Sage Sankara: ~ ‘Reality can be realized
only with the eye of understanding, not just by a scholar. What the moon is
like must be seen with one's own eyes. How can others do it for
you?"~Vivekachoodamani
Advaitic Orthodoxy misinterpreted Sage Sankara and presented only the religious side
of his teaching as the highest doctrine. Thus, people are misled. The orthodoxy based on rituals and mythical
Gods and Karma. Advaitic wisdom of Sage Sankara
is nothing to with Advaitic orthodoxy.
Let Advaitic wisdom annihilate ignorance (I) and reveal Soul, the
Self the God in truth. Let your ears
become deaf to the untruth propagated by the religion as a reality; enable you
to realize the truth hidden by the ignorance (I). Let your eyes become blind to illusion to
receive the Soul as the Self as it is in the midst of the dualistic illusion.
All the orthodox ideas were rejected by Sage Sankara. There is no need to indulge in rituals, in
order to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth. There is no need to study philosophy,
in order to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.
God in truth is not based on your inherited blind faith or belief.
Religions are based on personal God whereas Sage
Sankara’s Supreme Brahman (God) is impersonal.
The Soul, the Self is unborn and undifferentiated consciousness is God in truth.
The Vedas confirms 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, God with the human form does not find any support from the Vedas.
Vedas itself declares: May ye never
accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman?
To know the real God Self-realization is necessary. Self-realization is
God-realization. Self-realization is real worship.
Rig Veda: ~ 'Prajnanam Brahma' - Consciousness is the ultimate reality or Brahman or God in truth.
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)
Religion makes it complicated to realize the God in truth hidden by the ignorance
obscures from human vision
Bhagavad Gita: ~ ‘All those whose intelligence has been stolen by material desires, they worship many gods. (7- Verse -20)
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)
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."
Isa Upanishads indicates ~ By worshipping Gods and Goddesses and going to the world of Gods after death is of no use. The time one spends in ritualistic practices is wasted; one can spend the same time moving forward towards Self-knowledge, which is the main goal. One cannot reach the non-dual destination by glorifying God and Goddesses and by doing that, one goes deeper and deeper into darkness. It surely indicates the fact that the seeker of truth has to drop the worshiping God and Goddess in order to get Self-knowledge.
Sage Sankara as a rationalist philosopher. The orthodoxy projected him as a theologian.
Sage Sankara’s Advaitic wisdom is not even a philosopher dish cooked to suit exclusively the palate of one particular religion. Advaitic wisdom of Sage Sankara is like the air and the water, the common food for the whole humanity.
Advaitic wisdom of Sage Sankara is the Science of the Spirit.
If rightly interpreted Sage Sankara’s Advaitic wisdom as spiritual food for the whole humanity. The Advaitic wisdom is the universal wisdom par excellence. Advaitic wisdom is not just a not a philosophy, but not a science, but the Science of Truth.
Sage Sankara gave religious, rituals and dogmatic instruction to the mass but pure philosophy only to the few who could rise to it. Hence, the interpretation of his writings by commentators is often confusing because they mix up the two viewpoints. Thus, they may assert that ritual is a means of realizing Brahman, which is absurd.
The Upanishads say:~
Mundaka Upanishad 1:2:8:~ “Remaining in the fold of ignorance and thinking “we are extremely wise and learned,” the fools with boastful nature ramble about like the blind led by the blind alone.”
Mundaka Upanishad 3:2:3:- “The weak and timid cannot realize the Self. Self-Realization is not possible through intellect or hearing spiritual discourse. One who welcomes God in every activity, through a thorough controlled and disciplined life, to him also the Soul is revealed
Katha Upanishad 1:2:23:~ The Soul cannot be realized through hearing a scholarly explanation of the discourses, not even by the intellect.
Katha Upanishad 1:3:6:~ “Through the knowledge of the Soul God, one is pure and clean constantly.” Neither by reading the books nor by taking a bath at the holy place has one become pure. Inner purity is possible when one remains in constant touch with the Soul. Constant Soul Consciousness is the real purity.
Kena Upanishad 2:4:~ When it is known through every state of cognition, it is rightly known, for (by such knowledge) one attains life eternal. Through one's own self, one gains power, and through wisdom, one gains immortality.
Kena Upanishad 2:5:~ If here one knows it, then there is the truth, and if here one knows it not, there is a great loss. Hence, seeing the Real in all beings, wise men become immortal on departing from this world.
The scriptures are being added from time to time. This process will go on. There is the final authority among them? One contradicts the other: duality reigns supreme.
The Upanishads are Self-contradictory. Every pundit even gives conflicting interpretations of them. The final authority, therefore, is using one’s own reason. One should apply his reason to them.
The scriptures are for ignorant masses, who wholly accept the material world as it presents itself. Gnana is for those who have begun to realize that things are not what they seem.
The Scriptures are of value only when dealing with persons who are incapable of understanding the Advaitic truth. They have no value as authority for those who use reason. I quote only verified citations from the scriptures. I need no scriptures but I quote them to help the seekers realize what the scriptures are saying.
The Upanishads are the only scriptures in the world that say:~ It is impossible to find and realize the truth via religion and scriptural study.
Katha Upanishad: ~ This Atman cannot be attained by the study of the Vedas, or by intelligence, or by much hearing of sacred books. It is attained by him alone whom It chooses. To such a one Atman reveals its own form. (Katha Upanishad Ch-II -23-P-20)
Mundaka Upanishad: ~ “This Atman cannot be attained through study of the Vedas, nor through intelligence, nor through much learning. He who chooses Atman—by him alone is Atman attained. It is Atman that reveals to the seeker Its true nature. (3 –page-70 Upanishads by Nikilanada)
Upanishad says: ~ “The human goal is to acquire Self-Knowledge and they indicate the personal Gods, scriptures, worship, and rituals are not the means to Self –Knowledge, then why anyone should indulge in it. The religion, concept of individualized God, belief in physical Guru, scriptures are a great obstacle to Self-realization because they are based on false Self. The seeker of truth has to search for the ultimate truth without losing himself in the labyrinths of philosophy, through deeper Self-search and assimilate and realize it.
That is why Sage Sankara, indicated in Bhaja Govindam says: - (Jnana Viheena Sarva Mathena Bajathi na Muktim janma Shatena) - one without knowledge does not obtain liberation even in a hundred births, no matter which religious faith he follows.
Then it is no use going a roundabout way, trace the Brahman which is the formless substance and witness of the universe, which is in the form of mind. By tracing the source of the mind or universe one will be able to realize the Brahman or God in truth.
Thus, Self-knowledge is meant only for those who have an intense urge, and courage to accept the truth with humility and reject the untruth. Since people start comparing with their scriptural knowledge, it becomes impossible to assimilate and realize the non-dual truth. Therefore, there is no need to convince anyone other than our own selves to get a firm conviction.
So they clearly indicate rituals and theories are not meant for those who are searching for higher knowledge or wisdom. The path of wisdom is the only means.
The knowledge of both matter and spirit is True knowledge. The true knowledge is Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar
