Sentimentally and emotionally getting attached to anything of the dualistic illusion or Maya blocks Self-realization.+

If you are seeking truth, then you should not emotionally and sentimentally get stuck with the physical Guru because the physical Guru belongs to the dualistic illusion.

Sentimentally and emotionally getting attached to anything of the dualistic illusion or Maya blocks Self-realization.

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 the yogic path. There is no need for a Guru to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

Do not search for Guru in the world in which you exist. Guru is the Self. Let these words be inscribed in your subconscious.

The transparent truth of the Self is hidden by the ‘I’, which is the dualistic illusion. It requires extraction, competent instruction, excavation, and the removal of ignorance.

The truth is never revealed by following some Guru or his teaching or by glorifying the religious and yogic Gurus.

The transparent truth of the Self is to be attained through constant reading of the words of wisdom, followed by reflecting and so forth, but not through perverted discussion and arguments.

All the penances are external because they are based on individuality. Investigating the mind alone leads to Self-realization.

To know what the mind is, profits much rather than searching for the truth in the external world, moving from one ashram to another, and one Guru to another, and one mountain to another.

When one starts investigating the universe that confronts him will mentally move inwards and will reach the ultimate end and become fully aware of “What is the truth?” and “What is untruth?” in his own home or city and establish in truth by realizing what the untruth is. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

The religious gurus and yogis are not Gnanis because they identified themselves as holy people.+

You do not require the grace of the physical Guru. You and your physical guru belong to the dualistic illusion; therefore, the grace of the physical Guru is bound to be an illusion.

Glorifying and worshipping a physical Guru as God keeps you in the domain of ignorance because the physical Guru belongs to the dualistic illusion.

If you are seeking truth, nothing but the truth, then you must not indulge in such activities. All such activities create obstacles in realizing the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space.

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 the yogic path. There is no need for a Guru 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." (Select Works of Sage Sankara, also his commentary on Brihad)

Thus, the above passage proves that all those who wear the sanyasin robes are wearing them for the sake of bread and belong to the religion; they have nothing to do with the Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

There is no need to criticize and condemn the gurus, yogis, and swamis because they are needed for the welfare of the ignorant masses in the dualistic world.

Sage Sankara himself said: ~ 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 person who realized the ultimate truth or Brahman will throw off his religious robe and all religious identity and live like a commoner. He never identifies himself as Gnani, nor does he identify himself as superior to others. He only shares his knowledge with fellow seekers.

A Gnani never identifies himself as a Guru or a Yogi, or someone disciple. The one who accepts himself as a Guru or someone’s disciple is not a Gnani. :~ Santthosh Kumaar

The only business of the Gnani is to enable serious seekers to attain Gnana, to come to his level.+

The only business of the Gnani is to enable serious seekers to attain Gnana, to come to his level. There is nothing else for him to do.

Let no wise man cause unrest in the minds of the ignorant. That is why a Gnani cannot be distinguished from others, because he would work with those who are ignorant as if he were one among them.

A Gnani has nothing to gain by activities in the world," does not mean that one must sit quietly like Yogis and do nothing. The emphasis must be placed on the word "gain". It means that when you are active, you don't expect anything.

If one says that being engaged in work is of no use to the Gnani, what is the use of actionlessness to him?

Our actions help in the realization of the invisible Soul, provided we seek the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space. "A Gnani sees action in inaction, and inaction in action."

When everything is known to be the consciousness, how can the presence or absence of things affect the invisible Soul, the Self?

Gnani does not want to think of the ego; therefore, he does not do or say anything to make himself appear superior to others or to pretend to know more than others. If a person spends his time in Samadhi, he is not a Gnani, but he is only a yogi.

The Gnani is as alert and awake to what is happening to him externally as all other people: he is not a yogi in Samadhi.

A yogi does not know the ultimate truth or Brahman because he believes his Samadhi as Brahman.

The Gnani has realized the world in which he exists is merely an illusion created out of consciousness. And consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman.

Remember:~

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

Those who think their physical Guru’s teaching is 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 himself said: ~ “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.

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.”

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 the yogic path. There is no need for a Guru to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

Those who are stuck with the idea that without Guru and Guru's grace it is impossible to get Self-realization are not seeking truth but are stuck with their orthodox ideas. Such a mindset is unfit to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Manduka Upanishads:~ A Gnani bears no external mark. Neither nudity nor the religious robe has anything to do with him.+

Many people are struck with awe or reverence at the outer indications of renunciation, and thus blindly accept a religious Guru or Godman to be a Gnani. 

The two have no connection. Because he has no wife, no family, and no possessions, they think a man who has merely repressed these desires as though these things had anything to do with the wisdom he is merely religious. 

Manduka Upanishads:~ A Gnani bears no external mark. Neither nudity nor the religious robe has anything to do with him.

A Gnani cannot have the idea of giving up, renouncing the world or some object or person in the world, because that would connote the idea of duality. Knowing no second thing at all, there remains nothing to be given up.

A Gnani, on attaining realization, will not give up his vocation in life but will continue it as before. If he were a billniore, he continues so; if a peasant, he will remain one. He still does his duty, but he is fully aware of the fact that his practical life within the practical world is merely an illusion.

People are quite incompetent to judge who is a Gnani between Godmen, intellectuals, and yogis. A Gnani is neither a Godman, nor a yogi, nor an intellectual.

The man who speaks about the religious God, scriptures, and religion is not a Gnani. A yogi who speaks about yoga is not a Gnani. A God-man who indulges in miracles is not a Gnani. An intellectual who argues on his own speculative theories is not a Gnani. 

A Gnani is the one who shares knowledge and guides people towards the source of the mind (physical existence). It is real Gnani. A Gnani never claims himself a teacher nor does he accept anyone as a disciple.

A Guru who speaks of knowing Brahman within the body is thinking only of his head or heart, i.e., of his body. He is hallucinating.

You will not be able to find the truth because you are blindfolded by dualistic illusion. 

If you have to traverse the path, you will have to seek the aid of the one who knows the truth beyond form, time, and space; else you will wind up meandering here and there without gaining anything.

The  Self is not within you because the Self is not the body. If the Self is not you, then why do you think the Self is within you? 

Deeper self-search reveals the fact that you and the world are within the invisible Soul, the Self. Perfect understanding and assimilation lead to Advaitic Self-awareness.

What is the nature of a Gnani?

Among thousands of people, scarcely one strives for perfection; and of those who strive and succeed, scarcely one knows the Self in truth. The one who knows the truth beyond form, time, and space is A Gnani.

 A Gnani is one who is endowed with the power of seeing the world in which he exists from a non-dualistic perspective.

Gnani shares Self-knowledge of Brahm Gnana or Atma Gnana with the seekers and helps them to reach the ultimate end of understanding.

A Gnani is unattached to the dualistic illusion, though externally living in the illusory world, but internally he is not of this world.

A Gnani has renounced all kinds of worship of religious God, rituals, yoga, and scriptural studies.

A Gnani’s sole aim is to impart the Self-knowledge of Brahm Gnana or Atma Gnana.

A seeker who has to learn to view the three states from the non-dualistic perspective will be able to cross the ocean of the dualistic illusion.

The seeker must first know the definition of the Self by realizing the  Self is not ‘I’, but the  Self is ‘I-LESS-Soul will be able to cross the ocean of transmigratory existence of the form, time, and space.

Nothing is needed for acquiring Self-knowledge of Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana other than perfect understanding, assimilation, and realization of ‘what is what”.  : ~Santthosh Kumaar

Those Gurus who glorify themselves as God and collect money by promising people instant realization are frauds. +

Some Gurus and self-declared Godmen say: "I am God." This presupposes that they have the same miraculous and creative powers of God. They do not, however, display possession of such power. Such is the fallacy of their logic.

The Gurus who declare “I am God or “I am Brahman" are merely repeating like parrots words which they have read in the scriptures or heard. It does not prove that they have realized the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.

With bookish or hearsay knowledge, it is unable to prove that everything is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. One has to do lots of homework to realize the Soul, the Self.

A Guru who speaks of knowing Brahman within the body is thinking only of his head or heart, i.e., of his body. He is hallucinating.

Some religious Gurus give medicinal herbs and cure people, the latter then fall into the fallacy of attributing their cure to the Swami's spiritual power, status, or greatness. Those Gurus may have expert knowledge of herbs, but that does not prove they are Gnanis.

The stories of nonbelievers coming to a Guru, denouncing him as a deceiver, and then suddenly being converted to faith in him are easily explicable. Both attitudes are merely emotional. One emotion succeeded another; it is in the nature of emotion to change. People are emotionally carried off their feet when they first visit a famous Guru.

Gurus who propagate Samadhi through sexual intercourse are not Gnanis. Sexual intercourse has nothing to do with the invisible Soul, which is the ever formless, timeless, and spaceless existence.

Those who indulge in sexual activities to get enlightenment will permanently remain in the prison of the dualistic illusion. They are unfit to acquire Self-knowledge.

Those Gurus who glorify themselves as God and collect money by promising people instant realization are frauds.

Whoever speaks of knowing Brahman within us is thinking only of his body. He is hallucinating about getting instant realization because he is an intellectual. He thinks he has read and understood everything. Gurudom has nothing to do with Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

Religious Gurus are concerned with the welfare of humanity, propagating love, peace, harmony, and compassion to the populace.

Humanity belongs to the dualistic illusion. Spirituality is beyond the dualistic illusion. Mixing religion and spirituality is like mixing oil and water. Religion has nothing to do with spirituality. Religion has nothing to do with the ultimate truth or Brahman. : ~Santthosh Kumaar

The seeker has to verify on his own and remove all obstacles which is blocking his realization on his own.+

There is no doubt that many masters have given valuable contributions to the seeking world, but none of them take one to the ultimate end. 

The seeker has to verify on his own and remove all obstacles which is blocking his realization on his own. 

There is no need to criticize any teacher or Guru and waste time; instead, the seeker has to utilize the same time to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana through deeper self-search.

Truth means certainty. If there is any uncertainty, it is not the truth. It does not deal with imagination. 

People do not have a scientific attitude because they take things as presented to them. They have rather an emotional and sentimental attitude. The correct attitude is to verify all the facts, to see a problem in them, something to investigate and inquire into them.

Truth must be verifiable; unless it is verifiable, it is of no value. Those who cannot doubt are not fit for the pursuit of truth.

Analogical, inductive, and deductive reasoning are good only within the duality; none are absolutely and universally infallible because they are based on the ego, which is the false self within the false experience. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar 

If the inquiry does not include the universe, then it is incomplete.+

Sage Sankara: ~ VC-63- "Without knowing and examining the universe, 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 universe.

If the inquiry does not include the universe, then it is incomplete.

The individual experience of birth, life, death, and the world is within the dualistic illusion.

Thus, the seeker has to first examine them and inquire into them thoroughly; otherwise, he will never realize the unreal nature of the three states.

The three states are common to all; therefore, one must begin to investigate the three states. It is only after it has inquired into the nature of the three states that he will realize the existence of the witness of the three states, which is apart from the three states.

As his understanding matures, he realizes the three states and the witness of the three states are one, in essence. That essence is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

From the standpoint of the invisible Soul, the Self, the three states are merely an illusion.

The form, time, and space are the main ingredients of the dualistic illusion. The form, time, and space are present in waking as well as in the dream; the dream is a parallel waking experience, and the waking experience is a parallel dream. Thus, both waking and the dream are a dualistic illusion.

Those who object that the means and ends of the waking are different from those of the dreams are unaware that the Self neither belongs to the waking nor the dream.

The Self is not an entity or identity or a thing within the waking or the dream.

The dream reality prevails till the waking takes place. Similarly, the waking reality prevails till Advaitic wisdom dawns.

When Advaitic wisdom dawns on the invisible Soul, the Self wakes up from the sleep of ignorance and remains in its own awareness in the midst of dualistic illusion. :  :~Santthosh Kumaar