The problem is in grasping the non-dualistic or Advaitic truth.

The problem is in grasping the non-dualistic or Advaitic truth. The soul,which is present in the form of consciousness  is not limited to the individual, but it pervades all the three states as its formless substance and witness.   Because one limits the soul or consciousness to the individual physical entity, he will not be able to grasp the ultimate  truth or Brahman.

The soul is in the form of consciousness.  If the consciousness is there then the body and the world are present. The consciousness can exist with or without the body and the world.   The body and the world are dependent on the consciousness for their existence. Thus the body and the world are mere mental, thus they are not real.   One limits the consciousness the innermost self to the physical entity, he will remain thinking, and the soul carries on in some individual form to reincarnate.

When the body and the world are made of consciousness, there is no second thing other than consciousness (soul or Atman), hence it is nondual. The body and the world are reality only on the standpoint of the false self (‘ego or waking entity’), within the false experience (waking). In reality, nothing exists other than the consciousness, which is the soul or consciousness. When the body, ego and the world are made of the same stuff than the division within the consciousness is mere illusion.    The one which is in ignorance and that one which is aware is consciousness.  When self is in ignorance it experiences the illusory waking experience as reality. When it is aware of itself then there is no illusion. 

  

There is neither the  world  nor its contents , because the diversity or duality is mere mirage .And mirage has no value in reality, thus nothing exists other than oneness. Just go on and on in thinking process, it will take you to the depth to realize you are (true self) consciousness, thus everything, you see, know, believe, and experience is nothing but consciousness. That is why Sri, Sage Sri Sankara Said:- Atman is Brahman – that is  consciousness(soul) is —ultimate truth.  Therefore, all the appearance and disappearance (three states) are nothing but consciousness.  Thus, no second thing exists other than consciousness (soul).  Only when you get a firm conviction about this truth you will be able to explain to others. It is very difficult to convince those who are stuck to their own accepted truth. 

"Soul”, which is present in the form of consciousness, is the only reality and there is nothing other than this soul or consciousness, which is the innermost self.

Many are good at acrobatics with words, but their knowledge is limited to the physical self, which is ego.  The ego (waking entity)  is the false self within the false experien ce(waking).  As the inner work is in progress  the realization will happen.  As the  conviction  about the soul (conciousness), the innermost self  becomes firmer the truth will start reveling on its own . Only the chosen one by the soul or  consciousness will be able to realize the non-dualistic or Advaitic truth.

"Soul”, which is present in the form of consciousness,   is the only reality and there is nothing other than this soul or consciousness, which is the innermost self. On the stand point the formless soul or consciousness, innermost self, there is no second thing exists other than consciousness.  Because the whole universe in, which we all exist is created out of consciousness.  There is no second thing exist other than consciousness. Hence it is nondual (non-duality). The soul or consciousness is ultimate truth or Brahman or God.     

Everyone’s individual experiences are not the same.  Some are so much immersed in materiality, religion, duty bound towards their family and society, and they will not be attracted to the non-dual wisdom or understand and assimilate the non-dualistic or Advaitic truth, because they accepted the duality as a  reality.

Till  one  rectify his reasoning base from form to formless it becomes difficult to assimilate the Self-knowledge. It takes some time to sink in.   There is no need for  discussion , if one goes on reading my blogs.  

One will find answers for all his doubts and confusions. And as his conviction becomes stronger by becoming aware of the fact that, the self is not the form but the self is formless, his reasoning base also will be rectified mentally from form base to formless base. 

  There is no use of taking strain to understand assimilate the conceptual divisions invented by teachers of philosophy by their excessive analysis. There are more and more doubts and confusions, if one tries to understand and assimilate the ultimate truth through scriptures. 

Why to follow the path of doubts and confusion by losing oneself in the labyrinths of philosophy, when one can realize the ultimate truth without them.  By mentally tracing the source of the mind from where it rises and subsides one becomes aware of the fallacy of the mind, which rises as waking or dream and subsides as deep sleep.  The mind raises form consciousness and subsides as consciousness.  Therefore, there is a need for perfect understanding assimilation of non-dual truth.  

There is no need to renounce the worldly life to get Self-Realization. Any householder can attain it if has the inner urge and sharpness to grasp. 

The mind is the universe, because when the mind (I) is there then only the universe is there.  The ego, body, universe appear together and disappear to gather.  Limiting the mind (I) to the physical entity is the cause of the ignorance.  The body, ego, universe ceases to exist without the mind.  If one of these is absent then the mind is also absent.  Thus mind is the  whole universe, which appears as waking or dream(duality)  and disappears as deep sleep(non-duality)    Thus one which is aware of the appearance and disappearance of dual and nondual experiences is not the form (body or ego) but formless(consciousness).  

The consciousness (soul) is the true self. The true self is the source of the three states. These three states deceive; the people fail to look beyond them to its source, which is real, supreme and imperishable. The three states are mere an  illusion. It is difficult to overcome the illusion without the wisdom. But one can cross over this illusion, by realizing and becoming aware of the fact that, the self is not physical but it is consciousness.

People are deluded by illusion, because they have immersed in the illusion experiencing it as reality. They are ignorant because they think the self is physical and birth, life, death and world as reality. Having lost all discrimination, they follow the way of their physical nature. When ignorance vanishes through wisdom then only it is possible to negate the illusion, the mortal becomes immortal. When all the physical shackles that strangle the self are loosened, the mortal becomes immortal, here in this very life.

The ultimate understanding is: Nothing has actually been created. All that appears is mere mirage. Everything is consciousness and nothing can be a part of it. No second thing exists other than consciousness, neither the man nor the world, which contains all the objects exits in non-dual reality.

The duality means the mind, which is in the form of the universe. The universe appears as waking or dream. The universe and man co-exists together within the waking or dream. When one analysis deeply, then one becomes aware of the fact that neither the waking entity nor the dream entity is not the self. But the self is without these three states.  That means the self is formless and apart from these three states.

 None of these three states can exist by itself alone, without this formless self, who is within the three states but it is apart from these three states.  It is within because it the formless substance and witness of these three states. It is apart because it is not an entity or identity within the waking or dream.   The three states are impermanent in their nature but the self, is formless substance and the witness of the three states is permanent and eternal.   The self can exist with or without the three states. In deep sleep it exists without the waking or dream experience. Thus it is empty of duality. Thus,  the emptiness is the nature of the true self, which is in the form of consciousness. The consciousness is aware of these three states, which appears as waking or dream and disappears as deep sleep.  By becoming aware of the existence of formless self mentally one becomes aware of the fact that, the three states are mere mirage created out of consciousness. Thus three states are mere mirage that has to be transcended by tracing the formless substance and witness of the three states, which is in the form of consciousness.

 Once one gets the firm conviction that the consciousness is the true self then the wisdom dawns and the through wisdom one becomes fully aware the universe, which is in the form of mind and soul or self, which is in the form of consciousness are one in essence. Thus the mind (universe) becomes one with the soul (consciousness). Thus no second thing exists other than the consciousness. Therefore, consciousness alone exists as ultimate truth, the universe or mind is a mere mirage created out of consciousness.         

The Atman or consciousness itself is ultimate truth or Brahman. Brahman is God. Thus to realize God or Brahman Self-knowledge or Bramha Gnana or Atma Gnana is necessary.

Swami Vivekananda:- The soul is also sexless; we cannot say of the Atman that it is a man or a woman. Sex belongs to the body alone. All such ideas, therefore, as man or woman, are a delusion when spoken with regard to the Self, and are only proper when spoken of the body. So are the ideas of age. It never ages; the ancient One is always the same. How did It come down to earth? There is but one answer to that in our scriptures. Ignorance is the cause of all this bondage. It is through ignorance that we have become bound; knowledge will cure it by taking us to the other side. How will that knowledge come? Through love, Bhakti; by the worship of God, by loving all beings as the temples of God. He resides within them. Thus, with that intense love will come knowledge, and ignorance will disappear, the bonds will break, and the soul will be free. - Swami Vivekananda  -The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda/Volume 3/Lectures from Colombo to Almora/Vedantism

Nisargadatta Maharaj :- If you seek reality you must set yourself free of all backgrounds, of all cultures, of all patterns of thinking and feeling. Even the idea of being man or woman, or even human should be discarded.

The Atman or soul is the innermost self. The Atman or soul is present in the form of consciousness.  The Atman or consciousness  itself is ultimate truth or Brahman. Brahman is God.  Thus to realize God or Brahman Self-knowledge or Bramha Gnana or Atma Gnana is necessary. 

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. - Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

The Shruti has directly denied manifoldness in Brahman. The non-dual cause being an established fact, how could the phenomenal universe be different from It?  

The Shruti has condemned (the belief in variety) in the words, “The person who”, being deceived by Maya, “sees variety in this (Brahman), goes from death to death”.

Inasmuch as all beings are born of Brahman, the supreme Atman, they must be understood to be verily Brahman.

The Shruti has clearly declared that Brahman alone is the substratum of all varieties of names, forms and actions.

The Shruti in the form of the Brihadaranyaka has declared that this Atman, which is the Self of all, is verily Brahman.

The conflict of opinions among mystics, yogis and belivers proves that all are imagining God as they like, not knowing what God really is.

Understanding of what God is not so easy, unless one imagines like religious scholars or go in for his own "intuition-ism."  Most people god is someone up there and they imagine he is seeing God.

Most of the  translations made of Indian philosophical works have represented religion and mythology, not philosophy. The orthodox  pundits do not understand it because their  approach is more practical, and they stuck with the reality of the world, they take it as real. That is why all the confusion.

This mythological teaching  produced more and more ignorant today. Look at the conversions. Imagining that God has ashes on his forehead or blazing like the sun-- that is all poetry and depends only on faith. All  Siddantas are  dualistic and unphilosophical belongs the dualistic  sect. Ancient dualistc sages indulged in  culling some paras only from the Upanishads with convenient vagueness to establish their God and Theology to feed the ignorant masses. 

Indians are more religious than other people. The six systems of Indian Philosophy are really six systems of Indian speculation. For there is only one Truth.

The Hindu tenet borrowed by theosophists of universe appearing and dissolving, days and nights of Brahma, entering into pralaya etc. is intended for mediocre intellects who cannot rise to truth. It is a convenient fable representing the philosophic truth that the whole universe dissolves in your mind in deep sleep, thus entering pralaya, and rises again next morning, i.e. it is all imagination, idea. The Brahma-God has nothing to do with it. 

That is why 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

Isa Upanishads indicates that: By worshipping gods and goddesses and going to the world of gods after death is of no use.  The time one spends in ritualistic practices is wasted; one can spend same time moving forward towards Self-knowledge or Bramaha Gnana or Atma Gnana, which is the main goal. One cannot reach the non-dual destination by glorifying god and goddesses and by doing that, one goes deeper and deeper into darkness. It surely indicates the fact that, the seeker of truth has to drop the worshiping god and goddess in order to get self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

It also indicates that, Religious Rituals (Avidya) are Karma (action) and therefore a hindrance. By performing Agnihotra and other sacrifices (Avidya) is a roundabout way of purifying the mind, and it is also groping in the dark.

In addition, it indicates the karma is limited only to the religious rituals, not on the whole human life. This karma theory based on the human conduct must have been adopted from Buddhism and other theories based on human conducts. 

When it says: Perform the obligatory karmas without any attachment to the fruits, and at the same time worship gods and goddesses, again without any desire to go to heaven - then you can get the benefit of both, liberation and bliss. For those who are not yet ready to renounce, this path is recommended, it means that the religion and its  idea of god and goddesses and code of conduct, and its rituals are meant for the mass who are incapable of thinking of the beyond.

In addition, it also speaks of heaven the abode of gods, where one goes after death, and it speaks of rebirth, this contradiction, seeker has to conclude that religion, rituals god and its code of conducts are meant for the mass that is not receptive to Self-knowledge or Bramha Gnana or Atma Gnana. 

When the self is not the form but self is formless soul, which is in the form of consciousness than how the physical conduct oriented orthodoxy can get Self-knowledge or Bramha Gnana or Atma Gnana. .   

Sri, Sankara declares: - the world is a myth and Brahman alone is real then why to worship the Guru and Gods based on the ego, which is false self within the false world.

 All the karmas performed by the orthodoxy are non-Vedic and barred by the Vedas.

That is why Veda bars such worships and people who indulge in such activities will suffer and sink into darkness.  And Upanishads says self-realization is the human goal. Therefore, one has to strive only for self-realization or truth realization.      

 When the self is formless there is no need for pada pooja (feet worship) of Adavitin gurus to get freedom. A guru, who preaches conduct as the means to freedom, believes in birth, life death and the world as reality, whereas the Advitic sage Sri, Sankara declares the world as unreal.  Therefore, how actions performed in unreal world can get Moksha or freedom. Therefore there is need to know the fact that, the self is not physical in order to understand and assimilate and realize the truth beyond physicality.

 That is why Gaudapada says that: - The merciful Veda teaches karma and Upaasana to people of lower and middling intellect, while Jnana is taught to those of higher intellect.

Thus Goudapada suggest that the religious paths and worship of the guru and conceptual god are lower and middling intellect.  But in this modern world people are sharp enough to understand and assimilate the ultimate truth or Brahman or God. Thus people who want higher truth then it is high time to discard the lower knowledge and move ahead to realize the ultimate truth, which is Brahman or God.   

The religion deals with immature people who are not capable of grasping the ultimate truth or Brahman.   The path of wisdom  is intended for the intellectually evolved. Everyone cannot become a Gnani therefore religion, intellectuality and yoga are useful for others who are not seeking ultimate truth or Brahman.

Mundaka Upanishad says:-  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.

When the sages themselves found rituals are unsafe rafts for crossing The sea of samsara, of birth and death and ignored them and they the Mundaka Upanishad further suggest that, such rituals are unsafe rafts for crossing the realm of duality those who try to cross The realm of duality on these poor rafts are  Doomed to shipwreck are. Ignorant of their own ignorance, yet wise in their own esteem, these deluded people (punndiths) proud of their vain learning go round and round like the blind led by the blind.

 Therefore, if one wants to acquire Atma Jnana or   Bramha Jnana or Self- Knowledge or knowledge of consciousness one has to drop all ritualistic and orthodox baggage to move forward in their pursuit of truth.  

The scriptures have been interpreted in a thousand ways, according to the pundit's capacity to understand the test of all these is the reason.  The path of  wisdom  is harder than others, this path means Gnana Yoga.

The scriptures do not give detailed explanations that may be because the knowledge of ancient days was not as advanced as it as nowadays. However there are odd words and insights here and there which give hints.

Dualistic worship of "God” only for the people who believe the practical life within the practical world as reality; wisdom is for the more evolved.

Killing doubt" is not to refrain from inquiring as religious scholars , yogis and believers  say, but to tackle every doubt and to go on until one answer or solve it satisfactorily and thus the doubt disappears. 

There is need to study the scriptures. One has to self-search the truth and realize it without the scriptures. And then when he reads the scriptures he becomes aware the scriptures are also saying the same thing but everything is misinterpreted.  

 Non-dualistic truth is supreme truth; all dualistic systems hold false self as real self and false experience as reality.  Non- dualistic wisdom is the culmination of all systems including theistic Nonduality.   The true non-dualist will not quarrel and argue with any theoretical philosophy because he is fully aware of the fact that, this orthodox theistic non-dualistic scholars or pundits like Dualist sages could not distinguish between ‘I’ and ‘formless witness.’ The 'I' was the witness. Their highest was the Jiva. One is so much attached to the 'I' that he does not want to think that 'I' does not exist. Again one is unable to detach the ‘I’ from the Real witness. 

The orthodox pundits say that Vedas as final authority for the Vedantins and he has nothing else to believe in it, they do not know the fact that they themselves are indulging in non-Vedic rituals and activities which Vedas clearly bars.  

As one goes deeper  into  the annals of the history, it indicates the fact that somewhere someone has added the puranas in the name of Veda Vyasa the grand master of the Vedas. It is impossible to accept and believe that Veda Vyasa authored and introduced the Puranas which has all conceptual gods because:-

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).

This clearly indicates the nature of the innermost self, which is the soul. Sri, Sankara says: - Atman is Brahman. Thus the soul the innermost self is God. Therefore,    all the gods with form and attributes are mere imagination based on the false self.  Thus there is adulteration and add-ons in the past, which has to be bifurcated if one wants pure Vedic essence.  

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 then 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. Therefore, all these add-ons proves that the form and attribute based concepts are introduced by some sages of the past with a new belief system and code of conducts in the name of Vedas. 

Sruti is made the final or exclusive authority in apara Vidya and that for supporting the tenet of the CAUSAL relation or creatorship of Brahman, Nirguna Brahman = the "Absolute beyond qualities," which can be defined only in a negative way. For the Shankarian school = the Ultimate Reality, higher than the Lord. i.e. of Saguna or apara Brahman ... The support of Scriptural Revelation is, therefore, absolutely necessary for this hypothesis of cosmology, this Saguna or apara (= inferior) Brahman, but not for the absolute truth of Nirguna Brahman.  The Sruti itself says: "This Atma is NOT to be attained by a study of the Vedas.  (Katha Upanishad I, 2, 23.)  

Therefore, all the add-ons and attribute based knowledge, which are inferior, have to be bifurcated and excluded to know the ultimate truth.  The seeker of truth has to drop all the inferior knowledge based on the attributes and go beyond Vedas to understand assimilate and realize the ultimate truth or Brahman. 

One has to go beyond Vedas means go beyond religion. Go beyond religion means, go beyond concept of god.  Thus, going beyond Veda, religion and conceptual god means going beyond illusion.   That is end of Vedas (Veda –antha).  

Mundaka Upanishad: - This Aaman cannot be attained through the study of the Vedas, nor through intelligence, nor through much learning. He who chooses Atman—by him alone is Atman attained. It is the Atman that reveals to the seeker Its true nature.  (3 page70upanhsds by Nikilananda)

It means the truth is beyond the scriptures and egocentric intelligence  Thus in order to grasp, assimilate and realize the non-dualistic truth the seeker to employ soulcentric reasoning faculty. 

That is why Sage Sri, Sankara says in a commentary in Vedanta Sutra that what is accepted without proper inquiry will not lead a person to the final goal. On the contrary, such acceptance will result only in evil, in something which is detrimental to our spiritual progress.   Seeker of truth should not believe blindly in traditional orthodox Nonduality without verifying all the facts from every angle. One has to reflect through  soulcentric reasoning over and over again without getting tired of the process. 

The ignorance is the cause of experiencing form, time and space  as reality. Thus eradicating the ignorance completely is necessary. And this is possible only through self-knowledge.   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 nondual wisdom dawns.

 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. 

The seeker has to  grow from the inside out. None can teach him, none can make him spiritual. There is no other guru but his own soul.”

Self-knowledge or Atma Gnana or Brahma Gnana cannot be attained by one who is without strength or earnestness or without the receptiveness and courage to accept the truth and reject the untruth. If a serious seeker strives sincerely by means of inquiry, analysis and soulcentric reasoning, he will be able to realize it.

It is only seekers sincerity and earnestness in his spiritual pursuit, the knowledge started revealing on its own.  Anyone who has humility and patience and is sincere and ready to drop their accumulated dross and receptive to accept the truth will enter nondual Self-Awareness when his conviction becomes firm.