Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is nothing to do yogis, mystics, and religious Gurus. Religion and yoga are based on the ego, which is the false self within the dualistic illusion (waking) whereas Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is the knowledge of the Soul, the innermost Self.
Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana pries into the reality, which is beyond form, time and space whereas the religion and yoga are within the domain of the form, time, and space.
Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana invalidates all the religious and yogic theories, which are based on the birth, life, death and religious beliefs and the world.
Advaitic truth is very is very easy, but it is most difficult to understand and assimilate because of the inherited beliefs and accumulated knowledge.
Without dropping all the inherited beliefs and accumulated knowledge which are based on the illusory form, time and space it is difficult to understand and assimilate the knowledge of the formless, timeless and spaceless existence.
If you have the courage of Buddha, who dropped religion, Vedas and the concept of God then only you are fit to acquire Self-knowledge.
That is why Sage Sri, Sankara VC~.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?
VC- v6~ Let erudite scholars quote all the scripture, let Gods be invoked through sacrifices, let elaborate rituals be performed, let personal Gods be propitiated ~yet, without the realization of one‘s identity With the Self, there shall be no liberation for the individual, not even in the lifetimes of a hundred Brahmas put together
Sage Sri, Sankara goes on to say: ~A sickness of not cured by saying the word “medicine.” You must take the medicine. Liberation does not come by merely saying the word “Brahman.” Brahman must be experienced. Until you allow this apparent universe to dissolve from your consciousness until you have realized Brahman, how can you find liberation just by saying the word Brahman? The result is merely a noise. Until a man has destroyed his enemies and taken possession of the splendor and wealth of the kingdom, he cannot become a king by simply saying “I am a king.”
A buried treasure is not uncovered by merely uttering the words: “Come forth.” You must follow the right directions, dig, remove the stones and earth from above it, and then make it, your own. In the same way, the pure truth of the Atman, which is buried under Maya and the effects of Maya, can be reached by meditation, contemplation, and other spiritual disciplines but never by subtle arguments.
