If you are seeking truth then you should not believe all the stories about the magical power of mantrams, visions and Samadhi and astral travel.+

If you are seeking truth then you should not believe all the stories about the magical power of mantrams, visions and samadhis, and astral travel because they are a reality within the dualistic illusion.   Wherever there is duality there is no truth. 

it is necessary for the seeker to realize ‘what God is supposed to be in actuality then only you will realize the universe is merely an illusion created out of God.

When you realize the words, thoughts, and world in which you exist are created out of single stuff and that single stuff is consciousness, then you will realize the truth which is hidden by the illusory form, time, and space.

When everything is created out of consciousness then there is no second thing that exists, other than consciousness. It takes time to grasp the Advaitic truth. All the obstacles have to be overcome one by one.

All fortune gained or lost within the world is within the illusion because the world in which we exist is merely an illusion. You are the false self within the false experience. Therefore whatever you have seen, known, believed, and experienced within this illusory world is bound to be an illusion.

Remember:~

To realize this world is an illusion, you must realize the ‘Self’ is not you, but the ‘Self’ is the formless Soul. From the standpoint of the Soul, the   Self, the world in which we exist is merely an illusion.

When you know that everything is Brahman(God in truth), there is no need for yogic control of the mind. Control presupposes a second, a duality.

Hence, yoga is in the sphere of duality and is unnecessary to one who knows non-duality.

If anyone talks of liberation he is forming an idea.  The idea belongs to duality. Those philosophers, who are so confused as to be unable to separate the subject from the object, talk of gaining liberation. But all such ideas are only the dualist illusion (object) which comes and goes, the Subject needs no liberation because the object is created out of the subject. Knowledge of the subject frees the subject from the illusory object.

The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.

The final state is that God is everything, the All; there is nothing but God, whereas to say "God is in me" is mysticism.

The world in which you exist is consciousness. Unless the world in which you exist is in your realization, the Advaitic wisdom will not dawn.

Ignorance cannot go through merely knowing the Soul, for it is known in sleep and Samadhi. It can go only by the realization that the Soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness, is the ultimate truth or Brahman because there is no second thing that exists other than the consciousness.

Sage Sankara himself had often said that his philosophy was based on Sruti or revealed scripture. This may be because Sage  Sankara addressed the ordinary man, who finds security in the idea of causality and thus with the idea of God~ and Revelation is indispensable to prove the latter. He believed that those of superior intelligence, have no need of this idea of divine causality, and can, therefore, dispense with Sruti and arrive at the truth of Non-Dualism by pure reason. 

Sage 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 Manduka Upanishads, he gave the highest non-dual message of the identity of Atman and Brahman, revitalizing the philosophy and the practice of Advaita, while in the commentaries on the Brahmasutra, he gave lesser teaching, positing both higher and lower Maya and higher and lower Brahman (Ishvara) to explain creation for those of lesser intellects until they were ready for the highest truth. 

Sage Sankara:~ VC 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 (verses-6)

Liberation cannot be the result of good works, for Sruti itself declares that there is no hope for immortality by means of wealth. (Verses -7)

Actions help to purify the mind, but they do not, by themselves, contribute to the attainment of Reality. The attainment of Reality is brought about only by Self-Inquiry and not in the least by even ten million acts. (11)

The fear and sorrow created by the delusory serpent in the rope can be ended only after fully ascertaining the truth of the rope through steady and balanced thinking. (12)

Neither sacred baths nor any amount of charity nor even Hundreds of pranayamas* can give us knowledge about our own Self. The firm experience of the nature of the Self is seen to proceed from inquiry along the lines of the salutary advice of the wise. (13)

Ultimate success in spiritual endeavors depends chiefly upon the qualifications of the seeker. Auxiliary conveniences such as time and place all have a place indeed, but they are essentially secondary. (14)

He alone is considered qualified to enquire after the supreme Reality, which has discrimination, detachment, qualities of Calmness, etc., and a burning desire for liberation. The four-fold qualifications (17)

Great sages have spoken of four qualifications for attainment which, when present, succeeds in the realization of Brahman and In the absence of which the goal is not attained.(18)

(While enumerating the qualifications), first, we count the ability to discriminate between the Real and the unreal; next, comes a spirit of detachment from the enjoyment of the fruits of actions here and hereafter; after that is the groups of six virtues beginning with Calmness; and the last is undoubtedly an intense desire for liberation. (19)

A firm conviction that Brahman alone is real and the phenomenal world is unreal is known as discrimination between the Real and The unreal. (20)

They have crossed the dreadful ocean of (embodied) existence through their own efforts and without any (personal) motives; they help others to cross it. (37)

It takes time for the seeker to gain the perfect understanding of ‘what is the truth’ and ‘’what is untruth’.

Those who are weak and those who are not sharp enough to grasp the truth beyond form, time, and space advise others to be non-observant and to withdraw.  Soulcentric reasoning will help, not hinder your pursuit of truth.  There is no need to run away from the worldly life in ascetic fear or shyness of them.  : ~ Santthosh Kumaar