Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana cannot come if anything is left out***

Advaita is very different from Buddhism. Advaita regards consciousness as permanent and all-pervading while Buddhists regard it as momentary. Madhyamikas regard that a non-existent entity can appear in perception like it does in the snake in the rope illusion.

You cannot live without the physical world; it is the basis of your life, so it must be the starting point of your inquiry. Things, not imaginations, must be the truth seekers material.

Without knowing the nature of the world in which you exist, it is impossible to know  the truth, which is beyond the form, time, and space. What is the use of trying to find our inner Self before we understand the world, which confronts you?  You have to realize the fact that, this world which confronts you   is also consciousness. 

If you do not make his induction from facts from the world before you, then you are only drawing on your imaginations. By saying the  ‘Self’ is like this, or like that." but it will be only your imagination.

You must inquire into the nature of the ‘I’ i.e. matter. Second he must inquire into the nature of the Soul, the innermost Self. To say the world in which you exist as an illusion without first examining them and inquiring into them thoroughly is to delude yourSelf.

This world is common to all of us, therefore you must begin our inquiry with it and not avoid it. It is only after you have inquired into the nature of the objective world, that you should inquire into who is the knower. If, however,  you inquire into the knower before the inquiry into the world in which you exist, then it is mere mysticism.

‘What is this  world?’ must precede ‘What is this I? in Atmic path.

Look at everything in its essence because in everything there is consciousness.  You should not avoid them, do not shut your eyes to  the world in which you exist; do not shut yourSelf away from the world which is as much consciousness, as anywhere else.

Those who are weak and those who are not sharp enough to grasp the truth beyond the form, time and space advice others to be non-observant and to withdraw.  Soulcentric   reasoning will help, not hinder your pursuit of truth.  There is no need run away from the worldly life in ascetic fear or shyness of them.

The yogi shuts his eyes against the world and then has the temerity to declare that he knows the world to be Brahman! Because he has not inquired into the world in which he exists, he knows nothing.  Yoga cannot remove ignorance. It is only a step. It removes obstructions.

Sage Sri, Sankara definitely says: ~ Yoga is not the means of liberation (page 132-133 of his commentary on Brihadaranyakopanishad).

In Sutra Bashya and Manduka: ~ Samadhi and sleep are identical.

 Brihad Upanishad does not advocate Samadhi.

Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana cannot come if anything is left out. The whole universe must be included. For only when all is known can all be known to be but ideation. Hence,  yogis blotting all out in Samadhi cannot lead to Gnana. 

Bible says: ~ “God is a Spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit.+*****

1. Jesus said:~  “Whoever discovers the interpretation of these sayings will not taste death." (Jesus spoke and Didymos Judas Thomas recorded) 

3. Jesus said:~ "If your leaders say to you, 'Look, the (Father's) kingdom is in the sky,' then the birds of the sky will precede you. If they say to you, 'It is in the sea,' then the fish will precede you. Rather, the (Father's) kingdom is within you and it is outside you. (Jesus spoke and Didymos Judas Thomas recorded) 

5. Jesus said:~ "Know what is in front of your face, and what is hidden from you will be disclosed to you.

For there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed. [And there is nothing buried that will not be raised.]" (Jesus spoke and didymos judas thomas recorded) 

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.  

Bible says: ~ “God is a Spirit, and they that worship God must worship God in Spirit and in Truth (John 4:24)”, 

In Yajurveda – chapter- 32:~   It has been said that God Supreme or Supreme Spirit.

Vedas and Upanishad confirm the Soul, the innermost Self, is present in the form of the Spirit or the consciousness.

If God is the formless, timeless and spaceless  Spirit, then how does the man know God created the world? There is no proof. If the man had seen God creating the world, he could admit it, but how could he have seen God before he came into existence? (i.e. were created).

 The Spirit is the root element of the universe. The Spirit is present in the form of the Soul, the innermost Self. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. From the Spirit, the universe comes into existence. In the Spirit, the universe resides. And into the Spirit, the universe is dissolved. The Spirit is the parent of all that is there is. 

 The Spirit is present in the form of consciousness. Everything is consciousness. All the moments are within the dualistic illusion. Whatever happens within the dualistic illusion is bound to be an illusion created out of the consciousness. Thus, the consciousness alone is real and all else is merely an illusion.

“Spirit is my father and I and my father are one.”

If the Spirit is the father the son is bound to be the Spirit. The Spirit, the beloved alone is real and all else is merely an illusion. 

There is no God in the dualistic illusion because the dualistic illusion created out of God, which is present in the form of the Spirit or the consciousness.  Thus, God alone is real.

Spirit is prior to Love. Love implies duality. The love hides God. When love disappears the God appears.  Find the Self and Love the Self and rest in God, which is the Spirit.

The consciousness is the only reality in which the universe exists, to which the universe belongs; from which the universe has emerged, which is the cause of the universe and which itself is uncaused.  Thus, the universe is nothing but consciousness. :~Santthosh Kumaar 

Until you hold the ‘‘Self’ ‘as the ‘I’ you will never be able to get Self-realization.+*****

People study Vedanta and them under the delusion and concludes that they declare:~   "I-Am-Brahman" but they fail to realize the fact that Brahman is everywhere and in everything! The existence of Brahman is not limited to his physical identity because of it the very essence of the form, time, and space.

Yoga Vasistha:~ "Teachers, interpretations of sacred texts, the force of religious merit--none of these lead to the realization of that Ultimate Truth which is revealed in the clear reflection of the heart, engendered from contact with the good."

Sage Sri, 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)

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.

The ‘I’ is ignorance. Till one hold the ‘I’ as the ‘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. 

What is this ‘I’?

The ‘I’ is not a thought.  The ‘I’ is the mind. The mind is the whole universe.  The universe appears as waking or dream (duality and disappears as deep sleep (nonduality).  The one that appears as waking or dream (duality) and disappears as deep sleep (nonduality), is the Soul, the innermost ‘Self’. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. The consciousness pervades everything and everywhere in all three states.

 Without knowing what mind is, it is impossible to realize the truth, which is beyond the form, time, and space.  People think the mind is within the body but the deeper self- search reveals the fact that the world in which you exist itself’ is the mind. When the ‘I’ is there then only the mind is there. If the mind is there then only the universe is there. If the universe is there then only the waking is there.  Thus, it is very much necessary to realize the ‘what ‘I’ is in actuality.  Without knowing ‘what is this ‘I’ it is impossible to realize the ‘I-less’ truth, which is beyond the form, time, and space.

Till you hold the ‘‘Self’ ‘as the ‘I’ you will never be able to get ‘Self’-realization.  ‘I’ hides the Soul, which is the innermost ‘Self’. ‘

I’ is ignorance.

‘I’ is the duality.

‘I’ is form, time, and space.

‘I’ is the universe.

‘I’ is the waking.

‘I’ is the dream.

‘I’ is the illusion.

‘I’ is the experience of birth, life, death, and the world.

Remember:~

Without the ‘I’ there is no ignorance.

Without the ‘I’ there is no duality.

Without the ‘I’ there is no form, time, and space.

Without the ‘I’ there is no universe.

Without the ‘I’ there is no waking.

Without the ‘I’ there is no dream.

Without the ‘I’ there is no illusion.

Without the ‘I’ there is no experience of birth, life, death, and the world.

The ‘I’ hides the truth of the whole. The ‘I’ hides the truth.

That is why Ashtavakra Gita 16:10:~ If you desire liberation, but you still say ‘I,’, If you feel the ‘‘Self’’ is the ‘I’, you are not a wise man or a seeker. You are simply a man who suffers.

Bhagavad Gita: ~ The permanent is always there, only the transient ‘I’ comes and goes. (2.18)

It is time to discard the ‘I’. Never use the word the ‘I’ or I AM for the ‘Self’. :~Santthosh Kumaar   

If you feel the ‘Self’ is the ‘I’ then you are not a wise seeker.+*****

The waking is a parallel dream and dream is a parallel waking experience.   The waking and dreams are the dualistic illusion or Maya.

All the confusion is because of identifying the ‘Self’ as the ‘I’.  Holding the ‘Self’ as ‘I’ or ‘I AM’   without realizing what ‘I’ is in actuality.

 Holding the ‘Self’  ‘I’ or ‘I AM’ is blocking the realization of the ‘Soul, the innermost Self, which is without the form, time, and space.

The ‘I’ is an object to the formless subject. Thus, it is necessary to realize ‘what is this ‘I’ supposed to be in actuality.

The ‘I’ exists only when the mind exists.  The mind exists only when the universe exists. The universe is present only in the waking experience.  If there is no waking experience then there is no ‘I’.

If there is no ‘I’ then there is no mind.

If there is no mind then there is no universe.

If there is no universe then there is no waking.

 If there is no waking then you do not exist.

Your existence as an individual is dependent on the waking experience.  The waking experience is dependent on the universe. The universe is dependent on the mind. The mind is dependent on the Soul. Thus the Soul, the ‘Self’ is the ultimate reality or Brahman or God.

If the ‘I’ is the universe then it is necessary to include the universe in the inquiry to realize the unreal nature of the ‘I’, which is present in the form of the universe. 

Sage Sri Sankara:  ~ “This entire 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 universe 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.

From the standpoint of the Soul, the ‘Self’, the universe is unreal. Therefore, whatever seen, known, believed and experienced as a person within the practical world is bound to be unreal.

There is no impermanence of the ‘I’ which comes and goes.  The Soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness, is the formless substance and witness of the ‘I’, which comes and goes.

That is why Bhagavad Gita: ~ “The permanent is always there, only the transient ‘I’ comes and goes. (2.18)”

The ‘I’ hides the truth of the whole. 

People think the ‘I’ without the body is the Self. The seeker has to understand the fact that ‘I’ is not the Self, but the witness of the ‘I’ is the true Self, which is eternal. 

That is why Ashtavakra Gita 16:10:~ If you desire liberation, but you still say "I," If you feel the ‘Self’ is the ‘I’, You are not a wise man or a seeker. You are simply a man who suffers. 

Brahman is considered the all-pervading consciousness which is the basis of the form, time, and space.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

Sage Sri, Sankara declared this Advaitic truth is ultimate truth.+*****

Sage Sri, Sankara says:~ Atman is Brahman. The Atman alone is real is not religious truth.  Sage Sri, Sankara declared this Advaitic truth, which the ultimate truth to the whole world, many centuries back is the rational truth, the scientific truth,  and ultimate truth.

Thus, the Atman which is present in the form of the consciousness is real and eternal, the world in which we exist is merely an illusion.   

Lord Krishna confesses that the oldest wisdom of India (our true Advaitic wisdom) 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)

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 Krishna calls it "the supreme secret.

The religion is meant for the ignorant populace who are incapable of treading the Atmic Path. The religion is nothing to do with Sage Sri, Sankara’s Advaitic wisdom.

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.

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.

This clearly indicates that religion, which is based on individual conduct, prescribes karma and Upaasana to people of lower and middling intellect, therefore religion is for the lower intellect. And wisdom is for those are capable of inquiring into their own existence to know and realize the ultimate truth, which is Brahman.

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.

Gaudapada says:~  The merciful Veda teaches karma and Upaasana to people of lower and middling intellect  while Jnana is taught to those of higher intellect.

Mundaka Upanishad:~ The study of the Vedas, linguistics, Rituals, astronomy and all the arts Can be called lower knowledge. The higher Is that which leads to Self-realization. The eye cannot see it; mind cannot grasp it. The deathless Self has neither caste nor race, Neither eyes nor ears nor hands nor feet. Sages say this Self is infinite in the great And in the small, everlasting and changeless, The source of life.

Sage Sri, Sankara’s notion of Maya, the dualistic illusion, must be transcended in order to realize the truth, which is beyond the form, time and space. by realizing the form, time and space are created out of a single clay and that single clay is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. the knowledge of the single clay is Self-knowledge or Bramha Gnana or Atma Gnana. 

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.

Those who lack the intelligence to discriminate between formless witness (subject) and three states (object) will not be able to grasp what is real and what is unreal. Both subject and object are consciousness, not subject alone. :~Santthosh Kumaar