The ‘I’ itself is inborn samskara or conditioning, because of this inborn samskara or conditioning one has accepted the ‘I’ as ‘self

The ‘I’ itself is inborn samskara or conditioning, because of this inborn samskara or conditioning one has accepted the ‘I’ as ‘self. This inborn samskara or conditioning itself is cause of ignorance.  By accepting the 'I' as self he has accepted illusion as reality.  The ‘I’ itself is illusion.  And whatever is connected to the ‘I’ is bound to be illusion.  The self is not an individual because it is birthless because it is formless.  The self is not limited to waking experience alone because it pervades all the three states.  Thus identifying the self without the form alone is erroneous.   The self is without the form, without the time and without the space.

 Thought is nothing to do with the innermost self, which is ever formless because without the form, time and space the thought will not be formed.  Thought rises only to the waking entity or dream entity. Without the waking entity or dream entity the thoughts will not rise. 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 the formless soul or consciousness, which witnesses the coming and going of the three states.

 The three states are nothing to do with the self because they are mere illusion.

When one analyzes he finds the fact that the ‘I’ is mind and mind is present in the form of universe and universe appears as waking or dream and disappears as deep sleep.

Ego is physical mind and it is in the form of individual experience, feelings thoughts and sensations together.

The duality exists until the mind exists.

Advaita only means negation of duality. The soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, is ultimate truth or Brahman. The consciousness is the cause of the origin, maintenance, and withdrawal of the universe is Advaita (i.e. non-dual), it means that the consciousness transcends all conceptions, positive and negative. Nothing positive can ever be imagined or said about it.

The consciousness is existence absolute, awareness absolute.  Existence absolute means that consciousness is not unreal or non-existent. And it is not unconsciousness.  Nothing positive can be stated about consciousness.

In one of the Upanishads the disciple says to the Master: "Lord, tell me the nature of Atman". The Teacher remains silent. Again the question is asked, and again the answer is silence. By his silence the Teacher indicated that the nature of Atman is in inexplicable, indescribable and unimaginable.

The soul, the innermost self is the One without a second. There is not the least shadow of multiplicity in the soul, which is present in the form of consciousness." 

We are talking about non-duality within the duality. The duality exists until the mind exists. Absent of mind is absent of duality. Therefore,   by understanding “What is mind?” and “What is the substance of the mind?” one becomes aware what is reality, and what is illusion.  Only by perfect understanding and realization of the non-dual truth, one will be able to overcome the duality. 

Since we are conditioned to view, judge and conclude the truth on the base of ‘I’, which is the false self, within the false experience, we are unaware what is truth, and what is illusion.  Man and his world exist within the illusion.  Therefore, it is erroneous to view and judge the truth on the base of illusory entity.

  
Truth cannot be got in world. The truth is hidden within the three states as their formless substance and witness.  The formless substance is the soul. And the soul is the true self.

The soul, the innermost self  is not an entity, or identity within the waking  or dream, but it is the source of the three states, from where the three states erupt and subsides. 

When one is able to view and judge the worldview on the standpoint soul as self, then he will realize there is neither the creation, nor the creator, but only non-dual soul  or spirit will prevail as ultimate reality.  Therefore, it is erroneous to conclude the truth on the base of religion and god. 

All religious and yogic practices are based on the `ego' or waking entity  as self, which is false self  within the false experience (waking or duality).  The Waking experience is mere illusion, same way as the dream. Hence it is very much necessary to verify truth of the ‘I’, to realize the fact that ‘I’ itself is mere illusion. ‘I’ is not the self, because it comes and goes as waking or dream. Absent of ‘I’ absent of waking or dream or mind. Absent of waking or dream is absent of illusion or duality.   The knower of the ‘I’ is formless soul. When one who realizes the soul as the true self, and then he becomes free from experiencing the duality as reality. 

This formless path is very difficult for those who stick to their inherited or accepted truth, but not for the serious seekers who are in search of only non dual truth nothing but non dual truth. 

Religion is looked upon essentially as a path of truth but it is not so

Religion is looked upon essentially as a path of truth but it is not so. Religion is based on the false self (waking entity or ego) and false experience (universe or waking experience) as reality.   All the egocentric paths propagate that to be non-observant and to withdraw: keen powers of observation are desirable and will help, not hinder one’s pursuit of truth. Seeker should not do not run away from the world in ascetic fear or shyness of them. To simply accept the world to be Maya or illusion   without first verifying   and realizing   in what way the world is Maya or illusion, and inquiring into them thoroughly is to delude one own self. 

Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is nothing to do with the religion yoga and any path and practices based on the ego or waking entity. This forum does not condemn any religion or any guru but it only highlights the fallacies and bifurcate all adulteration and add-onn's as information because the religion and spirituality were mixed up in the past. Spirituality is nothing to do with the religion and yoga because spirituality is based on the formless soul, the innermost self, whereas the religion and yoga are based on the physical self or ego or waking entity. The soul, the innermost self has no religion and becoming aware of the innermost self leads to non-dual Self-Awareness.

Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana  is nothing to do with religion or yoga or other path and practices.

Ramana Maharishi:-
 

Q: D: Is it not necessary to study the Vedas or at least Prastnatraya[Bagvad gita.Dasoponishad and Brahma Sutra all with commentaries] to ensure firm reazation?

RM -No. Do you need all that to see yourself? All that is intellectual wealth, useful in explain doubts and difficulties if others rise them or if you yourself encounter them in the course of thinking. But to attain realization, all that is not necessary. You want fresh water to drink, but you do not require all the water of the river Ganges to quench your thirst. [Page 111/112 of Practical guide to know yourself c/e by A.R.N].

This surely indicates Sri, Ramana Maharishi’s path is independent path nothing to with the religion and scriptures. 

Even Upanishad say:

  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. [Katha Upanishad Ch-II -23-P-20]

Mundaka Upanishad  :-

This Atman cannot be attained through study of the Vedas, nor through intelligence, nor through much learning. He who chooses Atman—by him alone is Atman attained. It is Ataman that reveals to the seeker Its true nature. [3 –page-70 Mundaka Upanishad  Upanishads by Nikilanada]

The scriptures indicate that Atman is Brahman, and Brahman is ultimate truth. Therefore the soul, which is in the form of consciousness, is ultimate truth.  Thus to realize the ultimate truth is the prime goal.   A well-directed inquiry, analysis and reasoning will lead one to his non-dual destination. 

Self-Realization is direct realization of the ultimate truth or real god, in contrast with traditional paths, which are indirect. And the other paths cannot lead to the ultimate destination because they are based on the false self, which they hold as real self and false experience as reality. 

Until and unless one overcomes physical shackle it is impossible to understand and assimilate the non-dual truth, which is beyond the physical existence or the universe.  Consciousness itself is lord of itself though not of the universe. And having nothing it has all.

Gaudapada quotes from the Upanishads: "There's no plurality here"; "The Lord [Atman] through his powers appears to be many"; "those who are attached to creation or production or origination go to utter darkness"; "the unborn is never reborn, for who can produce him [Atman]?”

It is only who base on ‘I’ or ‘I AM’ as self, argue and quarrel amongst themselves. The people who are fully aware of the fact that, the form, time and space are mere mirage created out of consciousness have no reason to quarrel, because for them everything is consciousness and no second thing exist other than consciousness.

Gods with form and attributes are mere imagination based on the false self or ego or waking entity

In Vedas the God has been described as:-

         Sakshi (Witness)

         Chetan (conscious)

         Nirguna (Without form and properties).

         Nitya (eternal)

         Shuddha (pure)

         Buddha (omniscient)

         Mukta (unattached).

All these qualities are of the Atman (soul), which is the innermost self. It indicates clearly all the Gods with form and attributes are mere imagination based on the false self or ego or waking entity.  Thus all individualized gods and goddesses are non-Vedic Gods. 

And also  in Yajurved says:

Translation 1.

They enter darkness, those who worship natural things (for example air, water, sun, moon, animals, fire, stone, etc).

They sink deeper in darkness those who worship sambhuti. (Sambhuti means created things, for example table, chair, idol etc.)

[Yajurved 40:9]

Translation 2.

"Deep into shade of blinding gloom fall asambhuti's worshippers. They sink to darkness deeper yet who on sambhuti are intent."

[Yajurveda Samhita by Ralph T. H. Giffith pg 538]

Translation 3.

"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 prakrti -- the material cause of the world -- in place of the All-pervading God, But those who worship visible things born of the prakrti, 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.]

So, Yajur Veda indicates that:- 

They sink deeper in darkness those who worship sambhuti. (Sambhuti means created things, for example table, chair, idol etc [Yajurved 40:9]

Those who worship visible things born of the prakrti, 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.]

 When the religion of the Veda knows no idols than why so many gods and goddesses with different form and name are being propagated as Vedic gods. Why these conceptual gods are introduced when Vedic concept of god is free from form and attributes.

Who introduced concept of god with attributes and attributeless gods, when Yajur Veda says: -   those who worship visible things, born of the prakrti, such as the earth, trees, bodies (human and the like), in place of God are enveloped in still greater darkness.

When Yajur Veda  itself declares that:- "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 prakrti -- the material cause of the world -- in place of the All-pervading God, But those who worship visible things born of the prakrti, 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."  -- than why believe  and worship non-Vedic  Gods and fall into an awful hell of pain and sorrow.  

 

- Swami Vivekananda :- THE MASSES IN INDIA CRY TO SIXTY MILLION GODS, AND STILL DIE LIKE DOGS. WHERE ARE THESE GODS?

Knowing this, stand up and fight! Not one step back that is the idea. ... Fight it out, whatever comes. Let the stars move from the sphere! Let the whole world stand against us! Death means only a change of garment. What of it? Thus fight! You gain nothing by becoming cowards. ... Taking a step backward, you do not avoid any misfortune. You have cried to all the gods in the world. Has misery ceased? The masses in India cry to sixty million gods, and still die like dogs. Where are these gods? ... The gods come to help you when you have succeeded. So what is the use? Die game. ... This bending the knee to superstitions, this selling yourself to your own mind does not befit you, my soul. You are infinite, deathless, birthless. Because you are infinite spirit, it does not befit you to be a slave. ... Arise! Awake! Stand up and fight! Die if you must. There is none to help you. You are the entire world. Who can help you?

- Swami Vivekananda
(Delivered In San Francisco, on May 28, 1900)
The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda/Volume 1/Lectures And Discourses/The Gita II

People believe in old myths propagated by their religion. Every religion has propagated its own myth. Every religious belief contradicts other beliefs. It is mere blind belief accepted as truth without verification and evidence.  This causes division. Modern science has exposed many Religious dogmas as myth. All these dogma were introduced in primitive era   before people had the benefit of modern science. Science attempts to objectively discover how life works, and religion makes one blindly believe and cast his  burden on the blind belief without verification,  to live in peace and harmony in practical life  within the practical world. 

 Seekers main aim is to investigate both dual and non-dual experiences to find and define the underlying truth in everything, thereby realizing what the ultimate truth is.  Because of so many beliefs propagated by belief system, people think seekers of truth are   atheists because they do not accept the belief blindly. Seekers of truth believe the believers and atheists both are believers because believers believe in the belief of god and atheists believe in belief of no god.   

Pursuit of truth is all about accepting uncertainty and open questions and seeking for the things that are certainty. Believers and nonbelievers   will not accept anything other than their inherited belief system or accepted truth.  Atheists feel there is no proof for god’s existence. So atheist chooses to just believe there is no such thing called God. And religionists just believe in the existence of their conceptual god.  A Gnani is one who is fully aware of the fact that, the existence or non-existence of God cannot be proven on the base of physical self.  Therefore deeper understanding is necessary to understand and assimilate the truth about Gods existence to know what is supposed to be the God.

Man and the world are mere appearance.

A   person, seeing a rope in dim light, mistakes it for a snake. He is as much frightened as he would have been if there had been a real snake there.  The snake is said to have ‘illusory reality’.  The illusory snake is described as a superimposition on the rope. The snake is not real, because, it is found on examination with a light that it never existed there. At the same time, it was experienced as reality till ignorance prevailed. Similarly, this waking experience experienced   as reality till wisdom dawns.  On the dawn of Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana it is known to have no existence apart from consciousness. Consciousness is ultimate truth or Brahman. The waking experience is therefore said to be superimposed on consciousness same way as the dream is superimposed on the consciousness.  The  waking experience   is practical   reality,  because  it  is  real  until  the  attainment  of  Self-realisation.  Consciousness alone has absolute reality; because it is absolutely changeless because it is formless.      

All appearance(three states)  has not appeared to the physical entity(waking entity or ego) , but to the formless soul, the innermost self. Man and the world are mere appearance.  That is, the illusion is mere appearance. Thus man cannot be considered as witness, since man and his experience of the world are within the illusion.  Thus the witness of the illusion is within the illusion but it is apart from the illusion.  It is with is within the illusion as its formless substance and it is apart from the illusion as its formless witness.  The formless substance and witness is the soul or consciousness. The soul or consciousness is the true self. Realizing the soul as self is Self -Realization.  Therefore, the soul or consciousness  alone is real and all else is mere illusion. By learning to view and judge the three states on the base of soul, which is the innermost self, leads to non-dual self-awareness. 

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 or knower of the three states, not the person who is limited to waking or dream.  

A well-directed self-search search will lead one to find his non-dual Self-Awareness. Trying to discover the truth on the false self (waking entity or ego) is going round and round not reaching anywhere.

One is ignorant and he asserts the blissful, ever-existent consciousness, which exits in all the three states as its formless substance and witness.   And it is also apart from the three states.  The witness is formless and it is not an entity and identity within the waking or dream. 

 Once the seeker accepts the fact that, the self is neither the ‘waking entity,  nor the dream entity but the self is the  formless soul  or  consciousness .which witnesses the coming and going of the three states. once he gets the firm  conviction the soul is the innermost self than the three states are  absolutely non-existent as reality.