The essence of Mundaka is:~Do not be satisfied with rituals, yoga, etc. but inquire. Into what? Brahman and Atman are things you can never see. So do not inquire into them. Inquire into the world around you, which you can see.+

Who am I?- inquiry is not Self-inquiry. Self-inquiry is finding out the ‘Self’ which is hidden by ‘I’.

The ‘I’ is present in the form of the world, in which we exist. By inquiring ‘Who am I?’, the ignorance will not vanish.

Without getting rid of ignorance, the Advaitic wisdom will not dawn.

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

The seeker has to make sure what is this ‘universe supposed to be?

The seeker has to make sure the unreal nature of the universe comes and goes to realize the truth, which is hidden by the universe.

The Soul is permanent is always there, only the transient universe comes and goes.

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

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

The universe hides the truth of the Soul, the Self, which is present in the form of consciousness.

That is why Sage Sankara says: - VC-65. 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.

People refuse to accept anything other than their Gurus words. For them, their Gurus words are the ultimate truth. They do not accept anything else other than their accepted truth. There is no need to convince such a mindset.

Such a mindset is not fit to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. The seekers of truth accept only the truth nothing but the uncontradictable truth.

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.

The essence of Mundaka is: Do not be satisfied with rituals, yoga, etc. which are good in their own way but inquire. Into what? Brahman and Atman are things you can never see. So do not inquire into them. Inquire into the world around you, which you can see. Science tells you it is passing away every second. Everything is dying repeatedly. Where is it going? Thus you follow up your inquiry into what you can lay hands on. How can you inquire into Atma which you cannot see? So first we deal with the known and seen, this inquiry leads up to the unknown in the end. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

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.+

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.

Swami Vivekananda: ~ “Advaita encompasses everything. Since Advaita requires heavy-duty intellectualism, it had to be progressively simplified. (From 'The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda)

Dattatreya's Song of the Avadhut: ~ “The ‘Self is the ultimate Reality; have no doubt. The Self is not something known by the mind; The Self is the very one who knows! How, then, could you think to know the Self? (1.36-42)

Path of wisdom is not for the orthodox populace. It is difficult for the orthodox people to accept the truth because they already accepted something else as truth because of their samskara or conditioning. It is difficult for them to accept anything other than their inherited conditioning.

Even Sage Sankara appears personally and tells them what they have accepted as truth is not truth; they will never be able to accept anything other than their accepted truth.

Orthodox people must follow their chosen path which makes them happy and gives them satisfaction. Without instance urge to acquire Self-knowledge it is impossible to tread the path of wisdom.

Bhagavad Gita says: ~ Among thousands of men, scarcely one strives for perfection; and of those who strive and succeed, scarcely one knows the ‘Self’ in truth.

The path of wisdom attracts only those who are in search of truth and they appreciate it greatly. The ignorant are not spiritually matured they receive Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. The ignorant indulge in argument and provocation and personal attack, which hinder their own realization of the ultimate truth or Brahman.

That is why Jesus said: - Do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you. (Matthew -7:6)

~ Jesus meant Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

Bhagavad Gita says: ~ “Don't unsettle the minds of ignorant by revealing the esoteric truth."

***

Katha Upanishad says: ~ This Atman is attained by him alone whom It chooses. (II -23-P-20)

Thus, those who have taken the path of wisdom are chosen ones. The chosen one will get the grace of the Soul the inner Guru. The path of wisdom is the Soulcentric path, whereas all other paths are egocentric. All egocentric paths are lead to hallucination.

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

Sages of truth restrained themselves parting the Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana to the mass and only a selected few. It was hidden from the mass who were not qualified and receptive to it. Self- it was given 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 to only a selected few. Thus we find traces of knowledge of the spirit in the religious books in the form of parables. : ~Santthosh Kumaar

In the Vedic era, a Brahmin was a person who had acquired Self- knowledge or Brahma Gnana Atma Gnana.+

The one who has realized the Brahman (God) is Brahmin, not the one who is born in the Brahmin caste.

In the Vedic era, a Brahmin was a person who had acquired Self- knowledge or Brahma Gnana Atma Gnana.

This was an extremely difficult path of the discipline of body, mind, and intellect, and people irrespective of their birth or class, who were dedicated to such an austere life, were recognized as Brahmins.

A great example of this tradition (that a person becoming a Brahmin, rather than born as one) is the case of Vishwamitra, a warrior (Kshatriya), who became a Brahmin after attaining Atma Jnana or Brahma Gnana or Self-Knowledge.

A smritis or code of conduct composed by Sage Atri defines Brahminhood very clearly.

"By birth, every man is a Shudra (an ignorant person). Through various types of disciplines (samskaras), he becomes a dwija (twice-born). Through the studies of scriptures, he becomes a vipra (or a scholar). Through the realization of supreme spirit (Brahma jnana), he becomes a Brahmin.”

The belief that people born in the Brahmin caste, automatically become Brahmins, is a much later concept in very ancient India. Thus, Brahmin means not a caste but one who has attained Atma Jnana or Brahma Gnana.

The one who has realized the Brahman (God) is Brahmin, not the one who is born in the Brahmin caste. Anyone can become Brahmin by acquiring Brahma Gnana.

The very concepts of castes by birth, upper/lower castes, superior/inferior castes, outcastes, untouchables, Dalits, etc. are clearly prohibited by Rig-Veda”.

A Brahmin is not a Brahmin merely because he is born out of a Brahmin mother’s womb. Nor he is a Brahmin merely because he is born in the Brahmin caste. Brahmin is not Caste it is the state of God. Anyone can become a Brahmin by acquiring Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

A Brahmin has acquired Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana or one who is free from ignorance.

He has got rid of ignorance; He has traveled beyond all bounds of form, time, and space. He is no longer tied to the illusory form, time, and space.

A person who has acquired Advaitic Gnana is a Brahmin, not a person who indulges in priestcraft.

A Brahmin is one who has got rid of the strap of ignorance by acquiring Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

A Brahmin is the one who freed himself from the dualistic illusion.

A Brahmin is one who has broken all links with the illusory form, time, and space by acquiring Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

Brahmin has taken off the cross-bar of ignorance. He has become aware of the truth is hidden by the ‘I’.

A Brahmin is abused and insulted by the ignorant. He is tortured, imprisoned, and bound up by the ignorant. But he endures all these without being provoked or without losing his temper.

A Brahmin has patience as his power and his firm conviction about the truth, which is hidden by the ‘I’.

A Brahmin is free from the ignorance of his true existence. He is not the performer of religious worship and rituals. He is not a scriptural scholar. He is restrained. He is fully aware of the fact that his individual experience of birth, life, death, and the world is an illusion created out of the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

The Brahmin is one who does not belong to any religion, caste, race, or nationality because he does not belong to the domain of form, time, and space. He, even being within the domain of the form, time, and space he is not of the form, time, and space.

The water does not get attached to the surface of the lotus leaf. The mustard seed does not get attached to the point of a needle. In the same way, the Brahmin does not get attached to religion or caste, race or nationality. He is non-attached from the world in which he exists even though he is in the world; he is not of this world.

A Brahmin has become aware of the fact that the world in which he exists itself is an illusion created out of consciousness. Brahmin is the one who is aware of the fact that Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana frees the Soul from the cage of the dualistic illusion.

A Brahmin possesses profound wisdom. He is full of insight. He is capable of discriminating the right path from the wrong path. He has reached the highest state.

A Brahmin is the one who has established in the reality of his true existence. He is not attached to the world in which he exists.

A Brahmin is the knower of Brahman. His speech is true. His words are well-meaning, constructive, and not harsh. By his words, he will not give offense to anyone. Nor will his words provoke people. He silently shares the Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

A Brahmin is the knower of Brahman. He has no attachments to the ‘I’ - He has no spiritual doubts due to his right awareness, He has entered the deathless existence.

A Brahmin is one who has traveled beyond form, time, and space and realized the true existence is formless, timeless, and spaceless.

The Soul is like the moon at the full - spotless and free of blemishes. The Soul, the Self is pure, calm, serene, and exceptionally tranquil.

A Brahmin has crossed over the quagmire of passion. He has gone beyond the difficult terrain of the dualistic illusion that is hard to traverse and has crossed the boundaries of ignorance. He is fully and totally reached the other shore.

He is in Self-awareness. His spiritual doubts are resolved. His quest is over He is no longer given to grasping. He is cooled.

A Brahmin is the one who has realized Brahman. He has given up the bonds that bind him to humanity. He has gone beyond the bounds of form, time, and space. He is disengaged from all bonds of the dualistic illusion.

A Brahmin is the one who has given up the religion and religious idea of God and religious rituals. . He has also given up yogic Samadhi and the practice of meditation. He has achieved total tranquillity of the formless, timeless, and spaceless existence. He has conquered the effortless reality with his mental effort.

A Brahmin knows the experience of birth, life, death, and the world is an illusion created out of the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. . He is not attached to the illusory experience of birth, life, death, and the world.

He has reached the destination which is beyond the illusory experience of birth, life, death, and the world. He possesses the knowledge of the essence which is the cause of the world in which he exists.

The path of truth is neither of Gods, nor of the religion, nor of the humans. All taints of ignorance are totally eradicated in the Atmic path. Those who tread the Atmic path have attained the highest spiritual knowledge.

He is a great Sage as he has realized the essentials. He has conquered the truth which is beyond birth, life, death, and the world. He is devoid of blemishes. He has washed away all the ignorance. He has awakened to the essentials.

He has his higher awareness. He has reached the state of a Sage. He has achieved the final perfection.

Brahmin is the one who has realized the Brahman (ultimate truth) and helps fellow seekers towards the inner path.

Mundaka Upanishad:~ As rivers flow into the sea and in so doing lose name and form, so even the wise man, freed from name and form, attains the Supreme Being, the Self-luminous, the Infinite. He who knows Brahman becomes Brahman. ~ 3.2.8-

The one who knows Brahman knows his body and his experience of the world are merely an illusion and also he knows his body and his experience of the world are also as Ataman (consciousness), which is Brahman.

Thus, the priestcraft which is crafted on the body-based theories will lead one to hallucinate Moksha. But real moksha or freedom is possible only through the Advaitic wisdom of Sage Sankara.:~Santthosh Kumaar

Self-awareness is an impossibility without the Advaitic wisdom of Sage Sankara.+

The difference between an ignorant man and a Gnani is the existence of doubt in the former and its destruction in the latter.”

The man does not become Brahman because the world in which man exists is merely an illusion. The illusion is created out of the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. In Self-awareness, the Soul remains in its own awareness.

Self-realization is impossible, without understanding ‘What is the mind?’ ‘What is the substance of the mind?’ and “What is the source of the mind?”.

The mind and its substance and its source are one in essence. That essence is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. By realizing consciousness alone, is real and all else is merely an illusion created out of consciousness.

The world in which we exist is created out of single stuff. That single stuff is the consciousness. This knowledge of the single stuff is Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana leads one to Self-awareness. Self-awareness is an impossibility without the Advaitic wisdom of Sage Sankara.

Remember:~

The mind is virtual, the world in which you exist. The seeker should know the nature of the mind.

It is an ancient truth preserved by the Sages of truth as a secret that the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness assumes the form of the world in which we exist."

What is lost is lost forever, it does not come back. Every minute the world is changing. In what way is this world different, then, from the momentary creations of the Soul?

The world is continually vanishing and vanishes forever. Those objects or ideas which seem to come back are really an illusion. Know that the Soul, the Self is only the witness of the illusion, and it is always apart from the illusion.

The Soul, the Self is within the illusion as the formless substance of the illusion and it is apart from the illusion because it is not an entity or identity or thing within the illusion. :~Santthosh Kumaar

The religion has to be bifurcated from Spirituality to understand the message of Jesus. When you drop religion and see the world with the eye of the Spirit, you will find the truth which frees humanity from the religious propagated myth.+

The religion has to be bifurcated from Spirituality to understand the message of Jesus. When you drop religion and see the world with the eye of the Spirit, you will find the truth which frees humanity from the religious propagated myth.

"Jesus said:~"Those who seek should not stop seeking until they find. When they find it, they will be disturbed. When they are disturbed, they will marvel, and will reign over all." (Gospel of Thomas 2)

Jesus said: ~” Know what is in front of your face, and what is hidden from you will be disclosed to you. (THE GOSPEL OF THOMAS- Saying 5)

"The Kingdom of God is inside you and all around you, Not in a mansion of wood and stone. Split a piece of wood and God is there, Lift a stone and you will find God." (Gospel of Thomas)

Gospel Thomas logian 22:~ Jesus saw infants being suckled. He said to his disciples, “These infants being suckled are like those who enter the kingdom.”

They said to him, “Shall we then, as children, enter the kingdom?”

Jesus's version of Advaita:~ Jesus said to them, “When you make the two one, and when you make the inside like the outside and the outside like the inside, and the above like the below, and when you make the male and the female one and the same, so that the male not be male nor the female is female; and when you fashion eyes in the place of an eye, and a hand in place of a hand, and a foot in place of a foot, and a likeness in place of a likeness; then will you enter the kingdom.”

That is why Jesus said: - Do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you. (Matthew -7:6)

~ Jesus meant knowledge of the Spirit, or Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana, or Atma Gnana.:~Santthosh Kumaar

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

Most of the religious Saints of the past are mostly social reformers, thus, they are more concerned with humanism rather than the truth. Their contribution is very valuable to humanity. Thus, humanism is limited to practical life within the practical world.

The path of love is the path for humanity; therefore, it is the individualized path. Thus, the path of love is limited to the physical structure; it cannot transport one to the ultimate end.

Thus, the seeker has to realize the fact that, from the ultimate standpoint the practical life within the practical world is merely an illusion created out of the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. Thus, love, hate, the world, in which you exist, cease to exist as a reality in self-awareness.

The simple reason is that the average person may have a desire for knowledge, but when the whole society is immersed in the belief system and feeling out of place because of societal fear and surrounding circumstances and he thinks, it unfits him, to pursue the path of truth.

Upanishads say humanitarian works as the highest; do not know any higher good. That is because from the ultimate standpoint the world in which humanity exists is the dualistic illusion.

Humanitarian works and services done within the dualistic illusion are bound to be an illusion. Thus, it does not qualify one for Self-realization.

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

First Mundaka - Chapter 2 - 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.

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.

Yoga Vasistha: The greatest Gnani: “His state is indescribable yet he will move in the world like anybody else," ..." Though acting after every feeling such as love, hate, fear and the like, he who stands unaffected within is said to be real jivanmukta."

Yoga Vasistha says of the Gnani: "He is a great worker." It also so says, that he keeps his body healthy, does not starve it.

The essence of Mundaka is: Do not be satisfied with rituals, yoga, etc. which are good in their own way but inquire. Into what? Brahman and Atman are things you can never see. So do not inquire into them. Inquire into the world around you, which you can see. Science tells you it is passing away every second.

Everything is dying repeatedly. Where is it going? Thus you follow up your inquiry into what you can lay hands on. How can you inquire into Atma which you cannot see? So first we deal with the known and seen, this inquiry leads up to the unknown in the end.

When Sage Sankara says the world is an illusion, it includes birth, life, and death, which happens within the world. Thus, the seeker's main aim is to mentally trace the formless substance of the illusion, which is also the witness of the illusion. The formless substance and witness of the illusion (world), is the Atman, and this Atman itself is Brahman.

This Brahman cannot be attained by indulging in egocentric religious orthodoxy.

The knower of Brahman is Brahmin, not the Brahmin who indulges in priestcraft, which leads one to utter darkness as per Yajur Veda. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

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.+

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 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.:~Santthosh Kumaar