Santana Dharma or Vedic Religion means Atmic religion because the Santana Dharma or Vedic Religion accepts only Athma as God.+

Santana Dharma or Vedic Religion means Atmic religion because the Santana Dharma or Vedic Religion accepts only Athma as God

Atama is Brahman or God in truth. The nature of God in truth is Advaita.

In Tattireya Upanishad: ~ "SatyaM Vada. DharmaM Cara." Speak the truth, and practice dharma. Now if you want to practice dharma, you should first know what it means. (1.11.1)

The word, “dharma “is found in the karikas, which means Atma in Advaita Vedanta.

Santana Dharma or Vedic Religion means Atmic religion because the Santana Dharma or Vedic Religion accepts only Athma as God. And it clearly mentions that God is “One”. And never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman.

Thus, wherever they accept another God in place of Atman or worship other than the Atman is not of the Santana Dharma or Vedic Religion. If the seeker is seeking truth Such Gods have to be rejected without mercy. Worshipping of such Gods is barred by Vedas.

If you think your religion is Santana Dharma or Vedic religion then you have to discard non-Vedic religion, non-Vedic sects, and non-Vedic Gods and non-Vedic rituals have to be discarded and stick to the Vedic God alone as the ultimate truth or Brahman.

Santana Dharma or Vedic religion is the only spiritualistic religion in the world, that emphasizes Self-realization.

In Santana Dharma or the Vedic Religion, the Atman the ‘Self’ is God. This Self –realization is God-realization and God- realization itself is real worship.

The vast ocean of Vedic religion or Santana Dharma was consistently steady and calm for a very long period. It appears that as a consequence of the rage of the Buddhist revolution, it got suddenly disturbed and flowed down to us in disorder. Even today Vedic religion or Santana Dharma has not recovered from the onslaught of Buddhism and Jainism and is not able to settle in people's hearts in its original form in the same old measure.

The Buddhist influence is seen greatly in the Vedic philosophy, followed by the majority of Indians. Thus, it is clear that the Vedic religion or Santana Dharma has not retained its original form, but has been influenced by other religions and has 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 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 the Vedic religion or Sanatana Dharma 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 Vedic religion. Though the Vedic religion represented by Sage Sankara is like a conglomeration of many things he deserves the credit of having turned the Indian mindset which was once averse to Vedas -the root of Indian populace, towards the Vedas once again. For this, the followers of the Vedic religion should be grateful to Sage Sankara.

Supreme Court of India:~ Hinduism, as a religion, incorporates all forms of belief without mandating the selection or elimination of any one single belief,“ It is a religion that has no single founder, no single scripture, and no single set of teachings. It has been described as Santana Dharma, namely, eternal faith, as it is the collective wisdom and inspiration of the centuries that Hinduism seeks to preach and propagate,” ---Hinduism has no single founder or scripture: SC, The Times of India (Delhi) Dec 17, 2015

Hinduism is not an Ancient Vedic religion or Santana Dharma. All 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. Thus 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 to realizing the ultimate truth or Brahman.

Hinduism has different founders with different castes and ideologies different ideas of personal Gods and different scriptures. The Santana Dharma or Vedic Religion has nothing to do with present-day Hinduism. Since the Indian populace thinks Hinduism is Santana Dharma or Vedic religion is inherited ignorance injected in the past.

Indian populace is emotionally and sentimentally involved with their religion and they do not want to accept the truth of their inherited ignorance. Talking against Vedas is Blasphemous in Hinduism but all the Hindus indulge in non-~Vedic activities without being aware of it.

The Vedic system did not have a caste system. The caste system was a fake creation in the name of Hinduism. This non-Vedic belief system called Hinduism has created hatred in the low-caste Hindus for the higher caste.

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)

You will realize you, your body, and your experience of the world are nothing but consciousness.

By realizing you, your body, and your experience of the world are created out of single clay and that single clay is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. Thus, you, your body, and your experience of the world are nothing but consciousness. Thus, the Soul or consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.

The Soul is God in truth. God in truth is the fullness of consciousness. Everything is God in truth nothing but God in truth.

Do not waste time attending sermons and Satsang on mythical God. Real Satsanga knows the real God which is hidden by the religion. From a Vedic perspective, the Religious Gods are a myth. Vedic God is Athma.

The diverse rituals and ceremonies are based on the mythical Gods that keep the Soul in the cage of ignorance.

The mythical Gods are myths not God in truth. All the mythical Gods are non-Vedic Gods. Believing worshipping non-Vedic Gods causes suffering. Vedic God is spiritual because the Vedic God is Spirit.

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

Do not accept any other truth other than consciousness. Consciousness is the ultimate truth. Nothing is real but consciousness. Realize consciousness as the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth. Consciousness is everywhere and in everything. Let these words be inscribed in your subconscious.

Rig-Veda 1-164-46 and Y.V 32-1 clearly mention that God is “One”. And never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman

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 innermost 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 the form of the Athma, and it is indeed Athma itself.

The Upanishads say in effect that: ~ If you believe that the Soul is one and God (Brahman) is another you cannot understand Truth.

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

Attachment to the mythical Gods based on blind belief and rituals is an attachment to ignorance. Attachment to ignorance is an attachment to the myth as truth. All mythical Gods and their rituals are not of the Vedic origin.

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

All the beliefs based on Gods of all belief systems have no universality in their God based on blind belief. Thus, diverse beliefs create divisions between one religion and another. Therefore, the rituals and ceremonies keep the populace permanently in the prison of ignorance.

Yajur Veda indicates that: ~

Prohibition of idol worship in Yajurveda: ~

Yajur Veda – 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.

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 non-dual and pure"

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.

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, and 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.)

Why worship and glorify the mythical Gods in place of God when Veda bars such activities and 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.

God in truth exists prior to the illusory form, time, and space. The illusory form, time, and space cease to exist as a reality when wisdom dawns. Thus, the mythical Gods have no place in the domain of the Advaitic reality. Advaita is the non-dual nature of the Soul, which is God in truth. Thus, Self-realization is the only way to God-realization.

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad says: "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)

Therefore, everyone must know what God is supposed to be in truth according to their own scriptures.

Vedas and Upanishads confirm the Atman, the Self, is present in the form of the Spirit or consciousness.

Even 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, 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.

Those who indulge in a perverted argument on their own standpoint and opinion about God are not seeking the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space

It is high time, that humanity has become fanatics of the truth to bring the universal brotherhood. The truth is the only thing that can cure all propagated by the belief system.

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 is no duality, no differentiation. Only Atman exists.

Mundaka Upanishad condemns rituals. The Para or Higher knowledge is the knowledge of the Supreme Being while the Apara or Lower Knowledge is that of following sacrificial rites and ceremonies. (1/2/ 1 – 6)

The religious-based knowledge is Apara therefore, the religious-based knowledge is lower, and Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is higher knowledge is Para. Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is the knowledge of the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.

Katha Upanishad says ~ Fools dwelling in darkness, but thinking themselves wise and erudite, go round and round, by various tortuous paths, like the blind led by the blind. (Ch II-5 P-14)

Reflecting on the Soul, which is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth, is real Satsanga. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Gods based on blind belief are not God in truth.+

Religious Gods are not God in truth. The Bible says “God is a Spirit, and they that worship God must worship God in Spirit and in Truth.

Rig Veda says may ye never accept another God in place of the Atman (Spirit) nor worship other than the Atman.

It is no use in arguing with religious believers because they think that what they know is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.

Whatever is real in the world in which we exist is Consciousness, which is God in truth. All that is real in the world in which we exist is Consciousness.

Thus, by realizing the Self, which is the Soul, we discover the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness itself is God in truth which is hidden by the ‘I’. 'I' is the dualistic illusion or Maya.

Check yourself whether you are worshiping God in truth.

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

Humanity has to awaken to the reality of its true existence by realizing the world in which humanity exists is merely an illusion created out of consciousness through Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana frees the Soul, the Self from the cage of the dualistic illusion or Maya.

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.

Religions were coherent because they had a transcendent God as a central doctrine, whereas in the realm of truth, a religious God cannot be considered the cause of the universe because religious Gods are based on blind belief. Gods based on blind belief are not God in truth.

Every religion has its own idea of God. There is no universality in religious beliefs. From the ultimate standpoint, religious Gods are based on myth.

According to Vedas the Athma (Soul) is the cause of the universe therefore Atma itself is God in truth.

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 (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:~The Vedas exclaim from time immemorial, Ekam Sat Vipra Bahudha Vadanti, Existence is One, Sages call it by different Names. - 1-164-146.

Rig Veda 1/164/46: ~ “They call him Indra, Mitra, Varuna, Agni, or the heavenly sunbird Garutmat. The seers call in many ways that which is One; they speak of Agni, Yama, Matarishvan.

Rig Veda 8/58/2:~ Only One is the Fire, enkindled in numerous ways; only One is the Sun, pervading this whole universe; only One is the Dawn, illuminating all things. In very truth, the One has become the whole world.

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

Do not accept any other truth other than consciousness. Consciousness is the ultimate truth,  Nothing is real but consciousness, Nothing Matters but to realize the ultimate truth. Consciousness is everywhere and in everything. Let these words be inscribed in your subconscious.

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

Kena Upanishad (6) Chapter I: ~ “That which cannot be apprehended by the mind, but by which, they say, the mind is apprehended- That alone know as Brahman(God), and not that which people here worship.

Kena Upanishad (7) Chapter I:~ That which cannot be perceived by the eye, but by which the eye is perceived- that alone know as Brahman (God), and not that which people here worship.

Kena Upanishad (8) Chapter I:~ That which cannot be heard by the ear, but by which the hearing is perceived- that alone known as Brahman(God in truth), and not that which people here worship.

Kena Upanishad (9)- Chapter I:~ That which cannot be smelt by the breath, but by which the breath smells an object-That alone known as Brahman(God in truth), and not that which people here 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.

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 (Gita 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.

Vedas, Upanishad, and Bhagavad Gita confirm the Soul, the Self, is present in the form of the Spirit or consciousness.

The Bible says: ~ God is a Spirit, and they that worship God must worship God in Spirit and in Truth. (John 4:24).

The Spirit is the root element of the universe. The Spirit is present in the form of the Soul, the Self. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. 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.

Swami Vivekananda: ~ “If superstition enters, the brain is gone. Superstition is our great enemy, but bigotry is worse.

Remember:~

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

The Upanishads say in effect that: ~ If you believe that the ‘the Soul, the innermost Self’ is one and God (Brahman) is another you cannot understand Truth.

The religion preaches that God is one and the ways to God are many. It simply tries to lead them to darkness with its dogma and idea of many Gods, apart from the Self.

Realizing the single stuff of which this universe in which you exist is made, is Truth realization or Self-realization or God-realization.

When the expression itself is illusory, then the evolution within the illusory expression is bound to be an illusion. Thus, the evolution theory holds no water from the standpoint of the Soul, the Self.

Truth realization is Self-realization and Self-realization is God-realization and God-realization is realization is real worship. : ~Santthosh Kumaar

Consciousness is God in truth rest all is an illusion.+

Consciousness is the cause of the world in which we exist. Consciousness is everything. Before the appearance of the world in which we exist, the world was consciousness and after the disappearance of the world in which we exist, the world becomes one with consciousness.

Whatever appeared and disappeared as the world, in which we exist, is nothing but an illusion created out of consciousness.

The illusion has no value because the cause of the illusion is consciousness.

Only on the dualistic perspective, there is higher and lower consciousness. From the non-dualistic perspective, consciousness alone is

 Even the Vedas indicate that the Self is consciousness:-

v Tat tvam asi: -Thou art That. The Self is that.- (Sam Veda).

v Prajnanam Brahma: - Consciousness is the ultimate reality.- (Rig Veda).

v Ayam Aatma Brahma: -The Self is the ultimate truth. (Atharva Veda).

v Aham Brahma Asmi: -Self is the ultimate reality. (Yajur Veda)

Your existence is limited to form, time, and space because the ‘Self is not you. The Self is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. the Soul is a formless, timeless, and spaceless existence.

First, realize the ‘Self’ is not you but the ‘Self’ is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. Mentally hold on to the Soul and mentally reduce the world in which you exist as consciousness by realizing the world in which you exist is nothing but an illusion created out of consciousness. Consciousness is the ultimate truth of Brahman or God in truth.

Consciousness is God IN TRUTH rest is an illusion.

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 (Gita 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.

Vedas, Upanishads, and Bhagavad Gita confirm the Soul, the Self, which is present in the form of the Spirit or consciousness.

The real God is stolen by ignorance and people worship ignorance as God because the religion propagates false God as real God.

All the ‘I-centric’ Gurus and their teachings lose their value in Soulcentric vision.

Remember:~

When you realize the words, thoughts, and world in which you exist are created out of single stuff and that single stuff is consciousness, then you will realize the truth which is hidden by the illusory form, time, and space.

When everything is created out of consciousness then there is no second thing that exists, other than consciousness. It takes time to grasp the Advaitic truth. All the obstacles have to be overcome one by one.

Realize with a full and firm conviction that: ~ You are not you but the consciousness; your body is not the body but consciousness, the world in which you exist is not the world but consciousness.

Everything that is known, seen, believed, and experienced by you is nothing but consciousness then what else remains, which is not consciousness. There is nothing else to realize other than to realize consciousness alone is, everything else is merely an illusion created out of consciousness.

By realizing everything is consciousness, the Advaitic wisdom dawns. Perfect understanding and assimilation of ‘what is what’ lead to Advaitic awareness.

Without the world, in which you exist God alone exists. When God disappears the world, in which you exist appears. The world, in which you exist disappears God appears. Thus, realize the God to be the Soul.

The Soul is the Self. Thus, the Soul which is present in the form of consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.

If you stick to the ultimate truth then the world in which you exist is merely an illusion created out of consciousness. If you realize this truth you will live in this world but not of this world. Thus, consciousness alone is real and eternal.

Remember:~

The Advaitic wisdom leads the seeker from darkness to light, from ignorance to wisdom, from unawareness of the ‘Self’ to Self-awareness, from unreality to reality.

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."

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

The Soul itself is God, the One without a Second:

The Soul is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God. The Soul or God in truth is present in the form of consciousness. Thus, consciousness itself is God in truth.

Consciousness, the God in truth is Self-evident. It 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 God in truth. God in truth is the basis of all kinds of knowledge, presuppositions, and proofs.

Even Rig Veda: ~ The Atman (Soul) 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?"

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

The Vedas talk about Brahman (God in truth) which refers to the ultimate truth or ultimate reality or Advaita. Consciousness is the Advaita or the ultimate truth, therefore, consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman. Brahman is Advaita, the God in truth. : ~Santthosh Kumaar

Sage Sankara declares the Atman is Brahman. That is the Soul, which is in the form of consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth. +

Sage Sankara declares the Atman is Brahman. That is the Soul, which is in the form of consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth. The ultimate truth itself is worthy of Godhood 

Since God is eternal and infinite, God comprises the only truth. The goal of the Vedic religion or Santana Dharma is to realize that consciousness (Atman) is actually nothing but Brahman or God in truth. 

The Vedic pantheon of Gods is said, in the Vedas and Upanishads, to be the only higher manifestations of consciousness. 

For this reason: ~ “ekam sat" (all is one), and all is Brahman or God in truth.

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.

Yajur Veda 32:3:~The Supreme Spirit that pervades the universe can have no material representation, likeness, or image.

 

Yajur Veda – 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.

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"

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.

Yajur Veda 

Translation 3 

"They are enveloped in darkness, in other words, are steeped in ignorance and sunk in the greatest depths of misery who worship the uncreated, eternal prakrti -- the material cause of the world -- in place of the All-pervading God, But 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.) 

So, 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) 

Vedas and Upanishads clearly indicate that, If the human goal is to acquire Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana then why indulge in rituals and glorify the conceptual Gods and Goddesses and Gurus to go into deeper darkness. Instead spend that time moving forward towards Self-knowledge, which is one’s prime goal. 

Kena Upanishad (1) Chapter II - If you think: "I know Brahman well," then surely you know but little of Its form; you know only Its form as conditioned by man or by the Gods. Therefore Brahman, even now, is worthy of your inquiry. 

Kena Upanishad (2) Chapter II - The disciple said: I think I know Brahman. The disciple said: I do not think I know It well, nor do I think I do not know It. He among us who knows the meaning of "Neither do I not know nor do I know"-knows Brahman. 

Kena Upanishad (3) Chapter II - He by whom Brahman is not known, knows It; he by whom It is known, knows It not. It is not known by those who know It; It is known by those who do not know It. 

Kena Upanishad (4) Chapter II -Brahman is known when It is realized in every state of mind; for by such Knowledge, one attains Immortality. By Atman one obtains strength; by Knowledge, Immortality 

Kena Upanishad (5) Chapter II - If a man knows Atman here, he then attains the true goal of life. If he does not know It here, great destruction awaits him. Having realized the Self in every being, the wise relinquish the world and become immortal 

The human goal is to realize the Atman, which is present in the form of consciousness. The Atman is the ultimate truth. The ultimate truth is nothing but Brahman or God. Realizing Atman as Brahman is truth realization or Self-Realization. 

There is no need to follow the religion, study the scriptures, or glorify the Gods and the Gurus and follow the path of doubts and confusion by losing oneself in the labyrinths of philosophy when there is an easier path. 

By mentally tracing the source of the mind (I) from where it rises and subsides one becomes aware of the fallacy of the mind, which rises as the waking or the dream (duality) and subsides as deep sleep (nonduality). The mind (I) rises from the consciousness and subsides as the consciousness.:~Santthosh Kumaar

The ‘I’ is what the seeker has to begin his investigation. A perfect understanding of ‘what is what’ will help the seeker.+

 

It is no use in knowing who you are because you are the birth entity. Your individual experience of birth, life, death, and the world is merely an illusion. It is no use of inquiring ‘Who am I?- which exposes only the false nature of the form.

‘Who am ‘I’? - inquiry was introduced by Sage Sankara for beginners. Your journey will not be complete with ‘Who am ‘I’? or ‘I AM THAT’ - teaching. For Advanced seekers ‘Who am ‘I’? and I AM THAT’- teaching becomes inadequate and useless to realize the truth hidden by the ‘I’, which is the dualistic illusion.

Unless you unfold the truth of the world that confronts you will not be able to realize the ‘Self’ is hidden by ignorance.

That is why Sage Sankara: ~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.

Sage Sankara clearly says:~ “As a treasure hidden underground requires (for its extraction) competent instruction, excavation, the removal of stones and other such things lying above it and (finally) grasping, but never comes out by being (merely) called out by name, so the transparent Truth of the ‘Self’, which is hidden by Maya and its effects, is to be attained through the instructions of a knower of Brahman, followed by reflection, meditation and so forth, but not through perverted arguments.

Therefore, the wise should, as in the case of disease and the like, personally strive by all the means in their power of reason Sage Sankara clearly says the truth is to be attained through the instructions of a knower of Brahman (Gnani) then why to go after a Guru or yogi who is not a Gnani.

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

The ‘I’ is what the seeker has to begin his investigation with. A perfect understanding of ‘what is what’ will help the seeker to reach the Soul, which is the Self.

Sage Sankara: ~VC~ if the universe is true, let it then be perceived in the state of deep sleep also. As it is not at all perceived, it must be unreal and false like dreams.

This universe is nothing but the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. From the Soul, the universe appears and when the universe disappears from consciousness, consciousness remains without any division of form, time, and space.

Remember: First find out what this ‘I’ is supposed to be in actuality.

What is this ‘I’?

The ‘I’ is not a thought. The ‘I’ is the mind. The mind is the whole universe. The universe appears as waking or dream (duality and disappears as deep sleep (non-duality). The one that appears as waking or dream (duality) and disappears as deep sleep (nonduality) is the Soul, the Self. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. Consciousness pervades everything and everywhere in all three states.

Without knowing what is the mind, it is impossible to realize the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space.

People think the mind is within the body, but deeper self-search reveals the fact that the world in which you exist itself is the mind.

When the ‘I’ is present then only the mind is present. If the mind is there then only the universe is there. If the universe is present then only the waking is present. Thus, it is very much necessary to realize the ‘what ‘I’ is in actuality.

Without knowing ‘what is this ‘I’ it is impossible to realize the ‘I-less’ truth, which is hidden by the illusory form, time, and space.

Till you hold the ‘Self ‘as the ‘I’ you will never be able to get Self-realization.

‘I’ hides the Soul, which is the Self. ‘

'I’ is ignorance.

‘I’ is the duality.

‘I’ is form, time, and space.

‘I’ is the universe.

‘I’ is the waking.

‘I’ is the dream.

‘I’ is the illusion.

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

Remember:~

Without the ‘I’, there is no ignorance.

Without the ‘I’, there is no duality.

Without the ‘I’ there is no form, time, and space.

Without the ‘I’, there is no universe.

Without the ‘I’, there is no waking.

Without the ‘I’, there is no dream.

Without the ‘I’, there is no illusion.

Without the ‘I’, there is no experience of birth, life, death, and the world.

The ‘I’ hides the Soul, the Self.

The ‘I’ hides the Soul, which is the cause of the 'I'.

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.

Bhagavad Gita: ~ The permanent is always there, only the transient ‘I’ comes and goes. (2.18)

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 says: ~ there is no need to study the Scriptures, to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman.

~ then why indulge in studying the scriptures.

Sage Sankara says: ~ there is no need to study philosophy, to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman

~then why indulge in studying philosophy.

Sage Sankara says: ~ there is no need to indulge in rituals, to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman.

~ then why indulge in rituals.

Sage Sankara says: ~ there is no need to indulge in yoga, to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman

~ then why indulge in yoga.

Sage Sankara says the transparent Truth of the ‘Self’, which is hidden by the illusion, is to be attained through the instructions of a knower of Brahman, (Gnani) then why you are sticking a Guru who is not a Gnani.

Sage Sankara says ~ “The exercise in discrimination between real and unreal and renunciation of the false is real meditation, then why you are indulging in other types of meditation.: ~ Santthosh Kummar