Ashtavakra: ~ " There is no wisdom whatsoever in Vedas. Just a collection of words. Wisdom is not found in the scriptures.+

A person who has realized the ultimate truth or Brahman will throw off his religious robe and all religious identity and live like a commoner.

Gnani never identifies himself as Gnani nor does he identify himself as superior to others. Gnani only inspires and shares his knowledge with his fellow seekers.

A Gnani never identifies himself as a Guru, a Yogi, or someone disciple. The one who accepts himself as a Guru or someone’s disciple is not a Gnani.

Sage Sankara says - VC-162- There is no liberation for a person of mere book-knowledge, howsoever well-read in the philosophy of Vedanta, so long as one does not give up the false identification with the body, sense organs, etc.,

The real Guru is the invisible Soul, the Self. The seeker of truth should not search for a physical Guru in the world in which he exists. Let these words be inscribed in your subconscious.

A Guru who is well-versed in the Vedas is unaware that, his scriptural mastery does not qualify him for Self-realization. Scriptural mastery merely brings the egocentric attitude to the Guru, but it is of no use for Self-realization.

Ashtavakra: ~ " There is no wisdom whatsoever in Vedas. Just a collection of words. Is wisdom found in the scriptures? Wisdom is within oneself. Is truth found in words? The Truth is within oneself.

Scriptures deal only with the Objective word, the Seen, not with the invisible Seer of the objective world.

If one starts with the idea that Samsara (universe) exists, he can never see the Soul, the Self. Samsara (universe) is an illusion only ignorant people hold it as a reality.

Hence, Sage Sankara says: ~ VC.63 "Without knowing and examining the external world, one can’t know Truth, as the idea that the external world exists, won't go. It can go only by an inquiry into the nature of the external world.

Sage Sankara says: ~ Keep the scriptures for children but throw them on the fire for wise seekers.

You will find your way to hidden reality only through soulcentric reasoning. There is no need to depend on the scriptures. Actual realization takes you beyond the scriptures. The scriptures become a botheration.

Astavakra: ~ “My child you may speak upon various scriptures or hear the sermons on the scriptures. But you cannot establish in the ‘Self’ unless you forget all. 16-1 – p49

The Upanishad itself says:~ “The 'words are only so much of distraction for such minds'

A Gnani can point at the sky, but the seeing of the star is the seeker's own work.

Katha Upanishad: ~ This Atman cannot be attained by the study of the Vedas, or by intelligence, or by much hearing of sacred books. It is attained by him alone whom It chooses. To such a one Atman reveals Its own form. (Katha Upanishad Ch-II -23-P-20)

Mundaka Upanishad: ~ This Atman cannot be attained through the study of the Vedas, nor through intelligence, nor through much learning. He who chooses Atman—by him alone is Atman attained. It is Atman that reveals to the seeker Its true nature. (3 –page-70 Upanishads by Nikilanada)

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

Yoga Vasistha:~ "Teachers, interpretations of sacred texts, the force of religious merit--none of these lead to the realization of that Ultimate Truth which is revealed in the clear reflection of the heart, engendered from contact with the good."

That is why Sage Sankara says: ~ VC 56. Neither by Yoga, nor by Sankhya, nor by good work, nor by learning, but by the realization 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 that 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?

That is why Sage Sankara said:~ Talk as much philosophy as you like, worship as many Gods as you please, observe ceremonies, and sing devotional hymns, but liberation will never come, even after a hundred eons, without realizing the Oneness.

Mundaka Upanishads:~ So-called spiritual pundits and learned are called children because a child takes whatever it thinks as truth. The question never occurs to children “Is what I have seen or thought really the truth?" (P.334 line 9)

Bhagavad Gita 2:46:~ "A man of true knowledge who has attained enlightenment, has the same use for all the scriptures as one has for a small reservoir of water in a place flooded on all sides."

Vedanta it is that the Lord teaches us in the Gita and in it, he lashes out against the karmakanda. It is generally believed that the Buddha and Mahavira were the first to attack the Vedas.

It is not so. Lord Krishna himself spoke against them long before these two religious leaders. At one place in the Gita, he says to Arjuna:"The Vedas are associated with the three qualities of sattva, rajas, and tamas.

You must transcend these three qualities. Full of desire, they (the practitioners of Vedic rituals) long for paradise and keep thinking of pleasures and material prosperity. They are born again and again and their minds are never fixed in Samadhi, these men clinging to Vedic rituals. “In another passage, Krishna declares: "Not by the Vedas is Self to be realized, nor by sacrifices nor by much study. . . . "

Scriptures are not needed in pursuit of truth. Even the Upanishads and the sages of truth declare the same. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar