Sage Sankara: On Gnani: "The knower of Brahman wears no signs. Gives up the insignia of a monk's life.+

A Gnani never indulges in an argument. By arguing the wisdom will not dawn. The argument is a great hindrance in the path of wisdom. There is no use in arguing accumulated knowledge. Accumulated knowledge is not the verified truth. 

There are so many gurus and yogis, but their knowledge of Advaita is based on a dualistic perspective. Humility and patience are required to realize the truth which is beyond form, time, and space.

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).  

A Gnani wears no signs which means he does not identify himself as Guru or teacher or Swami.  Thus, it is not necessary to become a sanyasi or a yogi or a swami to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

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 a  Guru or a yogi or a  teacher or a Swami. 

Sage Sankara: ~ "Though I wear these robes of a Sanyasin, it is only for the sake of bread." Exploring if an outside observer can, in all cases, determine if a person is Enlightened or not, the venerated Indian Sanyasin, Sage Sankara, in his work The Crest Jewel of Discrimination (1) or as it is sometimes known, Viveka Chudamani (2), states that the Knower of the Atman (i.e., a Gnani) "bears no outward mark of a holy man" (Stanza 539). Continuing, although there are variances found in the actual wording between various translators and translations the gist behind the words remains the same, 

Sage Sankara writes: ~“Sometimes he appears to be a Fool, sometimes a wise man. Sometimes he seems splendid as a king, sometimes feeble-minded. Sometimes he is calm and silent. Sometimes he draws men to him. Sometimes people honor him greatly, sometimes they insult him. Sometimes they ignore him.

"Unless one realizes the Soul as the Self as it really is” it is impossible to realize the non-dualistic or Advaitic truth

It is no use in discussing the birth, and rebirth within the unreal world. Instead, one has to find how this world is unreal (illusion).

The Soul, the innermost Self is the subject matter in the  Atmic discussion. Thus, the seeker has to learn to view and judge the truth from a non-dualistic perspective.

The world in which you exist is a reality from a dualistic perspective. From the nondualistic perspective, you and the world are merely an illusion.

Why discuss the practical life within the practical world, when the Self is not you. The serious seeker silently listens or reads and thinks deeply and verifies. The seeker accepts only the uncontradictable truth and rejects what is not the truth. 

It is no use discussing with the people who try to exhibit their accumulated knowledge, which diverts attention from the Atmic discussion.

 
That is why Bhagavad Gita says: ~ “Don't unsettle the minds of the ignorant by revealing the esoteric truth." 

That is why the Advaitic sages restrained themselves from parting the Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana people who are unqualified and gave it only to the few.:~Santthosh Kumaar