The human goal is to acquire Self-Knowledge and they indicate that belief in the personal Gods, yoga scriptures, worship, and rituals are not the means to Self –Knowledge.+

Many people believed it was enough to read, to accumulate knowledge from books. They were well-versed in the Vedas, the Upanishads, and the other scriptures.

People think of those who do not know the Sanskrit language as ignorant, as illiterate men. In one sense, you can say Kabir was illiterate. If you consider a scholar as literate, as a well-educated man, 

But of what value is the scholar’s knowledge? A scholar will go on and on about the immortality of the Soul but when death approaches you will find him trembling and weeping and wailing. All this talk of immortality will crumble into nothingness because he has not known it. 

All these religions have produced great numbers of saints, prophets, and Sages. If they had been born in Hinduism, in all probability they would have been deified in the same way as the founders of several Hindu sects.

Upanishad says: ~ The human goal is to acquire Self-Knowledge and they indicate that belief in the personal Gods, yoga scriptures, worship, and rituals are not the means to Self–knowledge, so why anyone should indulge in it. 

Religion, the concept of a personal god, and scriptures are great obstacles to Self-realization because they are based on a false self. The seeker of truth has to search for the ultimate truth without losing himself in the labyrinths of philosophy, through deeper Self-search and assimilating and realizing it.

That is why Sage Sankara, indicated in Bhaja Govindam says: - (Jnana Viheena Sarva Mathena Bajathi na Muktim janma Shatena) ~ one without knowledge does not obtain liberation even in a hundred births, no matter which religious faith he follows.

Your inner work is on. There is no need to neglect practical life within the practical world. There is no need to indulge 24/7 in spirituality but use your spare time for that.

Do not neglect your family and personal life and spend money on your pursuit of truth. Be happy like any other human being and enjoy life with humility and dignity in the practical world.

Internally focus your attention on the Soul, the ‘Self’, which is present in the form of consciousness. The Soul, the Self is free from the illusory form, time, and space.

There is no need to renounce and take sanyasa to get Self-realization.

No amount of Diksha or yoga meeting Gurus and visiting Ashrams leads anywhere. Your guide is within and it guides you to the core of what you are seeking.

Swami Vivekananda said:~ “You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, and none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher but your own soul.”

Bhagavan Buddha said:~ Believe nothing just because a so-called wise person said it.

Believe nothing just because a belief is generally held. Believe nothing just because it is said in ancient books. Believe nothing just because it is said to be of divine origin. Believe nothing just because someone else believes it. Believe only what you, yourself test and judge to be true.

You should not neglect your individual and family life. Enjoy life as it comes and also face difficulties as they come.

As your inner conviction about the Soul grows you will be able to realize ‘What is the truth?’ and ‘What is the untruth?’ and be able to see the world in which you exist as a passing cloud that hides the truth, which is hidden by the illusory form, time and space. :

Come ye slow, or come ye fast; it is but the Soul that reveals itself at last.:~Santthosh Kumaar