Sage Sankara says:~ Holy men are not Gnanis because Sage Sankara says Gnani bears no outward mark of a holy man.+

Sage Sankara says:~  Holy men are not Gnanis because Sage Sankara says Gnani bears no outward mark of a holy man. 

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

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

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

A Gnani never claims himself as a Gnani, he guides the seekers, not posing himself as a Guru, and he does not force his wisdom on others.

All the Gurus and Saints belong to religion and yoga. Religion and yoga are nothing to do with spirituality. Religion and yoga are meant for the ignorant populace who are incapable of grasping the truth of their true existence. Advaitic wisdom of Sage Sankara is pure spirituality.

Until there is a separation between you and your Guru and the world in which you exist, ignorance dominates. In reality, there is no separation of any sort because the reality is non-dual.

For Gnani sees no separation between you and your Guru and the world in which you exist because there is oneness in his understanding.

That is why Sage Sankara says Holy men are not Gnanis because Sage Sankara says Gnani bears no outward mark of a holy man.

People think that their physical Guru or Guru's grace guides them and they have surrendered to their Guru and it is  Guru’s responsibility such blind acceptance leads to hallucination.

Those who think their physical Guru’s teaching the ultimate truth will never be able to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

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 Sankara is a Brahma Gnani.

Sage Sankara says a Gnani "bears no outward mark of a holy man, thus, it proves that the religious Gurus and yogis are not Gnanis because they identified themselves as holy people. 

Those who recognize themselves as Guru or disciples of some Gurus are ignorant people.

Remember:~

People believe that a Guru or mystic or priest has got so many followers and therefore there must be some truth in their teaching, which is a common fallacy accepted by the mass due to their inherited samskara or conditioning. It proves only an ignorant can find a number of greater ignorant to follow him.

The path of love and humanism is the religious path. The path of love and humanism is not an Atmic path. The path of love and humanism are very valuable in practical life in the dualistic world. The path of love and humanism is not the Atmic path. The Atma is God one without the second. In reality, there is no second thing that exists other than Atma, God in truth.

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.

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: ~ In this state a father is no father, a mother no mother, Gods no Gods, no Vedas. In this state, a thief is no thief, the killer of a noble Brahmana no killer, a monk no monk, a hermit no hermit. This form of his is untouched by good work and untouched by evil work, for he is then beyond all the woes of his intellect. ~(4.3.22)

Many Gurus instead of encouraging seekers to seek the truth, they inject their own theories to keep them hallucinating of talking love and compassion, which belongs to the dualistic illusion. It escapes the mechanism and makes the seeker hopeless, helpless, and lazy to seek the truth he is seeking for.

A Gnani uses love and compassion for a practical purpose but he is fully aware they are not of any use to realize the truth hidden by the dualistic illusion (universe).

Love and compassion are needed in practical life within the practical world. However, from the ultimate standpoint, the practical life within the practical world is merely an illusion. In reality, there is only the Soul, the one without the Second.

The seeker of truth must know for his own information, the truth in God is not religious God, which they believe and worship. The beliefs propagated by the religion of their individualized God are superstitions. Such Gods have no place in truth. There is no need to condemn those who believe and follow. Until ignorance, dominate them they will not buzz from their inherited belief. Everyone is free to follow their chosen path, which makes them happy and gives them satisfaction.

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, etc. are sunk deeper in misery."

When Upanishads itself says they are steeped in ignorance and sunk into the greatest depth of misery who worships the matter, instead of the All-Pervading God (Atman) and those who worship things born of matter (illusion) are sunk deeper in misery then why worship God in place of the real God., which is Atman.

The dualistic worship of personal “Gods” 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 innermost self. May ye never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman?" (10:48, 5)

How can you worship God? That implies two ~ the worshipper and the worshiped, whereas the 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 declare that, “God is the form of the Athma, and God is indeed Athma itself” then why accept another God in place of the Atman or worship other than the Atman.

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

Vedas bars human worship: ~

Translation:~ "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.)

Sage Sankara says: VC- v6~ Let erudite scholars quote all the scripture, let Gods be invoked through sacrifices, let elaborate rituals be performed, let personal Gods be propitiated---yet, without the realization of one‘s identity With the Self, there shall be no liberation for the individual, not even in the lifetimes of a hundred Brahmas put together.

The seeker of truth has to accept the truth as God and reject the untruth to realize other than the Atman the real God alone is real and all else is an illusion created of the Atman, God in truth.

Atmic path is a very personal path. Without an intense urge, no one can tread this path. It cannot be forced on religious people. Moreover, religious people are not fit to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar