Sage Gaudapada :~ The unborn is never reborn, for who can produce Atman?+

 “Advaita” refers to Soul, the Self, which is present in the form of consciousness. Consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.

The seeker seeks release from ignorance by acquiring Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

Realizing Soul, the Self, which is present in the form of consciousness is one without the Second is Adriatic Gnana.

All is consciousness. The whole universe is consciousness. From consciousness, the universe comes.

When the universe disappears, consciousness still remains without the illusory form, time and space in the midst of the form, time and space bringing unity in diversity.

Advaita is the nature of the Soul, the Self. Many people quote Advaita without understanding it really in its highest aspect.

People are unaware that all the Advaitic teaching available so far in India or the west is based on the dualistic perspective.

Advaitic teachings based on the dualistic perspective are based on ignorance. Thus, all these teachings which are mixed up with orthodoxy leads to a hallucination.

Advaitic orthodoxy is not the path of wisdom. One who follows the path of Advaitic orthodoxy is taken the path of ignorance.

"How to know that what Sage Sankara says is true because there are conflicting teachings. People get confused as to which is true?" People will be unable to prove because they do not know the proper test of truth.

The Veda serves only as the starting point. What one has to learn from Veda must be understood through the exercise of reason, as far as reason might go. And what one has understood must be realized in his life.

Only pretenders show such external works or claims. People who do not understand the scriptures generally misinterpret all scriptures references to the ‘indifference’ of the sage as meaning sitting idle, remote from worldly concerns. "Though the scripters speak of a direct knowledge of ultimate truth by a study of the holy texts, it does not become established..." It is therefore not enough to say one understand the theories of Advaita; he may grasp idealism and Manduka Upanishad, but it is not enough.

The citations from scriptures are not proofs. The ultimate truth has to be proved without the scriptures. The ultimate truth is the universal truth, and it does not belong to any religion. The religion causes diversity in unity, whereas, the ultimate truth brings unity in diversity.

It is not that one should pore over the ancient scriptures. There is no need to study first, then realize. One has to realize first, then only he will know ‘what is truth’ and ‘what is untruth’. One has to make his discoveries through Soulcentric reasoning.

That is why Sage Sankara says:~ VC-65. As a treasure hidden underground requires (for its extraction) competent instruction, excavation, the removal of stones and other such things lying above it and (finally) grasping, but never comes out by being (merely) called out by name, so the transparent Truth of the self, which is hidden by Maya and its effects, is to be attained through the instructions of a knower of Brahman, followed by reflection, meditation and so forth, but not through perverted arguments.

It means to search the truth independently on your own, therefore, there is no need for any teacher or teaching.

The truth has to ascertain by the seeker himself. Until the seeker realizes the truth, how can he know what is the untruth? How can one know the truth knows the truth or teaching speaking of the truth?

The seeker should not accept anything as truth without deeper introspection. Only uncontradictable truth has to be accepted as the ultimate truth of Brahman or God in truth.

The path of wisdom is the path of verification. Nothing has to be accepted as truth without verification.

Self-Realization is the direct realization of the ultimate truth or God in truth, in contrast with traditional paths, which are indirect. And the other paths cannot lead to the ultimate destination because they are based on the false self, which they hold as real self and false experience as reality.

Until and unless one overcomes the physical shackle, it is impossible to understand and assimilate the nondual truth, which is beyond the physical existence or the universe. Consciousness itself is lord of itself, though not of the universe. And having nothing, it has all.

Sage Gaudapada quotes from the Upanishads:~ "There's no plurality here". "The Lord [Atman] through his powers appears to be many"; "those who are attached to the creation or production or origination go to utter darkness"; "the unborn is never reborn, for who can produce Atman?”

All these experiences as a father, son, Guru, and pupil, the world in which they all exist were one and the same consciousness appearing differently.

All these distinctions disappear when one realizes Self is not ‘I’ but the Soul. The Soul is the cause of this world in which we exist, and it, itself, is uncaused.

Perfect understanding and realization of ‘what is what’ leads to nondual Self-awareness. By holding on to theories, one remains in the realm of duality. One has to mentally go on dropping what is not truth through deeper self-search.

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