It is no use going roundabout way, trace the Brahman which is the formless substance and witness of the universe.

Uttara mImamsa, also called Vedanta, does not consider the Upanishads and brahmanas as arthavada subservient to vidhis. Instead, they are seen to be sources of Brahman knowledge, addressed solely to those who seek moksha or freedom. The rituals enjoined in the Vedas are applicable to the realm of dharma, but the one who seeks liberation does not merely desire a place in heaven; he is in search of ultimate Reality itself. The Upanishads are viewed as those portions of the Sruti that address philosophical questions about Reality, here called Brahman. This tradition of exegesis follows the brahma sutras of badarayana. Within Vedanta, there is considerable difference of opinion on whether the Upanishads enjoin anything at all.

According to Advaita Vedanta, the Veda addresses itself to two kinds of audiences - the ordinary ones who desire the transitory heaven and other pleasures obtained as a result of ritual sacrifices, and the more advanced seeker who seeks to know Brahman. Thus, the purva mimam.sa, with its emphasis on the karma kanda of the Vedas, is meant for the first audience, to help lead its followers along the way. However, the Vedanta, with its emphasis on the jnana kanda, is meant for those who wish to go beyond such transient pleasures. 

An essential identity between Atman and Brahman is upheld in Advaita Vedanta. The personality of Sri, Sankara and the force of Advaita teaching is so strong that most post-Sankaran schools of Vedanta consciously define their doctrines against Advaita thought.

When Advaita declares Atman and Brahman then direct realization of truth is possible without the scriptures.  Know the soul to be the true self. And true self is in the form of consciousness and realize consciousness as ultimate truth or Brahman.   

 That is why Sage Sri, Sankara indicated that:- VC-56. Neither by Yoga, nor by Sankhya, nor by work, nor by learning, but by the realisation of one's identity with Brahman is Liberation possible, and by no other means. 

58. Loud speech consisting of a shower of words, the skill in expounding the Scriptures, and likewise erudition - these merely bring on a little personal enjoyment to the scholar, but are no good for Liberation.

59. The study of the Scriptures is useless so long as the highest Truth is unknown, and it is equally useless when the highest Truth has already been known.

60. The Scriptures consisting of many words are a dense forest which merely causes the mind to ramble. Hence men of wisdom should earnestly set about knowing the true nature of the Self.

61. For one who has been bitten by the serpent of Ignorance, the only remedy is the knowledge of Brahman. Of what avail are the Vedas and (other) Scriptures, Mantras (sacred formulae) and medicines to such a one?

Self-Knowledge is the aim of every human being. Since everyone thinks the physical body is the self their aim is misdirected and they focus their attention on materiality which makes one feel the duality [waking] as reality.

Therefore there is no need to study scriptures, or indulge in god and guru glorification or performing religious rituals.  Since, they are not the means to acquire non-dual wisdom. It is only waste of time and effort to indulge in those things. 

The individual self is not real, is not accepted by many.  The non-dual wisdom is based not on the individual self (ego).  Until people hold the  waking entity (ego) as witness, they will not reach the ultimate understanding.  

When Upanishad itself declares:-   sarvam khalvidam brahma - all this (universe) is verily Brahman. By following back all of the relative appearances in the world, we eventually return to that from which it is all manifest – the non-dual reality (Chandogya Upanishad).  

Then it is no use going roundabout way, trace the Brahman which is the formless substance and witness of the universe. The universe is in the form of mind. Mind appears as waking or dream.  By tracing the source of the mind or universe one will be able to realize the ultimate truth or  Brahman.  the formless  substance, witness and the source of the mind or  universe are one in essence and that essence is consciousness(soul),  the innermost self.  

The innermost  Self is not perceptible to the senses. It is perceived by Reason. It is not perceptible as a thing with form and attributes. To those whose attention is fixed on the body and the world, it is very difficult to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. It is also very difficult for them to see the soul,which is present in the form of  consciousness as self. The attention towards the universe (mind) should be lessened by realizing the self is not the waking entity. The attention has to be focused on the formless substance and witness(soul)  of the universe (mind) should be increased. So long as the attention is directed towards the universe, the experience of birth, life and death will prevail as reality. But when the attention is directed towards the formless witness, the ignorance vanishes and sense of duality will disappear. Then there is unity in diversity. 

What is the state of the ego or waking entity  when it has realizes that, the self is not the physical? Such souls have attained their pristine condition. “Self” is not visible to the physical eyes. “Self” is not to be found in the world as a thing, entity or an object. Self is above these, has neither beginning nor ending because it is ever formless.

A visible object has a beginning and an ending. Since Atman(soul) , which is in the form of consciousness is invisible to the physical eye; Atman or consciousness is without beginning and ending. Atman is always constant. Just as space is homogeneous everywhere, so is the Atman the same everywhere. 

But he who is truly wise Always sees the absolute Self. Celebrated, he is not delighted. Spurned, he is not angry. Pure of heart, He watches his own actions As if they were another's. How can praise or blame disturb him? - Ashtavakra Gita 3:9-10

 

They live in freedom who have gone beyond the dualities of life. Competing with no one, they are alike in success and failure and content with whatever comes to them. They are free, without selfish attachments; their minds are fixed in knowledge. They perform all work in the spirit of service, and their karma is dissolved.- Bhagavad Gita 4:22-23

An intense desire for truth -realization is itself the way to it. The Lord is The Soul, the innermost  Self in Advaita. Therefore,    one need not accept anything other than the self, which is consciousness. Thus consciousness alone is ultimate truth or Brahman that is free from falsehood.

Advaita (non-duality)  and dwita (duality)  is  state of  the self. It is not some intellectual theory. Religious based Advaitins believe the Atman (soul) is Brahman; and the world is illusion. Religious dwitins believes the body as self, and they believe world is reality, and they believe in creator and creation theory.   In India Advaita and Dwaita is mere a religious tradition, which they inherited from their ancestors. No one questions their validity, because it is considered blasphemy to question any guru and god-men or pundits.

 People who are attached to their religious  code of conduct and trying to preach Advaita , that is mixing the individual life, and concept of god, and all mixed up hotchpotch  religious doctrine and feed the seeking minds, are themselves not aware of the fact that,  the individuality,  and the worldly life is part of the illusion.

Buddha must have verified religion, Vedas and concept of god and found them inadequate and useless in pursuit of truth and rejected them and he got enlightened without the aid of religion, Vedas and concept of god.  

That is why Buddha:- 

Do not believe a spiritual teaching just because:-

1. it is repeatedly recited,
2. it is written in a scripture,
3. it was handed from guru to disciple,
4. everyone around you believes it,
5. it has supernatural qualities,
6. it fits my beliefs anyway,
7. it sounds rational to me,
8. it is taught by a respectable person,
9. it was said to be the truth by the teacher,
10. one must defend it or fight for it.

However, only when it agrees with your experience and reason, and when it is conducive to the good and gain of oneself and all others, then one should accept the teachings, and live up to them."
....Buddha.

After studying and going through all the rigorous training from the religious scholars in Theosophical Society, J.K was confused about all these, and when he started verifying with deeper introspection, he found everything was priest-crafted hotchpotch ideologies. Thus, he refused to become the world guru, rejected it, and walked out and condemned the priest craft.   

In Advaita they accept karma theory.  If they accept the karma theory, one will not be able to reach the non-dual destination. If one accepts karma theory then it is impossible to treat the world as illusion. All the pundits’ explanation of karma theory carries no weight on realm of truth because if karma is accepted they are accepting the false self (waking entity or ego) as true self and false experience (universe or waking) as reality. 

The birth, life and death are part of the waking experience, which is mere illusion on the standpoint of the true self.  It is no use of saying that, we are not born, we do not die because, because we all were born and we all are going to die. However, the birth, life and death are part of the illusion, which comes and goes as waking experience.  The formless witness of the three states is real, which is our identity has no birth and death. That is why self-knowledge is nothing to do with the religious based Advaita, which is based on Vedas.  

A Gnani will never say we are not born; we are not going to die.   Only to the mediocre who nod their head, he will say this to inspire them to think of the formless true identity, which is birth less, deathless.   Thus, it is wrong to say we are not born and we do not die by limiting the self to the physical entity.  If one limits the self to the physical entity alone, one gets only half-truth.  The consciousness, which is the true self, pervades all the three states, as their formless substance and witness.  The formless substance and witness, which is our true self (true identity). Without knowing the true self-mere saying, we are not born, we do not die is not the knowledge, which has come from depth, it is mere bookish knowledge.

When Sri, Sankara says: world is unreal. He never said body is unreal. He would have said only birth and death is unreal but he did not say that, he said the world is unreal.   He meant   the world including the body, because the body and world appear together and disappear together (waking or dream).  Then we have to think, what remain without the body and the world as reality. How can the birth, life, death, rebirth, and reincarnation, which take place in unreal world (waking or dream), can be true.   The one, which is aware of the birth, life death, rebirth and reincarnation (illusion or unreal), is  the formless soul, the innermost self. the formless soul  is birthless and deathless but it is the witness of the birth, life and death, rebirth and the world (illusion or unreal).

On the standpoint of identity the birth, life, death, rebirth and reincarnation theory is part of the illusion or unreal.  The body cannot reincarnate, the body and the world are created out of the same formless stuff. Until one views and judges on the base of flesh, bone and blood [five elements], he will not be able to grasp the non-dual truth.  Thus, one must know on what standpoint, we are not born and we do not die thoroughly, just by hearsay views, it will not lead anyone to the non-dual destination. 

Most of the dualistic sages approach was more practical, and they stuck with the reality of the world, they took it as real.  Whereas Sage Sri, Sankara says: one must first know what is before him. If he cannot know that, what else can he know or understand? If he gives up the external world in his inquiry, he cannot get the whole truth.

Sage Sri, Sankara saysVC-63. Without causing the objective universe to vanish and without knowing the truth of the Self, how is one to achieve Liberation by the mere utterance of the word Brahman? — It would result merely in an effort of speech.

Yoga Vasishta, says: - that the world is both real and unreal. It is real because it is a manifestation of consciousness, but is unreal, in the sense, that it is not absolute and eternal like consciousness itself.

The seeker has to learn to view and judge on the standpoint of formless witness (Soul or consciousness) .then he will be never having any confusion.  When one thinks deeply then only the inner revelation starts and start burning the dross (confusion and doubts). One has enough material stored in one’s subconscious by reading this massages in FP blogs; all will start yielding fruits and start revealing, when he starts thinking very deeply.  This is the inner process every serious seeker experiences.  The inner dialogue will start and one will start getting answers from inner core of his existence.