Without breaking away from religion and ancient traditions, it is impossible to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.+

Without breaking away from religion and ancient traditions, it is impossible to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. Religion and tradition will keep one locked in ignorance.

People magnify every minor coincidence or every petty fact where yogis or Good men were concerned, and they see the miraculous or esoteric significance therein.

Prayers and sacrifices belong to a premature stage of development. When no answers come to prayers to their religious God based on blind belief, then doubt arises about the existence of such God.

According to Sage Sankara, it is the ignorance of our real nature that causes suffering and pain. The desire for happiness is essentially a longing to awaken to who and what we truly are.

The essence of Mundaka is: Do not be satisfied with rituals, yoga, etc. which are good in their own way but inquire. Into what? Brahman and Atman are things you can never see. So do not inquire into them.

Inquire into the world around you, which you can see. Science tells you it is passing away every second. Everything is dying repeatedly. Where is it going?

Thus, you follow up your inquiry into what you can lay hands on. How can you inquire into Atma which you cannot see? So first we deal with the known and seen, this inquiry leads up to the unknown in the end.

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

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 most 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.

One may believe in a position, but he is required to prove the truth of his belief.

A belief is based on the false self (ego) within the false experience (waking). The ultimate truth or Brahman is based on the Soul, the Self. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Sage Sankara : On Gnani:~The knower of Brahman wears no signs. Gives up the insignia of a monk's life.+

Sage Sankara 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."

When the knower of Brahman (Gnani) wears no signs it means he does not identify himself as a Guru or a Yogi or teacher or Swami.

If someone has acquired Self-knowledge and shares his acquired knowledge with others, they cannot say that there is nothing for them to do. Everyone has to discover a fresh for himself by verifying all the facts. Each one has to grasp assimilate and realize it until he gets a firm conviction of the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.

The mind appears due to ignorance. Without ignorance, the mind (I) ceases to exist. Thus, the mind is in the form of the universe and appears as a waking or dream. The waking or dream is a state of duality or ignorance. Thus seeker has to hold wherever there is duality there is ignorance.

If duality is considered as reality then the experience of birth, life, death, and the world is considered as reality.

If the experience of birth, life, death, and the world are considered as a reality then the form, time, and space become a reality.

If form, time, and space become reality as reality, then there is diversity in unity.

To bring back the unity in diversity, one has to put the ego into reverse gear until he reaches the ultimate end or source from where the mind rises and subsides. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Without having patience and humility the seeker is unfit to receive Self-knowledge or Bramha Gnana or Atma Gnana.+

The seeker must have patience and make an effort to open the blogs and posts read and reflect and understand.

All the accumulated knowledge blocks you from understanding. The pursuit of truth is not a question-and-answer session.

Advaitic wisdom is not custom-made stuff that feeds each individual. The ‘I’ know attitude blocks the realization of the truth hidden by ignorance.

Unless the seeker drops all accumulated knowledge the seeker will not be able to realize the truth hidden by the ignorance.

Without having patience and humility the seeker is unfit to receive Self-knowledge or Bramha Gnana or Atma Gnana.

If the seeker keeps on reading my posts and blogs old as well as new, all his doubts and confusions will vanish. And the conviction about the Soul, the Self starts to become firm.

It takes time for the seeker to gain the perfect understanding of ‘What is truth’ and ‘What is untruth’.

It takes time for the Soul, the innermost Self to wake up from the sleep of ignorance, and it takes time for one to realize the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space.

I can point at the sky, but the seeing of the star is the seeker's own work.

Self-knowledge leads to Self-awareness. The quest for truth is not the quest for acquiring the dualistic truth within the world.

The seeker must have an intense urge to realize the truth which is beyond form, time, and space.

The dualistic knowledge hides the truth beyond form, time, and space. The practical life within the practical world has nothing to do with the ultimate truth or Brahman.

The dualistic knowledge within the dualistic illusion is not Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

This vast cosmos with all its contents (atom, molecule, sun, moon, planet, and star) all are created out of single stuff. That single stuff is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Knowledge of the single stuff is Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

The Soul is the Self. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness.

Nondualistic Awareness is the nature of the Soul or consciousness. Consciousness is existence itself.

Consciousness is ever-present. Without consciousness, the world, in which you exist ceases to exist.

Consciousness is Self-evident. It is not established by extraneous proofs. It is not possible to deny consciousness because it is the very essence of the one who denies it.

Consciousness is the basis of all kinds of knowledge, presuppositions, and proofs. Consciousness is everything. Thus, consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman.:: ~Santthosh Kumaar 

If you are seeking truth then you should not waste your precious time and fortune by attending to the Satsangha and retreats.+

Those Gurus who expound ‘I-centric’ knowledge are propagating ignorance. The seeker has to be aware of the fact that the ‘I’ itself is ignorance. The truth is hidden by the ‘I’.

Bhagvad Gita: ~ “You must first see the ‘I’ as illusory before you see others as illusory. ~ CH.2 v.16

If you stick to ‘I-centric Gurus and their teaching you are sticking up to ignorance.

By following ‘I-centric’ teaching even after a hundred years you will never realize the ‘Self’ hidden by the ‘I’.

If you are seeking truth then you should not waste your precious time and fortune by attending to the Satsangha and retreats of ‘I-centric’ Gurus.

That is why Bhagavan Buddha said: ~ ‘Believe nothing because a wise man said it, Believe nothing because it is generally held. Believe nothing because it is written. Believe nothing because it is said to be divine. Believe nothing because someone else said it. But believe only what you, yourself judge to be true.

It takes time for the seeker to gain the perfect understanding of ‘what is the truth’ and ‘’what is untruth’. It takes time for the Soul, the Self to wake up from the sleep of ignorance, and it takes time for one to realize the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space.

The seeker should be aware of everything untrue: stick to the truth and he shall succeed, maybe slowly, but surely. The ‘I’ is not the root of all the appearance because the ‘I’ itself is an appearance.

Only ignorant people say ‘I’ is the root of all the appearance. Those Gurus who propagated the ‘Self’ within the body are erred. This mistake has to be rectified to realize the Soul, the Self, which is present in the form of consciousness.

The Soul, the Self is the fullness of consciousness without the illusory division of form, time, and space.

By emotionally sticking to these ’I’-centric gurus and their teachings you will remain permanently in the domain of ignorance.

Because of ignorance, you think you are an individual separate from the world and the world existed prior to you, you are born in it later on.

The ‘I’ is inborn ignorance cause of experiencing the world in which you exist as a reality whereas the world in which you exist is a dualistic illusion.

Whatever belongs to a dualistic illusion is bound to be an illusion. So, your experience of birth, life, death, and the world is bound to be an illusion.

Remember:~

Everyone is holding some teaching or teacher or their accepted truth as a yardstick. All the accumulated egocentric knowledge is inadequate or useless in unfolding the mystery of the mind or universe.

The ‘I’ is inborn samskara or conditioning, and because of this inborn samskara or conditioning one has accepted the ‘I’ as the ‘‘Self’’, he is ignorant of the fact that the ‘I’ itself is the cause of ignorance. Because of this ‘I’ he has accepted illusion as a reality. Therefore, there is a need to realize ‘what is this ‘I’?’ - in actuality.

Without knowing ‘what is this ‘I’?’ in actuality it is impossible to unfold the hidden truth which is beyond form, time, and space.

Until you hold the ‘Self ‘as the ‘I’ you will never be able to get Self-realization. ‘I’ hides the Soul, which is the innermost Self.

'I’ is ignorance.

‘I’ is the duality.

‘I’ is the form, time, and space.

‘I’ is the universe.

‘I’ is the waking.

‘I’ is the dream.

‘I’ is the illusion.

‘I’ is the experience of birth, life, death and the world.

But remember:~

Without the ‘I’ there is no ignorance.

Without the ‘I’ there is no duality.

Without the ‘I’ there is no form, time, and space.

Without the ‘I’ there is no universe.

Without the ‘I’ there is no waking.

Without the ‘I’ there is no dream.

Without the ‘I’ there is no illusion.

Without the ‘I’ there is no experience of birth, life, death, and the world.

The ‘I’ hides the Soul, the ‘Self, which is the cause of the 'I'.

That is why Ashtavakra Gita 16:10:~ If you desire liberation, but you still say ‘I,’, If you feel the ‘Self’ is the ‘I’, you are not a wise man or a seeker. You are simply a man who suffers.

Bhagvad Gita: ~ ‘The permanent is always there, only the transient ‘I’ comes and goes. (2.18) It is time to discard the ‘I’. Never use the word ‘I’ or I AM for the Self. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Satsangha is not attending the sermons and retreats of Gurus.+

Astavakra: ~ “My child you may speak upon various scriptures or hear the sermons on the scriptures. But you cannot establish in the ‘Self’ unless you forget all. 16-1 – p49

Satsangha is not attending the sermons and retreats of Gurus. A true seeker is not content with the knowledge of spiritual realities based on hearsay... he insists on the direct knowledge.

All those Gurus who preach Advaita are based on the dualistic perspective or orthodox perspective. Such preaching has nothing to do with the Advaitic wisdom of Sage Sankara.

Your inner work is on. There is no need to neglect practical life within the practical world. There is no need to indulge 24/7 in Spirituality but use your spare time for that.

Do not neglect your family and personal life and spend money on your pursuit of truth. Be happy like any other human being and enjoy life with humility and dignity in the practical world.

Self-realization does not depend upon books or upon the existence of any religion and books perish when ignorance perishes.

The Advaitic truth is hidden by the dualistic illusion or Maya. No books or gurus can transmit Gnana to you.

Even without Guru, you can realize the truth hidden by the dualistic illusion or Maya. You have to show gratitude for the wisdom and Sages of truth without bondage to them.

Do not blindly believe anything as truth without deeper verification. Think and reason for yourself. No blind belief can save you, work out your own salvation. Having only one idea of ‘Self’ is an eternal help.

Chandogya Upanishad: ~ One who meditates upon and realizes the 'Self' discovers that everything in the cosmos-- energy and space, fire and water, name and form, birth and death, mind and will, word and deed, mantrams and meditation--all come from the Self.

The Guru who pretends to be Self-realized and plays with the emotions and sentiments of the seeker is a fraud, not a Gnani.

If you emotionally and sentimentally hold on to the physical Guru as a guide you will never be able to transcend the dualistic illusion to non-dualistic reality. The idea of having a Guru, itself blocks you from realizing the Self, which is hidden by the dualistic illusion.

It means the Gurus, Swamis, and Yogis who identify themselves as holy people are not Gnanis.

Those who are seeking truth need not follow any Guru or any teaching.

The one who thinks of himself as a Guru and the one who thinks of himself as a chela (disciple) will not be able to acquire Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana because both of them accepted themselves as the body. And all their understanding, practices, and knowledge are based on the false self (ego or you). Therefore, the Guru–Shisya concept is a great obstacle in the pursuit of truth.

A Gnani never accepts himself as a Guru or accepts anyone as his disciple.

A Gnani only shares Gnana and guides the serious and sincere seeker. He will never make anyone emotionally attached to him because he is fully aware that such attachments hinder their spiritual growth.

Internally focus your attention on the invisible ‘Self’ or consciousness, which is free from form, time, and space.

There is no need to renounce and take sanyasa to get Self-realization.

No amount of Diksha or yoga meeting Gurus and visiting Ashrams leads anywhere. Your invisible guide is within and it guides you to the core that you are seeking.

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.”

Bhagavan Buddha said:~ Believe nothing just because a so-called wise person said it. Believe nothing just because a belief is generally held. Believe nothing just because it is said in ancient books. Believe nothing just because it is said to be of divine origin. Believe nothing just because someone else believes it. Believe only what you, yourself test and judge to be true.

You should not neglect your individual and family life. Enjoy life as it comes and also face the difficulties as they come.

As your inner conviction about the Soul grows you will be able to realize ‘What is the truth?’ and ‘What is the untruth?’ and be able to see the world in which you exist as a passing cloud that hides the truth, which is beyond the form, time and space. : : ~ Santthosh Kumaar 

Millions are searching for truth, but one in million will realize it. If you are a truth seeker then you are, one from that million.+

Come ye slow, or come ye fast; it is but the Soul, the Advaita that reveals itself at last.

Millions are searching for truth, but one in million will realize it. If you are a truth seeker then you are, one from that million.

The Soul, the 'Self' reveals‘ what is real’ and ‘what is unreal” when the seeker is receptive and ready.

It takes time for the seeker to gain the perfect understanding of ‘what is the truth’ and ‘’what is untruth’.

It takes time for the Soul, the Self to wake up from the sleep of ignorance, and it takes time for one realizes the 'Self"(truth), hidden by the ignorance (I).

Slowly but surely you must imbibe the truth, which is beyond form, time and space by realizing the form, time and space are one in essence.

When you enthrone the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness in your subconscious, you will realize the world in which you exist is merely an illusory play of consciousness.

Consciousness is ‘One’, and all divisions of form, time, and space are illusory. Be established in this Advaitic Truth, which is eternal.

Remember:~

Everyone’s inner work leads towards new understanding and realization. When doubts crop up and when one does not get a reasonable reasoning for his doubts from the other source, then only he indulges in his own personal research.

When one tries to investigate, and then only he becomes aware of the truth. As he goes deeper and deeper into the subject the truth will start to reveal itself. \

At every stage of life, wherever one turns or goes, ignorance meets him. One always worries what is going to happen in the future to him, or to the world? What will happen to the money if he deposits it, will it be safe? What is happening inside his body? What is the ultimate condition of this world? He will not get answers. Because futures have yet to come, he is thinking of the past and future fears in the present.

The present is always built on the past and survives on the hopes of the future. But when one becomes aware of the fact that time is merely an illusion and one which is aware of the time is timeless existence, which is consciousness.

To overcome the sense of time one has to realize the one which is aware of the form and space also is consciousness. Thus consciousness alone is real and form, time, and space are unreal because they are one in essence.

Remember:~

Sage Sankara says the transparent truth of the Self, which is hidden by the illusion, is to be attained through the instructions of a knower of Brahman, (Gnani).

First, know ‘what is the truth’ and ‘what is untruth’ for sure. Without realizing what untruth truth is, it is difficult to know what truth is.

When the sky, clouds, and the world in which you exist are made of single clay then there is no second thing that exists, other than that clay. That clay is the Soul, which is formless, timeless, and spaceless existence.

Reality is hidden by unreality. The world in which we exist hides the truth. Whatever belongs to you is unreal. The words and thoughts belong to you, not to the Soul, the real ‘Self'.

Whatever has names and form and attributes and whatever belongs to form, time and space is an illusion. The illusion hides the Spirit, which is God in truth.

The illusion and Spirit are one in essence. Spirit, the God alone is real and eternal.  : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

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

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

That God created the world is an absolute lie; nevertheless, you will find Sage  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 Sankara cleverly introduced some philosophy. 

If it is objected that a number of Upanishads are equally dogmatic because they also begin by assuming Brahman, but a few Upanishads do not but prove Brahman at the end of a train of proof.

The causality and creation, but are for religious people only. Religion is only for those who are unable to understand the truth beyond form, time, and space. 

Religion is not final. It only gives satisfaction to the populace. Self-knowledge is for the whole of humanity to free them from experiencing birth, life, death, and the world as reality.

People of small intelligence follow religion and believe that the world was created by God. But how do they know that He did so? When a pot is created, one can see both pot and its maker, but not in the case of the world.:~ Santthosh Kumaar 

By converting people from one religion to another one will not be able to realize God. God is universal.+

By converting people from one religion to another one will not be able to realize God because God in truth does not belong to any religion. God is universal.

All the religious Gods are not God in truth. You must realize what God is supposed to be in truth in this very life.

What is the use of indulging in wars, violence, terrorism in the name of protecting religion, and the religious idea of God. God in truth is not a Hindu or Christian. God is not a Jew, Muslim, or Buddhist.

All of those Gods in humans are imaginarily meant for the ignorant populace, who is not capable of grasping the real God hidden by ignorance (I).

The Advaitic path is not for the religious-minded people. The Advaitic path is pure Spirituality. The Advaitic path is to help the seeker to unfold the mystery of God.

From the perspective of the Spirit, which is God in truth, the world in which we exist is merely an illusion.

Thus, whatever happens within the illusion is bound to be an illusion created out of the Spirit. The Spirit the God alone is real and all else is an illusion.

Yajurveda – chapter- 32:~ God is Supreme Spirit has no ‘Pratima’ (idol) or material shape. God cannot be seen directly by anyone. God pervades all beings and all directions.

Thus, Idolatry does not find any support from the Vedas.

The Bible says: ~ “God is a Spirit, and they that worship God must worship God in spirit and in truth (John 4:24)”,

God is not physical. God is the Spirit. God is the innermost Self. God is birthless and deathless because God is a formless, timeless, and spaceless existence.

Birth, life, and death happen within the illusory world, which is created out of God in truth and is present in the form of the Spirit.

Jesus said:~ "Those who seek should not stop seeking until they find. When they find it, they will be disturbed. When they are disturbed, they will marvel, and will reign over all." (Gospel of Thomas 2)

Jesus said: ~ ”Know what is in front of your face, and what is hidden from you will be disclosed to you. (The Gospel of Thomas- Saying 5)

The Soul is the Self, the Soul is present in the form of consciousness. Consciousness is the root element of the universe.

From consciousness, the universe comes into existence. In consciousness, the universe resides. And into consciousness, the universe is dissolved. Consciousness is the parent of all that is there.

The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth. Thus, everything is God nothing but God.

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.”

Santthosh Kumaar: ~ When one realizes mind (matter) and Soul (spirit), the innermost Self is one in essence then there is no place for the duality. Without duality, the universe ceases to exist as a reality. Without the universe, your existence within the universe is merely an illusion because there is scope for two because the universe itself is created out of single stuff. That single stuff is consciousness or Spirit. The Spirit or consciousness is God in truth.

Bhagavad Gita says: ~ “Brahmano hi pratisthaham Brahman”- (God) is considered the all-pervading consciousness which is the basis of all the animate and inanimate entities and material (Gita 14.27)

When Bhagavad Gita says, God is considered the all-pervading consciousness which is the basis of all the animate and inanimate entities and material then nothing has to be accepted as God other than consciousness.

Bhagavad Gita Chapter: ~ “All those whose intelligence has been stolen by material desires, they worship many Gods. (7- Verse)

Vedas, Upanishad, and Bhagavad Gita Bible confirm the Soul, the Self, which is present in the form of the Spirit or consciousness is God in truth.

It is for every seeker who is seeking truth must first know what God is supposed to be in actuality according to Vedas and Upanishads and reject all non-Vedic Gods to realize the Atman is God in truth. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Sage Sankara: ~ VC-63- "Without knowing and examining the universe, one can’t know the truth, as the idea that the external world exists, won't go.+

Sage Sankara: ~ VC-63- "Without knowing and examining the universe, one can’t know the truth, as the idea that the external world exists, won't go. It can go only by an inquiry into the nature of the external world.

If the inquiry does not include the universe then it is incomplete.

Look into the nature of the universe. And you will be able to see that the universe by its very nature is illusory. The moment you understand that the universe is illusory, ignorance disappears and Self-awareness arises.

Sage Sankara says the transparent truth of the Self, which is hidden by the illusion, is to be attained through the instructions of a knower of Brahman, (Gnani).

First, know ‘what is the truth’ and ‘what is untruth’ for sure. Without realizing what untruth truth is, it is difficult to know what truth is.

The seeker has to begin his analysis with the world first, not with the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

In the world in which you exist, consciousness is the finality.

A Gnani sees the world in which he exists as consciousness." But to know this they must be examined and studied.

The yogi does not care to know about the world" and for a Gnani nothing remains to be known for him because he is fully aware of the fact that the universe in which he exists is nothing but an illusion created out of consciousness.

The pundits do not know the true nature of the world in which we exist. Scriptures deal only with the Objects, not with the Witness of the objects.

If one starts with the idea that Samsara (universe) exists, he can never see the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, because Samsara (world) is an illusion and only ignorant people read it as a reality.

Hence, Sage Sankara says: ~ VC-63 -"Without knowing and examining the external world, one can’t know the Truth, as the idea that the external world exists, won't go. It can go only by an inquiry into the nature of the external world.

A Gnani can point at the sky, but the seeing of the star is the seeker's own work. :~ Santthosh Kumaar