Jesus:~ For there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed.+

1. Jesus said: ~“Whoever discovers the interpretation of these sayings will not taste death." (Jesus spoke and Didymos Judas Thomas recorded) 

3. Jesus said:~  "If your leaders say to you, 'Look, the (Father's) kingdom is in the sky,' then the birds of the sky will precede you. If they say to you, 'It is in the sea,' then the fish will precede you. Rather, the (Father's) kingdom is within you and it is outside you. (Jesus spoke and Didymos Judas Thomas recorded) 

5. Jesus said:~ "Know what is in front of your face, and what is hidden from you will be disclosed to you.

For there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed. [And there is nothing buried that will not be raised.]" (Jesus spoke and didymos Judas Thomas recorded) 

All biblical insights lead to nondual Self-awareness. Self-Awareness is Christ consciousness.  Self –Knowledge or Brahma Gnana in the biblical sense is Truth or Christ.  The truth was not written down but was imparted orally to the chosen few.

John 8:32:~ You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Jesus said:~  "Know what is in front of your face, and what is hidden from you will be disclosed to you. (Gospel of Thomas- saying 5)

It means him to realize his body and world are made of the same essence and that essence is Spirit [father].  

Even Sage Sankara says:~ one must first know what is before him. If he cannot know that, what else can he know or understand? If he gives up the external world in his inquiry, he cannot get the whole truth.

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.

Sage Sankara says ~VC~65. As a treasure hidden underground requires (for its extraction) competent instruction, excavation, the removal of stones and other such things lying above it, and (finally) grasping, but never comes out by being (merely) called out by name, so the transparent Truth of the self, which is hidden by Maya and its effects, is to be attained through the instructions of a knower of Brahman, followed by reflection, meditation and so forth, but not through perverted arguments.

Jesus said:~"Those who seek should not stop seeking until they find. When they find, they will be disturbed. When they are disturbed, they will marvel, and will reign over all." (Gospel of Thomas 2)

"The Kingdom of God is inside you and all around you, Not in a mansion of wood and stone.  Split a piece of wood and God is there, Lift a stone and you will find God." (Gospel of Thomas)

1. According to the New Testament, Jesus said to his disciples: ‘To you, it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God; but for others, they are in parables, so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand’ (Luke, 8:10). While speaking to the multitude in a veiled manner, ‘privately to his own disciples he explained everything’ (Mark, 4:34), and advised them not to ‘throw your pearls before swine’ (Matthew, 7:6).

2. According to Clement of Alexandria (150-215 CE), ‘Mark’ preached three different gospels. The New Testament version was intended for ‘beginners’, but there was also a Secret Gospel of Mark for those who were ‘perfected’, i.e. initiated. Clement advised one of his students that the existence of this secret gospel should be denied ‘even under oath’, for ‘the light of the truth should be hidden from those who are mentally blind’. The third gospel was so mystical that it was not written down but was imparted orally to the chosen few (JM 120-1).

When the seeker indulges in deeper self-search then he realizes the fact that the experience of the form, time, and space are one in essence. And that essence is Spirit or consciousness. 

Thus, the form, time, and space are merely an illusion created out of a single, stuff,   which is Spirit or consciousness.   The Spirit or consciousness is the  Self.  The Spirit or consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.:~Santthosh Kumaar     

Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is nothing to do with yogis, mystics, and religious Gurus.+

Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is nothing to do with yogis, mystics, and religious Gurus. Religion and yoga are based on the ego, which is the false self within the dualistic illusion (waking) whereas Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is the knowledge of the Soul, the innermost Self.  

Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana pries into the reality, which is beyond form, time and space whereas the religion and yoga are within the domain of the form, time, and space.

Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana invalidates all the religious and yogic theories, which are based on birth, life, death, and religious beliefs and the world.

Advaitic truth is very easy,  but it is most difficult to assimilate because of the inherited beliefs and accumulated knowledge.

Without dropping all the inherited beliefs and accumulated knowledge which is based on the illusory form, time and space it is difficult to understand and assimilate the knowledge of the formless, timeless and spaceless existence.

 If you have the courage of Buddha, who dropped the religion, Vedas, and the concept of God then only you are fit to acquire Self-knowledge.  

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 of 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. :~Santthosh Kumaar 

Sage Sankara’s Advaitic wisdom is one of the 'most majestic and valuable products of the Genius of man in his search for Truth.+

Yoga Vasistha:~  Even as particles of sand floating in water settle down when the water is absolutely steady, the mind of the man who has gained the knowledge of truth settles down in total peace.

Yoga Vasistha: ~  The sun and the worlds become non-objects of perception, to those who have gone beyond the realm of objective perception and knowledge, even as lamps lose their luminosity while the midday sun shines.

From the standpoint of the formless Soul, the Self, the effect is non-different from the cause. However, in the realm of duality cause is different from the effect. The non-difference of the effect from the cause has to be grasped perfectly to realize from the ultimate standpoint there is neither the cause nor the effect because the cause and effect are one,  in essence. That essence is consciousness.

Sage Sankara says:~If the cause is destroyed, the effect will no longer exist. For example, if from the effect, cotton cloth, the cause, threads, are removed, there will be no cloth, i.e., the cloth is destroyed. Similarly,  if in the effect, thread, the cause, cotton, is removed, there will be no thread, i.e., the thread is destroyed. (Brahmasūtra Bhashya, commentary on the Brahma-sutra, ⁽⁹⁾ 2.1.9)

Despite the non-difference between cause and effect, the effect has itself in the cause but not the cause in the effect. The effect is of the nature of the cause and not the cause of the nature of the effect. Therefore, the qualities of the effect cannot touch the cause because the cause and effect are present only when the duality is present. 

The duality is present only when there is an illusion. The illusion is there only when there is ignorance. When there is no ignorance then there is no illusion. When there is no illusion then there is no duality. When there is no duality then there is no cause and effect. When there is no cause and effect then there is the Advaitic reality.   

Sage Sankara says: - During the time of its existence, one can easily grasp that the effect is not different from the cause. However that the cause is different from the effect is not readily understood. As to this, it is not really possible to separate cause from effect. But this is possible by imagining so. For example, the reflection of the gold ornament seen in the mirror is only the form of the ornament but is not the ornament itself as it (the reflection) has no gold in it at all. (Chāṃdogya Upaniṣad Bhāṣya, commentary on the Chandogya Upanishad, 6.3.2)

All names and forms are real when seen with the Brahman but are false when seen independent of Brahman (Soul).

This way the seeker of truth establishes the non-difference of the effect from the cause.

In the context of Advaita Vedanta: ~ Jagat (the world) is not different from Brahman (Soul); however, Brahman (Soul) is different from Jagat.

It has not been possible to preach Advaitic Truth entirely free from the settings of dualistic weakness it has not been more operative and useful to mankind at large because only a few will be able to grasp and realize it.

'To realize the Advaitic Truth a freer and fuller scope the seeker has to realize the form, time and space are one in essence. And that essence is consciousness. And the Soul the innermost Self is present in the form of consciousness. 

 

To realize the Advaitic truth the seeker has to be free from all superstitions and orthodox contaminations. The seeker has to be dedicated to acquiring Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana alone.

A  Gnani will easily appreciate the high flights of Sage Sankara’s Advaitic wisdom is one of the 'most majestic structures and valuable products of the Genius of man in his search for Truth. :~Santthosh Kumaar 

Advaitic Gnana means Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.+

Sage Sankara’s Advaitic wisdom is the fairest flower of wisdom in the world. Sage  Sankara says   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.

Advaita is not philosophy. Advaita is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God.   The nature of God is Advaita.  All the teachings propagated by some gurus are adulterated with theories, tradition, and religion, which are not Advaitic wisdom. 

Advaitic Gnana itself is Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.
Lord Krishna confesses that the oldest wisdom of India (Advaitic wisdom) has been lost: people misinterpret and falsify it today as they did then. It is not yoga but the philosophic truth. But nobody knows it. The teachers of philosophy and leaders of mysticism or religion do not want to inquire into the truth and have no time for it. (Gita –Chap- IV-v.2)

Advaitic reality there is neither God nor Goddess but only the consciousness. Consciousness is the real God.

Bhagavad Gita: ~ Brahmano hi pratisthaham ~ Brahman (God) 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. 

Lord Krishna says Ch ~V: ~ “Those who know the Self in truth.". The last two words (tattvataha) are usually ignored by pundits, but they make all the difference between the ordinary concept of God and the truth about God.

The dualistic worship of "God” is only for the ignorant populace. The God in truth is only Atman, the Self.   In reality, there is no duality, no differentiation. Only Atman exists.

The Vedas confirm God is Atman (spirit), the Self.

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)

Rig-Veda 1-164-46 and Y.V 32-1 clearly mention that God is “One”.

Rig Veda declares God is ‘ONE’ and God is Atman, then why believe and worship in place of real God.

Yajurveda – chapter- 32:~God is  Supreme Spirit has no ‘Pratima’ (idol) or material shape. God cannot be seen directly by anyone. God pervades all beings and all directions. 

Thus,   Idolatry does not find any support from the Vedas.

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

Meher Baba said: ~   God is your innermost Self. Do not search for God outside of you.  Let these words be inscribed in your heart. Nothing is real but God. Nothing Matters but love for God. God is everywhere and does everything. God is beyond us and is everything.  God alone is and all else is an illusion.

People who are saying ‘I AM GOD’ are hallucinating that they become God. First, you must know what God is supposed to be in actuality.

Sage Sankara declares Atman is Brahman. That is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness is the ultimate truth and the ultimate truth or Brahman is God.

The nature of God is Advaita. Advaita is the fullness of consciousness. God is present in the form of the Atman, therefore; never accepts another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman.

Thus, truth realization is Self-realization. Self-realization is God-realization. God-realization itself is real worship.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

People think that by studying Vedas one will be able to get Self -realization, but it is not so.+

In the Atmic path,  sharing is more important. More one shares more one gains.  No one is unwise in pursuit of truth.  Atmic Wisdom dawns only when we drop all accumulated knowledge and are ready to start afresh.

I quote scriptures because the scriptures are also saying the same thing that I am saying.

To realize the ultimate truth or Brahman, no scriptures are needed. I am highlighting only the rational views of the Sages of the truth. 

No one can stay as Self without realizing the Self. After realizing the 'Self', nothing stays as reality other than the Self.  It is foolish to say I AM THAT, I AM THIS without realizing “what the Self is” and “what the Self is not”.   

A permanent view of ‘what is unreal’ and ‘what is unreal’ can come only after Soul centric reasoning; such knowledge cannot change. Were the seeker who is sufficiently sharp enough, he could grasp the unreal nature of the world, by Soul-centric reasoning alone.  To know the whole truth, one must know the whole universe, otherwise, he gets only a half-truth. 

People think that by studying Vedas one will be able to get Self -realization, but it is not so. 

Vedic studies lead nowhere. What is the use of studying scriptures when Upanishads itself declares:~

Katha Upanishad:~ This Atman cannot be attained by the study of the Vedas, or by intelligence, nor by much hearing of sacred books. It is attained by him alone whom It chooses. To such a one Atman reveals Its own form. (Katha Upanishad Ch-II -23-P-20)

                                                                                                                             

Mundaka Upanishad:~  This Atman cannot be attained through the study of the Vedas, nor through intelligence, nor through much learning. He who chooses Atman—by him alone is Atman attained. It is the Atman that reveals to the seeker Its true nature. (3 page-70 - Mundaka Upanishad- Upanishads by Nikilanada)

When the Upanishad says:  the human goal is to acquire Self -Knowledge and they indicate the personal gods, scriptures, worship, and rituals are not the means to Self  –Knowledge, then why anyone should indulge in it.

The Upanishads declare:~

 
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.” 

Mundaka Upanishad 3:2:3:~“The weak and timid cannot realize the Self,  Self -Realization is not possible through intellect or hearing the spiritual discourse. One who welcomes God in every activity, through a thorough controlled and disciplined life, to him also the Soul is revealed

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

Katha Upanishad 1:3:6:~ “Through the knowledge of the Soul, God, one is pure and clean constantly.” Neither by reading the books nor by taking a bath at the holy place has one become pure. Inner purity is possible when one remains in constant touch with the Soul. Constant Soul Consciousness is real purity. 

Kena Upanishad 2: 4: ~ When it is known through every state of cognition, it is rightly known, for (by such knowledge) one attains life eternal. Through one's own 'Self ' one gains power and through wisdom, one gains immortality. 

Kena Upanishad 2: 5: ~ If here one knows it, then there is the truth, and if here one knows it not, there is a great loss. Hence, seeing the Real in all beings, wise men become immortal on departing from this world.

Scriptures are being added to from time to time. This process will go on. There is the final authority among them? One contradicts the other: duality reigns supreme. :~Santthosh Kumaar 

The Upanishads are Self -contradictory.+

Nagarjuna:~ All the philosophies are a mental fabrication.  There has never been a single doctrine by which one could enter the true essence of things.

Swami Vivekananda: Vedanta does not believe in the book. It denies the authority of any book over any other book. It denies emphatically any one book contains all the truths about God, Soul, the ultimate reality.

Those of you who have read Upanishads remember that again and again, “Not by reading books can we realize the Self”

Second, it finds veneration for some particular person still more difficult to uphold. Those of you who are a student of Vedanta – Vedanta is always meant Upanishads- know that this is the only religion that does not cling to any person.

Not one man or woman has become object worship among the Vedantins. 

You see how very little room there is Vedanta for any man to stand ahead of us and for us to and worship him. Vedanta does not give you that. No book, no man to worship nothing.  

A still greater difficulty is about God. If you want to be democratic in this country.   It is a democratic God that Vedanta teaches.  ~ (Is Vedanta in future religion? BY Swami Vivekananda –lecture – San Francisco on April 8, 1900)

There has never been a single scripture by which has the whole wisdom in it. Sage  Sankara restrained himself from parting the Advaitic wisdom to the mass and imparted it only to a selected few. 

Advaitic wisdom was hidden from the people who were not qualified and receptive to it.  Advaitic wisdom was not written down in one book but was imparted orally to the chosen few. Thus, religion was given to the ignorant populace and the Advaitic wisdom is given only selected few.  Thus, we find traces of the Self-knowledge in the religious books in the form of parables. 

Sage Sankara says: ~ 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 discriminating between real and unreal, and renouncing of the false is real meditation.

Self-knowledge cannot be attained by the study of the scriptures and intellectual understanding or by bookish knowledge.  Therefore,  there is no use of studying the scriptures and other scriptures in order to acquire the nondual wisdom. 

Scriptures mastery, the force of religious merit--none of these lead to the realization of that Ultimate Truth or Brahman. The ultimate truth is revealed in the clear understanding and realization of ‘what is the truth and ‘what is the untruth.  When one realizes the untruth (universe) is created out of single stuff, Self-awareness rises in the midst of duality exposing the unreal nature of the form, time, and space.

                                                                                       

The ultimate truth has to be realized first then only it is possible to know what the scriptures are saying. I do not require any scriptures.

I quote Scriptural citation and also the citation of the sages of truth only after verification reality and proved the truth, to point out that the scriptures teach the same thing. If one quotes them before having demonstrated truth, then it is scholasticism.

Scriptures are being added from time to time. This process will go on. There is the final authority among them? One contradicts the other: duality reigns supreme.

Self-knowledge cannot be acquired by the study of the scriptures and intellectual understanding or by bookish knowledge.  Therefore,  there is no use of studying the scriptures and other scriptures in order to acquire the nondual wisdom.  That is why Buddha rejected the scriptures, and even Sage Sankara indicated that the ultimate truth lies beyond religion, the concept of God, and the scriptures. 

Sage Sankara:~ 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 

The Upanishads are self -contradictory. Every pundit even gives conflicting interpretations of them. The final authority, therefore,  is using one’s own reason. One should apply his reason to them.

The scriptures are for ignorant masses, who wholly accept the material world as it presents itself. Gnana is for those who have begun to realize that things are not what they seem.

The Scriptures are of value only when dealing with persons who are incapable of understanding the truth. They have no value as authority for those who use reason.

I quote only verified citations from the scriptures. I need no scriptures,  but I quote them to help the seekers to realize the religion, scriptures and the belief of God are nothing to do with the ultimate truth or Brahman.

The Upanishads are the only scriptures in the world that say: ~

It is impossible to find and realize the truth via religion and scriptural study.

That is why Sage Sankara says: ~ VC~ 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.

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.

64. Without killing one’s enemies, and possessing oneself of the splendor of the entire surrounding region, one cannot claim to be an emperor by merely saying, ‘I am an emperor’.

65. As a treasure hidden underground requires (for its extraction) competent instruction, excavation, the removal of stones and other such things lying above it, and (finally) grasping, but never comes out by being (merely) called out by name, so the transparent Truth of the Self, which is hidden by Maya and its effects, is to be attained through the instructions of a knower of Brahman, followed by reflection, meditation and so forth, but not through perverted arguments.

The religion is based on the birth entity whereas the Soul, the innermost Self is birthless and deathless. Spirituality is based on the Soul (formless). Thus, there is a need to bifurcate the religion from spirituality.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

Teachers, interpretations of sacred texts, the force of religious merit--none of these lead to the realization of that Ultimate Truth.+

There has never been a single scripture that has the whole wisdom in it. Sage  Sankara restrained himself from parting the Advaitic wisdom to the mass and imparted it only to a selected few. 

Advaitic wisdom was hidden from the people who were not qualified and receptive to it.  Advaitic wisdom was not written down in one book but was imparted orally to the chosen few. Thus, religion was given to the ignorant populace and the Advaitic wisdom is given only selected few.  Thus, we find traces of the Self-knowledge in the religious books in the form of parables. 

Sage Sankara says: ~ 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 discriminating between real and unreal, and renouncing the false is real meditation,

Bhagavad Gita says: ~ Among thousands of men, scarcely one strives for perfection; and of those who strive and succeed, scarcely one knows the ‘Self’ in truth.

The seeker has to without the scriptures move ahead in his pursuit of truth.  All the religious scriptures and holy books are irrelevant -- God's greatest book is just in front of you. 

That is why 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. 

You have to study the book of the universe carefully and find and realize God hidden in it. 

All religions claim that their books are not man-made? Hindus claim that the Vedas are Aporsheya: not made by man but revealed by God himself; and Sanskrit is the divine language, not human. 

All religions have the same type of claim. Muslims say the Koran has descended from God, and so with Jews and Christians. Everybody is trying to claim that their book is the sacred book and nobody bothers to look at the real divine book.

This is what the real Veda, the real Koran, the real Bible is. This is the book, and all other books are man-made. Only this universe is the book that is authored by God because God is hidden by the universe. 

The universe is the real Veda, the real Koran, the real Bible is. The universe is the book, and all other books are man-made.

Only when you open the book of the universe the God hidden in the book will be revealed. When you finish reading the book of the universe then the universe will become an illusion and God alone prevails as the ultimate reality. 

Sage  Sankara says: ~ “What is accepted without a proper inquiry will not lead a person to the final goal. On the contrary, such acceptance will result only in evil, something which is detrimental to our spiritual progress. 

You are also part of the divine book of the universe! And whatever you have seen, known, believed, and experienced as an individual is part of it. 

It is difficult to understand and assimilate Advaitic wisdom within a framework of some Gurus teaching or holding some philosophy as a yardstick. 

We have to drop all our accumulated dross to understand and assimilate and realize the non-dualistic truth.

I am highlighting some scriptural citations only to show the seeker that the Advaitic Sages themselves declare that scriptures, religion, and ideas of God are unimportant in the pursuit of truth. It is easier to understand, assimilate and realize the ultimate truth or non-dualistic truth by rationalizing our views and understanding. :

Remember:~

Advaitic truth is the supreme truth; all dualistic systems hold false self as real Self and false experience as a reality.  Advaitic wisdom is the culmination of all systems including the theistic Advaita. 

There is no need to discuss argue and quarrel with those who think they know the truth.  There is no need for any support from scriptures to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.   Theistic Advaitic orthodoxy is nothing to do with the Advaitic wisdom.  The theistic Advaitic Orthodox scholars or pundits like Dualist sages could not distinguish between ‘I’ and ‘formless witness of the ‘I’.

They take the ‘I’ as the witness.  They are stuck to the reality of the ‘I’, all their theories are based on the ‘I’. All the ‘I’ based theories are false theories

They are so much attached to the 'I' that they do not want to think that 'I' does not exist. Again they are unable to detach the ‘I’ from the Soul, the Real witness.  

There is no need to study the scriptures.  The seeker has to self-search for the truth and realize it without the scriptures.  When he realizes the truth, which is beyond the form, time, and space then he reads the scriptures he realizes some of the scriptures are also saying the same thing,  but everything is misinterpreted.  

Yoga Vasistha:~ "Teachers, interpretations of sacred texts, the force of religious merit--none of these lead to the realization of that Ultimate Truth which is revealed in the clear reflection of the heart, engendered from contact with the good."

When the ultimate truth is rightly known and one attains eternal life thereby. Through Soul, the Self he gains strength and through its knowledge immortality.

Advaitic truth cannot be realized by intellectualism but only by a perfect understanding of ‘what is the truth?’  and ‘what is the untruth?’.

The soulcentric vision is when you learn to view and judge the world which confronts you from a non-dualistic perspective.

The nature of the Soul, the  Self s is like the state of deep sleep.

Mundaka Upanishad: ~ “This Atman cannot be attained through study of the Vedas, nor through intelligence nor through much learning. He who chooses Atman—by him alone is Atman attained. It is Ataman that reveals to the seeker Its true nature”. - 3 page70upanhsds by Nikilanada

It means the truth is beyond scriptures and egocentric intelligence.  Thus in order to grasp, assimilate and realize the Advaitic truth the seeker to employ soulcentric reasoning. 

That is why  Sage Sankara says in the commentary in Vedanta-sutra that what is accepted without a proper inquiry will not lead a person to the final goal. On the contrary, such acceptance will result only in evil, something which is detrimental to our spiritual progress.  

Seekers of truth should not believe blindly in traditional Orthodox nonduality without verifying all the facts from every angle. One has to reflect through reasoning over and over again without getting tired of the process.

That is why Sage Sankara says:~  VC- 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.

There is nothing more rational, more intelligible, and more un-dogmatic insights of Sri, Sankara, is to drop all the theistic nonduality or Advaita which is meant for those who are incapable and not receptive to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman.

If one merely theorizes, tries to understand through his intellect and there contended he cannot become a Gnani,  but he becomes a scholar or pundit.   

Seeker of truth must make what he has understood and assimilated has to be realized, to get a firm conviction of the non-dualistic truth or ultimate truth or Brahman,   then only it is possible for him to transcend all the limitations of the experience of form, time, and space.    

The existence beyond limitations of form, time, and space is known as Moksha or Nirvana. Spiritual freedom or Self-realization is the goal of every seeker of truth.  

The Self –Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is the goal of the true seeker.  Self-knowledge is the end of all egocentric knowledge.:~Santthosh Kumaar