The idea of following the Gurus and their teaching belongs to the religion or yoga, not Spirituality or Adyathma.+

Renouncing the worldly life and accepting sannyasa or monkhood means incapacity to think deeper, and impotency to inquire and reason.

The idea of following the Gurus and their teaching belongs to the religion or yoga, not spirituality. In the path of wisdom, there is no need for any Guru or any teaching.

The seeker of truth must know the idea of becoming a sanyasi or a monk belongs to religion, not spirituality. Spirituality is based on the Soul, the Spirit, which is hidden by ignorance. The religion is based on ignorance.

Mixing religion with spirituality is like mixing oil in the water. Religion belongs to the dualistic illusion and religion has nothing to do with the spiritual truth hidden by ignorance.

By renouncing the worldly life and accepting sannyasa or monkhood, ignorance will be more and more deep-rooted.

Sticking to physical Gurus and their teaching is sticking to ignorance. By sticking to physical Guru and their teaching blocks you from transcending the dualistic illusion to nondualistic reality.

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

Gurus, Swamis, Yogis, and Sadhu, belong to religious and yogic paths. Guru, Swami, Yogi, and Sadhu, are nothing to do with the ultimate truth or Brahman. Gurus, Swamis, Yogis, and Sadhus are based on the false Self (ego), and false experience (waking).

If you are trying to become a Guru or Monk then you are unfit to acquire Self-knowledge. Someone posing as a Gnani, because he is some Gurus’ direct disciple cannot be a Gnani. Those who pose themselves as Gnanis are not Gnanis. A Gnani never poses himself as a Guru, a swami, a Sadhu or a yogi, or some Guru’s disciple.

Different Gurus and teachers are pointing out the understanding of the Advaitic truth from different standpoints. All such understanding of Advaita is on a dualistic perspective accumulated from here and there.

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."

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.

Advaita is not a theory or a philosophy. Advaita is the nature of the Soul the innermost Self. There is no need for any theory or philosophy or scriptures to acquire Self-knowledge. Only a perfect understanding of ‘what is what’ is needed.

Sage Sankara:~ 'Like a servant who carries a lamp in front of you to find your way, and you have found it, so becomes the Veda to that person. What is the Veda? ~ utterances of those who have known the Truth. Here is one who has known the Truth; why should he or she depend upon the Veda further? Actual realization takes you beyond books. At a certain stage, books become a botheration. The Upanishad itself says that the 'words are only so much of distraction for such minds'

Bhagavan Buddha: ~ Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders.

You need not become a Guru or a monk to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. You have not to renounce the world or to leave anything ~ your wife, children, job, responsibilities. You do not have to renounce anything! The only thing you have to realize is the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space by realizing that form, time, and space are the product of ignorance. When the ignorance vanishes, the unreality of the form, time, and space are exposed.

Upanishads says:~ "He who thinks he knows, does not know." This means that to know anything implies a second, an object of knowledge, hence duality, i.e. no Gnana.

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).

To acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana there is no Guru required. The seeker has to grow from the inside out. None can teach him none can make him spiritual. There is no other teacher but his own Soul.

In the path of wisdom, there is no need to follow anyone. The one who calls himself a Guru and the one who calls himself some Guru’s disciple will never be able to cross the threshold of dualistic illusion.

All these experiences as a father, son, Guru, and pupil along with the world in which they all exist were one and the same consciousness appearing differently. All these distinctions disappear when one realizes the ultimate truth. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar