It is no use going roundabout way, trace the Brahman which is the formless substance and witness of the universe or mind.

Buddha rejected religion, concept of god and scriptures, no one called the Buddha an atheist, instead the Hindus accepted him as an Avatar. J.Krishnamurti with all his grooming and upbringing condemned priest craft, but accepted by the spiritual world, as man of wisdom. There is no need to condemn any religion or god or scriptures, but there is a need to know the truth, and reject the untruth, after verifying thoroughly. Seeker of truth should never accept anything as truth without verifying the validity of any claim, and accept only the un-contradictable truth.  

That why Buddha said:-

Do not believe a spiritual teaching just because:-

1. It is repeatedly recited,
2. It is written in a scripture,
3. It was handed from guru to disciple,
4. Everyone around you believes it,
5. It has supernatural qualities,
6. It fits my beliefs anyway,
7. It sounds rational to me,
8. It is taught by a respectable person,
9. It was said to be the truth by the teacher,
10. One must defend it or fight for it.

However, only when it agrees with your experience and reason, and when it is conducive to the good and gain of oneself and all others, then one should accept the teachings, and live up to them." ....Buddha.

People read so many scriptures and indulge in tedious meditation. Finally they come to know that the true self is formless soul or consciousness (Atman).  Consciousness is ultimate truth or Brahman. Soul or consciousness, the innermost self was already present in him even before reading scriptures and before doing the meditation.

In pursuit of truth one becomes aware of the fact that the true self is not the body [I], but the soul or consciousness, which was already, was before all this practice or effort. And all these practice based on the false self is a waste of time and effort.  And by practicing   all these egocentric practices he did not achieve anything other than hallucinated realization.

When Upanishad itself declares:-   sarvam khalvidam brahma - all this (universe) is verily Brahman. By following back all of the relative appearances in the world, we eventually return to that from which it is all manifest – the non-dual reality [ Chandogya Upanishad].  

Then It is no use going roundabout way, trace the Brahman which is the formless substance and witness of the universe or mind.  By tracing the source of the mind or universe one will be able to realize the Brahman.