Bhagavan Buddha was right in saying: - There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth: not going all the way... and not starting.+

In the practical world, very few people care to think deeply about this vital question ‘what is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God. Only a few feel the urge to know ‘what ultimate truth is’. And still, fewer have realized the truth with deeper Self-search.    The ultimate truth is realized by only a few. 

Buddha was right in saying: - There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth: not going all the way... and not starting.

People are stuck with their accumulated egocentric knowledge and also inherited samskara or conditioning.

Buddha was right in his advice: - Believe nothing just because a so-called wise person said it. Believe nothing just because a belief is generally held. Believe nothing just because it is said in ancient books. Believe nothing just because it is said to be of divine origin. Believe nothing just because someone else believes it. Believe only what you yourself test and judge to be true.

The Soulcentric inquiry goes beyond form, time and space.   Until one inquiry into the world which confronts him, it is impossible to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman.

That is why Sage Sankara says: ~ VC~63. Without causing the objective universe to vanish and without knowing the truth of the Self how is one to achieve Liberation by the mere utterance of the word Brahman? ~ It would result merely in an effort of speech.

The orthodox scholars are stuck with the scriptures holding the scriptures as a yardstick the secondhand knowledge inherited from one generation to the next. 

That is why Sage Sankara says:~

VC~ 56. Neither by Yoga, nor by Sankhya, nor by work, nor by learning, but by the realization of one's identity with Brahman is Liberation possible, and by no other means.

58. Loud speech consisting of a shower of words, the skill in expounding the Scriptures, and likewise erudition - these merely bring on a little personal enjoyment to the scholar but are no good for Liberation.

59. The study of the Scriptures is useless so long as the highest Truth is unknown, and it is equally useless when the highest Truth has already been known.

60. The Scriptures consisting of many words are a dense forest which merely causes the mind to ramble. Hence, men of wisdom should earnestly set about knowing the true nature of the Self.

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?

62. A disease does not leave off if one simply utters the name of the medicine, without taking it; (similarly) without direct realization one cannot be liberated by the mere utterance of the word Brahman.

That is why In Mundaka Upanishad 1:2:8   “Remaining in the fold of ignorance and thinking “we are extremely wise and learned,” the fools with boastful nature ramble about like the blind led by the blind alone.”

The people who follow religion think that following their inherited religion is their duty.  And questioning the Guru or scholars is irreligious.  Thus, they indulge in rituals and hearing of religious discourses.   They are weak and timid.

That is why Katha Upanishad 1:2:23:~ “The Soul cannot be realized through hearing the scholarly explanation of the discourses, not even by the intellect.

Mundaka Upanishad 3:2:3:~ “The Soul cannot be realized by the weak and timid.

Mundaka Upanishad: ~ “The study of the Vedas, linguistics, Rituals, astronomy and all the arts can be called lower knowledge. The higher is that which leads to Self-realization. The eye cannot see it; the mind cannot grasp it. The deathless 'Self' has neither caste nor race, neither eyes nor ears nor hands nor feet. Sages say this Self is infinite in the great and in the small, everlasting and changeless, the source of life.

In pursuit of the truth, the ultimate truth has to be proved, not assumed. Pundits who take scriptures for granted are not Gnanis. :~Santthosh Kumaar