A deeper investigation “Who Am I?- inquiry.+

The seeker has to find answers to clear doubts and confusion which arise in a deeper investigation of Sage Ramana Maharishi's ~ “Who Am I?- inquiry.” 

The ‘WHO AM ‘I’?’ inquiry is good at the starting point of the pursuit of truth but in later stages, it created lots of confusion.   

When the Self is genderless then it is not He/She. Therefore, using the word ‘I AM’ for the Self is erroneous.   

Deeper self-search reveals that the Self is not the ‘I’, therefore ‘WHO AM I?- will not help to unfold the truth beyond form, time, and space. 

The ignorant who fail to apprehend the ‘Self’ is caught in the web of illusion experience, the birth, life, death, and world as reality.  

People who think the ‘I’ or ‘I AM’ as the 'Self' are caught up in the web of duality and experience pain and pleasure as reality.     

The one who holds the Self as ‘I’ never will be able to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. 

Thus, it is necessary to realize first the Self is not 'I', but the invisible and unborn  Soul. the cause of the ‘I’.

The ‘I-centric' teaching and teachers are not a yardstick in the path of wisdom. ‘I’ based teaching will not lead the seeker to the ultimate end of his inner journey

A deeper investigation reveals the fact that: ~ the Self is neither the waking entity (you) nor the dream entity but the Self is the Soul, which witnesses the coming and going of the three states.

If the Self is not ‘you’ (waking entity) then what is the use of the ‘WHO AM ‘I’?, Self-inquiry is only good for the lower stage.

'WHO AM I?' - inquiry becomes inadequate and useless as one goes deeper into self-search.

However, it creates lots of doubts and confusion.  The seeker has to find the answers on his own through deeper reasoning, then all his doubts and confusions will be cleared, and he will be able to move ahead in the path of inquiry, and he will be able to reach his non-dual destination.

The first seeker has to find answers to the following doubts and confusion which arise in a deeper investigation of Sage Ramana Maharishi's ~ “Who Am I?-inquiry”

v  If the mind is the same as Atman, how can it vanish? How can Atman vanish? (Page 4 para. 3)

v  "Whenever any thought leads you outward" etc, says Sage Ramana Maharishi. What can you be certain of when you leave the external world? And why leave the world if you say everything is Brahman? (Page 6 ~center)

v  The "Mind ceases to struggle" Yes if I commit suicide I shall also cease to struggle! How can you say the world ceases to exist if you don't look at it? ~ (Page ~ 6)

v  Who has seen the subtle mind projecting through the brain and the senses? Can you see it? Is not the brain also a piece of gross matter? Then how can it come into existence after the world is created, if later, depends on the brain? (Page 6 last para)

v  How can you say the world vanishes when you are introspected? The world is still there; whether you see it or not. (Page 7 top)

v  Heart is an idea created by the mind, so how can the Mind emerge from it? (Page 7~ Line 4)

v  One should unquestioningly follow guru"--This is the very reverse of what Sri Ramakrishna taught. What if the guru happens to be a fool or a rascal? Sri Ramakrishna said "Test me! (Page 11, Para 2)

v  "In deep sleep, trance, swoon, mind turns inwards and enjoys atmasukam." Why should any man study or inquire or practice if in sleep he can easily get the Atman? If sleep gives Brahman why trouble with Vedanta? (Page 12: middle)

v  Page 16 middle: "If this truth is appreciated who can refrain from being good?" This is the opposite of real Vedanta. Vedanta says it is not enough to be good, you must serve the world and relieve suffering. ~ (Page 16 center)

v  Is the vanishing of ego to be the end of life? Aham, I must indeed go but tuham (thou) must come; you must know Brahman is everywhere. It is only half to say the ego must vanish. This is only a step, not the highest. (Page 16 last para).

Bhagavad Gita on this point says: ~   The Soul, the Self must see all in itself. (4/34)

Remember:~

Sage Raman Maharishi: ~ He placed his right hand on his right breast and continued, "Here lies the Heart, the dynamic, spiritual Heart. It is called Hridaya and is located on the right side of the chest and is clearly visible to the inner eye of an adept on the spiritual path. Through meditation, you can learn to find the Self in the cave of this Heart." ~ Mercedes de Acosta, Here Lies the Heart

***

Santthosh Kumaar: ~  The spiritual heart is the Soul, the Self, not the physical heart.   The world in which you exist is within the Soul, the spiritual heart. Mistaking the spiritual heart within the body is a great error. Even some Advaitic guru says that the Self is within the spiritual heart. And the spiritual heart is on the left side.  Such a declaration is merely an imagination, based on the false self (ego or you). When the Self is bodiless, then the question of the heart being left side or right side does not arise.  

The seeker must realize the Soul, the Self, itself is the spiritual heart.  The Soul the spiritual heart is ever formless. The Soul itself is the spiritual heart that is present in the form of the spirit or consciousness.

Without form, time, and space, the Soul, the  Self, becomes naked. The nature of the Soul, the Self is formless, timeless, and spaceless existence.  

Sri Ramana Maharishi also refers to: ~ Pure Consciousness, which is the heart, includes all; and nothing is outside or apart from it. That is the ultimate Truth.

I have the highest reverence for Sage Ramana Maharishi as a sage of absolute purity and unworldliness and desirelessness, but those who are seeking truth have to indulge in much deeper self-search to realize the truth which is beyond the dual (waking or dream and nondual states).

The serious seekers who are searching for the ultimate truth or Brahman should not stop till they reach their Goal.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

It is high time for the United Nations to realize the religion is the cause of the wars, violence and terrorism.+

Religion is regarded as sacred and real by the common people, by the wise as false, and by the political rulers as useful.

The inherited Religion and its blind belief-oriented Gods have become the cause of concern.

Unless all religions are barred by the United Nations by exposing the falsity of the religion, it is impossible to find world peace and universal brotherhood. Religion has to be replaced by pure spirituality.

Unless we educate humanity the God in truth, which is universal, wars, violence, and terrorism will not stop.

Thus, it is necessary to propagate the truth of God and the falsity of the religion on a war footing to free humanity from the religion that divides humanity and has become the cause of a bloodbath of innocent people.

The money that is spent on wars to curb terrorism in the name of God and religion the same money can be utilized for the welfare of humankind.

Millions of people all over the world have been killed and being killed in the name of religion and God. This is because people are not aware of the ultimate truth of their true existence. People take their inherited blind belief as the ultimate truth without verifying the validity of their faith.

Does God exist or not? This question succeeds in not only dividing the people but also creating a tug-of-war within every individual thinker. Ironically, if one believes in the concept of God then nothing else matters, and if one is an atheist, too nothing else matters.

Those who have implicit faith in God bow their head in submission to what they call divine will. They believe the world is a testing ground and sorrows must be borne with patience to prove their love to God. On the other hand, the Atheists claim the whole world is a random creation arising, so to speak from chemical gravy that is accidental. Both these arguments are based on the ‘false ‘Self’’ (ego) within the false experience (waking).

On the base of the Soul, the innermost ‘Self’, the waking experience itself is merely an illusion. The man and his experience of the world are a reality within the waking experience. The waking experience is a mere dream witnessed by the Soul.

Thus, all the physical-based theories are mere imagination based on the false ‘Self’ within the false experience. The formless substance and witness of the false experience, which is the Soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness is real and eternal.

God is not physical. God is present in the form of the Spirit. The Spirit is the cause of the world and the Spirit itself is uncaused.

From the standpoint of the Spirit, the form, time, space, and name are merely an illusion. The spirit alone is real and all else is an illusion. In reality, the spirit (God) and matter (the universe in which we exist) are one.

The dualistic worship of "God” is only for the ignorant populace. The God in truth is only Atman, the innermost ‘Self’. In reality, there are no dualities, no differentiation. Only Atman exists.

The Vedas confirm God is Atman (Spirit), the ‘Self’.

Rig Veda: ~ The Atman (Soul or Spirit) is the cause; Atman is the support of all that exists in this universe. May ye never turn away from the Atman, the ‘Self’. May ye never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman?" (10:48, 5)

Rig-Veda 1-164-46 and Y.V 32-1 clearly mention that God is “One”.

Rig Veda declares God is ‘ONE’ and God is Atman, then why believe and worship in place of the real God.

Brihad Upanishad: ~ “If you think there is another entity, whether man or God there is no truth."

Bhagavad Gita: ~ Brahmano hi pratisthaham ~ Brahman (God in truth) is considered the all-pervading consciousness (Spirit), which is the basis of all the animate and inanimate entities and material. (14.27).

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

Lord Krishna says Ch ~V: ~ “Those who know the ‘Self in truth.". The last two words (tattvataha) are usually ignored by pundits, but they make all the difference between the ordinary concept of God and the truth about God.

The famous peace invocation of Isa Upanishad says: ~

Om Purna- madah, purna-midam purnat-purnam-udacyate Purnaysa purna-madaya purna-meva-vasisyate

This means ~ All this is full /from fullness, fullness comes when fullness is taken from fullness/ fullness still remains.

This belief is all-comprehensive and all-absorbing. There is nothing that is not God.

One of Sage Sankara’s missions was to wean people away from the ritualistic approach advocated by Mimamsakas and to project wisdom (jnana) as the means of liberation in the light of Upanishad teachings. Sage Sankara criticized severely the ritualistic attitude and those who advocated such practices. However, the texts that combined rituals with wisdom (jnana_karma_samucchaya) more in favor of the Mimamsaka position came into vogue, projecting Sage Sankara as the rallying force of the doctrine.

The religion, religious God's rituals, and the sacrifices deal with lower knowledge. The sages of truth ignored religion, religious Gods, rituals, and sacrifices and went in search of the truth of their true existence.

Religion, God's rituals, and sacrifices are unsafe rafts for crossing the sea of ignorance which is the cause of experiencing birth, life, death, and the world as a reality. Doomed to shipwreck are those who try to cross the dualistic illusion (form, time, and space) on these poor rafts.

Remember:~

The Quranic version of Advaita.

La illah illa Allah -- No God but Allah.

The meaning of La illaha illallah is simple, it means (La) No (illaha) God (illallah) but Allah.

The meaning of the word Allah is unique unlike English, it is purely singular in the Arabic language and cannot be made female or male despite it being a name that means Allah is free from being HE or SHE. But why scripture uses “he” is another topic up for debate. But La Illaha Illallah means (There is) No god but Allah.

This means there is no God worthy of worship in the universe but the God which is hidden by the universe and is the cause of the universe. Allah is God second to none. Allah is Advaita.

Realize yourself by realizing the Self is not you but the Soul, which is present in the form of the Spirit. The Spirit is God, which is nondual or Advaita.

Remember:~

From the perspective of the Spirit, which is God, the world in which we exist is an illusion. Thus, whatever happens, within the illusion is bound to be an illusion created out of the Spirit.

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 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, and is present in the form of the Spirit.

Jesus said:~ "Those who seek should not stop seeking until they find. When they find, 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 the Spirit or Consciousness. The Spirit is the root element of the universe.

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

The Soul, which is present in the form of the Spirit, is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth. Thus, everything is 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's version of Advaita ~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.”

Ignorant of their own ignorance, yet wise in their own esteem, these deluded men proud of their inherited beliefs in their religion wage war and violence against humanity in the name of protecting their God and belief system.

Those who blindly accept the religion and its God as truth are like the blind led by the blind. The Advaitic wisdom of Sage Sankara can bring universal brotherhood and universal peace. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad:~ "He who worships the deities as entities entirely separate from the Self does not know the truth.+

Bhagavad Gita: ~ ‘All those whose intelligence has been stolen by material desires, they worship many Gods. (7- Verse -20)

The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad:~ "He who worships the deities as entities entirely separate from the Self does not know the truth. For the Gods, he is like a pasu (beast)". (1. 4. 10)

The Vedas confirm God is Atman (Spirit), the Self.

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.

Rig Veda: ~ The Atman is the cause; Atman is the support of all that exists in this universe. May ye never turn away from the Atman, the Self. May ye never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman?" (10:48, 5)

How can you worship God? That implies two ~ the worshipper and the worshiped, whereas  God in truth is non-dual. One can worship his idea of God only or realize his unity with it when he can’t worship it as a part.

When Upanishads and Vedas declare that, “God is the form of the Athma, and God is indeed Athma itself” then why accept another God in place of the Atman or worship other than the Atman.

God is the Supreme Being the One eternal homogeneous essence, indivisible consciousness, and intelligence, which is beyond form, time, and space. Which the Sages describe in a variety of ways through diverse words.

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: ~ Brahman (God in truth) is the form of the Athma, and it is indeed Athma itself.

People, who worship the belief of God, are hallucinating that they become one with such God.

Vedas itself declares: May ye never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman? Thus, to know the real God Self-realization is necessary. Self-realization is God-realization. Self-realization is real worship.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

People who are stuck to religion are unfit to acquire Self-knowledge Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.+

The seeker has to realize that religion, rituals religious God with form and attributes, and its code of conduct are not meant for those who are seeking the truth.

Indulging in religious activities is like burying the truth in the garbage.

People who are stuck to religion are unfit to acquire Self-knowledge Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

Advaita is not concerned with any religion. Advaita is pure Spirituality. Advaita is the Soul, the Spirit. Advaita itself is the God in truth.

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 through deeper self-search he will realize the Self is not the I’ but the ‘Self’ is the Soul, which witnesses the coming and going, of the ‘I’.

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

If the Soul is the Self then whatever is based on ‘I’ is bound to be a falsehood.

The ‘I’ is not limited to the physical body because ‘I’ is the whole world in which you exist. Without the ‘I’, the world, in which you exist ceases to exist.

WHO AM ‘I’? ~ inquiry is inadequate and useless to unfold the mystery of the ‘I’.

Thus, it is necessary to know what this ‘I’ is in actuality.

What is this ‘I’?

The ‘I’ is ignorance.

The ‘I’ is duality.

‘I’ is an illusion.

The ‘I’ is the mind.

The ‘I’ is the universe.

The ‘I’ is the waking.

The ‘I’ is the dream.

The ‘I’ is form, time, and space together.

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

Through deeper self-search, the seeker realizes the Self’ is not the ‘I’ but the Soul. Thus, all the ‘I’ based teaching has no value for the seeker who has crossed the boundaries of the ‘I’.

If you cross the boundary of the ‘I’ then the ignorance vanishes.

If the ignorance vanishes the falsity of the ‘I’ is exposed.

If the falsity of the ‘I is exposed then the ‘I’ becomes an illusion.

If the ‘I’ is an illusion then the form, time, and space are bound to be an illusion.

If the form, time, and space are an illusion then the world in which we exist is an illusion.

If the world in which we exist is an illusion then the experience of the birth, life, death, and the world.

It is only the sincerity and earnestness of the seeker that helps him to realize the truth to unfold the truth hidden by the ‘I’.

The truth beyond the ‘I’ starts revealing on its own if the seeker moves in the right direction with a perfect understanding of ‘what is what’.

Anyone who has humility and patience and is sincere and ready to drop their accumulated dross and receptive to accept the truth will be able to acquire Self-knowledge or Braham Gnana or Atma Gnana: ~Santthosh Kumaar

The proof of God’s existence is not possible without knowing what God is supposed to be in actuality. God is existence itself.+

The proof of God’s existence is not possible without knowing what God is supposed to be in actuality. God in truth is existence itself.

Sage Sankara is the only one who proved the existence of God from the Vedic perspective and also proved the existence of God rationally.

Sage Sankara himself had often said that his philosophy was based on Shruti, or revealed scripture. This may be because, Sage Sankara addressed the ordinary man, who finds security in the idea of causality and thus, in the idea of God—and Revelation is indispensable to prove the latter. He believed that those of superior intelligence, have no need of this idea of divine causality, and can, therefore, dispense with Shruti and arrive at the truth of Non-Dualism by pure reason.

When Sage Sankara says Brahman or God is impersonal and attributeless then why to worship God with form, names, and attributes.

God and Goddess are religious concepts. Whatever is seen, known, believed, and experienced as a person within the dualistic illusion (world) is a falsehood.

Sage Sankara’s Supreme Brahman (God) is impersonal, Nirguna (without Gunas or attributes), Nirakara (formless), Nirvisesha (without special characteristics), immutable, eternal, and Akarta (non-agent). It is above all needs and desires. It is always the Witnessing Subject. It can never become an object as it is beyond the reach of the senses. Brahman is non-dual, one without a second. It has no other besides it. It is destitute of difference, either external or internal. Brahman cannot be described because description implies a distinction. Brahman cannot be distinguished from any other than it. In Brahman, there is no distinction between substance and attribute. Awareness constitutes the very essence or the true nature of Brahman, and not just its attributes. The attributeless Brahman of Sage Sankara is impersonal.

When Sage Sankara says Atman is Brahman or God then why believe and accept anything as God other than the Atman. Vedas say May ye never turn away from the Atman the innermost self. May ye never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman?

~ Then, why worship non-Vedic Gods in place of Atman, the real God. Self-realization is truth-realization. Truth-realization is God-realization and God-realization is real worship.

Lord Krishna says Ch ~V: ~ “Those who know the Self in truth.". The last two words (tattvataha) are usually ignored by pundits, but they make all the difference between the ordinary concept of God and the truth about God. One must realize the difference between the ordinary concept of God and the truth about God.

Religious Gods are based on blind belief. Religious God cannot be considered as the cause of the universe because the Soul, the ‘Self’ is the cause of the universe.

Without the Soul, the universe in which you exist ceases to exist, which means the religious God is dependent on the Soul for his existence.

Even Rig Veda: ~ The Atman is the cause; Atman is the support of all that exists in this universe. May ye never turn away from the Atman, the Self. May ye never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman?" (10:48, 5)

Even Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: ~ Brahman (God in truth) is present in the form of the Athma, and it is indeed Athma itself.

Sage Sankara is the only Sage who proved the existence of God by declaring that Atman is the only one ultimate reality or Brahman. Brahman is God in truth.

Atman is Brahman. The Atman is the Self is non-dual because there is no second thing that exists other than the Atman. Atman is present in the form of consciousness. Consciousness is the only true reality, and everything else, which appears as form, time, and space is merely an illusion.

Advaita means the Soul, the Self, which is second to none. The Soul, which is present in the form of the Spirit or consciousness, is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth. Advaita is the nature of the God, the Self. Advaita is God. Advaita is the fullness of consciousness.

The Soul, the Self itself is Brahman or God in truth. God in truth is present in the form of consciousness. God is ever-present. Without consciousnesses, the world, in which you exist ceases to exist.

God in truth is Self-evident. God i in truth not established by extraneous proofs. It is not possible to deny the existence of God in truth because it is the very essence of the one who denies it. God in truth is the basis of all kinds of knowledge, presuppositions, and proofs. God in truth is everything. God in truth is present in the form of consciousness, is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.

The Bhagavad Gita says: ~ ‘Brahmano hi pratisthaham’ ~ Brahman (God in truth) is considered the all-pervading consciousness, which is the basis of all the animate and inanimate entities and material. (14.27).

When Bhagavad Gita says, that 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.

The Soul, the God which is present in the form of consciousness, is real and eternal. The universe in which we exist is an illusion created out of consciousness.

God in truth is beyond is hidden by the physical existence. God in truth can never be proved, through intellectual argument but God in truth can be realized by getting rid of ignorance. Only by acquiring Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana getting rid of ignorance is possible. : ~Santthosh Kumaar

Many seekers are stuck up with the idea of experiencing the Self and have become identified with those experiences, thinking, they have realized the Self.+

Many seekers are stuck up with the idea of experiencing the Self and have become identified with those experiences, thinking, they have realized the Self.

If one bases it on the sayings of some Guru and Saints, even granting that they honestly believed in their experiences, there is still the query of how they know that these experiences were the truth. Because the experience is possible only in the domain of form, time, and space. The form, time, and space are within the dualistic illusion or Maya.

Thus, whatever experience experienced within the dualistic illusion is bound to be a falsehood.

Whatever we believe in what we see feel and experience is within the dualistic illusion. The truth cannot be ascertained through experiences.

The experience implies duality. If one says it is anubhava or experience, then my experience differs from yours: Such disagreement does not settle the matter.

People have stopped before reaching the final stage where all experiences disappear. Enlightenment is not an experience. However beautiful and enchanting an experience you come across, it is merely a hallucination because the Self is not you but the invisible Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

The ultimate in the journey is the point when there is no experience There is nothing as an object for the Soul, the Self, but only subjectivity.

Many seekers have gotten stuck in beautiful experiences, and have become identified with those experiences, thinking, “I have Self-realized. They have stopped before reaching the final stage where there is experience to experience.

Self-realization is not an experience. However beautiful and enchanting an experience one may come across it is merely a hallucination. :~Santthosh Kumaar

Meditation is an individual act.+

Sage Sankara says: ~ “The exercise in discrimination between real and unreal and renunciation of the false is real meditation,

Meditation is an individual act. The Soul the Self, is not an individual because it is an ever formless, timeless, and spaceless existence. Meditation is possible within the domain of the illusory form, time, and space.

The form, time, and space are the product of ignorance. When ignorance vanishes, then only reality appears.

The mind is virtually the universe. The universe appears as the waking or dream (duality) and disappears as deep sleep (nonduality). Efforts should be made to understand the mind. Advaitic wisdom is an ancient truth preserved as a secret by sages of truth.

We are within the illusion. Whatever we have seen, felt, known, believed, and experienced is also within the illusion. The formless substance and witness of the illusion is the Soul the Self.

In Self-awareness, the substance and witness are one in essence. That essence is the Soul which is present in the form of consciousness (Spirit).

The dream entity and the dream world are within the dream. Similarly, you and your experience of the world are within the waking experience.

The witness of the dream is not the waking entity. Similarly, the witness of the waking experience is not the waking entity.

The Soul is the witness of the coming and going of the three states.

The three states have nothing to do with the Soul, the Self because, from the standpoint of the Soul the Self, the three states are non-existent as reality. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar