Self-discovery is the only way to unfold the mystery of the ‘I’, which hides the truth.+

Upanishads: ~ “They alone in this world are endowed with the highest wisdom who are firm in their conviction of the sameness and birthlessness of Atman. The ordinary man does not understand their way. (Chapter IV ~ Alatasanti Prakarana 95-P-188 in Upanishads by Nikilanada)

Therefore, if one is seeking the truth he has to know the Self is not the ‘I’ but it is the Soul, which is in the form of the consciousness. 

That is why Ashtavakra Gita 16:10:~ “If you desire liberation, but you still say "I," If you feel the ‘Self’ is the ‘I’, You are not a wise man or a seeker. You are simply a man who suffers”. 

Buddha rejected the religion, the idea of God, scriptures, and even Sage Sankara indicated that the ultimate truth lies beyond religion, the concept of God and scriptures.

Sage Sankara said:~ 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.

There is only one Reality to be known, the same for all the seekers, but the ways to it, are hidden by the religion.  Self-discovery is the only way to unfold the mystery of the ‘I’, which hides the truth.

There is no need to study religious doctrines or indulge in rituals or glorifying the Gods and gurus.

The seekers are trying to unfold the mystery of the dualistic illusion in which seekers are searching for the truth of their true existence.

The beliefs of God, religion, yoga are based on the false self, is nothing to do with the mental (inner) journey.   The religious, rituals, worships, prayers God and guru glorification may be useful in the worldly life, for those who believe in the birth, life, death, and the world as reality, but they are not useful tools in realizing the ultimate truth. On the base of consciousness (Soul) as Self, everything other than consciousness is an illusion.  Thus, man and his experience of the world and his belief of God and religion are part and parcel of the mirage created out of consciousness. 

Arguing with believers is fruitless. Belief in tradition and scripture as if they were true or factual quite clearly is delusion, but the payoff for holding such delusions is, for those who hold them, extremely compelling--the avoidance of the "wrath of God," the hope of heaven or salvation, or the imagined "end of suffering."

Mentally reducing the universe as the waking and waking as the mind and mind as the consciousness leads to Self-awareness.  The universe, the waking, and the mind are one and the same thing.

Without the mind, the universe ceases to exist. Without the universe, the waking ceases to exist.  Without the Soul or consciousness, the mind, the universe, and the waking cease to exist.

Perfect understanding of 'what is what' is very much necessary to realize the formless, timeless and spaceless truth.:~Santthosh Kumaar