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.+

When the river merges with the ocean then it loses its identity. When the dualistic universe merges with consciousness, then there is nondualistic reality.

Manduka Upanishad:~ Objects do not disappear, they are there, and yet they are non-dual. Disillusionment is not the same as appearance. Page 74. v. 17

Look into the nature of the universe. And you will be able to see that the universe by its very nature is illusory. The moment you understand that the universe is illusory, ignorance disappears and Self-awareness arises.

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-

Self-awareness is the state of non-dual reality. That is the state of Advaita.

People never realize non-dualistic awareness through religion and yoga.

Self-awareness is raised only by mentally transcending the dualistic illusion into non-dualistic reality.

Manduka Upanishad: ~ Whoever distinguishes between a cause and an effect is a dualist, whether he says the world came from nothing or from something. (p.251)

Existence cannot be a cause and effect at the same time, from the point of view of the dualists, but deeper Self-search shows the Existent is no two and causality can’t rise at all.

The real existence is formless, timeless, and spaceless. The form, time, and space are merely an illusory existence.

Sage Goudapada quotes from the Upanishads: ~ "There's 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.

Thus, 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 invisible Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness alone, is real and eternal.

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, consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.

Remember:~

The cause and effect are possible only in the domain of form, time, and space. Therefore, the cause and effect are part of the dualistic illusion or Maya.

In non-dualistic reality, there is no duality. The dualistic theory says that whatever was in the cause was also in the effect. They say that the gold brick, the gold medal, the gold ornaments-- are in the seed--the gold. Deeper self-search reveals the fact that, if cause and effect are one, what is the difference between the two?

The nature of the invisible Soul is a silent, featureless one without attributes. The invisible Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, is not an object but is always the subject.

The truth is beyond form, time, and space. Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana dispels ‘Ignorance’.

The Self is the invisible Soul. The invisible Soul is present in the form of consciousness; there, the object has become one with the subject. There is only unity in diversity.

Consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman. Consciousness is ‘the one without a second’, the one which alone exists as the ultimate reality.

Sage Sankara’s Supreme Brahman is impersonal, Nirguna (without Gunas or attributes), Nirakara (formless), Nirvisesha (without special characteristics), immutable, eternal, and Akarta (non-agent). It is above all needs and desires. It is always the Witnessing Subject. It can never become an object as it is beyond the reach of the senses. Brahman is non-dual, one without a second. It has no other beside it. It is destitute of difference, either external or internal. Brahman cannot be described because the description implies a distinction. Brahman cannot be distinguished from any other than It. In Brahman, there is no distinction between substance and attribute. Sat-Chit-Ananda constitutes the very essence or Svarupa of Brahman, and not just its attributes. The Nirguna Brahman of Sage Sankara is impersonal.

The invisible Soul remains in its own nondual awareness. The illusion (mind) does not merge with the invisible Soul because it is never really separated from it.

The invisible Soul remains the one without a second (Advaita). The invisible Soul’s separation is an illusion, the result of ignorance, which, when dispelled, the hidden reality shines as a formless, timeless, and spaceless existence:~Santthosh Kumaar

A person who says he is enlightened is not enlightened because in the realm of truth there is, neither the person nor the world exists as a reality.+

A person who says he is enlightened is not enlightened because in the realm of truth there is, neither the person nor the world exists as a reality.

A person is saying I am enlightened within the illusory world, so it has no value.

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 invisible Soul, the inner Guru.

The path of wisdom is the Soulcentric path, whereas all other paths are egocentric. All egocentric paths lead to hallucination.

The invisible 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 masses and only a select few. It was hidden from the masses 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 ignorant populace, and knowledge of the spirit is given to only a select few. Thus, we find traces of the knowledge of the spirit in the religious books in the form of parables.

Till Advaitic wisdom dawns, the seeker keeps verifying with all points of view from all angles, and shares his views. For some, it is helpful; for others, it is not so. The pursuit of truth is not the pursuit of exchange of views and argument, nor is sharing knowledge any kind of sermon.

If someone acquired Self-knowledge and shares their acquired knowledge with others, they cannot say that there is nothing for them to do.

Everyone has to discover afresh for themselves by verifying all the facts. Each one has to grasp, assimilate, and realize it until he gets a firm conviction of the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.

The individual is present only when the world is present. So, the individual exists within the world.

From the standpoint of the invisible Soul, the ‘Self’, the world is merely a dualistic illusion created out of the invisible Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

There is no individual. There is no second thing that exists, other than consciousness, because there is no duality in reality.

The urge to discover the truth cannot be imposed; it must grow within. One need not search for a physical Guru because the Guru is within to guide every seeker.

It is foolish to impose our ideas on others because not everyone is on the same level of understanding.

Everyone's inner work is on. When they are ripe enough, they will understand, assimilate, and realize on their own.

If they are ready and sharp enough, they will grasp it instantly, and they will reach their destination with less time and effort.

Arguing and provoking are not wisdom, but by deeper reasoning, the seeker has to determine the nature of reality.

Thinking in the right direction alone helps the seeker determine the nature of reality. : : ~ Santthosh Kumaar 

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.+

People demand proof, but they are unaware that their own existence is dependent on the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

The onus is on them to prove that the world in which they exist exists without consciousness.

Scientists now conclude that you are not the brain (body). Consciousness requires the joint operation of the brain, body, and the world. "You are not your brain. The brain, rather, is part of what you are."

Max Planck - The father of quantum physics says:~ Science has no answer to it. Science cannot solve the ultimate mystery of nature.

And that is because, in the last analysis, we ourselves are part of the mystery that we are trying to solve. 

Remember:~ 

Until the scientists become the seekers of the truth of their existence, the truth will not be revealed. The truth of the whole cannot be got under the microscope. 

When all their invention fails to yield the truth, they have to use their reason to reach the ultimate core of their existence. :~ 

The Biology of Consciousness by Alva Noë. Hill and Wang, 2009

Alva Noe, a University of California, Berkeley, philosopher, and cognitive scientist, argues that after decades of concerted effort on the part of neuroscientists, psychologists, and philosophers, "only one proposition about how the brain makes us conscious ... has emerged unchallenged: we don't have a clue." The reason we have been unable to explain the neural basis of consciousness, he says, is that it does not take place in the brain. Consciousness is not something that happens inside us, but something we achieve; it is more like dancing than it is like the digestive process. To understand consciousness, that we think and feel, and that the world shows up for us, we need to look at a larger system in which the brain is only one element. Consciousness requires the joint operation of the brain, body, and the world. "You are not your brain. The brain, rather, is part of what you are."

Thus, science is going in the right direction in its invention, and one day it will declare that everything is consciousness, which Sage Sankara declared 1200 years back ~ everything is Atman, because Atman is in the form of the consciousness

The universe in which you exist is nothing but an illusion created out of the Soul, which is present in the form 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, consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.

Man cannot live without the physical world; it is the basis of his life, so it must be the starting point of his inquiry. Things, not imaginations, must be the seeker's material.

The one who knows the ultimate truth or Brahman knows the world in truth because they see the world in the nondualistic perspective.

One who loses touch with the external world and gives himself over to his thoughts alone takes his illusions to be the reality and remains in the realm of a perverted intellectualism. Perverted intellectuality is nothing but an egoic exhibition.

The look of an object will depend upon the medium through which the observer views it. In fact, our mental and intellectual conditions determine the world, observed and experienced. The commoner viewing the world will see it differently from a Gnani viewing the same world. Each one interprets the world that they see in terms of their existing knowledge. The commoner sees everything based on the ego; therefore, he experiences the birth, life, death, and the world as a reality, whereas a Gnani sees everything as consciousness, and he is fully aware of the fact that there is no second thing that exists other than the Soul or consciousness.

Thus, all the egocentric (religious) adulteration has to be bifurcated to realize the ultimate truth, which is beyond form, time, and space. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Manduka Upanishad:~ Yoga is in the sphere of duality and is unnecessary to one who knows non-duality. Nirvikalpa gives only the idea of the Soul but not the truth of the whole.+

Manduka Upanishad:~ Yoga is in the sphere of duality and is unnecessary to one who knows non-duality.

In Yogic Samadhi, the yogi is unaware of the universe, and hence of the ultimate truth or Brahman. To talk of Brahman without knowing the meaning of the universe is like utterly meaningless. Nirvikalpa gives only the idea of the Soul but not the truth of the whole.

Yogi thinks of the blankness or thoughtlessness in his samadhis as Brahman.

It is not enough to see a mere blank, Nirvikalpa. You have to see the invisible Soul, the universal Self, which is the cause of the world in which you exist, and it, itself, is uncaused.

The Soul, the Self, is free from ignorance, not when it sees nothing at all, as in Yogic Samadhi, but only when it sees this entire universe in itself. Hence, there is a need to know

“What is this universe?”

The attention must be drawn to the external world. Advaitic wisdom is the only weapon to bring peace, love, harmony, and universal welfare. This is the highest aim of Advaita to realize that the world in its essence is Advaita.

It is no use seeing the personal God everywhere. You must see the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness everywhere, and then you will be able to treat the world in which you exist as consciousness.

Panchadasi: ~ the impossibility of yoga arriving at a successful end to its practices. P.509 v, 109

The ‘Self’-realization through yoga is not philosophic. Every yogi who shuts himself in a cave is not thereby freed from thinking.

Yoga can lead only to temporary peace because the world is subject to change. Only Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana can yield Advaitic awareness in the midst of form, time, and space. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

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

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

The word Hinduism was first used by British writers in the year 1830 to describe the multiplicity of the faiths of the people of India.

In Encyclopaedia Britannica, it says: - The word Hinduism was first used by the British writers in the year 1830 to describe the multiplicity of the faiths of the people of India, excluding the converted Christians. (Volume- -20, Reference -581)

That is the reason today, the majority of scholars say that the word Hinduism is a misnomer.

The correct word should be Santana Dharma, the eternal religion, or the Vedic Dharma, the religion of the Vedas.

Swami Vivekananda says: - The word Hindu is a misnomer; the correct word should be a Vedantin, a person who follows the Vedas.

Hinduism incorporates a vast pantheon of deities, some of whom are manifestations or combinations of others. Most of the deities mentioned in the Vedas are no longer worshipped; much of today's popular devotion centres around the major deities of Shiva, Vishnu, and the Goddess.

Hinduism is not the Ancient Vedic religion or the Santana Dharma. And all Hindus indulge in non-Vedic practices barred by the Vedas introduced by the different founders of the different sects of Hinduism at different times, whereas the Vedic religion, or Santana Dharma, is ancient and has no founder.

Thus, to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana, the seeker has to realize that his inherited religion is adulterated in the past, and it becomes a great obstacle in realizing the ultimate truth or Brahman.

While they do not accept 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, the people of India 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 largely contributed to by the orthodox priests to suit their convenience!

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

Hindus are idol worshipers of a large number of Gods and Goddesses, whereas in the Vedas God has been described as:-

Max Müller says ~ "The religion of the Veda knows no idols; the worship of idols in India is a secondary formation, a degradation of the more primitive worship of ideal Gods."

In the Vedas, God has been described as:~

Yajurveda – chapter- 32:~God is the 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.

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

The Vedas, as a body of scripture, contain many contradictions, and they are fragmentary in nature. For Hindus, scriptures like the Bhagavad-Gita, Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Puranas are more attractive and appealing than the Vedas. And also the Gods and Goddesses they worship differ considerably from the Vedic ones.

The collection of hymns in the Vedas, which is written in praise of certain deities by poets over several centuries, does not seem to have much significance for the Hindus. :~Santthosh Kumaar

Until one thinks of his body as body, ego as ego the universe as the universe, he remains in ignorance, because he is still in ignorance, and he is unaware of the fact that, they too are consciousness.+

The invisible Soul is the Self. The invisible Soul is present in the form of consciousness. 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 the true Self or God in truth.

Consciousness is within, the consciousness is without; consciousness is before, consciousness is behind; consciousness is on the right, consciousness is on the left; consciousness is above, and consciousness is below.

Until one thinks of his body as body, ego as ego, the universe as the universe, he remains in ignorance, because he is still in ignorance, and he is unaware of the fact that they too are consciousness.

Blinded by the illusion, very few grasp the non-dualistic or Advaitic truth. Only a few escape from the web of illusion; only a few will be able to acquire nondualistic or Advaitic wisdom.

The non-duality has to be grasped in the midst of the waking experience (duality or mind or universe). That is, being aware of the truth and untruth, reality and unreality. And able to establish himself in the truth and able to view and judge, the three states, on the base of the invisible Soul, the Self.

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

Unfortunately, people are stuck with their accumulated ideas based on the false self, imagine nonduality, and say nothing exists other than the source. But a Gnani says everything exists (illusion), but everything is created out of the Soul (Spirit or consciousness).

Everything rises from the Soul (spirit or consciousness) and subsides as Soul (spirit or consciousness). Thus, the whole diversity has no relevance from the standpoint of the invisible Soul as Self.

Everything (universe or illusion or matter) is consciousness (Soul or Spirit) realizing the three states are created out of consciousness (Soul or Spirit).

Awareness is the nature of the Soul (spirit or consciousness) because there is no second thing that exists other than the invisible Soul or consciousness. Thus, consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth : ~Santthosh Kumaar

There is neither creation nor creator in the nondualistic reality because there is no scope for the duality of any sort.+

The creator and creation is a theory based on the false self within the false experience.

There is neither creation nor creator in the nondualistic reality because there is no scope for the duality of any sort. ,

The ultimate conclusion is this: there is no second thing that exists other than consciousness. Everything is consciousness, thus diversity has no value in light of Advaitc wisdom.

Thus, recognizing the mind or the illusion or the universe or duality or the three states as consciousness in the midst of diversity brings unity in diversity.

Remember:~

God created the world is an absolute lie; nevertheless, you 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 objected that, many Upanishads are equally dogmatic because they also begin by assuming Brahman, but a few Upanishads do not, but prove Brahman at the end of a train of proof.

The causality and creation are for religious people only. Religion is only for those who are unable to understand the truth beyond form, time, and space.

Remember:~

The creator and creation theory is based on the dualistic perspective. From the ultimate standpoint, the duality is not a reality. From the non-dualistic perspective, there is neither creation nor creator because the duality is merely an illusion.

The cause and effect theory holds good only when one views and judges the worldview on the base of the false self (ego or you) as the real Self and the false experience (waking) as a reality.

When the seeker learn to view the three states on the base of the invisible Soul, the Self, then he becomes aware of the true fact that there is nothing exists other than the invisible Soul, which is in the form of consciousness.

Consciousness pervades everything and everywhere in all three states. The nature of the three states is consciousness. In the absence of the three states, consciousness alone exists as a formless, timeless, and spaceless existence.

People who believe in God as a creator will not be able to cross beyond the barricade of the experience of duality. They get stagnant in believing duality or physical existence (universe) as a reality.

The seeker has to realize first, ‘What is the Self? ' Then only it is possible to overcome this dualistic illusion (universe). Without realizing that the Self is not you, it is impossible to realize the Advaitic truth, which is hidden within form, time, and space.

One who is stuck with his accumulated knowledge from here and there and accepts it as the ultimate truth is not receptive to receiving Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana, or Atma Gnana.

The seeker has to verify every angle through soulcentric reasoning and accept the only uncontradicted truth. The spiritual truth cannot be contradicted. Religious truth is individual, not universal.

The idea of God as a creator holds good theoretically. This idea of God is introduced by the organized religion and rulers in the past, to keep the populace in their control by conditioning the mass mindset, to be, to believe, to behave, and live in the society by strictly following its ethics and code of conduct. But this idea of God becomes the biggest obstacle to the pursuit of truth because one is unable to cross the threshold of the dualistic illusion (universe).

When the dualistic illusion is accepted as a reality, then birth, life, death, and the world will prevail as a reality. Thus, one thinks whatever one has seen, known, believed, and experienced as a person as a reality, without realizing the world in which he exists is merely an illusion.

In Self–awareness, there is neither the creator nor the creation because the creator and creation are one, in essence.

The world, in which you exist, is created of single stuff. That stuff is consciousness. Therefore, the diversity within consciousness is merely an illusion. There is no second thing other than consciousness. Hence, it is nondual.

From the non-dualistic perspective, there is nothing that exists, nothing ever existed; nothing will ever exist other than consciousness.::~Santthosh Kumaar