Karma itself is based on ignorance, Only Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana will destroy ignorance.+

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 VC)

Karma (Action) will not dispel ignorance itself. Karma itself is based on ignorance, Only Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana will destroy ignorance.

Liberation cannot be the result of good works, for Sruti itself declares that there is no hope for immortality through wealth. (Verses -7 VC)

Actions help to purify the mind but they do not, by themselves, contribute to the attainment of reality. The attainment of reality is brought about only by Self-inquiry and not in the least by even ten million acts. (verses-11 VC)

The fear and sorrow created by the delusory serpent in the rope can be ended only after fully ascertaining the truth of the rope through steady and balanced thinking. (verses12 VC )

Neither sacred baths nor any amount of charity nor even Hundreds of pranayamas* can give us knowledge about our own 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. (verses-13-VC)

Ultimate success in spiritual endeavors depends chiefly upon the qualifications of the seeker. Auxiliary conveniences such as time And place all have a place indeed, but they are essentially secondary. (verses-14-VC)

He alone is considered qualified to enquire after the supreme Reality, which has discrimination, detachment, qualities of Calmness, etc., and a burning desire for liberation. The four-fold qualifications.(verses 17 VC)

Great sages have spoken of four qualifications for attainment which, when present, succeed in the realization of Brahman and In the absence of which the goal is not attained. (verses-18 -VC)

(While enumerating the qualifications), first, we count the ability to discriminate between the Real and the unreal; next comes a spirit of detachment from the enjoyment of the fruits of actions here and hereafter; after that is the groups of six virtues beginning with Calmness, and the last is undoubtedly an intense desire for liberation. (verses-19 -VC)

A firm conviction that Brahman alone is real and the phenomenal world is unreal is known as discrimination between the Real and The unreal. (verses-20 -VC)

They have crossed the dreadful ocean of (embodied) existence through their own efforts and without any (personal) motives; they help others to cross it. (verses-37VC)

The ignorant think that the self is the waking entity (ego) and perceive the world without being aware that, the three states are mere illusory experiences created out of consciousness.

Thus they try to judge the truth on the false entity (waking entity or ego) within the false experience (waking).

Remember:~

Until one makes sure of the true Self, it is erroneous to judge and conclude the ultimate truth on mere intellectualism.

One has to make sure that the Self is neither the waking entity nor the Self is a dream entity but the Self is an invisible Soul, which witnesses the coming and going of the three states without the physical apparatus.

A Gnani has a firm conviction that the Self is definitely neither the waking entity nor the dream entity because the waking and dream both are illusory.

The invisible Soul is the real Self. Invisible Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness is the existence and knowledge.

Illusion’s "concealing power" merely means that when one looks at an ice block he thinks only of the ice block. But a Gnani will think of the substance of the ice block too. That is a wise man has the knowledge of the substance plus of the ice block. Similarly, a Gnani has the knowledge of the universe and its formless substance.

Consciousness is concealed because of ignorance. As a man, one is not aware that his body, ego, and his experience of the world are merely an illusion created out of consciousness.

When one becomes aware of the fact that, the universe is an illusion then there is no physical body no ego, and no world then there is only the formless Soul, the Self.

One has to get a firm conviction that, the Self is definitely not the waking entity because the waking experience itself is an illusion.

The Soul, the Self is the invisible substance and the witness of the three states. The invisible substance and witness is the Soul or consciousness.

The Soul, the Self is without change, without any form, without any blemish, and without any decay, without the disease, beyond all comprehension, beyond any change and consciousness is all-pervading.

The Soul the Self is without properties and without any activity; the Self is permanent, forever free, and imperishable.

The Soul, the Self is the subject. All three states are objecting to the formless subject. And the three states are but the transient experience. The invisible witness of the three states is the Soul, the Self.

The invisible witness is unaffected by the individual experiences happening within the waking or dream because it can never be lost or lose anything in itself.

Thus nothing is lost or gained because everything is consciousness. Gnani sees only consciousness in everything and everywhere in all three states.

Thus, for Gnani, there is no second thing that exists other than consciousness. :~Santthosh Kumaar

Going to searching for guru, renouncing the family life are the gretest obstical in the path of wisdom. +

One need not renounce the worldly life and become a sanyasi or monk. One need not retire from his business or corporate job and become a Guru, all these religious and yogic propagated outdated ideas have to be discarded to realize the truth of the true existence.

Do not become a slave to all these outdated religious and yogic ideas. Religion and yoga are not meant for those who seriously seeking the truth.

There is no need to follow anyone. Self–realization becomes easy if you independently walk your path.

Atmic path is your own path. You have to tread the path alone to reach it alone, finally, nothing remains as reality other than the Athma the Soul.

Stop emotionally and sentimentally getting stuck with the Guru.

That is why Bhagavān Buddha: ~ Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders.

Sage Sankara was a Gnani. Most of the modern masters are not Gnani. And you have to understand that to be a Gnani is one thing; to be a Guru is different.

Out of a million people, perhaps one is a Gnani. Most of the Self-realized decide to remain silent – seeing the difficulty, that whatever they have realized is impossible to convey in any possible way to others; seeing that not only is it difficult to convey, but it is bound to be misunderstood too.

A Gnani never claims himself as a Gnani, he guides the seekers, not posing himself as a Guru, and he does not force his wisdom on others. A Gnani is not a religious person or Yogi.

One need not roam one mountain to another, one ashram to another, or meet gurus or yogis to get Gnana. One can get a Gnana and become a Gnani wherever he lives.

We all are searching for truth within the illusion of not being aware of the fact that the illusion is created out of a single stuff which is the formless Soul, the innermost self. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness.

Thus, searching for the truth in the illusion with the illusory self, within the illusory experience, has to be an illusion.

The illusion is created and sustained and finally dissolves as consciousness. There is no second thing that exists other than consciousness. Consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman. Brahman itself is God in truth.

Remember:~

There is no need to go to the mountains in search of the truth. There is no need to meet any gurus.

There is no need to renounce family life. There is no need to study the scriptures. There is no need to glorify the gurus.

There is no need to spend a fortune to please the gurus. Going to the mountains, searching for a guru, renouncing the family life, studying the scriptures, and glorifying the personal gods and gurus are the greatest obstacles in the path of Self-realization.

One need not be a monk, a sanyasi, or a swami to acquire Self-knowledge or Bramha Gnana or Atma Gnana.

Religious orthodoxy and scriptural mastery are not qualifications to acquire Self-knowledge or Bramha Gnana or Atma Gnana. Monkhood and sanyasa are the greatest obstacles in the pursuit of truth.

Guru, Swami, Yogi, Sadhu, and Avatara belong to religious paths. Religious path is a path meant for ignorants who blindly accept their experience the birth, life, death, and the world as reality because the universe is a product of ignorance.

When Advaitic wisdom dawns then the unreal nature of the universe is exposed. Thus whatever experience takes place within the universe is bound to be falsehood. Therefore, the Guru,

Swami, Yogi, Sadhu, and Avatara have nothing to do with the ultimate truth or Brahman because they are based on the false self (ego or waking entity) and false experience (waking).

Path of wisdom is only for those who are seriously in search of ultimate truth or Brahman.

Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana is the mother of all knowledge thus it is not accumulated knowledge.:~Santthosh Kumaar

Katha Upanishad 1:3:6 Neither by reading the book, nor by taking a bath at holy place has one become pure.+

One needs to constantly reflect on the subject until he gets a firm conviction of what is what. Words of wisdom are needed until one gets a firm conviction of ‘what is what’.

People need to read and hear the words of wisdom to think reason reflect deeply and reach the ultimate end. 

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

When one is absorbed in thinking of anything then he forgets the subject. The subject is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

The Soul is the subject and the three states are an object to the Soul, which is the formless subject.

The Soul is the witness of the coming and going of the three states. Consciousness without the illusion is unborn and eternal. 

Upanishads clearly declare:- 

Katha Upanishad 1:2:23 The Soul cannot be realized through hearing scholarly explanations of the discourses, not even by the intellect.

Katha Upanishad 1:3:6 “Through the knowledge of the Soul, God, one is pure and clean constantly.” Neither by reading the book nor by taking a bath at holy place has one become pure. Inner purity is possible when one remains in constant touch with the Soul. Constant Soul-Consciousness is the real purity.

Kena Upanishad 2:4 When it is known through every state of cognition, it is rightly known, for (by such knowledge) one attains life eternal. Through one's own self one gains power and through wisdom one gains immortality.

Kena Upanishad 2:5 If here one knows it, then there is truth, and if here one knows it not, there is a great loss. Hence, seeing the Real in all beings, wise men become immortal on departing from this world.

 

Mundaka Upanishad 1:2:8 “Remaining in the fold of ignorance and thinking “we are extremely wise and learned,” the fools with boastful nature ramble about like the blind led by the blind alone.”

 

Mundaka Upanishad 3:2:3 “The weak and timid cannot realize the Self. Self-Realization is not possible through intellect or hearing spiritual discourse. One who welcomes God in every activity, through a thorough controlled and disciplined life, to him also the Soul is revealed." 

Mundaka Upanishad 3:2:3 The Soul cannot be realized by the weak and timid.

 

That is why Sage  Sankara says in Viveka Chudamani:- 

56. Neither by Yoga, nor by Sankhya, nor by work, nor by learning, but by the realisation of one's identity with Brahman is Liberation possible, and by no other means. 

58. Loud speech consisting of a shower of words, the skill in expounding the Scriptures, and likewise erudition - these merely bring on a little personal enjoyment to the scholar, but are no good for Liberation.

59. The study of the Scriptures is useless so long as the highest Truth is unknown, and it is equally useless when the highest Truth has already been known.

60. The Scriptures consisting of many words are a dense forest which merely causes the mind to ramble. Hence men of wisdom should earnestly set about knowing the true nature of the Self.

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?

62. A disease does not leave off if one simply utter the name of the medicine, without taking it; (similarly) without direct realisation one cannot be liberated by the mere utterance of the word Brahman.

63. Without causing the objective universe to vanish and without knowing the truth of the Self, how is one to achieve Liberation by the mere utterance of the word Brahman ? — It would result merely in an effort of speech.

64. Without killing one’s enemies, and possessing oneself of the splendour of the entire surrounding region, one cannot claim to be an emperor by merely saying, ‘I am an emperor’.

Until one knows the truth of his true existence, whatever he knows about god is mere belief. Belief   is individual whereas the ultimate truth is universal every belief system has its own idea of god thus there is no universality in the belief system.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

Inner Grace will flow on its own to every serious and sincere seeker of truth. The grace of the physical Guru is not Grace.+

Consciousness itself which takes manifesting itself in the form of Advaitic wisdom when ignorance vanishes revealing its non-dual true nature in the midst of the illusory universe or Maya.

Inner Grace will flow on its own to every serious and sincere seeker of truth. The grace of the physical Guru is not Grace.

The physical Guru is part of the illusion. Stop holding the physical Guru as God and worship him for his Grace. Such an act keeps the Soul in the cage of ignorance. If you are seeking the truth then you have to get rid of the ignorance not fuel the ignorance by getting involved with the Gurus and stuck with their slavery. The Soul alone is grace. 

The Soul is the inner Guru. You do not need any grace or blessings from the physical Guru. Grace will flow on its own when you divert your attention to the Soul, the Self.

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.”

Remember, Yogis and Gurus are not Gods. This idea of worshiping Guru as God is not a Vedic idea but adopted from Jainism and Buddhism.

Vedas bars human worship: ~ "They are enveloped in darkness, in other words, are steeped in ignorance and sunk in the greatest depths of misery who worship the uncreated, eternal prakrti -- the material cause of the world -- in place of the All-pervading God, But those who worship visible things born of the prakrti, such as the earth, trees, bodies (human and the like) in place of God are enveloped in still greater darkness, in other words, they are extremely foolish, fall into an awful hell of pain and sorrow, and suffer terribly for a long time.":~ (Yajur Veda 40:9.)

Then why worship and glorify the Gurus and Yogis (human form) in place of God when Veda bars such activities and also warns people who indulge in such activities to are enveloped in still greater darkness, in other words, they are extremely foolish, fall into an awful hell of pain and sorrow, and suffer terribly for a long time.

If you get stuck worshipping the Gurus you will never be able to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. If you are seeking the truth then you have to come out of the slavery of the egocentric Guru worship.

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.

Swami Vivekananda said:~ "The Vedas teach that the Soul is divine, only held in the bondage of matter; perfection will be reached when this bond will burst, and the word they use for it is, therefore, Mukthi - freedom, freedom from the bonds of imperfection, freedom from death and misery."

The Advaitic truth is very simple, but it is very difficult to grasp because of ignorance.

You have to only realize the world in which you exist is created out of a single clay. And that single clay is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Thus, you and your body and the world in which you exist are nothing but consciousness because they are merely an illusion created out of consciousness.

A perfect understanding of ‘what is what’ is needed. I can point at the sky, but the seeing of the star is the seeker's own work. It is necessary to reflect on the same truth again and again until it becomes a reality.

One needs to constantly reflect on the subject until he gets a firm conviction of what is what. Words of wisdom are needed until one gets a firm conviction of ‘what is what’.

People need to read and hear the words of wisdom to think reason reflect deeply and reach the ultimate end.

It takes time for the seeker to gain the perfect understanding of ‘what is the truth’ and ‘’what is untruth’. 

It takes time for the Soul, the Self to wake up from the sleep of ignorance, and it takes time for one to realize the truth, which is hidden by the illusory form, time, and space.

When one is absorbed in thinking of anything then he forgets the subject. The subject is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

The Soul is the subject and the three states are an object to the Soul, which is the formless subject.

The Soul is the witness of the coming and going of the three states. Consciousness without the illusion is unborn and eternal. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

The universe in which we exist will not remain as reality when wisdom dawns.

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.  In non-dual self-awareness, the ego is not considered as ego, even though the ego is present, the body is not considered as body even though body is present, the world which confronts him is not considered as world even though the world is present , the duality ceases even though  the duality  is present  because of wisdom everything is considered as consciousness. Thus there is conscious oneness.

When the self becomes aware of its formless non-dual nature it becomes empty of ignorance or illusion or duality or waking or dream.  Thus whatever remains empty of duality or ignorance or illusion is non-dual reality. Only through wisdom one becomes aware of the truth in the midst of duality.

 That is why "Sri, Sankara said: - Without causing the objective universe to vanish and without knowing the truth of the Self, how is one to achieve Liberation. -63- (VC)”

The universe in which we exist will not remain as reality when wisdom dawns. The universe is a mere mirage created out of consciousness and there is conscious awareness of unity in diversity because there is no second thing exist other than consciousness.

What is the use of WHO AM I? , inquiry when ‘I’ itself is an illusion.+

By limiting the mind or 'I'   to the waking entity is the main hurdle in pursuit of truth.  Therefore it is necessary for the seeker of truth to investigate ‘what is mind?’   in order to realize the mind or 'I' is not limited to ego or waking entity but ‘I’ is mind. The mind is present   in the form of the universe. And universe appears as waking or dream. 

 

When self is neither the waking entity (ego) nor 'I'    than 'WHO AM 'I'? Inquiry will not yield the full truth because it yields only the fallacy of the form, not time and space.

When one realizes the self is not ‘I’ but the self is the formless substance and the witness of the ‘I’, he is freed from the attachment to results and then whatever he does it detached work. Similarly, when he recognizes that consciousness is everywhere and in everything in all the three states than that very recognition leads to a total dissolution of the ignorance and leads to non-dual self-awareness. 

What is the use of  WHO AM I? , inquiry when ‘I’ itself is an illusion.:~Santthosh Kumaar