Nirvikalpa Samadhi is not Advaitic Gnana.+

Sage Goudpada: ~ To establish the truth of Nonduality by sheer reasoning alone. He begins by defining "What is real?" "What is unreal?" etc, because that is the right way to discuss or teach. People must first know what they are talking about. (Manduka Karika)

The reasoning is interpretable in two ways. The egocentric interpretation is to apply it only to the waking experience. The Soulcentric interpretation is to apply it to the three states. The latter leads to a final settlement of the problems because it considers all data.

As we keep digging deeper and deeper, the truth will shine as pure awareness in the midst of the duality (waking).

The Soul, the Self is our ultimate teacher. It is only our inner teacher that will walk with us to the goal, for the Soul is the goal. From the ultimate standpoint, there is no teacher, there is no teaching and there is no student.  Millions are searching the form truth, but one in a  million will realize it.

Sage Sankara definitely says that yoga is not the means of liberation (page 132-133 of his commentary on Brihadaranyakopanishad). 

Bhagavan Buddha gave up his austerities of yoga as impossible and useless. (Page.70/71 "Buddhism in Translation” by Warren)

Bhagavan Buddha got enlightenment only after he gave up Yoga. Unless one exercises his reason--there is no chance of getting the truth.

When the yogi enters this highest Nirvikalpa (effortless) Samadhi, he will at once enter deep sleep. This will make plain to him after he wakes, that the inner self he sought and found, the Atman, is reached only when all his ideas are refunded into it, when there is then all the features of nonduality, one without a second. However,  the yogi must later wake up, emerge from Samadhi and there is duality again, for the world of objects confronts him. So now he has to work on the next stage which is to find consciously in the waking experience the same non-duality that he unconsciously knew in sleep. This is done by learning that the universe is or idea or an object for the formless subject, and then refunding the universe,  ~idea back into its source, which is the Soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness. Only at this final stage, he says "Atman, which is present in the form of the consciousness is the same as the Brahman. The Brahman is the ultimate truth.  " Now he is fully aware of it.

All yogic visions, however, wonderful will pass away; they go as they come. They have the value of dreams. They are not truth which is un-passing and beyond changes.

One can’t shut his eye to the universe, which confronts him as in Samadhi of yoga and see supreme reality. One can know it only by keeping himself clear and open.  Sage  Sankara says:-   The yogi must add discrimination to his quest.

Nirvikalpa Samadhi and deep sleep are the same from the non-dualistic perspective,  the absence of the known. The knower was there. How does Samadhi give Gnana? Only by preparing the mind to see that the world disappears and reappears and, that nonduality is here and duality there, to convince the man that in non-duality one won't disappear as he does disappear in Samadhi or deep sleep. Another advantage of Samadhi is one gets the capacity to forget the external world and to treat it as an idea.

Yoga can never give you the fundamental thing, that the world is an illusion. Only Gnana can give it. Nirvikalpa Samadhi is unquestionably the same as deep sleep, and all ideas are refunded back there too. One must learn what ideas are when all the ideas of the universe's existence go back into one’s mind through Yoga. Then one learns this. How has he to learn that the entire universe is consciousness or Brahman if he stops at Nirvikalpa Samadhi? Without perceiving the universe, and having a duality before him, it is impossible.

Nirvikalpa has no duality, hence it cannot tell you about the universe. The yogi who emerges from Samadhi and says he found Gnana there, says it to a second person, hence there is duality again. If he were a real Gnani, there would be nobody for him to tell that he had experienced Gnana.

Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana will interest only a few people; the rest are interested in Religion, yoga other paths, and pleasure hunting. :~Santthosh Kumaar  

Religion belongs to the world of feeling emotions, that is why people like it.+

Religion belongs to the world of feeling emotions. That is why people like it. Religion changes as it appeals to different feelings and emotions. On one pole the nude saint is admired; at the other, the gorgeously dressed Godmen are revered.

There is no use in quarreling with anyone in matters of religion. There is no need to convince people, let them hold any belief, any imagination they like in that realm. In religion,  the question of truth does not arise, only the question of what they believe. The craving for religion, the fear that not to follow its rites and dogmas will bring punishment, the inability to give up the notion of its truth even when your reason demonstrates its fallacies and absurdities are merely forms of mild obsessions, i.e. a thought constantly repeating itself automatically; hence it is a mental disease.

Unless you give up the ideas of heaven and hell, it is impossible to realize the Advaitic truth which is beyond form, time, and space. The ultimate Truth must be realized here and now, in this very life. Without realizing the ultimate truth, it is not possible to consider the existence of heaven and hell as untrue.

Lord Krishna himself says the ‘‘Self’-realization is not possible by neither by the study of the Vedas nor by sacrifices nor by many studies.  Then why you are still thinking by studying Vedas you get Self-realization.

Bhagavad Gita 2:46:~ "A man of true knowledge who has attained enlightenment, has the same use for all the scriptures as one has a small reservoir of water in a place flooded on all sides."

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.

Know me in truth means Know God in truth.  That is God without form, time, and space.  The Soul, the ‘Self’, is God in truth. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness.  The Soul is the cause; the Soul is the support of all that exists in this universe. May ye never turn away from the Soul the  ‘Self’. Never accept another God in place of the Soul nor worship other than the Soul.

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. 

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. 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)

 The Soul alone is God in truth.  Never accept another God in place of the Soul, which is present in the form of the Spirit.

Even 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. :~Santthosh Kumaar 

Religion and mysticism are so much preferred to philosophy because you have only to imagine, not to inquire.+

People are comfortable with religious path or of authoritarianism merely because they are the easiest ways. To seek proof is troublesome and time-taking.  Religion and mysticism are so much preferred to philosophy because you have only to imagine, not to inquire. The first is easy, and the second is hard.

Religion and mysticism are a species of mesmerism affecting weaker or impressionable minds.  The complete and impressive array of a Guru’s religious robes lifestyle creates an unconscious suggestion in a weaker mindset of superior power or magical knowledge.

Both poetry and religion are based on imagination.  Imagination implies duality. Theology, religion, poetry all belong to the same class~ appeal to belief, fancy, imagination, not the ultimate truth or Brahman.

When one cannot fully know another person, how can he hope ever to know God, who is not universal, because each religion has its own idea of God? Then why bring such God in?

"Religions place God as the unknown reality” some people place it as the unknown reality. Every religion has a different idea of God. Every man has a different idea of reality. Hence, there is a need for definition before the study.

Mystics claim that God really was in every particle, then every man will be able to create the universe because he will be God.

Suppose one sees God. How is he to know that He is God? His mere statement is not enough. He must have proof; He must show that He is God. How do the religious believers know God and how do they know that he is everywhere when their God is an individual.

Even if one performs Japam on the name of the religious God and meditates on the religious God he will not be able to realize ultimate truth or Brahman. Brahman is God.  The Soul, the ‘Self’ is the ultimate truth or Brahman. So, the Soul, which is present in the form of the spirit (consciousness), is God in truth. 

Even Bhagavad Gita says: ~ 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. 

Even Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: ~ Brahman (God in truth) 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,  the innermost ‘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 declares: "He who worships the deities as entities entirely separate from the Self 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 

Upanishad says: ~ The human goal is to acquire Self-Knowledge and they indicate that belief in the personal Gods, yoga scriptures, worship, and rituals are not the means to Self –Knowledge, then why anyone should indulge in it. The religion, concept of individualized God and scriptures are a great obstacle to  Self-realization because they are based on false Self.  The seeker of truth has to search the ultimate truth without losing himself in the labyrinths of philosophy, through deeper Self-search and assimilate and realize it.

That is why Sage Sankara, indicated in Bhaja Govindam says: ~ (Jnana Viheena Sarva Mathena Bajathi na Muktim janma Shatena) ~ One without knowledge does not obtain liberation even in a hundred births, no matter which religious faith he follows.

Thus, the path of wisdom is the only means. Then it is no use going the roundabout way, trace the Brahman which is the formless substance and the witness of the universe (mind).  By tracing the source of the mind or the universe, one will be able to realize the Brahman.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

Religion and mysticism are a species of mesmerism affecting weaker or impressionable minds.+

People, who claim that their doubts vanish merely by sitting in the presence of a yogi, have merely been hypnotized.

Religion and mysticism are a species of mesmerism affecting weaker or impressionable minds. The complete and impressive array of a Guru’s religious robes lifestyle creates an unconscious suggestion in the weaker mindset of superior power or magical knowledge.

The visitors to ashrams are suggested in thinking they experience great peace because they are unconsciously hypnotized into believing that will happen. But when a strong disciplined philosophic mind meets a Guru or visits an ashram, he is entirely unaffected.

People think that by meeting Gurus and yogis and by visiting the Ashrams they feel much peace as a result. But such peace and feeling is nothing to with the ultimate truth or Brahman. That is only hallucinated peace. Such hallucinated peace has nothing to do with the question of truth. 

The person, who had eaten well, may also feel much satisfaction and contentment; his feeling is similar to the yogi. Such feeling and satisfaction are a reality within the duality. The duality is not a reality from the standpoint of the Soul, the ‘Self’.

When the follower of the mysticism sits before the yogic or Guru, he may see all kinds of visions; the explanation is that he expects certain experiences and gets them, or else the Guru suggests them; the mind of the follower creates the entire experience. It is precisely the same as experiences of a hypnotic subject, which are the consequences of a stronger mindset working on a weaker one.

Without a prior suggestion, it is impossible to impress, people. So, there must be a prior suggestion strongly felt and accepted that one is entering the presence of a powerful yogi. Otherwise, the words or person of a yogi will fail to impress the visitors; all the visions, experiences, etc., which afterward occur are a matter of suggestibility.

Believers of religion and mysticism who are anxious for a mystic or occult experience often get it. But it is only a mental construction of their own, suggested originally from outside.

Suggestions may even come to one from a book or someone or read or seen, and thinking of them a number of times; then when he meets and sit before a yogic Guru for the first time, the suggestion comes up from the past or subconscious and gives you a vision or mystic experience. 

The whole thing is a super-imposition. So then he is led by constant dwelling on a thought, to the manufacture of it as a projected experience. The complex overcomes them. :~Santthosh Kumaar 

Sage Sankara says The Advaitic Gnana is to be attained through the instructions of a knower of Brahman, (Gnani).+

The Advaita propagated by the Gurus of the east and the west is not the Advatic wisdom of Sage Sankara. Without Sage Sankara, there is no Advaita. Without Advaitic wisdom,  it is impossible to realize the truth, which is hidden by the illusory form, time, and space.  The all-pervading Reality is beyond both duality and non-duality.

The history of Advaita is replete with interpretation and reinterpretation of Sage  Sankara’s philosophical work the generation of Advaita followers that succeeded Sage Sankara wrote a number of commentaries on Sage Sankara’s work each commentator claimed that he grasped the essence and true intent of Sage Sankara and went on to write according to his own understanding. In that process, he wove into the commentaries, his personal views, and hoisted them on Sage Sankara.

This kind of adulation gave rise to several versions of Advaita. The numerous glosses written by his followers tried to blend a ritualistic attitude with the monistic inclination of the Master. The result was the distortion of Sage Sankara’s position.

The purpose of the scriptures, Sage Sankara said, was to describe reality as it is. Sage Sankara rejected the Mimamsa view and argued that scriptures were not mandatory in character, at least where it concerned the pursuit of wisdom. 

Upanishads, he remarked, dealt with Brahman (God) and that Brahman (God) could not be a subject matter of injunction and prohibitions.

Sage Sankara strongly advocated the study of Upanishads and at the same time cautioned that the study of Upanishads alone would not lead to liberation. In matters such as spiritual attainment, one’s own experience 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.

Sage Sankara:~ 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 (Duality).

Remember:~~ 

Sage Sankara says: ~ there is no need to study the Scriptures, to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman

~ then why do you indulge in studying the scriptures.

 Sage Sankara says: ~ there is no need to study philosophy, to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman

~then why do you indulge in studying philosophy.

Sage Sankara says: ~ there is no need to indulge rituals, to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman

~then why do you indulge in rituals.

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

~then why do you indulge in yoga.

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)

~ then why you are sticking to a Guru who is not a 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. 

For one who wants to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana, religion and yoga 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 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,

• What is the use of reading millions of pages on truth?
•  
•  What is the use of searching for Gurus to get truth realization?
•  
• What is the use of wandering in the mountains is the search for the truth?
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• What is the use of indulging in yogic Samadhi or meditation within the unreal world?

The ‘I’ hides the truth of the whole. Without realizing what is this ‘I’ you will never realize the truth which is beyond form, time, and space.

All the Gurus glorified the ‘I’. Thus, it becomes very difficult to discard the ‘I’. Those who have accepted the ‘I’ based teaching refuse to accept anything other than their accepted truth.

Till you hold the ‘‘Self’’ as the ‘I’, your knowledge remains skin deep.

What is it that appears as the ‘I’ and disappears as the ‘I-less? It is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Do not make the mistake of holding the ‘I’ as the ‘Self’ because it is not permanent. ‘I’ disappears and becomes ‘I’-less.

 ‘I’ is an illusion and the ‘I-LESS’ is real and eternal. The ‘I-LESS ‘appears as ‘I’ and ‘I ’‘disappears as I-LESS.

Bhagavad Gita: ~ The permanent is always there, only the transient ‘I’ comes and goes. (2.18)

The ‘I’ hides the Soul, the Sef, which is ever nondual.

The earliest ancient sages used the word ‘I’ to the witness of the three states not to the ego as moderns use it and think the ‘I’ without the body is the ‘Self’. The seeker has to understand the fact that ‘I’ is not the ‘Self’, but the witness of the ‘I’ is the true ‘Self’, which is eternal. 

That is why Ashtavakra Gita 16:10:~ If you desire liberation, but you still say "I," If you feel the ‘‘Self’’ is the ‘I’, You are not a wise man or a seeker. You are simply a man who suffers. 

Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana frees the Soul from the cage of the illusory form, time,  and space.

Due to ignorance, the Soul, the innermost Self is in forgetfulness of its own true nature in the dualistic illusion.  When the Soul wakes up from its sleep of ignorance,   the unreal nature of the world, in which you exist, is exposed.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

People are stuck with the reality of the ‘I’, which they take it as real because some Gurus have propagated the Self is the ‘I’.+

The ‘Self’ is not the ‘I’. The ‘I’ is not within you. The ‘I’ is present in the form of the mind. The mind is present in the form of the universe. 

The universe appears as the waking. The waking is a dualistic illusion.  The dualistic illusion is an object to the nondual subject.  

The Soul, the  ‘Self’ is the subject.  The Soul, the subject is present in the form of consciousness. From the standpoint of the Soul, the object is merely an illusion created out of consciousness.

If the Self is not ‘I’ but the Self is the Soul then from the standpoint of the Soul, the  Self:~

 ~ 
Where is the ‘I’? 

Where is the ego? 

Where is the body? 

Where is the mind?

Where is the world in which you exist?

Where are the form, time, and space? 

Where is the waking experience?

Where is the duality? 

Where is void?

They are or have become one with the Soul which is present in the form of consciousness. The consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman.

The ‘I’ is present only when the mind is present. The mind is present only when the world is present. The world is present only when there is a waking experience. 

Deeper self-search reveals the fact that the waking experience is not considered different from the world. The world is not considered different from the mind. The mind is not considered different from the’ I’. This truth has to be assimilated. 

The ‘I’ is merely an illusion created out of the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. ‘I’ is not the subject. The ‘I’ is an object to the Soul, which is the formless, timeless, and spaceless subject. 

If the ‘I’ is an illusion then the world in which you exist is bound to be an illusion.

If the ‘I’ is an illusion then three states, are bound to be an illusion. 

If the ‘I’ is an illusion then the form, time, and space are bound to be an illusion. 

If I’ is an illusion then the individual experience of birth, life, death is bound to be an illusion. 

If the ‘I’ is an illusion then the words and thoughts are bound to be an illusion.

If the ‘I’ is an illusion then the duality is bound to be an illusion. 

The seeker has to make sure what is this ‘I’ supposed to be? The seeker has to make sure the unreal nature of the ‘I’ which comes and goes. 

That is why Bhagavad Gita: ~ The permanent is always there, only the transient ‘I’ comes and goes. (2.18)

The ‘I’ hides the Soul, the Self, which is present in the form of consciousness. 

People think the ‘I’ without the body is the Self. The seeker has to understand the fact that ‘I’ is not the Self, but the witness of the ‘I’ is the true Self, which is eternal. 

That is why Ashtavakra Gita 16:10:~ If you desire liberation, but you still say "I," If you feel the ‘Self’ is the ‘I’, You are not a wise man or a seeker. You are simply a man who suffers. 

People are stuck with the reality of the ‘I’, which they take as real because some Gurus have propagated the Self is the ‘I’. is no need to convince such mindsets. The seeker of truth accepts only the truth nothing but the truth. :~Santthosh Kumaar 

There is no need to condemn Gurus, but there is need highlight how they become an obstacle in realizing the ultimate truth or Brahman.+

Normally people will not understand what I am driving at because they are seeking something which they can enjoy.

People's ambition is to acquire wealth and enjoy practical life within the practical world. They are looking for an advantage in the world, to take care of their daily life.   Thus, to get what they want in practical life they indulge in the numerous path of dogmas and rituals prescribed by the Gurudom expecting their daily life goes on comfortably. 

 The so-called Gurus and yogis focus their ambition on acquiring wealth by making the mass more and more dogmatic oriented.  No one inquires why they are in this hell. This begging to God and Guru goes on and on. If their wish is fulfilled, they indulge more and more if the wish is not fulfilled they indulge again and again because of fear of getting curses of God.   Thus, in order to get rid of this path of begging one has to know the truth of his true existence.      

That is why 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, and 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

Sage Sankara said:~  Talk as much philosophy as you like, worship as many Gods as you please, observe ceremonies, and sing devotional hymns, but the liberation will never come, even after a hundred aeons, without realizing the Oneness.

Yoga Vasistha says:~ ‘Self’-knowledge or knowledge of truth is not had by resorting to a Guru (preceptor) nor by the study of scripture, nor by good works: it is attained only by means of inquiry inspired by the company of wise (Gnani). One’s inner light alone is the means, naught else. When this inner light is kept alive, it is not affected by the darkness of inertia. 

There is no need to condemn Gurus, but there is a need to highlight how they become an obstacle in realizing the ultimate truth or Brahman.

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 Guru is useless so long as the ultimate truth is unknown, and Guru is equally useless when the ultimate truth or Brahman has already been known.

A Guru is needed in religious and the yogic path.  There is no need of a Guru is to acquire ‘Self’-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. :~Santthosh Kumaar