All Gurus and yogis consider themselves as holy people. That is why Sage Sri, Sankara says a Gnani "bears no outward mark of a holy man because they identify themselves with their body with the name.+.

A Gnani considers the Self is not his body but the Self is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. 

For a Gnani,  his body is not the body but he considers it as consciousness.

For a Gnani,  his ego is not the body but he considers it as consciousness.

For a Gnani,   the world in which he exists is not the world but he considers it as consciousness.

All Gurus and yogis consider themselves as holy people. That is why   Sage Sankara says a Gnani "bears no outward mark of a holy man because they identify themselves with their body with the name. 

The one who identifies himself as swami, Guru, or yogi is not a Gnani. A Gnani never identifies himself as swami, Guru, pundit, or yogi. Swami, Guru, pundit, or yogi belongs to the religious and yogic path, not to the path of truth or wisdom.  

Sage Sankara: ~ "Though I wear these robes of a Sanyasin, it is only for the sake of bread."

Sage Sankara: ~ 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. 

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.

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.

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'

Bhagavan Buddha: ~ Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders.

You need not become a Guru or a monk to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. You have not to renounce the world or to leave anything ~ your wife, children, job, responsibilities. You do not have to renounce anything! The only thing you have to realize the truth, which is beyond the form, time, and space by realizing the form, time, and space is the product of ignorance. When the ignorance vanishes, the unreality of the form, time, and space is exposed.

Upanishad say:~  "He who thinks he knows, does not know." This means that to know anything implies a second, an object of knowledge, hence duality, i.e. no Gnana.

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) : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

There is no scope for argument in the Atmic discussion. The argument is possible only on dualistic perspective.+

To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like injecting medicine into a corpse.

First, know what this unknown truth you are seeking for. The seeker is seeking for the truth of his true existence, which is hidden by the illusory form, time, and space.

Truth means certainty. The dualistic truth is not a certainty because the dualistic truth based on the ego and it is limited to the form, time, and space whereas the non-dualistic truth is based on the Soul, which is formless, timeless and spaceless existence.

If there is any uncertainty it is not the truth. It does not deal with imaginations. People do not have a scientific attitude because they take things as presented to them. They have rather the emotional and sentimental attitude. The correct attitude is to verify all the facts, to see a problem with them, something to investigate and inquire into them.

Truth must be verifiable; unless it is verifiable it is of no value. Those who lack the capacity to doubt are not fit for the pursuit of truth.

Analogical, inductive, and deductive reasoning is good only within the domain of the form, time, and space; none is absolutely and universally infallible because they are based on the ego or the physical self.

The religious truth is based on blind belief. But in pursuit of truth, the doubt is the main ingredient.

Most people have the desire to know the truth but the capacity to understand and grasp the truth, which is beyond the form, time and space is limited. The result is that people resolve the conflict by jumping to the first and simplest and easiest conclusion as the correct one, and smugly but unjustifiably thinking “I know”: Thus, they commit the fallacy of primitivity.

Gurus or pundits or yogis statements shouldn’t be accepted blindly as the ultimate truth because they are based on the dualistic perspective and are not proof. The truth based on the dualistic belongs to the dualistic illusion therefore not the truth.

All the claims have to be verified before accepting them as truth. Because all the religious and yogic and mystic truth is based on the form, time, and space. From the ultimate standpoint the form, time, and space are an illusion. Thus, whatever is based on the form, time and space are a dualistic illusion. Whatever is based on the dualistic illusion is bound to be an untruth. 

Remember:~

The Soul, the Spirit is the highest truth. The Soul is the cause of the universe and it itself is uncaused.

The ultimate truth cannot be known by intuition but it can be grasped by Soulcentric reason by discriminating between the Soul and the ego. Whatever is based on the Soul is the ultimate truth and whatever is based on the ego is the untruth.

Therefore, there is a need to know first the ‘Self’ is not you but the Self is the Soul, the Spirit.

You learn to start reasoning on the base of the Soul, then all your clouds of confusion start clearing on its own. And you will finally realize the form, time and space are nothing but an illusion created out of the Soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness. On the standpoint of the Soul, the innermost Self, there is no confusion left because everything is the consciousness. There is no second thing exists other than consciousness.

Thus, the Soul alone is real and all else is an illusion. The Soul is one without the second therefore, the Soul is Advaita. The Advaita is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God.

The spiritual writings, writers, the readers, and the world in which they all exist created out of single stuff. That single stuff is the Spirit. Knowledge of the single stuff is Self-knowledge. Self-knowledge leads to Self-awareness. Self-awareness leads to unity in diversity (oneness) because everything created out single stuff. The whole universe in which we exist is nothing but the spirit.

The spirit (Soul) alone is real and the universe in which we are discussing is merely an illusion. Thus, our words, thoughts, and our intellectuality have no value in the Atmic discussion. The Atmic discussion is not based on the form, time, and space, but it is the knowledge of the beyond the form, time, and space.

There is no scope for argument in the Atmic discussion. The argument is possible only on the dualistic perspective. On the non-dualistic perspective, there is no dualistic illusion, because, there is unity in diversity or Oneness. The ultimate truth is oneness. There is no scope for duality in Advaitic reality.: ~ Santthosh Kumaar

All the Guru Paramparas belong to the religion, not Spirituality.+

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

All  Guru Paramparas belong to religion, not Spirituality. Religion is nothing to do with spirituality. There is a need to bifurcate religion from spirituality.

Religion meant for the ignorant populace and spirituality is meant for the seekers of truth. Mixing religion and yoga with spirituality is like mixing oil with the water.

If you are seeking truth then you have to reject religion and yoga, which are dualistic. dualistic knowledge blocks Self-realization.

Sage Sankara does not believe in books. Sage Sankara denies any authority of any book over any other book. He denies emphatically any one book contains all the truths about Brahman or God, Soul, the ultimate reality.

It is impossible to realize the Self through bookish knowledge. A feeling of profound respect for physical Guru is still more difficult to uphold. If you are seeking truth know must not cling to any physical Guru or his teaching.

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):

You should not make any man or woman as object worship. If you have accepted the Atmic path then there is no need for the book, no need for physical Guru, no need to worship religious God no need for any rituals. There is nothing is needed other than realizing the ‘Self is not you but the ‘Self’ is the Soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness.

Sage Sankara says ~ VC- 56- Neither by Yoga, nor by Sankhya, nor by work, nor by learning, but by the realization of one's identity with Brahman is Liberation possible, and by no other means.

Even Swami Vivekananda was Ramakrishna Paramahansa's 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. The religion is concerned with its paramparas, not truth whereas spirituality is concerned only with the truth, which is hidden by ignorance. Religion is not spirituality.

Sage Sankara: ~ "Though I wear these robes of a Sanyasin, it is only for the sake of bread."

All those who were the sanyasin robes are wearing it for the sake of bread belongs to the religion; they are nothing to do with the Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. There is no need to criticize and condemn the gurus, yogis, and swamis because they are needed for the welfare of ignorant mass in the dualistic world.

So, Sage Sankara wore a Guru's robe only for the sake of ignorant. So he was identified as Guru with parampara by religious people. For the truth seekers, Sage Sankara is a Brahma Gnani.

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

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

Why worship and glorify the Gurus and Yogis (human form) in place of God when Veda bars such activities and it also warns people who indulge in such activities 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.

Vedas bar human worship: ~

Translation: ~

Yajurveda:~

"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." ~ (Yajurveda 40:9.)

Many people are stuck to the idea that without a Guru, Truth -realization is impossible. Guru is only a religious fable. They do not even know what their Guru teaches is the truth.

Gurus themselves dwelling in darkness preach their way is the only way and the followers of the gurus follow the dualistic path like the blind led by the blind.

The Guru is useless so long as the ultimate truth is unknown, and Guru is equally useless when the ultimate truth or Brahman has already been known.

A Guru is required in religious and the yogic path. The religious and yogic paths are dualistic. Dualistic paths are the path of ignorance. if you tread any other path other than the path of wisdom it keeps you permanently in ignorance.

There is no need for a Guru to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. A person who realized the ultimate truth or Brahman will throw off his religious robe and all religious identity and lives like a commoner. He never identifies himself as Gnani nor does he identify himself superior to others. He only shares his knowledge with fellow seekers.

A Gnani never identifies himself as a Guru or a Yogi or someone disciple. The one who accepts himself as a Guru or someone’s disciple is not a Gnani.

Ashtavakra Samhita: ~ "The man of knowledge (Gnani), though living like an ordinary man, is contrary to him and only those like him understand his state.

Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana will interest only a few people; the rest are interested in Religion, yoga other paths, and pleasure hunting. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

A Gnani is the fountainhead of Advaitic Gnana.+.

A Gnani talks and jokes like others, but he is not understood as he really is. People may regard him as an exceptional person, but only a few can recognize him as a Gnani.

A Gnani cannot have the idea of giving up, renouncing the world, or some object or person in the world because that would connote the idea of duality. Knowing no second thing at all there remains nothing to be given up. A Gnani, on attaining realization, will not give up his vocation in life but will continue it as before. If he was a billniore, he continues so, if a peasant, he will remain one. He still does his duty, but he is fully aware of the fact that his practical life within the practical world is merely an illusion.

It is not correct to say that, a Gnani sees only good everywhere and never evil. He is fully aware of the evil things, he knows then he is being taken for a ride, but he remains unperturbed though acting as required. He recognizes what is bad and what is a good practical point of view and what is real and what is an illusion from the ultimate standpoint.

Lord Sri Krishna himself says that he can do nothing to make a man intelligent straight away. The adepts give Prasad, blessing, initiations, mantras, etc. only to confer temporary peace of mind, to help you to get rid of worries, but not to confer Gnana. The capacity to receive it must first be inborn in man by evolutionary degree.

Remember:~

A Gnani never identifies himself as Gnani. A Gnani shares only Gnana. A Gnani is the fountainhead of Advaitic Gnana.

Ashtavakra Samhita: ~ "The man of knowledge (Gnani), though living like an ordinary man, is contrary to him, and only those like him understand his state.

A Gnani can point at the sky, but the seeing of the star is the seeker's own work. You are struggling to realize the truth because you are caught up in the prison of your emotions and sentimentally involve with the physical Guru. Until you remain in the prison of the emotion you will never be able to cross the threshold of the dualistic illusion. Your physical Guru belongs to the universe, which is the dualistic illusion or Maya.

You have to transcend the dualistic illusion. If you hold anything of the dualistic illusion as divine or scared then you will not be able to dualistic illusion (matter) into consciousness (Spirit).

If you are seeking truth then you have to keep away from this Gurudom. If you hold physical Guru as God and worship him then you are worshipping the illusion. You should not hold anything of the illusion as God. You do not require the grace of the physical Guru. You will get the grace of the inner Guru when you fix your attention of the Soul by realizing the Soul alone is real and all else is an illusion.

If you are seeking truth you should not indulge in glorifying Gurus and yogis. Guru worship is meant for the religious and yogic path, not for the Gnani path. You and Gurus and yogi belong to the dualistic illusion. Thus, their blessings and grace are bound to be illusory.

Sage Sankara: ~ "Though I wear these robes of a Sanyasin, it is only for the sake of bread." (Select Works of Sage Sri, Sankara" also his commentary on Brihad)

Thus, the above passage proves that all those who were the sanyasin robes are wearing it for the sake of bread belongs to the religion; they are nothing to do with the Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. There is no need to criticize and condemn the Gurus, yogis, and swamis because they are needed for the welfare of ignorant mass in the dualistic world.

The Guru is useless so long as the ultimate truth is unknown, and the Guru is equally useless when the ultimate truth or Brahman has already been known.

Guru is needed in the religious and the yogic path. There is no need for a Guru to acquire Self-knowledge.

Sage Sankara says the transparent Truth of the Self, which is hidden by the illusion, is to be attained through the instructions of a knower of Brahman, (Gnani)

~ Then why you are sticking to a Guru who is not a Gnani wasting your precious life and time with half-baked knowledge. Why you are allowing them to play with your innocence, emotions, and sentiments.

Be courageous. You do not require a Guru to acquire Self-knowledge or Atma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

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.

A person who realized the ultimate truth or Brahman will throw off his religious robe and all religious identity and lives like a commoner. He never identifies himself as Gnani nor does he identify himself superior to others. He only shares his knowledge with fellow seekers.

A Gnani never identifies himself as a Guru or a Yogi or someone disciple. The one who accepts himself as a Guru or someone’s disciple is not a Gnani.:~Santthosh Kumaar

Mundaka Upanishads: So-called spiritual pundits and learned are called children.+

There is no need to study Vedas or any other philosophies. By speculating the truth, wisdom will not dawn.

All sect based beliefs are dualistic and unphilosophical nothing to do with the ultimate truth or Brahman.  In spirituality,  the ultimate truth is God. 

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)

Sage Sri, Sankara’s wisdom is nothing to do orthodox belief systems. Sage Sri, Sankara is the only sage who has final authority on the Advaitic truth. The Advaitic truth is rational truth and scientific truth without dogma.

The Advaitic orthodoxy is not the means to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.  Advaitic orthodoxy is meant for the ignorant populace that is unfit to grasp the highest truth.   The Advaitic orthodoxy is nothing to do with the ultimate truth or Brahman.

All sect based beliefs are dualistic and unphilosophical nothing to do with the ultimate truth or Brahman.  In spirituality,  the ultimate truth is God.  Thus, the Advaitic orthodoxy is a sect is nothing to do with the Advaitic wisdom of the Sage Sankara. Advaitic orthodox sect is meant for the ignorant populace.

Mundaka Upanishad condemns rituals.  The Para or Higher knowledge is the knowledge of the Supreme Being while the Apara or Lower Knowledge is that of following sacrificial rites and ceremonies. (1/2/ 1 – 6)

Mundaka Upanishads:~ So-called spiritual pundits and learned are called children because a child takes whatever it thinks as truth. The question never occurs to children “Is what I have seen or thought really the  truth?" (P.334 line 9)

Lord Krishna confesses that the oldest wisdom of India (our true Advaita philosophy) has been lost: people misinterpret and falsify it today as they did then. It is not yoga but the philosophic truth. But nobody knows it. The teachers of philosophy and leaders of mysticism or religion do not want to inquire into the truth and have no time for it. (Gita –Chap- IV-v.2)

Mundaka Upanishad~ The study of the Vedas, linguistics, Rituals, astronomy, and all the arts can be called lower knowledge. The higher is that which leads to Self-realization. The eye cannot see it; the mind cannot grasp it. The deathless 'Self' has neither caste nor race, neither eyes nor ears nor hands nor feet. Sages say this Self is infinite in the great And in the small, everlasting and changeless, The source of life.

There is no need for a guru in the Atmic path. 

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.”

The scriptures are not needed in the pursuit of truth. Even the Upanishads and the Sages of truth declare the same.

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. (Ch-II -23-P-20)

Mundaka Upanishad: ~  This Atman cannot be attained through the 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)

The ultimate truth has to be ascertained without the scriptures by realizing the Self is neither the waking entity nor the dream entity, but the Self is formless Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. In the realm of the truth the form, time, and space are created out of single stuff. That single stuff is consciousness. Realizing the single stuff as ultimate truth is Self-realization or truth realization. To realize this truth, there is no need for scriptures. 

The ultimate truth has to be realized first, and then only it is possible to know what the scriptures are saying.

Scriptures are being added from time to time. This process will go on. There is the final authority among them? One contradicts the other: duality reigns supreme.

I quote Scriptural citation only after verification reality and proved the truth, to point out that the scriptures teach the same thing. If one quotes them before having demonstrated truth, then it is scholasticism.

Sage Sri, Sankara:~  Loud speech, profusions of words, and possessing skilfulness in expounding scriptures are merely for the enjoyment of the learned.  They do not lead to Liberation."

Mundaka Upanishads: So-called spiritual pundits and learned are called children because a child takes whatever it thinks as truth. The question never occurs to children “Is what I have seen or thought really the truth?" (P.334 line 9)

The Scriptures mastery, the force of religious merit--none of these lead to the realization of that Ultimate Truth or Brahman. The ultimate truth is revealed in the clear understanding and realization of ‘what is truth and ‘what is the untruth.  When one realizes the untruth (universe) is created out of single stuff, Self-awareness rises in the midst of duality exposing the unreal nature of the form, time, and space.

An adherent of the orthodox philosopher   may say his philosophy teaches so and so", another man may object and say “No, his religious philosophy teaches such and such." Thus,  they may go on uttering contradictions in the name of philosophy. True philosophy deals only with the appeal to facts, not theories.

Remember:~

Where scriptures and authorities do not agree with the reason, the seeker of truth must reject them.

How is one to know that the scriptures are true? The seeker has to look into the facts, for the proof of what has the worship of God done for the people! When a tsunami occurred at japan the God did not save the believers of japan. Thus God saves one who prays such an argument is of no value in pursuit of truth.

People believe scripture is infallible but deeper Self-search reveals the fact that they are merely the book of words. The words are the mere expression of thoughts. Then it is impossible to see if the scripture-writers thoughts are founded in fact or not.

The fallacy of orthodoxy’s appeal to scripture lies in the varying and conflicting interpretations of the same scripture that different men feel entitled to give or hold.

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

Where scriptures and authorities do not agree with the reason, the seeker of truth must reject them.

Scriptural knowledge is conceptual divisions invented by teachers of philosophy by their excessive analysis.  All these concepts are a great obstacle in the pursuit of truth.    Why should confusion created and then explained away? Fortunate is the man who does not lose himself in the labyrinths of philosophy but goes straight to the source from which they all arise.:~Santthosh Kumaar