There is neither Shiva nor Shakti but only consciousness. Rig Veda says, Consciousness is God in truth.+

There is neither Shiva nor Shakti but only consciousness. Rig Veda says, Consciousness is God in truth. All Gods based on blind belief are not God in truth.

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

First, know what God is supposed to be according to your own scriptures.

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.

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.

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 the God 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. To which the Sages describe in a variety of ways through diverse words.

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 Soul, the ‘Self is the Infinite God.

The Soul is the Self. God is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. God is the fullness of consciousness without the illusory division of form, time, and space. Therefore, there is nothing apart from it.

God in truth is Self-evident. God in truth is not established by extraneous proofs. It is not possible to deny God in truth because God in truth 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 within the universe in which you exist, God in truth is without the universe in which you exist.

Only the path of wisdom leads the seeker of truth on his journey to the ultimate realization of the true nature of the universal essence, which is the Soul. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness.

Bhagavad Gita: 7: 19:~ "Such a man who has attained true knowledge, the knowledge of Self, the knowledge of Atman, worships ‘Self’ as~ Atman (God) alone exists~ everything is Atman, there exists nothing except Atman. Such a man is extremely rare."

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.

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 Self. In reality, there are no dualities, no differentiation. Only Atman exists.

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad IV-13:~ ‘As a mass of salt has neither inside nor outside, but is entirely a mass of taste, thus indeed, has that Self neither inside nor outside but is altogether a mass of Knowledge. Just as a lump of salt has inside as well as outside one and the same saltish taste, not any other taste, so also that Brahman (consciousness) has inside as well as outside one and the same intelligence. Inside and outside are mental creations only. When the mind melts in silence, ideas of inside and outside vanish. The sages cognize one illimitable, homogeneous mass of consciousness only.

Causality taught in the Upanishads is only to enable us to understand the supreme truth of no-origination. The world is not different from consciousness and consciousness is not different from the Soul, the Self, and the Soul is not different from the ultimate truth or Brahman.

That consciousness appears as a diverse world is only an illusion. If it really became diverse then the immortal would become mortal.

The dualists who seek to prove the origination of the unborn, by that very enterprise try to make the immortal, mortal. Ultimate nature can never change - the immortal can never become mortal and vice versa.

Sage Goudapada quotes from the Upanishads: ~ "There's no plurality here"; "The Soul through its powers appears to be many"; "those who are attached to the creation or production or origination go to utter darkness"; "the unborn is never reborn, for what can produce it?”. : ~ Santthosh Kumaa

Santana Dharma has not retained its original form, but has been influenced by other religions that have undergone a sea change.+

The Hindus indulge in non-Vedic practices 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.

To acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana, the seeker has to realize his inherited religion is adulterated in the past and it becomes a great obstacle is realizing the ultimate truth or Brahman.

Hinduism is based on mythology and thus people of India are unaware of the facts of their inherited religious history.

The Vedic Culture and Vedas are complete in themselves but Hinduism which is a non-Vedic belief system with all rituals and conduct-oriented practices has been contributed largely by the orthodox priests to suit their convenience!

The Buddhist influence is seen in great measure in the Vedic philosophy which is followed by the majority of Indians.

Thus, it is clear that Vedic Religion or Santana Dharma has not retained its original form, but has been influenced by other religions that have undergone a sea change. Thus the influence of Buddhism on Santana Dharma is extraordinary.

Even Kumarila Bhatta, who fought with great heroism for the revival of Santana Dharma or Vedic Religion, was so much influenced by Buddhism that he established for the first time in the country, an atheist Vedic Religion or Santana Dharma.

There is no room for any doubt to assert that the Kumarila Bhatta School was influenced by atheist Buddhism because the school which is based on the validity of the Vedas and rituals refutes the existence of God.

Sage Sankara endeavored to establish Vedic Religion overthrowing Buddhism. But even he was not able to avoid the influence of Buddhism.

The influence of the revolutionary atmosphere of Buddhism has reappeared in the Advaita of Sage Sankara. His inability to revive the Vedic religion that flourished before the Buddhist revolution in its pure form is discernible.

Many thinkers since his time have said about Sage Sankara that he made use of many important tenets of Buddhism and presented to the people the very Buddhism in the guise of Santana Dharma or Vedic Religion.

Though the Santana Dharma or Vedic Religion represented by Sage Sankara is like a conglomeration of many things he deserves the credit for having turned the Hindu mind which was once averse to Vedas -the root of Hinduism, towards the Vedas once again. For this, the followers of Santana Dharma or Vedic Religion should be grateful to Sage Sankara.

The brilliance shown by Sage Sankara, a man of wonderful genius, a matchless speaker, and an extraordinary dialectician is really a great spectacle in history. In his time, there was a severe conflict between Buddhism and the atheist Santana Dharma, or Vedic Religion of Kumarila Bhatta.

Utilizing this opportunity Sage Sankara intervened in the conflict and made use of some concepts and methodology of both the Kumarila Bhatta School and Buddhism to present a new coalition religion before the people.

Sage Sankara gave extraordinary charisma to this religion with the help of his methods of logic and style of exposition. Its influence was so great that both the Bhatta School and Buddhism had to flee from India without leaving a trace.

The absence, even today, of a single follower of the Kumarila Bhatta School as well as of Buddhism, is proof enough of the great achievement of Sage Sankara. This indeed is a historical miracle.

One can see in the Santana Dharma or Vedic Religion expounded by Sage Sankara a different version of the Kumarila Bhatta School and Buddhism. That is why the tradition of following Kumarila Bhatta's methodology in expounding the Advaita thought at the empirical level gained ground in the Advaita School.

Different types of the methodology of Buddhism were absorbed into the Advaita thought, of course, under new labels. There is a very clear similarity between the Vedic Religion of Sage Sankara and Buddhism and the Advaita School has given the world a common message. The essence of both schools is:~

The entire world which man perceives is illusionary; it is just an appearance of unreality and there is only one indeterminate and attributeless Sat at the root of this world".

Some Saints in the past introduced the concept of God with attributes and attributeless gods, but Yajur Veda says: ~ 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.

Therefore, all these add-ons prove that the form and attribute-based concepts are introduced by some sages of the past with a new belief system and code of conduct in the name of Vedas.

Thus, it proves that Hinduism has nothing to do with the ancient Santana Dharma or Vedic Religion. :~Santthosh Kumaar

How can one recognize the true Gnani?+

R.K- Q: How can one recognize the true Gnani?

A:~Santthosh Kumaar: It is impossible unless one has sharp grasping power. He does not want any external marks to identify, i.e. separate him from others.

Even friends and family members of a Gnani will not know him as the Gnani. Due to ignorance, people will not be able to recognize a Gnani. Outwardly the Gnani behaves as an ordinary person behaves.

A Gnani talks and jokes like others, but he is not understood as he really is. People may regard him as an exceptional person, but only a few can recognize him as a Gnani

Nirakara:~ One can recognize a Gnani only by his Gnana. Wherever Gnani is present, Gnana comes out like a spring.

Manduka Upanishads: ~ Even the Gods cannot find out who is a Gnani because he bears no external mark. Neither nudity nor the yellow robe has anything to do with him.

Yogis, religious gurus, swamis, sadhus, priests, mythological storytellers, Fakirs, monks, and intellectuals are not Gnanis.

Sage Sankara clearly indicates in Viveka Chudamani (2) that the Knower of the Atman (A Gnani) "bears no outward mark of a holy man" (Stanza 539).

The word “mark” means sitting in ashrams, wearing religious robes, sitting in Samadhi, performing miracles, etc. He lives a normal householder’s life. Only people can recognize a Gnani with his Gnana, not by his appearance.

Gnani has nothing to do with religion and yoga, philosophies or religious Gods, or religious rituals because they all belong to the universe, which is the dualistic illusion or Maya.

Sage Sankara himself said: ~ A Gnani "bears no outward mark of a holy man."

Sage Sankara: ~ "Though I wear these robes of a Sanyasin, it is only for the sake of bread." (Select Works of Sage Sankara" also his commentary on Brihad)

So, Sage Sankara wore a Guru's robe only for the sake of the ignorant. So he was identified as a Guru with paramparas by religious people. For the truth seekers, Sage Sankara is a Brahma Gnani.

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

Thus it proves that Sage Sankara meant, taking sanyasa and wearing religious robes to earn bread. Sanyasa is not a qualification to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana

A Gnani sees the reality hidden by ignorance as it is in the midst of diversity (illusory universe).

Thus, the above passage proves that all those who wear the sanyasin robes are wearing them for the sake of bread belong to the religion; they have nothing to do with the Advaitic wisdom or Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

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. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Nearly all orthodox hold views of Maya which are entirely incorrect and untenable.+

As one indulges in deeper self-search he becomes aware: - As per the religious archaeologists' view: the date of Sage  Sankara may be taken most correctly as that of the 9th century. 

Some claims are made in India that he lived two thousand years ago, but there is absolutely no proof for this claim. They do not go back further than the 12th century A.D. and all so-called evidence for Sage Sankara having lived two centuries before Christ is either conjectures or orthodox fabrication.

Regarding the question of Sage Sankara's death, one may dismiss the legend that he did not die, at the age of 32, but disappeared into a cave. This is another orthodox story that is quite unfounded. He did really die in the Himalayas at that age.

As one goes into the annals of history, one becomes aware that; the spiritual Advaita is mixed up with orthodox punditry. 

There is a need for our own research to know the true essence of Advaita propounded by Sage Sankara, and Sage Gudapada and the emptiness of the Bhagavan Buddha.

How Sage Sankara could have written so many books during such a short term of existence. The fact is that he wrote very few books. Those actually written by him were Commentaries on Brahma Sutras and the Upanishads and on the Gita. All other books ascribed to him were not written down by his own hand.

Sage Sankara wrote his Manduka Upanishad commentary first, and then as this revealed that he thoroughly understood the subject, his gurus requested him to write the commentary on Badarayana's Brahma Sutras, which was a popular theological work universally studied throughout India. That is why his commentary is written from a lower dualistic point, for those who cannot rise higher, save that here and there Sage Sankara occasionally has strewn a few truly Advaitic sentences.

Sage Sankara had only four fully trained disciples, although he advised some kings. His doctrines spread after his lifetime. Sage Sankara’s books were dictated to secretaries as he traveled, therefore, only a few were capable of understanding his philosophy.

Nearly all orthodox hold views of Maya which are entirely incorrect and untenable. They do not know Sage Sankara's Upanishad Bashyas, but only the Brahma Sutra Bashya.

Sage Sankara varied his practical advice and doctrinal teaching according to the people he was amongst. He never told them to give up their particular religion or beliefs or metaphysics completely; he only told them to give up the worst features of abuse: at the same time, he showed just one step forward toward the truth.

In Brahma Sutras, Sage Sankara says that Brahman is the cause of the world, whereas in Manduka he denies it. This is because he says that at the lower stage of understanding, the former teaching must be given, for people will get frightened as they cannot understand how the world can be without a cause, but to those in a higher stage, the truth of non-causality can be revealed.

Brahma Sutras, i.e. "Vedanta Sutras" by Badarayana, is intended for those of middling intellects, not for those who have the best brains: it is a semi-theological, semi-philosophical work; it starts with the assumption that Brahman exists.

The opening sentence is "All this is Brahman." But nobody knows or has seen Brahman.

If one says "All this is gold" and shows a piece of gold, the words are understandable. Suppose one has never seen gold. Then what is the use of it becomes meaningless when the object indicated is seen by none?

Hence, the Brahma Sutra opening is equivalent to "All this is Brahman". Both have no meaning so long as they are not understood if we take them as the data to start from. 

It is for this reason, that the Brahma Sutra is intended for theological mindsets because it begins with dogma although its reasoning is close. For it starts with something imagined.:~Santthosh Kumaar

Nirguna Brahman of Sage Sankara is impersonal.+

Sage Sankara’s Supreme Brahman 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 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.

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 himself says ~ VC- 61- For one who has been bitten by the serpent of Ignorance, the only remedy is the knowledge of Brahman. Of what avail are the Vedas and (other) Scriptures, Mantras (sacred formulae), and medicines to such a one?

62. A disease does not leave off if one simply utters the name of the medicine, without taking it; (similarly) without direct realization one cannot be liberated by the mere utterance of the word Brahman.

63. Without causing the objective universe to vanish and without knowing the truth of the ‘Self’ how is one to achieve Liberation by the mere utterance of the word Brahman? — It would result merely in an effort of speech.

Consciousness is qualityless because it is a formless, timeless, and spaceless existence.

The seeker must read my posts and blogs to find answers to all his questions and doubts.

All happening of pain and pleasure are within the waking experience. From the standpoint of the Soul, the Self, the waking experience is merely an illusion.

Thus, the experience of birth, life, death, and the world within the illusory waking experience is bound to be an illusion. The Soul has nothing to do with the experience of birth, life, death, and the world, because the Soul, the ‘Self’ is unborn and eternal. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

The experience of birth, life death, rebirth, and reincarnation takes place within the unreal universe.+

Sage Sankara declared: - The world is a myth and Brahman alone is real then why worship the guru and gods based on the ego, which is the false self of this false world.

When Sage  Sankara says:~ The world is unreal. He never said the body is unreal. He would have said only birth and death are unreal but he did not say that, he said the world is unreal. He meant the world including the body because the body and world appear together and disappear together [waking/dream]. Then we have to think, about what remains without the body and the world as reality.

How can birth, life, death, rebirth, and reincarnation, which take place in the unreal world be true? 

The experience of birth, life death, rebirth, and reincarnation takes place within the unreal universe. The unreal universe appears as a waking or dream (duality) and disappears as the invisible Soul in deep sleep (non-duality). 

The one that appeared as waking or dream diapered as deep sleep is the invisible consciousness.

The Soul, the Self is present in the form of consciousness. Consciousness is unborn and eternal. Consciousness is the witness of the coming and going of the three states.

When the whole world is unreal then one has to realize the fact that, the body and ego are reality within the unreal world therefore, the body and the world are part of the falsehood, then what is the use of thinking on the body base when the self is not physical.

If a dream entity imagines in the dream that: - The self’s manifestation is in the brain. The passage from the Heart to the brain might be considered to be through the Sushumna, or nerve (Nadi) with some other name. The Sushumna or such Nadis are all comprised in Para, i.e. the Atma Nadi. --

– the dream becomes unreal when waking takes place.

Therefore if the waking entity thinks the same way in the waking experience:- The Self’s manifestation is in the brain. The passage from the Heart to the brain might be considered to be through the sushumna, or nerve (Nadi) with some other name. The sushumna or such Nadis are all comprised in Para, i.e. the Atma Nadi. ---

–--- the waking also becomes unreal when the waking entity realizes, it, itself is not the self. If the self is neither the waking entity, nor the self is a dream entity, but the self is the formless soul, which is the witness of the coming and going of the three states. From the standpoint of the soul, the innermost self, the three states are non-existent as reality.

Scientists now concluded that you are not the brain [body]. Consciousness requires the joint operation of the brain, body, and world. "You are not your brain. The brain, rather, is part of what you are."

The Biology of Consciousness

by Alva Noë. Hill and Wang, 2009

Alva Noe, a University of California, Berkeley, philosopher and cognitive scientist, argues that after decades of concerted effort on the part of neuroscientists, psychologists, and philosophers "only one proposition about how the brain makes us conscious ... has emerged unchallenged: we don't have a clue." The reason we have been unable to explain the neural basis of consciousness, he says, is that it does not take place in the brain. Consciousness is not something that happens inside us but something we achieve it is more like dancing than it is like the digestive process. To understand consciousness the fact that we think and feel and that a world shows up for us we need to look at a larger system of which the brain is only one element. Consciousness requires the joint operation of the brain, body, and world. "You are not your brain. The brain, rather, is part of what you are."

Thus, it is going in the right direction in its invention and one day it will declare that everything is consciousness, which Sage Sankara declared 1200 years back –everything is Ataman- because Ataman is in the form of consciousness. 

We have to know that Bhagavan Buddha, Sage Goudpad, and Sage Sankara are not only reformers but also the greatest sage scientists. Since their original thesis has been lost in the labyrinths of philosophy and mutilated by orthodoxy, it becomes very difficult to understand and assimilate the wisdom expounded by the great masters. 

In addition, the conservativeness of the scholars will not allow any research other than playing with the words, which suits the mass mindsets, because of their egocentric outlook.

Seeker has to do his own homework to understand and assimilate the real fragrance of the wisdom expounded by the great masters. It is a hurricane task. 

Thus, it is no use going through all the scriptures, when there is a direct path to non-dual truth. The same time and effort can be used to reach the non-dual destination, which takes less time and effort .:~Santthosh Kumaar 

God is not within your heart but it is hidden by the illusory universe in which you exist.+

Searching for the God? Remember God is not within your body but it is hidden by the world in which you exist.

God is not in any mosque, temple, or church. The religious Gods are not God in truth.

Sage Goudapada’s rational exposition of Advaita: ~ “Whatever is seen, whether external or internal, whether by the ordinary persons or yogis, is unreal.

From the standpoint of the Soul, the ‘Self’, whatever you have seen known and believed, and experienced as a person becomes unreal (illusion).

To realize the world in which you exist is an illusion you have to realize the fact that the ‘Self’ is not the ‘I’ but the ‘Self’ is the Soul, the witness of the ‘I’.

Unless you realize the ‘Self’ as the Soul, you are all blinded by the dualistic illusion or Maya.

The experience of birth, life, death, and the world as a reality within the waking experience.

The waking experience is a parallel dream and the dream is a parallel waking experience. The waking experience is the dualistic illusion or Maya.

To overcome the dualistic illusion you have to get rid of the ignorance by realizing the ‘Self is, not the ‘I’.

Until you hold the’ I’ as ‘Self’, ignorance will not vanish. So, there is a need to realize ‘What is this ‘I’?

You must realize the fact that the ‘I’ is not the ‘‘Self’’, but the ‘‘Self’’ is the formless Soul the Soul is present in the form of consciousness. Since ‘I’ is the inborn conditioning it will not vanish by inquiring ‘Who AM ‘I’, or just saying ‘I AM THAT’ ignorance will not vanish. There is a need for a deeper understanding of the nature of the ‘I’.

Deeper self-search reveals that the world in which you exist is a dualistic illusion or Maya created by the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. The existence of the universe in which you exist is negated, where is then any room to say that the ‘I’ is the ‘Self’. Without the ‘I’ the world, in which you exist ceases to exist.

The Soul is the ‘Self’. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. The Soul is the substance and witness of the illusory universe or Maya. The Soul is hidden by the illusory universe or Maya and it is always apart from the illusory universe or Maya.

The Soul is hidden by the universe, which is the dualistic illusion or Maya as its formless substance and it is without the dualistic illusion or Maya as its witness.

In Atmic reality, the substance and witness of the illusion are one, in essence. That essence is consciousness.

Thus, the Soul or consciousness alone is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.

Upanishads: ~ Fools dwelling in darkness, but thinking they wise and erudite, go round and round, by various tortuous paths, like the blind led by the blind. (Upanishads Nikilanada - Ch II-5 P-14)

No one can teach anybody. Wisdom is hidden within the world in which you exist. A Gnani can only show the way that much is the work of a Gnani.

A Gnani only guides the seekers to apply their own reason and realize the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space.

When the seeker learns to view judge and reason the three states on the base of the Soul, the truth will start unfolding on its own. First, the seeker may find it difficult to use Soulcentric reason but gradually it will become easy.

Self-inquiry is finding out the ‘Self’ which is hidden by the illusory universe in which we exist.

By inquiring ‘Who am I?’, ignorance will not vanish. Without getting rid of ignorance, the Advaitic wisdom will not dawn.

Without Advaitic wisdom, it is not possible to realize the truth, which is hidden within the world in which we exist.

That is why Sage Sankara says: ~ VC-63. Without causing the objective universe to vanish and without knowing the truth of the ‘‘Self’’ how is one to achieve Liberation by the mere utterance of the word Brahman? — It would result merely in an effort of speech.

What is the use of saying ‘I AM THAT’- without knowing what the ‘‘Self’’ is in actuality?

Without knowing the truth of the ‘Self’, without realizing the truth of the world in which you exist it is impossible to realize the truth beyond the form, time, and space. By a mere utterance of the word ‘I AM THAT', the truth will not be revealed.:~Santthosh Kumaar