Satsangha is not attending the sermons and retreat of Gurus. A true seeker is not content with the knowledge of spiritual realities based on hearsay... he insists on the direct knowledge.
All those Gurus who preach Advaita are based on the dualistic perspective or orthodox perspective. Such preaching is nothing to do with the Advaitic wisdom of Sage Sankara.
Your inner work is on. There is no need to neglect practical life within the practical world. There is no need to indulge 24/7 in spirituality but use your spare time for that.
Do not neglect your family and personal life and spend money on your pursuit of truth. Be happy like any other human being and enjoys life with humility and dignity in the practical world.
Self-realization does not depend upon books or upon the existence of any religion and books perish when ignorance perishes. The Truth is hidden by the dualistic illusion or Maya. No books or Guru can transmit Gnana to you. Even without Guru, you can realize the truth hidden by the dualistic illusion or Maya. You have to show gratitude for the wisdom and Sages of truth without bondage to them.
Remember:~
Those Gurus who hold satsangha or retreat promising Self-realization or enlightenment are frauds, not Gnanis.
The realization of the ‘Self’ hidden by the dualistic illusion leads to Self-realization.
Advaitic wisdom does not depend on anyone's book. It denies the authority of any book over any other book. It denies emphatically any one book contains all the truths about God, Soul is the ultimate reality.
Those of you who have read Upanishads remember that again and again, “Not by reading books can we realize the Self.
Second, it finds veneration for some particular person still more difficult to uphold. Seekers of truth must know that the Advaitic wisdom will not dawn by clinging to any teaching or Guru or any person.
No religious God or Guru becomes the object of worship. The seeker of truth must know no book, no man, no religion, and no worship helps to acquire the Advaitic wisdom of Sage Sankara.
When you realize the ‘Self’ is not you but the Self is the Soul. The world in which you exist is nothing but an illusion created out of the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. When you realize the ‘Self ‘ as the Soul with full and firm conviction the Self-awareness comes on its own.
The one who thinks of himself as Guru and the one who thinks of himself as chela (disciple) will not be able to get Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana because both of them accepted themselves as the body. And all their understanding, practices, and knowledge are based on the false self. Therefore, the Guru –Shisya concept is a great obstacle in the pursuit of truth.
A Gnani never accepts himself as a Guru or accepted anyone as his disciple, because he was fully immersed in the awareness of the Soul, the Self. There was no illusory division of form, time, and space in his consciousness even though he was in the midst of the illusory division. : ~Santthosh Kumaar
