Sage Sankara cautioned that the study of Upanishad alone would not lead to Moksha.
Ashtavakra:~ There is no wisdom whatsoever in the scriptures- just a collection of words.
Manduka Upanishad has no assumptions whatsoever. It is an honest and bold inquiry into truth. It rises above scripture.
There is no need to study Vedanta or any scriptures for Self-realization.
Sage Sankara himself says: ~ VC 59-The study of the Scriptures is useless so long as the highest Truth is unknown, and it is equally useless when the highest Truth has already been known.
60. The Scriptures, consisting of many words, are a dense forest that merely causes the mind to ramble. Hence, men of wisdom should earnestly set about knowing the true nature of the Self.
Sage Sankara says in the commentary in Vedanta sutra that what is accepted without a 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.
Seekers of truth should not believe blindly in traditional orthodox nonduality without verifying all the facts from every angle. One has to reflect through reasoning over and over again without getting tired of the process.
Sage Goudpada wrote his Mandukya Karika to establish the truth of Nonduality by sheer reasoning alone. He begins by defining "What is real?" "What is unreal?" etc, because that is the right way to discuss or teach. People must first know what they are talking about.
Sage Sankara says: ~ “The exercise in discrimination between real and unreal and renunciation of the false is real meditation, then why you are indulging in other types of meditation.
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.
Upanishads: ~ Fools dwelling in darkness, but thinking themselves wise and erudite, go round and round, by various tortuous paths, like the blind led by the blind. (Upanishads Nikilanada - Ch II-5 P-14)
Sage Sankara ~ VC~ "All this universe which through ignorance appears as of diverse forms, is nothing else but Brahman (Soul) which is absolutely free from all the limitations of human thought
Ashtavakra Gita: ~ “The universe raises from the invisible Soul, the Self like bubbles from the sea. Thus, know the Self to be One and in this way enter into the state of dissolution."
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 invisible Soul, which is formless, timeless, and spaceless existence.
The reality is hidden by the 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, which is the ‘Self.
Whatever has name and form and attributes and whatever belongs to form, time and space are an illusion. The illusion hides the Spirit, which is God. The illusion and Spirit are one in essence. Spirit, the God alone is real and eternal.
The seeker has to overcome all the obstacles in pursuit of truth on his own. There are so many scholars who mastered philosophy.
It is impossible to acquire Self-knowledge through Vedas and theoretical philosophy. Because their preaching is based on spirit and practices is based on ego or waking entity.
Katha Upanishad: ~ This Atman cannot be attained by the study of the Vedas, or by intelligence, or by much hearing of sacred books. It is attained by him alone whom It chooses. To such a one, Atman reveals its own form. (Katha Upanishad Ch-II -23-P-20)
It is very difficult to talk to people about the ultimate truth or Brahman because everyone thinks he knows the ultimate truth or Brahman. This- I know business is dangerous. And whatever his reached conclusion is second-hand stuff.
Accepting accumulated knowledge without verification will lead the seekers to hallucinated realization based on the ego. One may have some flashes of truth when someone tries to indicate it through fewer words. But it takes nearer to truth, not realization.
Upanishad says ~ "He who thinks he knows, does not know." This means that to know anything implies a second, an object of knowledge, hence duality, i.e. no Gnana.
Tripura Rahasya: ~ Second-hand knowledge of the Self gathered from books or Gurus can never emancipate a man until its truth is rightly investigated and applied; only direct realization will do that. Realize yourself, turning the mind inward. ~ (18: 89)
The pursuit of truth is a mental journey. Deeper self-search makes one aware of ‘what truth’ is and what is untruth’.
When one gets a firm conviction of ‘what is the truth then the subconscious will reject the untruth. Whatever prevails after rejecting the untruth is the ultimate truth or Brahman.
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad says: - In that unitive state there is neither father nor mother, neither worlds nor gods nor even the Scriptures. In that state, there is neither thief nor slayer, neither low caste nor high, neither monk nor ascetic. The Self is beyond good and evil, beyond all the suffering of the human Heart
The invisible and unborn Soul is the Self. The invisible Soul is present in the form of consciousness. It is consciousness that creates the illusion, and it is consciousness that gets free of it.
Words may aggravate an illusion; words may also help dispel it. There is a need to repeat the same truth again and again until it becomes a reality.
The seeker has to reflect on the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space, constantly until he gets a firm conviction.
People need to hear words until facts speak to them louder than words. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar
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