The whole Advaitic philosophy is an attempt to transcend the limitations of intelligence and thought.+

As one goes deeper into the annals of history, it indicates the fact that somewhere someone has added the Puranas in the name of Veda Vyasa the grandmaster of the Vedas. It is impossible to accept and believe that Veda Vyasa authored and introduced Puranas which has all conceptual gods because: ~

Genuine philosophy must be independent of religion, that is Sage  Sankara himself says that the Saguna Brahman or a personal  God is only a part of the phenomenal (if not illusory) world, and the Nirguna Brahman is the only reality and has nothing to do with religion. The main hurdle in his way of thinking is the fact that Sage  Sankara did not claim to be an original thinker at all, and his philosophy took the form of commentaries on the generality of Hindu scriptures, particularly the Upanishads and the Gita. 

Sage  Sankara was an independent thinker. His philosophy has not been taken seriously by many in India because most of the followers of Sage Sankara are orthodox. It is that philosophy in India was for centuries more an exposition of the ancient classics than the independent thought of individual thinkers as in ancient Greece or modern Europe and America. 

Sage Sankara and  Sage Gaudapada are independent thinkers other schools of Indian philosophy are mere theologies. Advaitic philosophy is real philosophy. The dualistic philosophy cannot escape the charge of dogmatism. 

Intelligence and thought, is not applicable to Advaitism intelligence,  and thoughts are based on the false self (waking entity) within the false experience (waking).   The whole Advaitic philosophy is an attempt to transcend the limitations of intelligence and thought. 

 The two points of view A Gnani is not cut off from the experience of practical life within the practical world because the Advaitictruth is neither realism nor idealism; it is beyond both these.

Sage Sankara: ~ Talk as much philosophy as you like, worship as many gods as you please, observe ceremonies and sing devotional hymns, but liberation will never come, even after a hundred aeons, without realizing the Oneness.

Philosophy does not begin with the ultimate truth. Ultimate truth has to be proved, not assumed. Hence, so-called philosophers who take Brahman for granted are not philosophers at all.

Lots of Advaitin scholars will teach that all is yourself, but none of them can show that this is so, none has analyzed it scientifically, and none can prove it. The rational proof is required so that one arrives at knowing the ultimate truth or Brahman i.e. Gnana.  Theirs is mere dogma, parrotism, a repetition of what they read in scripture.  Authoritarianism merely assumes as true what another says, but what has yet to be proved.

The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness knows everything, that it sees. The consciousness alone remains after one gets rid of all thoughts and ideas by identification with the Self. The consciousness is only the seer; it is not Brahman that is an error. It becomes Brahman only after soulcentric reasoning.

Remember:~ 

 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. 

 The ‘I ‘or the mind or the universe,  the waking or the dream,  the duality are one and the same thing. Since ‘I’ is identified as the Self all the confusion. And taking ‘I’ or ‘I AM’   as the Self is the cause of confusion. Taking ‘I’ or ‘I AM’ as self is blocking the realization of ultimate truth.  The ‘I’ or universe is an object to the formless subject. 

Thus, it is necessary to include the universe in the inquiry to realize the unreal nature of the ‘I’ or the universe. 

When the whole universe, movable and immovable, is known to be consciousness, which is the Self and thus the existence of everything else is negated, where is then any room to say that the body is the Self? 

Without causing the objective universe to vanish and without knowing the truth of the Self, how is one to achieve. 

Religious or yogic gurus propagate that, once a seeker identifies a Guru, he must totally surrender to the Guru and then from there onwards, the spiritual journey is fully  Guru's responsibility, not his... Hence, the importance of choosing the right Guru is necessary, but in pursuit of truth, the guru is not necessary, because the truth is not theoretical.  Truth has to be ascertained by the seeker on his own through a well-directed inquiry, analysis, and reasoning based on the true self, which will lead the seeker to his destination. 

Remember:~ 

People who worship the guru as God in human form and there is a danger that they might establish a regular religious sect in his name.  This is an unhappy development of the religious movement.

It is better to take guidance from a Gnani and try to attain the same realization which he had, rather than spend their energy in defying him. Let us remember that to deify a Gnani is to defy  the wisdom”

 Hindu religious literature is full of such aphorisms as ' there is no higher deity than the Guru; the Guru is the ultimate truth and deity. God and  Avatars (incarnations) are secondary to the Guru in importance; there is no higher refuge, no higher target, no higher destination than the Guru; the Guru is God Himself; God and the Guru are one; he who makes a  distinction between the Guru and God is ignorant and stupid,  and scores of similar others. They abound both in Sanskrit and in modern Indian languages.

People born in different sect, and they remain as its follower. Most of the sect is founded by some gurus, thus the Indian belief system is a Guru Cult, i.e. believes in the worship of the Guru as the Supreme Deity.

When a seeker could not get full enlightenment from his inherited belief system, then only he searches elsewhere. And tries to get enlightened himself further to clear the cobwebs of his understanding and seeks guidance to his progress.

The path of religion, the path of yoga, and the path of wisdom were intended for different classes of people. The Advaitic wisdom is for the advanced seekers of truth. It deals with the nature of the ultimate Truth and Reality. It is meant for superior aspirants who have an inner urge to know the truth and it is not for those who are immersed in earthly desires.

Katha Upanishad:~   This Atman cannot be attained by the study of the Vedas, or by intelligence, nor 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 the study of the Vedas, nor through intelligence, nor through much learning. He who chooses Atman—by him alone is Atman attained. It is the Atman that reveals to the seeker Its true nature. (3 page-70 - MundakaUpanishad-&n bsp; 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 and scriptures are the greatest obstacle to realize non-dual truth or Self-realization because they are based on the false self.  

One has to search the ultimate truth without losing himself in the labyrinths of philosophy, he should indulge in deeper, inquiry, analysis and reasoning and assimilate and realize it.  

The seeker's goal is towards Self-knowledge and noting other than it. The guru is needed in religious and yogic paths are meant for the people who are not searching for truth, but are searching for worldly comforts and temporary peace in this physical existence. 

People fear losing their physical identity and all that is connected to the physical identity. When one realizes the physical identity (ego) is the false self and the true identity is the Soul, the Self, which is in the form consciousness, then he realizes that the fear factor is limited to the false self (ego) within the false experience(waking state). 

When the Self is not physical then all the burden and bondage of the duality is merely an illusion created out of consciousness.

Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is necessary to know that the universe, which appears is in the form of the mind and disappears as nothingness (nondual) is merely an illusion created out of nothingness, which is consciousness.  

Consciousness is the source and witness of the universe or mind, which comes and goes. It is necessary to know the formless witness of the three states to know the fact that, the true self is apart and free from the illusion, which is in the form of birth, life, death, and the universe.  The seeker must make sure that the three states are merely an illusion. 

Remember:~

The body and the world are a reality within the waking experience,  but the waking experience is merely an illusion, in the same way as the dream body and the dream world were a reality within the dream. The dream becomes unreal when the waking takes place; similarly, the waking experience becomes unreal when the non-dual wisdom dawns. 

The one who thinks of himself as the Guru and the one who thinks of himself as Chela (disciple) will not be able to get Self-Knowledge because both of them accepted themselves as the body. And all their understanding, practices, knowledge is based on the false self.  Therefore, the Guru –Shisya concept is a great obstacle in the pursuit of truth.

Thus, by surrendering to any Guru or Godmen is not the means to Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.  

The Soul, the Self is the true guru. The seeker has to surrender to the Self by realizing that, the Self is not physical but the Self is invisible Spirit. 

By realizing the self is not physical, he will be able to drop all the accumulated knowledge and the  inherited conditioning in the midst of duality, and he finds freedom from experiencing the duality (waking) as a reality.:~Santthosh Kumaar