Religious Gurus are not Gnanis, they propagate only religion. Religious Gurus do not propagate wisdom.+

Religious Gurus are not Gnanis, they propagate only religion. Religion is not spirituality.  Religious Gurus do not propagate wisdom they are meant for guiding the ignorant populace in practical life within the practical world. Many Religious gurus are serving humanity by giving free education and maintaining love and harmony in society but they are nothing to do with the Atmic path. 

The Guru is nothing to do with Advaitic wisdom. A Gnani never identifies himself as a Guru.

There are so many in the guise of Gurus and Godmen with criminal records who indulge in cheating rape, murder.   

The Gurus and Godmen who promise instant enlightenment or Self-realization are not Gnanis. Mixing religion with the Atmic path is like mixing oil in the water. 

Seekers from the west mistake whoever calls them Gurus, are Gnanis, thus, their mission of seeking the truth is misguided by such Gurus.

Those mystics, who talk of experiencing the supreme reality, do not know that the word experience implies something else, a second to be experienced, i.e. duality, i.e. non-reality, and those who talk of "direct knowledge" of reality again do not perceive that knowledge implies a second thing to be known; i.e. duality exists. i.e. no reality here!

The ignorant are always egocentric. He thinks what he knows is the ultimate truth.  He always indulges in pursuit of an argument. Ignorant is sentimentalized to his belief system.  An ignorant person just to prove that he is correct and others are wrong because the ignorant presumes he already knows and wants to see whether others know or not. 

The ignorant person provokes others to snub them. Ignorant accumulates knowledge and tries to show his intellectual wealth. Such intellectual sharing of knowledge is mere garbage. It is of no use in pursuit of truth. Because they are ego-centric based on ignorance thus they will not yield any truth. 

That is why 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.

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 realized. 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.

The Atmic path is not for religious and yogic-minded people. Religious and yogic people must move on their chosen path. The Atmic path is for only seekers of truth who are seriously searching for the truth of their own existence.

Sri Swami Vivekananda: ~ “Advaita encompasses everything. Since Advaita requires heavy-duty intellectualism, it had to be progressively simplified. (From 'The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda)

Sages of truth restrained themselves parting the Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana to the mass and only a selected few.

Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana was hidden from the people who were not qualified and receptive to it. Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana was not written down but was imparted orally to the chosen few. Thus, religion was given to the ignorant populace and the knowledge of the Spirit, God is given only a selected few.

Thus, we find traces of the knowledge of the Spirit in religious books in the form of parables.

The 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 path of wisdom attracts only those who are in search of truth and they appreciate it greatly.   The ignorant are not spiritually matured they receive Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.  The ignorant indulge in argument and provocation and personal attack, which hinders their own realization of the ultimate truth or Brahman. 

That is why Jesus said: - Do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you. (Matthew -7:6)

~ Jesus meant Knowledge of the Spirit or God or  Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

Bhagavad Gita says: ~ “Don't unsettle the minds of ignorant by revealing the esoteric truth."

Religious Gods are different from Spiritual Gods. the Seeker of truth must be aware of the difference between the religious God and spiritual God. religious Gods based on the belief whereas the Spiritual God is God in truth. 

From the Vedic perspective, all the religious Gods based on the belief with forms, names, and attributes are not God in truth. and worship of non-Vedic Gods barred by Vedas. 

Religious Gods are mere beliefs. Belief is not God.  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, 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. 

The Soul, the ‘Self is the Infinite God. 

The Soul is the  Self. God in truth is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. God in truth is the fullness of the consciousness without the illusory division of form, time, and space.  Therefore, there is nothing apart from it. 

God in truth is Self-evident. God in truth is not established by extraneous proofs. It is not possible to deny God in truth because God in truth is the very essence of the one who denies it. God in truth is the basis of all kinds of knowledge, presuppositions, and proofs. God in truth is within the universe in which you exist, God in truth is without the universe in which you exist.

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

Rig Veda: ~ 'Prajnanam Brahma'- Consciousness is the ultimate reality or Brahman or God in truth.

Do not accept any other God other than the Soul. The Soul is God in truth,  Nothing is real but the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. Nothing matters but realize  God in truth. God in truth is everywhere and in everything. Let these words be inscribed in your subconscious.

God in truth is hidden by the illusory universe. God in truth alone is real and eternal and all else is an illusion.

Brahman is merely a word to indicate the ultimate truth or God in truth.  The ultimate truth itself is God in truth. 

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)

Yajurveda – chapter- 32:~ It has been said that God's Supreme or 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.

People, who worship the belief of God, are hallucinating that they become one with such God.

Vedas itself says: May ye never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman? Thus, to know the real God Self-realization is necessary. Self-realization is God-realization. Self-realization itself is real worship.

How can you worship God? That implies two ~ the worshipper and the worshiped, whereas God is nondual. One can worship his idea of God only or realize his unity with it when he can’t worship it as apart.

When Upanishads and Vedas say that, God is in the form of the Athma, and God is indeed Athma itself” then why accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman.

God is the Supreme Being the One eternal homogeneous essence, indivisible consciousness, and intelligence, which is beyond form, time, and space. To which the Sages describe in a variety of ways through diverse words.

The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad:~ "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)

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

Only the path of wisdom leads the seeker of truth on his journey to the ultimate realization of the true nature of the Universal Essence, which is the Soul. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness.

Bhagavad Gita: 7: 19:~ "Such a man who has attained true knowledge, the knowledge of Self, the knowledge of Atman, worships ‘Self’ as~ Atman (God) alone exists~ everything is Atman, there exists nothing except Atman. Such a man is extremely rare."

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 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 innermost Self. In reality, there are no dualities, no differentiation. Only Atman exists.

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad IV-13:~ ‘As a mass of salt has neither inside nor outside, but is entirely a mass of taste, thus indeed, has that Self neither inside nor outside but is altogether a mass of Knowledge. Just as a lump of salt has inside as well as outside one and the same saltish taste, not any other taste, so also that Brahman (consciousness) has inside as well as outside one and the same intelligence. Inside and outside are mental creations only. When the mind melts in silence, ideas of inside and outside vanish. The Sages cognize one illimitable, homogeneous mass of consciousness only.

Causality taught in the Upanishads is only to enable us to understand the supreme truth of no-origination. The world is not different from the consciousness and the consciousness is not different from the Soul, the Self, and the Soul is not different from the ultimate truth or Brahman. That the consciousness appears as the diverse world is only an illusion. If it really became diverse then the immortal would become mortal.

The dualists who seek to prove the origination of the unborn, by that very enterprise try to make the immortal, mortal. Ultimate nature can never change - the immortal can never become mortal and vice versa.

Sage Goudapada quotes from the Upanishads: ~ "There's no plurality here"; "The Soul through its powers appears to be many"; "those who are attached to the creation or production or origination go to utter darkness"; "the unborn is never reborn, for what can produce it?”. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

The universe is nothing but an illusion created out of the Soul, the Self, which is present in the form of consciousness.+

The universe is nothing but an illusion created out of the Soul, the Self, which is present in the form of consciousness.

The form, time, and space are nothing but an illusion.

Thus, whatever the universe contains is nothing but an illusion.

The individual experience of birth, life, and death within the universe is nothing but an illusion.

That is why Sage Sankara's declaration: ~ “Brahman is the truth The World is Unreal everything is Truly Brahman and nothing else has any value.

Sage Sankara: ~ “VC~ All this universe which through ignorance appears as of diverse forms, is nothing else but Brahman which is absolutely free from all the limitations of human thought.

Sage Sankara: ~VC~ if the universe is true, let it then be perceived in the state of deep sleep also. As it is not at all perceived, it must be unreal and false like dreams.  

Sage Sankara: ~. 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.

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

The sun, the moon, the stars, planets shine because of the Soul or Spirit. The Soul shines and all things else shine as a result. Everything in the universe reflects but that light of the Soul, the Self, which is present in the form of consciousness. Merely knowing the truth is not enough to escape from the tangle of illusion.

The mind is in the form of the universe. From the standpoint of the Soul,  the Self, the universe is merely an illusion.  The illusion arises from ignorance. Enlightenment comes with detachment from the illusion by realizing the experience of the form, time and space are one in essence. :~Santthosh Kumaar 

The Soul becomes universe in waking (Duality) and the universe becomes the Soul in deep sleep (Nonduality).+

The Soul becomes the universe in waking (Duality) and the universe becomes the Soul in deep sleep (Nonduality). 

Chandogya Upanishads: ~ “This universe comes forth from Brahman and will return to Brahman. Verily, all is Brahman. A person is what his deep desire is. It is our deepest desire in this life that shapes the life to come. So let us direct our deepest desires to realize the Self.

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

Sage Sankara said: ~A.A~ 88. When the whole universe, movable and immovable, is known to be Atman (consciousness), and thus the existence of everything else is negated, where is then any room to say that the body is Atman?

The ‘Self’ is not the mind. The mind is present in the form of not the world in which we exist.  The world appears as waking or dream (duality) and disappears as deep sleep (nonduality).

The ‘Self’ is the Soul. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. Consciousness pervades in everything and everywhere in all three states. Thus, diversity is created out of single stuff. That stuff is consciousness.

Consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman because there is no second thing that exists other than consciousness.   From the standpoint of the Soul, the form, time, and space are one, in essence. 

In spirituality, God means the ultimate truth or Brahman. Self–realization is truth- realization. Truth- realization is God-realization.

Sage Sankara: ~VC~ if the universe is true, let it then be perceived in the state of deep sleep also. As it is not at all perceived, it must be unreal and false like dreams.  

That is why Sankara's declaration: ~ “Brahman is the truth The World is Unreal everything is Truly Brahman and nothing else has any value.

In ignorance there is duality. In wisdom, there is only non-duality. The Soul the  ‘Self’ is one without the second. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness (Spirit).  It is the same consciousness (Soul) that manifests as the whole universe. Consciousness itself is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.

 Consciousness is the ultimate cause of the universe and it itself is uncaused.  The seeker of truth must convince himself of this truth by Soulcentric reasoning. :~Santthosh Kumaar 

Do not try to know who you are? By inquiring ‘Who am ‘I?’, you will never reach the ultimate end of understanding.+

The realization of ultimate truth or Brahman is possible only when the seeker inquiries into the nature of the ‘I’. The ‘I’ is present in the form of the Mind.   

The Mind is present in the form of the universe and the universe appears as waking or dream (duality) and disappears as deep sleep (nonduality). 

The one which appears as the duality and disappears as nonduality is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. 

Do not try to know who you are? By inquiring ‘Who am ‘I?’,   you will never reach the ultimate end of understanding. ‘Who am ‘I’? is only helpful in the beginning on later stages it is inadequate to realize the truth, which is beyond the form, time, and space.   

When The ‘I’ appears along with the world in which you exist appears.

When The ‘I’ disappears along with the world in which you exist disappears.

Try to find out what is this ‘I’ which appears and disappears. What is it that knows this appearance and disappearance of the ‘I’?

There is nothing that exists prior to consciousness. The ‘I’ cease to exist without consciousness. The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, is the ultimate truth or Brahman.

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

Bhagavad Gita: ~ “You must first see the ‘I’ as illusory before you see others as illusory. ~ CH.2 v.16

The ‘I’ hides the Soul, the Self. 

The ‘I’ hides the Soul. Therefore, the seeker has to realize ‘what is this ‘I’ supposed to be in actuality.

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. Consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.

Rig Veda: ~ 'Prajnanam Brahma'- Consciousness is the ultimate reality or Brahman or God in truth.

Do not accept any other God other than the Soul, the Self. The Soul is God in truth,  Nothing is real but the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. Nothing matters but realize  God in truth. God in truth is everywhere and in everything. Let these words be inscribed in your subconscious.

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 the 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, the Self, which is the formless, timeless and spaceless subject. : ~Santthosh Kumaar

Upanishad aspiration is best expressed in the following sutra: ~ OM Asato ma sad gamaya, tamaso ma jyotir gamaya. +

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" (BrhadaranyakaUpanishad (1/3/28)).

The Soul, the  ‘Self’ is ever free.

How could the free ever be bound?

It was never bound. Only within the illusion of form, time, and space, it is bound. From the standpoint of the Soul, the innermost ‘Self’, the form, time, and space are merely an illusion.

Rig Veda: ~ 'Prajnanam Brahma'- Consciousness is the ultimate reality or Brahman or God in truth.

Do not accept any other God other than the Soul. The Soul is God in truth,  Nothing is real but the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. Nothing matters but realize  God in truth. God in truth is everywhere and in everything. Let these words be inscribed in your subconscious.

God in truth is hidden by the illusory universe. God in truth alone is real and eternal and all else is an illusion.

Brahman is merely a word to indicate the ultimate truth or God in truth.  The ultimate truth itself is God in truth. 

How could the unlimited ever be limited by anything?

Infinite divided by infinite, added to infinite, multiplied by infinite remains infinite. The Soul, the ‘Self’ is infinite. The Soul, the ‘Self’ is God in truth. God in truth is infinite There cannot be two existences, only one. The Infinite can never be made finite. The Soul, the  ‘Self’ is never bound. Realizing the Soul as the  ‘Self’, the Soul is free already. Through Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana the goal is reached -- all there is to reach. :~Santthosh Kumaar 

Reincarnation was not a Vedic belief. Belief in reincarnation which is central to Hinduism of today is not really attested in the Vedas.+

In the early Vedic literature, there is no express mention of the doctrine of transmigration. In the entire Rig Veda consisting of about 10,500 verses ― there is only one occasion where there is mention of a return to this world after death. What is implied here is that it cannot be taken as important teaching of the Rig Veda.

Reincarnation is not a Vedic belief. Belief in reincarnation which is central to Hinduism of today is not really attested in the Vedas though they hint at life after death. The doctrine of transmigration as elaborated in Hinduism has no place in the Vedic hymns”.

It is in the Upanishads that it appears for the first time. The Rig Veda speaks of two paths for the Souls of the deceased, namely, the path of the God s (devayana) and the path of the fathers (pitriyana). Those who go by the former enjoy immortality and there is no return to physical life after that.

In fact, the Vedic man longed for this state of life. Whereas those who go by the latter path, unite with the fathers and then return to earth, after having enjoyed the fruits of his deeds.

People who are caught up with the idea of reincarnation and rebirth theories are not qualified for Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana because they accepted the duality as reality.

People who believe in reincarnation and rebirth theories are unaware of the fact that their belief is based on the waking entity, which is the false self within the false experience. The waking entity itself is false Self within the false experience, it means the present experience of birth, life, death, and the world is a falsehood.

Whatever is seen, known, believed and experienced as the waking entity is bound to be a falsehood because, the Soul, the innermost Self is birthless because it is formless, timeless and spaceless existence. Therefore, the rebirth and reincarnation theory based on the false Self is bound to be a falsehood because the birth and death take place domain of the form, time and space whereas the 'Self is birthless and deathless. 

The one, which is born, lives and dies within the world, is not the Self. When the world itself is an illusion created out the Soul, which is present in the form the consciousness then the birth and rebirth happening within the world are bound to be an illusion. 

Deeper self -search reveals the fact that the waking experience itself is an illusion. It means the present experience of birth, life, death, and the world is an illusion. Thus, the reincarnation theory based on the false self within the false experience is bound to be a falsehood. When the waking entity is not the Self than whatever theories are based on the waking entity imagined theory.

This imagined theory based on the waking entity or ego is for those lower mindset who are incapable of grasping the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.

People who are caught up with the idea of reincarnation and rebirth theories are not qualified for Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana because they accepted the duality as reality. Birth implies duality, and the duality is falsehood from the ultimate standpoint.

Remember:~ 

DeeperSelf-search reveals the fact that the body is not the Self. The religion is based on the body as the Self because it speaks of birth, death, and rebirth whereas the Self is birthless and deathless because it is formless, timeless and spaceless existence. 

The ignorance is the cause of experiencing birth, life, death, and the world as reality. Once the ignorance is dropped then one becomes aware ‘what is the truth?‘, and what is the untruth?.

From the standpoint of the Soul, the Self - There is no birth, No death, No world ~. This is the truth.

From the standpoint of the Soul, the innermost Self, there is neither birth nor death nor the world. On the nondualistic perspective, the present birth itself is an illusion because, the Soul, the innermost Self is birthless and deathless.

The one which born, lives and dies in this world is not the Self. If the ‘Self’ is not the birth entity then whatever seen, known, believed, and experienced as a birth entity is bound to be an illusion. Thus, the reincarnation theory is based on the birth entity (you or ego), which is false Self within the false experience (waking).

From the standpoint of the Soul, the innermost Self, The world in which we exist is merely an illusion. If the world in which we exist is an illusion then the birth, life, death and rebirth and reincarnation happens within the illusory world is bound to be an illusion.

Accepting in rebirth and reincarnation theory as reality is accepting false Self (ego) as real Self and false experience (waking) as reality.

Self-realization is impossible if one accepts the present waking entity as the real Self because the Self is neither the waking entity nor the Self is the dream entity, but the Self is formless Soul, which witnesses the coming and going of the three states. :~Santthosh Kumaar 

Sage Sankara himself said: ~ A Gnani "bears no outward mark of a holy man.+

Advaitic Gnana cannot be transmitted neither from outside nor from another person. Guru of everyone is only the Soul, the  Self that is always revealing on its own.

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

A guru is needed in the religious and yogic path. The Soul is the inner Guru. The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, is the source of all that exists as the universe. To realize the universe is consciousness there is no need for Guru.

The grace of the Guru is only that Self-awareness that is the nature of the Soul. It is the Soul, the innermost Self is unceasingly revealing its existence. This revelation is always going on naturally in every serious seeker." 

Advaitic Gnana is given neither from outside nor from another person. It can be realized by the seeker on his own. The Gnana Guru of everyone is only the Soul the innermost ‘Self’ that is always revealing its own is the seeker is receptive and serious in quest of truth. 

If you emotionally and sentimentally hold on to the physical Guru as a guide you will never be able to transcend the dualistic illusion to non-dualistic reality.  The idea of having a Guru itself blocks you from realizing the Self’, which is hidden by the dualistic illusion.

The one who thinks of himself as a Guru and the one who thinks of himself as a chela (disciple) will not be able to acquire Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana because both of them accepted themselves as the body. And all their understanding, practices, knowledge are based on the false self.  

Therefore, the Guru –Shisya concept is a great obstacle in the pursuit of truth.  That is why Gnanis never accepted himself as a Guru or accepted anyone as his disciple because he is fully immersed in Self-awareness.  There is no place for to in reality. There was no division in his consciousness even though he was in the midst of a division of form, time, and space.    

Surrendering to any physical Guru or Godmen is not the means to Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.   The concept of surrendering to the Guru is a religious fable. The religious path is not the path of truth or Brahman. 

The Soul the innermost Self, is the true Guru. The Seeker has to surrender to the Self by realizing the fact that, the Self is not physical. By realizing the Self is not physical, he will be able to drop all the accumulated knowledge and inherited conditioning in the midst of duality and he finds freedom from experiencing the duality (waking) as reality. There is only oneness in reality. There is no scope for duality in Advaitic reality.

Manduka Upanishads: - Even the Gods cannot find out who is a Gnani, because he bears no external mark. Neither nudity nor the yellow robe has anything to do with him.

The guidance comes from any form when the seeker is ready and receptive to take the mental (inner) journey. 

People of small intelligence follow religion and believe that the world was created by God. But how do they know that He did so? When a pot is created one can see both pot and its maker, but not in the case of the world. Then there is the question which nobody has answered till now, viz. Why did He create all these evils, these sufferings? Even a father would never do that. If He did so, assuming that God did create, then what sort of an evil God is He! All religions which begin with "God created the world," are fit only for children. It is a lie; it is inconsistent and fit only for ignorant people.

When one knows the truth then he knows that the Soul which is present in the form of the consciousness is everything that exists." A child learns to count, by seeing and counting material objects. When the child is mature it says directly "one plus one equals two." without having to count tangible objects.

Religion is dualistic.  All the Guru Paramparas are for religious people.  There is no need for a Guru who wants to tread the path of wisdom.

Even Swami Vivekananda was Ramakrishna Paramahansa's disciple.  Swami Vivekananda himself 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.”

There are two kinds of audiences - the ordinary ones who desire the transitory heaven and other pleasures obtained as a result of ritual sacrifices, and the most advanced seeker who seeks to know the ultimate truth or Brahman.  The Guru and Guru Paramparas are meant for the first audience, to help lead their followers along the way. However, there is no need to follow any parampara and follow any Guru for those who wish to realize the truth which is beyond form, time, and space. 

We should not mix religion with spirituality because religion is based on the ego and spirituality is based on the Soul.   Religion is concerned with its paramparas, not truth whereas spirituality is concerned only with the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space. Religion is not spirituality.

Sage Sankara: ~ "Though I wear these robes of a Sanyasin, it is only for the sake of bread."

So he wore a Guru's robe only for the sake of the ignorant. So he was identified as Guru with parampara by religious people. For the truth seekers, Sage Sri, Sankara is a Brahma Gnani.

Sage Sankara himself said: ~ A Gnani "bears no outward mark of a holy man" (Stanza 539).

Thus, it proves that religious Gurus and yogis are not Gnanis because they identified themselves as holy people. 

Remember:~

Tripura Rahasya: ~ Second-hand knowledge of the Self-gathered from books or Gurus can never emancipate a man until its truth is rightly investigated and applied; only direct realization will do that. Realize yourself, turning the mind inward. (18: 89)

Ashtavakra Gita: ~ Truly dualism is the root of suffering. There is no other remedy for it than the realization that all this that we see is unreal and that the Soul, the innermost Self, is the one stainless reality, consisting of consciousness. 2:16

The Self is pure awareness though through ignorance the ‘Self' has imagined itself to have additional attributes. By continually reflecting like this, the Self’s dwelling place is unimagined. 2:17

For the Self, there is neither bondage nor liberation. The illusion has lost its basis and ceased. Truly all this exists in me though ultimately it does not even exist in the Self. 2:18

Self-Knowledge should be explained again and again until it is firmly rooted in the subconscious.

The one who has adopted the life of a wandering monk will never be able to realize the truth which is hidden in the form, time, and space.   He keeps wandering from one place to the next, meeting different gurus, worshipping different Gods. He is caught up in the prison of the dualistic illusion.

People who think Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana can be achieved through their karma (actions) are hallucinating. 

First Mundaka - Chapter 2 (8) - Fools, dwelling in darkness, but wise in their own conceit and puffed up with vain scholarship, wander about, being afflicted by many ills, like blind men led by the blind.

First Mundaka - Chapter 2 (9) - Children, immersed in ignorance in various ways, flatter themselves, saying: We have accomplished life's purpose. Because these performers of karma do not know the Truth owing to their attachment, they fall from heaven, misery-stricken, when the fruit of their work is exhausted.

First Mundaka - Chapter 2 (10) - Ignorant fools, regarding sacrifices and humanitarian works as the highest, do not know any higher good. Having enjoyed their reward on the heights of heaven, gained by good works, they enter again this world or a lower one.:~Santthosh Kumaar