One without knowledge does not obtain liberation even in a hundred births, no matter which religious faith he follows.

Most of the saints and sages of the past are mostly social reformers, thus they are more concerned to the humanism rather than the truth. Their contribution is very valuable to live in the practical world.  Thus humanism is part and parcel of the universe, which is mere illusion. 

People think love is the means to Self-realization but they are unaware of the fact that, love and hate are made of the same stuff. Love is not the means of self –realization. Love is very much necessary in practical life within the practical world. Love implies duality.  Whatever is of duality is falsehood. Thus love is reality within the falsehood.  Lover and love ceases to exist in reality because the experience of duality is not reality.  The experience of practical life within practical world is reality within the waking experience but waking experience itself is mere illusion created out of consciousness. Thus lover and love are one in essence. Thus path of love is religious path because religion is path of individuality or duality.  

The humanism is limited to practical life within the practical world.    The path of love is path for humanity therefore, it is individualized path. Thus path of love is limited to the physical structure, it cannot transport one to ultimate end.  Thus seeker has to understand the fact that the practical life and practical world are part of the mirage from the ultimate standpoint. 

The simple reason is that the average person may have desire for knowledge but when the whole society is immersed in belief system and feeling himself   out of place because of societal fear and surroundings circumstances and he thinks it unfits him to pursue the path of truth. 

The seeker of truth is one who is ready verify and has courage to accept and reject the truth when he finds out what is truth and what is untruth. The meek will stick to their inherited conditioning remain experiencing duality as reality.

When a yogi realizes that yoga is not the means to acquire Self-knowledge Brahma Gnana or  Atma Gnana than takes up deeper self-search by dropping all the yogic discipline.  Yoga is inadequate and useless in quenching his inner thirst. By indulging in deeper self –search he realizes the self is formless consciousness and the three states are mere mirage created out of consciousness. Therefore he attains Gnana.

The ignorance is the cause of experiencing all sorrow and calamities as reality. Thus eradicating the ignorance completely is necessary. And this is possible only through self-knowledge or Gnana.   Thus, there is no other road to freedom other than Gnana.  There is no other entrance other than except Gnana.  The ignorance will vanish only when the nondual wisdom dawns.

Maya and Brahman, Jagat (world) and lshvara (creator), Guru (teacher) and Shishya (disciple), the holy rituals, traditions, the three worlds, the three bodies and so forth are reality within the illusory duality.  This seeming duality is a hypothesis, not to establish duality, but to disprove it. Advaitic or non-dualistic truth has nothing to do with the illusory duality. The formless soul consciousness which is present in the form of consciousness is ultimate truth or Brahman. Consciousness   is neither dual nor non-dual.  Some orthodox claim Atman is dual, some that Atman is non-dual; they do not know the ultimate truth. The Atman or soul is above duality and non-duality". The seeker has to realize the fact that, the duality is reality only on the standpoint of the waking entity or ego. One thinks that he is an individual separate from the world and the world existed prior to him and he is born in it afterwards. Till this conviction is there he will not be able to grasp the Advaitic or non-dualistic truth.

Sage Sri, Sankara ’says:- "Kuruthe Ganga sahar gamanam Vratha paripal mathva dhanam. Gyana Vihine.Sarva Mathene.”

Gnana is common to all religions.  There is nothing like One Gnana for a Hindu and another for a Christian.

The entire philosophy of Sage Sri, Sankara can be summed up in the following statement:-

Brahma satyam, jaganmithya, jivobrahmaivanaparah: - Brahman alone is real; the world is non-real; and the individual Self is essentially not-different from Brahman.

This is the quintessence of Sankara’s metaphysics.

The Advaita taught by Sage Sri Sankara is a rigorous, absolute one. According to Sage Sri Sankara, whatever is, is Brahman. Brahman Itself is absolutely homogeneous. All difference and plurality are illusory.

Sage Sri, Sankara gave out what was of most use to the greatest number of people. Therefore, in the commentaries on the Upanishads, such as the famous Mundakya, he gave the highest nondual message of the identity of Atman and Brahman, revitalizing the philosophy and practice of Advaita, while in the commentaries on the Brahmasūtra he gave a lesser teaching, positing both higher and lower Maya and higher and lower Brahman (Isvara) to explain creation for those of lesser intellects until they were ready for the highest truth.

That is why Sri 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.

Then it is no use going roundabout way, trace the Brahman which is the formless substance and witness of the universe, which is in the form of mind.  By tracing the source of the mind or universe one will be able to realize the Brahman.

Thus, self-knowledge is meant only for those who have intense urge, and courage to accept the truth with humility and reject the untruth. Since people start comparing with their scriptural knowledge, it becomes impossible to assimilate and realize the non-dual truth.   Therefore, there is no need to convince anyone other than our own-selves to get the firm conviction. 

So they clearly indicate rituals and theories are not meant for those who are searching for the higher knowledge or wisdom.   The path of wisdom is the only means. 

All the orthodox Advaitins indulge and immersed themselves in ritualistic oriented life style and follow the path of karma and upasana which is meant for lower and middling intellect   and not for realizing the Advaitic truth.  Many chose these orthodox scholars as their gurus. But these gurus are good to learn the conceptual Adavaita meant for those orthodox who believe their conduct oriented life style leads to Moksha (liberation).  But religious based Adavaita is not   the means to acquire self –knowledge or nondual wisdom.  Those who are seeking truth have to do their own homework in order to acquire self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or  Atma Gnana.