The universe in which you exist is a product of ignorance. Until ignorance vanishes the illusory universe will prevail as reality.+

The universe in which you exist is a product of ignorance. Until ignorance is present the illusory universe will prevail as reality.

From the standpoint of the Soul, the Self, the universe in which you exist is merely an illusion.

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.

The Soul becomes the whole universe (duality in waking). The whole universe becomes the Soul (nonduality in deep sleep).

Remember: ~

All is consciousness. The whole universe is consciousness. From consciousness, the universe comes. When the universe disappears, consciousness still remains without form, time, and space.

Sage Sankara: ~ “VC~ All this universe which through ignorance appears as of diverse forms, is nothing else but Brahman (Consciousness) which is absolutely free from all the limitations of Maya.

The universe appears as the waking or the dream (duality) and disappears as deep sleep (non-duality). Thus, all three states are nothing but consciousness because consciousness pervades all three states.

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 are nothing to do with the Soul, the 'Self' because the three states are an illusion created out of the Soul, the Self, which is present in the form of consciousness.

From the standpoint of the Soul, the Self, the three states, are non-existent as reality.

Remember:~

You and your experience of the world are within the illusion. Thus, you and your world are nothing but an illusion. The illusion disappears when the ‘I’ disappears. The ‘I’ disappears when the ignorance vanishes. The ignorance vanishes when the Advaitic wisdom dawns.

The experience of birth, life, and death take place within the illusory world. The desire to live and the fear of death are part of the illusory play of the Soul or consciousness. The Soul, the  Self is birthless and deathless because it is the ever-formless, timeless and spaceless existence.

The one which is born, lives, and dies is 'you'. You are not the Self. The Self is the Soul, which witnesses your birth, life, death, and the world.

The experience of your birth, life, death, and the world is created out of single stuff. That single stuff is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. 

When you realize you and your world are created out of the same stuff, then there is unity in diversity because diversity ceases to be a reality. There is oneness. 

Thus, the knowledge of single stuff is the knowledge of the Soul, the Self. From the standpoint of the Soul, there is no duality, because there is only Advaitic reality.

The ignorant have the firm conviction that he is an individuals apart from this world. The world existed prior to him and he is born in it afterward. Till this conviction is there he will remain ignorant of the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space.

The Soul, the Self is unborn. The Soul, the Self is nothing to do with you and your experience of your birth, life, death, and the world. 

From the standpoint of the Soul, the  Self, your experience of your birth, life, death, and the world is non-existent as a reality. Thus, the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness alone is real and all else is merely an illusion. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar 

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

When the Soul, 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 the fact that the Self is not the ‘I’. The one who holds the ‘I’ as the Self never will be able to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

It is necessary to realize first the ‘I’ is not the Self, but the Self is the Soul, the witness of the ‘I’.

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

Remember:~

You are stuck to the ‘I’ by saying ‘I AM THAT’. The ‘Self’ is not an individual to identify the ‘Self’ as ‘I AM’.

How can you identify the ‘Self as ‘I AM’ when the ‘Self’ is not human but the Self is the Spirit, which is formless, timeless, and spaceless existence?

People say Aham Brahmasmi -- I am God, I am Brahman. I AM THAT’ but when Brahman is, how can "I" remain? Only Brahman remains, not the I.

People think the ‘I’ without the body is the Self. The seeker has to understand the fact that ‘I’ is not the Self, but the Soul, which is the witness of the ‘I’ is the true Self, which is eternal.

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.

People are stuck with the reality of the ‘I’, which they take 'I' as real because some Gurus have propagated the Self is the ‘I’. There is no need to convince such a mindset that refuses to accept anything other than their accepted truth. The seeker of truth accepts only the truth nothing but the truth. The truth is hidden by the ‘I’ but it is without the ‘I’.

Some Gurus in the past glorified the ‘I’ without verifying what this ‘I’ is an actuality. And followers of that ‘I’ based teaching Got stuck with the ‘I’.

The ‘I’ is present only when the mind is present.

The mind is present only when the universe is present.

The universe is present only when the waking is present.

If the ‘I’ is absent then the mind, the universe, and the waking is absent.

~ It means the ‘I’, the mind, the universe, the waking, are one and the same thing.

This is very important for the seeker to know to realize the ‘I’ itself is ignorance to overcome the ignorance they have to discard ‘I’.

Then why use the word ‘I’ for the ‘Self’ when ‘I’ is the cause of ignorance?

The Soul, the Self is God in truth. It is not “I AM GOD, but it’s correct to say ‘the SELF IS GOD because the Self is not the ‘I’ or ’I AM”.

That is why Buddha said: ~

Do not believe in spiritual teaching just because: ~

1. It is repeatedly recited,

2. It is written in scripture,

3. It was handed from Guru to the 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.

No second thing existed prior to the appearance of the ‘I’ and ‘I’ never exists now and also ‘I’ never exists in the future. The ‘I’, which appears and disappears is merely an illusion.

Let you be clear on one thing. The ‘I’ is mere a dualistic illusion created out of the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. But in the reality, ‘I’ neither exists in the past nor exists now, nor going to exist in the future.

Whatever existed in the past and whatever exists now and whatever is going to exist in the future is merely an illusion created out of consciousness.

Whatever has appeared as ‘I’ is nothing but consciousness. The ‘I’ has no value because it is merely an illusion.

You, search for the truth and you will find only the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. If you search for the Soul then you will find only the truth, which is ever nondual : ~Santthosh Kumaar

Existence is nondual. Nonduality cannot be described by means of words for all uses of language fail to express it.+

Existence is nondual. Nonduality cannot be described by means of words for all uses of language fail to express it. Nonduality is sought to be indicated the mental negation of duality (universe).

Sage Goudpada:~ he was the first historic sage known to us to give a rational exposition of Advaita. He says that whatever is seen, whether external or internal, whether by ordinary persons or yogis, is unreal.

Whatever you see of this world is not real. When you realize the ‘Self’ is not 'you', but the ‘Self is the Soul, then you realize the world in which you exist is merely an illusion created out of the Soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness.

The seeker has to find for himself the truth of his true existence and to come to a fuller and deeper understanding and realization of the truth, which is hidden by the illusory form, time, and space.

The purpose quest for truth is to first find out what is the untruth to realize the truth and discard the untruth.

Do not try to get rid of the ego you will never succeed in getting rid of the ego. Think in a different direction. The ego exists only in the domain of form, time, and space.

The form, time, and space exist only when the mind exists.

The mind exists only when the universe exists.

The universe appears only when the waking appears.

The waking appears only when the ‘I’ appears.

Remember:~

The ‘I’ disappears as deep sleep.

There is no form, time, and space when ‘I’ disappears.

There is no mind when ‘I’ disappears.

There is the universe when the ‘I’ disappears.

There is no waking when the ‘I’ disappears.

Remember:~

‘I’ appears means the duality appears.

The duality that appears means there is the division of form, time, and space.

If there is division in the form, time, and space- means there is diversity in the unity.

Remember ~

When ‘I’ disappears there is nonduality.

Nonduality is the fullness of the consciousness without the division of form, time, and space.

The fullness of the consciousness means unity in diversity.

Unity in diversity in consciousness is Advaita.

Consciously becoming aware of the Soul in the midst of diversity (waking) is Self- awareness or Brahmic awareness.

If you desire Self-realization, but you still say "I,” and if you feel the ‘Self’ is the ‘I’, you are not a wise seeker. You are simply ignorant. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Doubts and Confusions arise when the seeker finds the religion, scripters and yoga are inadequate or useless to quench his spiritual thirst.+

 

You are being conditioned by the religious myth which has made you a non-thinker. Come out of the religious myth by realizing God in truth.

Sage Sankara gave religious, rituals, and dogmatic instruction to the orthodox populace, but Advaitic 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.

Bhagavad Gita says: ~“Don't unsettle the minds of the ignorant by revealing the esoteric truth." 

Bhagavad Gita says: ~ Among thousands of men, scarcely one strives for perfection; and of those who strive and succeed, scarcely one knows the ‘Self’ in truth.

Doubts and Confusions arise when the seeker finds the  religion, scripters and yoga are inadequate or useless to quench his spiritual thirst. 

Disappointments in religion or yoga or even science imply error or ignorance. Seeker reaches a stage whether he is right?" Where is the certainty that he is proceeding on the right lines?" 

The doubts arise and the inquiring spirit comes and impels us to search elsewhere for truth where it will not be possible even to have doubt. The test is therefore in the realization of the Self. And only in non-duality, where there are no two to argue about views or to have a difference of opinion can such doubtlessness be possible. Belief depends upon unstable bases whereas certainty depends on the proof.

Remember:~

The true meaning of "kill doubt" is not to refrain from inquiry as Pundits, yogis and religious believers say, but to tackle every doubt and to go on until you answer or solve it satisfactorily and thus the doubt disappears.

Lord Krishna tells Arjuna to fight is misrepresented by half-Vedantins as an order to kill other human beings, because they are mere Ideas, Illusory, whereas whole Vedanta says these ideas too are Brahman, and the Self, and hence no killing really occurs. Only when you see all individuals, especially the Self as imagined ideas, can you rise to see them later as Brahman. Thus, there are two stages. You must first see the self as illusory before you see others as illusory. ~ CH.2 v.16

Bhagavad Gita gives dualistic worship of "God” only to the lower minds; it also teaches Advaita for the more evolved.

Likewise, thinkers and poets of the Age of Devotion (Bhakti) of the 16th century believed in a God with attributes who became very tangible when incarnating as Avatar and was attainable simply through love and devotion rather than scholastic and intellectual meditation.

For the religious people, the Bhagvad Gita became the main vehicle of inspiration with its qualified and deistic Monism, rather than the scholastic and esoteric path shown by Sage Sankara’s Advaitic path.

Sage Sankara never rejected devotional prayer (Bhakti) or denied its value for he held that it was a necessary but intermediate stage for the adept on his journey to the ultimate realization of the true nature of the universal essence.

People worship God in various ways, not knowing the Truth. At different levels, at different epochs, and in different lands, people have different conceptions of God. They quarreled because they did not know the truth about God.

The conflict of opinions among mystics and religionists proves that all are imagining God as they like, not knowing God.

Lord Krishna 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. Lord Krishna 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 Lord Krishna says: "Not by the Vedas is Self to be realized, nor by sacrifices nor by much study. . . . "

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.

Bhagavad Gita 2:46:~ "A man of true knowledge who has attained enlightenment, has the same use for all the scriptures as one has for a small reservoir of water in a place flooded on all sides."

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 Upanishads 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 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.

God in truth is the Soul, the Self. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. God in truth is not within you, but you and your experience of the world are within God.

Self-realization is God-realization because the Soul the Self itself is God in truth.

Remember:~

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

Bhagavad Gita: ~ Brahmano hi pratisthaham ~ Brahman (God) 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, 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 dualistic worship of "God” is only for the ignorant populace. God in truth is only Atman, the Self. In reality, there are no dualities, no differentiation. Only Atman exists.

Bhagavad Gita 2:46:~ "A man of true knowledge who has attained enlightenment, has the same use for all the scriptures as one has for a small reservoir of water in a place flooded on all sides."

Lord Krishna taught the Karma and Bhakti yogis their own paths only in order to lead them up to the Gnana yoga path, which is the highest and the real object of his teaching. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

God in truth is hidden by the illusory universe. God in truth alone is and all else is an illusion.+

Knowledge of God in truth is the only tool to stop religious-oriented brainwashing, which produces fanatics and terrorists and causes wars, violence terrorism.

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

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.

Then there is the question which nobody has answered till now, viz. Why did He create all these evils, these sufferings? Even a father would never do that.

If God did so, assuming that God did create, then what sort of an evil God is He! All religions which begin with "God created the world," are fit only for children. It is a lie; it is inconsistent and fit only for ignorant people.

In Vedas,  God has been described as: ~

Rig Veda: ~ 'Prajnanam Brahma'- Consciousness is the ultimate reality or Brahman or God in truth.

God in truth is the Atman, the Self. Atman is present in the form of consciousness.

Do not accept any other God other than Atman not worship other than Atman.

Let these words be inscribed in your subconscious.

Nothing is real but God. Nothing Matters but love for God in truth. God in truth is everywhere and in everything.

God in truth is hidden by the illusory universe. God in truth alone is and all else is an illusion.

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)

Yajurveda – chapter- 32:~ “It has been said that God Supreme or 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.

Prohibition of idol worship in Yajurveda: ~

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

Yajurveda: ~ There is no image of God in truth. God in truth is unborn and eternal. (Chapter 32, Verse 3)

Yajurveda: ~ God in truth is nondual and pure." (Chapter 40)

Yajurveda: ~ "They are entering darkness, those who worship the natural things (like air, water, fire, etc.), they are sinking more in darkness who worship created things." (Chapter 40, Verse 9)

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

Brahman is merely a word to indicate the ultimate truth of God in truth. The ultimate truth itself is God in truth.

Those whose intelligence has been stolen by ignorance worship demigods":~Santthosh Kumaar

Yoga does leads to the final truth.+

Advaitic truth is the ultimate truth. Yogis, mystics, and religious teachers do not accept the path of wisdom because it pries into the truth, the source, and the validity of the knowledge they claim. Therefore, it is the most difficult part of the study of the Advaita.

Manduka Upanishad:~ Yoga is in the sphere of duality and is unnecessary to one who knows non-duality.

Brih Upanishad: page 32:~ "Yoga does not yield truth or liberation."

A yogi cannot attain realization, because he thinks his body to be body and world to be world and fails to see them as consciousness and thinks his experience of Samadhi is because of his individual effort.

One who is in Samadhi will not know that this universe as the consciousness; therefore yoga is not the means to Self- knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

In Samadhi the yogi knows nothing and sees no universe; so if there is nothing but blankness. The blackness is not the Advaitic wisdom.

The yogi does not know the nature of the universe. If the universe is not seen in the Samadhi then there is no need to use the word Atman and Brahman. The yogi is unaware of the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space.

By shutting his eyes in Samadhi, the yogi does not know the universe, which confronts him. Hence, the universe can't be known as the Soul or the consciousness through yoga.

One is in a non-dual condition in deep sleep or Samadhi, One without a second, true, but he did not know it at the time. He says only in the waking experience afterward. Hence, there must be an inquiry so that you find non-duality whilst you are awake so that you can see nonduality at the time not afterward. Hence, the need of inquiring into the nature of the universe and knowing it as the Soul or the consciousness whilst one is awake, and not during sleep or Samadhi.

Advaitic truth is the ultimate truth. Yogis, mystics, and religious teachers do not accept the path of wisdom because it pries into the truth, the source, and the validity of the knowledge they claim. Therefore, it is the most difficult part of the study of the Advaita.:~

Panchadasi: ~ The impossibility of yoga arriving at a successful end to its practices. -P.509 v, 109

One has to investigate “Why Yoga is right and the other paths can't give the truth?" Or how is one to know that Yoga leads to the final truth?"

Yogi shuts his eyes the world confronts him and then has the temerity to declare that it knows the world to be Brahman! Because he has not inquired into it, he knows nothing.

Yoga helps the yogi by giving him the feeling that the world is not worth bothering about, it detaches him from the world; it makes him treat the world as a dream. It does the same to his ego to some extent because he becomes indifferent to what happens to him. But this is only a feeling, he feels these things only but does not know that the world is merely an illusion. Such knowledge can come only through Advaitic wisdom in no other way.

Sage Sankara said:~ -Neither by the practice of yoga nor philosophy, nor by good works nor by learning, does liberation come, but only through the realization that Atman and Brahman are one in no other way. (1) Vivekachoodamani v 56, pg~25

Sage  Sankara’s wisdom is nothing to do with religion and yoga. There are 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 the truth beyond the form, time, and space. Religion and yoga are meant for the first audience, to help lead their followers along the way. 

Sage Sankara’s Advaitic wisdom, with its emphasis on the Advaitic wisdom, is meant for those who wish to go beyond such transient pleasures.

If the Self is the Soul then: ~

Where is the yogi? Where are his chakras? Where is the world in which he exists? Where is the divine light? Where is the divine sound? Where is the divine vibration? What needs is there to say more? Noting from the Soul because whatever seems to emanate from it, is non-different from itself. There is no second thing other than the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. One should not mistake Self (Soul) for the ‘I’.

That is why the yogi cannot be Gnani. It is the difference between feeling and knowledge. The feeling of the yogi that the world is unreal may change tomorrow because all emotions are liable to change; and the fact is that yogis do change, as when going after women they lose their sense of world unreality though previously they felt it. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar