Do not search for Guru in the world in which you exist. Guru is the Soul, the Self. Let these words be inscribed in your subconscious.+

The Guru is useless so long as the ultimate truth is unknown, and Guru is equally useless when the ultimate truth or Brahman has already been known.

A Guru is needed in religious and the yogic path. There is no need for a Guru to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

Unless you realize the Self as the Soul, you are all blinded by the dualistic illusion.

The Guru who pretends he to be Self- realized and plays with the emotions and sentiments of the seeker is a fraud, not a Gnani.

All the Guru Parampara is for religious people. There is no need for a Guru who wants to tread the path of wisdom.

Even Swami Vivekananda was Ramakrishna Paramahansa's disciple. Swami Vivekananda himself said: ~ “You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher, but your own Soul.”

There are two kinds of audiences - the ordinary ones who desire the transitory heaven and other pleasures obtained as a result of ritual sacrifices, and the most advanced seeker who seeks to know the ultimate truth or Brahman. The Guru and Guru Paramparas are meant for the first audience, to help lead its followers along the way.

However, there is no need to follow any parampara and follow any Guru those who wish to realize the truth which is beyond the form, time, and space. 

We should not mix religion with spirituality because religion is based on the ego and spirituality is based on the Soul. 

The religion is concerned with its paramparas, not truth whereas spirituality is concerned only with the truth, which is beyond the form, time, and space. Religion is not Spirituality.

Sage Sankara: ~ "Though I wear these robes of a Sanyasin, it is only for the sake of bread." (Select Works of Sage Sri, Sankara" also his commentary on Brihad)

Thus, the above passage proves that all those who were the sanyasin robes are wearing it for the sake of bread belongs to the religion; they are nothing to do with the Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. 

There is no need to criticize and condemn the Gurus, yogis, and swamis because they are needed for the welfare of ignorant mass in the dualistic world.

Sage Sankara in Viveka Chudamani (2), states that the Knower of the Atman (i.e., a Gnani) "bears no outward mark of a holy man" (Stanza 539).

It means the Gurus, Swamis, and Yogis who identify themselves as holy people are not Gnanis.

 Those who are seeking truth need not follow any Guru or any teaching.

The one who thinks himself as a Guru and the one who thinks himself as a chela (disciple) will not be able to acquire Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana because both of them accepted themselves as the body. And all their understanding, practices, knowledge are based on the false Self (ego or you). Therefore, the Guru –Shisya concept is a great obstacle in the pursuit of truth.  A Gnani never accepts himself as a Guru or accepts anyone as his disciple because he was fully immersed in his true Self, which is formless consciousness. There was no division in his consciousness even though he was in the midst of division or duality.

The consciousness is like the ocean.  the universe is like a wave. Without the ocean, the waves cease to exist. 

Remember 

Do not search for Guru in the world in which you exist.  Guru is the Self. Let these words be inscribed in your subconscious.

As the truth of the ‘Self is hidden by the ‘I’ it requires for its extraction, competent instruction, excavation, the removal of ignorance.

People refuse to accept anything other than their Gurus words. For them, their Gurus words are the ultimate truth. They do not accept anything else other than their accepted truth. There is no need to convince such a mindset.

Such a mindset is not fit to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. The seekers of truth accept only the truth nothing but the uncontradictable truth.

The transparent truth of the Self is hidden by the ‘I’, which is the dualistic illusion.

The transparent truth of the Self is to be attained through constantly reading, reasoning and reflecting on the Advaitic words of wisdom followed by reflection, meditation and so forth, but not through perverted discussion and arguments.

All the penances are external because they are based on individuality. Investigating the mind, alone leads to Self-realization.

To know what is the mind profits much rather than searching the truth in the external world moving from one ashram to another and one Guru to another and one mountain to another. 

When one starts investigating the universe that confronts him will mentally move inwards and will reach the ultimate end and become fully aware “What is the truth?” and “What is untruth?” in his own home or city and establish in truth by realizing what is the untruth.

Nothing is real but the Soul. Nothing Matters but love for the Soul. The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness is everywhere and pervades everything in the domain of the form, time and space. 

The Soul is hidden within the form, time and space and it is beyond the form, time and space. The Soul alone is and the form, time and space are merely an illusion. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar