Upanishads say no religious rituals or religious ceremony will bring you Self-realization or God- realization.+

Upanishads say no religious rituals or religious ceremonies will bring you Self-realization or God-realization. All the religious rituals are based on non-Vedic Gods. Non-Vedic Gods are not God in truth. God in truth is the Vedic God, the Atman or Brahman.

Whatever rituals based on the Non-Vedic Gods will not help to get rid of ignorance. Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is necessary to get Self-realization of God-realization.

People’s approach was more practical, and they are stuck with the belief of their inherited belief system.

Religions are based on belief, not the truth. Religions are more concerned with their beliefs, dogmas, and superstitions.

Religious Gods are based on imaginary beliefs. The beliefs are not the truth. The belief is part of the dualistic illusion. The Atman is Brahman or God in actuality. Other than the Atman, the God, all else is an illusion. Whatever is based on the belief is a myth. God in truth is not the God based on blind belief.

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

Realize God in truth:

Religious Gods are based on blind belief. God is based on blind belief. The religious God cannot be considered as the cause of the universe because the invisible and unborn Soul, the Self, is the cause of the universe.

Without the invisible Soul, the world in which you exist ceases to exist; it means the religious God is dependent on the invisible Soul for his existence. God in truth is only the invisible Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Yajur Veda – chapter- 32: - God Supreme or 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.

Even 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)

Even the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: ~ Brahman (God in truth) is the form of the Athma, and it is indeed Athma itself.

Even Bhagavad Gita says: ~ 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.

Religious Gods are based on blind belief. The religious God cannot be considered as the center because the invisible Soul, the Self, is the center of all that exists. Without the invisible Soul, the world in which you exist ceases to exist, which means the religious God is dependent on the invisible Soul for his existence.

Ish Upanishad: ~ Those people who have neglected the attainment of Self-knowledge and have thus committed suicide. 10/11/12

Those people who have neglected the attainment of Self-knowledge and have thus committed suicide, as it were, are doomed to enter those worlds after death.

This is a condemnation of people who do not try to attain Self-knowledge. They are, in a real sense, committing suicide, for what can be worse than being a slave to sense enjoyment, completely oblivious of the real purpose of life, which is to be one’s own master?

Ish Upanishads: ~

MANTRA 10

Vidya and Avidya both are hindrances to Self-knowledge, but Vidya is even worse than Avidya. The word Vidya is used here in a special sense; here it means worshipping Gods and Goddesses. By worshipping Gods and Goddesses, you will go after death to the world of Gods and Goddesses. But will that help you? The time you spent there is wasted because if you were not there, you could have spent that time moving forward towards Self-knowledge, which is your goal. In the world of Gods and Goddesses, you cannot do that, and thus you go deeper and deeper into darkness.

Avidya is Karma and therefore a hindrance. You perform Avidya - i.e., you perform Agnihotra and other sacrifices. This is a roundabout way of purifying the mind, and it is also groping in the dark. But it may not have as heavy a toll on your time and energy as the other.

Ishopanishad: ~ “They are steeped in ignorance and sunk into the greatest depth of misery who worship the matter, instead of the All-Pervading God, and those who worship things born of matter like trees, animals, man, etc., are sunk deeper in misery."

Sage Sankara said: ~ Talk as much philosophy as you like, worship as many gods as you please, observe ceremonies, and sing devotional hymns, but liberation will never come, even after a hundred aeons, without realizing the Oneness.

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: ~ Brahman (God in truth) is the form of the Athma, and it is indeed Athma itself.

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad says: "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)

No rituals help to get rid of ignorance. All the mantras and rituals are meant for the ignorant populace, which strongly believes, the world in which it exists as a reality. For one who wants to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana, the mantras will not help to realize the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space.

That is why Sage Sankara VC~.61. For one who has been bitten by the serpent of Ignorance, the only remedy is the knowledge of Brahman. Of what avail are the Vedas and (other) Scriptures, Mantras (sacred formulae), and medicines to such a one?

VC- v6~ Let erudite scholars quote all the scripture, let Gods be invoked through sacrifices, let elaborate rituals be performed, let personal Gods be propitiated---yet, without the realization of one ‘s identity With the Self, there shall be no liberation for the individual, not even in the lifetimes of a hundred Brahmas put together.

Sage Sankara goes on to say: ~A sickness not cured by saying the word “medicine.” You must take the medicine.

Liberation does not come by merely saying the word “Brahman (God in truth).” Brahman must be realized. Until you allow this apparent universe to dissolve from your consciousness until you have realized Brahman, how can you find liberation just by saying the word Brahman? The result is merely noise. Until a man has destroyed his enemies and taken possession of the splendor and wealth of the kingdom, he cannot become a king by simply saying, “I am a king.”

A buried treasure is not uncovered by merely uttering the words: “Come forth.” You must follow the right directions, dig, remove the stones and earth from above it, and then make it your own. In the same way, the pure truth of the Atman is buried under Maya and the effects of Maya.

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

First Mundaka - Chapter 2 (8) - Fools, dwelling in darkness, but wise in their own conceit and puffed up with vain scholarship, wander about, being afflicted by many ills, like blind men led by the blind.

First Mundaka - Chapter 2 (9) - Children, immersed in ignorance in various ways, flatter themselves, saying: We have accomplished life's purpose. Because these performers of karma do not know the Truth owing to their attachment, they fall from heaven, misery-stricken, when the fruit of their work is exhausted.

Mundaka Upanishad: ~ The rituals and the sacrifices described in the Vedas deal with lower knowledge. The sages ignored these rituals and went in search of higher knowledge. ... Such rituals are unsafe rafts for crossing the sea of samsara, of birth and death. Doomed to shipwreck are those who try to cross the sea of samsara on these poor rafts. Ignorant of their own ignorance, yet wise in their own esteem, these deluded men, proud of their vain learning, go round and round like the blind led by the blind.

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.

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 religious God, based on blind belief, does not reach God in truth.

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 ceremonial rituals performed on the base of non-Vedic Gods will not yield any fruits. Deeper self-search reveals the fact that the 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 formal observance, have long since set in.

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

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

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 all through 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. Adhyasa Bhashya

Sage Sankara: ~ (11.1) This ignorance (mistaking the body for Self) brings in its wake a desire for the well-being of the body, aversion for its disease or discomfort, fear of its destruction, and thus a host of miseries(anartha). This anartha is caused by projecting karthvya(“doer” sense) and bhokthavya (object) on the Atman. Sankara calls this adhyasa. The scriptures dealing with rituals, rewards, etc., are, therefore, he says, addressed to an ignorant person. Adhyasa Bhashya

Sage Sankara:~ (11.2) In short, a person who engages in rituals with the notion “I am an agent, doer, thinker”, according to Sage Sankara, is ignorant, as his behavior implies a distinct, separate doer/agent/knower; and an object that is to be done/achieved/known. That duality is avidya, an error that can be removed by vidya. Adhyasa Bhashya

Sage Sankara: ~ (12) Sage Sankara affirming his belief in one eternal unchanging reality (Brahman) and the illusion of plurality, drives home the point that Upanishads deal not with rituals but with the knowledge of the Absolute (Brahma vidya) and the Upanishads give us an insight into the essential nature of the Self which is identical with the Absolute, the Brahman. -Adhyasa Bhashya

Sage Sankara: ~ Atman, the Self is verily Brahman (God in truth), being equanimous, quiescent, and by nature absolute Existence, Knowledge, and Bliss. Atman is not the body that is non-existence itself. This is called true Knowledge by the wise.

People’s approach was more practical, and they are stuck with the belief of their inherited belief system.

Religions are based on blind faith or belief, not the truth. Religions are more concerned with their beliefs, dogmas, and superstitions.

Religious Gods are based on imaginary beliefs. The beliefs are not truth. The belief is part of the dualistic illusion. The Atman is Brahman or God in actuality. Other than the Atman, the God all else is an illusion. Whatever is based on the belief is a myth.

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 Soul. The mind is present in the form of the universe. The 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 are of 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 a single stuff. That single stuff is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

The Soul is the Self. The Self is God. 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

Without religion, there is only undivided humanity.+

People are being conditioned by the religious myth, which has made them non-thinkers.

People need to come out of the religious myth by realizing God in truth.

Religion causes one to become crippled, Self-mortifying and Self-deprecating is not a religion, but the social system of controlling the masses through psychological deformation and retardation

Most people believe that following some doctrine, dogma, or egotistical Self-appointed "agent of God" makes them religious, when in fact following anything blindly without verifying the validity of their inherited belief leads to believing their inherited hallucination as a reality.

Without religion, there is only undivided humanity.

Religion blocks one from realizing God in truth because religion is based on myth, whereas Spirituality is based on the truth.

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

The invisible Soul, the Self, is unborn and undifferentiated consciousness, is God in truth.

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

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

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

Vedas itself says:~: May ye never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman. Thus, to know the real God, Self-realization is necessary. Self-realization is God-realization. Self-realization itself is real worship.

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)

Religion makes it complicated to realize God in truth, hidden by the ignorance that obscures from human vision. :~Santthosh Kumaar

Lord Krishna says: "Not by the Vedas is ‘Self’ to be realized, nor by sacrifices nor by many studies.+

I am highlighting some scriptural citations only to show the seeker that the Advaitic Sages themselves declared that scriptures, religion, and ideas of God are unimportant in the pursuit of truth.

It is easier to understand, assimilate, and realize the ultimate truth or non-dualistic truth by rationalizing our views and understanding:-

There is no need to condemn anyone’s views and ideas or writing, but without being judgmental, the seeker has to verify whether the author is speaking from the standpoint of ego, or whether he is speaking from the standpoint of the invisible Soul, the Self. If his views are based on the standpoint of the physical self (waking entity or ego), then there are many doubts and confusion. If his views are based on the invisible Soul, the Self, then there is no confusion or doubts of any sort.

Nothing has to be accepted without verifying the validity of any claim in pursuit of truth. Only the uncontradictable truth has to be accepted as truth. There is no need to condemn any religion or any saints or sages, but the seeker has to think beyond religion, scriptures, and individualized Gods.

It is difficult to understand assimilation within a framework of some teaching or holding some philosophy as a yardstick. We have to drop all our accumulated dross to understand and assimilate, and realize the non-dualistic truth.

Vedanta it is that Lord teaches us in the Gita and in it, he lashes out against the karmakanda. It is generally believed that the Buddha and Mahavira were the first to attack the Vedas.

It is not so. Lord Krishna himself spoke against them long before these two religious leaders. At one place in the Gita, he says to Arjuna: "The Vedas are associated with the three qualities of sattva, rajas, and tamas (body).

You must transcend these three qualities. Full of desire, they (the practitioners of Vedic rituals) long for paradise and keep thinking of pleasures and material prosperity. They are born again and again, and their minds are never fixed in samadhi; these men cling to Vedic rituals.

“In another passage, Lord Krishna declares: "Not by the Vedas is ‘Self’ to be realized, nor by sacrifices nor by many studies.

Lord Krishna says that Self-realization is not possible by neither by the study of the Vedas nor by sacrifices nor by many studies. Then why are you still thinking by studying Vedas you get Self-realization.

Bhagavad Gita 2:46:~ "A man of true knowledge who has attained enlightenment has the same use for all the scriptures as one has for a small reservoir of water in a place flooded on all sides."

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.

Knowing me in truth means knowing God in truth. That is God without form, time, and space. The invisible Soul, the ‘Self’, is God in truth. The invisible Soul is present in the form of consciousness.

The invisible Soul is the cause; the invisible Soul is the support of all that exists in this universe. May ye never turn away from the invisible Soul, the Self. Never accept another God in place of the invisible Soul, nor worship anything other than the invisible Soul.

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.

The dualistic worship of "God” is only for the ignorant populace. The God in truth is only Atman, the Self. In Atmic reality, there is no duality, no differentiation. Only Atman exists. The Vedas confirm God is Atman (Spirit).

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 Soul alone is God. Never accept another God in place of the Soul, which is present in the form of the Spirit.

Even the Bible says: ~ God is a Spirit, and they that worship God must worship God in spirit and in truth (John 4:24)

The Spirit is the root element of the universe. The Spirit is present in the form of the invisible Soul, the Self.

The invisible Soul is present in the form of consciousness. From the Spirit, the universe comes into existence. In the Spirit, the universe resides. And into the Spirit, the universe is dissolved. The Spirit is the parent of all that is there. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

The ultimate truth alone is God in truth, not that which people believe and worship in this world.+

The ultimate truth alone is God, not that which people believe and worship in this world.

The seekers' main goal in this life is to realize God in truth. It is time to rediscover the real God hidden by the belief system.

The pursuit of truth is for discovering the truth of our true existence. The universe in which we exist hides the truth.

By discovering the truth of the universe, we will be able to discover that the Self is not the ‘I’ but the Self is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

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

The truth-realization is Self-realization. Self-realization is God-realization. God-realization itself is real worship.

It is for every seeker who is seeking truth must first know what God is supposed to be in actuality according to the Vedas and Upanishads, and reject all non-Vedic Gods to realize the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, is God in truth.

Yajur Veda – 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: ~ 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)

Rig Veda 1/164/46: ~ “They call him Indra, Mitra, Varuna, Agni, or the heavenly sunbird Garutmat. The seers call in many ways that which is One; they speak of Agni, Yama, and Matarishvan

Rig Veda 8/58/2:~ Only One is the Fire, enkindled in numerous ways; only One is the Sun, pervading this whole universe; only One is the Dawn, illuminating all things. In very truth, the One has become the whole world.

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: ~ Brahman (God in truth) in the form of the Athma, and it is indeed Athma itself.

Bhagavad Gita says: ~ “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 (Gita 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.

Vedas, Upanishad, and Bhagavad Gita confirm that the invisible Soul, the Self, is present in the form of the Spirit or the consciousness.

The real God is stolen by ignorance, and people worship ignorance as God because the religion propagates a false God as the real God.

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

Kena Upanishad (

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

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.

God is hidden by the ‘I’. The ‘I’ is the dualistic illusion. You are part and parcel of the dualistic illusion. The Soul is the cause of the dualistic illusion, but itself is uncaused.

The dualistic illusion is present in the form of form, time, and space. The form, time, and space are present in the form of the universe. The universe appears as waking or dream (duality) and disappears as deep sleep (nonduality

Remember:~

Our existence is limited to the illusory form, time, and space. The form, time, and space are made of the same clay. That clay is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. Knowledge of the single clay is Self–knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

Self–knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana helps the seeker to unfold the truth (God in truth) hidden by the ‘I’, which is the dualistic illusion.

You have to draw your attention back every time it turns to worldliness (I) and fix it in the Soul, the Self, which is Brahman or God in truth

Swami Vivekananda: ~ “The masses in India cry to sixty million Gods, and still die like dogs. Where are these Gods? (In San Francisco, on May 28, 1900, of swami Vivekananda/volume 1)

Religion breeds superstition because religion is based on blind belief. Whatever is based on blind belief is superstition.

God in truth is not a belief. One must know God in truth. Without knowing what God is supposed to be in actuality, worshipping God based on blind belief is superstition.

Worshipping superstitious Gods barred by the Vedas. Know what God is supposed to be according to the Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, and the Bible.

The Bible says: ~ God is a Spirit, and they that worship God must worship God in spirit and in truth, (John 4:24)

The Spirit is the root element of the universe. The Spirit is present in the form of the Soul, the Self. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness.

From the Spirit, the universe comes into existence. In the Spirit, the universe resides. And into the Spirit, the universe is dissolved. The Spirit is the parent of all that is there.

Swami Vivekananda: ~ “If superstition enters, the brain is gone. Superstition is our great enemy, but bigotry is worse.

Thus, it refers to a formless and attributeless God, which is the Atman, the Self within the false experience.

Thus, it indicates clearly that all the Gods with form and attributes are mere imagination based on the false self. Thus, Atman or the Soul, the Self, is God in truth.

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 Jainism. ]

There is logic to idol worship. Vedas speak of one God that is the supreme Self, i.e., Atman or the Soul, but Hinduism indulges in worshiping 60 million Gods.

It indicates clearly that all the Gods with form and attributes are mere imagination based on the false self.

So, it clearly indicates that God is formless, thus there is no scope for form-based God. The religion and its conceptual Gods, and its theories of karma, heaven, hell, papa, punya, rebirth, reincarnation are based on the false self, within the false experience. Therefore, they are meant for lower mindsets, they are of no use for those who are seeking higher truth as indicated in the scriptures.

There are many schools of thought in Hinduism. These schools claim that they are based on the Vedas. These schools of thought propagate non-Vedic beliefs barred by the Vedas. Therefore, these add-ons have to be bifurcated from the original Vedic Religion to get the pure Vedic essence.

Remember:~

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

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

One need not roam one mountain to another, one ashram to another, or meet Gurus or Yogis in order to realize God in truth. Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Athma Gnana is the knowledge of God in truth.

Blind faith is an obstacle to realizing the truth hidden by ignorance. The seeker should not waste his time on, he should primarily reflect on the Soul, the innermost self; not on the ‘I’.

It is not possible to get God-realization by taking sanyasa or wearing religious robes or by identifying with the religious symbol.

Religious robes and religious symbols are not the means to Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. : ~Santthosh Kumaar

Sage Sankara restrained himself from parting the Advaitic wisdom to the to the ignorant populace.+

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

One has to go beyond the Vedas means to go beyond religion. Going beyond religion means, go beyond the belief in a religious God. Going beyond the Vedas, religion and the belief in a religious God means, going beyond the illusion, that is the end of Vedas (Veda –antha).

Advaitic wisdom has been lost: people misinterpret and falsify it by mixing religion and yoga. It is not yoga but the truth hidden by the dualistic illusion. But nobody knows it.

The Gurus, religious believers, philosophers, thinkers, and yogis do not want to inquire into truth and have no time for it.

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,.

Therefore, you should personally strive by all means to be free from the bondage of ignorance (I).

The Advaitic wisdom is nothing to do with orthodox preaching and practice because Advaitic orthodoxy is dogmatism. The Advaitic orthodoxy has to be discarded if one wants to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

Advaitic wisdom expounded by Sage Sankara was hidden. Sage Sankara restrained himself from parting the Advaitic wisdom or Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana to the ignorant populace and parting it with only a selected few.

Advaitic wisdom, or Self-knowledge, or Brahma Gnana, or Atma Gnana, was hidden from the people who were not qualified and receptive to it. Advaitic wisdom, or 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 the knowledge of the Spirit, which is God in truth, is given only to a selected few.

Thus, we find traces of the knowledge of the spirit in the religious books in the form of parables.

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

The Guru's interpretations of sacred texts, the force of religious merit--none of these lead to the realization of the ‘Self’ hidden by ignorance. It is revealed in the clear reflection of the truth, engendered from contact with the good."

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 Advaitic wisdom has nothing to do with orthodox preaching and practice because Advaitic orthodoxy is dogmatism. The Advaitic orthodoxy has to be discarded if one wants to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

Sage Sankara, and Sage Gaudapada are independent thinkers other schools of Indian philosophy are mere theologies. Advaitic philosophy is real philosophy. The dualistic philosophy cannot escape the charge of dogmatism.

Sage Sankara was an independent thinker. His wisdom has not been taken seriously by many in India because, most of the followers of Sage Sankara belong to the orthodox sect.

Sage Sankara’s Advaitic wisdom has nothing to do orthodox sect.

The seeker must do his homework and verify the validity of all the claims, rather than blindly believe what orthodox pundits expound as knowledge, till the uncontradicted truth is obtained. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar