Upanishads:~ Fools dwelling in darkness, but thinking they are wise and erudite, go round and round, by various tortuous paths.+

The path of wisdom attracts only those who are in search of truth, and they appreciate it greatly. The ignorant are not spiritually mature enough to receive Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana, or Atma Gnana.

The ignorant indulge in argument and provocation and personal attack, which hinders their own realization of the ultimate truth or Brahman.

Upanishads:~ Fools dwelling in darkness, but thinking they are wise and erudite, go round and round, by various tortuous paths, like the blind led by the blind. (Upanishads Nikilanada - Ch II-5 P-14)

Advaita is not the path of exchange of views or discussion. The seeker has to read, think deeply, and reflect on the subject constantly until the truth becomes firm. When the seeker has a firm conviction of what is reality, then the unreality fades on its own.

Everyone’s inner work is on. Until a man is ripe to receive Self-knowledge, he will not be able to understand what I am saying.

Even they may find it difficult in the first, as they go on reading and reflecting repeatedly the post their subconscious will start dropping the dualistic egocentric knowledge and start accepting the Soul-centric Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

Grasping the truth depends on the spiritual maturity of the seeker. A Gnani shares the knowledge by inspiring the serious and sincere seekers of truth and diverting their attention towards the inward reality.

As their urge is at the seed level, and as they go on reading the words of wisdom, it will start growing.

It takes time for the seeker to gain the perfect understanding of ‘what is truth’ and ’what is untruth’. It takes time for the invisible Soul, the Self, to wake up from the sleep of ignorance, and it takes time for one to realize the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space

Self-knowledge is not a question-and-answer session. As the seeker digs into old and new posts, he will gradually start understanding and assimilating the Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

It is a waste of time to spend time in discussion with unqualified people.

Jesus said: ~ “ Do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you. (Matthew -7:6)

~ Jesus meant knowledge of Spirit or God or Self-knowledge should not be shared with unqualified people.

The ultimate truth has to be realized first, and then only it is possible to know what the scriptures are saying. :~ Santthosh Kumaar

Ashtavakra:~

When Ashtavakra was twelve years old, Janak hosted a huge debating conference. Janak was an emperor, and he invited the pundits of the whole country to debate on the scriptures. He had one thousand cows placed at the palace gate and had the horns of the cows plated with gold and decorated with jewels. He proclaimed, “Whoever is victorious shall take possession of these cows.”

It was a great debate. Ashtavakra’s father also participated. As dusk was falling, the message came to Ashtavakra that his father was losing. He had already defeated all the others, but he was about to be defeated by a pundit named Vandin. Receiving this message, Ashtavakra went to the palace. The hall was decorated. The debate was in its final stage, and the decisive moment was fast approaching. His father’s defeat was a complete forgone conclusion – he was on the very edge of defeat.

The pundits saw Ashtavakra as he entered the royal court. They were all learned scholars. His body was bent and deformed in eight places: he had just to move and anyone would start laughing. His very movement was a laughing matter. The whole meeting broke into laughter. Ashtavakra also roared with laughter. Janak asked, “Everyone else is laughing. I can understand why they laugh, but why did you laugh, my son?”

Ashtavakra said, “I am laughing because the truth is being decided in this conference of butchers” – the man must have been extraordinary. ”What are all these skinners doing here?” A deep silence fell over the meeting. Butchers? Skinners? The king asked,

”What do you mean?”

Ashtavakra said, “It is simple and straightforward: They only see skin, they don’t see me. It is difficult to find a man more pure and simple than I, but they don’t see this; they see a bent and deformed body. They are skinners; they judge by the skin. Your Majesty, in the curve of a temple, is the sky curved? When a pot is smashed, is the sky smashed? The sky is beyond change. My body is twisted, but I am not. Look at the one within. You can’t find anything more straight and pure.”

It was a very startling declaration. There must have been pin-drop silence. Janak was impressed, astounded: “Absolutely right, why had he gathered a crowd of skinners there?” He became repentant; he felt guilty that he, too, had laughed. That day, the king couldn’t manage to say anything, but the following day, when he was out on his morning ride, he saw Ashtavakra on the way. Janak dismounted from his horse and fell at his feet. The day before, in front of everyone, he couldn’t find the courage.

The day before, he had said, “Why do you laugh, my son?” Ashtavakra was a boy of twelve years, and Janak had considered his age. This day he didn’t notice the age. This day, he got down from his horse and fell at Ashtavakra’s feet, spread-eagled in prostration.

He said, “Please visit the palace, and satisfy my eagerness for the truth.

Oh, lord, be so gracious as to come to my home. I have understood! I couldn’t sleep the whole night. You spoke truly: what depths of understanding have those who recognize only the body? They are debating the being, but attraction and repulsion for the body still arise; hate and attraction still arise. They are looking at death while talking of the deathless! I’m blessed that you came and disturbed me, that you broke my sleep. Please come to the palace!

Janak had the palace decorated magnificently. He welcomed Ashtavakra and seated him on a golden throne – this 12-year-old Ashtavakra. Then he put his questions to him. The first sutra is Janak’s inquiry. Janak asked, and Ashtavakra explained. Beyond this, nothing is known about Ashtavakra. And there is no need to know more, it is more than enough! Diamonds are not many; only pebbles and rocks are so common. A single diamond is enough. Maha Gita- by OSHO.

Even highly educated people are caught up in orthodoxy just because they have inherited it from their forefathers.+

Advatic Gnana (Advaitic wisdom) is given neither from outside nor from another person. The Guru of everyone is only the invisible Soul, the Self that is always revealing on its own.

The Seeker has to grow from the inside out by Soulcentric reasoning. None can teach him, none can make him reach the ultimate end of understanding. There is no other Guru but the invisible Soul, the Self.

The seeker must personally strive by all means to be free from the bondage of ignorance (I).

Bhagavan Buddha: ~ No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.

Orthodoxy is meant for the ignorant populace. Even highly educated people are caught up in orthodoxy just because they have inherited it from their forefathers.

Sage Sankara and Sage Goudpada have declared non-dual truth centuries back, but one has to reach the destination with the scientific (rational) investigation, not through punditry and intellectuality. One has to mentally reach the final conclusion, then only the conviction becomes firm. Without a firm conviction, wisdom will not dawn. Therefore, there is a need to realize that consciousness is real, all else is a myth, which Sage Sri, Sri, Sankara declared as the world is a myth, Brahman alone is real.

Sage Sankara says Atman is Brahman, and everything that is Brahman is a scientific declaration, not religious or yogic. Sage Sankara and Sage Goudpada are more scientific than anyone else in the world. Since the real Advaitic essence is hidden, it cannot be obtained without the inner (mental) journey.

Sage Goudpada says that: - The merciful Veda teaches karma and Upasana to people of lower and middling intellect, while Jnana is taught to those of higher intellect.

Gnana here is Advaitic truth or rational truth, or scientific truth. Thus, their scientific truth of the whole, not the part, was declared by Sage Sankara 1400 years back and taught only to those of higher intellect. Thus, karma and Upasana, yoga, and orthodoxy have to be bifurcated to realize the ultimate truth. Or Brahman.

Advaitic Wisdom is for those who are capable of inquiring into their own existence to know and realize the ultimate truth or Brahman.. – Santthosh Kumaar

Imparting the Advaitic wisdom to the unprepared mindset would be ‘equivalent to giving sermons to the stone statues.+

Imparting the Advaitic wisdom to the unprepared mindset would be ‘equivalent to giving sermons to the stone statues.

Everyone is not ripe enough to understand and assimilate the Nondualistic or Advaitic truth. Some people want to exhibit their intellectual wealth, but it has no value in the pursuit of truth.

The seeker must have enough patience, humility, and an intense urge to know the truth.

Arguments and provocation will not yield truth. Perfect understanding of ‘what is what ‘leads to the realization of Nondualistic or Advaitic truth.

As the seeker's understanding of ‘what is what ‘grows, gradually the seeker gets a glimpse of truth.

Sage Sankara and Sage Goudpada have declared nondualistic truth centuries back, but one has to reach the destination with a scientific rationale investigation, not through punditry and intellectuality.

One has to mentally reach the final conclusion, then only the conviction becomes firm. Without firm conviction, wisdom will not dawn. Therefore, there is a need to know consciousness is real, all else is a myth, which Sage Sankara declared as the world is a myth, Brahman alone is real.

Sage Sankara says Atman is Brahman and everything is Brahman, which is a scientific declaration, not religious or yogic.

Sage Sankara and Sage Goudpada are more scientific than anyone else in the world. Since the real Advaitic essence is hidden, it cannot be obtained without the inner (mental) journey.

Sage Goudpada says that: - The merciful Veda teaches karma and Upasana to people of lower and middling intellect, while Jnana is taught to those of higher intellect.

Gnana here is knowledge, uncontradictable truth, or scientific truth. Thus, their scientific truth of the whole, not the part, was declared by Sage Sankara many centuries back and taught only to those of higher intellect. Thus, karma and Upasana, yoga, and orthodoxy have to be bifurcated to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman.

Advaitic Wisdom is for those who are capable of inquiring into their own existence to know and realize the ultimate truth or Brahman.. –Santthosh Kumaar

Advaitic wisdom is brighter, greater, which unfolds the mystery of the universe contains the whole of humanity.+

India is an ancient land where wisdom made its home. India, whose soil has been trodden by the feet of the greatest Sages of truth like Bhagavan Buddha, Sage Sankara, and Sage Goudpada.

India is the fountainhead of the Advaitic wisdom. Advaitic wisdom is brighter, greater, which unfolds the mystery of the universe contains the whole of humanity.

The goal of the truth-seeker is to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. Self-knowledge, or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana, is inherent in every seeker of truth. Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana does not come from outside; it is hidden within the world in which we exist.

Buddha is not physical. Buddha is the state that is empty of the illusory division of form, time, and space. Buddha is the fullness of consciousness.

Buddhism has nothing to do with Buddha because Buddhism is physical. Buddhism is based on form, time, and space, whereas Buddha is a formless, timeless, and spaceless existence.

From a Nondualistic perspective, nothingness or emptiness is the real nature of the invisible Soul, the Self.

The invisible Soul, the Self, is identified as nothingness or emptiness because it is a formless, timeless, and spaceless existence.

Everything is nothingness. Nothingness is everything, and everything is nothingness. Nothingness is nonduality, and everything is duality. Nothingness is the real nature of the invisible Soul, the Self, and everything else is the unreal nature of the invisible Soul.

Nothingness is eternal because there is no second thing that exists other than nothingness, which is the nature of the invisible and unborn Soul.

The Dalai Lama said:~ Buddhism need not be the best religion, though it is most scientific and religion and inquisitive. But Buddhism has no answer to certain questions like the existence of Atama (Soul) and rebirth. The Dalai lama said that as an individual, he believes in rebirth as he had come across a few cases of rebirth. Modern science, the Dalai Lama hoped, would unearth the mystery behind the rebirth. (In DH –dec-212009-Gulbarga).

The Buddhists are unaware that the invisible Soul is Self-evident. It is not established by extraneous proofs. It is not possible to deny the invisible Soul because it is the very essence of the one who denies it.

The invisible Soul is the basis of all kinds of knowledge, presuppositions, and proofs. The invisible Soul is everything. Thus, the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, is the ultimate truth or Brahman.

Buddhists believe in emptiness, but they are unaware that emptiness is the nature of the invisible Soul.

The invisible Soul is the Self. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. The invisible Soul is the witness consciousness that experiences the action, the actor, and the world of separate things. It is like a light that illuminates everything in a theater, revealing the master of ceremonies, the guests, and the dancers with complete impartiality. Even when they all depart, the light shines to reveal their absence.

Bhagavan Buddha gave nondualistic wisdom, whereas Buddhism has many teachings. Bhagavan Buddha’s wisdom was lost because it was buried under the diverse teachings of Buddhism.

Buddhism has not proved the truth of Nonduality, whereas Buddha pointed out the unreality of the world, and he told people they were foolish to cling to it. But he stopped there. He came nearest to Advaita in speech, but not to Advaita fully.

Buddhism does not prove the truth of nonduality because they do not believe in the existence of the Soul. Without the existence of the Soul, talking of nonduality is like building a castle in the air.

Sage Sankara disagrees with Buddhists who say there is nothing - a nonentity. Sage Sankara believes there is some reality, even though things are not what they appear to be. If one knows the truth, they will know what to do to find inspiration for action. The seeker of truth‘s subject is to know what it is that is Real.

Buddhism says: all things are illusory and nothing exists. However, Advaita avers that it is not so. It says that the universe, of course, is illusory, but there is Brahman (consciousness) that exists, forming the very substratum of all things (illusion or universe).

Advaitic Sages disagree with Buddhists only on the Ultimate question, but they agree with their idealism fully.

Even when you say "I am not," you are thinking. Hence, every thought means positing some existence. To exist is to be thought of; hence our criticism of Sunyavada, which says there is nothing. In saying "There is nothing," they are unconsciously positing something. The thought of nothing is existence itself. Hence, only by refraining from thought can they state their case. The thought itself is an object. The negation of existence is a thought.

The presence of an object means duality. Hence, this proves that the Sunyavadins never understood non-duality, i.e., Brahman.

Buddhism agrees in thinking that the ego sees itself; they do not admit there is anything that sees the ego: they say there is no proof that any witness exists. When thoughts are there, thoughts become conscious of them. Skandhas, which appear and disappear, are objects that only Buddhists are aware of as the subject.

Only when we independently search for the truth without religion and its doctrine will we be able to realize the truth beyond form, time, and space.

Sage Sankara and Bhagavan Buddha have given the world a common message. The essence of both the Sages is: ~

The entire world which one perceives is illusionary; it is just an appearance of unreality, and there is only one indeterminate and attributeless truth at the root of this world".

Sage Sankara and Sage Goudpada declared nondualistic truth centuries ago. The seeker has to reach the destination with scientific (rational investigation, not through punditry and intellectuality.

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

The seeker must have the courage of Bhagavan Buddha to accept the truth and reject the untruth. Since Bhagavan Buddha rejected religion, the idea of God, and scriptures, therefore, it is evident that he has gone through every aspect and verified and found them to be inadequate and useless for the pursuit of truth.

That is why Buddha said: ~ “Believe nothing because a wise man said it, Believe nothing because it is generally held. Believe nothing because it is written. Believe nothing because it is said to be divine. Believe nothing because someone else said it. But believe only what you yourself judge to be true.'

Buddha: - There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth: not going all the way... and not starting.

One has to mentally reach the final conclusion, then only the conviction becomes firm. Without firm conviction, wisdom will not dawn. Therefore, there is a need to know consciousness is real, all else is a myth, which Sage Sankara declared as the world is a myth, Brahman alone is real.

Sage Sankara says Atman is Brahman, and everything that is Brahman is a scientific declaration, not religious or yogic. Sage Sankara and Sage Goudpada are more scientific than anyone else in the world. Since the real Advaitic essence is hidden, it cannot be obtained without the inner (mental) journey.

Sage Goudpada says that: - The merciful Veda teaches karma and Upasana to people of lower and middling intellect, while Jnana is taught to those of higher intellect.

Gnana here is knowledge, uncontradictable truth, or scientific truth. Thus, their scientific truth of the whole, not the part, was declared by Sage Sankara many centuries ago and taught only to those of higher intellect. Thus, karma and Upasana, yoga, and orthodoxy have to be bifurcated to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman.

Advaitic Wisdom is for those who are capable of inquiring into their own existence to know and realize the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth. : ~Santthosh Kumaar

Sage Sankara says:~ How can the talk of diversity, dvaita, apply to the Supreme Reality, which is one and homogeneous, Advaita.+

Existence is nondual. Nonduality cannot be described by means of words, for all uses of language fail to express it. Nonduality is sought to be indicated by the negation of duality (all attributes and characteristics).

Sage Sankara says:~ How can the talk of diversity, dvaita, apply to the Supreme Reality, which is one and homogeneous, Advaita? Who has ever observed diversity, dvaita, in the unmixed bliss of the state of profound sleep?

Advaitic Gnana or nondual wisdom is for those who are capable of inquiring into their own existence to know and realize the ultimate truth or Brahman.

The Advaitic wisdom is not suited for the unsettled mind, which sticks to religion, yoga, and all non-Vedic worship and activities. There is no use in convincing such a mindset. Everyone is free to move on their chosen path.

The path of wisdom is divided into three parts:~

First: hearing the truth--that the consciousness is the only reality and that the universe, along with you, is merely an illusion or Maya.

Second: reasoning upon the words of wisdom of Sage Sankara from all points of view.

Third: giving up all further argumentation and realizing the truth. This realization comes from being certain that consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman, or God in truth.

You are being conditioned by the religious myth, which has made you a non-thinker. Come out of the religious myth by realizing God in truth.

Realizing everything as Consciousness is God realization because the Rig Veda says Consciousness is God in truth.

If one is fully aware of the fact that the Self is not formed but the Self is formless, then all three states will naturally become unreal.

If one makes no discriminations, the thousands of things are as they are, of a single stuff. To understand the mystery of this single stuff is to be released from all entanglements.

When all things are seen equally, the timeless Self-stuff is reached. No comparisons or analogies are possible in this causeless, relation-less state, which is an illusion-less existence.

The observer and the observed (three states) are one in essence. Until we can view and judge from the standpoint of the observer, we will not become aware that the observer and observed (three states) are one in essence. The essence is consciousness. Thus, consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman.

If the Advaita is bifurcated from all the religious add-ons, it becomes scientific, then it becomes very easy to understand and assimilate.

All these scientific inventions are nearer to the truth, but they are not the truth in themselves.

Bhagavan Buddha, Sage Sankara, and Sage Goudpada have declared non-dual truth centuries back, but one has to reach the destination with scientific[rational] investigation, not through punditry. Until one mentally reaches the conclusion, the conviction will not arise.

Without the firm conviction, the wisdom will not dawn. Therefore, there is a need to know consciousness is real, all else is myth, which Sage Sankara declared as the world is myth, Brahman alone is real.

Sage Sankara says Atman is Brahman, and everything that is Brahman is a scientific declaration, not religious or yogic.

Sage Sankara and Goudpada are more scientific than anyone else in the world. Since the real Advaitic essence is hidden, it cannot be obtained without the inner (mental) journey.

Sage Gaudapada says that:- The merciful Veda teaches karma and Upaasana to people of lower and middling intellect, while Jnana is taught to those of higher intellect.

Gnana here is knowledge, uncontradictable truth, or scientific truth. Thus, their scientific truth of the whole not part was declared by Sage Sankara 1400 years back and taught only to those of higher intellect. Thus, karma and upasana[religion and yoga], which are meant for the masses, have to be bifurcated from Advaita to reach the ultimate end.

Gnana or non-dual Wisdom is for those who are capable of inquiring into their own existence to know and realize the ultimate truth or Brahman.

When one goes into the annals of history, it looks like the true Advaita expounded by Sage Sankara and his param guru, Sage Goudpada, was lost or mutilated by the orthodox cult, because their preaching is based on nonduality, and practices are based on duality.

Sage Sankara says in the Brahma Sutras that Brahman is the cause of the world, whereas in Manduka Upanisad, he denies it. This is because he says that at the lower stage of understanding, the former teaching must be given, for people will get frightened as they cannot understand how the world can be without a cause, but to those in a higher stage, the truth of non-causality can be revealed.

Sage Sankara himself has warned us not to use ambiguous words, and to practice semantic analysis in his book "Definition of one's own Self. (" Page 199, v.24 of "Sankara's Selected Works)

Brahman is considered the all-pervading consciousness, which is the basis of all the animate and inanimate entities and material. (brahmano hi pratisthaham, Bhagavad Gita 14.27)

Sage, Sankara’s notion of Maya, the cosmic illusion (mind or matter), which must be transcended to realize the truth of Brahman, which means ultimate truth.

If Brahman is considered the all-pervading consciousness, then it is necessary to realize consciousness as self, which pervades all the three states, to realize the fact that there is no second thing exists other than consciousness. Thus, consciousness (Atman) is the ultimate truth (Brahman).

The Sruti itself says: "This Atma is not to be attained by a study of the Vedas. (Katha Upanishad I, 2, 23.)

It means the seeker has to investigate on their own and realize the ultimate truth.

Ultimate Truth can be known if the seeker keeps up the pursuit to the very end, whereas some assert that ultimate truth cannot be known.

When the Vedas and Upanishads declare that Consciousness or Atman is actually nothing but Brahman, then why go round and round, by various tortuous paths, like the blind led by the blind?

One has to realize that the mind is in the form of the universe. Trace the source of the mind and realize that the source is consciousness. The mind rises from consciousness as waking or dream and subsides as deep sleep.

All are searching for truth within the illusion, not being aware that the illusion is created out of a single stuff, which is consciousness, because everyone thinks their body and their experience of the universe are not consciousness, and consciousness is limited to their body.

Thus, searching the truth in illusion with the illusory self, within the illusory experience, has to be an illusion. The illusion is created, sustained, and finally dissolved as consciousness. Consciousness is the material of the illusion. Since there is no second thing other than consciousness, consciousness itself is God or Brahman. This conviction derives only through deeper inquiry, analysis, and reasoning.

Many People want to take as little trouble as possible and gain as much as possible. They disdain the hard labour of thinking needed in pursuit of truth and hope to get truth by doing nothing, i.e., merely believing or refraining from thought in yoga.

Conversion can occur only in the sphere of religion, never in the pursuit of truth. When one knows the non-dual truth, one becomes free from the sphere of imagination.

If one’s reason is not sharp enough, then only religion and yoga can satisfy him. The seeker of truth examines both scientific and religious doctrines and discoveries to evaluate them.::~Santthosh Kumaar

The orthodox mass argues that any and all problems with the world can be attributed to the groups and ideas that they most dislike. +

The religious orthodox want to wage war against modernity: secularism, science, reproductive rights, and the Enlightenment generally.

The orthodox mass argues that any and all problems with the world can be attributed to the groups and ideas that they most dislike.

One of the worst aspects of this attitude is how some religions latch on to any tragedy to promote their theocratic vision. Every religion argues that only their religion and their God can cure whatever ails this world.

History speaks that man has made it challenging to understand why he has experienced and witnessed such an array of human behavior.

With constant introspection and the continued judgments of right and wrong, good and bad, just and unjust, it has been a constant challenge to find and understand the truth behind his physical existence.

This subject is super sensitive, yet if one is to continue in their pursuit of truth, then there is a need for perfect understanding and assimilation.

There is a need to stop these wars and violence, which are going on in the name of religion and God, by knowing and understanding, and realizing the universal truth, which holds the whole universe in which humanity exists. The universal truth alone is God; all else is merely an illusion.

In the Vedas, God has been described as:~

Sakshi (Witness)

Chetan (conscious)

Nirguna (Without form and properties)

Nitya (eternal)

Shuddha (pure)

Buddha (omniscient)

Mukta (unattached).

So, it clearly indicates that God is formless; thus, there is no scope for a form-based God. The religion and its conceptual Gods, and its theories of karma, heaven, hell, papa, Punya, rebirth, and 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: ~Santthosh Kumaar

Sage Sankara:~ "The ignorant see the body of a knower of Brahman(Gnani) and identify him with it.+

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

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

Select Works of Sankara" also his commentary on Brihad: ~ “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 Guru with 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.

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

Exploring if an outside observer can, in all cases, determine if a person is Enlightened or not, the venerated Sage Sankara, in his work The Crest-Jewel of Discrimination (1) or as it is sometimes known, Viveka Chudamani (2), states that the Knower of the Atman (i.e., a Gnani) "bears no outward mark of a holy man" (Stanza 539).

Sage Sankara writes (on a Gnani): - “Sometimes he appears to be a Fool, sometimes a wise man. Sometimes he seems splendid as a king, sometimes feeble-minded. Sometimes he is calm and silent. Sometimes he draws men to him. Sometimes people honor him greatly, sometimes they insult him. Sometimes they ignore him.

Sage Sankara:~ "The ignorant see the body of a knower of Brahman(Gnani) and identify him with it. Actually, the Soul, the Self, is free from the body and every other kind of bondage. To the Self, the body is merely a shadow."

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

A Gnani cannot have the idea of renouncing the world or giving up something of the practical world, because that would connote the idea of duality. Duality is merely an illusion from the ultimate standpoint. Knowing no second thing at all, there remains nothing to be given up.

Self-knowledge is the truest knowledge, not the absence of duality. Self-knowledge cannot destroy the world, but it eliminates ignorance and exposes the unreal nature of the mind or universe.

A Gnani is the one who has realized that the universe in which he exists is nothing but consciousness. Self-awareness is unique. It cannot be experienced because it is prior to any experience. It is possible only by the realization of the knowledge of the Infinite."

A Gnani sees only unity in diversity, just like a goldsmith estimating the gold in various items of jewelry sees only gold.

When one identifies the Self with the form, then only the form, time, and space are present. But when one transcends form, time, and space, the duality never remains as reality.  : ~ Santthosh Kumaar