Sage Ramana Maharishi: The sadguru (the true Guru) is within.+

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

Sage Ramana Maharishi: The sad Guru is within.

Questioner: I am always at your feet. Will Bhagavan give us some upadesa (teaching) to follow? Otherwise, how can I get help living 600 miles away?

Sage Ramana Maharishi: The sadguru (the true Guru) is within.

Questioner: Sadguru is necessary to guide me to understand it.

Sage Ramana Maharishi: The sadguru is within.

Questioner: I want a visible Guru.

Sage Ramana Maharishi: That visible Guru says that he is within.

If one is seeking truth then one has to study deeply

Sage, Ramana Maharishi said the Guru is within he referred to the Self or Atman, not this physical apparatus. This seeker has to focus his attention on the Self or Atman, which is in the form of consciousness.

Thus glorifying Gurus’ form is erroneous because the body and the universe are myths from the ultimate standpoint. Thus indulging in glorifying and worshiping myth becomes the greatest obstacle in the pursuit of truth.

The seeker of truth has to identify the Soul the Self as a Guru and proceed in his spiritual endeavor. The inner grace of the inner Guru (Self) will guide until the ignorance disappears and one realizes the body and the universe is a merely an illusion created out of the Soul which is present in the form of consciousness

Religious or yogic Gurus propagate that, once a seeker identifies a Guru, he must totally surrender to the Guru, and then from there onwards, the spiritual journey is fully the Guru's responsibility, not his. Hence, the importance of choosing the right Guru is necessary, but in the pursuit of truth, the Guru is not necessary, because the truth is not theoretical. Truth has to be ascertained by the seeker on his own through Soulcentric reasoning.

The one who identifies himself as a swami, a Guru, or a yogi is not a Gnani.

A Gnani never identifies himself as a swami, Guru, pundit, or yogi. Swami, Guru, pundit, or yogi belong to the religious or the yogic path not to the path of wisdom.

Sage Sankara's commentary:- Page 489: "The knower of Brahman (Self-realized or Gnani) wears no signs.

Page 500 asks in effect "Tell us what you know, show it, and let us examine it under the mental microscope." It means we must bring notions and beliefs out of vagueness into clearness. It also criticizes the mystics who claim superior knowledge but who cannot communicate it for purposes of verification.

On page 482: On Gnani: "The knower of Brahman wears no signs. Gives up the insignia of a monk's life…his signs are not manifest, nor his behavior." When the knower of Brahman wears no signs -- it means he does not identify himself as a Guru or a teacher. : Santthosh Kumaar