End of the Vedas = Veda –antha).+

In Vedanta, it is said  Lord teaches us in the Gita, and in it he lashes out against the karmakanda. It is generally believed that the Buddha and Mahavira were the first to attack the Vedas.

It is not so. Lord Krishna himself spoke against them long before these two religious leaders. At one place in the Gita, he says to Arjuna: "The Vedas are associated with the three qualities of sattva, rajas, and tamas.

 You must transcend these three qualities. Full of desire, they (the practitioners of Vedic rituals) long for paradise and keep thinking of pleasures and material prosperity. They are born again and again and their minds are never fixed in samadhi, these men clinging to Vedic rituals. 

“In another passage Krishna says: "Not by the Vedas is Self to be realized, nor by sacrifices nor by many studies. . . . "

One has to go beyond Vedas means to go beyond religion. Going beyond religion means, going beyond the belief in the religious idea of God.

Going beyond the Vedas, religion and the belief in religious Gods means, going beyond the illusion, that is the end of Vedas (Veda –antha).

When one goes into the annals of history it looks like the true Advaita expounded by Sage Sankara and Sage Goudpada was lost or mutilated by the orthodox. The wisdom of Advaitic wisdom is nothing to do with orthodox preaching and practice because Advaitic orthodoxy is dogmatism. If you are the Advaitic orthodoxy has to be discarded if one wants to acquire ‘Self’-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

Sage Sankara and Sage Goudpada are independent thinkers other schools of Indian philosophy are mere theologies. Advaitic philosophy is real philosophy. The dualistic philosophy cannot escape the charge of dogmatism.

Sage Sankara was an independent thinker. His wisdom has not been taken seriously by many in India because most of the followers of Sage Sankara are religious orthodoxy.

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."

Anybody can write a commentary on the Upanishads and other great philosophic texts, all they need to do to pour out words. Some westerners along with some orthodox pundits translated and published books. The influence of Sage Sankara’s wisdom is nothing to do with orthodox belief systems.

The seeker must do his homework, and verify the validity of all the claims, rather than blindly believe, what orthodox pundits expound as knowledge, till; the uncontradicted truth is obtained.

Self- Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is only being true knowledge not the absence of duality.  ’Self’ -Knowledge cannot destroy the world, but it eliminates ignorance and exposes the unreal nature of the mind or the universe. 

Sage Sankara: - 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:~  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?

How does one get knowledge? What is meant for knowledge? What is true knowledge? –All this which must be dealt with by the seeker of truth to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman.

Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana does not destroy the world, but it exposes the unreal nature of the world which appears as waking and is experienced as reality by the person within the waking.  In the same way, the unreality of the dream was exposed when the waking took place. 

Remember:~ 

Sage Sankara strongly advocated the study of Upanishads, and at the same time cautioned that the study of Upanishads alone would not lead to moksha. In matters such as spiritual attainment, one’s own realization was the sole authority and it cannot be disputed

Sage Sankara also said the study of Upanishad was neither indispensable nor a necessary prerequisite for attaining the human goal, the moksha.

Sage Sankara pointed out; even those who were outside the Upanishad fold were as eligible to moksha as those within the fold were. He declared that all beings are Brahman, and therefore the question of discrimination did not arise. All that one was required to do was to get rid of ignorance (Avidya or duality).

That is why Sage Sankara says: ~ VC 56. Neither by Yoga, nor by Sankhya, nor by good 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 that 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.

66. Therefore, the wise should, as in the case of disease and the like, personally strive by all the means in their power to be free from the bondage of repeated births and deaths.

Then there is no need for the scriptures, religion, and idea of God. One has to be more rational to realize the Advaitic truth, which is the ultimate truth or scientific truth.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

Religious people in India do not believe in Vedic God is Athma. Rig Veda says May ye never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman.+

If  God is a formless Spirit, then how does man know God created the world? There is no proof. If man had seen God creating the world, he could admit it, but how could he have seen God before he came into existence? (i.e. were created).

Religious people in India  do not believe God  is considered the all-pervading consciousness, Bhagavad Gita itself  Brahman (God) is considered the all-pervading consciousness

People in India will not accept God without the form, time,  and space, Thus, everyone must realize what God is according to the scriptures:~  

          "What is God in actuality?" 

           "Where is God?” 

People say how God is everywhere, but they do not know because they are holding their religious propagated belief of God. The religious propagated God is limited to a particular religion, community sect and creed cannot be universal. The believers of the other religion, community sect, and creed will not accept any other God as their own other than their inherited accepted idea of God. 

The world in which you exist is not separate from God because the world in which you exist is created out of God. God is not imagination whatever you think of God is imagination based on the false self within the false experience. 

The ignorance makes you have the firm conviction you are an individual separate from the world and the world existed prior to you being born in it afterward. Until this conviction is there, you will never be able to accept any other truth than the dualistic truth based on the false self (you). 

The seeker of the truth must unfold the mystery of the ‘I’ by a perfect understanding of ‘what is what’ 

Do not believe in any Guru or any teaching. Do not search for God in this world in which you exist, religion, scriptures, holy books, ashrams, or mountain tops because ignorance hides God. 

A perfect understanding of ‘what is what’ unfolds the mystery of God. Religious Gods are based on blind beliefs. Belief is not God. Religious God cannot be considered as the center because the Soul and the innermost ‘Self’ are the centers of all that exists. Without the Soul the world in which you exist ceases to exist, which 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. 

In Yajurveda – chapter- 32:~ It has been said that God is Supreme or Supreme Spirit. 

Vedas and Upanishad confirm the Soul, the  Self, is present in the form of the Spirit or the consciousness. 

The Bible says: ~ “God is a Spirit, and they that worship God must worship God in Spirit and in Truth (John 4:24)”, 

The Spirit is the root element of the universe. The Spirit is present in the form of the Soul, the innermost Self. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. From the Spirit, the universe comes into existence. In the Spirit, the universe resides. And into the Spirit, the universe is dissolved. The Spirit is the parent of all that is there is. 

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

There is a clear-cut idea of God in the Vedas, Upanishad,  and Bhagavad Gita. And also, there is a clear-cut idea of what not to worship as God in place of real God. 

That is why Sage Sri, 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.

The 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 other than consciousness a God. 

Lord Krishna Says Ch ~V: ~ “Those who know me 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 innermost ‘Self’. In reality,  there is no duality, no differentiation. Only Atman exists. 

Lord Krishna confesses that the oldest wisdom of India (Advaita 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 truth and have no time for it. (Gita ~ Chap ~IV~ v.2) 

There are different grades of mindsets, which are unable to grasp God in truth. The Advaitic wisdom requires demands sharpness to grasp the truth which is beyond form, time, and space. Just sitting mindless and imagining you are seeing God keeps you in the prison of the dualistic illusion. 

Realize the Soul, is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth. The Soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness itself, is God. Consciousness is the cause of the world in which you exist. And the consciousness itself is uncaused. 

Thus, the truth realization itself is God-realization because the ultimate truth is Brahman or God. Self-realization is God-realization and God-realization is real worship. 

Nothing has to be accepted as God other than the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. Atman is Brahman means the Soul alone is God. Atman is Advaitic God. 

Remember:~ 

Search for truth is searching to know God in truth. If you search for the ‘Self’ you will find only the Soul. If you search for truth and you will find only the Soul. If you search for God you will find only the Soul. If you search for love you will find only the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. 

Thus, the Soul is the Goal. The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God.

God is not he or she God is the Spirit. Do not physicalize God's worship. Such worship of non-Vedic Gods is barred by Vedas. All God with forms and attributes are not God in truth. 

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. 

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. 

Bhagavad Gita Chapter: ~ “All those whose intelligence has been stolen by material desires, they worship many Gods. (7- Verse -20)

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)

Max Müller says: ~ “The religion of the Veda knows no idols; the worship of idols in India is a secondary formation, a degradation of the more primitive worship of ideal Gods."

Hindus are idol worshipers of the large numbers of Gods and Goddesses whereas Vedas declares God is ‘ONE’ and that God is Atman. 

Yajurveda – chapter- 32:~ Supreme is  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.

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 that God is Atman, then why believe and worship anything else in place of real God. 

Thus, Atman the Self and the Self is God. Thus, the Self -realization is real worship.  Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is necessary to get realization. 

Hindus are idol worshipers of the large numbers of Gods and Goddesses whereas Vedas declares God is ‘ONE’ and that God is Atman. 

Chandogya Upanishad Chapter: ~ ekam evadvitiyam ~ God is only one without a second. (6- Section- 2- Verse- 1)

According to Vedas the Atman the  ‘Self’’, is God.

Shiva is not Vedic God. All the Gods and Goddesses with form, name, and attributes belong to Hinduism, not of the Vedic religion or Santana Dharma.  

God and Goddesses are religious concepts. Whatever is seen, known, believed, and experienced as a person within the dualistic illusion (world) is a falsehood. 

Thus, it refers to a formless and attributeless God, which is the Atman (Soul), the innermost ‘‘Self’’ within the false experience. Thus, it indicates clearly all the Gods with form and attributes are mere imaginations based on the false ‘self. Thus, Atman or the Soul, the Self is God in truth.

The Vedas do not talk about idol worship. In fact, till about 2000 years ago followers of Vedism never worshiped idols. Idol worship was started by the followers of Buddhism and Jains. There is logic to idol worship. Vedas speak of one God that is the supreme ‘‘Self’’ i.e. Atman or Soul but Hinduism indulges in worshiping 60 million Gods.

It indicates clearly all the Gods with form and attributes are mere imaginations based on the false self.

The Vedas as a body of scripture contains many contradictions and they are fragmentary in nature. For Hindus, scriptures like the Bhagavad-Gita, Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Puranas are more attractive and appealing than the Vedas. And also the Gods and Goddesses they worship differ considerably from the Vedic ones. The collection of hymns called Vedas is written in praise of certain deities by poets over several centuries does not seem to have much significance for the Hindus.

Yajur Veda says: ~

Translation 1

They enter darkness, those who worship natural things (for example air, water, sun, moon, animals, fire, stone, etc).

They sink deeper into darkness those who worship sambhuti. (Sambhuti means created things, for example, table, chair, idol, etc.) (Yajurveda 40:9)

Translation 2

Deep into the shade of blinding gloom fall asambhuti's worshippers. They sink to darkness deeper yet who on sambhuti is intent." (Yajurveda Samhita by Ralph T. H. Griffith pg 538)

Translation 3

"They are enveloped in darkness, in other words, are steeped in ignorance and sunk in the greatest depths of misery who worship the uncreated, eternal prakrti -- the material cause of the world -- in place of the All-pervading God, But those who worship visible things born of the prakrti, such as the earth, trees, bodies (human and the like) in place of God are enveloped in still greater darkness, in other words, they are extremely foolish, fall into an awful hell of pain and sorrow, and suffer terribly for a long time." (Yajurveda 40:9.)

So, Yajur Veda indicates that: ~

They sink deeper into darkness those who worship sambhuti. (Sambhuti means created things, for example, table, chair, idol, etc. (Yajurveda 40:9)

Those who worship visible things born of the prakrti, such as the earth, trees, bodies (human and the like) in place of God are enveloped in still greater darkness, in other words, they are extremely foolish, fall into an awful hell of pain and sorrow, and suffer terribly for a long time." (Yajurveda 40:9.)

Thus, Atman the Self is God. Thus, ‘‘Self’’-realization is real worship.  Self’-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is necessary to get realization. 

To acquire Self -knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana, the seeker has to realize his inherited religion is adulterated in the past and it becomes a great obstacle is realizing the ultimate truth or Brahman. 

The seeker's aim is the search for the Ultimate Truth or Brahman. The search to find the non-dualistic or Advaitic truth that in actuality never was lost, only hidden.

Upanishad aspiration is best expressed in the following sutra: ~

OM Asato ma sad gaMaya, tamaso ma jyotir gaMaya, mrityor ma aamritaam gaMaya. Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.

~"OM Lead me from ignorance to truth, from darkness to light, from death to immortality. Peace, Peace, Peace" (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (1/3/28)).

Religion was coherent because it had a transcendent individualized God as a central doctrine, whereas in the realm of truth individualized God cannot be considered as the center. After all, the Soul and the  Self is the center of all that exists. 

First, one should not hold a God as the center of existence without verification. Both the theist and atheist are theories, with nothing to do with ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth. : ~Santthosh Kumaar 

Manduka Upanishad:~ Samadhi and sleep are identical.+

Sage Sankara says: ~ "There is no need to indulge in yoga, to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman

Sage Sankara says the transparent Truth of the Self, which is hidden by the illusion, is to be attained through the instructions of a knower of Brahman, (Gnani)

Sage Sankara says: ~ “The exercise in discrimination between real and unreal and renunciation of the false is real meditation, then why you are indulging in other types of meditation.

Yoga has its place rather than its value and its value is for a certain type of mindset. Yoga will remove restlessness, and helps to get receptiveness, but never Truth because it ignores the external world. Yoga cannot remove ignorance. It is only a step. It removes obstructions.

Yoga can yield only the duality because everything that one can do or practice becomes a vanishing 'known.' It yields the relative truth, i.e. true from a particular viewpoint, not the ultimate truth.

Yoga implies duality! Yoga means joining two things, something to which the yogi is to be joined. He thinks I want to know God, I want to attain Union. So he has the ego and cannot attain, whereas the first thing in the path of truth is to question the ‘I’ until its illusory nature is perceived and the seeker no longer says "I want to attain ultimate truth.

One has nothing to get for the self, as it has vanished on inquiry, not even will he say I will work for the sake the humanity.

In Sutra Bashya and Manduka Upanishad:~  Samadhi and sleep are identical. 

Brihad Upanishad does not advocate Samadhi.

It is not possible to stop the thought for more than a half-second whilst in the waking experience. If one succeeds in controlling thought and then banishes it, one passes into Nirvikalpa Samadhi, which is identical to deep sleep. The only difference between ordinary deep sleep and Samadhi, therefore, is that the ordinary man falls asleep involuntarily whereas the yogi has the satisfaction of knowing that he has passed into sleep by his own effort of will in banishing thoughts.

Sage Patanjali warns against sleep as a hindrance to yoga, he means when it occurs in the early stages of the practice before one has obtained the power of control and consequently banishes the thought. The fact that Samadhi is deep sleep is kept secret because people would not be tempted to take up yoga. Then what is its value of it? Why, to sharpen the mind, to enable it to keep away all extraneous thoughts when one gets out to reason in the practice of the next higher stage, i.e. Gnana.

 Yoga is thus simply a sharpening stone for the mind to enable it to take up Gnana. Living without thoughts is Impossible. The very thoughtless state itself is a thought.  Holding the thoughtless thought and entering the Samadhi is impossible without the thought of thoughtlessness. How can one enter the Samadhi without the thought of thoughtlessness?   He does not know the Gnanic truth if he says thoughtlessness is the perfect stage of the  Self.

When thoughts are stilled, it is not the Self that is found. It is only the mind. Thus,  Yogic Samadhi is not Gnana and therefore yogi does not know the Advaita the highest truth. Yoga is good to give peace and concentration, but only to start reasoning, i.e. thinking again to find the truth.

Yogic Samadhi is not the goal,  but a means to an end, i.e. Gnana. Samadhi in itself is useless because the mind is withdrawn and there is no memory of it until after it is over and one returns to waking experience.  Yogi who attains Samadhi: it is only the sleep.

Yogi who is said to experience non-duality in his ecstasy must still come back to a normal state and see the world confronts him, after his ecstasy. And then he will find that the world separates from him because he has ignored it and not tried to understand it. Only the Gnani can say of the external world, "This is Brahman, Soul." and prove his statement, and that it is none other than the innermost Self.

Many yogis are largely pretenders or self-deluded. They think they are masters who can lead the whole of humanity. They set themselves up as different from others. Many yogis promise blessings etc. to those who surrender their wealth or person to them. Many here live questionable lives with women disciples.  They seek influence over others, or wealth, by thus differentiating themselves.  They market their yogic products in the spiritual supermarket.  A Gnani never does this.

If a yogi says "I feel Bliss" who is having the experience? His 'I' is the ego. Hence,  that is not the highest Gnana.  If one carefully examines the experiences of mystics, then he finds that they do differ. It is superficial to say that yogis and mystics all have the same experience.

In the dream one knows that the dream figures are also minded, not different from it; similarly, when one knows that everything is consciousness, there is no need for the yogic control of the mind. Control presupposes second, a duality. Hence, yoga is in the sphere of duality and is unnecessary to one who knows non-duality.

Remember:~ 

Self-Knowledge requires the mind to be active to examine the world and discriminate. Hence nondual wisdom means knowing that there are no ideas different from the innermost self, which is in the form of consciousness, as the dream mountain is not different from Mind, knowing which they automatically the mind reaches stillness. This is different from Yogic Samadhi, which is only a deep sleep.

The Yogis and Mystics want meditation, sitting still, etc. only because it gives them pleasure: the satisfaction is for their own selves only, not others; hence it is something sought by the ego and cannot get the ultimate truth or Brahman in consequence.

The Yogi wants to do something, some action, even that of sitting still, to control this or concentrate on that. This means he is still attached to his physical body. He wants his physical body to be quiet. He is still thinking of an illusory physical body. He does not know that the physical body is part of the mirage. On the contrary, he takes it for reality.

The world must be seen before one can know its true nature in Gnana. The yogi, who shuts it out, thereby deprives himself of the opportunity to achieve Gnana.

The yogi must go to the ashram, some special place, some cave, or other. Whoever must sit in a posture is attached to the body.

The inquiry must begin with duality, i.e. with the world to inquire into. It will end with unity. The Yogi tries to avoid this duality by ignoring the universe. Hence,  he gets a false unity only.

The seekers of truth will inquire and practice discrimination.  The ultimate truth has to be attained not by intuition but by reason, which is superior to it. Not even a combination of intellect and intuition will find the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space.

Yoga will only let one know what he imagines. Self-Knowledge is the sum of all sciences. Scientists think only of the external world, the seekers of truth the inner self. Both are needed. Answers to prayers are imagination, due to chance.  Religion and Yoga are useful from utilitarian viewpoints, but from the standpoint of seeking the truth, they are useless. Yoga belief is a self-mesmeric condition out of which it is extremely difficult to escape.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

Sage Sankara’s wisdom is nothing to do orthodox sect.+

Religious believers are sentimentally attached to their religion, religious ideas of God, scriptures, and religious code of conduct; they will not accept anything else as truth other than their accepted truth.  There is no use in discussing such mindsets because nothing can be gained from such a discussion.

Religious believers are unfit for the Atmic path unless they drop all their accumulated knowledge.

All sect-based beliefs are dualistic and unphilosophical nothing to do with the ultimate truth or Brahman.  In spirituality,  the ultimate truth is God. Sage Sankara’s wisdom is nothing to do with the orthodox religious sect.

Sage Sankara: ~ VC-  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 (verses-6)

Sage Sankara is the only Sage who has final authority on the Advaitic truth. The Advaitic truth is rational truth and scientific truth without dogma.

The Advaitic orthodoxy is not the means to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.  Advaitic orthodoxy is meant for the ignorant populace that is unfit to grasp the highest truth.   The Advaitic orthodoxy is nothing to do with the ultimate truth or Brahman.

All sect-based beliefs are dualistic and unphilosophical nothing to do with the ultimate truth or Brahman.  In spirituality, the ultimate truth is God.  Thus, the Advaitic orthodoxy is a sect is nothing to do with the Advaitic wisdom of the Sage Sankara. Advaitic orthodox sect is meant for the ignorant populace.

Sage Sankara said:~ Neither by the practice of yoga nor philosophy, nor by good works nor by learning, does liberation come, but only through the realization that Atman and Brahman are one in no other way. (1) Vivekachoodamani v 56, pg~25

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 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)

Lord Krishna confesses that the oldest wisdom of India (our true Advaita philosophy) 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)

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.

There is no need for a Guru in the Atmic path. 

Swami Vivekananda said: ~   “You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher, but your own Soul.”

The scriptures are not needed in the pursuit of truth. Even the Upanishads and the Sages of truth declare the same.

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. (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 Atman that reveals to the seeker Its true nature. (3 –page-70 Upanishads by Nikilanada)

The ultimate truth has to be ascertained without the scriptures by realizing the Self is neither the waking entity not the dream entity, but the Self is the formless Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. In the realm of the truth the form, time, and space are created out of single stuff. That single stuff is consciousness. Realizing the single stuff as ultimate truth is Self-realization or truth realization. To realize this truth, there is no need for scriptures. 

The ultimate truth has to be realized first, and then only it is possible to know what the scriptures are saying.

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.

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

Sage Sankara:~   Loud speech, the profusion of words, and possessing skilfulness in expounding scriptures are merely for the enjoyment of the learned.  They do not lead to Liberation."

The 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.

An adherent of the orthodox philosopher   may say his philosophy teaches so and so", another man may object and say “No, his religious philosophy teaches such and such." Thus, they may go on uttering contradictions in the name of philosophy. True philosophy deals only with the appeal to facts not theories.

Where scriptures and authorities do not agree with the reason, the seeker of truth must reject them.

How is one to know that the scriptures are true? The seeker has to look into the facts, for proof of what has the worship of God done for the people! When a tsunami occurred in Japan, God did not save the believers of Japan. Thus, God saves the one who prays such an argument is of no value in the pursuit of truth.

People believe scripture is infallible but deeper Self-search reveals the fact that they are merely the book of words. The words are merely an expression of thoughts. Then it is impossible to see if the scripture-writers thoughts are founded in fact or not.

The fallacy of orthodoxy’s appeal to scripture lies in the varying and conflicting interpretations of the same scripture, which different men feel, entitled to give or hold.

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

Where scriptures and authorities do not agree with the reason, the seeker of truth must reject them.

Scriptural knowledge is conceptual divisions invented by teachers of philosophy by their excessive analysis.  All these concepts are a great obstacle in the pursuit of truth.    Why should confusion be created and then explained away? Fortunate is the man who does not lose himself in the labyrinths of philosophy but goes straight to the source from which they all arise. :~Santthosh Kumaar