If anyone claims himself as a Gnani he is not a Gnani. The Soul, the Self alone is a Guru and the Soul alone is a Gnani.+

If anyone claims himself as a Gnani he is not a Gnani. The Soul, the Self alone is a Guru and the Soul alone is a Gnani.

Manduka Upanishads: ~ It is very difficult to find out who is a Gnani because he bears no external mark. Neither nudity nor the yellow robe has anything to do with him.

Gurus and yogis identify themselves with their body and sense organs and the world in which they exist which are illusory.

The Guru and disciple and the world in which Guru and disciple exist are created out of single stuff. That single stuff is consciousness. The consciousness is the ultimate truth of Brahman.

Identifying as a Guru or some Guru’s disciple keeps one in the cage of ignorance. A person who identifies himself as a Guru or disciple will never be able to get Advaitic Gnana.

The Guru and disciple and the world in which Guru and disciple exist are created out of single stuff. That single stuff is consciousness. The consciousness is the ultimate truth of Brahman.

Ashtavakra Samhita: ~ "The man of knowledge (Gnani), though living like an ordinary man, is contrary to him, and only those like him understand his state.

Sage Sankara himself said: ~ A 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."

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

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

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)

That is why 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.”

Swami Vivekananda: ~ ‘Worship your Guru as God, but do not obey him blindly; love him all you will, but think for yourself. No blind belief can save you, work out your own salvation. Have only one idea of God - that God is an eternal help.

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 the yogic path. The path of wisdom is not a religious or yogic path. There is no need for a Guru to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

Katha Upanishad says: ~ This Atman is attained by him alone whom It chooses. To such a one Atman reveals Its own form. (II -23-P-20)

A Gnani is neither anyone’s guru nor any guru’s disciple. He respects all the sage of the past and highlights good points in their teaching and he also highlights the obstacles, which blocks the realization of the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.

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.

A Gnani sees only unity in diversity, just like a goldsmith estimating the gold in various items of jewelry sees only gold. When one identifies the Self with the form then only the form, time and space are present. But when one transcends form, time, and space the duality never remains as reality.

Gnanis are one in billions for they have ignored the opinions of whole peoples in their independent search for truth, and questioned all beliefs, all scriptures, and all authorities until they could be proved to be true. Even the arguments that religions have been followed since time immemorial make no difference to them because if people have believed a false thing over millions of years, the length of time does not prove it true.

Your intense urge to know the truth will take you to the ultimate end but your accumulated knowledge will block you from realizing the truth, which is beyond the form, time, and space.: ~ Santthosh Kumaar