The seeker has to make a distinction between from non-dualistic perspective and the dualistic perspective.+

The seeker has to make a distinction between from non-dualistic perspective and the dualistic perspective.

From the non-dualistic perspective, the world in which he exists is an illusion. From the dualistic perspective, the world in which he exists is a reality.

If the seeker wants to realize the truth, then he has to discard all the religious beliefs and yogic practices and scriptural studies.

Nothing is needed in pursuit of truth other than an intense urge and receptivity to realize the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space.

That is why Sage Sankara: ~ VC 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 (verses-6)

Sage Sankara said:~ -Neither by the practice of yoga nor philosophy, nor by good works nor by learning, does liberation come, but only through the realization that Atman and Brahman are one in no other way. (1) Vivekachoodamani v 56, pg~25

Sage Sankara’s wisdom has nothing to do with religion and yoga.

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 truth beyond form, time, and space.

Religion and yoga are meant for the first audience, to help lead their followers along the way. Sage Sankara’s Advaita, with its emphasis on Advaitic wisdom, is meant for those who wish to go beyond such transient pleasures.

First, you have to realize that the Self is not you, but the Self is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. It is the invisible Soul that is in ignorance.

It is the invisible Soul that is experiencing the dualistic illusion (the world, in which you exist) as a reality. When the invisible Soul wakes up in its own awareness, ignorance vanishes, and then the illusory reality (the world, in which you exist) never again remains as a reality.

There is nothing to realize other than realizing the universe in which you exist is nothing but consciousness. Consciousness alone is real and eternal; the universe is merely an illusion. Consciousness is the ultimate truth, or Brahman or God in truth.: ~Santthosh Kumaar

First of all, you must give the meaning of Brahman!+

Yogi may see a hill in his Yogic Samadhi, but how does he know that hill is Brahman?

Sage Goudapada’s rational exposition of Advaita: ~ Whatever is seen, whether external or internal, whether by the ordinary persons or yogis, is unreal

First of all, you must give the meaning of Brahman!

BRAHMAN -The English use of the word real as applied to the material world, whereas Indian Sages of truth use it as applied to unseen Brahman. Hence, many errors have arisen in translations from Sanskrit.

BRAHMAN- The word Brahman or Sat has no proper equivalent in English. The nearest is the ultimate reality or the ultimate truth. The West, however, applies reality to individual objects or to the multiplicity of them all, whereas the Sages of Advaita apply it to the non-duality. Brahman is called "That" because it is something not known yet by the seeker.

The Brahman means the ultimate truth or ultimate reality. The ultimate reality is God.

A madman can say, “This rock is an elephant.” So until he defines an elephant, we cannot say what he means.

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

First, you must know what God is supposed to be.

There is a clear-cut idea in the scriptures, what is supposed to be God. And what not to worship in place of God, then why worship the belief in the religious idea of God, which is not God?

That is why 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 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)

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 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.

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

People who worship a religious God based on blind belief are hallucinating that they become one with such a God.

The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad declares: "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)

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

The Vedas themselves declare: 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 is real worship.

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

The 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. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar 

Sage Sankara had tremendous intellectual power, throwing the scorching light of reason upon everything.+

Sage Vasistha: ~ “We contemplate that reality in which everything exists, to which everything belongs, and from which everything has emerged, which is the cause of everything that is and which is everything.

Sage Vasistha: ~ “This world appearance is confusion, even as the blueness of the sky is an optical illusion. I think it is better not to let the mind dwell on it, but to ignore it.

Isa Upanishads indicate that:~ The time one spends in ritualistic practices is wasted; one can spend the same time moving forward towards Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana, which is the main goal.

An effort is necessary up to the state of realization. Even then, the Self should spontaneously become evident. Otherwise, happiness will not be complete. Up to that state of spontaneity, there must be an effort in some form or another.

The ever-present 'Self' needs no effort to be realized. Realization is already there. Ignorance alone is to be removed. Sages say the words from a Gnani remove it.

Remember:~

Sage Sankara had tremendous intellectual power, throwing the scorching light of reason upon everything.

Sage Sankara says: ~ 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.

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

When you finally realize the Self is not you but the Self is the invisible Soul, then you will realize the world in which you exist is merely an illusion created out of the invisible Soul. The invisible Soul is present in the form of consciousness.

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 go only by an inquiry into the nature of the external world.

Sage Sankara says: ~ “What is accepted without a proper inquiry will not lead a person to the final goal. On the contrary, such acceptance will result only in evil, in something detrimental to our spiritual progress.

Sage Sankara says: - VC-47 All the effects of ignorance, root, and branch, are burnt down by the fire of knowledge, which arises from discrimination between these two—the Self and the non-Self.

Until you think you are an individual separate from the world and the world that existed prior to you, and you are born in it afterward, ignorance will prevail as a reality. Till ignorance is there, the universe prevails as reality.

Sage Sankara says: ~ “The exercise in discrimination between real and unreal and renunciation of the false is real meditation, then why are you indulging in other types of meditation.

Perfect understanding and realization of ‘what is what’ leads to Self-awareness. By holding onto theories, one remains in the realm of duality.

You have to mentally go on dropping what is not the truth through deeper self-search.

Finally, when you become aware that your ego, your body, and the world are one in essence, then there is Self-awareness in the midst of duality.: ~Santthosh Kumaar

The one which appears as the duality and disappears as nonduality is the invisible Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.=

The ‘I’ hides the truth of the whole. The realization of the ultimate truth or Brahman is possible only when the seeker inquires into the nature of the ‘I’. The ‘I’ is present in the form of the mind.

The mind is present in the form of the universe, and the universe appears as waking or dream (duality) and disappears as deep sleep (nonduality).

The one that appears as the duality and disappears as nonduality is the invisible Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Do not try to know who you are? By inquiring ‘Who am ‘I’, you will never reach the ultimate end of understanding. ‘Who am ‘I?’-inquiry is inadequate to realize the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space.

Try to find out what this ‘I’ is that appears and disappears. What is it that knows this appearance and disappearance of the ‘I’?

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

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.

The universe is merely an illusion created out of consciousness. The water is the cause of the ice block. An ice block melts in the presence of heat and becomes one with the cause, which is the water.

In the same way, the illusory universe melts and becomes consciousness when the cause of the illusory universe is unfolded

Māyā:~

Maya, or illusion, is the most important contribution of Sage Sankara. Maya or illusion is that complex illusory power of the Atman (Soul), which is present in the form of consciousness. Consciousness is the ultimate reality or Brahman.

Ignorance is the cause of experiencing the dualistic illusion as a reality.

Maya, or the dualistic illusion, is present in the form of the mind (I). And the mind (I) is in the form of the universe. And universe appears as waking or dream (duality) and disappears as deep sleep (Nonduality).

The waking experience is real from the standpoint of the waking entity (ego). The waking experience is unreal from the standpoint of the invisible Soul, the Self.

The cause of the three states is consciousness (Brahman but consciousness itself is untouched by the profanity of illusion (Maya).

Dualistic Illusion (Maya) is temporary and is destroyed with Self-knowledge, or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. :~Santthosh Kumaar

Chandogya Upanishad: ~ “Whoever sees the Self in all does not see death, disease, or diversity. 

The Self is the invisible and unborn Soul hidden by the ‘I’.

The ‘I’ is present in the form of the mind; therefore, ‘I’ is the mind.

The mind is present in the form of form, time, and space.

The form, time, and space together are the mind.

The duality is present only when the form, time, and space are present; therefore, the form, time, and space together are the duality.

The form, time, and space are present in the form of the universe; therefore, the form, time, and space together are the universe.

The universe appears as the waking or dream; therefore, the waking or dream is the universe.

The waking is a parallel dream, and the dream is a parallel waking.

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

The ‘I’ hides the invisible Soul, the Self, which is unborn, eternal.

People think the ‘I’ without the body is the Self. The seeker has to realize that ‘I’ is not the Self, but the invisible Soul, which is the cause of the ‘I’, is the true Self. The invisible Soul is nondual, which is eternal.:~Santthosh Kumaar

Direct knowledge of Brahman cannot be obtained by a study of the holy books, Scriptures, philosophies, and theories.+

Panchadasi says: ~ "If a person cannot undertake the study into the nature of Brahman, either through a dull intellect or through want of accessories for such inquiry, he must be constantly engaged in the meditation on Brahman." The term accessories here means "the person who knows Brahman, i.e. Gnani.

Direct knowledge of Brahman cannot be obtained by a study of the holy books, Scriptures, philosophies, and theories. Holy books, Scriptures, philosophies, and theories all lead to confusion and contradiction because they are based on the dualistic perspective.

Whatever is based on the dualistic perspective is bound to be an illusion, because the duality is merely an illusion from the ultimate standpoint.

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

Sage Sankara strongly advocated the study of Upanishads, and at the same time, cautioned that the study of Upanishads alone would not lead to moksha. In matters such as spiritual attainment, one’s own realization was the sole authority, and it cannot be disputed

Self-knowledge cannot be attained by the study of the scriptures and intellectual understanding or by bookish knowledge. Therefore, there is no use in studying the scriptures and other scriptures to acquire the nondual wisdom. That is why Bhagavan Buddha rejected the scriptures, and even Sage Sankara indicated that the ultimate truth lies beyond religion, the concept of God, and scriptures.

Sage Sankara, indicated in Bhaja Govindam, says: ~ “One without knowledge does not obtain liberation even in a hundred births, no matter which religious faith he follows.

Sage Sankara himself had often said that his philosophy was based on Sruti, or revealed scripture. This may be because Sage Sankara addressed the ordinary man, who finds security in the idea of causality and thus, in the idea of God, and Revelation is indispensable to prove the latter. He believed that those of superior intelligence have no need of this idea of divine causality and can, therefore, dispense with Sruti and arrive at the truth of Advaita by pure reason.

The ultimate truth or Brahman does not become established by mastering the holy books, Scriptures, philosophies, and theories

Sage Sankara says the transparent truth of the Self, which is hidden by the illusion, is to be attained through the instructions of a knower of Brahman (Gnani)

It is not possible to realize the Advaitic truth without Self-knowledge, or Brahma Gnana, or Atma Gnana. Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana can be acquired by pondering over and over again upon the subject until whatever object one finds before he is seen as consciousness, which is Brahman. This must become so firmly rooted that he must have a firm conviction that the world in which he exists is nothing but consciousness. :~Santthosh Kumaar

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

Sage Sankara: ~ VC Neither sacred baths nor any amount of charity nor even Hundreds of pranayamas* can give us knowledge about the 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 the 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. After all, "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 the fact 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

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, the 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 invisible Soul which is present in the form of consciousness.

The invisible Soul is the Self. The invisible 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