The scriptures are for ignorant masses, who wholly accept the material world as it presents itself.+

Sage Sankara:~ 'Like a servant who carries a lamp in front of you to find your way, and you have found it, so becomes the Veda to that person. What is the Veda? ~ utterances of those who have known the Truth. Here is one who has known the Truth; why should he or she depend upon the Veda further? Actual realization takes you beyond books. At a certain stage, books become a botheration. The Upanishad itself says that the 'words are only so much of distraction for such minds'

The man who possesses the highest intellect can grasp Advaita, by merely hearing the truth mentioned will know i

The scriptures are for ignorant masses, who wholly accept the material world as it presents itself. Wisdom is for those who have begun to realize that things are not what they seem.

Each sect concocts a God to suit its own purposes. Such concocted Gods have no value in pursuit of truth. Man himself suggests that there must be a God. It is an auto-suggestion.

Prayers and sacrifices belong to a premature stage of development. However when no answers come to prayers, struggle for existence presses man, and doubt arises again. Faith in religion weakens as the man pays more attention to facts of life and this world.

Looking at the above facts one can conclude there is no need for religion, god and scriptures, and yoga in pursuit of truth. Anyone who is in search of ultimate truth has to drop all the accumulated dross and start his pursuit of truth without this unwanted baggage.

Remember:~

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

Sage Sankara in the commentary to "Brahma Sutras: - " "The highest beatitude is not to be attained by Yoga."

Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is not based on any teaching or teacher.

The pursuit of truth is the pursuit of verification not the pursuit of an argument. Intellectual discussion is a great hindrance in the pursuit of truth.

That which is unreal, that is duality, cannot contradict the truth of non-duality. It cannot be counted as an adversary of non-duality. The illusion cannot, 'oppose' the substratum, reality. It can at best lead to the mistaking of the substratum. Perfect understanding is the only way to overcome ignorance.

Astavakra: ~ “My child you may speak upon various scriptures or hear the sermons on the scriptures. But you cannot establish in the ‘Self’ unless you forget all. 16-1 – p49

It is impossible to find and realize the truth via religion and scriptural study.

Katha Upanishad: ~ This Atman cannot be attained by the study of the Vedas, or by intelligence, or by much hearing of sacred books. It is attained by him alone whom It chooses. To such a one Atman reveals its own form. (Katha Upanishad Ch-II -23-P-20)

Mundaka Upanishad: ~ “This Atman cannot be attained through study of the Vedas, nor through intelligence, nor through much learning. He who chooses Atman—by him alone is Atman attained. It is Atman that reveals to the seeker Its true nature. (3 –page-70 Upanishads by Nikilanada)

When the Upanishad says: ~ “The human goal is to acquire Self-Knowledge and they indicate the personal Gods, scriptures, worship, and rituals are not the means to Self –Knowledge, then why anyone should indulge in it.

The religion, concept of individualized God, belief in physical Guru scriptures are the greatest obstacle to realizing non-dual truth or Self-realization because they are based on false Self.

The seeker of truth has to search for the ultimate truth without losing himself in the labyrinths of philosophy, through deeper Self-search and assimilate and realize it.

That is why Sage Sankara, indicated in Bhaja Govindam says: - (Jnana Viheena Sarva Mathena Bajathi na Muktim janma Shatena) - one without knowledge does not obtain liberation even in a hundred births, no matter which religious faith he follows.

Then it is no use going a roundabout way, trace the Brahman which is the formless substance and witness of the universe, which is in the form of mind. By tracing the source of the mind or universe one will be able to realize the Brahman.

Thus, Self-knowledge is meant only for those who have an intense urge, and courage to accept the truth with humility and reject the untruth. Since people start comparing with their scriptural knowledge, it becomes impossible to assimilate and realize the non-dual truth. Therefore, there is no need to convince anyone other than our own selves to get a firm conviction.

So they clearly indicate rituals and theories are not meant for those who are searching for higher knowledge or wisdom. The path of wisdom is the only means.

The knowledge of both matter and Spirit is true knowledge. The true knowledge is Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Mundaka Upanishad: ~Rrituals are unsafe rafts for crossing the sea of samsara, of birth and death.+

Sage Sankara pokes fun at ascetics and points out that all their austerities do not cause desires to go. (Altar Flowers" Page 205, v.2 P.207 v.4)

The rituals mentioned in the karmakanda of the Vedas are sought to be negated in the jnanakanda which is also part of the same scripture. While the karmakanda enjoins upon you the worship of various deities and lays down rules for the same, the jnanakanda constituted by the Upanishads ridicules the worshipper of deities as a dim-witted person no better than a beast.

This seems strange, the latter part of the Vedas contradicting the former part. The first part deals throughout with karma while the second or concluding part is all about jnana. Owing to this difference, people have gone so far as to divide our scripture into two sections: the Vedas (that is the first part) to mean the karmakanda and the Upanishads (Vedanta) to mean the jnanakanda.

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)

It is clear that liberation cannot be the result of good works, for Sruti itself declares that there is no hope for immortality by means of wealth. (Verses -7)

Religious rites and rigid ceremonies were passed down from one generation to the next as a practice or set customs and tradition and performed automatically with blind faith. Such worship based on the belief of God does not reach God.

Religious rites and ceremonies, yagnas and homa-havans, or any other forms of ritual are meant for the ignorant populace.

Belief in God without knowing God in actuality holds the worshiper more firmly in the grip of ignorance.

All worship and the ceremonies rituals performed on the base of non-~Vedic Gods will not yield any fruits.

Deeper self-search reveals the fact that worshiped, the worship, and the worshiper and the world are merely an illusion created out of consciousness.

Religious rites and ceremonies, yagnas and homa-havans, or any other forms of rituals formal observance have long since set in.

Religious rites and ceremonies, yagnas and homa-havans, or any other forms of ritual are meant for the ignorant populace. In the Atmic path, the seeker has to discard what is not needed to realize the truth, which is beyond the form, time, and space.

Religious rites and ceremonies, yagnas and homa-havans, or any other forms of rituals formal observance have long since set in.

Mundaka Upanishad: ~ “The rituals and the sacrifices described in the Vedas deal with lower knowledge. The sages ignored these rituals and went in search of higher knowledge. ... Such rituals are unsafe rafts for crossing The sea of samsara, of birth and death. Doomed to shipwreck are those who try to cross The sea of samsara on these poor rafts. Ignorant of their own ignorance, yet wise In their own esteem, these deluded men Proud of their vain learning go round and round Like the blind led by the blind.

Sage Sankara pointed out that rituals could in no way bring about wisdom, much less moksha. He asserted while the rewards of the rituals were not a matter of direct realization, wisdom which is the fruit of Vedanta is based on immediate and personal realization; one need not have to wait for the reward nor one be in doubt whether the reward would or would not come.

This was in sharp contrast to the position taken by Mimamsakas who asserted that rituals alone would lead one to higher levels of attainment. Further, the deities would reward only those entitled to perform the rituals alone. The entitlement involved the caste, creed, and other parameters.

Sage Sankara’s criticized severely the ritualistic attitude and those who advocated such practices. However, the texts that combined rituals with wisdom (jnana_karma_samucchaya) more in favor of the Mimamsaka position came onto vogue, projecting Sage Sankara as the rallying force of the doctrine. His followers might have found Sage Sankara’s mission a hard task and, therefore, compromised the liberating wisdom with the performance of rituals.

Sage Sankara says: ~ “The scriptures dealing with rituals, rewards are therefore addressed to an ignorant person.

Adhyasa Bhashya of Sage Sankara:~ (11)- As regards the rituals, Sage Sri, Sankara says, the person who performs rituals and aspires for rewards will view himself in terms of the caste into which he is born, his age, the stage of his life, his standing in society, etc. Also, he is required to perform rituals all through his life. However, the Self has none of those attributes or tags. Hence, the person who superimposes all those attributes on the changeless, eternal Self and identifies the ‘Self’ with the body is confusing one for the other; and is, therefore, an ignorant person. The scriptures dealing with rituals, rewards, etc. are therefore addressed to an ignorant person.

Adhyasa Bhashya of Sage Sankara:~ (11.1)- This ignorance (mistaking the body for Self) brings in its wake a desire for the well-being of the body, aversion for its disease or discomfort, fear of its destruction, and thus a host of miseries(anartha). This anartha is caused by projecting karthvya(“doer” sense) and bhokthavya (object) on the Atman. Sankara calls this adhyasa. The scriptures dealing with rituals, rewards, etc. are, therefore, he says, addressed to an ignorant person.

Adhyasa Bhashya of Sage Sankara:~ (11.2)- In short, the person who engages in rituals with the notion “I am an agent, doer, thinker”, according to Sage Sankara, is ignorant, as his behavior implies a distinct, separate doer/agent/knower; and an object that is to be done/achieved/known. That duality is Avidya, an error that can be removed by Vidya.

Adhyasa Bhashya of Sage Sankara: ~ (12)- Sage Sankara affirming his belief in one eternal unchanging reality (Brahman) and the illusion of plurality, drives home the point that Upanishads deal not with rituals but with the knowledge of the Absolute (Brahma Vidya) and the Upanishads give us an insight into the essential nature of the Self which is identical with the Absolute, the Brahman.

Sage Sankara: ~ Atman, the Self is verily Brahman (God), being equanimous, quiescent, and by nature absolute Existence, Knowledge, and Bliss. Atman is not the body which is non-existence itself. This is called true Knowledge by the wise.

Remember:~

Mundaka Upanishad: ~ “The rituals and the sacrifices described in the Vedas deal with lower knowledge. The sages ignored these rituals and went in search of higher knowledge. ... Such rituals are unsafe rafts for crossing the sea of samsara, of birth and death. Doomed to shipwreck are those who try to cross the sea of samsara on these poor rafts. Ignorant of their own ignorance, yet wise In their own esteem, these deluded men Proud of their vain learning go round and round Like the blind led by the blind.

The essence of Mundaka Upanishad: ~ “Do not be satisfied with rituals, yoga, etc., which are good in their own way, but inquire. Into what? Brahman and Atman are things you can never see. So do not inquire into them. Inquire into the world around you, which you can see.

Science tells you it is passing away every second. Everything is dying repeatedly. Where is it going? Thus, you follow up your inquiry into what you can lay hands on. How can you inquire into Atma which you cannot see? So first we deal with the known and seen, this inquiry leads up to the unknown in the end.

The wisdom consists in knowing the truth, that everything (mind or physical existence) is the consciousness. The freedom (ultimate truth) is always there yet one does not know it. But to those whose reason is turned away from physicality and who have attained the serenity of the Soul or the consciousness, the innermost Self, are quite near to realizing the ultimate truth or Brahman.

In the past, Self-knowledge, or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana was imparted only with few because the Sages of truth had preserved it people were more interested in their religious beliefs. Now a day’s people are more advanced, capable of understanding assimilating, and realizing the truth beyond form, time, and space.

As the seeker starts his journey he may find it difficult in first as his understanding matures his subconscious will start dropping the dualistic egocentric knowledge and start accepting the Soul-centric Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. :~ Santthosh Kumaar

Surrendering to the Guru is religious means, sticking to the guru is sticking to ignorance.+

Surrendering to the Guru is religious means, sticking to the guru is sticking to ignorance.

Sticking to ignorance means sticking to the dualistic illusion or Maya. Sticking to the dualistic illusion or Maya means accepting the unreality as a reality.

There is no need to surrender the ego because you are the ego. Without the ego, the world in which you exist ceases to exist. The ego is the basis of the world in which you exist. The ego, you, and the world appear together and disappear together.

Surrender is the religious and yogic fable. How can the ego surrender to itself? How can the ego surrender to the religious God, which is not God in actuality?

All such claims are possible only in the domain of the form, time, and space. In reality, no second thing exists other than the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. When there is no second thing, then surrender to what?. 

Remember:~

The ego is the basis of the world in which you exist. The ego alone cannot be discarded. The ego is present along with the body and the world. The ego, body, and the world appear together and disappear together. The ego, body, and the world in which you exist are the dualistic illusion.

The ego, body, and the world in which you exist are the product of ignorance. Only when ignorance vanishes the ego, body and the world fades away as one essence.

Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is necessary to realize knowledge of the single stuff. The knowledge of the single stuff frees the Soul, the innermost Self from the cage of ignorance.

If you are seeking the truth then do not mix up religion and yogic fables drop all accumulated garbage to realize the truth, which is beyond the form, time, and space. :~Santthosh Kumaar

Consciousness is the ultimate truth. There is no higher truth other than consciousness.+

 

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

Consciousness is the root element of the universe. From consciousness, the universe comes into existence. In consciousness, the universe resides. And into consciousness, the universe is dissolved. Consciousness is the parent of all that is there is.

Consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman. Brahman is GOD. Consciousness is the only reality, and the universe too but an illusory manifestation.

Consciousness is God in truth.

Rig Veda:~ 'Prajnanam Brahma' -Consciousness is the ultimate reality or Brahman or God in truth

Bhagavad Gita: ~ Brahmano hi pratisthaham ~ Brahman (God) 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, 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 other than consciousness a God.

Remember:~

Consciousness is the ultimate truth. There is no higher truth other than consciousness.

To realize this truth, there is no need to follow any path. There is no need to follow anyone. There is no need to become a wandering monk. There is no need to renounce the worldly life. Realizing the consciousness (Spirit) is ultimate is spirituality.

There is nothing else to realize other than realizing there no second thing exists other than consciousness. Realizing the consciousness is second to none is truth realization.

Even if you search for million years you will only come to a final conclusion and realization that the world in which you exist is nothing but consciousness.

If the world, in which you exist is nothing but the consciousness, then what else is there to realize other than realizing the consciousness alone is real and the world in which you exist is an illusion.

If the world in which you exist is an illusion the experience of the birth, life, and death that happens in the illusory world is bound to be an illusion.

If the world, in which you exist is an illusion then the division of the form, time, and space are merely an illusion because the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness is the Self. the Soul, the Self is the fullness of consciousness.

Mentally reducing the world, in which you exist into consciousness leads to Advaitic Self-awareness.

Realizing the consciousness as the ultimate truth is Advaita. That is mentally reducing the dualistic illusion into non-dualistic reality is Advaita.

Sage Sankara has declared Advaitic truth 1200 years back but it is hidden and imparted only to a few. Even scientists declare in the future the world is nothing but the consciousness then Sage Sankara alone is qualified for the noble prize, not the scientists because Sage Sankara declared it 1200 years back. Sage Sankara’s Advaitic wisdom has been lost: People misinterpret and falsify.

Advaita is not a theory but Advaita is the rational truth, the scientific truth, and the ultimate truth. But nobody knows it. The teachers of philosophy and the Gurus or religion do not want to inquire into truth and have no time for it.

Sage Sankara’s Advaitic wisdom is nothing to do with religion. Thus, all his religious teaching which is meant for the ignorant populace has to be bifurcated from his wisdom. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

People of small intelligence follow religion and believe that the world was created by God.+

People of small intelligence follow religion and believe that the world was created by God. But how do they know that He did so? When a pot is created one can see both pot and its maker, but not in the case of the world. Then there is the question which nobody has answered till now, viz. Why did He create all these evils, these sufferings? Even a father would never do that. If He did so, assuming that God did create, then what sort of an evil God is He!

All religions which begin with "God created the world," are fit only for children. It is a lie; it is inconsistent and fit only for ignorant people.

When one knows the truth then he knows that the Soul which is present in the form of the consciousness is everything that exists." A child learns to count, by seeing and counting material objects. When the child is mature it says directly "one plus one equals’ two." without having to count tangible objects.

Religion is dualistic. All the Guru Parampara is for the religious people. There is no need for a Guru who wants to tread the path of wisdom.

Even Swami Vivekananda was Ramakrishna Paramahansa disciple. Swami Vivekananda himself 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.”

There are two kinds of audiences - the ordinary ones who desire the transitory heaven and other pleasures obtained as a result of ritual sacrifices, and the most advanced seeker who seeks to know the ultimate truth or Brahman.

The Guru and Guru Paramparas are meant for the first audience, to help lead its followers along the way. However, there is no need to follow any parampara and follow any Guru those who wish to realize the truth which is beyond the form, time, and space.

We should not mix religion with spirituality because religion is based on the ego and spirituality is based on the Soul. Religion is concerned with its paramparas, not truth whereas spirituality is concerned only with the truth, which is beyond the form, time, and space. Religion is not spirituality.

Sage Sankara: ~ "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 Sri, Sankara is a Brahma Gnani.

Sage Sankara himself said: ~ A Gnani "bears no outward mark of a holy man" (Stanza 539).

Thus, it proves that religious Gurus and yogis are not Gnanis because they identified themselves as holy people.

Tripura Rahasya: ~ Second-hand knowledge of the Self-gathered from books or Gurus can never emancipate a man until its truth is rightly investigated and applied; only direct realization will do that. Realize yourself, turning the mind inward. (18: 89)

Ashtavakra Gita: ~ Truly the dualism is the root of suffering. There is no other remedy for it than the realization that all this that we see is unreal and that the Soul, the innermost Self, is the one stainless reality, consisting of the consciousness. 2:16

The Self is pure awareness though through ignorance the ‘Self has imagined itself to have additional attributes. By continually reflecting like this, the Self’s dwelling place is in the unimagined. 2:17

For the Self, there is neither bondage nor liberation. The illusion has lost its basis and ceased. Truly all this exists in me though ultimately it does not even exist in the Self. 2:18

Self-Knowledge should be explained again and again until it is firmly rooted in the subconscious.

The one who has adopted the life of a wandering monk will never be able to realize the truth which is hidden in the form, time, and space. He keeps wandering from one place to the next, meeting different gurus, worshipping different Gods. He is caught up in the prison of the dualistic illusion.

People who think Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana can be achieved through their karma (actions) are hallucinating. : ~

Santthosh K

umaar

The form, time, and space appear together and disappear together.+

The form, time, and space are present when the ‘I’ is present.

The ‘I’ is present when the mind is present.

The mind is present in the form of the universe.

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

If there is no ‘I’ then there is no mind.

If there is no mind, then there is no form, time, and space.

If there is no form, time, and space, then there is no universe.

If there is no universe, then there is no waking or dream.

Thus, the ‘I’, the mind, the universe, the waking or dream, are one and the same thing.

Remember:~

Thus, one has to analyze the three states to realize, what is it that appears as the waking or dream (duality) and disappears as deep sleep (nonduality). In other words ’: ‘what is it that appears as the duality’ and disappears as nonduality when the Self is neither the waking entity (you) nor the Self is the dream entity, but the Self is the formless Soul which witnesses the coming and going of the three states.

In the realm of truth, the three states are one in essence. Thus the three states are created out of single stuff. That single stuff the Soul which is present in the form of consciousness.  

The form, time, and space appear together and disappear together. Without the form, there is no time and space. Without time there is no form and space. Without space, there is no form and time.

If the form disappears then time and space also disappear. Without time and space, the form will not appear.

Without the form, time, and space the ‘I’ will not appear. Without the ‘I’, the form, time, and space cease to exist.

Without form, time, and space the mind ceases to exist. Without the mind, the form, time, and space cease to exist.

Without form, time, and space the universe ceases to exist. Without the universe, form, time, and space cease to exist.

Without the form, time, and space the waking ceases to appear. Without the waking, the form, time, and space cease to exist.

Without the form, time, and space the dream ceases to appear and without the dream, the form, time, and space cease to exist. ~ Santthosh Kumaar

There is no need to study Advaita Vedanta or Buddhism to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.+

There is no wisdom whatsoever in any philosophy they are just a collection of words. The seeker should not bother about finding the meaning of what is written in philosophical books. 

.

Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana cannot be surmised by merely reading the Vedas and Upanishads or philosophy.

There is no need to study Advaita Vedanta or Buddhism to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.  All accumulated knowledge is of no use to realize the Advaitic truth beyond the form, time, and space. 

There is no need to study Advaita Vedanta to realize the Advaitic truth beyond the form, time, and space. Advaita is not a theory or a philosophy. Advaita is the nature of the soul, the innermost self.  There is no need for any theory or philosophy or scriptures to acquire self-knowledge. Only a  perfect understanding of ‘what is what’ is needed. 

There is no need to buy books of Sage Sankara in order to acquire Self-knowledge. A perfect understanding of 'what is what' is needed. Nothing else is a need other than realizing the fact that, the form, time, and space are one in essence and that the essence is the soul, which is present in the form of consciousness in order to get the Advaitic Self-awareness.

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

Fortunate is the one who does not lose themselves in the labyrinths of philosophy. The conceptual divisions were invented by teachers of philosophy by their excessive analysis. Fortunate is the seeker who does not lose himself in the labyrinths of philosophy but goes straight to the source from the universe arises. 

There is only one Reality to be known, the same for all seekers, but the ways to it, are hidden by religion.  Self-discovery is the only way, towards the non-dualistic absolute without any religious doctrines, which will help the seekers to unfold the mystery of the illusion in which we all are searching for the truth of our true existence.

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

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.  

That is why Sage Sankara himself says ~ VC 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 that 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?

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

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 are to be attained through the instructions of a knower of Brahman, followed by reflection, meditation, and so forth, but not through perverted arguments.

He who has not rectified his reasoning base from the ‘I’(form) base to soul(formless) base and one who does not have the intense urge to know the non-dualistic or Advaitic truth,  and who is not tranquil and subdued and whose mind is not receptive, cannot acquire Self-Knowledge or brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Remember:~

But once Buddha died, great philosophical schools arose. It had never happened in the whole world as it happened in India after Buddha. The man who for his whole life was against philosophy and philosophizing became the source of the greatest philosophical endeavour ever. Thirty-six schools of philosophy were born when Buddha died. And the people that he had always condemned all gathered together to philosophize about him.

And see the beauty, the irony of it all! They started philosophizing about why Buddha kept silent.

Why he did not say anything about the beyond: that became their philosophy! They started talking about why he kept silent about the beyond. And there were as many answers as possible.

Somebody said, "Because there is no beyond." Now one philosophy has taken roots. Another said, "The beyond is, but it is inexpressible. That's why he kept silent." Now another school, and so on and so forth.

Even the silence of Buddha became a problem, and people started discussing the silence. Nobody tried to become silent; people started talking ABOUT the silence.

Beware of this trap, the mind is very cunning. If I say something about meditation, I am saying it so that you can meditate. But you start thinking about meditation, what meditation is. "How many kinds of meditation are there in existence? What is the difference between them? Why are they antagonistic to each other?

And then you can go on ad infinitum, and there will not be any time when you will ever meditate.

You will become more and more confused. You will become so confused finally that you will not know how to start meditation. because there are so many directions opening. Where to go? What to choose? You will simply be paralyzed.

The mind always does that. And only a few people who are really alert are capable of getting out of these traps of the mind. The mind is a great philosopher. And life is not a philosophy, life is a reality.

Philosophy is an escape from reality; philosophy means thinking. Life is - there is no question of thought. You can simply jump into it.- OSHO