Sage Sankara says:~ A Gnani wears no signs.+

Manduka Upanishads:~ It is very difficult to find out who is a Gnani because he bears no external mark. Neither nudity nor the religious robe has anything to do with him.

Surrendering is a religious fable. Surrendering to ‘what’ when there is only one. Devotion and surrendering are a reality on the base of the false self (ego or you) within the false experience. Thus the guru, devotion, and surrendering are part and parcel of the illusion.  
Surrendering implies duality. Realizing there is no duality leads to nondualistic Self-awareness. Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is the only tool to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman. 

He who thinks God is one and the soul, the innermost self is another can never be able to understand, assimilate realize the non-dualistic or Advaitic truth. 

 

It is not the man, who has to be free, but it is the Soul, the innermost 'Self' has to be free by realizing it is not the man perceiving the world. People want to get freedom, but freedom comes only when the soul wakes up without the illusory body and the illusory world (duality).  It is the soul, the innermost self is in the cage of illusion. It is the soul that wants to get out of the illusion because the illusion and the reality are one in essence. That essence is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.  Thus all that man experiences within the dualistic illusion of practical life within the practical world and seeing the vision, speaking to God, seeing God are a reality within the dualistic illusion.

From the Nondualistic perspective, there is no second thing that exists other than consciousness (spirit). Thus, consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God. From the standpoint of Brahman or God, everything is Brahman or God. 

   

Some so many people are godmen and gurus with all their accumulated knowledge will not get the realization and inner and outer guidance to reach the non-dual destination.  Godmen, religious gurus, and yogis are not Gnanis.  A Gnani wears no signs it means he does not identify himself as Guru or teacher or swami.

Sage Sankara clearly indicates in Viveka Chudamani (2) that:~ the Knower of the Atman (A Gnani) "bears no outward mark of a holy man" (Stanza 539).

Many are good at acrobatics with words, but their knowledge is limited to the physical self.  The inner work is in progress, and the realization will happen as the conviction of formless witness grows.  Everyone’s individual experiences are not the same.   Some are so much immersed in materiality, religion, and duty-bound towards their family and society, and they do not have an inner urge because they have accepted their present experience of birth, life, death, and the world as reality. Because of this deep-rooted conviction,    they are not attracted to the path of non-dualistic or Advaitic wisdom. Some are interested intellectually in knowing the truth.

Many are interested in arguing on the base of accumulated knowledge, but they do not understand the fact that neither by arguing nor by provoking the wisdom will not dawn. The path of wisdom does not need any support from any scriptures, philosophy, and words of great people of the past because the path of wisdom is the path of verification not the path of argument.  The seeker has to get all his doubts and confusion cleared by discussing.  The seeker should not hold his accumulated knowledge as a yardstick. The ultimate truth or Brahman cannot be compared with any other knowledge because they merely  knowledge expounded      

Amid distractions, the Self is undistracted. In meditation, it does not meditate. Foolish, it is not a fool. Knowing everything, it knows nothing.

Gnani does not want to think of the ego, therefore he does not do or say anything to make himself appear superior to others, or to pretend to know more than others.  If a person spends his time in Samadhi, he is not a Gnani but he is only a yogi. The Gnani is as alert and awake to what is happening to him externally as all other people: he is not a yogi in Samadhi. A yogi does not know the ultimate truth or Brahman because he believes his Samadhi as Brahman. The Gnani has realized the world in which he exists is merely an illusion created out of consciousness.  And consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman. 

Gnani mixed with the company of people from all walks of life, behaving as they did, not claiming to be different from them.  He occasionally is dropping some words, giving some suggestions which created curiosity to know the reality beyond form, time, and space. Thus, he will instill hope into the seeker's hearts that is really possible to acquire self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

A  Gnani will neither talk too volubly like shallow persons nor observe complete silence like some yogis and gurus. He will talk as much as is necessary but no more. Thus, he follows the inner (mental)   path, the formless path.

A Gnani chooses no religion, dress, thing, speech, actions, vocation, or posture to show off that he is a Gnani, that he is different from others. That would indicate distinctness or separateness.  A Gnani is fully aware of the fact that the experience of form, time, and space are one in essence.

This realization in its fullness brings absolute harmony between thought and action and makes the Gnani.   A Gnani desires to share self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana to humanity before he disappears from this illusory world and thus keeping it alive in the illusory world.  He alone can be a true Gnani who is soulcentric.

A Gnani sees the sameness in all; this means he sees them all without exception as ideas.  Peace will be disturbed only if one recognizes a second. Hence,  the mystic's peace is temporary; the only enduring peace belongs to the Gnani.

A Gnani who knows reality interprets everything according to its light. It is not enough to write books to bring people to the realization of nonduality or Advaita, perfect understanding, assimilation, and realization are also necessary.

Dattatreya's Song of the Avadhut 1.36-42:~ Non-duality is taught by some; some others teach duality. They don't understand that the all-pervading Reality is beyond both duality and non-duality.

The self-styled gurus talk of ripeness and effort, of merits and achievements, of destiny and grace; all these are religious fable propagated by Gurus and yogis.  Instead of helping, they obstruct.

Sage Sankara page 482:~ On Gnani: "The knower of Brahman wears no signs. Gives up the insignia of a monk's life…his signs are not manifest, nor his behavior." 

When the knower of Brahman (Gnani) wears no signs it means he does not identify himself as Guru or teacher or Swami.

A  Gnani has the world, acts, and lives normally in it, but does not regard it as a separate thing. The Gnani is always aware of the soul, the innermost self, and though he sees a thousand things, he will not forget it.

A Gnani will not show off nor boast; he is a commoner, he never acts as an extraordinary one. Gnani does not want to think of the ego, therefore he does not do or say anything to make himself appear superior to others, or to pretend to know more than others.

The ordinary person thinks "this is a world "; "that is Me” etc. whereas the Gnani thinks "this is Brahman (consciousness); everything is Brahman." etc.

A  Gnani practices action or inaction as he wishes, but he will be concerned with the welfare of humanity in either case.

A Gnani does not try to eliminate thoughts but he accepts or knows them as the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.  He knows that the mind (universe) and soul (self) are one in essence. And that essence is consciousness. 

The Gnani uses sense-objects because he sees they are as consciousness. He is fully aware of the fact that practical life within the practical world is merely an illusion created out of consciousness.  He is fully aware of the fact that it would be foolish to observe celibacy within the illusory world in which he exists.  

Manduka Upanishads:~ Even the Gods cannot find out who is a Gnani because he bears no external mark. Neither nudity nor the religious robe has anything to do with him.

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 billionaire, 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 when 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 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.

When a mother sees a child running away towards the road she has to warn the child against getting crushed in the traffic, because the child is ignorant. Similarly,  a Gnani, knowing the truth about the dangers of this world, the sufferings which it can bring warns and guides and teaches the ignorant humankind. Otherwise, they fall into great suffering through ignorance of the truth, which is hidden by the illusory form, time, and space.

All the individual experiences good or bad, positive or negative are happening within the waking experience. The waking experience is a  reality within the illusion.  Whatever is experienced within the waking experience has no value,  because it is merely an illusion.  The whole waking experience is present in the form of physical awareness. Man and his experience of birth, life, death, and the world are a reality within the illusory waking experience. The sense of duality is present only when waking or dream is present. In deep sleep, there is only the non-dualistic reality.

There is neither guru nor disciple, nor teaching because everything is the soul, the innermost self or consciousness. That is why Sage Sankara said: The soul, the innermost self is Brahman ~ that is,  the soul is the ultimate truth or Brahman.

The seeker has to grow from the inside out by soulcentric reasoning. None can teach him none can make him reach the ultimate end of understanding. There is no other guru, but the formless Soul, the  Self.:~Santthosh Kumaar