The Gurus who declare “I am God or “I am Brahman" is merely repeating like a parrot words which they have read in the scriptures or heard.+

Before saying ‘I AM GOD’ one must realize what ‘God’ supposed to be in actuality.   Only ignorant says ‘I AM GOD’ without knowing what it means.  

People say I AM THAT ~ I am God, I am Brahman. But when Brahman is, how can "I" remain? Only Brahman remains, not I,  it is erroneous to use the word ‘I’ for the Self, because ‘I’ represents the form, time and space whereas the Soul, the innermost Self is formless, timeless and spaceless existence. 

You are not God. The Soul the ‘Self’ is God in truth.  It is not correct to say God or I am Brahman. But when Brahman is, how can "I" remain? Only Brahman or God in truth remains, not the I. 

From the standpoint of the Soul, the Self, the ‘I’ is an illusion, which appears and disappears.

It is erroneous to use the word ‘I’ for the Self, because ‘I’ represents the form, time and space whereas the Soul, the innermost Self is formless, timeless and spaceless existence. 

Some Gurus and Self-declared Godmen say:  "I am God." This presupposes that they have the same miraculous and creative powers of God. They do not, however, display possession of such power. Such is the fallacy of their logic.

The Gurus who declare “I am God or “I am Brahman" is merely repeating like parrot words which they have read in the scriptures or heard. It does not prove that they have realized the ultimate truth or God or Brahman or God in truth. With bookish or hearsay knowledge, it is unable to prove that everything is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. One has to do lots of homework to realize the Soul, the Self. 

A Guru who speaks of knowing Brahman within the body is thinking only of his head or heart, i.e. of his body. He is hallucinating. 

Some religious Gurus give medicinal herbs and cured people, the latter then falls into the fallacy of attributing their cure to the Swami's spiritual power, status or greatness. Those Gurus may have expert knowledge of herbs, but that does not prove they are Gnanis. 

Remember:~  

The stories of non-believer coming to a Guru denouncing him as a deceiver, and then suddenly being converted to faith in him are easily explicable. Both attitudes are merely emotional. One emotion succeeded another; it is in the nature of emotion to change. People are emotionally carried off their feet when they first visit a famous Guru.

Gurus who propagate Samadhi through sexual intercourse are not Gnanis. Sexual intercourse is nothing to do with the Soul, which is ever formless, timeless and spaceless existence.   Those who indulge in sexual activities in order to get enlightenment will permanently remain in the prison of the dualistic illusion.  They are unfit to acquire Self-knowledge.

Those Gurus who glorify themselves as God and collect money by promising people instant realization are frauds. 

Whoever speaks of knowing Brahman within us is thinking only of his body. He is hallucinating about getting instant realization because he is an intellectual. He thinks he has read and understood everything.   

The Gurudom is nothing to do with the Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

Religious Gurus are concerned with the welfare of humanity to propagate love, peace, harmony and compassion to the populace.  Humanity belongs to the dualistic illusion.  Spirituality is beyond the dualistic illusion. Mixing religion and spirituality is like mixing oil and water. Religion is nothing to do with spirituality.   Religion is nothing to do with the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.    

Remember:~ 

How can you see and meet God without knowing what God is in actuality? By praying and meditating on God without knowing what God really is, leads to hallucination. The world in which you exist hides God in truth. Thus, Self-realization is necessary to realize ‘what God is in actuality.

Swami Vivekananda: ~ The masses in India cry to sixty million Gods and still die like dogs. Where are these Gods?

Knowing this, stand up and fight! Not one step back that is the idea. ... Fight it out, whatever comes. Let the stars move from the sphere! Let the whole world stand against us! Death means only a change of garment. What of it? Thus, fight! You gain nothing by becoming cowards. ... Taking a step backward, you do not avoid any misfortune. You have cried to all the Gods in the world. Has misery ceased? The masses in India cry to sixty million Gods and still die like dogs. Where are these Gods? ... The Gods come to help you when you have succeeded. So what is the use? Die game. ... This bending the knee to superstitions, this selling yourself to your own mind does not befit you, my Soul. You are infinite, deathless, birthless. Because you are the infinite Spirit, it does not befit you to be a slave. ... Arise! Awake! Stand up and fight! Die if you must. There is none to help you. You are the entire world. Who can help you? - Swami Vivekananda (Delivered In San Francisco, on May 28, 1900) -The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda/Volume 1/Lectures And Discourses/The Gita II

Swami Vivekananda: ~ “Stick to the truth”

The belief system preaches that God is one and the ways to God are many. It simply tries to lead them to darkness with its dogma and idea of many Gods, which is apart from the Self. The religion is based on the false self (ego) and false experience (world) thus; all religiously-based beliefs are a falsehood.

Religious Gods are based on belief. Belief is not God. Religious God cannot be considered as the center because the Soul, the ‘Self’ is the center of all that exists. Without the Soul the world in which you exist ceases to exist, it means the religious God is dependent on the Soul for his existence. God in truth is only the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Even Bhagavad Gita says: ~ “Brahmano hi pratisthaham ~ Brahman (God in truth) is considered the all-pervading consciousness, which is the basis of all the animate and inanimate entities and material. (14.27).

When Bhagavad Gita says, God is considered the all-pervading consciousness which is the basis of all the animate and inanimate entities and material then nothing has to be accepted as God other than consciousness.

Even Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: ~ Brahman (God) is present in the form of the Athma, and it is indeed Athma itself.

Religious Gods are based on blind belief. Religious God cannot be considered as the center because the Soul and the ‘Self’ is the center of all that exists. Without the Soul the world in which you exist ceases to exist, it means the religious God is dependent on the Soul for his existence.

Even Rig Veda: ~ The Atman is the cause; Atman is the support of all that exists in this universe. May ye never turn away from the Atman, the Self. May ye never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman?" (10:48, 5)

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad says: "He who worships the deities as entities entirely separate from him does not know the truth. For the Gods, he is like a pasu (beast)". (1. 4. 10)

No mantras help to get rid of ignorance. All the mantras and rituals are meant for the ignorant populace, which strongly believes, the world in which he exists as a reality. For one who wants to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana, the mantas will not help to realize the truth, which is beyond the form, time, and space.

That is why Sage Sankara:~ VC~.61. For one who has been bitten by the serpent of Ignorance, the only remedy is the knowledge of Brahman. Of what avail are the Vedas and (other) Scriptures, Mantras (sacred formulae) and medicines to such a one?

VC- v6~ Let erudite scholars quote all the scripture, let Gods be invoked through sacrifices, let elaborate rituals be performed, let personal Gods be propitiated---yet, without the realization of one‘s identity with the Self, there shall be no liberation for the individual, not even in the lifetimes of a hundred Brahmas put together

Sage Sankara goes on to say: ~A sickness is not cured by saying the word “medicine.” You must take the medicine. Liberation does not come by merely saying the word “Brahman.” Brahman must be experienced. Until you allow this apparent universe to dissolve from your consciousness until you have realized Brahman, how can you find liberation just by saying the word Brahman? The result is merely noise. Until a man has destroyed his enemies and taken possession of the splendor and wealth of the kingdom, he cannot become a king by simply saying “I am a king.”

A buried treasure is not uncovered by merely uttering the words: “Come forth.” You must follow the right directions, dig, remove the stones and earth from above it, and then make it your own. In the same way, the pure truth of the Atman, which is buried under Maya and the effects of Maya, can be reached by meditation, contemplation, and other spiritual disciplines but never by subtle arguments.

As indicated in ISH Upanishads: ~ “By worshipping Gods and Goddesses you will go after death to the world of Gods and Goddesses. But will that help you? The time you spent there is wasted because if you were not there you could have spent that time moving forward towards Self-knowledge, which is your goal. In the world of Gods and Goddesses you cannot do that, and, thus, you go deeper and deeper into darkness.

It clearly indicates that:-If the human goal is to acquire Self-Knowledge then why one has to indulge in rituals and glorify the conceptual Gods, Goddesses, and Gurus to go into deeper darkness. Instead, spend that time moving forward towards Self-knowledge, which is one’s prime goal. ~Santthosh Kumaar