The essence of Mundaka Upanishad : ~ “Do not be satisfied with rituals, yoga, etc. which are good in their own way, but inquire.+

The essence of Mundaka Upanishad: ~ “Do not be satisfied with rituals, yoga, etc. which are good in their own way, but inquire. Into what? Brahman and Atman are things you can never see. So do not inquire into them. Inquire into the world around you, which you can see. Science tells you it is passing away every second. Everything is dying repeatedly. Where is it going? Thus, you follow up your inquiry into what you can lay hands on. How can you inquire into Atma which you cannot see? So first we deal with the known and seen, this inquiry leads up to the unknown in the end.

Mundaka Upanishad condemns rituals.  The Para or Higher knowledge is the knowledge of the Supreme Being while the Apara or Lower Knowledge is that of following sacrificial rites and ceremonies. (1/2/ 1 – 6)

Mundaka Upanishad:~ The rituals and the sacrifices described in the Vedas deal with lower knowledge. The sages ignored these rituals and went in search of higher knowledge. ... Such rituals are unsafe rafts for crossing the sea of samsara, of birth and death. Doomed to shipwreck are those who try to cross the sea of samsara on these poor rafts. Ignorant of their own ignorance, yet wise In their own esteem, these deluded men Proud of their vain learning go round and round Like the blind led by the blind.

Mundaka Upanishads:~ So-called spiritual pundits and learned are called children because a child takes whatever it thinks as truth. The question never occurs to children “Is what I have seen or thought really the truth?" (P.334 line 9)

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There is no need to surrender to the ego because you are the ego. Without the ego, the world in which you exist ceases to exist.  The ego is the basis of the world in which you exist. The ego, you, and the world appear together and disappear together.

Surrender is a religious fable.  How can the ego surrender to itself? How can the ego surrender to the religious God, which is not God in actuality?  All such claims are possible only in the domain of form, time,  and space. In reality, no second thing exists other than the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.  When there is no second thing, then surrender to what.

That is why the Bhagavan Buddha said: ~ “Believe nothing because a wise man said it, Believe nothing because it is generally held. Believe nothing because it is written. Believe nothing because it is said to be divine. Believe nothing because someone else said it. But believe only what you yourself judge to be true

The Advaitic wisdom consists in knowing the truth, that everything (mind or physical existence) is the consciousness.  The freedom (ultimate truth) is always there yet one does not know it.  But to those whose reason is turned away from physicality and who have attained the serenity of the Soul, the Self, which is present in the form of consciousness, are quite near to realizing the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.

Sage  Sankara says you must first know what is before you. If you cannot know that, what else can you know or understand? If you give up the external world in your inquiry, you cannot get the whole truth.

Ashtavakra Gita: ~ The universe arises from the Soul, the innermost Self like bubbles from the sea. Thus, know the Self to be One and in this way enter into the state of dissolution."

Upanishads:~  Fools dwelling in darkness, but thinking they wise and erudite, go round and round, by various tortuous paths, like the blind led by the blind. (Upanishads Nikilanada - Ch II-5 P-14)

No one can teach anybody. The truth is hidden within the world in which you exist.  A Gnani can only show the way that much is the work of a Gnani. A Gnani only guides the seekers to apply their own reason and realize the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space. When the seeker learns to view and judge and reason the three states on the base of the Soul, the truth will start unfolding on its own. First, the seeker may find it difficult to use Soulcentric reason, but gradually it will become easy.

Whatever appears on its own it perishes on its own.  You are not the cause of the appearance and disappearance.

The one which witnesses the appearance and disappearance is not you because the world in which you exist is within the appearance. 

The one which is aware of the appearance and disappearance is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.    

Perfect understanding and assimilation of ‘what is what’ leads to Advaitic Self-awareness.  :~Santthosh Kumaar