Traditional Vedanta Shruti Advaita is eternal truth revealed to rishis.
Mystical/esoteric Rishis received it via otherworldly, divine sources.
Non-dual insight All teachings appear in the dream—Turyia is always here.
In the ancient past, four great sages—the Sanat Kumaras (Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatana, and Sanatkumara)—were born as eternally youthful beings, full of wisdom but seeking the final Truth: What is the Self? What is the source of all appearances?
Though they had mastered many scriptures and philosophies, they still felt something was missing. No amount of learning could pierce the deepest veil.
They began to seek a teacher who could transmit the **ultimate truth**—not in words, but in direct realization.
After long tapas (spiritual austerities), they were guided to a mysterious, radiant figure sitting beneath a banyan tree in the Himalayas: a youthful sage, radiant with silence and stillness—Dakshinamurti, the south-facing form of Shiva.
To their surprise, he said nothing.
He simply sat.
No mantra, no explanation, no ritual.
But in that silent presence, something miraculous happened:
They realized
- The Self was not something to know.
- It was what they always were.
- And that silence is the highest form of teaching (mauna-vyakhya).
* Rishis are accomplished and enlightened sages.
