An ignorant worships mechanically perform the prescribed sacrifices without any thought as to why he is doing them.

Orthodoxy is path of ignorance.  orthodoxy  has no no Vedic sanction because it makes one indulge in all sorts of non-vedic worship and rituals.   An ignorant worships mechanically perform the prescribed sacrifices without any thought as to why he is  doing them.  

That is why Ish Upanishads says: - such people no wonder they grope in the dark. They are doomed unless someday the truth dawns on them that to save themselves they must seek Self-knowledge.

And also it says :- Worse, however, is the situation of those who worship vidya. The word vidya ¸ usually means "knowledge', but here it is used to mean "gods and goddesses'. Some people worship gods and goddesses so that they may someday attain the same status. They may get their desire fulfilled, but this will only delay their liberation. That is why the Upanisad says that they will be in deeper darkness.

Scholars say that the path of avidya [performing aganihotra and other sacrifices] and the path of vidya [worshipping gods and goddesses] produce different results. Wise men confirm this. [X]

Vidya and avidya both are hindrances to Self-knowledge, but vidya is even worse than avidya. The word vidya is used here in a special sense; here it means worshipping gods and goddesses. By worshipping gods and goddesses you will go after death to the world of gods and goddesses. But will that help you? The time you spend there is wasted, because if you were not there you could have spent that time moving forward towards Self-knowledge, which is your goal. In the world of gods and goddesses you cannot do that, and thus you go deeper and deeper into darkness.

Avidya is karma and therefore a hindrance. You perform avidya - i.e., you perform Agnihotra and other sacrifices. This is a roundabout way of purifying the mind, and it is also groping in the dark. But it may not have as heavy a toll on your time and energy as the other.

In pursuit of truth the ultimate truth has to be proved, not assumed. Pundits who take scriptures for granted are not Gnanis.

Pundits teach that all is your-self, but none of them can show that this is so, none has analyzed it scientifically, and none can prove it. Rational proof is needed, so that one arrive at knowing truth i.e. wisdom; punditry is mere dogma, parrotism, repetition of what they read in scripture. Scriptures are not yardstick and scriptural truth is not proof.   Pundits take scriptures as authority.   Authoritarianism merely assumes as true what another says, but what has yet to be proved.

Pundits have to test truth in this world not in the next world.  There is no proof other than blind belief based on the scriptures, belief is not truth.  So, doctrines are not the means to realize the ultimate truth. There is no need to follow them.

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.

For those who are incapable of inquiring and not yet ready for Self-Knowledge, the worship and glorifying of god and gurus is recommended.

Even, Mundaka Upanishad:- The rituals and the sacrifices described in the Vedas deal with lower knowledge. The sages ignored these rituals and went in search of higher knowledge. ... Such rituals are unsafe rafts for crossing The sea of samsara, of birth and death. Doomed to shipwreck are those who try to cross The sea of samsara on these poor rafts. Ignorant of their own ignorance, yet wise In their own esteem, these deluded men Proud of their vain learning go round and round Like the blind led by the blind.

So they clearly indicate rituals and theories are not meant for those who are searching for the higher knowledge or wisdom.   The path of wisdom is the only means. 

All the orthodox Advaitins indulge and immersed themselves in ritualistic oriented life style and follow the path of karma and upasana which is meant for lower and middling intellect   and not for realizing the Advaitic truth.  Many chose these orthodox scholars as their gurus. But these gurus are good to learn the conceptual Advaita meant for those orthodox who believe their conduct oriented life style leads to Moksha  or liberation.  But religious based Advaita is not   the means to acquire Self –Knowledge or  Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.  Those who are seeking truth have to do their own homework in order to acquire Self-Knowledge or  Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

The ignorant disregard the soul as self, taking themselves to be an individual born in this world and the world is separate from them

Soul is present  in the form of  consciousness. consciousness  is all-pervading  in everything and everywhere in all the three states . consciousness   is not limited to waking experience  alone because it pervades in everything and everywhere in all the  three states.  It is only because of our ignorance of its real nature that we consider the 'Self' is limited to the physical body and separate in each body. The Self is unattached and is not affected by the individual experiences goes on in waking or dream.

The soul, the innermost self is different and apart from the known. Soul, the innermost Self is not an object which can be known or experienced by any one because it is prior to all that is known. 

Man can experience only external objects within the waking or dream and so he cannot know the indwelling soul, which is the formless substance and witness of the three states. The only way to realize the Self is to trace the formless substance and witness of the three states. 

The true self never undergoes any change; and physical existence that undergoes change is unreal. The soul alone is real. All the three states, which appear and disappear, are unreal. The experience of diversity (waking or dream) is mere name, created by words alone; the formless substance and witness of the three states alone is real and eternal.

The soul is sentient that gives life to the waking and dream. The waking or dream is insentient and dependent on the soul for their existence, whereas the soul can remain with or without the waking/dream.

The  soul,the innermost Self is free from the limitations of the form, time, space and objects. Actions do not taint the soul; the soul never hankers after the fruits of actions. One, who knows the true self is the soul thus, does not become bound by actions.

The soul , the innermost self is not a doer and that he has no desire for the fruits of actions because it is formless. Self-Knowledge  or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana  alone makes one free from bondage of experiencing the duality as reality.

The one who knows the soul as self and realizes that he is not a doer and has no craving for the fruits of actions incurs no bondage. His actions cease to be the cause of further ignorance of taking the ego to be the self.

Thus, what is necessary is the realization that, the self is not physical but the  self is  formless spirit. He who knows truly the formless substance and witness to be the true self becomes free from the experiencing the illusory birth, life, death and the world  as reality.  He becomes fully aware of the fact that the cycle of birth, life and death are mere passing show.

The one who realizes that the self is the soul and self has neither birth nor any activity, because they pertain only to the waking entity, will become liberated from experiencing the illusion as reality.

The ignorant disregard the soul as self, taking themselves to be an individual born in this world and the world is separate from them. They think the world existed prior to them and they are born in this world later on. Until this conviction is there, it is impossible to assimilate the Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana.  The body, ego and the world appear together and disappear together.  The seeker has to make sure of this fact by constant reflecting on the subject.

The soul  or spirit dwell in all the three states as their formless substance and witness. People worship only images, thinking that God is there. People do not recognize soul as the self to be the real God, but that they do not realize that god, as the soul, which pervades in everything and everywhere in all the three states.

The ignorant people are not capable of   discriminate and reason to unfold the mystery of the mind. Therefore they will not be able to grasp the non-dual truth. It is realization the true self that will free one from bondage of duality.  But the belief system makes them to believe the duality is reality therefore, they cannot think beyond physicality.   

The formless substance and witness is different from everything that appears in the waking or dream, which is always subject to change, is insentient and limited by form, time, space and the world.

Knowledge means ‘pure consciousness and not the knowledge based on physicality, which has a beginning and an end and is therefore finite. This consciousness is not distinct from soul, but it is its essential nature, like the light of the sun or the heat of fire. This consciousness is eternal and is present even during deep sleep. A specific act of knowing takes place only when there is waking. But this must be distinguished from pure consciousness, which is ever present in all the three states. It is this consciousness which is known as ultimate truth. The soul, the innermost self becomes a ‘knower’ only when the known is superimposed on it.

The Self is looked upon as a knower only because of illusion. No word can express ultimate truth, “Words cannot cross the threshold of duality. The true Self which is the soul is without any attributes.

“Truth must be discovered, but there is no formula for its discovery

“Truth must be discovered, but there is no formula for its discovery. You must set out on the uncharted sea, and the uncharted sea is yourself. You must set out to discover yourself…”

Consciousness itself is Guru. It may appear in any form and guides the sincere and serious seekers towards nondual destination.

Seeker has to take refuge in the Self, the indivisible consciousness which is beyond the reach of words and thought.  Seeker has to discover the formless substance and witness of all the three states in order to know the self is not limited to the physical entity but to the whole universe.

A true Gnani who on account of his being free from the illusion of duality and he expounds the essence of the non- duality to fellow seekers.

The means to the attainment of Knowledge are: discrimination between things permanent and transient, and the desire for spiritual freedom.

Prejudice is like poison. Unless purged out of one's mind in early stages, it can spread like cancer and make one incapable of differentiating between reality and unreality. The religion is not the means to Self-Knowledge. People believe that their own religion is superior to all others but religion is based on the form, whereas the ultimate truth is based on the formless. 

Discrimination between things permanent and transient; this consists of the discrimination that soul, which is in the form of consciousness alone is the permanent substance and that all things other than it are mere mirage.

The material enjoyment, and sex-pleasures, is being part of the mirage and they being results of action. Whatever based on action makes one think the duality as reality. If duality is accepted as reality then there is no escape from illusion, which one experiences as reality.  Until one thinks his conduct is the means for freedom he is bound to believe the birth, life, death and the universe as reality. Until one thinks he is born, lives and dies in this world he remains ignorant of the truth.

Reality is consciousness which is without a second and is Existence. Unreality is ignorance and all other material objects.   

One must first know what is before him. If he cannot know that, what else can he know or understand? If he gives up the external world in his inquiry, he cannot get the whole truth.

The truth realization is to investigate the truth of the physical existence or universe.  It seeks the meaning of all that is seen, known believed and experienced as person and of the world that confronts him. 

That is why Jesus said:-  "Know what is in front of your face, and what is hidden from you will be disclosed to you. (THE GOSPEL OF THOMAS- Saying 5)

It means one has to know the world which confronts him confronts to realize his body and world are made of the same essence and that essence is Spirit [father]. 

That is why Sage Sri, Sankara said:- One must first know what is before him. If he cannot know that, what else can he know or understand? If he gives up the external world in his inquiry, he cannot get the whole truth.

Sage Sri, Sankara said:- 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.

"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." (Gospel of Thomas 2)

"The Kingdom of God is inside you and all around you, Not in a mansion of wood and stone.  Split a piece of wood and God is there, Lift a stone and you will find God." (Gospel of Thomas)

 

Man learns from his experience that he is ever liable to err, which leads to disappointment and suffering. It naturally, therefore seeks to avoid a repetition of error. Thus he has to make efforts at seeking truth or freedom from error.  But because of ignorance he fails to investigate of his true existence. The ignorance is  present  in the form of ‘I’.

Deeper self-search itself is meditation. People think they don’t make progress. It is because they are not gone deep enough and they assume self- realization is some physical experience like yogic Samadhi or yogic bliss.   The self-awareness comes naturally when one becomes fully aware with the firm conviction of the existence of the formless witness of the three states.   The formless witness, which is consciousness, exists prior to the three states. Thus it is necessary for the seeker to realize what exists prior to the appearance of the three states.     

Though man is able to exercise his reason, yet he does not get to a stage at which there can be no disappointment or suffering. He has to make his "trials" as often as is necessary.  But the pity of it is that he does not realize that he has not attained truth, unless doubt arises as a result of disappointments or sufferings, of his own or of others.

Truth realization is the truth of the whole not of the part.

The dream becomes unreal when the waking takes place; similarly the waking becomes unreal when the wisdom dawns.  Therefore everything has to be grasped mentally, not argued on the intellectual point of view. Because intellectuality is limited to the false physical entity(ego or waking entity)  within the false experience(waking).

Every kind of knowledge is not Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.  Most People believe that, Religion, Yoga, Theology, Scholasticism, Mysticism, Metaphysics and Science or path of love and path of humanism. many path and theories are prescribed by  many sages in the past to be the tools, to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman. But the fact is that, truth realization is not confined to form, time and space. It does not dependent on any of these old tools prescribed by the sages of the past, because it is apart from, time and space.  Truth realization is the truth of the whole not of the part.

The unreal (mind or universe) is created out of real (soul or consciousness) , and when one views and judges on the standpoint unreal (ego or waking entity) then there is duality. When one is able to view and judge on the standpoint of real [soul or consciousness] then there is only non -duality.  Therefore, when the wisdom dawns then there is neither duality, nor non duality, only reality.

All these confusion will go on, until man thinks, he is an individual and apart from the world, and the world existed prior to him and he is born in it afterwards. Therefore, it is necessary to know the fact the true self is not ego, but the true self is the soul, and stop viewing and judging the worldview on the standpoint of the physical self [ego], and one has to view and judge on the standpoint of soul or consciousness to realize the fact that, the world along with man is illusion. The illusion (universe or mind or waking) is created out of consciousness. Thus consciousness is Brahman or ultimate reality. Thus no second thing exists other than consciousness.

Deeper self-search  reveals the fact that, the mind, which is in the form of universe is an appearance.  Only on the standpoint of physical entity or ego the universe is reality.  But on the base of the soul, which is in the form of consciousness the universe is unreal. The formless witness or consciousness itself is the substance of the universe.   The man perceives the world within the mind or waking or duality. Therefore, man, ego, world together is mind. 

Thus mind appears and disappears as waking or Dream. The consciousness is the innermost self and witness of the mind or universe. The universe appears as waking or dream disappears as deep sleep.   The waking or dreams are dualistic appearance and deep sleep is non-dualistic. The one which witnesses the three states is formless, apart and eternal.  The mind or universe is mere mirage created out of consciousness.  on the standpoint consciousness which is the  formless substance and witness of the three states the three states are not real. 

The formless substance witness is soul or consciousness, which is present  in the form of consciousness. Therefore nothing exist other than consciousness. The objective awareness is mere illusion created out of consciousness, the innermost self. Therefore, consciousness itself is ultimate truth or Brahman, because there is no second thing exit other than consciousness.