Awakening is nothing but a complete, perfect understanding. A clear cut understanding of ‘what is what’ is awakening.+

Sage Sankara ignorance will not vanish by mere book-knowledge, howsoever well-read in the philosophy of Vedanta, so long as one does not give up the false identification with the dualistic illusion (I).

Fortunate is the man who does not lose himself in the labyrinths of bookish knowledge, but he tries to get a direct realization of truth hidden by the ignorance.

Sage Sankara does not believe in the book. Sage Sankara denies the authority of any book over any other book. Sage Sankara denies emphatically, that any one book contains all the truths about Brahman or God, Soul, the ultimate reality.

It is impossible to realize the Self through bookish knowledge. A feeling of profound respect for physical Guru is still more difficult to uphold. If you are seeking truth know must not cling to any physical Guru or his teaching. 

Advaita is not any type of teaching or philosophy. Advaita is the knowledge of your true existence. Advaita is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.  Advaita is the ultimate reality, Brahman, or God in truth. 

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 aeons, without realizing the Oneness.

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.

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, in the idea of God—and Revelation is indispensable to prove the latter. He believed that those of superior intelligence, have no need for this idea of divine causality, and can, therefore, dispense with Sruti and arrive at the truth of Advaita by pure reason. 

Remember:~ 

The intricate maze of the philosophy of different schools claims to clarify matters and reveal the Truth, but in fact, they create more confusion where no confusion need exist. 

To understand anything there is a need for perfect understanding and assimilation of ultimate truth or Brahman. Why worry about the physical body, ego, logic creation, creator, saints and sages, and the world, which are part and parcel of the illusion. 

All conceptual divisions invented by teachers of philosophy by their excessive analysis. Where do all these concepts end? Why should confusion be created and then explained away? Fortunate is the man who does not lose himself in the labyrinths of philosophy but goes straight to the Source from which they all rise.

Assuming or speculating and coming to the logical conclusion on the base of the physical self (ego) is intellectuality. Therefore, intellectuality is egocentric. Egocentricity is the greatest obstacle to grasping the nondual truth.  

There is no need to study the philosophies of western and eastern philosophers; they are not the means to acquire Self-Knowledge or nondual wisdom.  They are in fact an obstacle in the pursuit of truth because they are based on the physical self/ego. There is no necessary to study the philosophy of any great thinkers to ensure firm realization.  

There is no need for any philosophy to verify the truth of the self.  All that is intellectual wealth, useful in explaining doubts and difficulties if others raise them if he himself encounters them in course of thinking. But to attain realization, all that is not necessary. One wants fresh water to drink, but he does not require all the water of the whole lake to quench his quest.

Philosophical Authoritarianism merely assumes as true what another says, but what has yet to be proved.  Lots of pundits will say “Who am ‘I’? - but none have deeply analyzed it scientifically, none can prove it. The rational proof is needed in pursuit of truth, so that one can arrive at knowing truth i.e. Wisdom; theirs is mere dogma, parrotism, repetition of what they read in scripture.

The philosophical argument leads nowhere. If one philosopher says “Self” is formless “another will reply, "No, the 'Self' has a form! If one says "his adopted philosophy   has a higher value then all other philosophy” another will say, "No, that is lower and there are many philosophies higher than that." It is impossible to get anywhere with such talk because both sides are merely assuming and imagining.

Reality has no method. Illusion has many methods, many problems, and many concepts.

Awakening is nothing but a complete, perfect understanding. A clear cut understanding of ‘what is what’ is awakening. The reality is not to be achieved, it is there. After this thorough understanding, nothing is required. : ~Santthosh Kumaar