There is no higher or lower goal. There is only one goal is to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.+

In pursuit of truth, the Guru is not necessary because the ultimate Truth has to be ascertained by the seeker on his own through a well-directed inquiry, analysis, and reasoning based on the true Self that will lead the seeker to his destination.

There are two kinds of audiences ~ the ordinary ones who desire the transitory heaven and other pleasures obtained as a result of ritual sacrifices in yoga, and the seekers who seek to know the ultimate truth. 

Religion and yoga are meant for the first audience, to help lead their followers along the way. However, the Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is meant for those who wish to go beyond such transient pleasures.

Sages of truth restrained themselves from parting the Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana to the mass and only a selected few. 

It was hidden from the people who were not qualified and receptive to it. Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana was not written down but was imparted orally to the chosen few.

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

Bhagavad Gita Krishna says: ~It is only one amongst thousands of people who strive for spiritual salvation. Even amongst such seekers, it is only the rare person who gets to know “Self” correctly.’ (7.3)

There is no higher or lower goal. There is only one goal to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

In ancient days religion and yoga were given to the ignorant populace and Self -knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana was given only to the serious seekers. 

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.  We still find traces of the knowledge of the Spirit in the religious books in the form of parables.

That is why Swami Vivekananda said: ~ “You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher, but your own Soul.”

Gnana is given neither from outside nor from another person. The Guru is within. The Guru is only that soul the innermost Self. A guru is needed in the religious and the yogic path. There is no need for a Guru to acquire Self-knowledge.

The Guru is useless so long as the ultimate truth is unknown, and the Guru is equally useless when the ultimate truth or Brahman has already been known.

Indian 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 who are born into different sects remain as its follower. Most of the sects are founded by some gurus, thus Indian belief system is a Guru Cult, i.e. believers in the worship of the Guru as the Supreme Deity.

Only in religious and yogic path Religious or yogic Gurus propagate 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. 

Religious and yogic paths are egocentric paths thus they are not the spiritual path. What is based on the Spirit (Soul), is the spiritual path. It is erroneous to say the Religious or yogic path as the spiritual path.

People worship the Guru as God in human form and there most of the Gurus are established their own religious sect in their name. This is how diverse sects and groups were established in the Indian religious movement.

There is no wisdom whatsoever with religion and yoga and religious scripture. Advaitic wisdom is not found who identify themselves as gurus or yogis or as some Guru's direct disciple. the Advaitic Wisdom is hidden within the world in which you exist. The truth is not found in the ornamental words which please one’s sentiments. The Truth is beyond form, time, and space. 

Remember:~ 

Start your mental (inner) journey even though you may find it difficult at first as you go on reading the post your subconscious will start dropping the dualistic egocentric knowledge and start accepting the Soul-centric Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. 

As you cross the ‘I’ and get to the other side and once you are on the other side of the ‘I’ is the reality, which is beyond form, time, and space. You will realize that the ‘I’ is an illusion. 

Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is nothing to do with the ‘I-centric' teaching. 

Remember, the ‘I’ is not an individual because the ‘I’ is the whole universe. Limiting the ‘I’ to individuality is the cause of experiencing the dualistic illusion of reality? 

The nature of the ‘I’ is the nature of the mind.

The nature of the mind is the nature of the universe.

The nature of the universe is the nature of the waking.

The nature of waking is the nature of the illusion.

Thus, it is necessary to study the nature of the ‘I’ to unfold the mystery of the universe. 

All the teachings limit the ‘I’ to an individual and glorify the ‘I’ without knowing what this ‘I’ supped to be in actuality. All ‘I’ based teachings are inadequate and useless for the serious seeker of truth. 

If you are seeking truth nothing but the truth must discard without mercy such teaching to progress in your spiritual quest. 

The seeker must know the ‘I’ is not limited to individuality. The seeker has to see the ‘I’ as the universe, to overcome ignorance. When the Advaitic wisdom dawns, then the ignorance vanishes. 

When ignorance vanishes and the dualistic illusion (world) you used to think as reality becomes unreal. : ~Santthosh Kumaar