Sage Goudapada: ~ There is no plurality here.The Soul through its powers appears to be many.+

There is no duality in reality but only unity in diversity in Self-awareness. Existence means existence in the sense of the Soul, the Self. 

When you reduce the universe into consciousness, then the non-dualistic existence is revealed.

Existence is nondual. Nonduality cannot be described by means of words for all uses of language fail to express it. Nonduality is sought to be indicated mentally negation of duality (all attributes and characteristics).

Sage Goudapad:~Duality is for the unwise, non-duality and undifferentiated Reality is for the wise and difficult to grasp.

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

 

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

The religious Guru preaches are mere ethics morals which may be helpful to live in the practical life within the practical world but all these codes of conduct are not helpful to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

The Self-declared spiritual Gurus propagate hearsay knowledge gathered from different sources containing any value because they are not Advaitic wisdom. ? Can such an instruction lack the value so they do not help to acquire Advaitic Gnana?

So, the world of a Gnani is the Soul, which is present in the form of Consciousness.

The garbage of the religious beliefs dogmas superstition is confounded with the human imagination. The great reality of the glory of the religious Gods is hyped and obscured by so much tinsel and commercialism.

Remember:~

Spirituality is not theology. Advaita is not a philosophy but Advaita is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God. Advaita is Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana or knowledge of the Spirit or God in truth

The word “Advaita” is one without the second. Advaita essentially refers to the Atman and the whole existence. Advaita is the fullness of consciousness without the division of form, time, and space.

Theology is nothing to do with spirituality. Advaita is pure spirituality. The theological Advaita is nothing to do with the Advaitic wisdom, which is based on the Spirit the Atman.

Theological Advaita is conceptual having its own doctrine is nothing to do with the Gnanic Advaita because Gnanic Advaita is Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

Both approaches are not workable together because the theological Advaita is based on the birth entity (ego) Gnanic Advaita is based on the Atman (Soul).

Thus, the theological Advaita has to be discarded without mercy to get Advaitic Gnana.

“Advaita” is a term used variously to express the unity of reality. Advaita is unity in diversity.

The seeker has to begin by defining "What is real?" "What is unreal?, to establish in Advaitic reality by sheer reasoning alone. The reasoning is the right way to realize the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space. People must first know what is the truth? and what is untruth’. :~Santthosh Kumaar

Religions breed superstition because religions are based on blind faith or blind belief.+

Swami Vivekananda: This bending the knee to superstitions, this selling yourself to your own mind does not befit you. The Soul, the Self is infinite, deathless, and birthless. Because the Self is infinite Spirit, it does not befit you to be a slave. ... Arise! Awake! Stand up and fight! Die if you must. There is none to help you. Self is the entire world. Who can help you?

Religions breed superstition because religions are based on blind faith or blind belief.

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

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: ~ 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)

The belief system 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, which is apart from the Self.

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 worshiper 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 apart.

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

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad declares: "He who worships the deities as entities entirely separate from him does not know the truth. For the Gods, he is like a pasu (beast)". (1. 4. 10)

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, which is apart from the Self.

People all over the world in the past and present accepted the idea of the existence of God. The fear of God injected by the religion was the root cause of worship, superstitions, and dogmas. The religious belief is passed on to the populace from one generation to the next generation.

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 innermost Self.

The belief system 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, which is apart from the Self.

Remember:~

People who are worshipping religious Gods are hallucinating about their Gods of belief as truth. They must know what God is supposed to be in truth according to their own scriptures. . First, they must know what is God without knowing the truth of God worshipping a false God leads to hallucination.

The existence of God or no God is only a belief. Belief is not the truth. Religion imposed people to blindly follow their inherited belief verification. Religion is based on blind belief. Every religion has its own beliefs and dogmas. Religion discourages people to verify whether it is based on truth or not.

That is why 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.

Lord Krishna himself says that he can do nothing to make a man intelligent straight away. The adepts give Prasad, blessing, initiations, mantrams, etc. only to confer temporary peace of mind, to help one to get rid of worries, but not to confer Gnana. The capacity to receive it must first be inborn in man by evolutionary degree.

All sect-based beliefs are dualistic and unphilosophical nothing to do with the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth. In spirituality, the ultimate truth is God in truth. Vedic God is nothing to do with the religious Gods and goddesses.

Realize that God is the Soul, the Self. Nothing is real but Soul which is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth. Nothing matters but love for the Soul, which is God in truth. The Soul is God in truth is everywhere and does everything.

The Soul is God in truth God is beyond form, time, and space. The Soul is God in truth is everything. The Soul is God un truth alone is real and all else is an illusion. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Sage Goudpada: ~ To establish the truth of Non-duality by sheer reasoning alone.+

Sage Goudpada: ~ To establish the truth of Non-duality by sheer reasoning alone. He begins by defining "What is real?" "What is unreal?" etc, because that is the right way to inquire and reason. People must first know what they are talking about. (Manduka Karika)

When Arjuna says in Verse 63, Chap.18, Gita, that all his doubts are cleared, he means his doubts on every question. But this happy state could not have been reached if he had not begun by having doubts without inquiry and reasoning.

When Lord Krishna tells Arjuna to overcome doubt by the sword of wisdom, he does not mean that Arjuna should give up his doubt and believe, as the Pundits interpret it, but that he should keep on thinking and reasoning deeply about his doubts until they are solved; that he should not stop until a nondual point is reached.

On the other hand, as Gita says, never be satisfied with mere skepticism, have the hope that your doubt will be solved, and go forward.

In the confusing multiplicity of doctrines, each has his own theory, he does not have time to think and inquire if it is true. Yet doubt is the first step to knowledge for the thoughtful.

Reason tells you what is truth and what is untruth, what should be accepted as truth and what should be considered as untruth.

 Bhagavad Gita: ~ Reason as means to reality. (Chap.18 verse 37)

In chap. 10 of in Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says: ~ I cannot save you, but I can give you Buddhi (reason). (chap. 10)

In chap. 10 of in Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says: ~ "I have given you the most secret teaching, now reflect over it all" Krishna plainly says reflect, think. (Verse 63 of Chap. 18)

Ashtavakra Gita: ~ It is not the absence of Buddhi that can grasp Advaita but the man who possesses the highest intellect. Brains are necessary. Such a man, by merely hearing the truth mentioned will know it. (Page~ 224).

The mystic must become a constant slave to some line of "thought" or rather imagination, and then he will really see visions confirming his imaginations.

The mystic who sees God in vision has seen Him during the waking state. The waking experience itself is an illusion. Thus, whatever is seen within the illusion is bound to be an illusion. Thus, it is necessary for the mystic to realize his existence is a reality within the illusion.

Whatever belief of God one is familiar with through his inherited conditioning or samskara that he will see in his visions. When a man is a false self within the false experience, then whatever he believes is bound to be a falsehood.

God is the Soul, the Self. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. God is not within you, but you and your experience of the world are within God. Self-realization is God-realization because the Soul, the Self itself is God in truth. When you and your experience of the world disappear then God alone prevails as a formless, timeless, and spaceless existence.: ~ Santthosh Kumaar 

Without longing for Truth-realization, Self-realization is an impossibility.+

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

Without longing for Truth-realization, Self-realization is an impossibility.  

Gnani rightly distinguishes between permanent and impermanent, acquires Self-knowledge; and feels a deep yearning to be free from ignorance. The seeker has to ponder over what he has read in my posts and blogs.

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 detrimental to our spiritual progress.

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).

By inquiring Who is that you. Noting is gained. The inquirer himself is the ego. Without the ego, you do not exist. The Self is not you because you are the ego.

The Self is not you but the Self is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

The seeker has to drop all his egocentric accumulated knowledge and only then he is fit to grasp Self-knowledge.: ~Santthosh Kumaar

Prohibition of idol worship in Yajurveda.+

The ancient peoples of India belong to the Vedic religion or Santana Dharma; therefore, they have nothing to do with present-day Hinduism.

The Vedas do not talk about idol worship. In fact, till about 2000 years ago followers of Vedism never worshiped idols. Idol worship was started by the followers of Buddhism and Jains. There is logic to idol worship. Vedas speak of one God that is the supreme ‘Self’ in i.e. Atman or Soul but Hinduism indulges in worshiping 60 million Gods.

It indicates clearly all the Gods with form and attributes are mere imagination based on the false ‘Self’.

A great majority of Hindus are not in contact with their religious history therefore, they believe their inherited beliefs as the ultimate truth.

Hinduism is not the Ancient Vedic religion or Santana Dharma. And all Hindus indulge in non-Vedic practice barred by the Vedas introduced by the different founders of the different sects of Hinduism at a different time, 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 is realizing the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.

While they do not accept the texts past the Vedas, they are still monists and uphold other Hindu views. In their reformations, they rejected Brahminical control and they are open to all castes and women.

Hinduism is based on myths and thus people of Indian are unaware of the facts of their inherited religious history. The Vedic Culture and Vedas are complete in themselves but Hinduism which is a non-Vedic belief system with all rituals and conduct-oriented practices has been contributed largely by the orthodox priests to suit their convenience!

Vedic Gods, hardly have any significance in the present-day Hindu belief system. Gods and Goddesses important to the Hindus of today are Ram, Krishna, Kali, Ganesh, Hanuman, Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, and the respective consorts of the last three, namely, Saraswati, Lakshmi, and Shakti. None of these deities figured prominently in the Vedic pantheon and some of them are clearly non-Vedic.

Vedic God is Atma, the Self, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Vedas says God is Supreme Spirit has no idol or form. God cannot be seen directly by anyone. God pervades all beings and all directions.

Rig Veda:~ Prajnanam Brahma: - Consciousness is the ultimate reality or Brahman(God).

Do not accept any other God other than the Soul. The Soul is God in truth,  Nothing is real but the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. Nothing matters but realize  God in truth. God in truth is everywhere and in everything. Let these words be inscribed in your subconscious.

God in truth is hidden by the illusory universe. God in truth alone is real and eternal and all else is an illusion.

Brahman is merely a word to indicate the ultimate truth or God in truth.  The ultimate truth itself is 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)

Rig-Veda 1-164-46 and Y.V 32-1 clearly mention that God is “One”.

Rig Veda declares God is ‘ONE’ and God is Atman, then why believe and worship in place of real God.

Hinduism is nothing to do with Sanatana Dharma, which existed 2500 years prior to Hinduism.  

Until we bifurcated Sanatana Dharma from Hinduism it is very difficult to know what God is supposed to do in truth.

Hinduism is nothing to do with Sanatana Dharma, which is based on Vedas.

Sanatana Dharam has no founder Sanatana Dharam religion is without a caste system whereas Hinduism is based on different caste founded by the different founders. 

Vedas are the most sacred scriptures of Sanatana Dharma. Principally there are four Vedas and amongst all the Vedas, the Rigveda is the most sacred and oldest. 

Prohibition of idol worship in Yajurveda: ~

Yajur Veda – chapter- 32:~ God is  Supreme Spirit has no ‘Pratima’ (idol) or material shape. He cannot be seen directly by anyone. He pervades all beings and all directions. 

Thus, Idolatry does not find any support from the Vedas.

Yajurveda: ~ There is no image of God in truth. God in truth is unborn eternal. " (Yajurveda, Chapter 32, Verse 3)

Yajurveda: ~God in truth is nondual and pure" (Chapter 40, Verse 8) 

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." (Yajurveda, Chapter 40, Verse 9) 

Hindus worship idols but worship Gods with attributes through an image.  God without attributes is undefined and cannot be worshipped. idol worship is prohibited in Sanatana Dharma or Vedic religion. :~Santthosh Kumaar 

God in truth is Self-evident. God in truth is not established by extraneous proofs. It is not possible to deny God in truth because God in truth is the very essence of the one who denies it.+

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

Do not accept any other God other than the Soul. The Soul is God in truth,  Nothing is real but the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. Nothing matters but realize  God in truth. God in truth is everywhere and in everything. Let these words be inscribed in your subconscious.

God in truth is hidden by the illusory universe. God in truth alone is real and eternal and all else is an illusion.

Brahman is merely a word to indicate the ultimate truth or God in truth.  The ultimate truth itself is God in truth. 

Remember:~

God in truth is Self-evident. God in truth is not established by extraneous proofs. It is not possible to deny God in truth because God in truth is the very essence of the one who denies it. God in truth is the basis of all kinds of knowledge, presuppositions, and proofs. God in truth is hidden by the universe in which you exist, God in truth is the cause of the universe in which you exist.

God in truth is the Supreme Being the One eternal homogeneous essence, indivisible consciousness, and intelligence, which is beyond form, time, and space. To which the Sages describe in a variety of ways through diverse words.

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

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."

Bhagavad Gita: ~ Brahmano hi pratisthaham ~ Brahman (God) is considered the all-pervading consciousness, which is the basis of all the animate and inanimate entities and material. (14.27).

When Bhagavad Gita says, God is considered the all-pervading consciousness which is the basis of all the animate and inanimate entities and material then nothing has to be accepted as God other than consciousness.

Lord Krishna Says Ch ~V: ~ “Those who know the Self in truth.". The last two words (tattvataha) are usually ignored by pundits, but they make all the difference between the ordinary concept of God and the truth about God.

The dualistic worship of "God” is only for the ignorant populace. The God in truth is only Atman, the innermost Self. In reality, there are no dualities, no differentiation. Only Atman exists. ~Santthosh Kumaar

Advaitic path of wisdom is neither a teaching nor a theory but it is merely guidance to those who are seriously seeking the ultimate truth or Brahman.+

Advaitic wisdom is nothing to do with Advaitic orthodoxy. As per Sage Sankara, Advaitic orthodoxy is meant for the ignorant populace.

Advaitic wisdom is buried under religion and yoga and other philosophies. The Advaita is hidden by the Dvaita. Advaita is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. Dvaita is the illusory universe.

Sage Sankara’s wisdom is not a teaching or philosophy but Advaita is the universal wisdom.  Advaitic path of wisdom is neither a teaching nor a theory but it is merely guidance to those who are seriously seeking the ultimate truth or Brahman. Grasp the ultimate truth anytime, any age, if the seeker has the spiritual maturity and capacity to grasp it.

Adyatma is nothing to do with religious sects or creeds and religious beliefs or any philosophy or thinkers teaching. Adyatma is pure spirituality. Knowledge of Atma is Adyatma. Advaita is Adyatma. 

Adyatma is the knowledge of the truth beyond the illusory form, time, and space. Bifurcate religion, yoga, and theoretical philosophy and base the truth on the Athma it is Adyathma.

Adyatma is based on the ultimate truth which is based on the Atman or Spirit, which is the Self.

Sage Sankara's Advaitic wisdom is pure spirituality or Adyathma.

Remember:~

It really depends on his inborn natural capacity to understand and assimilate it. Sage Sankara’s wisdom is a Self-examiner, to test oneself to discover how near to Gnana he has approached and what progress has already been made on the path, and what still remains to be done. It sets up the criterion for Self-judgement. There are millions in search of truth but one in million will be able to grasp it.

Without Sage Sankara, there is no Advaita (nonduality). Since it was mixed up with orthodoxy there is a lot of confusion. I am highlighting all the obstacles, which are blocking one from realizing the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.

There are so many non-dualistic masters of the east and also from the west who expound Advaitic or non-dualistic knowledge but none of them are helpful to reach the ultimate end.

Lord Krishna confesses that the oldest wisdom of India (Advaitic wisdom) has been lost: people misinterpret and falsify it today as they did then. It is not yoga but the philosophic truth. But nobody knows it. The teachers of philosophy and leaders of mysticism or religion do not want to inquire into truth and have no time for it. (Gita –Chap- IV-v.2)

In Gita Chap.IV where Lord Krishna says: ~ "This yoga has been lost for ages" the word yoga refers to Gnana yoga, not other yogas: the force of the word this is to point this out.

Lord Krishna describes some of the other yogas but devotes this chapter separately to Gnana Yoga. So one sees even in those ancient days people did not care for Advaita; they wanted religion; hence Gnana got lost. That is why Krishna calls it "the supreme secret." Krishna points out that the yoga must-see is "Brahman in action."

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.

The seeker has to realize the Self is not 'I' but the Self is Soul to find liberation from the bondage of the illusion of birth, life, death, and the world (duality). The goal of human life is to find and realize Soul, the Self, which is hidden by ignorance. :~Santthosh Kumaar