Adyathmic Discussion -387 (Sage Sri, Sankara)

Trev Light Bown:  You say formless witness will never be experienced and that Guru/ disciple as pointer to truth within is for ignorant. But Adi Shankara who you endlessly quote from was indeed such a disciple. See quote below.............

" Sannyasa

At the age of 8, Shankara was inclined towards sannyasa, but it was only after much persuasion that his mother finally gave her consent. He only received her consent in a very interesting manner. While bathing in the river Poorna one day, a crocodile caught hold of his leg. Shankara appealed to his mother, who had arrived at Poorna, asking for permission to become a sanyasi. His mother finally gave consent, only to have the crocodile let go of young Shankara. A crocodile had never been found in Poorna ever since[21] Shankara then left Kerala and travelled towards North India in search of a guru. On the banks of the Narmada River, he met Govinda Bhagavatpada the disciple of Gaudapada at Omkareshwar. When Govinda Bhagavatpada asked Shankara's identity, he replied with an extempore verse that brought out the Advaita Vedanta philosophy. Govinda Bhagavatapada was impressed and took Shankara as his disciple.[22]"

SK: Dearest Trev, - Sage Sri, Sankara wisdom (Advaita) —Without a Parallel Sage Sri Sankara's wisdom is lofty, sublime and unique. It is highly interesting, inspiring and elevating. No other wisdom can stand before it in boldness, depth and subtle thinking.  Sage Sri, Sankara’s philosophy is complete and perfect

Sage Sri Sankara was a mighty, marvellous genius. He was a profound thinker of the first rank. He was a sage of the highest realization. His wisdom has brought solace, peace and illumination to countless persons in the world. The Western thinkers bow their heads at the lotus-feet of Sri Sankara. His wisdom has soothed the sorrows and afflictions of the most forlorn persons, and brought hope, joy, wisdom, perfection, freedom and calmness to many. His wisdom commands the admiration of the whole world.

Biographical anecdotes about his childhood about the crocodile story and the story in Sage Sri,   Sankara's life of going to Benares and occupying the body of another man and then having sex intercourse with his wife, is a myth created by orthodoxy hiding the real fact the reason best-known to the orthodoxy. Sage, Sri, Sankara had the scientific spirit and when told by Saraswathi the woman that he was talking emptily about sex, being a Sanyasi, he at once went to learn the truth by having actual intercourse himself and thus learning by experiment and observation.

Thus all the myth about Sage Sri, Sankara is nothing to do with the seeker of truth because the seeker is concerned only with the wisdom of the Sage Sri, Sankara.  

Sage Sri, Sankara: - "Though I wear these robes of a Sanyasin, it is only for the sake of bread." (Select Works of Sage Sri, Sankara" also his commentary on Brihad)

Sage Sri, Sankara: - The Gnani "should pass through life", not run away from life and should take a middle course between seeking worldly honor and worldly abasement. (Chap.3.4.50; Sankara's commentary to Brahma Sutras)

Sage Sri, Sankara's work has got two aspects: the practical and the spiritual. He gave religious, ritual or dogmatic instruction to the populace but pure wisdom only to the few who could rise to it. Hence the interpretation of his writings by commentators is often confusing because they mix up the two viewpoints. Thus they may assert that ritual is a means of realizing Brahman, which is absurd.

Sage Sri, Sankara varied his practical advice and doctrinal teaching according to the people he was amongst. He never told them to give their particular religion or beliefs or metaphysics completely; he only told them to give up the worst features of abuse: at the same time he showed just one step forward towards the truth.

Sage Sri, Sankara was extremely precise and careful in his choice of words. He was no fool in writing.  Sage Sankara did more than write books or initiate Sanyasin: He brought India into a unity as a nation. He told people to Worship what they wish, remain in their particular religion, caste and creed, but remember also you are part of a larger whole.

                                                                                                                

The look of an object will depend upon the medium through the observer views it. In fact our mental and intellectual conditions will determine the phenomenal world observed and experienced.  The orthodox pundit   seeing Sage Sri, Sankara will see differently from the A Gnani seeing the same Sage Sri, Sankara.  Each one of them interprets the world that they see in terms of their existing knowledge.  The orthodox sees Sri, Sankara as founder of their religion and also as a guru of Advaitic orthodox sect.  A man of truth sees Sage Sri, Sankara not as a guru but as a Gnani. The orthodoxy believes their experience of the birth, life, death and rebirth and the world as reality. Whereas a Gnani sees the world is mere illusion created out of consciousness.  Thus Gnani sees no second thing other than consciousness. The one who treads the path of wisdom gains the knowledge of the reality beyond form, time and space. A  Gnani has delved into and he transcended consciously all identification with the experience form, time and space.

Similarly orthodoxy has to be bifurcated from philosophy. To know Nondualistic wisdom of Sage Sri, Sankara one has to be free from all superstitions and dogmas and orthodoxy and scriptural knowledge.  The seeker has to be more rational and scientific in his attitude.

According to Advaita Vedanta, the Veda addresses itself to two kinds of audiences - the ordinary ones who desire the transitory heaven and other pleasures obtained as a result of ritual sacrifices, and the more advanced seeker who seeks to know Brahman. Thus, the purva mimam.sa, with its emphasis on the karma kanda of the Vedas, is meant for the first audience, to help lead its followers along the way. However, the Vedanta, with its emphasis on the Jnana Kanda, is meant for those who wish to go beyond such transient pleasures.

Sage Sri, Sankara said: - Talk as much philosophy as you like, worship as many gods as you please, observe ceremonies and sing devotional hymns, but the liberation will never come, even after a hundred aeons, without realizing the Oneness.

Philosophy does not begin with the ultimate truth. Ultimate truth has to be proved, not assumed. Hence, so-called philosophers who take Brahman for granted are not philosophers at all.

Lots of Advaitin scholars will teach that all is yourself, but none of them can show that this is so, none has analyzed it scientifically, and none can prove it. Rational proof is required, so that one arrive at knowing the ultimate truth or Brahman i.e. Gnana.  Theirs is mere dogma, parrotism, a repetition of what they read in scripture.  Authoritarianism merely assumes as true what another says, but what has yet to be proved.

Sage Sri Sankara’s whole teaching can be summed up into one sentence, ‘There is nothing else but Brahman. He says that the Absolute Existence, Absolute Knowledge and Absolute Bliss are real. The universe is not real. He says that Brahma and Atman are one. The ultimate and the Absolute Truth is the Self, which is one though appearing as many different individuals. The individual has no reality. Only the Self is real; the rest, mental and physical are but passing appearances.

Genuine philosophy must be independent of religion, that in Sage Sri, Sankara himself the Saguna Brahman or a personal God is only a part of the phenomenal (if not illusory) world, and the Nirguna Brahman is the only reality and has nothing to do with religion. 

Sage Sri Sankara pokes fun at ascetics and points out that all their austerities do not cause desires to go (Altar Flowers" Page 205, v.2 P.207 v.4)

The Brahma Sutras together with Sri Sankara's commentary thereon do not contain the higher wisdom. They are intended for those who are incapable of thinking rationally.

Sage Sri, Sankara's commentary on the Brahma Sutras is not on a philosophical basis, but on an orthodox and mystic basis, with appeal to the Vedas as final authority.

In Brahma Sutra Sage Sri, Sankara takes the position that there is another entity outside us, i.e. the wall really exists separately from the mind. This was because Sage Sri, Sankara explains in Mandukya that those who study the Sutras are orthodox minds, intellectual children, hence his popular view point to assist them. These people are afraid to go deeper because it means being heroic enough to refuse to accept Sruti, and God's authority, in case they mean punishment by God.  A Gnani says the scriptures for children, but wise seekers will think rationally.

In Brahma Sutras Sage Sri, Sankara takes for granted, assumes that a world was created: He there mixes dogmatic theology with philosophy.

That God created the world is an absolute lie, nevertheless one will find Sage Sri, Sankara (in his commentary on Vedanta Sutras) clearly says this! He has to adapt his teachings to his audience, reserving the highest for philosophical minds.

The text of Brahma Sutras is based on religion, dogmatism but in the commentary Sage Sri, Sankara cleverly introduced some philosophy. If it is objected that a number of Upanishads are equally dogmatic because they also begin by assuming Brahman, only a few Upanishads do not, but prove Brahman at the end of a train of proof.

Scholars translation of Brahma Sutras in Sacred Books of East must be read cautiously as he has not understood its highest sense, e.g. for Advaita they wrongly puts "Unity" instead of “Non-duality."

Sage Sri Sankara gave religion and scholasticism and yoga no less than philosophy, to the seeking world. He was great enough to be able to do so. His commentary on Mandukya is pure philosophy, but many of his other books are presented from a religious standpoint to help those who cannot rise up to philosophy.

Orthodoxy is the home of mysticism and deification that is why they are not keen rational truth. Thus Sage Sankara is guru to the religious followers and he is a great Gnani to the seeking world.   

Adyathmic Discussion -388 (Kingdom of God)

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)

Sage Sri Sankara –VC--"All this universe which through ignorance appears as of diverse forms, is nothing else but Brahman which is absolutely free from all the limitations of human thought

"It is this Supreme Oneness which alone is real, since there is nothing else but the Self. Verily, there remains no other independent entity in the state of realization of the highest Truth." 

 One has to realize the fact that, it is not the waking entity (you) which witnesses the three states.  The formless soul is the witness of the coming and going of the three states. The soul is immutable. The soul is unaffected by the happening within the three states because the three states are mere mirage created out of the formless soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. The soul or consciousness is the innermost self.



The self is neither the waking entity nor the self is dream entity but the self is the formless soul. The on the standpoint of the soul, the innermost self the three states are non-existent as reality.   
  

The ‘I’, body, ego and the world appear together and disappear together.  The reason disappears when ‘I’ disappears. Since everyone thinks ‘I’ as self all these doubts and confusion arises.  Whenever there is ‘I’ there is division, conflict, which is disorder. 

 When ‘I’ disappears then there is universal order, which alone is real.  The formless  soul  is  Witness of the three states.  One cannot say ‘I’ alone is illusion because ‘I’ is not the body but 'I' is  mind. the mind is present in the form of universe. the universe appears as waking or dream (duality) and disappears as deep sleep (non-duality).   Thus one has to learn to view and judge the three states on the standpoint of the formless witness, in order to know “what is truth” to know “what is untruth(illusion)”.  

When ‘I’ is there all diversities is experienced. Absent of ‘I’ there is no experience of diversity.  Thus there is a need to understand the fact that,  ‘I’ or mind is not limited to the waking entity alone because 'I' is the whole universe.  All the confusion will be cleared when one stops his verification on the base false self (waking entity or ego) and learns to reason on the base on the formless self (soul). 

The concept of illusion is within the illusion. All the concepts and thoughts are part of the illusion.  The formless substance and the witness of the illusion is reality.  There is need to know the fact that, the illusion is reality on the standpoint of ego(waking entity)  which is the false self, within the illusion(waking).  Until one tries to understand and assimilate the truth on the base of false self(waking entity or ego), it will lead him to imagination and hallucination.   

There is a need to verify the validity of all the accumulated knowledge through deeper inquiry, analysis and reasoning by the seekers of truth, in order to realize the fact that, they are all based on the false self, and will not transport the seekers to their non-dual destination.  

A permanent view of world as unreal can come only after soul centric reasoning; such knowledge cannot change. Were the seeker who is sufficiently sharpness he could grasp the unreal nature of the world by soul-centric reasoning alone.  To know whole truth, one must know the whole universe, otherwise he gets only half-truth. 

People speak of getting rid of conditioning or samskara but they themselves are unaware of the fact that, the universe in which they exist is product of the inborn samskara or conditioning.  The ignorance is cause of the inborn samskara or conditioning which present as ‘I’ or ‘I AM’. 

The real Moksha or freedom is   to realize the fact that ‘I’ consciousness is mere physical awareness. Physical awareness is not self-awareness. The self –awareness is when the formless soul or consciousness remains aware of its own non-dual   true nature. 

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  Francesca Milanato (((  )))

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  Susan Shirley Even in a one mile walk you can't shelf yourself and walk out the door . like a shadow .

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  Santthosh Kumaar He who realizes the walker, the waking and the distance are one in essence and that essence is spirit (consciousness) becomes one with the spirit. Thus it is necessary to realize the spirit is the innermost self to realize the kingdom of heaven is within you but it is without you and the world. 

  
  

  
  

  Gospel Thomas logian 22:- Jesus saw infants being suckled. He said to his disciples, “These infants being suckled are like those who enter the kingdom.”

  They said to him, “Shall we then, as children, enter the kingdom?”

  
  

  Jesus said to them, “When you make the two one, and when you make the inside like the outside and the outside like the inside, and the above like the below, and when you make the male and the female one and the same, so that the male not be male nor the female is female; and when you fashion eyes in the place of an eye, and a hand in place of a hand, and a foot in place of a foot, and a likeness in place of a likeness; then will you enter the kingdom.”

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Adyathmic Disussion - 386 ( Path of wisdom)

 Trev Light Bown:-

What is your view about this organization.?

Founder

Swami Chinmayananda, founder of Chinmaya Mission, taught spirituality as the art of living. Through jnana yoga (the Vedantic path of spiritual knowledge), he emphasized the balance of head and heart, pointing out selfless work, study, and meditation as the cornerstones of spiritual practice.

Not satisfied by worldly aspirations or his degrees in literature and law, Balakrishna Menon pursued spiritual studies for nine years in the Himalayas, under the guidance of Swami Sivananda (Divine Life Society) and the tutelage of Swami Tapovanam (Tapovan Maharaj). He eventually came to share this Vedantic knowledge with the masses, in the form of the dynamic teacher known as Swami Chinmayananda.

Swamiji is renowned worldwide as a spiritual master and one of the foremost teachers of Shrimad Bhagavad Gita. He is credited with the renaissance of spirituality and cultural values in India, and with the spreading of the ageless wisdom of Advaita Vedanta, as expounded by Adi Shankaracharya, throughout the world.

Dearest Trev, 

Thank you. Greetings. 

I will not comment on any particular guru or person  and their  organization. I  respect  their views and wisdom. 

As per my conviction:- 

 I only say path of wisdom is independent path and wisdom will not dawn by hearing sermons or following and surrendering to  some guru or by  practicing yoga or studying scriptures or by giving sermons on mythological stories. 

 I respect all the sages of truth of the past.  And  I also respect  the views and wisdom of the religious saints and gurus and I  admire their service to the humanity. Sage Sri, Sankara's religious path is meant for the mass. All these  gurus and organization belongs to Advaitic orthodoxy is nothing to do   with the ultimate truth or Brahman. Thus seeker of truth has to bifurcate the religious path from path of wisdom or reason   in order to unfold the mystery of the 'I' or mind or universe.       

 I am only highlighting how the other paths hinder the realization truth which will help the seeker to overcome all  the obstacles in his pursuit of truth.  The guru is not necessary in path wisdom. 

 Sharing the knowledge is my only mission.  Inspiring the serious and sincere seekers of truth and divert their attention towards the inward reality is very much necessary.  And I humbly request all my fellow seekers do not hold any teacher or teaching or wise men as a yardstick and indulge in argument instead try to list out the doubts and confusion arises from that teaching or declaration and try to find answer independently on their own, which opens the inner dialogue, and the inner discrimination will start on its own in subconscious, and then the truth will start revealing on its own without intellectual spoon feeding. It is not my advice but it is my humble suggestion because the advice comes from the ego and suggestion comes from the inner core of the existence. 

There is no need to follow anyone. If one wants Brahman follow the inner guru not Hinduism.  If one wants ultimate truth follow Christ within not Christianity.  If one wants Nirvana follow Buddha not Buddhism.  By glorifying the form and name of the sages will not yield truth. Deeper self-search is needed in order to realize what is what. It is not the man who has to get self-realization but it is the self that has to realize it is not the man and the world but it is consciousness. Thus it is the self, which has urge for freedom from this illusory prison called universe or mind.  

The universe will not vanish, when wisdom dawns, only the ignorance disappears and unreal nature of the universe or mind or waking is exposed, same way as the unreal nature of the dream exposed when waking takes place. The wisdom dawns in the midst of duality because in reality there is no duality. 

Nothing is needed other than perfect understanding of what is what is needed.      

The path of orthodoxy is not path of wisdom or Brahman. The orthodoxy has to be discarded if one wants ultimate truth or Brahman.  thus it is  very much necessary to bifurcate all  the teachers and their teaching if one chooses  the path of truth if he is searching the truth nothing but truth.     

Most of the saints and sages of the past are mostly social reformers, thus they are more concerned to the humanism rather than the truth. Their contribution is very valuable to live in the practical world.  But their contribution is not the means for acquire Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.   Thus humanism is part and parcel of the universe, which is mere illusion.

Mundaka Upanishad:- Ignorant fools, regarding sacrifices and humanitarian works as the highest, do not know any higher good. Having enjoyed their reward on the heights of heaven, gained by good works, they enter again this world or a lower one. (First Mundaka -10-   Chapter I [Source: "the Upanishads - a new translation" by swami nikhilananda in four volumes)

The humanism is limited to practical life within the practical world.    The path of love is path for humanity therefore, it is individualized path. Thus path of love is limited to the physical structure, it cannot transport one to ultimate end.  Thus seeker has to understand the fact that the practical life and practical world are part of the mirage from the ultimate standpoint. 

The simple reason is that the average person may have desire for knowledge but when the whole society is immersed in belief system and feeling himself   out of place because of societal fear and surroundings circumstances and he thinks it unfits him to pursue the path of truth. 

That is why Buddha said:-  

Do not believe a spiritual teaching just because:-

 1. It is repeatedly recited,2. it is written in a scripture,3. it was handed from guru to disciple,4. everyone around you believes it,5. it has supernatural qualities, 6. it fits my beliefs anyway,7. it sounds rational to me, 8. it is taught by a respectable person, 9. it was said to be the truth by the teacher, 10. one must defend it or fight for it.

However, only when it agrees with your experience and reason, and when it is conducive to the good and gain of oneself and all others, then one should accept the teachings, and live up to them."
....Buddha.

The seeker of truth is one who is ready verify and has courage to accept and reject the truth when he finds out what is truth and what is untruth. The meek will stick to their inherited conditioning remain experiencing duality as reality.

People think their individualized God is the means to self-realization but they are unaware of the fact that, such God, men and the world in they exist are made of the single stuff. Thus the religion and its god and its path of wisdom   are not the means of self –realization.  That is why Buddha rejected religion, concept of God and Vedas.  Thus anyone takes the religious path will not be able to get rid of the ignorance. Whoever goes in deeper self-search they will discard the religion, idea of God and scriptures. 

Belief is very much necessary in practical life within the practical world. Belief implies duality.  Whatever is of duality is falsehood. Thus belief is reality within the falsehood.  Belief is religious tool. Without belief there is no religion. Religion is based on the false self (waking entity or ego) within the false experience (waking).

Thus, organized religion is meant for the mass that is incapable searching the truth of their own existence. There is no use of finding fault with religious people because they have groomed to follow the belief system.  All the religious and god based organization are meant for the ignorant mass. The mass can understand what they perceive through senses because they cannot think beyond form, time and space. In such cases the perception itself is limited because they are stuck to the reality of the world. That is why all the religious based so called philosophers are not philosophers because they blindly accept the scriptures and their religious code of conducts as final. And head of such organization who propagate untruth as truth with skill in expounding sermons with ornamental words are religious Gurus not Gnanis.  Religious  gurus play  very important role in practical life in practical world to the mass, which is not seeking truth but worldly  peace and comforts. 

The seeker of truth will not blindly accept anything as truth without verification. There is no question of personal god, pilgrimages, good and evil, a world beyond form, time and space. The serious truth seeker will discard the religion and its concept of God and scriptures like Buddha as he progresses in his pursuit of truth.   

The experience of practical life within practical world is reality within the waking experience but waking experience itself is mere illusion created out of consciousness. Thus lover and love are one in essence. Thus path of love is religious path because religion is path of individuality or duality.   

The humanism is limited to practical life within the practical world.    The path of love is path for humanity therefore, it is individualized path. Thus path of love is limited to the physical structure, it cannot transport one to ultimate end.  Thus seeker has to understand the fact that the practical life and practical world are part of the mirage from the ultimate standpoint. 

The simple reason is that the average person may have desire for knowledge but when the whole society is immersed in belief system and feeling himself   out of place because of societal fear and surroundings circumstances and he thinks it unfits him to pursue the path of truth. 

The seeker of truth is one who is ready verify and has courage to accept and reject the truth when he finds out what is truth and what is untruth. The meek will stick to their inherited conditioning remain experiencing duality as reality.

When a yogi realizes that yoga is not the means to acquire self-knowledge than takes up deeper self-search by dropping all the yogic discipline.  Yoga is inadequate and useless in quenching his inner thirst. By indulging in deeper self –search he realizes the self is formless consciousness and the three states are mere mirage created out of consciousness. Therefore he attains Gnana.

The ignorance is the cause of experiencing all sorrow and calamities (universe) as reality. Thus eradicating the ignorance completely is necessary. And this is possible only through self-knowledge or 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-dualistic or Advaitic  wisdom dawns. 

That is why Sri Sankara, indicated 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. 

Then it is no use going roundabout way, trace the Brahman which is the formless substance and witness of the universe, which is in the form of mind.  By tracing the source of the mind or universe one will be able to realize the Brahman. 

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.”

It is for the seeker to mentally excavate by deeper self-search and realize what is truth and what is untruth and accept only un-contradictable truth.  Truth is not some theory or teaching but it has to be ascertained by the seeker himself.  

That is why Sage Sri, Sankara said: - VC- 65. As a treasure hidden underground requires (for its extraction) competent instruction, excavation, the removal of stones and other such things lying above it and (finally) grasping, but never comes out by being (merely) called out by name, so the transparent Truth of the self, which is hidden by Maya and its effects, is to be attained through the instructions of a knower of Brahman, followed by reflection, meditation and so forth, but not through arguments.

One cannot expect mental spoon feeding for everything.  The seeker has to do his own homework.  The ultimate truth will not be assimilated through argument. Argument leads nowhere but to perversity.  

 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.

Upanishads: - 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)

Thus, Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is meant only for those who have intense urge, and courage to accept the truth with humility and reject the untruth. Since people start comparing with their scriptural knowledge, it becomes impossible to assimilate and realize the non-dual truth.   Therefore, there is no need to convince anyone other than our own-selves to get the firm conviction. 

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. 

 

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 and worship non-Vedic God and Goddesses barred by Vedas and they believe in their conduct oriented life style leads to Moksha (place in heaven). Advaitic   Orthodoxy is not   the means to acquire Self –Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.  Those who are seeking ultimate truth or Brahman have to do their own homework in order to acquire ‘Self –Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. 

The orthodox Advaitins Gurus say :- 

The rituals mentioned in the karmakanda of the Vedas are sought to be negated in the jnanakanda which is also part of the same scripture. While the karmakanda enjoins upon you the worship of various deities and lays down rules for the same, the jnanakanda constituted by the Upanisads ridicules the worshipper of deities as a dim-witted person no better than a beast.

This seems strange, the latter part of the Vedas contradicting the former part. The first part deals throughout with karma, while the second or concluding part is all about jnana. Owing to this difference, people have gone so far as to divide our scripture into two sections: the Vedas (that is the first part) to mean the karmakanda and the Upanishads (Vedanta) to mean the jnanakanda.

Vedanta it is that Lord teaches us in the Gita and in it he lashes out against the karmakanda. It is generally believed that the Buddha and Mahavira were the first to attack the Vedas. 

It is not so. Sir Krishna Paramatman himself spoke against them long before these two religious leaders. At one place in the Gita he says to Arjuna :"The Vedas are associated with the three qualities of sattva, rajas and tamas.

 You must transcend these three qualities. Full of desire, they (the practitioners of Vedic rituals) long for paradise and keep thinking of pleasures and material prosperity. They are born again and again and their minds are never fixed in Samadhi, these men clinging to Vedic rituals. “In another passage Krishna declares : "Not by the Vedas am I to be realised, nor by sacrifices nor by much study. . . . "

Does not such talk contradict all that I have spoken so far about the Vedas, that they are the source of all our dharma?

With some thinking we will realise that there is in fact no contradiction. Would it be possible for us, in our present condition, to go beyond the three gunas even to the slightest extent and realise the true state of the Self spoken of in the Upanisads? The purpose of the Vedic rituals is to take us, by degrees, to this state. So long as we believe that the world is real we worship the deities so as to be vouchsafed happiness. And this world, which we think is real, is also benefited by such worship.

 Thinking the deities to be real, we help them and in return we are helped by them. Living happily on this earth we long to go to the world of the celestials and enjoy the pleasures of paradise. So far so good. But if we stopped at this stage would it not mean losing sight of our supreme objective? Is not this objective, this goal, our becoming one with the Paramatman? Would it not be foolish to ignore this great ideal of ours and still cling to mundane happiness?

In our present state of immaturity it is not possible to think of the world being unreal. Recognising this, the Vedas provide us the rituals to be performed for happiness in this world. Because of our inadequacies we are unable to devote ourselves to a formless Paramatman from whom we are not different. 

So the Vedas have devised a system in which a number of deities are worshipped. But, in course of time, as we perform the rituals and worship the deities, we must make efforts to advance to the state of wisdom and enlightenment in which the world will be seen to be unreal and the rites will become unnecessary. Instead of worshiping many deities, we must reach the state in which we will recognize that we have no existence other than that of our being dissolved in the Paramatman. We must perform Vedic sacraments with the knowledge that they prepare us to go to this state by making our mind pure and one-pointed.

If we perform rituals with the sole idea of worldly happiness and carry on trade with the celestials by conducting sacrifices (offering them oblations and receiving benefits from them in return), we will never come face to face with the Truth. Even if we go to the world of the celestials, we will not be blessed with Self-realization. Our residence in paradise is commensurate with the merit we earn here and is not permanent. 

Sooner or later we will have to return to this world and be in the womb of a mother. The ritual worship and other sacraments of the Vedas are to some extent the result of making an adjustment to our present immature state of mind. But their real purpose is to take us forward gradually from this very immature state and illumine us within. It would be wrong to refuse to go beyond the stage of ritual worship.

 If, to begin with, it is not right to refuse all at once to perform Vedic rites, it would be equally not right, subsequently, to refuse to give them up. Nowadays, people are averse to ritual to start with itself. "What? " they exclaim. "Who wants to perform sacrifices? Why should we chant the Vedas? Let us go directly to the Upanishads. “Some of them can speak eloquently about the Upanishads from a mere intellectual understanding of them. But none has the inward conviction of the truths propounded in them and we do not see them emerging as men of detachment with a true awareness of the Self. The reason for this is that they have not prepared themselves for this higher state of perception through the performance of rituals. If this is wrong in one sense, refusal to take the path of jnana from that of karma is equally not justifiable.

Ish Upanishad declares: - Those people who have neglected the attainment of Self-knowledge and have thus committed suicide

10/11/12

Those people who have neglected the attainment of Self-knowledge and have thus committed suicide, as it were, are doomed to enter those worlds after death.

This is a condemnation of people who do not try to attain Self-knowledge. They are, in a real sense, committing suicide, for what can be worse than being a slave to sense enjoyment, completely oblivious of the real purpose of life, which is to be your own master? In order to be your own master you have to realize that you are identical with Atman, the true Self, that you are Pure Consciousness, ever free, without name and form, and unconditioned.

You are not subject to any modification, without beginning and end, beyond thought and speech. You are Existence Absolute, Knowledge Absolute, and Bliss Absolute. When you know this you are free. You no longer swing between birth and death. If you do not try to know who you really are, you are indeed committing suicide. You are inviting the ignominy of a slave's life in this world and a similarly unfortunate fate after death. The Self, is one without a second, complete in itself.

 It never moves. It is always still, always the same, yet it moves faster than the mind. It is the power that moves everything, and it makes the whole world go the way it does. It gives those who mechanically perform sacrifices (avidya) go into darkness that is like being blind. But those who merely worship gods and goddesses (vidya) go into a deeper darkness. [IX]

"Blinding darkness' here implies ignorance. And those who worship gods and goddesses go into a deeper darkness because they seek rewards for their worship. As long as there is the sense of "I' and "mine' within us, there can be no Self-knowledge. When you say "me' and "mine' you automatically identify yourself with your body-mind complex. This shows that you are ignorant of your real Self, which is Pure Consciousness and which is also the Self of all.  The sign of an ignorant person is in the way he uses the words "I' and "mine'. He says: "I am so and so. I own this much property,' and so on.

An ignorant person has many desires in his mind, and because of these desires he is born again and again. He has to have a body; otherwise he cannot satisfy his desires. But the more he tries to satisfy them, the more they grip his mind. This goes on endlessly. But it is given to a human being to think, reason, and discriminate. Thus he soon comes to realize that the path he has been following cannot give him peace of mind. He understands that he has to choose another path the path of renunciation. As long as he does not practice renunciation, he gropes in the dark like a blind man and he suffers.

There are two types of such people who grope in the dark. One type worships avidya (ignorance) that is, they mechanically perform the prescribed sacrifices without any thought as to why they are doing them. 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.

Worse, however, is the situation of the other type 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 Upanishad 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 [worshiping 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 worshiping 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.

A Gnani is free from experiencing the illusion [body + universe] as reality, he is fully aware of the fact that, his body and his experience of the world as consciousness, which is ultimate truth.  

People who are incapable to inquire and reason are tending to follow some philosophy without verification. Therefore the more ignorant they are the easier to get them into a religious fold. Religion is so strong and popular because it makes no demand on the intelligent; it simply requires belief in guru and his teachings. 

It never strikes believer to doubt whether his inherited belief system is true. They never use their reason because they start and conclude that their belief system   alone is true, because they never question the validity of their inherited belief.  

For religion one can interpret texts as he likes, in whatever way that pleases him, he simply imagine away.  The idea of god injected in the past and inherited by people and they refuse to verify the facts, because they think it blasphemy even to question their inherited belief system.  

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. Scripters 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.

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 [liberation].  But religious based Adavaita is not   the means to acquire self –knowledge or non-dual wisdom.  Those who are seeking truth have to do their own homework in order to acquire self-knowledge. 

Doubts and Confusions arise when seeker finds the scriptures  and yoga are inadequate or useless to quench his spiritual thirst.   Disappointments in religion or yoga or even science imply error or ignorance. 

When serious seeker reaches a stage with all his baggage of accumulate knowledge, then uncertainty haunts him.  Whether he is right?" Where is the certainty that he is proceeding on right lines?" Thus doubts arise and the inquiring spirit comes and impels to search elsewhere for truth where it will not be possible even to have doubt. The test is therefore in experience. And only in non-duality, where there are no two to argue about views or to have difference of opinion can such doubtlessness be possible.  Belief depends upon unstable bases whereas certainty depends on proof. 

Seeker of truth has to get rid of his doubts through deeper inquiry, analysis and reasoning on his own, to realize the fact that, the self is not the form but self is formless. Thus his analysis and reasoning has to be based on the formless not on the form.  By simply go on believing and accepting whatever said by the punditry will not lead one towards path of wisdom. All the doubt has to be got rid of "by the sword of Self - Knowledge."  The scriptures, yoga are not necessary if one follows the inner [formless] path.  Religion and yoga are not the means to path of wisdom.  

Upanishads: - 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) 

This passage indicates the fact that everything is Atman, which present in the form of spirit (consciousness) . The one who views and judges the worldview on the base of his birth entity will not realize the fact that, the man including the world is created sustained and finally dissolves as Atman or spirit. Thus Atman or spirit or consciousness alone is, and all else is mirage created out of consciousness. 

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

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.

Therefore there is no need to study scriptures, or indulge in god and guru glorification or performing religious rituals.  Since, they are not the means to acquire Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. It is only waste of time and effort to indulge in those things.

The individual self is not real, is not accepted by many.  Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is based not on the individual self (waking entity ego).  Until people hold the ‘I’ as witness, they will not reach the ultimate understanding and realization. 

The orthodoxy has to be dropped if one has chosen the path of wisdom.

The orthodoxy is greatest hindrance in pursuit of truth because it makes the inborn samskara or conditioning more and stronger. Till this conditioning prevails it is impossible to grasp, assimilate and realize the non-dualistic or Advaitic truth. The orthodoxy is egocentric and egocentricity is greatest obstacle in path of truth.    The orthodoxy is indulging non-Vedic rituals because of add-ons and adulteration and such rituals leads one nowhere and it is waste of time and effort.   Thus orthodoxy is not for those who are seeking truth nothing but truth.  Mixing orthodoxy and preaching non-duality is foolish venture.  Thus religious gurus preaching nonduality is meant for the mass is only skin deep.

Sage 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 or Brahma  Gnana or Atma Gnana   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 the waking entity 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 waking entity as self when the waking entity is the false self, and the soul (Atman) is the true self.

The seeker should be beware of everything that is untrue: stick to truth and he shall succeed, may be slowly, but surely.