By following Vedanta does not mean that one has become Brahman.+

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., which are unreal.

People study Vedanta and they are under the delusion and conclude that they declare:~ "I-Am-Brahman", but they fail to realize the fact that Brahman is everywhere and in everything! The existence of Brahman is not limited to his physical identity, because, it is the very essence of form, time, and space.

Sage Sankara says :~VC-47 All the effects of ignorance, root, and branch, are burnt down by the fire of knowledge, which arises from discrimination between these two—the Self and the not-Self.

By following Vedanta does not mean that one has become Brahman. One gains thereby a mere intellectual understanding of the truth which is beyond the form, time, and space.

That is why Sage 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 Sankara goes on to say: ~A sickness is not cured by saying the word “medicine.” You must take the medicine. Liberation does not come by merely saying the word “Brahman (God in truth).” Brahman must be realized. 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 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.

People dwelling in ignorance but thinking themselves wise and erudite, go round and round by various blind beliefs and tortuous paths and practices, like the blind led by the blind.

The ultimate truth or Brahman or God can only be realized through Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. Only through Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana can one cross the domain of the duality.

Even then it is only a rare one who sees the all-pervading Brahman (God). He sees the Brahman within more clearly than you see the objects of this world with your physical eyes.

Brahman is to be grasped within and is not to be sought outside. When there is a real longing to be united with Brahman, then he realizes the truth beyond form, time, and space. And still, only a rare one realizes Brahman.

When the Soul remains in its own awareness then there is oneness in the midst of diversity. 

In Self-awareness, the world in which we exist is merely an illusion. The Soul, the Self itself is God. Realizing the Soul, the  Self is Self-realization Truth realization, or God-realization. Self-awareness can never be achieved through an intellectual understanding of Advaita.

It is only one in millions who realizes that consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth. 

A Gnani is fully aware of the fact that the consciousness alone is Real all else is merely an illusion. No amount of studying Vedanta can give Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

Remember:~

 Sage Sankara strongly advocated the study of Upanishads, and at the same time cautioned that the study of Upanishads alone would not lead to moksha. In matters of such as spiritual attainment, one’s own realization was the sole authority and it cannot be disputed.

Sage  Sankara also said the study of Upanishad was neither indispensable nor a necessary prerequisite for attaining the human goal, the moksha.

Sage Sankara pointed out; that even those who were outside the Upanishad fold were as eligible for moksha as those within the fold were. He declared that all beings are Brahman, and therefore the question of discrimination did not arise. All that one was required to do was to get rid of ignorance (Avidya or duality).

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?

62. A disease does not leave off if one simply utters the name of the medicine, without taking it; (similarly) without direct realization one cannot be liberated by the mere utterance of the word Brahman.

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.

64. Without killing one’s enemies, and possessing oneself of the splendor of the entire surrounding region, one cannot claim to be an emperor by merely saying, ‘I am an emperor’.

65. As a treasure hidden underground requires (for its extraction) competent instruction, excavation, the removal of stones and other such things lying above it and (finally) grasping, but never comes out by being (merely) called out by name, so the transparent Truth of the Self, which is hidden by Maya and its effects, is to be attained through the instructions of a knower of Brahman, followed by reflection, meditation and so forth, but not through perverted arguments.

66. Therefore, the wise should, as in the case of disease and the like, personally strive by all the means in their power to be free from the bondage of repeated births and deaths.

Then there is no need for the scriptures, religion, and religious God. One has to be more rational to realize the Advaitic truth, which is the ultimate truth or scientific truth. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar