Mythology breeds superstition, blind belief, and senseless rituals and most irrational and gives them divine outlook.+

Religion is not final. It only gives satisfaction to the populace. The Self - knowledge is for the whole of humanity to free them from experiencing the illusory birth, life, death, and the world as a reality.

People are more interested in religion than spirituality. Religion makes people believe in the false idea of God whereas spirituality is for realizing God in truth.    

There is no second thing that exists other than the Soul, the Self. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. the Soul is the real God. God is the only reality, the soul, God is the indivisible reality.

Rituals prayers and ceremonies of different religions and cults are not a tool for Self-realization. they keep one in the cage of ignorance.

Attachment to the rigid devotion to the religious belief of God limits one to think within the framework of the illusory division of form, time, and space.

Diverse beliefs of religion and its diverse idea of God create divisions between one religion and another. The rituals and ceremonies become an obstacle in realizing the religious God one believes and worships is not God in truth.  Religion becomes an obstacle for realizing the real God hidden by ignorance.

Real God is not a religious God. Religious Gods are mythical Gods based on belief. Belief based Gods are a myth.

Mythological stories are a myth. Whatever is based on myth is merely superstition.  Mythology was introduced in the past for the ignorant masses. It has to be discarded as one progresses in his spiritual advancement. 

Mythology breeds superstition, blind belief, senseless rituals, and the most irrational and gives them a divine outlook.   

Yajurveda – chapter- 32: -  God is Supreme Spirit has no ‘Pratima’ (idol) or material shape. God cannot be seen directly by anyone. God pervades all beings and all directions. God with form, name, and attributes does not find any support from the Vedas.

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 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 (Gita 14.27)

If God is the 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).

The Spirit is the root element of the universe. The Spirit is present in the form of the Soul, the 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. 

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

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

Sage Sankara’s Supreme Brahman is impersonal, Nirguna (without Gunas or attributes), Nirakara (formless), Nirvisesha (without special characteristics), immutable, eternal, and Akarta (non-agent). It is above all needs and desires. It is always the Witnessing Subject. It can never become an object as it is beyond the reach of the senses. Brahman is non-dual, one without a second. It has no other beside it. It is destitute of difference, either external or internal. Brahman cannot be described because the description implies a distinction. Brahman cannot be distinguished from any other than It. In Brahman, there is not a distinction between substance and attribute. Sat-Chit-Ananda constitutes the very essence or Svarupa of Brahman, and not just Its attributes. The Nirguna Brahman of Sage Sankara is impersonal.

The God you see and meet and in your vision is not God in truth but a hallucination. How can you see and meet God without knowing what God is in actuality? Praying and meditating on God without knowing what God really is, leads to hallucination. The world in which you exist hides God. Thus, Self-realization is necessary to realize ‘what God is in actuality. 

Sage Sankara’s whole wisdom can be summed up in one sentence, ‘There is nothing else but Brahman. He says that Absolute Existence, Absolute Knowledge, and Absolute Awareness are real. The universe is not real. He says that Brahma and Atman are one. 

The ultimate and the Absolute Truth is the Self, which is one though appearing as many different individuals. The individual has no reality. Only the Self is real; the rest, mental and physical are but passing appearances. 

Genuine philosophy must be independent of religion, that in Sage Sankara himself the Saguna Brahman or a personal God is only a part of the phenomenal (if not illusory) world, and the Nirguna Brahman is the only reality and has nothing to do with religion.  

Sage Sri Sankara pokes fun at ascetics and points out that all their austerities do not cause desires to go (Altar Flowers" Page 205, v.2 P.207 v.4)

The seeker of truth is more keen to realize the ‘Self' hidden by the dualistic illusion. The seeker of truth keeping only one desire and longing — that of union with the Soul, God. A seeker is never entangled in with the religion, rituals, yoga and physical Gurus and never allows himself to be overpowered by any attachment emotions and sentiments.

Ordinary persons are caught up in believing the universe as a reality. The entire universe is nothing but an illusion created out of the Soul, which is the God in Truth.

A Gnani is always immersed in  Self-awareness and can never be caught up in the mazes of the illusory universe. Just as an ordinary person does not pay any attention to the reality hidden by the universe, so a Gnani does not pay any attention to the universe except to divert the attention of humanity from the illusory universe to the hidden reality of the universe.

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.

Hence,  Sage Sankara:~ V.63 says: -"Without knowing and examining the external world, one can’t know the Truth, as the idea that the external world exists, won't go. It can go only by an inquiry into the nature of the external world.

The seeker has to begin his analysis with the world first, not with the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. 

The world in which you exist, consciousness is the finality. A Gnani sees the world in which he exists as consciousness." But to know this they must be examined and studied.

The yogi does not care to know about the world" and for a  Gnani nothing remains to be known for him because he is fully aware of the fact that the universe in which he exists is nothing but an illusion created out of consciousness.

The Pundits do not know the true nature of the world in which we exist.  Scriptures deal only with the Objects, not with the Witness of the objects.

If one starts with the idea that Samsara (universe) exists, he can never see the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, because Samsara (world) is an illusion and only ignorant people read it as a reality. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar 

Meher Baba:~ There is no difference in the realization of the Truth either by a Muslim, Hindu, Zoroastrian, or a Christian.+

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

Meher Baba:~ There is no difference in the realization of the Truth either by a Muslim, Hindu, Zoroastrian, or Christian. The difference is only in words and terms. Truth is not the monopoly of a particular race or religion.

Meher Baba says:~ UNLESS AND UNTIL ignorance is removed and Knowledge is gained . . . the Knowledge whereby the Divine Life is experienced and lived . . . everything pertaining to the spiritual seems paradoxical . . . GOD, whom we do not see, we say is real; and the world, which we do see, we say is false. In experience, what exists for us does not really exist; and what does not exist for us, really exists.

Meher Baba Said: ~ A true aspirant is not content with the knowledge of spiritual realities based on hearsay... he insists on the direct knowledge."

Meher Baba: ~ "There is no higher or lower goal. There is only one goal, Self-Realization."

Meher Baba: ~ When religion has become merely a matter of external rituals and ceremonies, it has become a cage for the Soul.

Meher Baba:~ The only REAL KNOWLEDGE is the Knowledge that God is the inner dweller in good people and so-called bad, in saint and so-called sinner. 

Meher Baba:~  Spirituality does not need renunciation of worldly activities. It means the internal renunciation of mundane desires. Mere asceticism does not lead to spirituality. The Infinite embraces all expressions of life.

Meher Baba: ~ The scriptures are like rotten bones rotted and are as food for worms.

Theosophy and philosophy are like good bones rotted and are as food for vultures.

The writings of inspired poets are like fresh bones and are as food for dogs.

The writings of spiritually advanced saints are like flesh and are as food for tigers.

The writings by living Perfect Masters are like the brain and are as food for men!

Good bones when rotted have some semblance of bone, but rotten bones when rotted are like filth.

So, you may go through the scriptures superficially — only to drive away the barking dogs when necessary; for instance, when you are called upon to answer the queries of the priests and the Orthodox. [Lord Meher 15: 5267]

Meher Baba: ~ “When the reality appears this ignorance which one thinks as reality becomes unreal.

***

The people of the world, the masses, do not believe in the existence of God. They merely fear God as unknown, mighty Being, Who rewards the good and worthy and punishes the wicked.

And it is this punishment of hell created by God that they fear more than God Himself; for if they really believed in Him- in His existence- and were afraid of Him, their behavior would be quite different from what it is today- dishonest, Selfish, deceitful and wicked.

If they really felt afraid of God, they would be ever alert not to do anything that would displease God, or that God would not like.

If they really trusted in God and believed in Gods existence, they would at once being looking for God and would never rest until they find God.

For when love for God comes, fear of God vanishes. And when that love reaches its zenith, the lover finds that he himself is the Beloved. : ~ Meher Baba

Intellectual answers to various questions remain in the domain of the form, time and space.+

Intellectual answers to various questions remain in the domain of form, time, and space.  The answers may satisfy one intellectually within the scope of from, time, and space.   The truth is beyond form, time, and space. Beyond the scope of the form, time, and space mean beyond the ‘I’.

All the ‘I-centric Gurus and their teachings become a great hindrance in the path of wisdom. 

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

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

The path of wisdom is the Soulcentric path.  Thus, egocentric intellectualism is nothing to do with the truth which is beyond form, time, and space.  All accumulated dross leads to hallucination.

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

People are trying to purify the mind, but you fail to realize the mind itself is impure because it is merely an illusion. First, you realize ’what is the mind?  You and your experience of the world together are the mind. 

When the mind disappears, then the ‘Soul, the innermost Self’ shines.  When you realize the’ mind’ and the Soul are one in essence, then the mind then there is no difference between the mind and the Soul.   The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness is the cause of you and the world, but it itself is uncaused. 

Avadhuta Gita:-“The Atman cannot be purified through the practice of the six limbs of the yoga, or through the annihilation of the mind, or through the instruction of a teacher. The Atman is the Reality Itself and It is Purity Itself."

Lord Krishna himself says: ~ He can do nothing to make a man intelligent straight away. The adepts give Prasad, blessing, initiations, mantrams, etc. only to confer temporary peace of mind, to help one to get rid of worries, but not to confer Gnana. The capacity to receive it must first be inborn in man by evolutionary degree.

Sage Goudapada says that: - The merciful Veda teaches Karma and Upasana to people of lower and middling intellect, while Jnana is taught to those of higher intellect.

If you are seeking truth then you have to drop all that which obstructs your realization of truth.

Ish Upanishad: ~

MANTRA 10

Vidya and Avidya both are hindrances to Self-knowledge, but Vidya is even worse than Avidya. The word Vidya is used here in a special sense; here it means worshipping Gods and Goddesses. By worshipping Gods and Goddesses you will go after death to the world of Gods and Goddesses. But will that help you? The time you spent there is wasted because if you were not there you could have spent that time moving forward towards Self-knowledge, which is your goal. In the world of Gods and Goddesses, you cannot do that, and thus you go deeper and deeper into darkness.

Avidya is Karma and therefore a hindrance. You perform Avidya - i.e., you perform Agnihotra and other sacrifices. This is a roundabout way of purifying the mind, and it is also groping in the dark. But it may not have as heavy a toll on your time and energy as the other.

Ishopanishad: ~ “They are steeped in ignorance and sunk into the greatest depth of misery who worships the matter, instead of the All-Pervading God and those who worship things born of matter like trees, animals, man, idols, etc. are sunk deep in misery."

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

That is why Buddha rejected the scriptures, and even Sage Sankara indicated that the ultimate truth lies beyond religion, the belief in God and the scriptures.  : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Buddhism does not believe in the existence of God whereas Sage Sankara proved the existence of Athma and the existence of Brahman or God in truth.+

Buddhism has not proved the truth of Nonduality.  Bhagavan Buddha pointed out the unreality of the world and he told people, they were foolish to cling to it. However, he stopped there. He came nearest to Advaita in speech but not to Advaita fully. 

Buddhism believes in reincarnation.  Buddhism does not believe in the existence of Athma. Buddhism does not believe in the existence of God whereas Sage Sankara proves the existence of Athma and the existence of Brahman or God and on the standpoint of Athma reincarnation is an illusion because the birth, life, death, and the world are merely an illusion.

Sage Sankara disagrees with Buddhists who say, there is nothing - a nonentity. Sage  Sankara believes there is some reality, even though things are not what they appear to be. If one knows the truth, he will know what to do to find inspiration for action.  The seeker of truth‘s subject is to know what is it that is Real.

Buddhism says: ~ “All things are illusory and nothing exists.  However, Sage  Sankara avers that it is not so.  It says that the universe, of course, is illusory, but there is Brahman (Consciousness), that exists forming the very substratum of all things (illusion or universe)”.

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

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

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

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

The point of Bhagavan Buddha is that if God is non-existent, the entire creation including the ‘Self’ is non-existent.

Sage  Sankara wanted to establish the existence of the Brahman. For this purpose, He made the Atman as the Brahman.

God is universal because God is impersonal. God does not belong to any religion because religious Gods are personal. 

Sage Sankara’s Supreme Brahman (God) is impersonal, Nirguna (without Gunas or attributes), Nirakara (formless), Nirvisesha (without special characteristics), immutable, eternal and Akarta (non-agent). It is above all needs and desires. It is always the Witnessing Subject. It can never become an object as it is beyond the reach of the senses. Brahman is non-dual, one without a second. It has no other beside it. It is destitute of difference, either external or internal. Brahman cannot be described because the description implies a distinction. Brahman cannot be distinguished from any other than It. In Brahman, there is not a distinction between the substance and attribute. Sat-Chit-Ananda constitutes the very essence or Svarupa of Brahman, and not just Its attributes. The Nirguna Brahman of Sage  Sankara is impersonal.

Thus it refers to formless and attributeless God, which is the Atman (Soul), the innermost ‘Self’ hidden by the dualistic illusion. Thus it indicates clearly all the Gods with form and attributes are mere imagination based on the false self’.  Thus Atman or Soul, the innermost ‘Self’ is God.

Sage Sankara brought out the identity of the ‘Self’ with the consciousness and made the Atman the Brahman. Since one will not negate the existence of his Self, he will accept the existence of the Brahman, which is the Athma the innermost Self.

The Athma is the innermost Self. The Athma is present in the form of consciousness.  The consciousness is ever-present. Without the Athma the world, in which you exist cease to exist. The Athma is Self-evident. It is not established by extraneous proofs. It is not possible to deny the Athma because it is the very essence of the one who denies it. The Athma is the basis of all kinds of knowledge, presuppositions, and proofs. Athma is everything. Thus, Athma is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God.

The Athma, which is present in the form of consciousness, is real and eternal. The world in which we exist is an illusion created out of the Athma, which is present in the form of consciousness.

That is why Dalai Lama said: ~ Buddhism need not to be the best religion, though it is most scientific and religion and inquisitive. But Buddhism has no answer to certain questions like the existence of Atama [Soul] and rebirth. Dali Lama said that as an individual he believes in rebirth as he had come across a few cases of rebirth. Modern science, Dalai Lama hoped would unearth the mystery behind the rebirth. (In DH –dec-212009-Gulbarga) .

Buddhism has no answer to certain questions like the existence of Athma and rebirth.

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. Thus, whatever is seen, known, believed and experienced as the waking entity is bound to be falsehood because the Soul or consciousness the innermost Self is birthless because it is formless. Therefore, the rebirth and reincarnation theory based on the false Self is bound to be a falsehood.

Accepting in rebirth and reincarnation theory as reality is accepting the false self (waking entity or ego) as the real Self and the false experience (waking) as a 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 a dream entity, but the Self is the formless Soul, which witnesses the coming and going of the three states.

The three states are impermanent, but the Soul or consciousness, which is the witness of the three states, is permanent and eternal. In reality, the three states are one in essence. And that essence is consciousness. Therefore, there is no second thing exists other than consciousness. Thus, consciousness (Soul) is second to none.

Remember:~

Deeper self -search reveals the fact that the waking experiences it 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 that lower mindset that is incapable of grasping the ultimate truth or Brahman.

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 from the standpoint of the Soul, the innermost Self the duality is a falsehood.

2

Reincarnation is based on ignorance.  Reincarnation is a religious fable based on the birth entity (ego).   The experience of the birth, life, death, and the world are a reality only on the dualistic perspective.

On the nondualistic perspective, there is really no reincarnation at all, either now or before. Nor will there be any hereafter. This is the truth.

Remember:~

Religion propagate reincarnation happens to the individual Soul after the death of the body. Some claim that the Soul goes to heaven or hell while others claim that it is reincarnated in a new body.

Reincarnation theories are based on the imagination based on the birth entity. The birth entity is the false self within the illusory world (dualistic world).  The religion is dualistic because religion holds s the experience of the birth, life, death, and the world as a reality.  The religion holds the Soul as an individual and the Soul is within the body.  All the religious and yogic theories are based on the individual Self

On the nondualistic perspective, the reincarnation theories collapse. From the standpoint of the Soul, the Self, there is no birth or death, no heaven or hell, and no reincarnation.

Religious people who are unable to assimilate the truth, which is beyond the form, time and space, think that the reincarnation true. If one imagines on the base of the ego (birth entity) then he would imagine he would new body and a new life in the new world.

Once the one realizes the ‘Self’ is not the ‘I’ but ‘Self’ is the Soul then the ‘I’ cease to be a reality ceases and unreality of the experience of the birth, life, death, and the world is exposed.  All theories about birth, life, death, the world, and reincarnation belong to the dualistic illusion.  

The Self is birthless therefore it is deathless. The one which is born lives and dies within the world (waking) is not the Self.  The idea of reincarnation is based on the birth entity (waking entity or ego) which lives and dies within the illusory world (waking).   The Self is the one that witnesses the coming and going of the dual (waking or dream) nondual (deep sleep) experiences. When the experience of birth, life, and death takes place in the illusion, then recantation also is part of the same illusion

The dream becomes unreal when waking takes place. Similarly, the waking becomes unreal when wisdom dawns. Wisdom dawns when the Soul, innermost Self, consciously remains awake in its formless non-dual nature.  When the substance and the witness of the three states are one in essence and that essence is consciousness, then what value is there for the universe in, which the experience of birth, life death and reincarnation happens? Even you take reincarnation as a reality, but the reincarnation happens within the world, which is an illusion, from the standpoint of the formless Soul, the innermost Self.  From the standpoint of the innermost Self, the world in which we are born is merely an illusion.     ~ Santthosh Kumaar

God is universal because the God is impersonal. God does not belong to any religion because religious Gods are personal.+

God is universal because God is impersonal. God does not belong to any religion because religious Gods are personal.

How can you see God without knowing what God is in actuality?  When the ‘Self not you how can you find God within you? God is not within you. Those who say God is within you just propagating half-baked knowledge.

First, realize the ‘Self is not within you. You are bound by the experience of birth, life, death, and the world whereas the ‘Self is birthless and deathless because it is ever formless, timeless, and spaceless existence.

The Soul is the Self. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. The consciousness is the cause of the world in which you exist and it itself is uncaused.  Consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth. 

From the standpoint of the Soul, the Self the world in which you exist is merely an illusion.  Thus, the world in which exists hides the Soul, which is God in truth. 

Till you think the ‘Soul, the innermost Self’ is within you, you will never be able to realize God. God is not limited to you but it pervades in everything and everywhere in the world in which you exist.

Yajurveda – chapter- 32:~   God is  Supreme Spirit.

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  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. 

There is no God but God. There is no God because the world in which we exist is merely an illusion created out of God, the Spirit. Call it with any name God is universal. God belongs to the whole of humanity.   

Religion creates separation God is unity in diversity.   God is one which the cause of the whole world in which humans exist.  there is no God but God means the world in which we exist is an illusion that God is the cause of the world is real and eternal.   God alone is real and all else is an illusion. There is second thing exists other than the Spirit, the God thus, God is Advaita.

Religion belongs to you.  The religious belief of God belongs to you. All religious code of conduct belongs to you. Religious rituals belong to you.  But remember you belong to the dualistic illusion because the world in which you exist is an illusion created out of the Spirit, the God, which is present in the form of the Soul. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness.

The God is divine, only held in the bondage of the ignorance (matter); perfection will be reached when this bond will burst, and the word they use for it is, therefore, freedom, freedom from the bonds of imperfection, freedom from ignorance.

Know God in truth

Religious Gods are based on blind faith or blind belief. Belief-based Gods are not God in truth.  Religious God cannot be considered as the center because the Soul, the ‘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.

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) is in the form of the Athma, and it is indeed Athma itself.

Religious Gods are mere 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 innermost 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 him 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 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 (God).” 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 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.

Sage Sankara’s Supreme Brahman is impersonal, Nirguna (without Gunas or attributes), Nirakara (formless), Nirvisesha (without special characteristics), immutable, eternal and Akarta (non-agent). It is above all needs and desires. It is always the Witnessing Subject. It can never become an object as it is beyond the reach of the senses. Brahman is non-dual, one without a second. It has no other beside it. It is destitute of difference, either external or internal. Brahman cannot be described, because description implies a distinction. Brahman cannot be distinguished from any other than It. In Brahman, there is not the distinction of substance and attribute. Sat-Chit-Ananda constitutes the very essence or Svarupa of Brahman, and not just Its attributes. The Nirguna Brahman of Sage Sankara is impersonal.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

Gurudom belongs to religion and yoga, not spirituality. If you are seeking truth then you have to tread the path alone.+

Gurudom belongs to religion and yoga, not spirituality. If you are seeking truth then you have to tread the path alone.

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.”

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

Buddha:~ There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth: not going all the way... and not starting.

If you are seeking truth nothing but the truth then you must not get stuck to any Guru or yogi. Those who are seeking truth need not follow any Guru or any teaching.

The Guru is useless so long as the ultimate truth is unknown, and the 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.

Vedas bars human worship: ~

Yajur Veda:~

"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.":~  (Yajur Veda 40:9.)

Then why worship and glorify the Gurus and Yogis (human form)   in place of God when Veda bars such activities and it also warns people who indulge in such activities 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.

No one has ever seen God by practicing religion or yoga or indulging in glorifying the religious God and Goddesses because God exists prior to the form, time, and space.  The form, time, and space cease to exist as a reality when wisdom dawns. Thus, the Gods and Gurus have no place in the domain of the Advaitic reality. Advaita is the nature of the Soul, which is the real God.  Thus, Self-realization is the only way to God-realization.

By worshipping the religious Gods and Gurus one will not get Self-realization or God-realization.

The Soul, the inner Guru reveals ‘what is real’ and ‘what is unreal” when the seeker is receptive and ready. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar