Yogis, religious gurus, swamis, sadhus, priests, mythological story tellers, Fakirs, monks, intellectual are not Gnanis.+

Yogis, religious gurus, swamis, sadhus, priests, mythological storytellers, Fakirs, monks, and intellectuals are not Gnanis. 

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 is not a churchgoer or temple visitor. A Gnani never forces others to follow his way.  By visiting ashrams and meeting gurus or yogis, the wisdom will not dawn. There is no need to discuss the truth with people who are not yet ready to receive Self -knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

A Gnani helps the seekers on their appropriate level. His, however,  makes known that the higher stages exist and that the others are but steps. Hence, he does not discourage them.  A Gnani always does something which would elevate others who are in search of ultimate truth.

The Gnani works no miracle and does not dismiss the world which confronts him because he knows it as an illusion created out of consciousness.  He is fully aware of the true nature of the world in which he exists. He is not fooled by its reality.

 The only difference between A Gnani and the ordinary man is like the difference between the scientist and the worldly man. The scientist knows that the water he drinks is really hydrogen and oxygen, whereas the worldly man does not know. Yet both drink the water. Similarly, Gnani knows the external world is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, whereas worldly man does not know, yet both live and work in the world in the same way. There is no outside difference to be detected between Gnani and the worldly man.  The worldly man is egocentric whereas the Gnani is Soul-centric.

A  Gnani does not discourage others who believe in their inherited belief. A Gnani does argue or criticize if he is living among religious people.  He will nA  Gnani does not discourage others who believe in their inherited belief. A Gnani does argue or criticize if he is living among religious people.  He will not discuss the  Advaitic truth with others who are not seeking the truth.  

Yoga-Vasishta points out that a Gnani may be stealing in the company of rogues, or killing in the company of butchers, but always he will be amongst them to elevate them; to lift them up gradually to a higher ethic. But by not separating himself from them, by being like them and among them for a time, he can improve them and make them better.

A Gnani is one who removes "ignorance." In the dream,  one may see himself as a king, but the dream becomes unreal when the waking takes place. Similarly, the waking becomes unreal when wisdom dawns. The wisdom dawns when the waking entity (you) realizes it itself is not the self, but the self is the Soul, which witnesses the coming and going of the three states. In reality, the Soul (witness and the three states (witnessed) are one, in essence.

People misunderstand "omniscient." This is a misleading translation from Sanskrit. It really means "Everything is only Brahman, only of the nature of the  Soul, the innermost self."

When anyone questions a Gnani what are rock and that dog he will say rock is the consciousness and that dog is the consciousness. Hence, it means that he knows everything as consciousness. It does not mean that he is like a soothsayer and knows what will happen in the future or what has happened in the past.

The Gnani will guide the seekers, according to their capacity to understand the Advaitic truth. With the dualist people, he will keep the truth at a distance there: with an audience of the nondualist, he will discuss and help them to reach the ultimate end of understanding. He will be in silent mode and just listen to them because they cannot understand or are not ready and receptive to receive the Advaitic wisdom.

A Gnani is not opposed to any philosophy, but he only says they are inadequate and useless in the pursuit of truth. Although the adherents of all philosophies may consider i.e. imagine a Gnani as their enemy because they think ‘what they know is the ultimate truth.  Most people are stuck with some Guru or teaching and think that they have been blessed with knowledge from their Guru. And such people are stuck up in the pond of ignorance and refuse to come out of it.

Just as one does not taste now whilst awake at the sweet he saw in a dream, so the Gnani does not dispute truth with those who are still beclouded by duality.  The Gnani makes no voluntary effort but does what has to be done; therefore he will practice both activity and abstention at different times. :~Santthosh Kumaar