, then why believe and worship in place of the real God.

Even Upanishads confirm God is Atma:  

Brihad Upanishad: ~ “If you think there is another entity, whether man or God there is no truth."

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

Even Bhagavad Gita: ~ Brahmano hi pratisthaham ~ Brahman (God in truth) 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 the Self 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.

Sage Sankara’s Supreme Brahman (God in truth) is impersonal, Nirguna (without Gunas or attributes), Nirakara (formless), Nirvisesha (without special characteristics), immutable, eternal, and Akarta (non-agent). The Nirguna Brahman of Sage  Sankara is impersonal.

It is above all needs and desires. It is always the Witnessing Subject. It can never become an object as it is beyond the reach of the senses. Brahman is non-dual, one without a second. It has no other besides it. It is destitute of difference, either external or internal. Brahman cannot be described, because description implies a distinction. Brahman cannot be distinguished from any other than It. In Brahman, there is not distinction between substance and attribute. Sat-Chit-Ananda constitutes the very essence or Svarupa of Brahman, and not just Its attributes. The Nirguna Brahman of Sage Sankara is impersonal.

Sage Sankara: ~"That which permeates all, which nothing transcends and which, like the universal space around us, fills everything completely from within and without, that Supreme non-dual Brahman  (God in truth)."

Self-realization is truth-realization, and truth-realization is God-realization. Self-realization is real worship.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

Mundaka Upanishads: ~ So called spiritual pundits and learned are called children because a child takes whatever it thinks as truth.+

Mundaka Upanishads: ~ So-called spiritual pundits and learned are called children because a child takes whatever it thinks as truth. The question never occurs to children “Is what I have seen or thought really  the truth?" (P.334 line 9)

Advaitic wisdom does not need the support of any Scripture or Revelation like the Veda. For it is based, not upon the varying theological fancies, which are as numerous as the sands of the sea, but upon reason, the common heritage of all mankind, irrespective of color or creed or clime.

In Vedanta it is the Lord who teaches us in the Gita and in it, he lashes out against the karmakanda. It is generally believed that the Buddha and Mahavira were the first to attack the Vedas.

It is not so. Lord Sri Krishna himself spoke against them long before these two religious leaders. At one place in the Gita, he says to Arjuna:~ "The Vedas are associated with the three qualities of sattva, rajas, and tamas.

You must transcend these three qualities. Full of desire, they (the practitioners of Vedic rituals) long for paradise and keep thinking of pleasures and material prosperity. They are born again and again and their minds are never fixed in Samadhi, these men clinging to Vedic rituals.

“In another passage, Krishna says: ~ "Not by the Vedas is Self to be realized, nor by sacrifices nor by much studies.

Bhagavad Gita 2:46:~ "A man of true knowledge who has attained enlightenment, has the same use for all the scriptures as one has for a small reservoir of water in a place flooded on all sides."

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. (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 Atman that reveals to the seeker Its true nature. (3 –page-70 )

Sage Sankara: ~ VC-  Let erudite scholars quote all the scripture, let Gods be invoked through sacrifices, let elaborate rituals be performed, let personal Gods be propitiated---yet, without the realization of one‘s identity With the Self, there shall be no liberation for the individual, not  even in the lifetimes of a hundred Brahmas put together (verses-6)

In spirituality, the ultimate truth is God. The Atman is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God.

Sage Sankara says: ~ The scriptures dealing with rituals, and rewards are therefore addressed to an ignorant person. :~Santthosh Kumaar