Self- Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is the only means for liberation.

Just as the electricity is the direct cause for illuminating the bulb, so without Knowledge no emancipation can be had. Compared with all other forms of paths and practices Self- Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana  is the only means for liberation.

 Karma [Action] cannot destroy ignorance, for it is not in conflict with or opposed to ignorance.  Self- Knowledge does verily destroy ignorance as light destroys deep darkness.

The consciousness the innermost self appears to be finite because of ignorance. When ignorance is destroyed the innermost Self which does not admit of any multiplicity truly reveals itself by itself: like the Sun when the clouds pass away.

Constant reflecting of knowledge purifies the ego, stained by ignorance and then disappears itself – as the powder of the ‘coal ’ settles down after it has cleansed the water.

The waking world which is full of attachments, aversions, etc., is like a dream. It appears to be real, as long as it continues but appears to be unreal when the innermost Self is awake i.e., when true wisdom dawns.

The waking appears to be true so long as consciousness, the substratum, the basis of all this creation, is not realized. It is like the illusion of silver in the mother-of pearl.

 Like bubbles in the water, the mind, which is in the form of universe rise, exist and dissolve in the soul or consciousness, he innermost self. Consciousness s the material cause and it itself is uncaused.

All the manifested world of things and beings are projected by imagination upon the substratum which is the Eternal All-pervading consciousness the innermost self.   And its    nature is Existence-Intelligence; just as the different ornaments are all made out of the same gold.

 The All-pervading consciousness appears to be diverse on account of its association with various conditionings which are different from each other. Space becomes one on the destruction of these limiting adjuncts: So also the consciousness appears to be diverse on account of inborn samskara or conditionings and becomes one on the destruction of the inborn conditioning.

All action(Karma) based on the false self(ego or waking entity) within the false experience(waking) will not the means to acquire non dual wisdom or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

 Karma means action. Action implies duality.  duality is mere illusion from ultimate standpoint. thus conduct based moksha is mere imagined theory based in the false self(ego or waking entity)  within the false experience(waking) . Therefore,  all action(Karma)  based on the false self(ego or waking entity)  within the false experience(waking)  will not the means to acquire non dual wisdom or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

The theory of fate (Prarabdha) is for the ignorant one because those who accept the waking entity as self and waking world as reality will remain in believing in the theory of birth, death and rebirth.  

 The waking entity and the waking world are reality within the waking experience. The waking experience itself is illusion from ultimate standpoint.  

The body being in this universe , does not also exist and due to this, Prarabdha also does not exist, Though the Vedas speak of Prarabdha, For the understanding of the ignorant.

The Mundaka Upanishad tells that:-

Ksheeyanthe thasya karmani thasmin drushte cha paravare, Bahuthwam than nishedartha sruthya geetham cha yath sphutam. 98

The body being in this world does not also exist and due to this, Prarabdha also does not exist, though the Vedas speak of Prarabdha, for the understanding of the ignorant.

All actions of man including Prarabdha, Perishes when one is able to see, Brahman which is in the higher and also lower, Thus tell the Vedas with clarity, *Cause and effect If fate does not get destroyed, ignorance gets never destroyed and spiritual realization never comes.

Uchyathe agnai balath chaithaththadaanatha thad vayagama, Vedantha matha hanam cha yadho jnanam ithi sruthi. 99

If the ignorant adamantly refuse to know this, Not only will they get involved in two absurdities*, But also forsake the conclusions of Vedantha, Which proceed from Veda, the true knowledge. *negation of Brahman and its realization. 

Sri,  Sankara says in Aparokshanubhuti:-

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

  89. O enlightened one; pass your time always contemplating on Atman while you are experiencing all the results of Prarabdha; for it ill becomes you to feel distressed.

90. The theory one hears of from the scripture, that Prarabdha does not lose its hold upon one even after the origination of the knowledge of Atman, is now being refuted.

91. After the origination of the knowledge of Reality, Prarabdha verily ceases to exist, inasmuch as the body and the like become non-existent; just as a dream does not exist on waking.

92. That Karma which is done in a previous life is known as Prarabdha (which produces the present life). But such Karma cannot take the place of Prarabdha (for a man of knowledge), as he has no other birth (being free from ego).

93. Just as the body in a dream is superimposed (and therefore illusory), so is also this body. How could there be any birth of the superimposed (body), and in the absence of birth (of the body) where is the room for that (i.e., Prarabdha) at all?

94. The Vedanta texts declare ignorance to be verily the material (cause) of the phenomenal world just as earth is of a jar. That (ignorance) being destroyed, where can the universe subsist?

 95. Just as a person out of confusion perceives only the snake leaving aside the rope, so does an ignorant person see only the phenomenal world without knowing the reality?

    96. The real nature of the rope being known, the appearance of the snake no longer persists; so the substratum being known, the phenomenal world disappears completely.

     97. The body also being within the phenomenal world (and therefore unreal), how could Prarabdha exist? It is, therefore, for the understanding of the ignorant alone that the Shruti speaks of Prarabdha.

     98. “And all the actions of a man perish when he realizes that (Atman) which is both the higher and the lower”. Here the clear use of the plural by the Shruti is to negate Prarabdha as well.

   99. If the ignorant still arbitrarily maintain this, they will not only involve themselves into two absurdities but will also run the risk of forgoing the Vedantic conclusion. So one should accept those Shrutis alone from which proceeds true knowledge.

The above proves that the karma is reality only on the base of false self, where one thinks body and the universe as reality. When one becomes aware of the fact that, the true self is formless soul, then the karma becomes part and parcel of illusion.   My point is that, if one accepts the karma theory as reality, he will never be able to come out of the ignorance. And ignorance makes him believe the cycle of birth, life and death or pain and pleasure as reality.  Thus the freedom which one is seeking will remain distant dream. For the one who accepts the birth life and death as reality, Self-knowledge is impossible.

Thus it is necessary for the seeker of truth to know the fact that, the body which is born, lives and dies is not the self. Since he is taking the body to be the self, he is experiencing the duality as reality. 

 As Sri, Sankara says:  When the whole universe, movable and immovable, is known to be Atman, and thus the existence of everything else is negated, where is then any room to say that the body is Atman.

 If body is not the Atman/self, then the karma theory has no meaning on the standpoint of the truth. Thus no second thing exists other than Atman, therefore why to view the worldview on the standpoint of the body as self [I] when the body [I] is the false self, and the soul/Atman is the true self.

When the waking entity and the waking world are mere illusion than the experience birth, life, death and the world are mere illusion created out of consciousness, the innermost self.

 

Just as the dream entity and the dream universe in the dream, is an illusion, which appeared and disappeared, for a Gnani , this waking entity and the waking world, is mere illusion created out of consciousness, because he is fully aware of the fact that, the self is neither the waking entity nor the dream entity but the formless knower of the three states. 

When the waking entity and the waking world are mere illusion than the experience birth, life, death and the world are mere illusion created out of consciousness, the innermost self. These beings so, how can Prarabdha, come along with birth, when birth itself takes place within the illusion? 

 

Accepting the birth, life and death as reality, is accepting the illusion as reality. Accepting illusion as reality is the cause of the ignorance. Ignorance makes one feel the duality as reality. The duality makes one feel he is an individual separate from the world.  This separation makes one feel the birth, life and death as reality.  The person who bases on the birth, life and death is trying to find the meaning of life. There is no meaning or purpose of the life, because the life is mere happening within the illusion.  Thus the karma based on the physical entity is based on the birth, life and death, which is part and parcel of the illusion.

 

 Ignorance prevents one from seeing the truth. Ignorance is the cause of the illusion. Illusion is cause of the universe. Universe is cause of experiencing birth, life and death as reality.  Until one becomes aware of the fact that, the universe, which is in the form of mind, is myth, it is impossible to assimilate the self-knowledge.  

If there is no ignorance, then where can be the universe be? Seeing myth instead of truth, due to utter confusion, He only sees this universe, without realizing the reality.

Once the real nature of the “true Self” is realized, the “Universe” will not be seen as real, once knowledge of  the “true Self” is gained  and one  establishes in his formless  true identity ,which is consciousness ,  then the birth, life, death and the universe will never remain as reality . 

 Universe exists only when the mind exists. The universe ceases to exist without the mind [I].  When there is no mind there is no universe. In deep sleep there is no mind therefore there is no universe. Therefore mind itself is universe the universe appears as waking or dream. The waking experience is parallel dream and dream is parallel waking experience.  The formless substance and witness of the waking or dream or universe is Atman, which is in the form of consciousness.  The formless substance and witness are one is essence that essence is Atman [consciousness].  Thus Atman is Brahman that is consciousness is ultimate truth.  Thus on the standpoint of Atman the universe [mind] is mere illusion. 

That is why Sri Sankara quoted:-  (VC)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.

They alone in this world are endowed with the highest wisdom who are firm in their conviction of the sameness and birthlessness of Ataman. The ordinary man does not understand their way. [Chapter IV — Alatasanti Prakarana 95-P-188 in Upanishads by Nikilanada]—

 

It is necessary to learn to view and judge the three states on the base of soul, to understand and assimilate the self-knowledge.  It is the through the soul one knows himself as a person and perceives the world.  It is the soul, which is the author/knower of the three states, not the person who is limited to waking/dream.  

A well-directed self-search search will lead one to find his non-dual destination. Trying to discover the truth on the false self [ego] is going round and round not reaching anywhere.

For those ignorant who believe the birth, life, death and the world as reality, think that, the effect of action done in previous births, as Prarabdha in this birth, but for a Gnani the present birth, life, death and the universe itself is mere illusion

Like an ornament made from gold is Gold, that which is born out of consciousness is consciousness.  Like gold is the permanent thing, in ornaments made of gold, similarly, the mind, which is in the form of the universe is born out of consciousness, is consciousness in its essence. 

People see God is different from them; they fear him similar to a tiger fearing its own shadow in the well. The ignorant thinks the birth, life, death and the universe as reality because he is unaware of the fact that the universe is reality within the waking experience but the waking experience is mere illusion from the ultimate standpoint. 

Since people have the inherited conditioning of believing the birth, life, death and the world as reality they are unaware of the fact that their human experience within the universe is mere mirage created out of consciousness.  

The ignorance of the true self makes them to accept the false theories based on the false self  and people accept  whatever theory suits their mind set and keep manipulating their false life within the false experience.   

Some are intoxicated with theory of karma; some are with the theory of cause and effect, some with love alone, some with humanism, some with service, and some with rituals, worship, some with glorifying and surrendering to the guru, some with their logical and intellectual conclusions, some with their orthodoxy and some with their Yogic Samadhi. But all these are biggest hindrance not qualification to acquire non dual wisdom.   It is waste of time to convince these people because they have already have accepted something else as truth. Thus they will not have any urge to know the ultimate truth.   Therefore, it is no use discussing with such crowd and it is better avoid such mind sets if one seriously seeking truth. 

 There is no use criticizing any belief system or teacher or guru.  But one has to highlight how they cause hindrance and becomes obstacle in pursuit of truth.  People who think they are rebelled against belief system are mere intellectual speculators. They are not serious about seeking truth. They are more interested in time pass with their intellectual acrobatics with the information collected from whatever they have read and heard. Such accumulated knowledge is not the means in pursuit of truth. Thus discussing with such mind set will neither help the seeker of truth or those who think intellectuality and logical conclusion as the means for Self–Realization.    

In the states of ignorance or illusion or waking the duality appears to be reality. And within the illusion or waking or universe, one is conditioned to think that, he is an individual separate from the universe and universe existed prior to him and he is born in it.  This inherited conditioning of the birth conviction is very dominant in waking experience. Until this conviction is there it is impossible to assimilate self-knowledge.  When one realizes all the three states to be consciousness, then no second thing exist other than consciousness then there is unity in diversity in his understanding.  If understanding becomes firmer with conviction, then the wisdom dawns on its own.  

In that state of oneness, everything is identified, as consciousness and when this is done, there is no desire, no sorrow and no duality because they are part of the illusion. The ultimate truth is in the form of consciousness and it is consciousness which is the true self.

The dream experiences are true within the dream and when one does not have enlightenment, the waking experience appears to be true.

Though we seem to experience the world, for all practical purposes of perception, but its reality is limited to the waking experience because the waking experience itself is an illusion when wisdom dawns, same way as the dream becomes unreal when waking takes place.

The dream becomes unreal on waking, and waking does not exist in a dream, and waking and dream are absent in a deep sleep.

For those ignorant who believe the birth, life, death and the world as reality, think that, the effect of action done in previous births, as Prarabdha in this birth, but for  a Gnani  the present birth, life, death and the universe itself is mere illusion because  he has  realized the fact that, waking experience itself is mere illusion created out of consciousness.

Consciousness is the knower, knowledge, the known.

People make their accumulated knowledge as a yardstick and argue on their own standpoint. Such discussion will not lead anywhere because all the accumulate knowledge are based on the ego and the truth is based on the soul.  Thus such discussion will not lead anywhere because they are totally based on different pole. Our reasoning and judgment has to be soul centric not egocentric.   It is foolish to accept the truth without verification.   

Only when one becomes aware of that he is in bondage, when he gets the idea of the soul. He tries to know the soul, which is inner most self.   When he becomes aware of the fact that, the inner most self is not the form but it is formless, then only the urge of liberation arises. Once this urge arises then it is impossible to get rid of it. Thus he becomes restless until he becomes aware of the truth he is seeking for.  

The soul, which is the innermost self, is in the form of consciousness. The self is prior to all, bondage and liberation, truth and falsehood. Its existence is self-proved, it cannot be doubted, for it is the essential nature of him who doubts it. 

It is known in immediate perception, prior to all proof. Self is eternal, immutable and complete. Bondage is its association with the three states through ignorance.  The self is neither the waking entity nor the dream entity but it is the formless witness of the waking or dream as the whole. Until one is ignorant he thinks on the base of his waking entity or ego as self and judges on the base of the ego or physical self. This is cause of ignorance and cause of all doubts and confusion. Therefore, his reasoning base has to be rectifies from form to formless in order to know what is truth and what is untruth.  

Soul is the true self. The true self is in the form of consciousness. Consciousness is something other than the physical existence because it cannot be traced as thing or an object. It pervades in everything and everywhere in the whole physical existence.  It is the cause of the physical existence and it itself is uncaused. 

Consciousness persists through all three states. One has to mentally negate all the three states in order to realize the fact that the witness is within the three states and it is without the three states. It is within the three states as their formless substance and it is without the three states as their formless witness. 

 The true existence is consciousness without the form, time and space. Therefore the self is nothing other than the consciousness. However, this consciousness is not the flux of states, a stream of consciousness. 

Consciousness is the knower, knowledge, the known. It is infinite, transcendent, the essence of absolute knowledge. And it is also -illumined, free, and real. Thus the consciousness is the knower of all and all else is known other than consciousness. The known is mere illusion created out of the formless knower.  Therefore, the knower and the known are one in essence.   In reality there is neither the knower nor the known but only oneness. 

The various thoughts rise because of ignorance. The ignorance is because of experiencing the illusion as reality. Illusion will prevail till one is remains in the prison of his accumulating knowledge. The accumulated knowledge makes one more and more egoic.  And the egoic attitude will block one from acquiring the non-dual wisdom.  The truth cannot be bought in the spiritual super market, but seeker has to acquire it with his own mental effort by constant inquiry, analysis and reasoning.   Patience, humility and receptiveness are needed in pursuit of truth.