Brahman is not perfectly attained through śāstras, nor by a guru, nor by places, nor by time; only through self-knowledge.

The negation of external means —śāstra, guru, place, and time— is not a rejection of these things but a clarification of their function. The śāstras prepare the mind; the guru removes obstacles; place and time create favorable conditions. But none of them produce Self-knowledge. That cannot be produced, because it already is.

“Svātmajñānena kevalam” —solely through the knowledge of oneself— uses “kevalam” (only, solely) in a restrictive but not exclusive sense. It is like saying that only the eye sees: this does not exclude the need for light, an object, or conditions; rather, it identifies the eye as the indispensable factor. In the same way, svātmajñāna is the indispensable factor that no other factor can replace.

The Haṭha Pradīpikā (IV.4) states that “rāja-yoga is attained when prāṇa is established in the brahmarandhra.” But it immediately clarifies that this is “destruction of mind” (manonāśa), not the attainment of something external. The yoga of the body, of prāṇa, of the nāḍīs: all of it is preparation for the event that requires no preparation—the recognition of what always was. As the Aṣṭāvakra Gītā (I.15) says: “If you surrender to God, you are free instantly. If you struggle to attain Him, you will not find Him in a hundred years of life.”