Mundaka Upanishad says: ~ The sages ignored these rituals and went in search of higher knowledge.+

Mundaka Upanishad says: ~ The rituals and the sacrifices described in the Vedas deal with lower knowledge. The sages ignored these rituals and went in search of higher knowledge. ... Such rituals are unsafe rafts for crossing The sea of samsara, of birth and death. Doomed to shipwreck are those who try to cross The sea of samsara on these poor rafts. Ignorant of their own ignorance, yet wise In their own esteem, these deluded men Proud of their vain learning go round and round like the blind led by the blind.

If you are seeking truth, and you are trying to get it from yoga and following some teaching and following some Guru and other paths, then you are dwelling in ignorance and go round and round, by various tortuous paths, like the blind led by the blind. :

Sage Sankara: ~ “VC Neither sacred baths nor any amount of charity nor even Hundreds of pranayamas* can give us the knowledge about our own Self. The firm experience of the nature of the Self is seen to proceed from inquiry along the lines of the salutary advice of the wise. (13)

All the Gods sculpted of stone and metal will not be pleased with your devotion and offering. People are praying out to them.

Sage Sankara: ~ VC- Let erudite scholars quote all the scripture, let Gods be invoked through sacrifices, let elaborate rituals be performed, let personal Gods be propitiated---yet, without the realization of one’s identity With the Self, there shall be no liberation for the individual, not even in the lifetimes of a hundred Brahmas put together (verses-6)

The Sacred books of the East are nothing but words, you will not find the truth in it.

Sage Sankara say: ~ Keep the scriptures for children but throw them on the fire for wise seekers.

People have lived through indulging in all these priest crafted beliefs dogmas and superstitions, something, it is not true.

One of Sage Sankara’s missions was to wean people away from ritualistic approach advocated by Mimamsakas and to project wisdom (jnana) as the means of liberation in the light of Upanishad teachings

Sage Sankara criticized severely the ritualistic attitude and those who advocated such practices.

Sage Sankara:- 3. Attaining one's aspirations and expectations by resorting to rituals had caught the imagination of the common people, though the Vedanta tradition advocated wisdom as the sole means for attaining one's goals in life. However, some thinkers diluted the rigorous position by combing Upanishad teachings with rituals to make it appealing to the common people. This they called jnana_karma_samucchaya– a two-in-one of wisdom and ritual.-Adhyasa Bhashya

Sage Sankara: - 3.1 Sage Sankara viewed this as a distortion of the Upanishad ideals. In order to play down the prominence given to rituals by the Mimamsakas, Sage Sankara relied on the idea of avidya He bracketed the ritualistic approach with avidya and called it an “error”.-Adhyasa Bhashya

Sage Sankara: - 4. Avidya is a word that occurs in Upanishads, though not often. The word Vidya is used to denote effective discrimination, and avidya is the absence of it. Sage Sankara states wisdom (vidya) can eliminate ignorance (avidya); but the ignorance it eliminates is not real, because it has no existence of its own. Once the error is removed, the Universe (Brahman) will reveal of its own accord.-Adhyasa Bhashya

Sage Sankara says ~ The scriptures dealing with rituals, and rewards are therefore addressed to an ignorant person.

Sage Sankara:~ (11) As regards the rituals, Sage Sankara says, the person who performs rituals and aspires for rewards will view himself in terms of the caste into which he is born, his age, the stage of his life, his standing in society, etc. In addition, he is required to perform rituals all through his life. However, the Self has none of those attributes or tags. Hence, the person who superimposes all those attributes on the changeless, eternal Self and identifies the Self with the body is confusing one for the other; and is, therefore, an ignorant person. The scriptures dealing with rituals, rewards, etc. are therefore addressed to an ignorant person.-Adhyasa Bhashya

Sage Sankara:~ (11.1) This ignorance (mistaking the body for Self) brings in its wake a desire for the well-being of the body, aversion for its disease or discomfort, fear of its destruction, and thus a host of miseries(anartha). This anartha is caused by projecting karthvya (“doer” sense) and bhokthavya (object) on the Atman. Sage Sankara calls this adhyasa. The scriptures dealing with rituals, rewards, etc. are, therefore, he says, addressed to an ignorant person.-Adhyasa Bhashya

Sage Sankara:~ (11.2) In short, a person who engages in rituals with the notion “I am an agent, doer, thinker”, according to Sage Sankara, is ignorant, as his behavior implies a distinct, separate doer/agent/knower; and an object that is to be done/achieved/known. That duality is Avidya, an error that can be removed by vidya.-Adhyasa Bhashya

Sage Sankara: ~ (12) Sage Sankara affirming his belief in one eternal unchanging reality (Brahman) and the illusion of plurality, drives home the point that Upanishads deal not with rituals but with the knowledge of the Absolute (Brahma vidya) and the Upanishads give us an insight into the essential nature of the Self which is identical with the Absolute, the Brahman.-Adhyasa Bhashya

Sage Sankara: ~ Atman, the Self is verily Brahman (God), being equanimous, quiescent, and by nature absolute Existence, Knowledge, and Bliss. Atman is not a body that is non-existence itself. This is called true Knowledge by the wise.:~Santthosh Kumaar