Sage Sankara says: ~ The scriptures dealing with rituals, rewards are therefore addressed to an ignorant person.+

Sage Sankara says: ~ The scriptures dealing with rituals, rewards are therefore addressed to an ignorant person.

Adhyasa Bhashya of Sage Sankara:~ (11) As regards the rituals, Sage Sankara says, the person who performs rituals and aspires for rewards will view himself in terms of the caste into which he is born, his age, the stage of his life, his standing in society, etc. In addition, he is required to perform rituals throughout his life. However, the 'Self' has none of those attributes or tags. Hence, the person who superimposes all those attributes on the changeless, eternal Self and identifies Self with the body is confusing one for the other; and is, therefore, an ignorant person. The scriptures dealing with rituals, rewards, etc. are therefore addressed to an ignorant person.

Thus, only the ignorant populace indulges in rituals and worship of non-Vedic Gods barred by Vedas.

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

Religious rites and rigid ceremonies were passed down from one generation to the next as a practice or set customs and tradition and performed automatically with blind faith. Such worship based on the belief of God does not reach God

Religious rites and ceremonies, yagnas and homa-havans, or any other forms of ritual are meant for the ignorant populace.

Belief in God without knowing God in actuality holds the worshiper more firmly in the grip of ignorance.

All worship and the ceremonies rituals performed on the base of non-~Vedic Gods will not yield any fruits. Deeper self-search reveals the fact that worshiped, the worship and worshiper, and the world are merely an illusion created out of consciousness.

Religious rites and ceremonies, yagnas and homa-havans, or any other forms of ritual are meant for the ignorant populace. In the Atmic path, the seeker has to discard what is not needed to realize the truth, which is beyond the form, time, and space.

Religious rites and ceremonies, yagnas and homa-havans, or any other forms of ritual formal observance have long since set in.

Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana frees the invisible Soul, the Self, from the cage of the dualistic illusion. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Spirituality or Adyathma is based on Athma, which is God in truth.+

Spirituality or Adyathma is the only tool to expose the myth propagated by religion, which is the cause of wars, violence, and terrorism.

Knowledge of God in truth is the only tool to stop religious-oriented brainwashing, which produces fanatics and terrorists and causes wars, violence, and terrorism.

Religion is regarded as sacred and real by the common people, by the wise as false, and by the political class as useful.

People of small intelligence follow religion and believe that the world was created by God. But how do they know that He did so?

When a pot is created, one can see both the pot and its maker, but not in the case of the world.

Then there is the question which nobody has answered till now, viz. Why did he create all these evils, these sufferings? Even a father would never do that.

If God did so, assuming that God did create, then what sort of an evil God is He? All religions that begin with "God created the world" are fit only for children. It is a lie; it is inconsistent and fit only for ignorant people.

Spirituality or Adyathma is based on Athma, which is God in truth.

Worshipping gods based on blind faith or belief, rituals, and ceremonies is the essence of the religion, not of spirituality.

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

Do not accept any other God other than the Athma. The Athma is God in truth.

Nothing is real but the Athma, 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.

Remember:~

Spirituality or Adyathma is the only tool to expose the myth propagated by religion, which is the cause of wars, violence, and terrorism.

Knowledge of God in truth is the only tool to stop religious-oriented brainwashing, which produces fanatics and terrorists and causes wars, violence terrorism.

Religion is regarded as sacred and real by the common people, by the wise as false, and by the political class as useful.

People of small intelligence follow religion and believe that the world was created by God. But how do they know that He did so?

When a pot is created, one can see both the pot and its maker, but not in the case of the world.

Then there is the question which nobody has answered till now, viz. Why did He create all these evils, these sufferings? Even a father would never do that.

If God did so, assuming that God did create, then what sort of an evil God is He! All religions that begin with "God created the world" are fit only for children. It is a lie; it is inconsistent and fit only for ignorant people.

Democracy and religion will not go hand in hand. Democracy has its own code of conduct and religion has its own. So there is always conflict.

Religion is outdated to suit modern society.

Until and unless the whole of humanity is made aware of what God in truth is, the truth of our true existence, not what we believe and worship, the wars, violence, and terrorism which are going on in the name of God and religion continue.

Until the falsity of religion and its idea of God based on blind belief is exposed, world peace and universal brotherhood are impossible.

God in truth is nothing but existence, which is free from ignorance.

When the truth of God is revealed through wisdo,m then that truth will set humanity free from ignorance.

Remember:~

Dogmas and beliefs, rituals, and ceremonies are the essence of the religion, not of spirituality.

Religion has become merely a matter of external rituals and ceremonies.

Religion hides the truth beyond form, time, and space. Until the form, time and space are present the duality is present. The duality creates the illusory prison to the Soul, the Self.

Changing one religion to another it is like going from one prison to another. If religion does not help the populace to emancipate the invisible Soul from the illusory bondage and realize the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space, it has no useful purpose to serve.

It is high time that the ignorant populace become aware of the truth beyond form, time, and space. The ultimate truth is Brahman or God in truth.

Self-realization is truth realization. And Truth realization is God-realization. There is no room for duality in reality.

Wherever there is individuality, there is duality. Truth-realization is the final goal.: .: ~Santthosh Kumaar 

Sage Sankara:- Neither sacred baths nor any amount of charity nor even Hundreds of pranayamas can give us Moksha.+

Sage Sankara: ~ VC Neither sacred baths nor any amount of charity nor even Hundreds of pranayamas* can give us the knowledge about our own Self. The firm experience of the nature of the Self is seen to proceed from inquiry along the lines of the salutary advice of the wise. (13)

The obsession with "our sins" having been "washed away by the water of river would be regarded as evidence of a serious mental illness in an individual within any sane society, but when this is an obsession of millions of people it becomes "religious faith", held by many others to be something that should never be criticized.

It was desperately important for the believers of their belief system, for some reason, that others shared their beliefs because they assumed that their religious doctrine was literally true, and then justified their beliefs because "God says so in their doctrine ".

It is no use arguing with someone who has faith in his belief system because, for him, there can be no possible refutation of what he believes, so rational argument is entirely useless. He clings to his belief so strongly that he makes no distinction between the truth and his belief.

One has to know that God cannot exist without his existence. The truth does not depend on god's existence, but it entirely depends on man’s existence.

Thus, it is foolish to venture into knowing the truth of God's existence without verifying the facts about his own existence.

Man ceases to exist without the universe. The universe ceases to exist, the Soul, the Self, which is present in the form of consciousness. Consciousness is the cause of the universe,

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

The universe itself is what God is all about. The totality of the universe is what God is all about. You just study the nature of the universe with all the seriousness and sincerity to unfold the mystery of the universe. That is all you have to do.

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

If the inquiry does not include the universe, then it is incomplete.

Consciousness is the one single reality or Brahman. The individual self is a reality within the illusory universe or Maya.

Bhagavad Gita: ~ Even if you are the most sinful of all the sinners, you will cross all the sins by the raft of knowledge (IV-36)

Self–knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is the inexhaustible wealth. Other wealth disappears as one spends, but with the Self–knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana, the more one shares more he gains.

The Self is not the ‘I’. The ‘I’ is present in the form of the mind. The origin of the mind is the invisible Soul.

The mind is present in the form of the universe. The invisible Soul is present in the form of consciousness. The root of the universe is consciousness.

Thus, saying ‘I am God’ keeps one in duality. The duality is not reality. The duality is a product of ignorance. The body, ego, and the world belong to the ignorant.

When wisdom dawns, ignorance disappears. When ignorance disappears, the duality will never be a reality even though there is duality; it is merely an illusion created out of single stuff. That single stuff is the Soul which is present in the form of consciousness.

The invisible Soul is the Self. The Soul is Self is God in truth. It is not “I AM GOD, but it’s correct to say ‘the SELF IS GOD because the Self is not the ‘I’ or ’I AM”. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Vedas unequivocally proclaim equal rights for all people regardless of caste, gender or geography.

It is ridiculous when women are successful in every field; the traditionalists are barring women under some pretext or the other from learning the Vedas is orthodox hypocrisy.

Accordingly, during the Vedic age, women were given the utmost position. Vedas says God resides where women are held in high esteem.

Vedas unequivocally proclaim equal rights for all people regardless of caste, gender, or geography. While the West could give voting rights to women only in the early 20th century, the Vedas talk of women being the path-makers and decision-makers in society since the dawn of civilization.

Accordingly, during the Vedic age, women were given the utmost position. We see the names of Ghosha, Apaala, Lopamudra, and Ruchi-Indraani being cited as Rishikas, similar to the names of Rishis like Vasistha, Vishwamitra, and Vamadeva, etc. They had realized the truth contained in many Veda mantras.

They even had full powers to administer various Vedic rituals called karmakand. It is clear from the Vedic authority Stree hee brahma babhuvita that women were partaking in the Yagnas. They conducted the yagnas seated as Brahma. They also had access to learn warfare and had the freedom to partake therein. They bequeathed the qualities of courage and heroism to their children also. A heroic mother proudly announces in Veda, thus Mama Putro Shatruhane mamaduhita Virat, meaning that my son is a vanquisher of enemies, and my daughter is honorable.

The tradition continued in the Upanishadic era also. There were many spiritually endowed women called Brahmavaadins like Gargi, Maitreyee, etc. They were master debaters, and even reputed Rishis were hesitant to engage them in debates. Gargi’s intellectual combat with Rishi Yagnavalkya is quite well-known.

However, it must be said that the position of women detracted during the Middle Ages. Her prestige suffered during the Puranic age. In Sanskrit literature, she was treated as an object of enjoyment.

Orthodoxy described characterized women as a way to hell and untrustworthy. The dualist sages called women as anuchari and not as sahachari. The men who led the Bhakti movement also disregarded women.

Women Saints and Sages:

Women saints and sages of India have been given less importance, for several reasons obvious to anyone studying history...

In the medieval period, women were confined to homes, and according to some moral codes, women were not allowed to study scriptures and chant mantras while mantras were invoked as female deities or Goddesses.

The Vedic rishis had wives who were learned women and took part in philosophical discussions. The crippling social practices for women, considering them as inferior, unfit for scriptural studies were introduced by male-dominated societies...While women monastics or nuns were introduced in Buddhism, it was not a common practice to have nuns in Hindu monastic orders till recent times.

Sage Sankara says in Mand.P.351 and also in Vivekachoodamani, that even women can realize the truth if they persist.

Thus, it proves that Sage Sankara wanted even women to acquire Advaitic wisdom, whereas the orthodox Advaitins bar women from indulging in the path of wisdom even in these modern days.

The orthodoxy is based on the experience of birth, life, death, and the world as a reality, whereas the ultimate truth is based on the formless Soul, the Self. Thus, Advaitic wisdom is for the whole universe irrespective of any gender, race, creed, or religion.

Sage Sankara has philosophical disputes and debates with an equally great scholar, Mandana Mishra. Mishra's learned wife Bharathi served as the umpire.

However, the credit for uplifting women and restoring their rights should go to liberals like Maharishi Dayananda (1824 -1883), the founder of the movement called Arya Samaj, to worked incessantly for their all-around welfare. He called women as the most honorable. And criticizing those who prevented women from learning the Vedas

Maharshi Dayananda (Arya Samaj) quoted: ~ Yajurveda mantra ~Yathemam Vacham kalyani mavadhani janebhyah: Brahmararjaanaabhyam shudrayacharyaa cha swaya chaaranaya|| ladies and even persons lower than shudras. Here, shudras means ignorant people. Condemning certain verses whose authority was doubtful, like Stree-shudro Na deeyataam, he countered them with the Vedic mantra Bramhacharyena kanya yuvaanaam vindate patim, which enabled women to go for marriage after observing Brahmacharya and after studying the true shastras like Vedas, etc.

He also quoted amply from other sources that sanction women the authority to learn the Vedas. Recalling those days, he said women like Gargi were total scholars. Citing another incident, he pointed out how a queen like Kaikeyi could assist her husband in a war unless she had training in martial arts. His assertions in favor of women learning the Vedas had the desired effect, and the opposition to women learning the Vedas has waned but not totally eliminated. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Vedas say God cannot be seen directly by anyone.+

DC:~ “I hear the inner guru, and I can see the Shakti. I am not sure if they are real or not. The inner guru speaks beyond the deep dream state. Is it real or unreal? Also, the Goddess speaks to me.

Santthosh Kumaar: ~ “ The religious Gods are not God in truth. The Spirit is a real God. There is neither God nor Goddesses, but only consciousness. Consciousness is God in truth.

For a Christian closes his eyes, and Christ comes to him. For Hindus, he closes his eyes, and Krishna comes to him. For a Buddhist closes his eyes and Bhagavan Buddha comes to him. A Jain closes his eyes, and Mahavira comes to him.

Christ doesn’t come to a Jaina, Mahavira doesn’t come to a Christian: only the image you project will come. Your inherited religious God and the image have become solid in your subconscious. It became so real from constant repetition, from continuous remembering, that it seemed the goddess spoke to you.

Yajurveda – Chapter 32: - God cannot be seen directly by anyone.

When the Vedas say God cannot be seen directly by anyone, how can you speak to God when God is a formless, timeless, and spaceless existence?

You must know what God is supposed to be in actuality, according to your own scriptures.

Bhagavad Gita: ~ ‘Brahmano hi pratisthaham’ ~ Brahman (God in truth) 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.

Sage Goudpada: ~ “Whatever is seen, whether external or internal, whether by the ordinary persons or yogis, is unreal.

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 is no duality, no differentiation. Only Atman exists.

Even the Vedas indicate that the Self is consciousness:-

v Tat tvam asi: -Thou art That (Sam Veda). “Self is that”

v Prajnanam Brahma: - Consciousness is the ultimate reality (Rig Veda).

v Ayam Aatma Brahma: -The Self is the ultimate truth (Atharva Veda).

v Aham Brahma Asmi: -Self is the ultimate reality (Yajur Veda)

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

The religious Gods and Goddesses are merely religious beliefs. Whatever is seen, known, believed, and experienced as a person within the illusory universe or Maya is bound to be an illusion.

Sage Goudpada: ~ "There's no plurality here"; "The God (Atman) through his powers appears to be many"; "those who are attached to creation or production or origination go to utter darkness"; "the unborn is never reborn, for who can produce God (Atman)?". : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Do not strive to become God but realize the 'Self’ is not you but the Soul is the Self, which is God in truth.+

Do not strive to become God, but realize the Self is not you, but the invisible Soul is the Self, which is God in truth.

God is not the part because God is the fullness of consciousness without the illusory division of form, time, and space. God is hidden by ignorance. Ignorance is present in the form of the 'I'.

Everything is god because everything is created out of God, which is the invisible Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Religion accepts the concept of God in many forms. Sages of truth declare the Atman is Brahman. That is the invisible Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, is the ultimate truth, or Brahman or God in truth.

The ultimate truth is God in truth. And the ultimate truth itself is worthy of Godhood.

Kena Upanishad (6) Chapter I:~ That which cannot be apprehended by the mind, but by which, they say, the mind is apprehended- That alone is known as Brahman and not that which people here worship.

Kena Upanishad (7) Chapter I:~ That which cannot be perceived by the eye, but by which the eye is perceived alone known as Brahman and not that which people here worship.

Kena Upanishad (8) Chapter I:~ That which cannot be heard by the ear, but by which the hearing is perceived- That alone is known as Brahman and not that which people here worship.

Kena Upanishad (9)- Chapter I:~ That which cannot be smelt by the breath, but by which the breath smells an object- That alone is known as Brahman, and not that which people here worship.

Swami Vivekananda: ~ The masses in India cry to sixty million Gods and still die like dogs. Where are these gods?

Knowing this, stand up and fight! Not one step back, that is the idea. ... Fight it out, whatever comes. Let the stars move from the sphere! Let the whole world stand against us! Death means only a change of garments. What of it? Thus, fight! You gain nothing by becoming cowards. ... Taking a step backward, you do not avoid any misfortune. You have cried to all the gods in the world. Has misery ceased? The masses in India cry to sixty million Gods and still die like dogs. Where are these gods? ... The Gods come to help you when you have succeeded. So, what is the use? Die game. This bending the knee to superstitions, this selling yourself to your own mind, does not befit you, my Soul. You are infinite, deathless, and birthless. Because you are the 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. You are the entire world. Who can help you? ~ Swami Vivekananda (Delivered In San Francisco, on May 28, 1900) -The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda/Volume 1/Lectures And Discourses/The Gita II

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: ~ The Self is indeed Brahman (God in truth), but through ignorance, people identify it with intellect, mind, senses, passions, and the elements of earth, water, air, space, and fire. This is why the Self is said to consist of this and that and appears to be everything.

Yajurveda says: - if one worships what is not God: ~

Translation 1.

They enter darkness, those who worship natural things (for example, air, water, sun, moon, animals, fire, stone, etc.).

They sink deeper in darkness those who worship sambhuti. (Sambhuti means created things, for example, table, chair, idol, etc.) ~ (Yajurveda 40:9)

Translation 2.

"Deep into the shade of blinding gloom fall asambhuti's worshippers. They sink to darkness deeper yet, who on sambhuti are intent.~("Yajurveda Samhita by Ralph T. H. Giffith pg 538)

Translation 3.

"They are enveloped in darkness, in other words, are steeped in ignorance and sunk in the greatest depths of misery who worship the uncreated, eternal prakrti -- the material cause of the world -- in place of the All-pervading God, But those who worship visible things born of the prakrti, such as the earth, trees, bodies (human and the like) in place of God are enveloped in still greater darkness, in other words, they are extremely foolish, fall into an awful hell of pain and sorrow, and suffer terribly for a long time."~(Yajur Veda 40:9.)

So, Yajur Veda indicates that: ~

They sink deeper in darkness those who worship sambhuti. (Sambhuti means created things, for example, table, chair, idol, etc ~(Yajurveda 40:9)

Those who worship visible things born of the prakrti, such as the earth, trees, bodies (human and the like) in place of God are enveloped in still greater darkness, in other words, they are extremely foolish, fall into an awful hell of pain and sorrow, and suffer terribly for a long time."~ (Yajur Veda 40:9.)

The Hindus believed in polytheism, believing all of their Gods to be separate individuals, which were introduced much later by the founders of Hinduism, which contains diverse beliefs, caste, and creed.

When the religion of the Veda knows no idols, then why are so many Gods and Goddesses with different forms and names being propagated as Vedic Gods? Why are these conceptual Gods introduced when the Vedic concept of God is free from form and attributes?

Someone has introduced the concept of God with attributes, and attributeless Gods are non-Vedic because Yajur Veda says: ~ those who worship visible things, born of the prakrti, such as the earth, trees, bodies (human and the like), in place of God are enveloped in still greater darkness. Therefore, all these add-ons prove that the form and attribute-based concepts were introduced by some sages of the past with a new belief system and code of conduct in the name of the Vedas.

It clearly indicates that: -If the human goal is to acquire the Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana, then why indulge in rituals and glorifying the conceptual Gods and Goddesses to go into deeper darkness.

Instead, spend that time moving forward towards the Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana, which is one’s prime goal. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

God in truth becomes the universe in waking experience (duality). The universe becomes God in truth in deep sleep (nonduality).+

Evolution theory is applied only to the illusion. The illusion is the product of ignorance. Evolution implies duality.

The duality is merely an illusion created out of the invisible Soul, the Self. From the standpoint of the Soul, the Self, the real God, there is no evaluation at all.

The invisible Soul is Self is the real God. The invisible Soul is present in the form of consciousness.

Bhagavad Gita: ~ ‘Brahmano hi pratisthaham’ ~ Brahman (God in truth) 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 Self. In reality, there is no duality, no differentiation. Only Atman exists.

The Vedas confirm that God is Atman (Soul), the Self.

Rig Veda: ~ The Atman (Soul) 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)

Consciousness has neither an inside nor an outside. Consciousness is the source of the universe and that into which the universe finally merges when ignorance vanishes.

God has no evolution because God is the Soul, which is a formless, timeless, and spaceless existence.

God becomes the universe in waking experience (duality), and the universe becomes God in deep sleep (nonduality). The one that becomes dual and nondual is the invisible Soul, the real God, which is present in the form of consciousness.

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 object (three states), 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 sees the world in which he exists 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 invisible Soul or consciousness (subject).

Thus, all the objective observation has to be bifurcated to realize the ultimate truth, which is beyond form, time, and space.

Only from the dualistic perspective do the changes take place. From a non-dualistic perspective, there are no changes.

Those who believe in the dualistic world as a reality feel the knowledge changes from time to time, but they must realize their knowledge is limited to the form, time, and space, whereas Self-knowledge is the knowledge of the beyond the form, time, and space.

The change is possible only in ignorance. Ignorance is the cause of experiencing the world, which exists as a reality. Consciousness is the cause of the world in which we exist, and it, itself, is uncaused.

The world in which we exist is dependent on consciousness for its existence, but the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, is independent.

From the standpoint of the invisible Soul, the Self, the world in which we exist is merely an illusion.

Only within the illusion, the changes take place; the illusory changes within the illusion are bound to be an illusion.

In reality, consciousness alone is real and eternal. Thus, the knowledge of the eternal will always be eternal.

The intellectual knowledge based on form, time, and space is bound to change from time to time as science progresses in its dualistic inventions.

Consciousness is ever changeless because it is a formless, timeless, and spaceless existence. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar