Self-realization is the direct realization of the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.+

Sage Sankara says: ~ VC-162- There is no liberation for a person of mere book knowledge, howsoever well-read in the philosophy of Vedanta, so long as one does not give up the false identification with the body, sense organs, etc., which are unreal.

People dwelling in ignorance but thinking themselves wise and erudite, go round and round by various blind beliefs and tortuous paths and practices, like the blind led by the blind.

Swami Vivekananda said:~ "The Vedas teach that the Soul is divine, only held in the bondage of matter; perfection will be reached when this bond will burst, and the word they use for it is, therefore, Mukthi - freedom, freedom from the bonds of imperfection, freedom from death and misery."

The truth is very simple, but it is very difficult to grasp because of ignorance. You have to only realize the world in which you exist is created out of a single clay. And that single clay is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Thus, you and your body and the world in which you exist are nothing but consciousness because they are merely an illusion created out of consciousness. A perfect understanding of ‘what is what’ is needed.

A Gnani can point at the sky, but the seeing of the star is the seeker’s own work.

It is necessary to reflect on the same truth again and again till it becomes a reality. One needs to constantly reflect on the subject until he gets a firm conviction of what is what. Words are needed until one gets a firm conviction of ‘what is what’. People need to read and hear the words of wisdom to think reason, reflect deeply, and reach the ultimate end.

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

The Bible, Vedas, and Upanishad confirm the Soul, the Self, is present in the form of the Spirit and is God in truth.

Kabir views humanity as being caught up in the illusion, searching for Ultimate Reality in all the wrong places, always seeking It outside of ourselves in various rituals, temples, forests, and mountaintops, not realizing That which we seek is already hidden within us.

The nature of the Atman (Soul or Spirit) is:~

v Witness

v conscious

v Without form and properties

v eternal

v pure

v omniscient

v unattached

The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. Consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman. To realize the ultimate truth is the prime goal.

Soulcentric reasoning will lead one to his inner destination. All the scriptures indicate that Atman is Brahman and Brahman is the ultimate truth or God in truth.

Self-Realization is the direct realization of the ultimate truth. The ultimate truth is Brahman or God in truth.

The Atmic path is the direct path to Self-realization in contrast with traditional paths, which are indirect. the other paths cannot lead to the ultimate destination because they are based on the false self (ego), which they hold as real ‘Self’ and false experience (waking) as a reality.

Until and unless one overcomes physical shackles it is impossible to understand and assimilate the Advaitic truth, which is beyond the physical existence (universe). Consciousness itself is the lord of itself though not of the universe. And having nothing it has all. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

The path of love and humanism is not the Atmic path because love and humanism are based on the matter not on the Soul, the Spirit.+

The path of love and humanism is the religious path. The path of love and humanism is not the Atmic path. The path of love and humanism are very valuable in practical life in the dualistic world.

The path of love and humanism is not the Atmic path because love and humanism are based on the matter not on the Soul, the Spirit.

Whatever is based on the matter is an illusion and whatever is based on the Spirit is a reality.

The Atma is God one without the second. In reality, there is no second thing that exists other than Atma, which is God in truth.

First, Mundaka - Chapter 2 (10):~ Ignorant fools, regarding sacrifices and humanitarian works as the highest, do not know any higher good. Having enjoyed their reward on the heights of heaven, gained by good works, they enter again this world or a lower one.

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: ~ In this state a father is no father, a mother no mother, Gods no Gods, no Vedas. In this state, a thief is no thief, the killer of a noble Brahmana no killer, a monk no monk, a hermit no hermit. This form of his is untouched by good work and untouched by evil work, for he is then beyond all the woes of his intellect. ~(4.3.22)

Many Gurus instead of encouraging seekers to seek the truth, inject their own theories that keep them in hallucinating of talking love and compassion, which belongs to the dualistic illusion. It is the escape mechanism and makes the seeker hopeless, helpless, and lazy to seek the truth he is seeking.

A Gnani uses love and compassion for the practical purpose but he is fully aware they are not of any use to realize the truth hidden by the dualistic illusion (universe).

Love and compassion are needed in practical life within the practical world. However, from the ultimate standpoint, the practical life within the practical world is merely an illusion. In Atmic reality, there is only the Soul, the one without the Second. :~Santthosh Kumaar

Your inherited beliefs have made you a non-thinker, therefore, you are not bothered to think beyond your inherited relgion.+

You have the inborn conviction that you are an individual separate from the world in which you exist and the world in which you exist, existed prior to your birth, and you are born in it afterward.

Until this conviction is there, it is impossible for you to realize the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space.

Thus, you have to realize the ‘Self’ is not you because you are the birth entity whereas the Soul, the Self is birthless and deathless because it is a formless, timeless, and spaceless existence.

You are carrying loads of accumulated knowledge collected from a different source. The seeker must realize that whatever knowledge he has accumulated within the domain of form, time, and space is based on a dualistic perspective and is invalid because the truth is beyond form, time, and space.

You have to realize the truth about your own existence is part of the dualistic illusion.

Your inherited beliefs have made you a non-thinker, therefore, you are not bothered to think beyond your inherited belief system

Orthodox people say: ~ “I am the son of a Brahmana belonging to such and such a lineage; I was a householder, and am now a wandering sanyasi trying to get freedom from the cycle of birth and death.

But how can get freedom from the cycle of birth and death as the world, in which birth and death take place is merely an illusion?

It is impossible to realize the truth without realizing the fact that, you are not the ‘Self’. You are born and you are going to die in this illusory world whereas the ‘Soul’, the Self is birthless and deathless because it is the ever-formless, timeless, and spaceless existence.

Without realizing the world in which they exist is the product of ignorance and because of ignorance, the world in which they exist is experienced as a reality. Without getting rid of the ignorance the experience of birth, life, death, and the world will prevail as a reality.

Thus, Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is necessary to get rid of ignorance. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

A person who realizes the ultimate truth or Brahman will throw off his religious robe and all religious identity.+

All the Gurus and yogis are holy people who belong to religion and yoga, not spirituality. Advaitic Gnana has nothing to do with the Gurus, yogis, pundits, and priests.

Advaitic Gnana is not for those who believe in religion, or religious Gods and are stuck up with religious rituals and ceremonies. Religious believers are not truth seekers because they have accepted their religious beliefs as the ultimate truth.

Advaitic Gnana is knowledge of the Spirit, the God in truth. God in truth is Advaita, the one without the Second.

A person who has realized the ultimate truth or Brahman will throw off his religious robe and all religious identity and live like a commoner.

A Gnani never identifies himself as a Gnani nor does he identify himself as superior to others. He only shares his knowledge with his fellow seekers.

A Gnani never identifies himself as a Guru or a Yogi or someone disciple. The one who accepts himself as a Guru or someone’s disciple is not a Gnani.

Ashtavakra Samhita: ~ "The man of knowledge (Gnani), though living like an ordinary man, is contrary to him, and only those like him understand his state.

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

If you are trying to become a Guru or Monk then you are unfit to acquire Self -knowledge. Someone posing as a Gnani, because he is some Gurus’ direct disciple cannot be a Gnani.

Those who pose themselves as Gnanis are not Gnanis. A Gnani never poses himself as a Guru, a swami, a sadhu, a yogi, or some Guru’s disciple.

Different Gurus and teachers are pointing out the understanding of the Advaitic truth from different standpoints. All such understanding of Advaita is on a dualistic perspective accumulated from here and there.

Sage Sankara: ~ "Though I wear these robes of a Sanyasin, it is only for the sake of bread."

Sage Sankara: ~ A Gnani "bears no outward mark of a holy man." (Stanza 539).

Thus, it proves that the religious Gurus and yogis are not Gnanis because they identified themselves as holy people.

A Gnani never claims himself as a Gnani, he guides the seekers, not posing himself as a Guru, and he does not force his wisdom on others.

Advaita is not a theory or a philosophy. Advaita is the nature of the Soul the Self. There is no need for any theory, philosophy, or scriptures to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Athma Gnana. Only a perfect understanding of ‘what is what’ is needed.

Sage Sankara:~ Actual realization takes you beyond books. At a certain stage, books become a botheration.

Bhagavan Buddha: ~ Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders.

You need not become a Guru or a monk to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

You have not to renounce the world or to leave anything ~ your wife, children, job, responsibilities. You do not have to renounce anything! The only thing you have to realize is the truth, which is beyond the form, time, and space by realizing the form, time and space are the product of ignorance.

When the ignorance vanishes, then the unreality of the form, time, and space, is exposed.

Upanishads say ~ "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) : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

From the Vedic perspective, Puranic Gods are not Vedic Gods because Rig Veda says: May ye never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman.+

Hindus worship Puranic Gods. Puranic Gods are not Vedic God. From the Vedic perspective, Puranic Gods are not Vedic Gods because Rig Veda says:   May ye never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman."

Max Müller says: ~ "The religion of the Veda knows no idols; the worship of idols in India is a secondary formation, a degradation of the more primitive worship of idolized  Gods."

Hinduism is not a Vedic religion or Santana Dharma.  Hindus do idol worship, while Vedas bars idol worship. 

The Vedas do not talk about idol worship. In fact, till about 2000 years ago followers of Vedism never worshipped idols. Idol worship was started by the followers of Buddhism and Jainism. 

There is logic to idol worship. Vedas speak of one God that is the supreme ‘Self’ in i.e. Atman or Soul but Hinduism indulges in worshiping 60 million Gods. All these 60 million Gods are non-Vedic Gods based on their beliefs.

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

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.

That is why Lord Krishna Says Ch ~V: ~ “Those who know me 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.

All Hindus indulge in non-Vedic practice barred by the Vedas introduced by the different founders of the different sects of Hinduism at different times, whereas the Vedic religion or Santana Dharma is ancient and has no founder.

Hinduism is not Vedic religion or Santana Dharma.  Hindus do idol worship, while Vedas bars idol worship.

The seekers of truth have to follow the Atmic path to realize the Athma the ‘Self’ is real God. Atmic path is the Vedic path because Vedic God is Athma.

The Vedic religion or Santana Dharma emphasizes Self-realization.  Self-realization is God-realization.   God-realization itself is real worship.

The Vedas do not talk about idol worship; the followers of Vedic Religion or Santana Dharma never worshipped idols. Thus all the Puranic Gods which are of the form and attributes are not Vedic Gods.

Remember:~ 

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad:~ "He who worships the deities as entities entirely separate from him 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’.

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 real God.

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

When Upanishad itself’ says: ~   Sarvam khalvidam brahma ~ all this (universe) is verily Brahman. By following back all of the relative appearances in the world, we eventually return to that from which it is all manifest – the non-dual reality (Chandogya Upanishad). 

The Bhagavad Gita: ~ 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, 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. 

Yajur Veda indicates that: ~

They sink deeper in darkness those who worship sambhuti. (Sambhuti means created things, for example, table, chair, idol, etc (Yajurveda 40:9)

Those who worship visible things born of the prakrti, such as the earth, trees, bodies (human and the like) in place of God are enveloped in still greater darkness, in other words, they are extremely foolish, fall into an awful hell of pain and sorrow, and suffer terribly for a long time." (Yajur Veda 40:9.)

Then why to worship and glorify the non-~Vedic Gods  in place of  Vedic God when Veda bars such activities and it also warns people who indulge in such activities are enveloped in still greater darkness, in other words, they are extremely foolish, fall into an awful hell of pain and sorrow, and suffer terribly for a long time.

Sage Sankara: ~"That which permeates all, which nothing transcends and which, like the universal space around us, fills everything completely from within and without, that Supreme non-dual Brahman or God in truth."

One must remember that for all periods the Vedas are the final goal and authority, and if the Puranas differ in any respect from the Vedas, the Puranas are to be rejected without mercy.

If you feel the Puranas say something and the Vedas say something else, reject the Puranas and believe in the Vedas.  The Puranas are just a myth.

Even Sage Sankara says: ~ 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 beside 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 not a distinction between substance and attribute. Sat-Chit-Ananda constitutes the very essence or Svarupa of Brahman, and not just its attributes. The nirguna Brahman of Sage  Sankara is impersonal.  

God is formless, timeless and spaceless existence. Thus according to the Vedas God neither has any image nor God resides in any particular idol or statue. God cannot be seen directly by anyone.

On the Vedic perspective, Lord Krishna has been just a Mahan yogi and not God himself’. Because in the Bhagavad Gita it says:  Brahman (God) is considered the all-pervading consciousness. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

There is no need to study philosophies of Berkeley, Kant, Hume, and other western and eastern philosophers.+

Science may give the scientific answers, religion the religious answers, and the yogi will give yogic answers but in pursuit of truth the seeker absorbs all views and he rejects them if they are based on the false self and illusion.

Advaita is basically a denial; it is literally the negation of the Dvaita. That means whatever remains by negating the universe by realizing the universe is created out of single clay and that clay is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, the hidden truth by dvaita uncovered. Consciousness is the cause of the universe and it, itself is uncaused.

Thus, the path of wisdom is the only means. Then it is no use going roundabout way, trace the Brahman which is the formless substance and the witness of the universe (mind). By tracing the source of the mind, or the universe one will be able to realize the Brahman.

That is why 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.

Sage Sankara says: ~ “What is accepted without a proper inquiry will not lead to the final Goal”. (Commentary on Vedanta Sutra)

Nothing has to be accepted as truth without deeper verification.

Sage Sankara says: ~VC-162- There is no liberation for a person of mere book-knowledge, howsoever well-read in the philosophy of Vedanta, so long as one does not give up the false identification with the body, sense-organs, etc., which are unreal.

Sage Sankara says:~ VC-47 All the effects of ignorance, root, and branch, are burnt down by the fire of knowledge, which arises from discrimination between these two—the Self and the not-Self.

Self-knowledge or Brahma knowledge is the end of all egocentric knowledge. Egocentric knowledge is dualistic knowledge, whereas Self-knowledge is Soulcentric knowledge.

Advaitic wisdom is nothing to do with orthodox Advaita, which is dualistic. Orthodox Advaita is a sect, which blindly accepts and follows dogmas and superstitions.

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 for this idea of divine causality, and can, therefore, dispense with Shruti and arrive at the truth of Non-Dualism by pure reason.

Remember:~

Sage Sankara is the only sage who has final authority on the Advaitic truth. The Advaitic truth is rational truth and scientific truth without dogma.

Advaitic wisdom has nothing to do with orthodox Advaita, which is dualistic. Orthodox Advaita is a sect, which blindly accepts and follows dogmas and superstitions.

Modern science is the dualistic wisdom that is capable of unfolding only the mystery of objects contained within the universe but the Sage Sankara’s Advaitic wisdom unfolded the mystery hidden by the universe by declaring the Atman is Brahman and the universe is merely an illusion created out of Brahman. And everything is nothing but Brahman.

It means the Soul, the Spirit, or consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman.

The universe is merely an illusion created out of the Soul, the Spirit, or consciousness.

Thus everything is nothing but the Soul, the Spirit, or consciousness, which is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.

Consciousness in you and consciousness in the whole universe are one and the same. Those who realize this truth find unity in diversity in their understanding and cross the ocean of ignorance.

Consciousness is the cause of the three states and it, itself is uncaused.

From the standpoint of the Soul, the Self, the three states are merely an illusion created out of the Soul itself.

Science deals only with immediate causes, not the ultimate cause. Such a process is on the physical plane, good for worldly life.

Advaitic wisdom does not begin with ultimate truth just by holding some philosophical declaration as truth, the truth has to be proved, not assumed.

Remember:~

People who take philosophies for granted are mere scholars who have mastered philosophy without verifying the validity and parroting their philosophical knowledge, not the truth.

People think philosophical mastery is wisdom but it is merely played of words. Philosophical knowledge is not a means to nondual wisdom.

The seeker has to mentally grasp the Soul, the ‘Self’ or “consciousness” which is beyond the reach of words and thought, and it is the formless substance and witness of all the three states.

The means to the attainment of Self-knowledge is ~ discrimination between things permanent [real/ non-dual] and impermanent [unreal/duality], and the urge for spiritual freedom.

They alone in this world are endowed with the highest wisdom and are firm in their conviction of the sameness and birthlessness of the Self/Spirit. The people who are not sharp and receptive do not understand their way

The intricate maze of the philosophy of different schools claims to clarify matters and reveal the Truth, but in fact, they create more confusion where no confusion exists. To understand anything there is a need for perfect understanding and assimilation of ultimate truth or Brahman. Why worry about the physical body, ego, logic creation, creator, saints, and sages, and the world, which are part and parcel of the illusion.

All conceptual divisions were invented by teachers of philosophy by their excessive analysis on the dualistic perspective. All these dualistic concepts lead to more and more doubts and confusion. First, they create confusion and then explain spinning the yarn of their imagination.

Fortunate is the seeker who does not lose himself in the labyrinths of philosophy but investigates the Source from which the universe rises and subsides. [

They think and assume or speculate and come to a logical conclusion from the dualistic perspective. Dualistic knowledge is intellectual knowledge based on the ego. Therefore, intellectuality is egocentric.

Egocentricity is the greatest obstacle in grasping the non-dualistic truth hidden by the dualistic illusion or Maya.

Remember:~

There is no need to study the philosophies of Berkeley, Kant, Hume, and other Western and Eastern philosophers; they are not the means to acquire Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

They are in fact an obstacle in the pursuit of truth because they are based on the dualistic perspective. There is no necessity to study the philosophy of any great thinkers to ensure firm realization.

Philosophical Authoritarianism merely assumes as true what another says, but what has yet to be proved.

Many Gurus will teach “Who am ‘I’? but none have deeply analyzed it scientifically, and none can prove it.

Rational proof is needed in pursuit of truth so that one can arrive at knowing truth i.e. Wisdom; theirs is mere dogma, parrotism, repetition of what they read in scripture, or accumulated knowledge from different sources.

The philosophical argument leads nowhere. If a philosopher says the ’Self’ is formless “another will reply, "No, Self has a form! If one says "his adopted philosophy has a higher value than all other philosophies” another will say, "No, that is lower and there are many philosophies higher than that

It is impossible to get anywhere with such talk because both sides are merely assuming and imagining.

There is no need for any philosophy to verify the truth of the Self. All that is intellectual wealth, is useful in explaining doubts and difficulties if others raise them if he, himself encounters them in the course of thinking. But to attain realization, all that is not necessary.

The seeker of truth should not hold any philosophy as a yardstick. One needs fresh water to drink, but he does not require all the water of the whole lake to quench his thirst for truth. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Before performing the rituals on various Gods one must know what God is supposed to be in truth according to Vedas, Upanishads.+

Sage Sankara pointed out that those rituals could in no way bring about wisdom, much less Moksha.

Before performing the rituals on various Gods one must know what God is supposed to be in actuality according to Vedas, Upanishads, and Bhagavad Gita.

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 innermost self. May ye never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman?" (10:48, 5)

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

Do not accept any other God other than Athma. The Athma is God in truth, Nothing is real but the Athma, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Nothing matters but realizing God in truth. God in truth, is everywhere and in everything. Let these words be inscribed in your subconscious.

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

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

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

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

Thus it refers to formless and attributeless God, which is the Atman (Soul), the innermost ‘Self’ within the false experience. Thus it indicates clearly all the Gods with form and attributes are mere imaginations based on the false ‘Self’. Thus Atman or Soul, the ‘Self’ is God in truth.

Bhagavad Gita: ~ 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.

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. The God in truth is only Atman, the innermost Self. In reality, there is no duality, no differentiation. Only Atman exists.

Dogmas and beliefs, rituals and ceremonies, can never be the essence of spirituality. They are based on Gods based on blind belief The rituals, and prayers based on the Gods based on blind belief are not only superficial and ineffective but positively harmful and misleading.

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

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

Mundaka Upanishad: ~ The study of the Vedas, linguistics, Rituals, astronomy, and all the arts can be called lower knowledge. The higher is that which leads to Self-realization. The eye cannot see it; the mind cannot grasp it. The deathless Self has neither caste nor race, neither eyes nor ears nor hands nor feet. Sages say this Self is infinite in the great and in the small, everlasting and changeless, the source of life.

Often they not only feed the egos of the priests but also serve as an instrument for the exploitation of the credulous.

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 throughout 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.

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.

Those who lack the intelligence to discriminate between formless witness (subject) and three states (object) will not be able to grasp what is real and what is unreal. Both the subject and object are the consciousness, not the subject alone.

Sage Sankara:~ VC Let erudite scholars quote all the scripture, let Gods be invoked through sacrifices, let elaborate rituals be performed, let personal Gods be propitiated---yet, without the realization of one‘s identity With the Self, there shall be no liberation for the individual, not even in the lifetimes of a hundred Brahmas put together (verses-6)

Religious rites and rigid ceremonies were passed down from one generation to the next as a practice or set customs and traditions and performed automatically with blind faith. Such worship based on God based on blind belief does not reach God in truth.

Religious rites and ceremonies, yagnas and homa-havans, or any other forms of ritual are meant for the ignorant populace.

Remember:~

God based on blind belief without knowing God in actuality holds the worshiper more firmly in the grip of ignorance.

All worship ceremonies and rituals performed on the base of non-Vedic Gods will not yield any fruits. Deeper self-search reveals that worship, the worship, the worshiper, and the world are mere an illusion created out of consciousness.

Religious rites and ceremonies, yagnas and homa-havans, or any other forms of rituals formal observance has long since set in.

Religious rites and ceremonies, yagnas and homa-havans, or any other forms of ritual are meant for the ignorant populace. In the Atmic path, the seeker has to discard

Sage Sankara says: ~ “The scriptures dealing with rituals, and rewards are therefore addressed to an ignorant person.

Sage Sankara:~ (11) As regards the rituals, Sage Sankara says, that the person who performs rituals and aspires for rewards will view himself in terms of the caste into which he is born, his age, the stage of his life, his standing in society etc. In addition, he is required to perform rituals all through his life. However, the Self has none of those attributes or tags. Hence, the person who superimposes all those attributes on the changeless, eternal Self and identifies the Self with the body is confusing one for the other; and is, therefore, an ignorant person. The scriptures dealing with rituals, rewards, etc. are therefore addressed to an ignorant person. Adhyasa Bhashya

Sage Sankara:~ (11.1) This ignorance (mistaking the body for Self) brings in its wake a desire for the well-being of the body, aversion for its disease or discomfort, fear of its destruction, and thus a host of miseries(anartha). This anartha is caused by projecting karthvya(“doer” sense) and bhokthavya (object) on the Atman. Sankara calls this adhyasa. The scriptures dealing with rituals, rewards, etc. are, therefore, he says, addressed to an ignorant person. Adhyasa Bhashya

Sage Sankara:~ (11.2) In short, a person who engages in rituals with the notion “I am an agent, doer, thinker”, according to Sage Sankara, is ignorant, as his behavior implies a distinct, separate doer/agent/knower; and an object that is to be done/achieved/known. That duality is avidya, an error that can be removed by vidya.

Sage Sankara: ~ (12) Sage Sankara affirming his belief in one eternal unchanging reality (Brahman) and the illusion of plurality, drives home the point that Upanishads deal not with rituals but with the knowledge of the Absolute (Brahma vidya) and the Upanishads give us an insight into the essential nature of the Self which is identical with the Absolute, the Brahman. Adhyasa Bhashya

Sage Sankara: ~ Atman, the innermost Self is verily Brahman (God in truth), being equanimous, quiescent, and by nature absolute Existence, Knowledge, and Bliss. Atman is not the body which is non-existence itself. This is called true Knowledge by the wise. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar