Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is concerned with Spirituality or Adyathma.+

Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is not the knowledge of religion and religious Gods. Religion and its religious Gods have nothing to do with Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana knowledge of the Spirit, the real God, hidden by the ‘I’, which is ignorance.

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 the same time moving forward toward Self-knowledge, 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 worshiping God and Goddess to get Self-knowledge.

Ish Upanishad:~ "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 one’s, own master?

Ish Upanishads:-

MANTRA 10

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 worshipping Gods and Goddesses you will go after death to the world of Gods and Goddesses. But will that help you? The time you spent 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.

Ishopanishad: ~ “They are steeped in ignorance and sunk into the greatest depth of misery who worships the matter, instead of the All-Pervading God and those who worship things born of matter like trees, animals, man, etc. are sunk deeper in misery."

The seeker must do his homework, and verify the validity of all the claims, rather than blindly believe, what others expound as knowledge, till; the un-contradicted truth is obtained.

The seeker must have the courage of Bhagavan Buddha to accept the truth and reject the untruth. Since Bhagavan Buddha rejected religion, the idea of God, and the scriptures, therefore, it is evident that he has gone through every aspect and verified and found them to be inadequate and useless for the pursuit of truth.

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.

Bhagavan Buddha: - There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth: not going all the way... and not starting. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar