The personal gods, scriptures, worship and rituals are not the means to Self –Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.+

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 the Guru's responsibility, not his... Hence, the importance of choosing the right Guru is necessary,  but in pursuit of the truth, the Guru is not necessary because the truth is not theoretical.  Truth has to be ascertained by the seeker on his own through deeper self-search.

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 that he had, rather than spend their energies on deifying him. Let us remember that to deify a Gnani is to defy 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.

Remember:~

People are born into different sects and they remain as its follower. Most of the sects are founded by some gurus, thus 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 further to clear the cobwebs of his understanding and seek guidance in his progress.

The path of religion, the path of yoga, and the path of wisdom were intended for different classes of people. The 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.

Remember:~

Katha Upanishad:~   This Ataman 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 study of the Vedas, nor through intelligence, nor through much learning. He who chooses Ataman—by him alone is Atman attained. It is Ataman that reveals to the seeker Its true nature. (   3–page-70 Mundaka Upanishad  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 or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana, then why anyone should indulge in it. The religion, concept of individualized god, and scriptures are the great obstacle to realizing Advaitic truth or self-realization because they are based on the false self.   Therefore, one has to search for 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 or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana and nothing other than it. Therefore,  the guru is needed in religious and yogic paths which are meant for the people who are not searching for the truth.  People are searching for worldly comforts and temporary peace in this physical existence.  They fear losing their physical identity and all that is connected to their physical identity. 

When one realizes the physical identity (ego) is a false self and the true identity is the Soul, which is in the form of consciousness, then he realizes the fact that the fear factor is limited to the false self (ego)  within the false experience(waking). When the Self is not physical all the burden and bondage of the duality is a mere illusion created out of the consciousness.

Remember:~

Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is necessary to realize the fact that, the universe, which appears in the form of the mind and disappears as nothingness (formless) is merely an illusion created out of nothingness, which is the consciousness.  Thus, consciousness is the source and the witness of the universe (mind), which comes and goes.  Thus,  it is necessary to know the formless witness of the three states in order to know the fact that, the true self is apart and free from the illusion or Maya, which is in the form of birth, life, death, and the universe.  Therefore, it is necessary for the seeker to make sure that the three states are merely an illusion or Maya.

The body and the world are a reality within the waking experience, but the waking experience is merely an illusion or Maya, 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 Advaitic wisdom dawns. 

Remember:~

The one who thinks of himself as a 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, and knowledge are based on the false self(ego).  Therefore, the Guru –Shisya concept is a great obstacle in the pursuit of truth. 

A Gnani never accepts himself as a  guru or accepted anyone as his disciple.  There is no division in his consciousness even though he is in the midst of diversity (world).    

Thus, surrendering to any Guru or Godmen is not the means to Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.  The 'Self'  is the true guru. The seeker has to surrender to the self by realizing the fact that, the 'Self' is not physical. By realizing the 'Self' is not physical, he will be able to drop all the accumulated knowledge and inherited conditioning in the midst of duality and he finds freedom from experiencing the duality (waking) as a reality.

Remember:~

There is no fear of losing anything because only ignorance vanishes and one becomes fully aware of what is real and what is unreal in the midst of the unreal waking experience. 

This will ensure that one has reached the right path of progress and will eventually get the knowledge of the "Self".  A true seeker should seek only truth nothing but the truth.  his sincerity and urge to know the truth will lead him, not his mental decisions.

If one takes the orthodox Advaitic path or yogic path, then the seeking is not spiritual but rather superficially mental for academic and self-aggrandizing pursuits driven by the ego. There can be no two thoughts about it.

The path of wisdom needs a deep study of the mind and its substance, so one can resolve the conflicts that a seeking mind has. Such deeper leads on towards better grasping, understanding, assimilation, and realization. Only if one has proper grasping he can have proper understanding.

Upanishads:~  They alone in this world are endowed with the highest wisdom who are firm in their conviction of the sameness and birthlessness of Ataman. The ordinary man does not understand their way. (Chapter IV — Alatasanti Prakarana95-P-188 in Upanishads by Nikilanada)

This passage indicates the fact that everything is Ataman, which is present in the form of consciousness(spirit). The one who views and judges the three states,  on the base of his birth entity will not realize the fact that the man including the world is created and sustained and finally dissolves as the Soul, which is in the form of the consciousness. Thus, the Soul alone is, and all else is an illusion.

Thus, Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is the aim of every human being. Since everyone thinks the physical body is the self their aim is misdirected and they focus their attention on materiality which makes one feel the duality (waking) as reality.

Millions are in search of the ultimate truth, and only one in million will be able to grasp and realize it. 

By focusing more attention on the Soul, the  Self,   by talking, writing, and reading only of the Soul, the conviction grows and becomes firmer and the duality will fade away as reality.  The Soul is one’s true identity and will prevail as birthless and deathless, eternal.   the soul, which is present in the form of consciousness is the substance and the witness of the illusory three states. 

Therefore, there is no need to study scriptures, or indulge in glorifying  GodS and Gurus performing religious rituals.  Since they are not the means to acquire Advaitic wisdom. It is only a waste of time and effort to indulge in those things.

The individual self is not real and is not accepted by many.  The Advaitic wisdom is based not on the individual self (ego).  Until people hold the ‘I’ (ego) as the witness, they will not reach the ultimate understanding. 

Remember:~

When Upanishad itself declares:~ Sarvam Khalvidam Brahma~ All this (universe) is verily Brahman. By following back all of the relative appearances in the world, we eventually return to that from which it is all manifest – the non-dual reality (Chandogya Upanishad).  

Therefore,  it is no use going a roundabout way, trace the Brahman which is the formless substance and the witness of the universe. The universe is present in the form of the mind.  By tracing the source of the mind ( universe)  one will be able to realize the ultimate truth or   Brahman.  

The Soul, the Self,  is not perceptible to the senses. It is perceived by Reason. It is not perceptible as a thing with form and attributes. To those whose attention is fixed on the practical life within the practical world, it is very difficult to attain Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. 

 It is also very difficult to see the  Soul as the Self. The attention toward the practical life within the practical world should be lessened by realizing the "Self" is not the 'I'. The attention has to be focused on the Soul, the Self, should be increased. So long as the attention is directed towards the 'I', the experience of birth, life, and death will prevail as a  reality. But when the attention is directed toward the Soul, the ignorance vanishes, and the sense of duality will disappear. Then there is unity in diversity.

What is the state of the ego ( physical self) when it has realized that the "Self"  is not the "I"? Such seekers have attained their pristine condition. The 'Self' is not visible to the physical eyes. The “Self” is not to be found in the world as a thing, entity, or object.  The 'Self' is above these and has neither beginning nor end.

 A visible object has a beginning and an ending. Since the Soul which is present in the form of consciousness is invisible to the physical eyes.   The Soul or consciousness is without beginning and end. The Soul is always constant. Just as space is homogeneous everywhere, so is the Soul or the consciousness the same everywhere.:~Santthosh Kumaar