The ultimate truth is soul or consciousness alone is real and all else mere illusion.

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad:- The Self is indeed Brahman, but through ignorance people identify it with intellect, mind, senses, passions, and the elements of earth, water, air, space, and fire. This is why the Self is said to consist of this and that, and appears to be everything.

It is very difficult, from the statements of the Upanishads, to distinguish between which actually is the state of liberation while living in the body and which is that of Absoluteness attained after the transcendence of the physical existence. Often, they give the same description with reference to both. This only shows that the distinction between Jivanmukti and Videhamukti is relative and does not have much meaning in itself.

The liberated has no difference of any kind in himself. Freedom is the highest spiritual realization by the individual in the midst of waking experience. In this condition the usual mind takes the form of its original nature of universal knowledge freed from the relations of illusory experience of form, space, time and cause.

 One realizes the formless  soul is the cause of all that exists and it itself is uncaused.  The formless  soul, which is present  in the form of consciousness and is the knower of all, that appears and disappears. The whole physical existence erupts from it. 

Consciousness is first and earlier than the mind which is present in the form of the universe. It is the root of immortality! It is both the subject and also the object. It is the witness and also the witnessed.    It is an illusion and also in reality by knowing this truth one   overcomes the whole ignorance, which is the cause of the illusory universe,which appears as waking or dream

Consciousness is the real and it is the ultimate truth or Brahman.   The one, who knows this Imperishable as self, gets freedom from experiencing the illusion or duality  as reality.

Realizing the difference between the 'Seen' (waking or dream) and 'the formless witness or soul,' when the soul gets disunited from `seen' (waking or dream)' and established in identity with itself, which is the supreme soul , one is said to have known liberation from  experiencing the duality as reality.  

While dreaming one is being reminded his waking state, he comes to recognize the dream, therefore, he wakes up. Immediately he realizes that waking is the only means of escape from the woes of the dream state. 

Even so the seeker of truth following the path of Self-knowledge or Bramha Gnana or Atma Gnana , while perceiving the difference between the Seen (waking or dream) and the Seer  (Formless Witness or soul), comes to realize the apparent connection with the Seen was due to mistaken identity. 

The seeker is able to reestablish the real connection and recognizes real identity (soul).  The ultimate truth is  soul or consciousness alone is real and all else mere illusion. 

Brahmin is the one who has realized the Brahman

When Sri,Sankara says the world is illusion, it includes birth, life and death, which happens  within the  world.  Thus seekers main aim is to mentally trace the formless substance of the illusion, which is also the witness of the illusion. The formless substance and witness of the illusion (world) is the the soul ,which is present in the form of consciousness.  soul or consciousness is ultimate truth that is Atman itself is Brahman.  This Brahman cannot be attained by indulging in egocentric religious orthodoxy. The knower of Brahman is Brahmin not the Brahmin who indulges in priest craft, which leads one to utter darkness as per Yajur Veda. 

Brahmin is the one who has realized the Brahman (ultimate truth) and helps fellow seekers towards inner path. The one who knows Brahman knows his body and his experience of the world are mere illusion and also he knows his body and his experience of the world are also as Atman [consciousness], which is Brahman.  Thus, the priest craft which are crafted on the body based theories will lead one to hallucinated moksha. But real moksha or freedom is possible only through non-dual wisdom. 

In Vedic era a Brahmin was a person who had attained Self- knowledge or Atma Jnana. This was an extremely difficult path of discipline of body, mind, and intellect, and people irrespective of their birth or class, who dedicated to such an austere life, were recognized as Brahmins. 

A great example of this tradition (that a person becoming a Brahmin, rather than born as one) is the case of Vishwamitra, a warrior (Kshatriya), who became a Brahmin after attaining Atma Jnana or Self-Knowledge.

A smritis, or code of conduct composed by sage Atri defines brahminhood very clearly:-

"By birth, every man is a Shudra (an ignorant person). Through various types of disciplines (samskaras), he becomes a dwija (twice born). Through the studies of scriptures, he becomes a vipra (or a scholar). Through realization of supreme spirit (brahmajnana), he becomes a Brahmin."

The belief that people born in Brahmin caste, automatically become Brahmins, is a much later concept in the very ancient  India.  Thus, Brahmin means not caste but  one who has attained Atma Jnana or Brahma Jnana.  

Swami Vivekananda said: - “You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher but your own soul.”

Sri, Sankara's commentary:-

Page 489: "The knower of Brahman (self-realized or Gnani) wears no signs.  Page 500 asks in effect "Tell us what you know, show it, and let us examine it under the mental microscope." It means we must bring notions and beliefs out of vagueness into clearness. It also criticizes the mystics who claim superior knowledge but who cannot communicate it for purposes of verification.

On page 482: On Gnani: "The knower of Brahman wears no signs. Gives up the insignia of a monk's life,…his signs are not manifest, nor his behavior."

 Thus it is necessary to follow the path of Brahman not the path of the orthodox  priest- craft. Only by   dropping all the accumulated priest crafted baggage, one has to move forward to reach the non-dual destination in lesser time and effort.   

There is no me or you and others, no seeking, no enlightenment, no desire, no ego no world. There is no pain or pleasure, no world, no purpose, and nothing that has to be achieved in the realm of reality. All the diversity is reality within the illusory reality.

All appearance is spirit, because the formless substance of the appearance is spirit, and the formless substance itself is the witness of the appearance.  Thus the substance and witness of the appearance is one and the sane spirit.  Therefore thee is no second thing other then the spirit, hence it is non-dual.  

 All that apparently manifests in the waking/dream is made of the formless stuff, thus the diversity has no value when one becomes aware of the stuff from which the diversity has arisen and where it subsides.  The diversity rises from the spirit and subsides back as spirit. Thus the source of the diversity is the true self. On the standpoint of the true self the diversity is mere illusion. Thus the individual experiences happening within the waking or dream are mere mirage.   

The search for the source, which is appearing as many, the source or soul or spirit  is appearing as waking or dream(duality/diversity) and disappearing as deep sleep (non duality or soul or spirit) . therefore ,there is a need to view and judge on the base of the soul, the innermost   self  to realize the fact that the diversity(universe)  is mere mirage. 

Consciously becoming aware of the true Self in the midst of the diversity (waking) is self realization.

Sage Sri Ramana Maharishi said: - Is it not necessary to study the Vedas or Bagvad Gita. Dasoponishad and Brahma Sutra

The thinker and the thought are present only in duality. There is neither thinker, not the thought in reality.  Thus the nature of the thinker and thought is formless and non-dual, because both are created out of the same stuff, which is formless and non-dual. 

The duality (waking or dream) becomes non-duality (deep sleep). We are unconscious about it, because we view and judge on the base of physical entity which present only in duality.   The dream entity is not the waking entity, because we call the whole dream as false hood when the waking takes place.  

The dream and waking experience has to be considered as duality, because the duality is present only in waking or dream and  duality is absent in deep sleep.   Since we limit the mind or ’I’ to the physical entity, we become ignorant of the true self and we experience duality as reality. 

 The mind or ’I’ is not limited to the physical entity alone but to the whole experience of waking or dream. If mind or ’I’ is present then the waking or dream (duality) is present. Absent of mind  or ’I’ absent of duality.  Thus mind or ’I’, which appears as waking and dream is unreal. And the formless knower of the appearance and disappearance of the mind is real, permanent and eternal.  This has to be grasped mentally. 

The religious thinker cannot think beyond their belief system. Therefore, the Hindu or any other religious thinkers cannot cross the threshold of duality. Advaita[non-duality] and Dwaita or duality  is the nature of the self/soul. When the soul, the innermost  self is in waking/dream it is Dwaita or duality and when the soul the innermost self is in its formless non-dual  true nature it is Advaita or non-duality.  

The Advaita philosophy is based on the scriptures and religion and god is not the means to Self knowledge  or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana because the scriptures it self declare that:-

 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. (Katha Upanishad Ch-II -23-P-20)

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 Atman that reveals to the seeker Its true nature. (3 –page-70 Mundaka Upanishad  Upanishads by Nikilanada)

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 realisation will do that. Realise yourself, turning the mind inward. – Tripura Rahasya, 18: 89

Self-knowledge cannot be attained by study of the Vedas and intellectual understanding or by bookish knowledge.  Therefore there is no use of studying the Vedas and other scriptures in order to acquire the non-dual wisdom.  That is why Buddha rejected the scriptures, and even Sri, Sankara indicated that, the truth lies beyond religion, concept of god and scriptures.  

For the same reason Sage Sri Ramana Maharishi said:-  fortunate are the one who do not lose themselves in the labyrinths of philosophy. Bhagwan says: Take Vedanta, for instance: it speaks of 15 pranas the names and functions of it   which the student is asked to commit memory. Will it not be sufficient if he thought only one prana does the whole work of maintaining the body? Again the antakaran is said to think, to desire, to will, to reason etc. Why all these details? Has anyone seen antakarana, or all these pranas? Do they really exist? They are conceptual divisions invented by teachers of philosophy by their excessive analysis. Where do all these concepts end? Why should confusion created and then explained away? Fortunate is the man who does not lose him self in the labyrinths of philosophy, but goes straight to the source from which they all arise. (GURU RAMANA .By S.S Cohen -vii Danger of philosophy-Page -58-59)

Sage Sri, Ramana Maharishi further explains (in page 111/112- practical guide to know your self) :-

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 realization?

A: Bhagvan: - No. Do you need all that to see yourself? All that is intellectual wealth, useful in explain doubts and difficulties if others rise them if you yourself encounter them in 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 quest.

Therefore, the seekers of truth need not lose themselves in the labyrinths of philosophy, but go straight to the source from which they all arise. Truth pursuit is an inner journey without the physical baggage. 

Sage Sri,  Sankara himself says (VC) 59. The study of the Scriptures is useless so long as the highest Truth is unknown, and it is equally useless when the highest Truth has already been known.

60. The Scriptures consisting of many words are a dense forest which merely causes the mind to ramble. Hence men of wisdom should earnestly set about knowing the true nature of the Self.

61. For one who has been bitten by the serpent of Ignorance, the only remedy is the knowledge of Brahman. Of what avail are the Vedas and (other) Scriptures, Mantras (sacred formulae) and medicines to such a one?

62. A disease does not leave off if one simply utter the name of the medicine, without taking it; (similarly) without direct realization one cannot be liberated by the mere utterance of the word Brahman.

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 not 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.

 

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

Therefore, if one is seeking truth he has to know his true self is not physical but it is the Atman, which is in the form of consciousness.  

Self-knowledge  or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana cannot be attained by study of the Vedas and intellectual understanding or by bookish knowledge.  Therefore there is no use of studying the Vedas and other scriptures in order to acquire the non-dual wisdom.  That is why Buddha rejected the scriptures, and even Sri, Sankara indicated that, the ultimate truth lies beyond religion, concept of god and scriptures. 

There is only one Reality to be known, the same for all seekers, but the ways to it, are hidden by the religion.  Self-discovery is the only way, towards non-dual Absolute without any religious doctrines, which will help the seekers to unfold the mystery of the illusion in which we all are searching the truth of our true existence.

The beliefs of god, religion, yoga are based on the false self, is nothing to do with the mental [inner] journey.   The religious, rituals, worships, prayers god and guru glorification may be useful in the worldly life, for those  who believes in the birth, life, death and the world as reality, but they are not useful tools in realizing the ultimate truth. On the base of consciousness (soul) as self, everything other than the consciousness is mere mirage.  Thus, man and his experience of the world and his belief of god and religion are part and parcel of the mirage created out of consciousness.  

Eradicating the ignorance completely is necessary in order get liberation from experiencing the duality as reality and this is possible only through Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana  is the aim of every human being. Since everyone thinks the physical body is the self their aim is misdirected and they focus their attention on materiality which makes one feel the duality (waking) as reality.

Millions are in search of the ultimate truth, and only one in million will be able to grasp and realize it. By focusing more attention on soul, the innermost self.  as  conviction becomes firmer and the duality will fade away as reality. soul, the innermost self which is one’s   true identity will prevail as birth-less and deathless, eternal substance and witness of the mirage called duality. 
 

After long deeper persuasion the seeker will realize the fact that, the world is reality only on the base of the waking entity, only then he will be able to get the conviction that the three states are unreal.

It is absolutely necessary to know the fact that,  the self is neither the waking entity nor the self is dream entity but the self is formless  soul,which is present in the form of consciousness.

Nothing can be independent of consciousness because no second thing exists other than consciousness. The whole universe without the form, time and space is consciousness.  Without the form, time and space there is no universe but it is only the formless nondual consciousness. But this truth has to be grasped to assimilate and realize the true essence of non-duality.  

When one puts aside the imagination and has the thinker-- what does he get with thinking—he can get only a thought. Meditation is only an effort of the ego within the illusion; it is imagination based on the false self; the consciousness remaining the same with or without ideas.

When formless witness witnesses the waking experience and its attention is fixed to the waking experience, which is an object to it, than it is in ignorance of its formless non-dual true nature and it is in forgetfulness of its own formless non-dual true nature. Same thing is applied to the dream. But when formless witness is free from waking and dream it is in its formless non-dual true nature, which identified as deep sleep in the waking experience, which is the state of ignorance.   Until waking entity traces the formless witness mentally and realizes it itself is not the self but the formless witness, which is in the form of consciousness is the true self, the wisdom will not dawn.  

 

The ignorance is the cause of experiencing all sorrow and calamities as reality. Eradicating the ignorance completely is necessary in order get liberation from experiencing the duality as reality and this is possible only through Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.   Thus, there is no other road to freedom other than Gnana.  There is no other entrance other than except Gnana.  The ignorance will vanish only when the non-dual wisdom dawns.

  

Sage Sri Sankara, in Bhaja Govindam says: - [Jnana Viheena Sarva Mathena Bajathi na Muktim janma Shatena] - one without knowledge does not obtain liberation even in a hundred births, no matter which religious faith he follows. 

Thus it proves that religion is not the means to self-knowledge. 

Therefore, there is no need to study scriptures, or indulge in god and guru glorification or performing religious rituals in pursuit of truth.  Since, they are not the means to acquire non-dual wisdom. It is only waste of time and effort to indulge in those things. 

When one tries and verify all this paths and practices and find them useless and inadequate to acquire non dual wisdom, then he  will find FP and IP BLOGS are helpful sign posts in pursuit of truth. 

If one is aiming to be a master, Guru or teacher, he will never reach his destination. One has to share his knowledge with the fellow seeker not to make them his followers but only direct them if they are interested to travel beyond form, time and space.

 It is foolish to impose our idea on others because everyone is not in same level of understanding.  Every one's inner work is on. When they are ripe enough they will understand, assimilate and realize on their own.  If they are ready and sharp enough they will grasp it instantly and they will reach their destination with lesser time and effort. Thus preaching, teaching is not wisdom, but by very careful reasoning, seeker has to determine the nature of reality. Thinking in right direction alone helps seeker determining the nature of reality.

Formless soul or consciousness is the witness that experiences the action, the actor, and the world of separate things

Intellectuals may say the external world is a construction of the mind,  but deeper inquiry and reasoning reveals the fact that,  causal relation is never found between subject and object, and then there is no sense in intellectuals claim.

 The waking or dream are not mere egoistic imaginations, but they are mere illusory  appearances. This must be understood. In dream the most important thing is that it ha appeared spontaneously, in dream the dream entity may be a minister or a doctor, or a peasant, and it is imagined or constructed by the waking entity. It is not the idea of the waking entity, which is present only in waking experience, but the true formless  soul or consciousness, the innermost self which is fully aware of the three states, which comes and goes in succession.

One may have seen the birth and death of other beings within the waking or dream, but one has never seen the birth and death of the formless witness of the three states because it is deathless because it is birthless. 

One may imagine it but even that is possible within the waking or dream. In other words the formless witness of the three states must be there before their appearance. Hence the witness,  which is the true self, is termed "the unborn, because it is formless.

One has never seen the formless witness going, so one cannot call it mortal, because it is ever present in all the three states. It can remain with or without the experience of duality.

The three states (object)   must be of the same stuff as the formless  witness  (subject) of them because they disappear into formless  soul, the innermost self. 

Thus experiencing the pain and pleasure within the illusion with the illusory self, within the illusory experience, has to be illusion. The illusion is created, and sustained, and finally dissolves as consciousness, which is the innermost Self.  Since, there is no second thing other than the consciousness (soul); the consciousness itself is ultimate truth or Brahman.   The one who has realized this truth for him this illusion is passing show because he is fully aware of the fact that his body, his ego and his experience of the world to be consciousness. Practical peoples approach is more practical, and they are stuck with the reality of the practical life within the practical world, they take it as real whereas for Gnani has the firm conviction that:-

Formless soul or consciousness is the witness that experiences the action, the actor, and the world of separate things. It is like a light that illuminates everything in a theatre, revealing the master of ceremonies, the guests, and the dancers with complete impartiality. Even when they all depart, the light shines to reveal their absence.

What is not consciousness (formless) in the experience of diversity (universe or waking)?  The waking and the dream cease to exist without consciousness.  The seeker, seeking and his destination   all are one in essence.

By becoming more and more intellectual one becomes more and more intoxicated to individuality. The intellectuality is limited to duality.  In realm of truth the intellectuality is replaced by non-dual wisdom.  There is nothing exist other than formless non dual existence. Therefore, there is   no individual to become sane or insane. There is no second thing exists, other than consciousness.  Everything is one, that is, unity in diversity. The curiosity, urge cannot be imposed on others.  It has to sprout within. One need not become a guru because the guru is within guides every seeker.