The one who thinks himself as guru and the one who thinks himself as chela (disciple) will not be able to acquire Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.+*****

The Self cannot be realized by following some Guru,  the study of the scriptures or by intelligence, nor by much hearing of sacred books. It is attained reason. To such a one Atman reveals Its own form. 

Some modern Gurus talk of surrendering to the Self without knowing what Self supposed to be in actuality. 

Just by saying open your heart and surrender nothing happens. Playing with the words and playing with the emotions leads only to hallucination. 

The Guru who pretends to be Self- realized and plays with the emotions and sentiments of the seeker is a fraud, not a Gnani.

Only perfect understanding of what is what’ leads to truth realization. The truth -realization is Self-realization. Self-realization is God-realization.

If you are seeking truth nothing but the truth then you must not get stuck to any Guru or yogi. Those who are seeking truth need not follow any Guru or any teaching.

Yoga Vasistha says: ~ Self-knowledge or knowledge of truth is not had by resorting to a Guru (preceptor) nor by the study of scripture, nor by good works: it is attained only by means of inquiry inspired by the company of wise (Gnani). One’s inner light alone is the means, naught else. When this inner light is kept alive, it is not affected by the darkness of inertia. 

There is no need to condemn Gurus, but there is a need to highlight how they become an obstacle in realizing the ultimate truth or Brahman.

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.”

The Guru is useless so long as the ultimate truth is unknown, and Guru is equally useless when the ultimate truth or Brahman has already been known.

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

The one who thinks himself as Guru and the one who thinks himself as chela (disciple) will not be able to get Self-Knowledge because both accepted themselves as the body. And all their understanding, practices, knowledge are based on the false self.  Therefore, the Guru –Shisya concept is a great obstacle in the pursuit of truth.  

Gnani never accepted himself as a guru or accepts anyone as his disciple because he is fully aware he, his body and the world in which he exists are merely an illusion created out of the Soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness. There was no division in his consciousness even though he is in the midst of division or duality.    

Thus, by surrendering to any Guru or Godmen is not the means to Self-knowledge.  The Soul, the Self is the true Guru. 

Remember:~ 

By visiting the Ashram, ignorance will not vanish. By glorifying the Guru or surrendering to the Guru you will not get Advaitic Gnana. All religious and yogic paths meant for the ignorant crowd, not for those who are searching the truth of their true existence. 

People think,  by blind devotion and unquestioning obedience to Guru and by surrendering to Guru they get enlightenment.

They lose the independent thinking power, time, effort and their hard-earned savings in the hope of realizing God. People are emotionally vulnerable and “brainwashed and psychologically seduced,” by the myth propagated by religion and yoga. 

The seeker of truth must be “too smart” to ever fall into the trap of religious propagated myth.

The so-called enlightened Gurus who promise instant enlightenment for money are not Gnanis. The seeker of truth has to be very careful if he is seeking truth nothing but the truth.

Everyone pursuing or thinking of pursuing the path of wisdom need not fall into the trap of physical Guru. Devotion to physical Guru is the devotional path not the path of wisdom. Religious people follow the path of Bhakti and yogic path. The path of wisdom is only for those who are serious in their quest of truth. Without an intense urge, it is difficult to tread the path of wisdom.

So many scandals of the fake Gurus are exposed in recent times. The darker side of modern Gurudom of fake Gurus and yogis so embarrassing~ sometimes vicious or criminal~ reports which they prefer to hide.

 If one is seeking the truth, nothing but the truth, then he has to keep in mind, the truth cannot be bought in the spiritual supermarket.

Remember:~ 

There is no need to walk in the mountains in search of the truth. There is no need to meet any Gurus. There is no need to renounce family life. There is no need to study the scriptures. There is no need for glorifying the Gurus. There is no need to spend the fortune to please the Gurus. Going to the mountains, searching for a Guru, renouncing the family life, studying the scriptures, glorifying the personal Gods and Gurus are the greatest obstacle in the path of wisdom.

One need not be a monk, a sanyasi or swami to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. Religious rituals scriptural mastery, are not a qualification to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. Monkhood and sanyasa are the greatest obstacles in the truth-realization, which is beyond the form, time and space.

Guru, Swami, Yogi, Sadhu belongs to religious paths. Religious paths are path meant for ignorant who blindly accept their experience the birth, life, death, and the world as a reality because the universe is the product of ignorance.

When wisdom dawns then the unreal nature of the world in which you exist is exposed. Thus, whatever experiences take place within the world in which you exist is bound to be a falsehood.

The Guru, Swami, Yogi, Sadhu, nothing to do with the ultimate truth or Brahman or God because they are based on the false self (ego), and false experience (waking). 

The Path of wisdom is only for those who are seriously in search of ultimate truth or Brahman. Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana is the knowledge of the truth, which is beyond the form, time, and space. 

The seeker's goal is towards Self-knowledge and noting other than it. Therefore, the guru is needed in religious and yogic paths which are meant for the people who are not searching for truth but they are searching for worldly comforts and temporary peace in this physical existence.  They fear to lose their physical identity and all that is connected to the physical identity. 

When one realizes the physical identity (ego) is false self and the true identity is the Soul, which is present in the form consciousness, then he realizes that the fear factor is limited to the false self within the false experience(waking. When the self is not physical all the burden and bondage of the duality is a mere mirage created out of consciousness. :~ Santthosh Kumaar