Guru Parampara or lineage belongs to the religious people. There is no need for a Guru who wants to tread the path of wisdom.+

Guru Parampara or lineage belongs to the religious people. There is no need for a Guru who wants to tread the path of wisdom.

Even Swami Vivekananda was Ramakrishna Paramahansa's disciple. Swami Vivekananda himself said: ~ “You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher but your own Soul.”

There are two kinds of audiences - the ordinary ones who desire the transitory heaven and other pleasures obtained as a result of ritual sacrifices, and the most advanced seeker who seeks to know the ultimate truth or Brahman.

The Guru and guru paramparas are meant for the first audience, to help lead their followers along the way. However, there is no need to follow any parampara and follow any Guru, those who wish to realize the truth which is beyond form, time, and space.

We should not mix religion with spirituality because religion is based on the ego, and spirituality is based on the invisible and unborn Soul.

Religion is concerned with its paramparas, not truth, whereas Spirituality is concerned only with the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space. Religion is not spirituality.

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

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

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

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

Why worship and glorify the Gurus and Yogis (human form) in place of God when Veda bars such activities and it also warns people who indulge in such activities 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.

Vedas bars human worship: ~

Translation:~

"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.)

Many people are stuck with the idea that without a Guru, truth-realization is impossible. Guru is only a religious fable. They do not even know whether what their Guru teaches is the truth.

Gurus themselves, dwelling in darkness, preach that their way is the only way, and the followers of the gurus follow the dualistic path like the blind led by the blind.

The Guru is useless so long as the ultimate truth is unknown, and the Guru is equally useless when the ultimate truth or Brahman has already been known.

The Guru is useless so long as the ultimate truth is unknown, and the Guru is equally useless when the ultimate truth or Brahman has already been known.

A Guru is needed in the religious and the yogic path. There is no need for a Guru to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

A person who realized the ultimate truth or Brahman will throw off his religious robe and all religious identity and live like a commoner. He never identifies himself as Gnani, nor does he identify himself as superior to others. He only shares his knowledge with 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.

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

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

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

All those who wear the sanyasin robes are wearing them for the sake of bread belong to the religion; they have nothing to do with the Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

There is no need to criticize and condemn the gurus, yogis, and swamis because they are needed for the welfare of the ignorant masses in the dualistic world.  : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

As flowing rivers disappear in the sea, losing their names and forms, so a Gnani, freed from the name, form, time, and space, attains the Advaitic Gnana or non-dualistic wisdom.+

As flowing rivers disappear in the sea, losing their names and forms, so a Gnani, freed from the name, form, time, and space, attains the Advaitic Gnana or non-dualistic wisdom.

Self–knowledge brings unity in diversity in perfect understanding of the nondual truth in the midst of diversity and conscious total merger of matter in the spirit.

All names and forms within the waking experience lose their sense of reality in the same way the dream experience loses its sense of reality when waking takes place.

Self-knowledge gives us the knowledge to inform us of the true nature of the ego, the universe, and the ultimate truth. All three are connected in such a way that the knowledge of one without the other is incomplete. Gaining this comprehensive knowledge constitutes liberation from experiencing duality [universe] as reality.

The witness is different from the witnessed; that Consciousness is distinguished as not being the same as the lifeless universe, which is in the form of the mind. The lifeless universe has no real existence without consciousness. Consciousness gives sentience to the insentient universe, which is in the form of the mind. The universe exists as a reality from the standpoint of matter as the Self.

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 because he uses his soul-centric reason.

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

Sage Sankara says in Brahma Sutras that Brahman is the cause of the world, whereas in Manduka he denies it.+

Sage Sankara varied his practical advice and doctrinal teaching according to the people he was amongst. He never told them to give up their particular religion or beliefs or metaphysics completely; he only told them to give up the worst features of abuse: at the same time, he showed just one step forward towards the truth.

Sage Gaudapada says, "The merciful Veda teaches karma and Upasana to people of lower and middling intellect, while jnana is taught to those of higher intellect."

Sage Sankara says in Brahma Sutras that Brahman is the cause of the world, whereas in Manduka he denies it.

Brahma Sutras, i.e., "Vedanta Sutras" by Badarayana, are intended for those of middling intellects, not for those who have the best brains: it is a semi-theological, semi-philosophical work; it starts with the assumption that Brahman exists.

The doctrine of causality taught in the Brahma Sutra is not the same as our highest Advaitic non-causality. It is only a beginning towards that; it says that you do not find in the effect what is not already present in the cause.

The Sutra-Bhashya of Sankara principally deals with the principle of superimposition, yet the pundits have not grasped its higher semantic value.

Brahma Sutras begin with the dogma of Brahman, but who has seen Brahman? It is a mere empty word like 'x'. Hence, it is called a book of religion, not philosophy. It is for beginners who have not yet unfolded discrimination, who believe in creation (i.e., causality), and who have to be raised as Anandagiri, the commentator himself writes.

The opening sentence is "All this is Brahman.” But nobody knows or has seen Brahman. If we say "All this is wood" and show a piece of wood, the words are understandable. Suppose you have never seen wood. Then what is the use of such a sentence? It becomes meaningless when the object indicated is seen by none. Hence, the Brahma Sutra opening is equivalent to "All this is X". Both have no meaning so long as they are not understood if we take them as the data to start from. It is for this reason that I say the book is intended for a theological mind,s because it begins with dogma, although its reasoning is close. For it starts with something imagined.

The Brahma Sutras, together with Sage Sankara's commentary thereon, do not contain higher Vedanta. They are intended for duffers.

Sage Sankara's commentary on Brahma Sutras is not on a philosophical basis, but on a religio-mystic one, with the appeal to the Vedas as the 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 Sankara explains in Manduka that those who study the Sutras are religious 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 Sruti and God's authority, in case they mean punishment by God. But we say: Keep the scriptures for children, but throw them on the fire for wise seekers. :~ Santthosh Kumaar

The seeker of truth must know the difference between the ordinary concept of God and the truth about God+.

The seeker of truth must know the difference between the ordinary concept of God and the truth about God.

Religious people believe the stories of Jesus, who raised the dead, and Krishna, who picked a mountain as a reality, but Jesus, who raised the dead, and Krishna, who picked a mountain within the dualistic illusion. Whatever belongs to dualistic illusion is bound to be an illusion.

One must remember that for all periods the Vedas are the final goal and authority, and if the Puranas differ in any respect from the Vedas, the Puranas are to be rejected without mercy.

If you feel the Puranas say something and the Vedas say something else, reject the Puranas and believe in the Vedas. The Puranas are just myths.

India takes pride in being the descendants of the Sages of truth who gave the Advaita the ultimate truth. The Advaitic truth is the truth beyond form, time, and space.

All the mythological God's existence is a myth. Such Gods can exist only within the dualistic illusion. Thus, the existence of such Gods is illusory.

Mythological gods and goddesses are based on blind belief. God in truth is not based on blind belief. The belief implies duality.

From the ultimate standpoint, the duality is merely an illusion. Thus, whatever one sees, knows, believes, and experiences within the dualistic illusion is bound to be an illusion.

Mythological stories are a myth. Whatever is based on myth is merely a superstition.

Mythology was introduced in the past for the ignorant masses. It has to be discarded as one progresses in their spiritual advancement.

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

Mythology breeds superstition, blind belief, senseless rituals, and the most irrationality,ity and gives them a divine outlook.

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

Mythological contains stories of people with 10 with, seven heads, etc., which are fables, yet are taken seriously by pundits.

All these stories are a reality within the dualistic illusion. The waking experience is a dualistic illusion.

Thus, whatever belongs to the dualistic illusion is bound to be a falsehood. In reality, there is no duality because there is only Oneness.

That the ancient sages had miraculous occult power and books relate stories of their feats, is that fairy tales were meant for children, women, and those whose minds had not developed.

When ‘Self’ is not you, then whatever you have seen, known, believed, and experienced as reality is bound to be an illusion. Thus, self-realization is necessary to realize your the present world in which you exist is merely an illusion.

If the present world in which you exist is merely an illusion, then whatever you believe as a reality in the world in which you exist is bound to be an illusion.

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.

Religious Gods are not God in truth. One must know God in truth.

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, with no differentiation. Only Atman exists.

Vedas and Upanishads confirm that the Soul, the Self, is present in the form of the Spirit or consciousness.

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 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.

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

There is a clear-cut idea of God in the Vedas, Upanishads, and Bhagavad Gita. And also, there is a clear-cut idea of what not to worship as God in place of the real God.

Thus, it proves from the Vedic perspective that the Puranic Gods are not Vedic Gods.

Vedas says never to accept another God in place of the Atman, nor worship other than the Atman.

That is why 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.  : ~Santthosh Kumaar

Stillness is the nondual nature of the invisible Soul, the Self. Stillness comes when ignorance vanishes.

When ignorance vanishes, then the invisible Soul, the Self, remains in its own awareness in the midst of the duality (the universe in which you exist.

The ‘I’ is present in the form of the mind. The mind is present in the form of the universe.

The universe is present in the form of form, time, and space. Without form, time, and space, there is no duality. The duality is not a reality from the standpoint of the invisible Soul, the Self.

The mind is present in the form of form, time, and space. Thus, whatever belongs to form, time, and space is a falsehood.

Thus, the universe in which we exist as a reality is a falsehood. Thus, there is a need to know ‘what is what’ to realize the truth beyond form, time, and space.

The ‘I’ disappears as deep sleep, so what is the use of being attached to it? It is impermanent and illusory because ‘I’ is physical awareness.

Physical awareness is not Self-awareness. ‘I-less awareness is Self-awareness or Atmic awareness.

There is really no ‘I’. The ‘I’ is present in the form of the mind. And the mind is in the form of the universe. And the universe appears as waking or a dream.

The ‘I’ or mind or the universe or waking or dream disappears as the invisible Soul in deep sleep.

Thus, one that appears as ‘I’ or mind or the universe or waking or dream is consciousness, and it disappears as deep sleep is also consciousness.

In deep sleep, it is in its formless, nondual true nature. The one that witnesses the coming and going of the three states is also consciousness. Thus, the witness and the witnessed are one in essence.

Thus, the universe is a reality on the base of individuality, and the universe is unreal on the base of the invisible Soul, the Self.

The seeker will gradually grasp and realize the unreal nature of the universe or mind.

Individuality is illusory because the Self is not an individual, because the Self is formless, and it pervades everything and everywhere in all three states.  : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

The truth is not physical and dualistic because the ultimate truth is the Soul or the Spirit, and nondualistic.+

Religion needs a Guru to propagate its belief system, whereas in the Atmic path, there is no need for a Guru.

The ultimate truth has to be ascertained by him alone. Yoga needs a Guru to guide its students to practice Samadhi.

Swami Vivekananda said: ~ “You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher but your own Soul.”

The one who says he is enlightened is not a Gnani. The Self is not you, but the Self is the invisible Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. How can you and the world in which you exist remain when the Self gets enlightenment?

Only the invisible Soul, the Self, remains in its own awareness in the midst of the dualistic illusion.

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

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

Thus, that who identify themselves as a swami, a Guru, or a yogi are not Gnani. A Gnani never identifies himself as a swami, Guru, pundit, or yogi.

The Swami, Guru, pundit, or the yogi belongs to the religious or the yogic path, not to the path of wisdom.

That is why Sage Sankara's commentary: ~ "The knower of Brahman (Gnani) wears no signs. (Page 489)

Page 500 asks in effect, "Tell us what you know, show it, and let us examine it under the mental microscope." It means we must bring notions and beliefs out of vagueness into clearness. It also criticizes the mystics who claim superior knowledge but who cannot communicate it for purposes of verification.

On page 482:~ On Gnani: "The knower of Brahman wears no signs. Gives up the insignia of a monk's life…his signs are not manifest, nor his behavior." When the knower of Brahman wears no signs ~ it means he does not identify himself as a Guru.

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

Those who seek should not stop seeking until they find. Know the Self, not ‘you’, and what is hidden beyond the form, time, and space will be disclosed to you.

The feat of a Guru, touching people and, thus, putting them into mystic states, is purely a physical or at best a psychological one; based on the power of suggestions, it has nothing to do with epistemology, with the question of truth.

The truth is not physical and dualistic because the ultimate truth is the Soul or the Spirit, and nondualistic.

The ultimate truth or Brahman has nothing to do with religion.

Religion is based on the illusory ‘I’ as a reality, whereas the ultimate truth or Brahman is beyond form, time, and space. If you are seeking truth, make sure you have chosen the right path. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Religion is built on the false foundation of belief and faith whereas Spirituality or Adyathma is based on the Spirit the God in truth.+

Religion is built on the false foundation of belief and faith whereas the Spirituality is based on the Spirit the God, which is the cause of the universe in which we exist.

You are searching for the truth. But you are ignorant of the fact that God does not reside in temples, churches, synagogues, or mosques.

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

First, realize what God is in actuality. The invisible Soul, the Self, is God in truth. No other God can exist other than the invisible Soul, the Self.

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

Yajurveda – chapter- 32:~ It has been said that God Supreme or Supreme 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 majority of the Indian populace worship sixty million Gods, without even doubting that such Gods are not found in their sacred Vedas. They must realize the God in truth, not what they believe and worship.

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

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

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 a worship-based God, based on blind faith, 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 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 the worshiper and the world are mere an illusion created out of the 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 rituals, formal observance have long since set in.

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

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, 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, and not that which people here worship.

Kena Upanishad (8) Chapter I:~ That which cannot he 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.

The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: ~"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)

Humanity has to awaken to the reality of its true existence by realizing the world in which humanity exists is merely an illusion created out of the consciousness through Self-knowledge, or Brahma Gnana, or Atma Gnana.

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