Celibacy and living in a monastery was always strange to Vedic religion.+

As one goes deeper in research, one finds that - Celibacy and living in a monastery were always strange to the Vedic religion. In fact, almost all the great sages of the Puranas and the Vedas were householders.

Observing celibacy and the monastery system in the Vedic religion is influenced of Buddhism and Jainism. Hinduism is a mixture of Vedic, Jain and Buddhist, and many other ideologies. The pure essence of Santana Dharma is lost by adopting the ideologies of many other ideologies.

There is no need to renounce anything, other than ignorance. Renouncing worldly life and becoming a sanyasi is not needed for Self-realization.

Sanyasa is not the means to Self-Realization. Sanyasa has nothing to do with the ultimate truth.

Whatever is renounced on the base of the physical Self cannot be the qualification to acquire Self-knowledge.

A Gnani is aware of the fact that the Soul is the true Self, and the three states are unreal.

There is no use in giving up worldly life and becoming a monk or sanyasi to get Self-realization because all physical action is part of the illusion. The Illusion is caused by the ignorance of the true Self.

When the Self is not physical, then what is the use of renunciation, which is based on the physical Self?

Renunciation is a religious idea, and it is the greatest obstacle in the pursuit of truth. The sanyasi thinks he is an individual separate from the world, therefore, he will not be able to renounce ignorance. Therefore, he is not qualified for Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana, or Atma Gnana. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

A person who realized the ultimate truth or Brahman will throw off his religious robe and all religious identity.+

All the Gurus and yogis are holy people who belong to religion and yoga, not Spirituality. Advaitic Gnana has nothing to do with the Gurus, yogis, pundits, and priests.

Advaitic Gnana is not for those who believe in religion, religious Gods, and are stuck up with religious rituals and ceremonies.

Religious believers are not truth-seekers because they have accepted their religious beliefs as the ultimate truth.

Advaitic Gnana is knowledge of the Spirit, the God in truth. God in truth is Advaita, the one without the Second.

A person who realized the ultimate truth or Brahman will throw off his religious robe and all religious identity and live like a commoner.

A Gnani never identifies himself as a Gnani, nor does he identify himself as superior to others. He only shares his knowledge with his fellow seekers.

A Gnani never identifies himself as a Guru or a Yogi or someone's disciple. The one who accepts himself as a Guru or someone’s disciple is not a Gnani.

Ashtavakra Samhita: ~ "The man of knowledge (Gnani), though living like an ordinary man, is contrary to him, and only those like him understand his state.

A Gnani can point at the sky, but the seeing of the star is the seeker's own work.

If you are trying to become a Guru or Monk, then you are unfit to acquire Self-knowledge. Someone posing as a Gnani, because he is some Guru’s direct disciple, cannot be a Gnani.

Those who pose themselves as Gnanis are not Gnanis. A Gnani never poses himself as a Guru, a swami, a sadhu, or a yogi, or some Guru’s disciple.

Different Gurus and teachers are pointing out the understanding of the Advaitic truth from a different standpoint.

All such understanding of Advaita is based on a dualistic perspective accumulated from here and there.

Sage Sankara: ~ "Though I wear these robes of a Sanyasin, it is only for the sake of bread."

Sage Sankara: ~ A Gnani "bears no outward mark of a holy man" (Stanza 539).

Thus, it proves that the religious Gurus and yogis are not Gnanis because they identified themselves as holy people.

A Gnani never claims himself as a Gnani; he guides the seekers, not posing himself as a Guru, and he does not force his wisdom on others.

Advaita is not a theory or a philosophy. Advaita is the nature of the Soul, the Self.

There is no need for any theory or philosophy, or scriptures to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Athma Gnana. Only a perfect understanding of ‘what is what’ is needed.

Sage Sankara:~ Actual realization takes you beyond books. At a certain stage, books become a botheration.

Bhagavan Buddha: ~ Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders.

You need not become a Guru or a monk to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

You do not have to renounce the world or leave anything ~ your wife, children, job, responsibilities.

You do not have to renounce anything! The only thing you have to realize is the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space, by realizing that form, time, and space are the product of ignorance.

When ignorance vanishes, then the unreality of form, time, and space is exposed.

Upanishads say ~ "He who thinks he knows, does not know." This means that to know anything implies a second, an object of knowledge, hence duality, i.e., no Gnana.

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

How can one recognize the true Gnani?+

R.K.- Q: How can one recognize the true Gnani?

A:~ Santthosh Kumaar: It is impossible unless one has sharp grasping power. He does not want any external marks to identify, i.e., separate him from others.

Manduka Upanishads: ~ It is very difficult to find out who is a Gnani because he bears no external mark. Neither nudity nor the yellow robe has anything to do with him.

Even friends and family members of a Gnani will not know him as the Gnani. Due to ignorance, people will not be able to recognize a Gnani. Outwardly, the Gnani behaves as an ordinary person behaves.

A Gnani talks and jokes like others, but he is not understood as he really is. People may regard him as an exceptional person, but only a few can recognize him as a Gnani

Nirakara:~ One can recognize a Gnani only by his Gnana. Wherever Gnani is present, Gnana comes out like a spring.

Manduka Upanishads: ~ Even the Gods cannot find out who is a Gnani because he bears no external mark. Neither nudity nor the yellow robe has anything to do with him.

Yogis, religious gurus, swamis, sadhus, priests, mythological storytellers, Fakirs, monks, intellectuals are not Gnanis.

Sage Sankara clearly indicates in Viveka Chudamani (2) that the Knower of the Atman (A Gnani) "bears no outward mark of a holy man" (Stanza 539).

The word “mark” means sitting in ashrams, wearing religious robes, sitting in Samadhi, performing miracles, etc. He lives a normal householder’s life. Only people can recognize a Gnani with his Gnana, not by his appearance.

Gnani has nothing to do with religion and yoga, philosophies, or religious Gods, religious ritual,s because they all belong to the universe, which is the dualistic illusion or Maya.

Sage Sankara himself said: ~ A Gnani bears no outward mark of a holy man."

Sage Sankara: ~ "Though I wear these robes of a Sanyasin, it is only for the sake of bread." (Select Works of Sage Sankara, also his commentary on Brihad)\

So, Sage Sankara wore a Guru's robe only for the sake the ignorant. So he was identified as a Guru with paramparas by religious people. For the truth seekers, Sage Sri, Sankara is a Brahma Gnani.

Thus, it proves that the religious gurus and yogis are not Gnanis because they identified themselves as holy people.

Thus, it proves that Sage Sankara meant, taking sanyasa and wearing the religious robes to earn bread. Sanyasa is not a qualification to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana, or Atma Gnana

A Gnani sees the reality hidden by ignorance as it is in the midst of diversity (illusory universe).

Thus, the above passage proves that all those who wear the sanyasin robes are wearing them for the sake of bread and belong to the religion; they have nothing to do with the Advaitic wisdom or Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

Ashtavakra Samhita: ~ "The man of knowledge (Gnani), though living like an ordinary man, is contrary to him, and only those like him understand his state. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

A Gnani does not spend his life sitting in meditation as a sanyasi or giving sermons but he shares Advaitic Gnana.+

For a Gnani sees the world in which he exists as the consciousness, just as the goldsmiths view the ornaments as nothing but the gold.

A Gnani does not spend his life sitting in meditation as a sanyasi or giving sermons, but he shares Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana to the seeking world.

A Gnani can point at the sky, but the seeing of the star is the seeker's own work.

Many times we get insights in a mysterious way and from mysterious people, and in mysterious circumstances. The advanced seekers will be able to grasp the non-dualistic or Advaitic truth. The Advaitic truth is the ultimate truth, or Brahman or God in truth.

India is the home of mysticism and deification, and very few are keen on rational Advaitic truth. The Indian populace is most interested in their caste and creed, propagated by different founders in different regions of India.

Very few are interested in Advaitic wisdom. In Atmic path has no place for an extra-cosmic God or for anything supernatural.

Without Sage Sankara, there is no Advaita. Without Advaita, it is impossible to realize the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space.

Sage Sankara’s whole wisdom can be summed up in one sentence: ‘There is nothing else but Brahman. He says that Absolute Existence, Absolute Knowledge, and Absolute Bliss are real. The universe is not real. He says that Brahma and Atman are one. The ultimate and the Absolute Truth is the Self, which is one though appearing as many different individuals. The individual has no reality. Only the Self is real; the rest, mental and physical, are but passing appearances.

Genuine philosophy must be independent of religion, as 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.

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)

The Brahma Sutras, together with Sage Sri 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 the 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 Shruti 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 many 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 the Brahma Sutras in the Sacred Books of the 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 the Manduka Upanishad is pure philosophy, but many of his other books are presented from a religious standpoint to help those who cannot rise up to philosophy.

Orthodoxy is the home of mysticism and deification, which is why they are not keen on rational truth. Thus, Sage Sankara is the Jagadguru to the religious followers, and he is a Brahma Gnani to the seeking world.

You will not be able to find the truth because you are blindfolded by dualistic illusion. If you have to traverse the path, you will have to seek the aid of the one who knows the truth beyond form, time, and space; else, you will wind up meandering here and there without gaining anything.

The Self is not within you, because the Self is not the body. If the ‘Self’ is not you, then why do you think the Self is within you?

Deeper self-search reveals that you and the world are within the Soul, the Self. Perfect understanding and assimilation lead to Advaitic Self-awareness. : ~Santthosh Kumaar

Discussion with the right people is always better than arguments with the wrong people. Silence is always better than meaningless discussion.+

Sage Sankara cautioned that the study of the Upanishads alone would not lead to Moksha.

Ashtavakra:~ There is no wisdom whatsoever in the scriptures- just a collection of words.

Discussion with the right people is always better than arguments with the wrong people. Silence is always better than meaningless discussion.

To come to a more precise understanding of what non-duality is or might mean, we must return to the original linguistic and philosophic backgrounds from which the word has been translated into English.

If we limit a probe of the meaning of non-duality to Sanskrit literature, we find that the most frequently used term is “Advaita”.

Advaita” is not a religious concept. Advaita is the nature of existence hidden by the illusory universe.

Bhagavad Gita: 7: 19:~ "Such a man who has attained Self-knowledge, realized Atman, which is the Self, is God in truth. Atman alone exists~ everything is Atman, and there exists nothing except Atman.

Bhagavad Gita: 7: 19:~ "Such a man who has attained Self-knowledge, the knowledge of Atman, realizes the Self as~ Atman that alone exists~ everything is Atman, there exists nothing except Atman. Such a man is extremely rare."

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

When the seeker fails to find the truth with the guru and books, and he realzes he has to investigate the truth independently without any guru and without the scripture.

When the seeker realzes names and forms are real when seen with consciousness, but are false when seen independent of consciousness.

From the standpoint of the formless Soul, the ‘Self’, the effect is non-different from the cause. However, in the realm of duality cause is different from the effect.

The non-difference of the effect from the cause has to be grasped perfectly to realize, from the ultimate standpoint, that there is neither the cause nor the effect because the cause and effect are one, in essence. That essence is consciousness.

If the cause is destroyed, the effect will no longer exist.

Despite the non-difference of cause and effect, the effect has its Self in the cause but not the cause in the effect. The effect is of the nature of the cause and not the cause, the nature of the effect. Therefore, the qualities of the effect cannot touch the cause because the cause and effect are present only when the duality is present.

The duality is present only when there is an illusion. The illusion is there only when there is ignorance. When there is no ignorance, then there is no illusion.

When there is no illusion, then there is no duality. When there is no duality, then there is no cause and effect. When there is no cause and effect, then there is the non-dualistic reality. :~Santthosh Kumaar

Sage Sankara:-All names and forms are real when seen with the Brahman (Soul) but are false when seen independent of Brahman.+

Yoga Vasistha: ~ “Even as particles of sand floating in water settle down when the water is absolutely steady, the mind of the man who has gained the knowledge of truth settles down in total peace.

Yoga Vasistha: ~ The sun and the worlds become non-objects of perception, to those who have gone beyond the realm of objective perception and knowledge, even as lamps lose their luminosity while the mid-day sun shines.

From the standpoint of the formless Soul, the Self, the effect is non-different from the cause. However, in the realm of duality cause is different from the effect. The non-difference of the effect from the cause has to be grasped perfectly to realize, from the ultimate standpoint, that there is neither the cause nor the effect because the cause and effect are one, in essence. That essence is consciousness.

Sage Sankara says:~ If the cause is destroyed, the effect will no longer exist. For example, if from the effect, cotton cloth, the cause, threads, are removed, there will be no cloth, i.e., the cloth is destroyed. Similarly, if in the effect, the thread, the cause, cotton, is removed, there will be no thread, i.e., the thread is destroyed. (Brahmasūtra Bhashya, commentary on the Brahma-sutra- (9) 2.1.9)

Despite the non-difference of cause and effect, the effect has its ‘Self’ in the cause but not the cause in the effect. The effect is of the nature of the cause and not the cause, the nature of the effect. Therefore, the qualities of the effect cannot touch the cause because the cause and effect are present only when the duality is present.

The duality is present only when there is an illusion. The illusion is there only when there is ignorance. When there is no ignorance, then there is no illusion. When there is no illusion, then there is no duality. When there is no duality, then there is no cause and effect. When there is no cause and effect, then there is the non-dualistic reality.

Sage Sankara says:~ During the time of its existence, one can easily grasp that the effect is not different from the cause. However that the cause is different from the effect, which is not readily understood. As to this, it is not possible to separate cause from effect. But this is possible by imagining so. For example, the reflection of the gold ornament seen in the mirror is only the form of the ornament, but is not the ornament itself, as it (the reflection) has no gold in it at all. All names and forms are real when seen with the Brahman, but are false when seen independent of Brahman (Soul). This way, the seeker of truth establishes the non-difference of the effect from the cause.

In the context of Advaita Vedanta, ~ Jagat (the world) is not different from Brahman (Soul); however, Brahman (Soul) is different from Jagat.

It has not been possible to preach Advaitic Truth entirely free from the settings of dualistic weakness; it has not been more operative and useful to mankind at large because only a few will be able to grasp and realize it.

'To realize the Advaitic truth, a freer and fuller scope, the seeker has to realize that form, time, and space are one in essence. And that essence is consciousness. And the Soul, the Self, is present in the form of consciousness.

To realize the Advaitic truth, the seeker has to be free from all superstitions and orthodox contaminations. The seeker has to be dedicated to acquiring Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana alone.'

A Gnani will easily appreciate that the high flights of Sage Sankara’s Advaitic wisdom are one of the most majestic structures and valuable products of the Genius of man in his search for Truth.

The ‘Self ‘ is not the ‘I’. The 'Self' is not within the body. The ‘Self is hidden by the ‘I’. The ‘I’ is ignorance. The ‘I’ is merely an illusion.

Remember:~

Bhagavad Gita: ~ “You must first see the ‘I’ as illusory before you see others as illusory. ~ CH.2 v.16

The seeker has to make sure what this ‘I’ is supposed to be. The seeker has to make sure the unreal nature of the ‘I’, which comes and goes, to realize the truth, which is hidden by the illusory form, time, and space.

That is why Bhagavad Gita: ~ The permanent is always there, only the transient ‘I’ comes and goes. (2.18)

The ‘I’ hides the Soul, the Self, which is the cause of the 'I'.

People think the ‘I’ without the body is the Self. The seeker has to understand that ‘I’ is not the Self, but the witness of the ‘I’ is the true Self, which is eternal.

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.

People are stuck with the reality of the ‘I’, which they take as real because some Gurus have propagated that the Self is the ‘I’. There is no need to convince such a mindset. The seeker of truth accepts only the truth, nothing but the truth.

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 Guru's words. For them, their Guru's words are the ultimate truth. They do not accept anything 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. ~ Santthosh Kumaar

The ‘I’ is present only when the mind is present. The mind is present only when the universe is present.+

The ‘I’ is present only when the mind is present. The mind is present only when the universe is present.

The universe is present only when there is the waking experience.

Deeper self-search reveals that the waking experience is not considered different from the world.

The universe is not considered different from the mind. The mind is not considered different from the’ I’. This truth has to be assimilated.

The ‘I’ is merely an illusion created out of the invisible Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

‘I’ is not the subject. The ‘I’ is an object to the invisible Soul, which is the formless, timeless, and spaceless subject.

If the ‘I’ is an illusion then the universe in which you exist is bound to be an illusion.

If the ‘I’ is an illusion then three states, are bound to be an illusion.

If the ‘I’ is an illusion then the form, time, and space are bound to be an illusion.

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

The seeker has to make sure the unreal nature of the ‘I’ which comes and goes, to realize the truth.

The truth you are seeking is hidden by ignorance. To get rid of ignorance, which is present in the form of ‘I’.

The ‘I’ is present only when the mind is present. The mind is present only when the universe is present.

The universe is present only when there is a waking experience.

Deeper self-search reveals that the waking experience is not considered different from the universe.

The universe is not considered different from the mind. The mind is not considered different from the’ I’. This truth has to be assimilated.

The ‘I’ is merely an illusion created out of the invisible Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. ‘I’ is not the subject.

The ‘I’ is an object to the invisible Soul, which is the formless, timeless, and spaceless subject.

If the ‘I’ is an illusion then the universe in which you exist is bound to be an illusion.

If the ‘I’ is an illusion then three states, are bound to be an illusion.

If the ‘I’ is an illusion then the form, time, and space are bound to be an illusion.

The seeker has to make sure what is this ‘I’ supposed to be? The seeker has to make sure the unreal nature of the ‘I’ which comes and goes to realize the truth.

The truth is hidden by ignorance to get rid of ignorance, which is present in the form of ‘I’.

To realize the ultimate truth Self-realization is necessary,:~ Santthosh Kumaar