Is Vedanta the Only Way to Self-Realization?

June 2, 2023

Topics: While acknowledging the value and utility of other spiritual traditions, the satsang argues that Vedanta stands out as the most accurate, logical, and systematic path to self-realization. The clarity of its goals and processes, extensive literature, and distinct approach set Vedanta apart from other traditions. The essay concludes by suggesting that any teaching that removes ignorance of the fact, “I am unborn ever-present existence shining as unbroken bliss,” can be considered Vedanta, regardless of its label.

Question:

Dear Ben,

“Why is it only Vedanta for Self-realisation? There have been great self-realized teachers in other traditions through the ages and ultimately words are only means, not the real “thing”.

In various parts of the world with various languages and customs, the expression of Self Realisation has varied greatly, the truth often suffering in the hands of humans putting their egotistic twist to it.

Some may ‘hear’ the truth which belongs to no-one, as in Buddhism, Sufism, Christianity, in the so-called Primitive Cultures, in a stranger in the street, in an ant, a leaf, a sunset.

Growing up I used to doubt when I heard that a particular religion or tradition was the only way.”

Reply

Ben: When we paint a broad canvas of spiritual traditions in the world, there are many paths with different goals and means. These traditions have admirable goals and admirable teachers. When you examine each in detail, a different picture emerges. It is true … “the expression of Self Realisation has varied greatly …” The question is: which are accurate and complete? Which lead to blind alleys and spiritual dead-ends?

A careful study will show that Vedanta describes the goal and the process most clearly, and logically and provides a systematic path to Self-realisation. Speaking generally, the steps Vedanta takes can be summed up as

1. Understand the mistake and its source.

2. Define the Self.

3. State that you are the Self.

4. Emphasise the features of the Self are actually your own features.

Ask these questions:

1. What is meant by Self-realisation?

2. The word “… truth …” has been used. What does that word mean?

3. What are the traditions and teachers that teach Self-realisation accurately, and systematically in the following areas … a) the nature of the Self, b) the path to it, c) the preparation needed?

Being accurate, systematic and logical with regard to Self-realisation, means that any tradition should …

1. Define clearly what the Self is and what Self-realisation is.

2. Name the Self as “Sat Cit Ananda” or use their terminology to define the Self as … pure Presence of Being, Unconditioned Awareness, Complete Fulfilment, Absolute Happiness, Permanent Peace. Even though words are only pointers, putting words and names to the nature of the Self helps us understand the teaching. With understanding comes the ability to recognize and claim it.

3. State unequivocally, without doubt and without error, that YOU are that Self, here and now. The axiom in Vedanta is: “That Self, that Consciousness, YOU are. Tat TVAM asi.”

4. Emphasise that YOUR features are those of the Self, i.e YOU, as you are now, are THE immortal, THE eternal, THE infinite, THE changeless, THE complete, THE fulfilled, THAT beyond space-time, THE free, etc. … here and now. There is nothing bigger than YOU or smaller than YOU, nothing Superior or Inferior to YOU. A prepared and expanded mind is needed to grasp this fact.

5. Provide the logic that enables YOU to state with absolute clarity and confidence: “I am the Source of the whole universe and everything in it, from the biggest galaxies to the planet, to space-time, the elements and all forms … animate-inanimate, moving-unmoving, tangible-intangible, etc. They are all ME.”

6. Have a clear, logical, and systematic process to recognize the Self you already and always are, i.e.. Karma yoga for the beginner seeker, Upasana yoga for the middling seeker, Jnana yoga with open-minded listening + Q&A + assimilation for the advanced seeker. The aim is to recognize and abide as the Immortal-Changeless I AM. Jnana yoga is the means to such recognition-abidance.

7. Make a clear distinction between the two levels of ‘I’, i.e. a person-with-consciousness, the mixture, the living being, versus Consciousness-Self.

8. Have a progressive explanation of what ‘person’ is, i.e. physical, subtle, causal bodies; the five layers of personality; the three states of experience, that my mind and body are matter and therefore inherently inert, intrinsically dead.

9. Have a clear explanation for the cause of suffering, evil, fear, unhappiness, etc. i.e.. Self-ignorance, identification with objects and secondary misconceptions.

10. Have a logical model for explaining manifestation, i.e. cosmology, space, time, matter and individual forms.

11. Then state that even this, although experienced as ‘real’, is only a seeming appearance, like the mirage in the desert, or blueness of the sky. Ultimately there is only the Consciousness-Self, nothing else. Like dream, even this waking world and everything in it, every experience, every object, the world itself, is a mirage, effectually and ontologically non-existent, i.e. apparently real. Is there any other tradition which categorically states and clearly explains the distinction between Satya, absolute Reality and mithya, a seeming reality?

12. Is there any other tradition than Vedanta that has extensive root scriptures, secondary literature and other resource material e.g. the Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Brahma Sutras. It is said among Vedantins that it would take a whole lifetime to just read the headings and subheadings of the chapters of the various scriptures and texts, without understanding their meaning and without reading the body of the material. The literature on Self-realisation in Vedanta is so very vast. The Vedas are the world’s most ancient and original scriptures. There are none prior to it.

Scripture is not needed to tell us what we can know through our senses and mind, our usual means of knowledge. For example, we do not need scripture to tell us that the earth moves around the sun or that we are mortal. We know these facts directly.

We need scripture to tell us what we cannot know through our usual means of knowledge. We need it to reveal: “You are the Immortal Infinite Consciousness, here and now, and not the mortal, finite person you think you are.” This fact is completely beyond my usual means of knowledge. Scripture needs to explain through its words, through logic and by examining one’s own experience, why and how my current thinking about myself, the world and the cause of the universe is flawed. It needs to explain what the correct understanding is. Vedantic scripture does this accurately and systematically and has endured the test of time.

Also, Vedantic scripture is not the work or teaching of one person, a particular founder or leader. It is a body of knowledge revealed to many seer-sages who passed on the knowledge to others. Thus, Vedanta has a teacher-student tradition from beginningless time down to current teachers. For example, who invented and gave knowledge of flight? It is not from one person. It is the accumulated knowledge gathered over centuries and put together systematically. So too with Vedantic scripture; it is revealed knowledge.

Which other traditions fulfil these criteria and who are their teachers?

Vedanta is the most accurate, logical and systematic path to Self-realisation. The end-point is clearly stated and the process well-defined and well-supported.

This is not to deny the role and utility of other traditions. They are to be acknowledged and respected. They all have their place and different people need different paths, depending on their goals and spiritual maturity. It is in the approach to Self-realisation in particular, that there are distinctions, often with marked differences.

Some traditions do hint at Consciousness-Self. For example, esoteric Christianity, certain sects in Theravadin Buddhism and one sect in Tibetan Buddhism, some aspects of Sufism, do talk about “something beyond religion and religious structures”. Some of their teachers mention it, e.g. St. John of the Cross, St. Theresa of Avila, Rumi, Kabir, Mansour, Krishnamurti, etc. but have not named it clearly, do not explain it to the degree that Vedanta does, nor provide the steps to gain that “something”. Current Buddhism states there is nothing beyond the mind … “shunya”. But Buddha himself said in a text called “Udana” from the middle-length sayings, in Chapter 8, verse 1 and 3, that “there is an unborn, unbecome, uncreated, unconditioned” something. What does that mean? Buddha himself did not explain. Many Buddhist monks are unable to explain it nor able to explain its contradiction with the current teachings of Buddhism. They avoid answering it by generalizing: “It refers to Nibbana-Nirvana.” But they do not explain what or how.

One must be very clear about the goal and one factor is to name it, e.g. Existence (Sat), Consciousness (Cit), Fullness/bliss (Ananda), so that the mind can understand and then be transcended. How can you study something which is not stated clearly nor carefully and logically explained?

Vedanta is not the only path to spirituality in general. Vedanta is the only path to clear, complete and total Self-realisation. Vedanta’s unique and particular approach to Self-realisation is not replicated in other traditions. Vedanta is THE way to Self-realisation.

Finally, all Roads lead to Rome but do not provide to key to open the gate to Rome, unless that key is the knowledge, “I am unborn ever-present existence shining as unbroken Bliss.” Vedanta is the key because it removes ignorance of that fact. Any teaching that is not called Vedanta is actually Vedanta because Vedanta simply means “the knowledge that removes ignorance of this fact.”