Sage Sankara introduced Who AM I? for the beginners. As the seeker progresses in his quest for the truth he has to discard and go deeper to reach the ultimate realization. +

It is foolish to say I AM FORMLESS or I AM BRAHMAN because you cease to exist without the form. The Self is not you but the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

The unborn Soul, the Self is a formless, timeless, and spaceless existence. The invisible Soul is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth. Those who say I AM THIS or I AM THAT are still in the grip of ignorance.

Remember:~

Make sure the Self is not ‘I’. If the Self is not ‘I’ then whatever you have seen, known, believed, and experienced as an individual is bound to be a falsehood.

If the Self is not ‘I’ then there is no other ‘I’ because the ‘I’ exists only in the domain of the duality. The Self is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

The nature of the Soul is formless, timeless, and spaceless existence. The ‘I’ is the illusory nature of the Self, which appears and disappears.

Thus, holding the Self as ‘I’ and trying to assimilate Advaitic truth is like trying to drain the ocean drop by drop.

What is this “I”?

The ‘I’ is the mind. The mind is present in the form of the universe. Only when the mind is present then the universe is present. without the mind, the universe ceases to exist.

The universe appears as a waking or dream(duality) and disappears as the Soul in deep sleep (nonduality).

If the ‘I’ is an illusion, then it is no use in inquiring ‘Who Am I? Till one holds the Self as the ‘I’ the Soul, the Self is caught up in the prison of the dualistic illusion or Maya.

Bhagvad Gita: ~ “You must first see the ‘I’ as illusory before you see others as illusory. ~ CH.2 v.16

Sage Sankara: ~ VC~.63- "Without knowing and examining the external world, 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.

Deeper self-search reveals that by inquiring Who Am I? - Advaitic wisdom will not dawn. Who Am I?- inquiry is only for beginners and it is inadequate and useless in the later stages.

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.

That is why in Bhagvad Gita: ~ The permanent is always there, only the transient I comes and goes. (2.18)

Until one gets convinced that the Self is not ‘I’ but the Self is the Soul, he will remain in ignorance of the truth hidden by the ‘I’.

If the Self is a formless Soul then the experience of birth, life, death, and the world is bound to be an illusion. Therefore, it is necessary to know and realize the fact that, the Self is not the form, but it is formless before indulging in the inner (mental) journey.

Self-inquiry is not the set of questions but clearing all the doubts and confusion through deeper reasoning on his own.

There is no scope for arguments in pursuit of truth because it is a personal journey that starts within the illusion (waking) and ends in realizing the truth hidden by ignorance.

Question and questioner and argument and arguer belong to the dualistic illusion or Maya (I).

Who am I? - is not Self-inquiry. The ‘Self-inquiry’ is finding out the ‘Self’ which is hidden by the ‘I’. The ‘I’ itself is ignorance. Ignorance is the cause of the dualistic illusion or Maya or the universe.

By inquiring ‘Who am I?’- ignorance will not vanish. Without getting rid of ignorance, the Advaitic wisdom will not dawn.

Without the Advaitic wisdom, it is not possible to realize the truth, which is hidden by the dualistic illusion or Maya.

That is why 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, which is buried under Maya and the effects of Maya can be reached by getting rid of ignorance.

Remember: ~

The ‘I’ is the universe. Without the ‘I’ the universe ceases to exist. The Soul, the ‘Self’, and the universe are one in essence, because, the universe is nothing but an illusion created out of the Soul, the Self, which is present in the form of consciousness.

This universe is only the veil of ignorance on the Soul, the Self, which is present in the form of consciousness.

The Self is not you but the Soul, which is hidden by the universe (I). The Soul is hidden by the universe because the universe is merely a dualistic illusion or Maya created out of the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

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 Soul then you will realize the world in which you exist is merely an illusion created out of the Soul. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness.

Sage Sankara says:~ VC- 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.

Remember: ~

All is consciousness. The whole universe is consciousness. From consciousness, the universe comes. When the universe disappears, consciousness still remains without form, time, and space.

Till you think you are an individual separate from the world and the world 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 a reality. Until the universe prevails as a reality the religion thrives. :~Santthosh Kumaa

Sage Sankara introduced Who AM I? -inquiry for beginners. As the seeker progresses in his quest for the truth he has to discard and go deeper to reach the ultimate realization.

WHO AM ‘I’? AND ‘I AM THAT’ is only for a lower stage where one gives up externally to expose the false nature of the ego, which is not the full truth.

To get ultimate truth one has to inquire into the nature of the mind, which is in the form of the universe.

Inquiring into the nature of the mind or the universe is higher. Thus, the ‘WHO AM ‘I’? or ‘I AM THAT’ is not complete wisdom, and the journey is incomplete.

The ‘WHO AM ‘I’?’ inquiry is good at the starting point of the pursuit of truth but in later stages, it created lots of confusion.

When the self is genderless then it is not He/She. Therefore, using the word ‘I AM’ for the ‘Self’ is erroneous.

Deeper self-search reveals the fact that the self is not the ‘I’, therefore ‘WHO AM I? will not help to unfold the truth beyond form, time, and space.

Not by listening to the sermons of the pundits, nor by the study of the scriptures, not by meritorious deeds, nor by any other means can one attain Self-awareness, which is attainable only through association with the Gnanis and the clear quest of the Self.

People from all over the world come to India to get guidance from Gurus and their teaching and get stuck up emotionally with their chosen Guru and end up glorifying the Gurus and their teaching. So they forget their quest for truth. So their quest is incomplete hanging to the Gurus and their teaching.

After studying their Guru's teaching many become Gurus and start propagating what they know as the ultimate truth.

Many write books on Advaita. But such books are based on the borrowed knowledge from here and there. Such knowledge is not self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

All accumulated knowledge is of no use in the path of wisdom. Without realizing “What is the truth, it is impossible to realize “What is untruth?”

Without realizing what is truth and what is the untruth, it is impossible to assimilate the Self –Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. Thus, one must know with full and firm conviction what truth is.

Fortunate are the ones who do not lose themselves in the ‘I-centric’ Gurus and their teachings. Fortunate is the man who does not lose himself in glorifying and worshipping Gurus and personal Gods but goes straight to the source from where the ‘I’ arises.

First, one has to mentally detach the ‘I’ from the Soul, the Self. The Soul is the formless witness and is unaffected by the coming and going, of the ‘I’. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

You cannot transcend the ‘I’ without knowing ‘what ‘I’ is in actuality.+

It is very hard to acquire Advaitic Gnana. Advaitic Gnana is for the courageous and most daring who are ready to drop all the accumulated knowledge and accept the ‘Self’ as it is and reject the untruth based on form, time, and space.

Bhagavad Gita: ~ “You must first see the ‘I’ as illusory before you see others as illusory. ~ CH.2 v.16

The Soul, the Self is hidden by the ‘I’. The Soul is hidden within the ‘I’ but it is without the ‘I’.

You cannot transcend the ‘I’ without knowing ‘what ‘I’ is in actuality. The ‘I’ is ignorance. To get rid of the ignorance, you must realize the Self is not ‘I’ but the ‘Self is the Soul, the witness of the ‘I’.

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

The ‘I’ hides the Soul, the Self, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Remember this: ~

The Self is not within the body because this body is not the Self but the ‘Self’ is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. The body is bound by birth, life, death, and the world whereas, the Soul is birthless and deathless because it is ever formless, timeless, and spaceless existence.

Consciousness pervades the form, time, and space together.

Thus, limiting consciousness only to the body is erroneous because the world in which the body exists is merely an illusion created out of consciousness.

The Soul, the Self is not the body but it is the cause of the world in which the body exists.

Thus, it is necessary to realize the body and the world in which the body exists are created out of a single clay and that single 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.

The Soul, the ‘Self’ has neither father nor mother nor friends and foes the Soul has none because they are nothing but an illusion created out of consciousness.

Until you hold the Self as ‘I’ you will never be able to cross the threshold of ignorance. Without getting rid of the ignorance the dualistic illusion will prevail as a reality. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

It is not you who has to get rid of ignorance because you and your experience of the world are the product of ignorance.+

Ignorance will not vanish without Advaitic wisdom. It is not you who has to get rid of ignorance because you and your experience of the world are the product of ignorance.

The Soul, the Self is in ignorance of its own true nature. Only through Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana, the Soul, the innermost Self, awake from the sleep of ignorance.

When the Soul remains in its own awareness of its own nondual true nature, there is no division in the Soul or consciousness, there is unity in diversity.

The Gurus who advise getting rid of ignorance first must realize the fact that it is not the man who is in ignorance, but it is the Soul, which is in ignorance.

The world in which man exists is the product of ignorance. When ignorance vanishes the world in which man exists never remains as a reality because the Soul, which is the cause of the world alone is the eternal reality.

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.

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

Sage Sankara says: ~ VC-162- There is no liberation for a person of mere book knowledge, howsoever well-read in the philosophy of Vedanta, so long as one does not give up the false identification with the body, sense organs, etc., which are unreal.

People dwelling in ignorance but thinking themselves wise and erudite, go round and round by various blind beliefs and tortuous paths and practices, like the blind led by the blind.

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

Thus, the above passage proves that 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 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.

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)

~ Then why you are sticking a Guru who is not a Gnani.

That is why 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.”

Thus, it is necessary to realize ‘what is what’ to realize the truth beyond form, time, and space.

The gurus who think the Self is within the body are propagating a half-baked knowledge. Their views and judgments of Advaita are based on a dualistic perspective. Only those who can view and judge the three states from a non-dualistic perspective have perfect knowledge.

All accumulated Advaitic knowledge accumulated from different gurus will not yield the truth because they are not the verified truth. The seeker has to do his homework to realize the truth beyond form, time, and space. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Soulcentric reason is necessary to unfold the mystery of the universe.+

The Ultimate truth or Brahman cannot be known by intuition but it can be grasped through Soulcentric reasoning.

There is a need to realize first the ‘Self’ is not you but the ‘Self is the formless Soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness. Soulcentric reasoning clears all the clouds and confusion starts clearing on its own and finally, you will have no confusion left to say the dualistic illusion as a whole is the Soul (Spirit or the consciousness).

One knows everything within the waking experience is consciousness because the waking experience itself is merely an illusion created out of consciousness.

The physical apparatus is absent in deep sleep, so one cannot know anything by intuition, because there is no duality in deep sleep. This proves that the duality is present only in waking or dream. And also it proves that if there is such a faculty as intuition it must be limited to the physical Self within the physical existence.

The Soul is the Self. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. The 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 theatre, 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.

Logic is misunderstood. People cannot distinguish between reasoning and intellect as Gnani does. Egocentric reason applied only to practical life within the practical world is called logic, and intellect.

Soulcentric reason is the Spiritualistic reason that is necessary to unfold the truth of the whole.

A Gnani knows both egocentric reason (logic) and Soulcentric reason. He uses egocentric reason (logic) in practical life within the practical world and uses Soulcentric reason to know the truth beyond, time and space. Logic is very much necessary for the practical purpose. But logic cannot be applied to discover the truth because logic implies duality and the ultimate truth is based on a Nondualistic perspective.

To say rise above logic is generally confused with saying "Rise above Reason." It is wrong to give up reason. Life does not consist only of a waking state. We must take all three states into account.

If one sticks to the old formal logic, he cannot get at the truth. People seeing this insufficiency of logic, therefore wrongly say "Give up logic and go to intuition." Their error is “What is it that told them that logic was not enough?” It was Reason itself; not intuition. Thus, there is confusion between logic and reason.

The reasoning is interpretable in two ways. The defective interpretation is to apply it only to the waking state. The correct interpretation is to apply it to the three states. The latter leads to the final settlement of the problems because it takes all data into consideration.

Logic, in short, is concerned with correct or valid thinking. Its main concern is non-contradiction, it can lay down the criterion of Truth as non-contradiction, but only with the assumed premises and not with facts. But when facts enter into consideration we have Reason but the same criterion of Truth remains, only the propositions with which we start must square with facts of experience, with observed data. Hence, the reason includes logic or correct thinking as well as strict fidelity to experience or facts.

Bad logic or insufficiency of facts or wrong data may lead to untruth. The scientist with a plethora of data may reason illogically and reach false conclusions. Reason avoids both those mistakes.

While reason searches for truth, logic insists on valid or correct thinking only.

Intellect is the power or faculty of thinking logically. The reason is the power or faculty of thinking truly or towards truth. By reason, we go a step beyond experience by making explicit in it.

The reason is defined as that makes explicit what is implicit in an experience. This will I believe cover the reason of science as well as of Vedanta between which you have in some articles of yours, made a distinction. When I read that definition of yours, I felt you have descended to mysticism.

Remember:~

Bhagavad Gita.: ~ Reason as a means to reality. (Chap.18 verse 37)

In chap. 10 of in Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says: ~ I cannot save you, but I can give you Buddhi (reason). (chap. 10

In chap. 10 of in Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says: ~ "I have given you the most secret teaching, now reflect over it all" Krishna plainly says reflect, think. (Verse 63 of Chap. 18)

Blind belief in religion and yoga is harmful and takes you away from the path of inquiry into truth.

The word ‘One’ is not understood anywhere except in the Advaitic path. ‘One’ always means two when analyzed. Hence, the Upanishads are careful to show they do not mean this monism, but ‘One’ without a second" i.e. Advaita. No philosophers of the world have seen this point. Monism is really pseudo-monism, i.e. duality.

Ashtavakra Gita: ~ It is not the absence of Buddhi that can grasp Advaita, but the man who possesses the highest intellect. Brains are necessary. Such a man, by merely hearing the truth mentioned, will know it. (Page~ 224). :~Santthosh Kumaar

Intuition always implies knowing something, hence a second, hence it is rejected as duality.+

Intuition always implies knowing something, hence a second, hence it is rejected as duality. Even if it is the intuition of the infinite, of bliss, God, etc., it is still a pointer to duality. Therefore the way to ultimate truth or Brahman, i.e. Non-duality is not intuition, not mysticism but reason

Logic is misunderstood. People cannot distinguish between reasoning and intellect as Gnani does. Egocentric reason applied only to practical life within the practical world is called logic, and intellect.

Soulcentric reason is the Spiritualistic reason that is necessary to unfold the truth of the whole.

A Gnani knows both egocentric reason (logic) and Soulcentric reason. He uses egocentric reason (logic) in practical life within the practical world and uses Soulcentric reason to know the truth beyond, time and space. Logic is very much necessary for the practical purpose. But logic cannot be applied to discover the truth because logic implies duality and the ultimate truth is based on a Nondualistic perspective.

To say rise above logic is generally confused with saying "Rise above Reason." It is wrong to give up reason. Life does not consist only of a waking state. We must take all three states into account.

If one sticks to the old formal logic, he cannot get at the truth. People seeing this insufficiency of logic, therefore wrongly say "Give up logic and go to intuition." Their error is “What is it that told them that logic was not enough?” It was Reason itself; not intuition. Thus, there is confusion between logic and reason.

The reasoning is interpretable in two ways. The egocentric interpretation is to apply it only to waking experience. The Soulcentric interpretation is to apply it to the three states. The latter leads to the final settlement of the problems because it takes all data into consideration.

Logic, in short, is concerned with correct or valid thinking. Its main concern is non-contradiction, it can lay down the criterion of Truth as non-contradiction, but only with the assumed premises and not with facts. But when facts enter into consideration we have

Reason but the same criterion of Truth remains, only the propositions with which we start must square with facts of experience, with observed data. Hence reason includes logic or correct thinking as well as strict fidelity to experience or facts. Bad logic or insufficiency of facts or wrong data may lead to untruth.

The scientist with a plethora of data may reason illogically and reach false conclusions. Reason avoids both those mistakes. While reason searches for truth, logic insists on valid or correct thinking only.

Intellect is the power or faculty of thinking logically. The reason is the power or faculty of thinking truly or towards truth. By reason, we go a step beyond experience by making explicit in it.

The reason is defined as that which makes explicit what is implicit in an experience. This will I believe cover the reason of science as well as of Vedanta between which you have in some articles of yours, made a distinction. When I read that definition of yours, I felt you have descended to mysticism. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Is there a God? What is God’s nature? Let there be proof.+

What is the value of mystic experience, what is the value of the words of great people of the past and wise men of the present?

In pursuit of truth, the seeker must examine and evaluate them all to find the truth.

• Is there a God?

• What is his nature?

• Let there be proof.

~Such questions must arise.

Bhagavad Gita says ~ Every man knows God according to his likes and dislikes. That he must know God as Truth. We must have proof of what God has done and what he is doing.

• Why did God create pain and pleasure?

• Why does he torture humankind with epidemics and calamities?

• Has God no better business to do?

• Is God, teaching people lessons through these sufferings and setbacks?

• What lesson can God teach the little child destroyed by fire the other day?

• How can we believe that God is all-merciful when he constantly displeases all humanity?

Suppose one says he has faith in a religion or some teaching. Suppose another says he has no faith in them. Thus, there is a contradiction.

No one can go to do anything about it. Nothing can be done. In the real truth, there can be no contradiction, nor any possibility of it. The realm of truth cannot contradict anymore, because there is no duality in reality.

Those who pray to God for something occasionally get what they ask for. They then declare it to be a miracle to be placed to the credit of God! But when they fail to get what they pray for they do not attribute these failures to God, and thus the obvious fact that the failures far outnumber the successes, as for instance thousands of families of the soldiers who prayed to God to protect their dear ones, but the prayers remained unheard and they have lost their dear ones in the wars.

The seeker has to examine every aspect." he must think deeply to know the ultimate truth of his existence. That is to inquire.

All secret silent mental invisible service of mankind by occult power is mere imagination based on the false ‘Self’ within the false experience. There are the visible tangible signs in the world. There are signs of the benefit of yogis in the world to stop human suffering through yogic power. If such yogic power ever existed all wars and calamities would have been stopped. Such power exists only in mythological stories. Mythological stories are nothing but a myths.

The seeker should not believe it just because it is mentioned in the books. All such books are meant for the ignorant masses.

All the prediction belongs to the realm of the duality. The duality is not a reality because it is based on the false ‘Self’ (ego or you) within the false experience (waking). All predictions as to what these yogis will do in the future are unacceptable because verification is not immediately possible. Who can take them as having any worth? Therefore, they belong to the world of imagination. The imagination belongs to the unreal world.

God in truth is not physical. God is present in the form of the Spirit. The Spirit is the cause of the Universe and the Spirit itself is uncaused. Unprepared mind

From the standpoint of the Spirit, the form, time, space, and name are mere an illusion. The Spirit alone is real and all else is an illusion. In reality, the Spirit (God in truth and matter (the world in which we exist) is one.

God in truth (Spirit) is not separate from the universe (matter) because God (Spirit) and the universe (matter) are one, in essence. Without God, the universes in which you exist cease to exist. God is the fullness of the Spirit. Thus, any division in the Spirit, as the form, time, and space is merely an illusion. Thus, the universe in which you exist is merely an illusion created out of the Spirit, which is God.

The atheists and religious people both are believers. The atheists believe there is no such thing as God and religious people believe there is God. Belief is not the truth. One must know God in truth. The truth will set the Spirit free from the illusory prison of form, time, and space.

Remember this:~

The religion preaches that God is one and the ways to God are many. It simply tries to lead them to darkness with its dogma and idea of many Gods, which are apart from the Self. Religion is based on the false self (ego) and false experience (world) thus; all religion-based beliefs are falsehoods.

Religious Gods are based on the belief. Belief is not God. Religious God cannot be considered as the center because, the Soul, the innermost ‘Self’ is the center of all that exists.

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

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, that 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.

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

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)

The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad declares:~ "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)

No mantras help to get rid of ignorance. All the mantras and rituals are meant for the ignorant populace, which strongly believes, in the world in which he exists as a reality. For one who wants to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana, the mantas will not help to realize the truth, which is beyond the 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 of not cured by saying the word “medicine.” You must take the medicine.

Liberation does not come by merely saying the word “Brahman.” Brahman must be experienced. Until you allow this apparent universe to dissolve from your consciousness until you have realized Brahman(God), how can you find liberation just by saying the word Brahman? The result is merely a 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, which is buried under Maya and the effects of Maya, can be reached by meditation, contemplation, and other spiritual disciplines but never by subtle arguments.

As indicated in ISH Upanishads: ~ “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.

It clearly indicates that if the human goal is to acquire Self-Knowledge then why one has to indulge in rituals and glorify the conceptual Gods, Goddesses, and Gurus to go into deeper darkness. Instead spend that time moving forward towards Self-knowledge, which is one’s prime goal. :~Santthosh Kumaar

A householder who becomes a Gnani will attend his duties as usual to his family and society.+

Advaitin Sage and Maya.

The King of the Hoysalas was a dualist and was greatly incensed at the doctrine taught by Advaitin Sage that everything here below is an illusion. He wanted to teach the exponent of this doctrine a lesson. So he invited the then Advaitin sage to his palace. That Advaitin sage went there and stoutly maintained that everything in this world was an illusion. The king had arranged to let loose an infuriated elephant against, Advaitin Sage. The beast rushed at Advaitin sage who took to a precipitate flight to save himself.

'Oh, Venerable Sir,' shouted the king, 'why do you run so fast seeing that the elephant is only an illusion?'

'Oh, king,' said Advaitin Sage in the course of his flight, 'my running too is an illusion. Everything in this world is an illusion.

Similarly, the practical life within the practical world is merely an illusion. All our hopes and desires or pleasure and pain are a reality within the illusion.

We all are searching for truth within the illusion not being aware of the fact that the illusion is created out of a single stuff which is the Soul or consciousness.

The Soul is the innermost Self. When the waking entity realizes it is not the Self in the midst of the waking experience it enters the Advaitic -awareness, which is free from form, time, and space.

A Gnani is consciously aware of ‘what is truth’ and ‘what is untruth’.

A Gnani is fully aware of the fact that the experiences the pleasure and pain within the waking experience are merely an illusion because the waking experience itself is an illusion.

A Gnani sees the reality (Soul) hidden by the illusion as it is in the midst of the illusion.

Thus, life within the waking experience will go on, on its own. It has nothing to do with the Soul the Self. The waking or dream is merely an object to the formless witness.

The Soul is the Self. The Soul is the witness. The Soul the witness has nothing to do with the three states because it is the witness of the coming and going of the three states or illusion.

The world is both real and unreal. It is real because it is a manifestation of consciousness, but is unreal, in the sense, that it is not absolute and eternal like consciousness itself.

A Gnani sees the reality (Soul) hidden by the illusion as it is in the midst of the illusion. That is why all the confusion.

The look of an object will depend upon the medium through which the observer views it. In fact, our mental and intellectual conditions determine the world, observed and experienced. The commoner viewing the world will see differently from a Gnani viewing the same world. Each one interprets the world that they see in terms of their existing knowledge. The commoner sees everything based on the ego and, therefore, experiences birth, life, death, and the world as a reality, whereas a Gnani sees everything as consciousness and he is fully aware of the fact that, there is no second thing exists other than the Soul or consciousness.

Thus, all the egocentric (religious) adulteration has to be bifurcated to realize the ultimate truth, which is beyond form, time, and space.

Those who assert the world is reality must know: The person, who stamped their foot on the ground to refute to show the world, is real, ignore that in a dream he would do exactly the same--stamp his dream foot on the ground and assert it to be real.

A householder who becomes a Gnani will attend to his duties as usual to his family and society but he is fully conscious of the fact that his individual experience of birth, life, death, and the world are a reality within the dualistic illusion created out of the Soul, which is God in truth.

A Gnani lives in the world as a commoner but he is consciously not of this world.

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.

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

As per the scriptures, the three "Ashrams" or stages in life were originally intended for three grades of intelligence thus:

 Religion:~ low intellects had to do 'karmas' works, ritual actions, chanting of mantras indulging in bhajans and prayers, etc.

 Yoga:~ Middle intellects- taking yellow robes, going to caves, ashrams, etc.

 Wisdom:~High intellects:- who wants to realize the truth is concerned with no external rites no prayers or sanyasa but depend solely on the Soulcentric reasoning for their path.

Thus, the seeker has to choose his path according to his choice.

Without an intense urge to know the truth and sharpness to grasp the truth, it is difficult to tread the path of wisdom never mix different paths with each other, and make a cocktail because it leads to all sorts of doubts and confusion.

The seeker of truth should be aware of everything that is untrue: stick to the truth and he shall succeed, maybe slowly, but surely. :~Santthosh Kumaar