All accumulated knowledge is mental Garbage is of no use in the quest for truth.+

The Self is not ‘I’ but the Self is  Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. The Soul witnesses the coming and going of the three states.

The seeker has to get a firm conviction that, the Self is not the ‘I’ because the ‘I’ itself is an illusion. The Soul is the innermost self. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness.

All accumulated knowledge is mental Garbage is of no use in the quest for truth. The seeker has to discard all the accumulated knowledge and start afresh.

A perfect understanding of ‘what is what’ through deeper thinking and reasoning helps to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

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 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. 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 reality. One needs to constantly reflect on the subject until he gets a firm conviction of what is what. Words of wisdom are needed until one gets a firm conviction of ‘what is what’.

People need reading and hearing the words to think reason and reflect deeply and reach the ultimate end.

The truth-seeker seeks only the truth. The inner Sage will guide you. Your sincerity and seriousness lead you to your inner core. The sincere and serious seekers are not excluded.

All the chosen ones will get freedom from experiencing the illusion (duality) as a reality. All the seekers of truth are chosen ones.

Katha Upanishads: ~ This Atman is attained by him alone whom It chooses. To such a one Atman reveals its own form. (II -23-P-20)

All the chosen ones will get freedom from experiencing the illusion (duality) as a reality. All the seekers of truth are chosen ones.

Millions are searching for truth, but one in million will realize it. If you are the truth seeker then you are, one from that million.

Consciousness is the formless substance and the witness of the three states. The Soul, which is present in the form of Consciousness is without change, without any form, without any blemish, and without any decay, without the disease, beyond all comprehension, beyond any change and consciousness is all-pervading. 

Remember:~

All your accumulated knowledge is based on the dualistic perspective. The truth of our true existence is based on the nondualistic perspective.

The dualistic knowledge is egocentric whereas the Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is Soulcentric.

Dualistic knowledge is knowledge based on ignorance. Dualistic knowledge hides the truth, which is beyond the form, time, and space. Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is the knowledge of the formless, timeless, and spaceless existence.

To realize the truth beyond the form, time, and space all the accumulated dualistic knowledge has to be dropped.

All the accumulated knowledge gathered from the Gurus, are dualistic knowledge. Even the Advaita propagated by the Gurus of the east and west are based on the dualistic perspective.

When the ultimate truth is rightly known and one attains eternal life thereby. Through Soul, the innermost ‘Self’ he gains strength and through its knowledge immortality.

Not by intellectual speculation, but only by an awakening to the reality of his true existence, he gets the Soul-centric vision. The Soul, the ‘Self’s nature is like the state of deep sleep. ‘Self’-awareness is objectless awareness in the midst of the objects.

Religion, yoga, and intellectualism are not the means to acquire ‘Self’-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. Without getting rid of ignorance and trying to get ‘Self’-awareness through religion and yoga is like a sleeping man trying to know what he is about, without waking up. As sleep is to the waking, so is ordinary life to the state of realization.

Swami Vivekananda said:~ You see, no one can teach anybody. The teacher spoils everything by thinking that he is teaching. Thus, Vedanta says that within man is all knowledge? Even in a boy, it is so? And it requires only an awakening, and that much is the work of a teacher. We have to do only so much for the boys that they may learn to apply their own intellect to the proper use of their hands, legs, ears, eyes, etc., and finally, everything will become easy.

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 

Ignorant in his own ignorance ask “Who says God?” “Who has this illusion? “ Find out who has these thoughts?+

Ignorant in his own ignorance ask “Who says, God?” “Who has this illusion? “ Find out who has these thoughts? Without knowing such a question arises within the dualistic illusion or Maya. The dualistic illusion or Maya is present in the form of the universe.

The universe is a product of ignorance. Without ignorance, the universe ceases to exist as a reality. The universe hides God because the universe is merely an illusion created out of God, the Spirit, or consciousness.

Swami Vivekananda: ~ “The wicked are always looking for defects. Flies come and seek for the ulcer, and bees come only for the honey in the flower. Do not follow the way of the fly but that of the bee.

Instead of finding fault first realize what is the Self is in actuality. Honest introspection will reveal that all fault lies with “you” and “your "own perceptions and attitudes. If there is an error in understanding what 'Self' is in actuality it is in “you". Correcting this and changing to a Soulcentric attitude will change your perception and then the Soul; the 'Self' will reveal its formless, timeless, and spaceless true nature. If you are unable to grasp the truth hidden by the ‘I’ then you will never be able to grasp nonduality or Advaita.

First Mundaka - Chapter 2 (8) - Fools, dwelling in darkness, but wise in their own conceit and puffed up with vain scholarship, wander about, being afflicted by many ills, like blind men led by the blind.

Remember:~

It is you who is born in this world. It is you who is living in this world. And it is you who is going to die in this world in the future. Your birth, life, death, and the world in which you exist is nothing to do with the Self because the Self is not you but the Soul, the unborn eternal.

The Soul, the Self is hidden by the world in which you exist. It is hidden because the world in which you exist is merely a dualistic illusion or Maya created out of the Soul, the Self, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Without consciousness you and the world in which you exist cease to exist. Whatever you have seen, known, believed, and experienced within this illusory world is nothing but an illusion created out of consciousness.

Consciousness is ever-present Without consciousness the world, in which you exist ceases to exist.

Consciousness is Self-evident. It is not established by extraneous proofs. It is not possible to deny consciousness, because it is the very essence of the one who denies it. Consciousness is the basis of all kinds of knowledge, presuppositions, and proofs. Consciousness is everything. Thus, the consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.

Whatever you have seen, known, believed, and experienced as a person within the waking experience is bound to be an illusion created out of consciousness. Thus, the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness alone, is real and eternal. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

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

People are ignorant of the truth of their true existence. They think that the ‘Self’ is the ‘I’, without knowing the ‘I’ itself is an illusion.

People judge the truth on the false self (ego) within the false experience (waking). Therefore, they never are able to realize the truth, which is hidden by the illusory form, time, and space.

Until one makes sure of the Self is not the ‘I’, it is erroneous to judge and conclude the ultimate truth on the base of the ‘I’.

Realize the Self is not ‘I’ but the ‘Self’ is the ‘Soul’. The Soul is the witness of the ‘I’, which appears and disappears.

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

The ‘I’ is present only when the mind is present. The mind is present in the form of the universe. The universe appears as the waking or the dream (duality) and disappears as deep sleep (nonduality).

The one that becomes dual (I) and nondual (I-LESS) is the consciousness. Thus, all three states are nothing but consciousness. Consciousness alone is real and all the three states are merely an illusion.

When the conviction about consciousness becomes firm, then it leads to Advaitic awareness in the midst of the duality.

Thus, it is necessary to have a perfect understanding of ‘what is ‘what’ to realize the truth, which is hidden by the illusory form, time, and space.

Remember:~

There is no need of a Guru, to know you and your Guru and the world in which you exist are created out of a single stuff and that single stuff is the Soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness.

Knowledge of that single stuff is the Self-knowledge of Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. Gnana is given neither from outside nor from another person.

There is no need to follow anyone. There is no need to practice anything. A perfect understanding and assimilation of ‘what is what’ leads to the realization the truth, which is hidden by the illusory form, time and space.

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

~ then why you indulge in studying the scriptures.

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

~then why you indulge in studying philosophy.

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

~then why you indulge in rituals.

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

~then why you indulge in yoga.

Sage Sankara says 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.

Those who tell you that Brahman is unity, that you can get it only by intuition, that you should not reason, you should not question or inquire, are deluding you. Verification must come by thought. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

If you are seeking truth nothing but truth then you must not get stuck sentimentally to any Guru or yogi.

Some modern Gurus talk of surrendering to God without knowing what God supposed to be in truth. Just by saying open your heart and surrender nothing happens. Surrendering to the belief of God and surrendering to physical Gurus without realizing what ‘Self’ is in actuality is surrendering to ignorance.

Surrendering to the belief of God and physical Guru is a religious and yogic fable. What is the use of surrendering within the dualistic illusion?

Playing with the words and playing with the emotions leads only to hallucination.

The Guru who pretends to be Self- realized and plays with the emotions and sentiments of the seeker is a fraud, not a Gnani.

Only a perfect understanding of what is what’ leads to truth realization. The truth- realization is Self-realization. Self-realization is God-realization.

If you are seeking truth nothing but the truth then you must not get stuck to any Guru or yogi. Those who are seeking truth need not follow any Guru or any teaching.

Yoga Vasistha says: ~ Self-knowledge or knowledge of truth is not had by resorting to a Guru (preceptor) nor by the study of scripture, nor by good works: it is attained only by means of inquiry inspired by the company of wise (Gnani). One’s inner light alone is the means, naught else. When this inner light is kept alive, it is not affected by the darkness of inertia.

There is no need to condemn Gurus, but there is a need to highlight how they become an obstacle in realizing the ultimate truth or Brahman.

Swami Vivekananda said: ~ “You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher, but your own Soul.”

The Guru is useless so long as the ultimate truth is unknown, and Guru is equally useless when the ultimate truth or Brahman has already been known.

A Guru is needed in religious and the yogic path. There is no need for a Guru to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Self-knowledge will not arise from the exchange of views and opinions and arguments.+

Self-knowledge will not arise from the exchange of views and opinions and arguments. The accumulated knowledge is not a yardstick, to realize the truth beyond the form of time and space.

In the path of wisdom discussion of the important subject matter and creates a hindrance. The path of truth is the path of verification.

Nothing has to be accepted as truth without verification. Agreeing to disagree causes unnecessary friction.

The seeker must restrain himself from passing unimportant opinions in this Atmic path. Atmic path is not the path of discussion, but the path of realization of the truth, which is hidden by the illusory form, time, and space.

There is only one Reality to be known, the same for all seekers, but the ways to it, are hidden by the religion. Self-discovery is the only way, towards non-dual Absolute without any religious doctrines, which will help the seekers to unfold the mystery of the illusion in which we all are searching for the truth of our true existence.

Sages Sankara restrained himself parting the Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana to the mass and only a selected few. It was hidden from the people who were not qualified and receptive to it.

Self- knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana was not written down but was imparted orally to the chosen few. Thus, religion was given to the mass, and knowledge of the Spirit is given only to a selected few. Thus we find traces of the knowledge of the Spirit in the religious books in the form of parables.

Katha Upanishad says: ~ This Atman is attained by him alone whom It chooses. To such a one Atman reveals Its own form. (II -23-P-20)

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)

The Soul, the Self reveals ‘what is real’ and ‘what is unreal” when the seeker is receptive and ready.

Please dig into older posts and blogs you will find answers to all your questions. Without reading the full subject matter coming to a judgment on your own point of view is not wisdom.

There is no need to agree or disagree with what I say. If you are sure about what you know is the ultimate truth then why worry move on your chosen path.

Atmic path is not a question and answers session. Atmic path is not the path exchange views and opinion. I have bifurcated what is not needed to realize the truth, which is beyond the form, time, and space. I respect everyone's views and wisdom.

Some people expect me to comment on their individual views and opinion and experiences. I do not want to mix others' views opinions and experiences, which is of no use in the Atmic path. I share only what reveals to me from the inner core.

As with all things, achieving a balance of peaceful communications is established with respect, humility, understanding, and patience. Balancing an achievement is harder.: ~ Santthosh Kumaar

All the accumulated egocentric knowledge inadequate or useless in unfolding the mystery of the mind or universe.+

Everyone is holding some teaching or teacher or their accepted truth as a yardstick. All the accumulated egocentric knowledge inadequate or useless in unfolding the mystery of the mind or universe.

The ‘I’ is inborn samskara or conditioning, because of this inborn samskara or conditioning one has accepted the ‘I’ as the ‘‘Self’’, he is ignorant of the fact that the ‘I’ itself’ is the cause of ignorance. Because of this ‘I’ he has accepted illusion as a reality. Therefore, there is a need to realize ‘What is this ‘I’?’ in actuality. Without knowing ‘What is this ‘I’?’ in actuality it is impossible to unfold the hidden truth which is beyond the form, time, and space.

Until 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 truth of the whole. The ‘I’ hides the truth.

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)

It is time to discard the ‘I’. Never use the word the ‘I’ or I AM for the Self. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar 

Buddism rejects the existence of the Soul and criticizes Vedas. Even some modern thinkers endorse no Soul idea.+

Buddhism rejects the existence of the Soul and criticizes Vedas. Even some modern thinkers endorse no soul idea.

Buddhists do not believe in the existence of God but he believed in emptiness but they failed to recognize emptiness is the nature of the Spirit, God in truth.

The absence of the duality is wrongly called ‘nothingness’ or emptiness” by Buddhists. ‘Nothingness’ or emptiness – is the true nature of the Soul the   Self. The nature of the Soul which is present in the form of consciousness is unconditioned awareness. Here, awareness alone is the positive experience in deep sleep, and the sense of nothingness is the nature of the Soul which 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 Self. May ye never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman?" (10:48, 5)

On the Vedic perspective, the Atman is the support of all that exists in this universe. Without the Atman, the universe ceases to exist.

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

Sage Sankara:~VC-63- "Without knowing and examining the universe, one can’t know the Truth, as the idea that the external world exists, won't go. It can go only by an inquiry into the nature of the external world.

Sage Sankara says: ~ “What is accepted without a proper inquiry will not lead a person to the final goal. On the contrary, such acceptance will result only in evil, in something which is detrimental to our spiritual progress.

Buddhism has not proved the truth of Non-duality. There is no doubt Bhagavan Buddha pointed out the unreality of the world. He told people they were foolish to cling to it. But he stopped there. He came nearest to Advaita in speech but not to Advaita fully.

Without the Athma or Soul, there is no nonduality because, Without Athma or Soul, the universe ceases to exist. By rejecting the existence of the Soul they are rejecting the truth hidden by ignorance. Nonduality is the nature of the Soul, the Self. 

The Soul, the Self is Self-evident. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. It is not established by extraneous proofs. It is not possible to deny the Soul because it is the very essence of the one who denies it.

The Soul is the basis of all kinds of knowledge, presuppositions, and proofs. The Soul alone is real, all else is merely an illusion created out of the Soul which is present in the form of consciousness. :

Dalai Lama said:~ Buddhism need not be the best religion though it is most scientific and religion and inquisitive. But Buddhism has no answer to certain questions like the existence of Atama (Soul) and rebirth. Dali Lama said that as an individual he believes in rebirth as he had come across a few cases of rebirth. Modern science, Dalai Lama hoped would unearth the mystery behind the rebirth. (In DH –dec-212009-Gulbarga).

Sage Sankara disagrees with Buddhists who say, there is nothing - a nonentity. Sage Sri, Sankara believes there is some reality, even though things are not what they appear to be. If one knows the truth, he will know what to do to find inspiration for action. The seeker of truth‘s subject is to know what is it that is Real.

Buddhism says: all things are illusory and nothing exists. However, Advaita avers that it is not so. It says that the universe, of course, is illusory, but there is Brahman (consciousness), that exists forming the very substratum of all things (illusion or universe).

Remember:~

There are no individual Souls.

The Soul is not an individual. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. The Soul is the formless, timeless, and spaceless existence. The Soul is the cause of the universe which contains the whole of humanity. Thus, limiting the Soul to an individual is erroneous.

Sage Sankara asks his opponents "How do you know there are separate individual Souls? Have you seen the Soul of a man? You can only say that you have seen different bodies. To say more is to misuse language. Therefore I call you liars unless you give proof, which is impossible.

The Soul, the ‘Self’ is in the form of consciousness without the division of form, time, and space. The form, time, and space are merely an illusion created out of consciousness. The Soul, the ‘Self’, is the fullness of consciousness. In the cloud there is nothing other than the water, so too consciousness is nothing other than itself. Consciousness is absolute without a second.

The moon reflecting on the water and appearing as many, the ‘Self’ is just like the reflection of the moon on the water which increases with the volume of water and decreases with its reduction, which moves when the water moves, and which differs as the water differs. The moon seems to conform to the characteristics of water, but in reality, the moon never has these increasing or decreasing qualities. So also, from the highest point of view, consciousness always retains its sameness; it seems to conform to such characteristics as an increase and decrease of the limiting adjunct, owing to its entry into such an adjunct as a universe.

A thread is drawn from cotton and is woven into cloth. But the reality of cotton is in both of these forms, viz., thread, and cloth. Similarly, the projections of names and forms of this material universe on consciousness do not alter the nature of consciousness. It remains as it is without any change. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

How can you worship God? That implies two ~ the worshipper and the worshipped, whereas the God is nondual.+

Sage Sankara said: ~ Talk as much philosophy as you like, worship as many gods as you please, observe ceremonies, and sing devotional hymns, but the liberation will never come, even after a hundred aeons, without realizing the Oneness.

No religious Gods, which are based on blind belief can exist apart from consciousness, which is God in truth

According to Advaita Vedanta, the Veda addresses itself to two kinds of audiences - the ordinary ones who desire the transitory heaven and other pleasures obtained as a result of ritual sacrifices, and the more advanced seeker who seeks to know Brahman. Thus, the Purva mimam. sa, with its emphasis on the karma kanda of the Vedas, is meant for the first audience, to help lead its followers along the way. However, the Vedanta, with its emphasis on the jnana kanda, is meant for those who wish to go beyond such transient pleasures.

All the religious Gods with form and attributes cease to exist without the dualistic illusion.

Rig Veda: ~ The Atman is the cause; Atman is the support of all that exists in this universe. May ye never turn away from the Atman the Self. May ye never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman?" (10:48, 5)

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

When Upanishads and Vedas declare that, “God is present in 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 has to be realized not worshipped.

Advaitic Orthodoxy misinterpreted Sage Sri 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 or Maya.

Sage Sankara makes a distinction between the absolute view and the relative view of things.

Genuine philosophy must be independent of religion, that in Sage Sankara himself the Saguna Brahman or a personal God is only a part of the phenomenal (if not illusory) world, and the Nirguna Brahman is the only reality and has nothing to do with religion.

The Brahma Sutras together with Sage Sankara's commentary thereon do not contain the higher wisdom. They are intended for those who are incapable of thinking rationally.

Sage Sankara's commentary on the Brahma Sutras is not on a philosophical basis, but on an orthodox and mystic basis, with an appeal to the Vedas as a final authority.

In Brahma Sutra Sage Sankara takes the position that there is another entity outside us, i.e. the wall really exists separately from the mind. This was because Sage Sankara explains in Manduka that those who study the Sutras are orthodox minds, intellectual children, hence his popular viewpoint to assist them. These people are afraid to go deeper because it means being heroic enough to refuse to accept Sruti, and God's authority, in case they mean punishment by God. A Gnani says the scriptures for children, but wise seekers will think rationally.

In Brahma Sutras Sage Sankara takes for granted, assumes that a world was created: He there mixes dogmatic theology with philosophy.

That God created the world is an absolute lie, nevertheless one will find Sage Sankara (in his commentary on Vedanta Sutras) clearly says this! He has to adapt his teachings to his audience, reserving the highest for philosophical minds.

The text of Brahma Sutras is based on religion, dogmatism, but in the commentary Sage Sankara cleverly introduced some philosophy. If it is objected that a number of Upanishads are equally dogmatic because they also begin by assuming Brahman, only a few Upanishads do not but prove Brahman at the end of a train of proof.

Scholars' translation of Brahma Sutras in Sacred Books of East must be read cautiously as he has not understood its highest sense, e.g. for Advaita, they wrongly put "Unity" instead of “Non-duality."

Sage Sankara gave religion and scholasticism and yoga no less than philosophy, to the seeking world. He was great enough to be able to do so. His commentary on Manduka is pure philosophy, but many of his other books are presented from a religious standpoint to help those who cannot rise up to philosophy.

Remember: ~

All the orthodox ideas rejected by Sage Sankara. There is no need to indulge in rituals, in order to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman. There is no need to study philosophy, in order to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman then why you indulge in studying philosophy.

Sage Sankara pokes fun at ascetics and points out that all their austerities do not cause desires to go (Altar Flowers" Page 205, v.2 P.207 v.4)

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

Sage Sankara says the rewards of the rituals were not a matter of direct realization. The Advaitic wisdom is based on personal realization.

The orthodox Advaitin believes that rituals alone would lead one to higher levels of attainment. Further, the deities would reward only those entitled to perform the rituals alone. The entitlement involved the caste, creed, and other parameters.

The scriptural authority and value of rituals are part of the Advaitic orthodoxy, which is meant for ignorant people.

The Advaitic wisdom of Sage Sankara is nothing to do with religion, caste, rituals, worship, yoga, and other practices. Therefore an obvious disparity between Sage Sankara‘s path of Gnana and the path of Karma. The path of Gnana is meant for the advanced seeker of truth and the path of Karma is meant for the ignorant populace.

Even Sage Sankara appears and tells the orthodox people the path of orthodoxy is the path of ignorance, they will not be able to drop their inherited samskara or conditioning, which they think is the only way to reach heaven and reap happy life in the next life.

As regards the rituals, Sage Sankara says, 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.- (11- Adhyasa Bhashya)

The orthodox people only teach and preach their knowledge of ignorance but none of them wants to know the God in Truth, which is hidden by the dualistic illusion or Maya.

Remember:~

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 still remain in ignorance of the Atman the real God.

As a person, one performs rituals throughout his life. The person who performs rituals and aspires for rewards will view the world in which he exists as a reality. However, the Soul, the Self unborn eternal hidden by the world in which he exists. From the standpoint of the Soul, the world in which he exists is merely an illusion or Maya.

The scriptures dealing with rituals, rewards, etc. are therefore addressed to an ignorant person.

First Mundaka - Chapter 2 (9) ~ Children, immersed in ignorance in various ways, flatter themselves, saying: We have accomplished life's purpose. Because these performers of karma do not know the Truth owing to their attachment, they fall from heaven, misery-stricken, when the fruit of their work is exhausted.

First Mundaka - Chapter 2 (8) ~ Fools, dwelling in darkness, but wise in their own conceit and puffed up with vain scholarship, wander about, being afflicted by many ills, like blind men led by the blind.

Ish Upanishad declares:~ Those people who have neglected the attainment of Self-knowledge and have thus committed suicide 10/11/12

The religious orthodox people who have neglected the attainment of Self-knowledge and have thus committed suicide, as it were, are doomed to enter those worlds after death.

This is a condemnation of people who do not try to attain Self-knowledge. They are, in a real sense, committing suicide, for what can be worse than being a slave to sense enjoyment, completely oblivious of the real purpose of life, which is to be one’s, own master?

Sage Sankara says “he who knows the Brahman (God) is one and the ‘Self’ is another, does not know Brahman (God).”

Sage Sankara also asserts that Self is realized when All the effects of ignorance, root, and branch, are burnt down by the fire of Self- knowledge, which arises from discrimination between these two—the Self and the non-Self.

Sage Sankara’s Gnanic path can help the seekers draw and prepare them for the journey to the reality hidden by the dualistic illusion or Maya.

Remember:~

Sage Sankara says rituals and rites such as yajna or fire ritual meant for the ignorant populace. Sage Sankara asserts will not prepare the mindset for the journey to Self-knowledge.

Moral, ethics, love compassion, code of conduct, celibacy, karma, sin, temple worship, ancestor worship, heaven, and hell are concerned with the one which is born, lives, and dies in the world.

Moral, ethics, love compassion, code of conduct, celibacy, karma, sin, temple worship, ancestor worship, heaven and hell nothing to with the Soul, the Self because it is unborn eternal. It is unborn eternal because it is a formless, timeless, and spaceless existence.

Religion and yoga prevent seekers from attaining Self- knowledge.

According to Sage Sankara Atman, the unchanging entity itself is the ultimate reality or Brahman. Atman alone is real, while the universe is unreal. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar