It is impossible to acquire Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana through Advaitic orthodoxy.

Gaudapada says :- the merciful Veda teaches karma and upaasana to people of lower and middling intellect, while jnana is taught to those of higher intellect.

So they clearly indicate rituals and theories are not meant for those who are searching for the higher knowledge or wisdom.   

All the orthodox Advaitins indulge and immersed themselves in ritualistic oriented life style and preach theoretical philosophies which are obstacle in realizing the Advaitic truth.  Many chose these orthodox scholars as their gurus. But these gurus are good to learn the conceptual Advaita meant for those orthodox who believe their conduct oriented life style leads to liberation.  But those who are seeking truth have to do their own homework in order to acquire self-knowledge.

When one goes into the annals of the history  one finds that,  the true Advaita expounded by Sri Sankara and his param guru, Goudpada was lost or mutilated and adulterated  by the orthodox, because the preaching and practice does not match.  Wisdom  expounded by the great Advaitic sages was so mystical that was imparted only  to the chosen few.  It is impossible  to acquire Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana through  Advaitic orthodoxy.   It is the waste of time and effort to get stuck with orthodoxy,  which is the path of ignorance.     

That is why Sri , Sanakara says:-  [VC]65. As a treasure hidden underground requires (for its extraction) competent instruction, excavation, the removal of stones and other such things lying above it and (finally) grasping, but never comes out by being (merely) called out by name, so the transparent Truth of the self, which is hidden by Maya and its effects, is to be attained through the instructions of a knower of Brahman, followed by reflection, meditation and so forth, but not through arguments.

63. Without causing the objective universe to vanish and without knowing the truth of the Self, how is one to achieve Liberation by the mere utterance of the word Brahman? — It would result merely in an effort of speech.

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They alone in this world are endowed with the highest wisdom who are firm in their conviction of the sameness and birthlessness of Atman. The ordinary man does not understand their way. [Chapter IV — Alatasanti Prakarana 95-P-188 in Upanishads by Nikilanada]—

 It is necessary for the seeker to do his homework, and verify the validity of all the claims, rather than blindly believe, what others expound as knowledge, till, the un-contradicted truth is obtained.

 

The orthodoxy has to be dropped if one has chosen the path of wisdom. The orthodoxy is greatest hindrance in pursuit of truth because it makes the inborn samskara or conditioning more and stronger. Until this conditioning prevails it is impossible to grasp, assimilate and realize the non-dual truth. The orthodoxy is egocentric and egocentricity is greatest obstacle in path of truth.    The orthodoxy is indulging non-Vedic rituals because of add-ons and adulteration and such rituals leads one nowhere and it is waste of time and effort.   Thus orthodoxy is not for those who are seeking truth nothing but truth.  Mixing orthodoxy and preaching non-duality is foolish venture.

The seeker must have the courage of Buddha to accept the truth and reject the untruth. Since Buddha rejected religion, idea of god and scriptures, therefore, it is evident that, he has gone through every aspect and verified and found them to be inadequate and useless for the pursuit of truth.

Even Buddhism is mixed up with regional culture and traditions of the local religion, wherever it existed. Thus to get the full essence from Buddhism is very difficult.

The scriptures are for ignorant masses, who wholly accept the material world as it presents itself. Wisdom is for those who have begun to realize that things are not what they seem.

Each sect concocts a God to suit its own purposes.  Such concocted Gods have no value in pursuit of truth.  Man himself suggests that there must be a God. It is an auto-suggestion.

But as one goes deeper in self-search one becomes aware of the fact that, Vedas including Upanishads considered being supremely authoritative, as revealed truth.  But Upanishads clearly declares that:-

 Katha Upanishad delares:-

  This Atman cannot be attained by the study of the Vedas, or by intelligence, or by much hearing of sacred books. It is attained by him alone whom It chooses. To such a one Atman reveals Its own form. (Katha Upanishad- Ch-II -23-P-20)

Mundaka Upanishad  :-

This Atman cannot be attained through study of the Vedas, nor through intelligence, nor through much learning. He who chooses Atman—by him alone is Ataman attained. It is Atman that reveals to the seeker Its true nature. (3 page70upanhsds by Nikilananda)

It means the truth is beyond scriptures and egocentric intelligence.  Thus in order to grasp, assimilate and realize the non-dualistic truth the seeker to employ soul-centric reasoning faculty.  

That is why Sri, Sankara says in commentary in Vedanta sutra that what is accepted without proper inquiry will not lead a person to the final goal. On the contrary, such acceptance will result only in evil, in something which is detrimental to our spiritual progress.   Seeker of truth should not believe blindly in traditional orthodox non-duality without verifying all the facts from every angle. One has to reflect through reasoning over and over again without getting tired of the process.